Nine 1911 Myths

The Army wanted a .45 because of the .38’s poor performance against the Moros.In actuality, what everyone wanted was a caliber that could stop a charging horse. The Army had been using a .45 sidearm before the .38 Colt, liked it, and wanted more of the same.

The 1911 has to rattle to be reliable.A loose gun can be reliable, but it is a symptom, not a cause. A reliable pistol works in a repeatable fashion, loose or tight. Reliable is reliable, loose is loose, and a pistol may be both.

You need a light trigger to shoot a 1911 well.A clean, crisp trigger that works the same way every time is easier to build correct habits around. A light trigger can encourage trigger-snatching and anticipating the break of the shot.

The best way to test a 1911 trigger is to drop the slide on an empty chamber.When you crash the slide home, it bounces the trigger back and forth in its slot, and that taps the sear. The barrel lugs also take the full force of the recoil spring and slide momentum, without a feeding round to slow them down. That hurts.

You shoot faster with a lighter recoil springNo, light springs are not a means to shoot faster. They are something that very fast shooters use to “time” the gun to their shooting pace. The difference is so small, if you aren’t consistently second in matches, tuning the springs won’t help.

Shock buffers increase frame life.With all due respect to those who make shock buffers, I’ve never worn out a frame. Some 1911s actually are made less reliable with a shock buffer installed. If they don’t make your gun cranky, and you are comforted by them, go for it. Otherwise, skip the buffers.

Every 1911 has to be gunsmithed to be reliable and accurate.Back in the old days, maybe. Today, not so much. I’d go so far as to say that if you find a newly bought 1911 to be inaccurate or unreliable, I’d look first to your own reloaded ammo before blaming the gun.

The feed ramp has to glimmer like mercury to be reliable.If the feed ramp is in the correct place in the frame and tipped at the right angle, it will feed everything regardless of toolmarks. Does your pistol work? If yes, leave it alone. If not, find the real source of the problem and don’t go polishing everything in sight just because you have power tools and are itching to use them.

The recoil of a .45 1911 is too much for many shooters.If you really believe that, I have a group of women shooters I’d like to introduce you to—national-level competitors who are under 51⁄2 feet tall, some barely five feet, who have no problems with the .45 ACP. The recoil of the .45 is not nothing, but it certainly isn’t an oppressive impact.

380 Shoot Off

Small pistols in this caliber are all the rage, so we took five recent examples to the range and tested them head to head.If there was one trend on display last year, it was the ascendancy of the .380. The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) was a product of the fertile mind of John Moses Browning and first saw the light of day in 1912 when it chambered in Fabrique Nationale's Mle. 1910 pistol. On this side of the Big Pond, Colt quickly offered its Model 1908 pistol in the same caliber.

As originally loaded, the .380 consisted of a straight walled, rimless case 17mm in length topped with full-metal-jacket bullets weighing 85 to 95 grains traveling at approximately 900 to 1,000 fps.

Over the years, the round--also known variously as 9mm Browning Short, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Corto and 9x17--became very popular and was even adopted as a service cartridge by several European armies and police agencies up until the 1960s.

In the U.S., however, it has generally been regarded as a low-end self-defense cartridge. While a far better performer than the .32 ACP--and usually chambered in pistols of the same size--it never achieved the same level of popularity until recently.

In the past few years, three trends have caused a dramatic increase of interest in .380 pistols: materials, ballistics and the expansion of concealed carry.

In the past, quality .380 pistols such as the Colt M1908 and the Walther PP/PPK were made of 100 percent steel and were quite heavy. The use of polymer frames in this class of pistols has lightened them significantly, making them much easier to carry all day.

The use of improved propellants and high-tech jacketed hollowpoint bullets have dramatically improved the effectiveness of the .380 cartridge, making it a much more practical choice for defensive purposes without any real increase in recoil.

Last, as more and more states have adopted "shall issue" concealed carry laws, the demand for small, lightweight handguns has skyrocketed.

With all the new .380s on the market, the time seemed right to get a few of them and shoot them in a head-to-head test. We selected five: Ruger LCP, Kahr P380, Taurus TCP 738 SS, Walther PK380 and SIG Sauer P238 Nitron.

All five have steel slides and are locked-breech designs. The Ruger, Kahr, Walther and Taurus use polymer frames while the SIG Sauer's is made of aluminum alloy. The Kahr, Ruger and Taurus have double-action-only triggers while the Walther is a DA/SA and the SIG Sauer is a single action. All except the Walther have a 6+1 capacity; the Walther is 8+1.

The Walther is a midsize handgun, but all the rest are subcompacts (see chart for dimensions). The Kahr, Ruger and Taurus sport no manual safeties; the Walther has safety levers on both sides of the slide; and the SIG Sauer features a 1911-type thumb safety.

Accuracy Results

Pistol Muzzle Velocity (fps) Standard Dev. Avg Group (in.)

Ruger LCP 811 37 3.9

Kahr P380 788 33 2.6

Walther PK380 863 34 2.6

SIG P238 798 41 3.2

Taurus 738 SS802 43 3.5

Note: Group size is the average of three-five shot groups fired with Winchester 95-grain FMJ flatpoint ammo from an MTM Predator rest at 10 yards. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured with a Chrony chronograph 10 feet from the muzzle.

Sighting equipment varies drastically from the large, easy-to-see, three-dot sights of the Walther and SIG Sauer to the rather decent white dot/bar setup on the Kahr to the almost nonexistent sights found on the Ruger and Taurus.

Last, the Walther P380 and Taurus 738 both feature key-operated, internal safety locks that prevent unauthorized use.

Despite tight ammo supplies, I managed to secure enough FMJ and JHP loads for the test thanks to Winchester, Remington, Federal and Black Hills. My good friends Paul Brinkman, Larry Mefford and Dick Cole--all of whom are avid action pistol competitors and hold CCW licenses--volunteered to do the shooting. Our hand sizes range from rather dainty digits to ham-fisted paws.

Each pistol was inspected and lubed before we began, and that was all the maintenance they received. If they choked, we attempted to clear the problem and keep shooting.

Our first task was to see if the pistols would digest different types of ammunition. This involved running several magazines each of Remington FMJ, Winchester FMJFP, Black Hills JHP and Federal Hydra-Shok through each pistol.

We experienced a few failures to feed with the Winchester flat points in the Kahr and SIG Sauer, but that seemed to sort itself out by the third magazine. Aside from that, the five pistols ate up whatever we stuffed in their magazines and spat out the empty cases without fail.

We then fired each pistol from a rest at 10 yards with the Winchester load to see what kind of basic accuracy they provided. I had assumed, because of their larger sights and lighter triggers, either the Walther or SIG Sauer would win this--and I was wrong.

The Kahr proved the accuracy champion of the day. I credit this to the high visibility bar/dot sighting system and because both Larry and I use Kahr pistols as our regular carry guns and have quite a bit of experience with this type of trigger.

The Walther and SIG Sauer were close runners-up but, as I had expected, because of their rudimentary sights, the Ruger and Taurus finished at the back of the pack.

That being said, at the close distances at which these pistols would be used in a defensive situation, all five provided more than adequate accuracy.

Our offhand testing consisted of the following, three timed drills performed on IPSC targets supplied by Dave Zimmerman at the Target Barn (targetbarn.com). Drills were run at the "real life" distances of three, five and seven yards. All pistols and spare magazines were carried and drawn from concealment. We used a Galco IWB holster for all the pistols except the Walther, which was too large. I dug up an old no-name belt slide holster for that gun.

El Presidente. Draw pistol and double tap on each of three targets at seven yards. Perform a combat reload and repeat. Reload magazines as necessary and repeat one more time.

FBI Drill. Draw pistol and fire two body shots and one head shot on a pair of targets at five yards. Perform a combat reload and repeat.

One-Handed Drill. Draw pistol and engage three targets at three yards with two rounds each, firing all rounds with a one-handed grip. Perform a combat reload and repeat.

Once the smoke cleared, each of us graded the five pistols on eight criteria, with one being the poorest and five the highest. Scores are found in the accompanying charts. Here's a summation of what we found.

Ergonomics. It should come as no surprise that the Walter PK380 won this because it was the largest and heaviest of our test pistols and the only one to have a full-sized grip. To be perfectly honest about it, the PK380 is of a size more suitable to a 9mm or .40.

As our crew all shoot 1911 pistols extensively in competition, it's hardly shocking that the SIG Sauer 238 finished a close second. The tiny, lightweight Ruger and Taurus brought up the rear.

Trigger Control. Our bias for 1911 pistols was again evident here, with the single-action SIG Sauer 238 finishing first. That being said, several of us thought that if we were going to carry any of these as defensive guns we'd opt for one of the DAO designs, and among those, the Kahr P380 won hands down.

Recoil Control. There's no denying the laws of physics, so the large and heavy Walther won here. But the all-metal SIG Sauer was close on its heels. The Kahr and Taurus tied, while the Ruger was a distant fifth. Several of us found the Ruger a bit painful to shoot extensively.

Sights. The SIG Sauer P238, which sported large, easy to see, three-dot sights, won this handily. The Walther and Kahr tied for second. Taurus and Ruger were last since they essentially have no sights.

Offhand Accuracy. The SIG Sauer, with its excellent sights, won this handily, followed by Walther and Kahr. The Taurus performed rather decently (in fact, I shot my single best series of drills with it), and the LCP finished last.

Ease of Reloading. Once again its similarity to our 1911 pistols led to the SIG Sauer P238 taking the honors here. It was also the only pistol whose magazines consistently fell free of the grip when the release was pressed. The Walther PK380 received universal condemnation for its paddle-shaped released that had to be pushed down instead of in. It just didn't seem natural to any of us.

The Kahr would have scored higher except one of the magazines supplied with the pistol consistently hung up, requiring the shooter to drag it out of the grip. The tiny Taurus and Ruger performed well except for the fact that their magazine release buttons were almost flush with their frames and difficult to depress.

Ease of Disassembly. A three-way tie between Ruger, Walther and SIG. The Taurus proved a bit more difficult while the Kahr's heavy recoil spring made it difficult for everyone. Concealability. Another tie, this one between the Kahr, Taurus and SIG Sauer--with the Ruger close behind.

The big Walther came in last, hardly a surprise.

Reliability. This wasn't a scored category, but it definitely bears mention. By the time we were done, four shooters had run about 300 rounds through each pistol. The total malfunctions we experienced--other than the few failures to feed during our initial accuracy testing--was six. That's right, a mere half-dozen failures in 1,500 rounds.

I experienced two smokestack jams with the Kahr P380, but each time it was the final round in the magazine, and it ran perfectly for the other shooters.

One shooter had two failures to extract with the Taurus 738, although no one else did. We had two failures to fire--one with the Kahr P380 and one with the Walther PK380. We attempted to re-fire both rounds, but they would not go off, which leads me to believe this was an ammo problem.

Riding With The King

Magnum Research's Desert Eagle gets a Picatinny rail on its 25th anniversary.

f you had to take inventory of the most popular handguns unmistakably recognized throughout the world, the Magnum Research International Desert Eagle would have to sit near the top of that list. In large part, its immense popularity can be credited to its numerous starring roles in Hollywood movies and video games.

Its large size, intimidating appearance and big-bore chamberings have helped the Desert Eagle retain street rights to its nickname, King of Pistols. To get the history on this iconic pistol, I spoke with Magnum Research's president, Todd Seyfert.

"Remember watching the Dirty Harry movies back in the '70s?" Seyfert asked. "That line in the movie that described the most powerful handgun in the world? Basically, Bernie White said, 'Why can't someone figure out how to put a .357 Magnum in a semiautomatic?'"

White, one of the founders of Magnum Research, had approached many companies with the same challenge and was told that it couldn't be done. That was until he met with Israeli Military Industries (IMI) in 1979.

It took three years after the design process began in 1980 to completely develop the Mark I, which was originally patented by White in January 1983. Once IMI refined the design for production, a second patent was filed in December 1985. Although Magnum Research's recent 25th anniversary celebrates the date that Desert Eagles were commercialized, the company is really 30 years old.

Over the last quarter-century, there have been just three variants of the Desert Eagle. The Mark I sported a 10-inch barrel and was offered in either a steel, stainless or aluminum frame.

The Mark VII was the Mark I's successor and introduced an adjustable trigger that could be installed on the Mark I. Both were available in .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, but the Mark VII added the .41 Magnum to the family tree, as well as an optional 14-inch barrel.

The Mark XIX (spoken "mark 19") was a continuation of the Mark VII with an integral Weaver scope rail on the barrel. The .50 AE became a popular option in this model, while different finishes (chrome, gold and titanium) sought to satisfy the custom tastes of other handgunners. Barrel lengths in the Mark XIX were limited to six and 10 inches.

The first time I handled a Desert Eagle goes back to just before Operation Desert Storm. A close friend of the family and local sheriff's deputy brought one to a range day. I can remember marveling at its tough appearance and unique operation. When firing it off the bench with some unusually hot loads, I jokingly wondered if it could second as a flamethrower on a battlefield.

That deputy was a Marine reservist and deployed with his unit to the Persian Gulf. He returned a year later to a hero's town welcome and talked about a new Desert Eagle he had read of while in Saudi Arabia, one that was going to be chambered in a .50 caliber cartridge.

IMI's civilian arms production was suspended for the war in 1991, and handgunners had to wait a year before finding one. When it did show up, the Desert Eagle earned bragging rights as the first production .50 caliber handgun, and the desert war veteran traded up. I'm still certain that he was just trying to stir my envy.

he Desert Eagle is a unique gas-operated semiauto, a type of operating system that's more commonly aligned with modern tactical rifles. Also unusual when compared to other semiautomatic pistols is the polygonal-rifled barrel; it doesn't move during the cycle of operation.

Polygonal rifling doesn't have sharp edges on the lands of the bore that gradually wear in during use, and it's reputed to extend the accuracy and effective service life of barrels on HK and Glock pistols.

Once a fired bullet passes a port near the breech, gases take the path of least resistance and travel forward through a small tube under the barrel. At the end of that tube is a cylinder. A piston is fixed at the front of the slide assembly and rests within this cylinder.

The expanding gases go through the tube and into the cylinder, slamming into the piston and pushing the slide assembly rearward. The slide assembly (also considered the bolt carrier) runs along rails on the side of the barrel and pulls back on a rotating bolt. With the bolt rotated and unlocked, the extractor draws out the spent case and immediately ejects it after clearing the chamber--courtesy of a spring-loaded ejector.

Caliber conversion is straightforward and requires only a correct barrel, bolt assembly and magazine. One small note to those thinking about converting their .44 Magnum or .50 Action Express Desert Eagles: The size of the .44 Magnum's rim is the same as the .50 AE, so only a barrel and magazine are necessary to switch between the two calibers.

In my opinion, the big news is that Magnum Research has tooled up CNC machines to manufacture Desert Eagles here in the U.S. The company can now control quality, which plagued the Desert Eagle's reputation at times.

"Basically, we sat down and said, 'We don't want to change the good things, but we want to blend the feedback of our customers,' " said Seyfert. "Manufacturing the pistol here, we can remedy inconsistencies in the gas system. We were never able to check the gas system because it was already on the gun. The problem is that if gas leaks and a shooter has a bad grip, you can get misfeeds. That was the No. 1 comment from our customers. Now we can test and guarantee that the gas system works properly before it ships."

Having obtained the new Desert Eagle, there's one noticeable change to the Mark XIX that you can't miss. Original Desert Eagle barrels had a 3/8-inch dovetail to attach a scope mount. Mark VII pistols changed this feature to a machined 7/8-inch Weaver rail (carried over to the Mark XIX) that allows the shooter to directly attach rings and an optic.

The newest development is also the most visible difference between the new and old models. Now a Picatinny rail runs from the chamber area to the front sight, affording more real estate to crown this king with a wider selection of contemporary optics.

If you look closer at the new pistol, it also features a number of other enhancements. The Mark XIX now features an ambidextrous safety that's been reshaped for ergonomics. Magnum Research took weight out of the slide, tightened up the action and toughened up the appearance.

The firm also teamed up with Hogue Grips to help to make the pistol more comfortable to shoot. The Mark XIX carries a set of rubber Hogue grip panels that can be adapted to earlier models.

"We wanted to keep them the same so people could interchange components with the older Desert Eagles," Seyfert said. "We wanted people to build upon their collection, not start over."

What you'll see on the 2010 models (ours is a 2009) is a muzzle brake that takes felt recoil of a .50 AE to that of a .44 Magnum. The best part is that Magnum Research will retrofit any older Desert Eagle for it.

"We never had a muzzle brake before, but many customers had asked for it. Now all you have to do is send us your old one for an upgrade," Seyfert said. "We have had no issues and no degradation in accuracy by adding the muzzle brake."

I'm usually interested in the practical accuracy of guns I test rather than potential accuracy, so instead of bolting the Mark XIX into a machine rest and saddling it with some big optic, I mounted a Trijicon RMR reflex red-dot sight and fired it off a sandbag rest.

Part of my reasoning for choosing a red dot sight was that the Mark XIX already weighs four pounds, so why would I want to add significantly to that? And when you're holding the Desert Eagle, you don't want to spend a lot of time searching for the dot or the target, so a low-profile optic that doesn't inhibit one's field of view is an advantage.

Shooting round after round of 300- and 350-grain bullets that travel between 1,300 and 1,500 fps is no picnic, especially if there's a struggle to sight it in. Fortunately, the RMR pointed the barrel where it needed to be, and it took just four shots to get the Desert Eagle zeroed at 25 yards.

Evan Whildin developed the .50 Action Express in 1988 specifically for the Desert Eagle. It's a very powerful cartridge (as much as 40 to 50 percent more energy than a .44 Magnum) that's initially controllable but can eventually wear out your wrist. Limp wristing is unforgivable, and the Desert Eagle punishes a weak grip without remorse.

The weight and rubber grips of the Desert Eagle are effective in managing recoil, but you still feel the power. Because I had to place five five-shot groups of three heavy loads on paper for accuracy, I enlisted the help of Payton Miller, executive editor of Guns &

Ammo, who ran the same ammo across a Pro Chrony chronograph to come up with the velocity data.

After all that work, the numbers were solid. Hornady's 300-grain JHP produced the slowest average velocity but was the most consistent load. Accuracy never grew near two inches (which is incredible for a cartridge of this diameter), and my best group at 25 yards measured 1.5 inches.

Magnum Research's own 300-grain load features a Speer Gold Dot hollowpoint shoved into the case mouth. It's a wickedly effective bullet with a proven reputation among law enforcement, and the Magnum Research load pushes that bullet at more than 1,500 fps nearly every time. It produced the best group of the test, measuring 13/8 inches.

Before leaving the range that day, I evaluated the Desert Eagle at 100 yards, the maximum range I would attempt to take a shot with this setup. My group sizes averaged 4.32 inches with the Magnum Research 300-grain Gold Dot. Some would call this minute-of-deer.

"The Desert Eagle was always inherently accurate," said Seyfert. "The CNC machines we're now using here in the U.S. help to make the gun's fit and function tighter than ever before."

Payton and I fired more than 200 rounds through the new Desert Eagle in .50 AE. After firing nearly 100 rounds, the accuracy dropped off completely as the Trijicon RMR couldn't continue to ride the bucking pistol tightly (if only I had put Loctite on the threads).

This issue was foreshadowed by a visit to one of the many Internet forums dedicated to Desert Eagle enthusiasts. Many noted that after firing anywhere between 40 and 100 rounds, optics had to be secured and rezeroed.

The RMR was unharmed, but I decided to remove the reflex sight. I completed the reliability test by firing the remaining ammunition in controlled rapid fire using the factory three-dot iron sights.

We had only three malfunctions (two failures to eject, one failure to fire), and those were with a load that we probably shouldn't have included: Samson 300-grain JSP. It was older and more inconsistent across the clock, but we tried this load because readers could still run across it at gun stores and gun shows.

Using quality factory ammunition and with correct handling, this latest Desert Eagle in .50 AE should deliver excellent performance and flawless reliability. In my opinion, no handgun collection is complete without the King of Pistols. For many of us, a memory produced by an over-the-top experience like this one is how we got interested in shooting in the first place.

I didn't have a great need to buy a Desert Eagle. I'm not going to carry one for self-defense, and I'll have limited opportunities to hunt with a semiauto handgun (although you can hunt with it in many places).

Fortunately, the mystique of owning one and the enjoyment of shooting the .50 AE is enough to justify my purchase. As intimidating as it may first appear, anyone who simply holds the Desert Eagle can't help but grin and take a moment to imagine what it would be like to shoot it. It's one of those guns for which people whip out their cell phone cameras just to get that opportunistic photograph. Sometimes, you don't really need a better reason than that.

Magnum Research Baby Desert Eagle

Minneapolis, Minnesota, is well-known by anyone who has ever touched off a round from a handgun.

Magnum Research of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is well-known by anyone who has ever touched off a round from a handgun. Big semiautos in .50 AE , .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum quickly captured the imagination of recreational handgunners, handgun hunters and silhouette shooters around the country.

But even Arnold Schwarzenegger would have trouble toting a Desert Eagle all day, so Magnum Research offers a line of more normal-size pistols. These include the Baby Eagle and subcompact Micro Desert Eagle--and now a new polymer-frame pistol called the Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action.

The Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action is a polymer-frame, striker-fired pistol with a unique "fast-action" trigger mechanism. When you chamber a round, the striker is held in the cocked position and the first shot can be fired with a long but very light stroke. After firing a shot, the trigger moves a short distance forward to reset, allowing subsequent shots to be fired with a single-action-like stroke.

Magnum Research Baby Desert Eagle Fast ActionType: locked breech semiautoCaliber: 9mm Luger (tested), .40 S&WCapacity: 10, 15-round (tested) magazines (9mm); 10, 11-round magazines (.40)Overall length: 7.13 in.Barrel Length: 4 in., 6-groove, 1:10 RH twist Width: 1.28 in.Height: 5.3 in.Weight: 24.8 oz.Construction: black oxide-finished steel slide; polymer frame with integral rail and replaceable palm swellsSights: white three-dot; rear adjustable for windage; three front sights of different heightsPrice: $699Manufacturer: Magnum Research Inc., MagnumResearch.com, 800-772-6168

When you are done firing, you depress the decocker, an oval-shaped button at the left rear of the slide. This allows the striker to move forward, where it is held in place. Firing the pistol in normal double-action mode now requires a significantly heavier trigger stroke.

Besides the decocker, the Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action has an internal striker-drop plunger and trigger safety--both of which prevent the gun from firing until the trigger is pulled through a complete stroke. When cocked, the tail of the striker extends past the end of the slide, providing a cocking indicator. Chambering a round exposes a red dot under the extractor.

The pistol's slide is machined from steel and sports a rear sight that's adjustable for windage. The gun ships with three front sights of different heights that can be switched to zero for a particular load. A lowered ejection port and massive extractor help ensure reliability.

The slide reciprocates on four steel rails imbedded in the frame while the barrel unlocks on a steel block pinned into the frame. It has a frame rail for mounting lights, lasers or other tactical devices.

The frame features interchangeable palm swells, and by removing a pin at the heel of the grip, the shooter can change them to alter the profile of the grip frame for a better fit.

An oversize trigger guard makes it easy to shoot the pistol even with gloves. The magazine release at the rear of the trigger guard is a paddle design that is pushed down and can be manipulated from either side, making life a bit easier for us southpaws.

I test-fired the Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action for accuracy at 50 feet with four different brands of 9mm ammunition. The sights provided a sharp sight picture, and the three-dot system permitted quick alignment. The pistol showed a preference for heavier bullets and consistently shot the tightest groups with Winchester's 147-grain SXT.

I then belted on a Safariland holster and spent an enjoyable half-hour punching holes in a combat target from various distances. I found that I shot the pistol best with the medium-size palm swell installed. Ergonomics and recoil control were both very good, and I had no trouble putting rounds where I wanted them--rather quickly, too.

What surprised me most about the Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action was the trigger. When I first received the pistol, I told myself it was way too complicated. But the more I shot it, the more I came to see how useful it is.

With the striker uncocked, you can carry or store the pistol with a round in the chamber. Firing the gun requires a long, deliberate trigger stroke, much like a double-action revolver.

With the striker cocked, you get a trigger stroke just as long but significantly lighter. I found this very useful in competition. With the striker cocked you can also "stage" the trigger for a short, crisp let-off, which is helpful if you must make a deliberate shot.

As with the paddle magazine release, with a bit of practice I got the hang of the three trigger strokes and when to take advantage of them.

My only criticism of Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action is that the grasping grooves on the slide are too small and shallow to allow you to get a firm purchase. In addition, the black oxide finish, while attractive, makes the slide's surface too slick. Combined, these traits make it difficult to rack to chamber a round or clear a malfunction.

Other than that, I found the Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action to be a well-made, fine-handling pistol. I believe it would be a viable, lightweight choice for concealed carry, home defense or informal competition.

Accuracy Results | Baby Desert Eagle Fast Action 9mm Luger Bullet Weight (gr.) Muzzle Velocity (fps) Standard Deviation (fps)

Avg. Group (inches)Federal EFMJ 105 1,234 20 2.7 Hornady FTX 115 1,127 28 3.0 Remington Leadless 124 1,046 23 2.6 Winchester STX 147 956 26 2.3 WARNING: The loads shown here are safe only in the guns for which they were developed. Neither the author nor InterMedia Outdoors, Inc. assumes any liability for accidents or injury resulting from the use or misuse of this data. NOTES: Accuracy results are averages of three five-shot groups fired from an MTM rest at 50 feet. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured with a PACT chronograph 10 feet from the muzzle. Abbreviations: EFMJ, expanding full metal jacket.

SHOT Show 2010

CZ75 SA Target

The Target version of the CZ 75 Single Action was designed by Angus Hobdell, and brought to life by the CZ Custom Shop. The custom shop has tuned this pistol up for anyone interested in competing or who wants to do some serious paper punching with a single action 9mm. Modifications made by the gunsmiths at the CZ Custom Shop include a trigger job leaving all safeties intact, installation of Novak rear sight with a fiber optic front, competition springs, CZ Custom Aluminum Grips, firing pin, flat aluminum trigger, drop free magazine brake, and competition hammer.

FNH FNX-9 and FNX-40

The new FNX 9 and FNX 40 pistols offer the key features demanded by today’s serious handgunner. New ergonomic polymer frames have a low bore axis for flat shooting and less felt recoil resulting in improved control. Deep checkered grip panels are comfortable and designed for no-slip shooting. Four interchangeable backstrap inserts quickly offer a custom fit and feel.

The profiled stainless steel slide has cocking serrations front and rear, a 4" hammer-forged stainless barrel delivers long life and pinpoint accuracy. Fully ambidextrous operating controls make the FNX perfect for competition and personal defense for both right and left-handed shooters. Each FNX comes with both a decocker and manual safety making it one of the safest hammer guns on the market. Every part is proudly made in the USA.

Hornady Critical Defense Ammunition

Hornady Critical Defense ammunition is unaffected by thick and heavy clothing, including denim and leather. The patented FTX bullet delivers superior controlled expansion and large, deep wound cavities over a wide range of velocities. Clean burning and stable propellants reduce recoil in lightweight handguns, perform consistently in all temperatures and offers minimal muzzle flash to protect night vision.

Like all XTP-like ammunition, Critical Defense feeds reliably in all pistols. Its shiny silver nickel case plating prevents corrosion, and is easily visible in low light situations. Bullets are cannelured and crimped to avoid bullet setback under recoil and bullets are even custom designed for individual loads.

Ruger GP100 .327 Magnum

Ruger GP100 double-action revolvers are among the most comfortable shooting revolvers, and now they can be had in an equally comfortable to shoot .327 Magnum. Though easier on recoil, this new cartridge gives nothing up in terms of terminal performance. Chambered in .327 Mag. the GP100's rugged, medium-sized frame and cushioned grip system permit repeated firings with minimal shooter fatigue.

All GP100 revolvers boast solid steel sidewalls (no side-plates), and frame widths that are increased with extra steel in critical areas that support the barrel, making them rugged, reliable, and dependable. SIG SAUER P250 2SUM

SIG SAUER, Inc. now puts the modularity of the SIG SAUER P250 into one convenient package. The P250 2SUM comes with a full-size, Nitron-finished, 9mm P250, ideal for duty, home defense, or sport and all the components to quickly convert it to the P250 9mm Subcompact, a perfect conceal carry gun.

The 2SUM brings home the unique characteristics of the P250 by providing all you need to convert a full-size gun into a subcompact model, all in one convenient package. The total cost is lower than the price of two single guns from many other gun manufacturers.

The P250, with its serialized modular frame and fire control assembly, allows the user to change caliber, grip, trigger, and slide length at will. Changing out your 2SUM 9mm to any of the other calibers offered by SIG SAUER, is as easy as purchasing a P250 Caliber X-Change Kit.

The 2SUM includes the P250 full-size with polymer grip, nitron- finished stainless slide with SIGLITE night sights, an integrated accessory rail in double-action only and one full size magazine. The 2SUM also includes a P250 Subcompact snag-free polymer grip, nitron- finished stainless slide with SIGLITE night sights, barrel and one subcompact magazine.

Springfield XDM 3.8

A compact powerhouse was introduced by Springfield Armory this year. The XDM 3.8 has a 3.8-inch steel barrel with a fully supported ramp. Overall length is 7 inches, and height is only 5.6 inches while maintaining an impressive magazine capacity of 19 rounds of 9mm. It weighs in at 27.5 ounces thanks to its lightweight polymer frame and can be had in all black, or as a bi-tone with black grip frame and stainless steel slide.

Taurus Polymer Protector

The Protector Polymer in .38 Special +P blends a unique design with modern updates that weighs in at a scant 18.2 ounces. This smart little number draws quickly with a fully shrouded zero-profile hammer and features a classically inspired polymer grip that offers the look of wood but the purchase and durability of polymer. This 5-shot revolver is DA/SA as the fully shrouded “Zero-Profile” hammer can be manually cocked or decocked in a single action operation when needed.Winchester

Collectors take note-- in 2010, Winchester Ammunition will pay tribute to Oliver Winchester’s 200th birthday by introducing the new Oliver F. Winchester commemorative line in .22 Long Rifle, .45 Colt and .30-30 Win. A limited edition Model 1894 centerfire rifle will be introduced in 2010 in honor of the Winchester name as well.

The Oliver F. Winchester limited edition cartridges feature nickel-plated shell casings bearing a special “OFW” head stamp. All of the offerings come in collectable vintage packaging and a biography of the man who helped “Win the West.”

The .22 Long Rife is loaded with a 40 grain plated lead round nose, the .45 Colt cartridge with a 250 grain lead round nose and the .30-30 Win. with a 150 grain Power Point. “We should all appreciate the path that Oliver Winchester created for not only our company but the shooting sports industry,” said Dick Hammett, president of Winchester Ammunition. “Oliver Winchester was a pioneer and he left a legacy that we are proud to uphold. Without a doubt he’s one of the most famous names in the shooting sports industry and it’s only fitting that we pay tribute to his success during the year of his 200th birthday.”

Dan Wesson Valor

Dan Wesson been listening to its customers and this gun is the realization of all of their desires in a full sized, defensive style 1911. This gun is claimed to have everything you need and nothing you don't.

The Valor is a base stainless 1911 with a new "Duty" coat matte black coating. This coating is a ceramic base coating that has set the standard for all coating tests. No polymer based coating can compare.

Other features include forged frame with 25 LPI checkering and undercut trigger guard, adjustable defensive night sites, and Slim line VZ grips as well as all the other premium small parts you have come to expect from Dan Wesson.

Fiocchi 7mm Penna

Billed by Fiocchi as an absolute novelty, this new caliber designed in Italy with IPSC in mind will make its debut on the US market chambered on a new series of handguns made by STI. The 7 mm Penna will be loaded with either a Hornady XTP bullet or a FMJ bullet. Bullet weight and velocity were not available at press time. Hornady Lock-N-Load Sonic Cleaner

Hornady has taken cartridge case cleaning to the next level with the new Lock-N-Load Sonic Cleaner. A combination of intense ultrasonic cleaning action and a unique cleaning solution, One Shot Sonic Clean, provide an extremely effective and efficient method to remove carbon residue and other foreign materials from the entire case. Unlike tumblers, this sonic cleaner quickly cleans the inside of the case as well as primer pockets. The ultrasonic action creates microjets that blast carbon buildup off cases, small gun parts and equipment. The Lock-N-Load Sonic Cleaner can hold up to two hundred .223 Rem. cases or one hundred .308 Win. cases.

Leupold DeltaPoint

The DeltaPoint reflex sight can be used with nearly any firearm, from handguns to shotguns to AR-style rifles. Its applications range from plinking to hunting to competitive shooting, as well as home defense, law enforcement and military. Key features that make DeltaPoint a truly unique high-performance shooting optic include an innovative aspheric lens, motion activation, auto-brightness sensor, locking elevation and windage adjustment system, and an ultralight rugged magnesium housing. Two reticle options are available: 7.5 MOA Delta and 3.5 MOA Dot. Two screws lock in windage and elevation adjustments, preventing the reticle from wandering under heavy recoil or extended shooting periods. A generous 120-MOA of adjustment range for both windage and elevation makes zero easy to change and maintain, allowing the shooter to dial in the target with precise accuracy. Adjustment markings are ¼-inch MOA.It comes in a kit which includes numerous mounting options, saving the additional expense of purchasing separate mounts that may cost hundreds of dollars more.

Ruger SR9c

The Ruger SR9c compact pistol weighs in at 23.4 oz. and features an overall length of 6.85", a height of 4.61", and the same slim 1.27" grip width as the full-sized SR9. It comes with two magazines that provide options in both capacity and grip size. The standard magazine holds 10 rounds and features a flat bottom butt plate; a finger grip extension floor plate is also included. The second magazine features a grip adapter and holds 17 rounds, instantly transforming the smaller, compact grip into a full-sized 9mm grip. The 3.50" barreled pistol features an integral accessory rail that accommodates most lights and lasers.

The SR9c compact pistol utilizes the same adjustable, high-visibility 3-Dot sight system as its full-sized predecessor, setting it apart from many compact pistols that rely on fixed sights. New serrations are located on the front portion of the slide, making it easier to both manipulate the slide and to press check the chamber. The SR9c is available with a

glass-filled nylon frame and through-hardened slide in either a brushed stainless or blackened finish. State compliant variations are available where necessary and ship with two 10-round magazines.

Just like the original, full-sized SR9, the SR9c is loaded with modern safety features like a 1911-style ambidextrous manual safety, internal trigger bar interlock and striker blocker, trigger safety, magazine disconnect, plus a visual and tactile loaded chamber indicator.

Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 38

Weighing in at 14.3 ounces, the Bodyguard 38 features a one-piece aluminum alloy upper frame along with a steel reinforced polymer lower frame. The barrel and cylinder on the revolver are both stainless steel. The stainless steel cylinder is coated with a very durable, non-reflective, matte black PVD finish for long term carrying and low light presentation. Designed to accommodate both left and right-handed shooters, the revolver features an easily manipulated ambidextrous cylinder release on the top of the frame. The revolver is further enhanced with an ergonomic one-piece rubber grip and a smooth trigger pull.

On the right side of the frame, the revolver has been fitted with an integral INSIGHT laser, allowing precise shot placement in low light conditions. For target acquisition without the use of the laser, the revolver sports a notch-style rear sight and a pinned black blade front sight. The Bodyguard 38, with its double-action only design, can be easily concealed for discreet carry.

At the core of the new Bodyguard line of firearms is the capability of the INSIGHT laser. Allowing for optimal accuracy, the Bodyguard 38 is fitted with a red laser sight produced in conjunction with Insight Technology. A world leader in the design, development and manufacture of tactical lasers, Insight Technology designed the integrated laser system to perfectly mate with the new revolver. Accurate, durable and easily adjusted, the integral laser provides shooters with added confidence by enabling quick sight acquisition under low light conditions.

Speer DeepCurl Handgun Hunting Component Bullets

Speer Bullets brings everyday handloading hunters and shooters reliable bullets that can be trusted in the field. This year Speer rolls out DeepCurl--its newest line of hunting bullets that replaces the Gold Dot Handgun Hunting line. These bullets feature the same bonding process Speer has always used resulting in excellent toughness and zero run-out in jacket walls. A dimpled base makes for a uniform bullet heel, and performed petals provide reliable and controlled expansion. Currently .357 140-grain hollow-point and 158-grain soft-points are offered.

Taurus 822 .22 LR Conversion Kit

Quickly and easily change any 800 Series Taurus pistol to fire the .22 LR round with this conversion kit. Simply change out the slide, insert the new magazine and you’ll be able to fire this popular and affordable round. Perfect for target practice or plinking without busting your budget on ammo.

Taurus Public Defender Polymer

Also new from Taurus is the revolutionary new Public Defender Polymer. This scaled-down model of everyone’s favorite combo gun, the Taurus Judge, still gives you the

ability to fire your choice of ammunition—now in a size that fits in most pockets—also in a lighter, polymer body frame with new updates for improved handling and accuracy. Truly amazing! Just like its big brother, this little gun delivers amazing versatility and devastating firepower for self-protection. Features include a high-visibility fiber optic front and adjustable rear sight, 5-shot stainless or alloy steel cylinder chambered for 2 1/2-inch .410 shotshells or .45 Colt interchangeably and Taurus exclusive Ribber grip.

Traditions Vortek Pistol

The all new Vortek break open .50-caliber muzzleloading pistol will add a new dimension of shooting for the blackpowder enthusiast. Utilizing key features incorporated into the Vortek rifle platform, the heart and soul to the Vortek Pistol is the award winning and patent pending Accelerator Breech Plug. Utilizing the Accelerator quick release breech plug system, the Vortek pistol eliminates the need for those cumbersome breech plug removal wrenches. Three quick turns and the breech plug can be removed with your fingertips!

CZ P-07 Duty

The CZ P-07 Duty is the next generation of the CZ handgun family. The compact size Duty features the ergonomics and accuracy of the CZ 75 with a totally new trigger system. The new Omega trigger system simplifies the CZ 75 trigger system, uses fewer parts and improves the trigger pull. In addition, it allows users to choose between using the handgun with a decocking lever (installed) or a manual safety (included) by a simple parts change. The polymer frame design of the Duty and a new sleek slide profile (fully machined from bar stock) reduce weight, making the P-07 Duty a great choice for concealed carry. Capacity is 12+1 in .40 S&W, and 16 +1 in 9mm.

FNH FNP-45 Tactical

Originally developed for the U.S. Joint Combat Pistol Program and intended for field operations, the FNP-45 Tactical offers the standard FNP-45 ACP performance plus a host of unique features.

The 5.3" stainless steel barrel has a threaded muzzle to accept a sound suppressor or compensator. The new FDE stainless steel slide is fitted with high-profile combat night sights and includes two mounting bases to accept an optional red dot electronic sight. Each FNP-45 Tactical comes with three 15-round magazines and an exclusive Eagle tactical soft case.

Leupold VX and FX-II Handgun Scopes

Leupold now offers its variable power VX-3 2.5-8x32mm and fixed power FX-II 2x20mm handgun scopes in a matte black finish preferred by many hunters concerned with maintaining concealment in the field.

Both scope models have undergone extensive testing by Leupold to ensure they can handle the crushing recoil of even the hardest-kicking handguns. Each offers features such as extended, non-critical eye relief; a generous eyebox; the popular Duplex reticle; and bright, clear optics to help hunters and shooters acquire targets quickly and shoot accurately.

With its versatile magnification range, the VX-3 2.5-8x32mm is a good match for virtually any handgun. The scope features Leupold’s Xtended Twilight Lens System. This system uses index matched glass with proprietary lens coatings that rebalance blue and purple wavelengths to provide hunters with an even brighter, sharper image in low-light conditions. To further enhance optical performance, blackened lens edges reduce light diffusion, cutting glare and improving image resolution and contrast. The DiamondCoat 2 ion-assist external lens coating delivers superior light transmission while supplying the highest level of abrasion/scratch resistance offered by Leupold.Other features of the VX-3 model include cryogenically treated, high-strength aluminum adjustment dials and Leupold’s most durable twin spring erector system. Second

generation Argon/Krypton waterproofing – Leupold’s exclusive internal gas blend – provides the ultimate in thermal shock resistance, keeping the riflescope fog proof as well as waterproof. A super fast-focus eyepiece comes with a removable rubber eyeguard.

The FX-II 2x20mm model utilizes Leupold’s Multicoat 4 lens system for optimizing image brightness, clarity and contrast. The scope has a lockable, fast-focus eyepiece--the eyepiece can be securely locked after the reticle focus is set, so the shooter can instantly be “dialed in” on the target. This is particularly important for handgun scopes that must sustain the sharp recoil of modern handguns. In addition, a tactile power indicator allows the shooter to easily tell the scope’s magnification setting with just a touch, without taking his or her eye from the eyepiece. The FX-II is also waterproof and fog proof.

VX-3 and FX-II handgun scopes have a one-inch maintube. For precision tuning of windage and elevation, the VX-3 model has 1/4-MOA finger click adjustments while the FX-II model offers 1/2-MOA coin click adjustments.

Ruger New Model Blackhawk .327 Mag.

Ruger showed a New Model Blackhawk chambered in .327 Magnum. This stainless steel single-action revolver has all the classic lines, classic feel and modern features the New Model Blackhawk line is known for. It retains the solid frame, feel and comfortable grip of classic single-actions, and feature Ruger’s patented transfer bar ignition system with loading gate interlock, an all-coil spring mechanism, adjustable sights, and frame-mounted firing pin.

SIG E2

SIG SAUER introduced the E2 Enhanced Ergonomics versions of its benchmark P226 & P229 series of pistols. The SIG SAUER E2 models provide improved handling for a wider range of shooters than ever before in two of the most popular SIG handgun platforms.

The E2 Enhanced Ergonomics P226 & P229 build on the successful components of the P226 & P229. The newly designed one-piece modular grip with improved texture reduces area in the back strap and overall circumference, providing a better fit over a wider range of hand sizes. The modular grip snaps securely in place eliminating the need for grip screws. A lanyard loop is standard. E2 models feature the innovative Short Reset Trigger (SRT) system providing a 60% reduction in trigger reset.

E2 models also include a reduced reach trigger, providing an even better fit for shooters with smaller hands. A redesigned decocking lever can be combined with an optional ergonomic slide catch lever for a reduced profile; ideal for high two-hand grip techniques. Both models feature a frame machined from 7075-T6 aircraft grade aluminum with a black hard coat anodize finish, and integral accessory rail for tactical accessories.

Slides are machined from a stainless steel billet and coated with a proprietary Nitron finish for long lasting durability and corrosion resistance. The E2 version of the P229 adds even more features. Updated slide design replicates the classic look and feel of the P226 and P228 with a robust new external extractor that enhances reliability and durability. A new magazine design increases 9mm capacity to 15-rounds in a flush-fit profile – that’s two more rounds more than the standard P229, and the same capacity as the P226. Steiner Predator C5

Whether you’re glassing Africa’s savannas, tracking a buck across the Plains, clambering around barren mountainsides or trekking across the sparse deserts of the Southwest, these Predators have the power to tackle distances and bring your quarry into sharp focus. Steiner’s years in the field, and precision engineering have created an outstanding binocular in 10x56 or 8x56 sizes. The large 56mm objective lenses and special coatings on both C5s offer the superior brightness and contrast needed to separate birds and game from their surroundings, no matter how well they blend in. Taurus 800 Compact

Little brother of the 800 Series, these new pistols were born to perform. They give everything you could want in a 3.5" barrel semi-auto—-the best in features, handling, speed and reliability. If you’re looking for performance in a smaller size, the 800 Compacts are worth a look. Features include an ambidextrous magazine release, "Strike Two" trigger, external hammer and aggressive checkering. Available in 9mm, .357 SIG or .40 S&W.

Birchwood Casey Dirty Bird Silhouette III Targets

New Dirty Bird Silhouette III targets from Birchwood Casey offer shooters a challenging and realistic training aid. The hostage scenario style targets are great for military and law enforcement training. The multi-colored Dirty Bird targets are designed with a coating that flakes off upon bullet impact to reveal chartreuse, designating a good hit, or white, indicating a poor hit.

The targets are constructed of a durable, flexible plastic with a non-adhesive back that allows shooters to affix them to a variety of surfaces. They are easy to write notes on and can be taken down and saved for future reference.

Dirty Bird Silhouette III targets measure 12"x18" and come in packs of 8, 100 or 500. Chiappa 1911-22

InterMedia editors first viewed the 1911-22 last fall at its Editor's Roundtable. This is a dedicated .22 Long Rifle pistol and not a conversion of an existing 1911. Both slide and frame are zinc alloy with a steel liner for added strength.

CZ 75 SP01 Shadow Target

The CZ 75 Shadow Target is a competition ready IPSC Production Division pistol. Starting with a trigger job by world champion Angus Hobdell’s CZ Custom Shop, this version of the SP-01 Shadow gets the competition treatment including a TRT rear sight, cocobolo grips, competition springs, and a CZ Custom stainless guide rod. 2010 Hodgdon Annual Manual

Now in its 7th year, the Hodgdon Annual Manual is so much more than any ordinary reloading manual, it features well in excess of 5,000 rifle and pistol loads, information on 56 Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester powders, 44 cartridge updates, brand new data for the 6.5 Grendel and 6.5 Creedmore, propellant burn rate and usage charts, thought provoking articles by top gun writers such as Layne Simpson and Jim Carmichel and additional topics too numerous to mention.

Many of the articles in the 2010 Hodgdon Annual Manual spotlight the spectacular new varmint, match powder, IMR 8208 XBR. There’s no target too small for IMR 8208 XBR.

Extensive reloading information is included in this manual with popular cartridges such as the 17 Remington, 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 6PPC, 308 Winchester, 338 Federal and much more.

New Taurus Slim

Now the popular Taurus SLIM series comes in .380 ACP and .40 cal. for even more carry options. This dynamic semi-auto gives nothing away under the lightest T-shirts or polos with its remarkably lean, lightweight design—but it still steps up with big firepower, remarkable features and top-end performance. Those features include a loaded chamber indicator, "Strike Two" trigger system, trigger safety and manual safety and a short, crisp DA/SA trigger pull.

Taurus Raging Judge

If you thought the Taurus Judge line couldn’t get any bigger, you have to see this. The new Raging Judge Magnum shoots the .454 Casull round in addition to delivering the same popular .45 Colt/.410-Bore combo revolver of the original Judge models, and packs a giant 6-round cylinder. Besides added capacity, the Raging Judge features the famous red “Raging Bull” backstrap for added cushioning and will be available in either 3-inch or 6-inch barrels.

Zeiss Victory Compact Point Red Dot Reflex Sight

The Compact Point’s lens element, which is approximately 25% larger than the average reflex sight, provides a wide field of view, allowing for fast and accurate alignment on the target with both eyes open. And the image is crisp, clear and reflection-free thanks to the high-quality Zeiss optics and LotuTec coating. The Compact Point’s lens element, which is approximately 25% larger than the average reflex sight, provides a wide field of view, allowing for fast and accurate alignment on the target with both eyes open.

The function button, located on the front of the Compact Point, turns the illumination on and off, and also controls the intensity level of the red dot that has minimal subtension of 3.60 inches at 100 yards (3.5 MOA). Once activated, the brightness of the illuminated dot is changed one increment each time the button is pressed. There are five brightness levels and when the maximum intensity is reached, the intensity then begins to decrease each time the button is pressed. Pressing and holding the button turns the device on and off, and the Compact Point will automatically shut off after four hours of continuous operation if the function button has not been touched. Once reactivated, the most recently selected illumination intensity is recalled.

The Compact Point is waterproof and runs on two Lithium 3 V batteries. If batteries need to be replaced, this can be done quickly and easily without removing the sight from the firearm. The Compact Point also comes with a special multi-function key for vertical and horizontal adjustments, which allows precise zeroing of the sight. To ensure maximum recoil resistance, the sight features a locking mechanism for the set zero position.

Kimber’s DigestA handy guide to the extensive lineup of 1911s offered by one leading maker.

A bomb-proof design, with rugged parts and a grip and balance that made it a natural extension of the hand, ensured the initial success of John Browning’s 1911 pistol. Its longevity derives from something less tangible. Call it a gunny appearance, military heritage or the eerie conviction you get when you heft it that this is the way all pistols should feel. Custom shops have exploited the design for decades, turning out 1911s that offer not only the reliability of Browning’s first pistol but greater accuracy, smoother function and stunning good looks.

Similarly, a number of gun making companies have entered the high-end 1911 market over the years, but Les Edelman didn’t buy Kimber to produce pistols. The company, founded by Jack Warne and his son Greg, manufactured carriage-class .22 rifles and, later, centerfire rifles in western Oregon.

In 2008 Kimber teamed with Crimson Trace to offer the Crimson Carry, with laser-grip sighting.

Kimber’s fortunes faded during the 1980s. The Warnes were forced to sell the firm to an Oregon lumberman, who in turn went bankrupt—leaving Jack and Greg Warne with use of the Kimber name.

Three years later Greg assembled the machinery for a comeback, and Edelman, then president of a major sporting goods wholesaler, bought controlling interest, adding Daewoo firearms and an assembly line to sporterize M96 and M98 Mauser rifles.

Then, at the 1995 SHOT Show, he tested the pistol market with a nicely appointed 1911. Speed-shooting champ Chip McCormick endorsed it. Lukewarm dealer response didn’t deter Edelman, who bought a factory in Yonkers, New York, committing to a run of 5,000 pistols. His projection proved conservative; in no time, Kimber was shipping eight times that many pistols annually. Initial demand was so strong that many sold for more than the $550 list price.

And the demand is still there. “In 2009 we’ll sell as many 1911s as we can make,” a Kimber rep told me earlier this year. “Many will go to people who own other Kimbers. The question for us is: What can we offer that hasn’t been offered before? How can we enhance a timeless design without changing it?”

Edelman has hewed to strict quality standards to produce handguns that have distinctive looks but are predictably reliable, accurate and finely finished.

The formula has worked spectacularly for Kimber, whose pistols cost more than basic 1911s but a lot less than full-custom guns. The company’s designers have deftly detailed the pistol to create seductive new cosmetic effects. Whatever your tastes, you’ll find what you want in a Kimber. If you’re a late-comer to the line, you may also find the selection overwhelming.

While space won’t allow detailed descriptions of every Kimber pistol, here’s a synopsis of the dozens that have appeared in the last decade.

The Eclipse Ultra II is a stainless 1911 with polished flats and blackened detail, and it’s murder on steel plates.

By 1997, Kimber had allocated six full pages of its catalog to 1911s. At that time there were six Classic .45s, all full-size. The Gold Match and a 13-shot polymer-frame pistol with stainless steel insert were new. Kimber offered carbon and stainless slides, plus an all-stainless gun. Grips, sights and finish helped define the models. Slides, barrels and steel frames were machined forgings. The trigger group, thumb and grip safeties, ejector and extractor were “match-grade McCormicks.”

In 1998 the number of Kimber catalog pages committed to 1911s doubled. A new Compact series featured four-inch barrels and a grip .40 inch shorter than standard. Magazine capacity: seven. At 34 ounces, steel-frame compacts weighed the same as full-size polymer guns—four ounces less than steel five-inch pistols.

You could trim another six ounces with an alloy-frame compact. The very hard 7075-T6 alloy, machined from bar stock, carried a bull barrel fitted “directly to the slide with positive full ring contact.” Front-end weight kept lift to a minimum and “the slide in battery as long as possible, increasing accuracy.” The Compact featured a single recoil spring, beveled slide serrations and magazine well, and low-profile sights. Kimber’s Custom Shop could add other refinements. The line boasted 15 models in all, including a Custom Target version.In 1999, the 1911 roster comprised 35 models, including 12 in .40 S&W. You could special-order pistols in 9mm. Ramped barrels ensured positive feeding.

The new Ultra Carry weighed only 25 ounces. Its polymer frame carried a three-inch barrel—short by any standard for a pistol on the Browning design. But it claimed the longest cycle time of any three-inch 1911and functioned reliably. It had double springs and a “ball joint spherical cone” in place of the barrel bushing.

Over the years, Kimber has ventured into many 1911 projects. This stainless gun is in .17 Mach 2.

Kimber combined the four-inch barrel of its Compact pistols with a full-size alloy frame to produce the 28-ounce Pro Carry, in .40 and .45. The High Capacity Polymer line was extended to include a four-inch version and sub-.45 chamberings that put magazine capacity as high as 18.

Single-stack models got alloy triggers and hex grip screws. Stainless bushings became standard. For the first time, the Custom Shop listed four guns as catalog items: the Combat Carry, Gold Combat (and Stainless) and Super Match.

By 2000 Kimber had become the “world’s largest manufacturer of 1911 pistols.” That year it came out with a full-size Classic with alloy frame, a 31-ounce .45 with Carry bevel treatment, Meprolight sights and a checkered front strap.

The new Pro Carry HD wore a four-inch bull barrel and a stainless slide like the Stainless Pro Carry but also a stainless frame. Big news for Kimber was a firing pin safety, planned for all Classic pistols. This safety system employed the movement of the grip safety to override an internal block, so trigger pull was not affected, and the new device didn’t alter a gun’s appearance. Kimber cataloged each 1911 so equipped with a “II” suffix and changed the slide stamp accordingly.

The lightest Kimber listed, the 24-ounce Ultra Ten II, came with a stainless Ultra Carry slide on a short polymer frame incorporating an alloy insert and a 10-shot magazine. By this time, magazines in full-size polymer frames held as many as 14 .45 ACP rounds.

2010 Handguns Annual

Guns & Ammo's 2010 Annual Handgun Buyer's Guide is full of specs and prices on 100s of pistols and revolvers. It's also packed full of handgun articles such as this one on Kimber. To get the most up to date information on handguns and handgun ballistics, pick up a copy of the 2010 Annual Handguns Buyer's Guide today at a newsstand near you. In 2001, Kimber introduced one of its most striking cosmetic treatments, finishing stainless slides and frames with a black oxide, then buffing the flats bright. Laminated gray-and-cream grips completed the pistols. Cataloged as the Eclipse series, it comprised an Ultra II (small frame, three-inch), Pro Target II and Pro II (full-size frame, four-inch) and Target II and Custom II (full-size frame, five-inch).

Super Match II pistols, in stainless steel, got a KimPro black matte slide finish, to contrast with a satin-beaded frame. Kimber put its reputation for accuracy on the line with a guarantee of one-inch 25-yard groups for the Super Match II.

The Custom Defense Package or CDP II pistols arrived, courtesy the Custom Shop, in 2002. They featured brushed stainless slides with satin-black-anodized alloy frames checkered 30 lines per inch on the frontstrap. A “premium aluminum trigger” was standard, so too was full bevel treatment on edges. Checkered rosewood grips and a flat, checkered mainspring housing complemented a high-ride beavertail grip safety and ambidextrous thumb safety. CDPs were available in all three frame/barrel combinations—as was the Ten II High Capacity line, with stainless slide and polymer frame with insert.

In 2003 Kimber announced a rimfire conversion kit for its 1911s in both matte and silver, Custom and Target versions (for single-stack, full-frame versions only). It also listed complete .22 rimfire pistols.

A new Tactical series married 7075-T7 frames with blued carbon-steel slides and checkered, laminated grips straddling a checkered strap. The premium aluminum trigger came standard on these guns, as did a loaded chamber indicator port and three-dot Meprolight night sights with tritium inserts.

A new external Tactical Extractor became a signal feature on the 10-shot Ten II. By this time, the Kimber pistol line numbered 57 models, including the Custom TLE II built in the image of Kimbers adopted by LAPD’s SWAT team. The Team Match II was a likeness of Kimbers used by the USA Shooting rapid-fire pistol team preparing for the

2004 Olympics. The company has since donated $100 from the sale of each of these pistols to the U.S. team—nearly $700,000 to date.

Rimfire shooting affords quiet, inexpensive practice, and Kimber offers several rimfire 1911s.

The company’s extensive lineup includes small-frame guns such as the Ultra Covert II.

In 2003 Kimber began replacing the internal extractor on all .45s with the shorter, beefier external version. All were eventually so equipped. Then, in 2006, the Yonkers factory returned to the internal hook and has since kept faith with John Browning’s original design.The external claw is stout. Some shooters point out that if you drop a round into the chamber, then let the slide slam, the lighter, longer internal claw stands a greater chance of damage. But that’s not the way to load a 1911; besides, there’s little evidence to indict the original. Browning designed it to be repairable on the battlefield. If the internal extractor failed, any doughboy could bend it and get the pistol back in service. While

shooters are split on this issue, those preferring Browning’s hook have won out at Kimber.

The last five years have sped by. Kimber has added to its centerfire rifle line, dropped its rimfires and high-end imported shotguns. Its 1911 stable continues to grow. I’ve shot many Kimbers and have yet to find one I didn’t like.

But every 1911 enthusiast has favorites. I favor checkered hardwood grips and neatly checkered straps. A long grip fits my hand better than an abbreviated version. Two-tone steel may remind some of 1950s-era sedans, but I like Kimber’s renditions.

While the heft and balance of steel-frame guns appeal to me, I’d choose a Pro Carry if I wore a pistol every day. Last year Kimber made alloy frames even more attractive by attaching a Crimson Trace laser sight to specific models.

A Crimson Trace laser is, in my view, your best option for low-light shooting. Unlike rail-mounted units, it won’t affect balance or slow deployment. I expect the Crimson Carry pistols will sell briskly, as Kimber has priced each well below the combined retail costs of the gun and sight.

Other popular Kimbers include the 10mm Eclipse II, introduced in 2004. The Warrior appeared in 2004 as well, faithful to a Kimber adopted by the Marine Expeditionary Unit. This carbon-steel pistol has a Pictinny rail and a bumped grip safety, plus a lanyard loop—but no firing pin block.

Kimber didn't shy away from the demands from the target shooting market with introductions such as the Gold Match.

The Desert Warrior, in dark earth finish, followed. In 2007 the .40 S&W found a new home in the KPD, a 12-shot, 25-ounce 1911 with a light rail and interchangeable backstraps on a reinforced polymer frame. That year, Covert models with three-, four-, and five-inch barrels showed up in tan digital camo.

Tactical and military-style 1911s are hugely popular for Kimber, so the strong demand for SIS pistols surprised no one. LAPD’s Special Investigation Section then asked for a pistol. Kimber complied last year with four stainless models wearing gray KimPro II finish and stippled grips. They also feature night sights, a cocking shoulder, an ambidextrous safety and a lightweight hammer. One of the two five-inch versions wears a Picatinny rail, the three-inch a rounded butt.

Among the 79 (count ’em.) 1911s in Kimber’s 2009 catalog, you’ll find a Team Match II in 9mm. The Stainless Ultra Raptor has an alloy frame, the Stainless Pro Raptor a stainless frame. Both come from the Custom Shop with night sights, ambidextrous safety and zebra-wood grips.

The Tactical Entry II and Tactical Custom HD both have carbon-steel slides and stainless frames with checkered frontstraps, night sights, ambidextrous safeties, extended magazine wells.

In sum, if you can imagine it as part of a 1911, Kimber has considered it. If it’s useful, attractive and doesn’t compromise balance or function, chances are you’ll find it on a Kimber.

A Clean RecordIgnore gun-maintenance advice at your own peril.

It is not an understatement to say that in the study of armed self defense, almost all time and effort is devoted to the practice and study of the "how" and "with what." Seemingly endless drills are done, drawing and firing from various states of readiness and body positions.

When not doing this, then folks are busy evaluating the tools--firearms in particular--with which to successfully engage the "threat." I doubt that anyone has been immune from reading multiple articles with titles such as "Revolver versus Semi-Auto" and "9mm versus .45" and, of course, handgun reviews.

Also, in the last few decades we have quasi-legal works discussing both the real and hypothetical consequences of the use of deadly force. All these are well worth reading if for no other reason than to motivate you to think about the subject matter.

But one area often overlooked or one that is mentioned only in passing is one basic step which helps to ensure, as much as humanly and mechanically possible, that your self-defense arm works on demand. This step is to clean your handgun each time you shoot it and also to periodically clean, re-lubricate and change out ammunition if the gun is not fired for long periods of time.

A dirty gun does not, in my opinion, work as well as a properly cleaned and lubricated gun. Coming from an era of corrosive primers, aided by military training and abetted by

my passion for all things "gun," I like to--and am almost compelled to--clean my guns after I shoot them. I also inspect my carry gun frequently and periodically clean those such as home-defense guns that are in fixed locations.

Over time, I've observed how this need to clean and inspect self-defense arms has waned among the general gun folks for some simple reasons. Ammunition is almost always non-corrosive these days (except for some currently imported military surplus) and quality self-defense ammo has case neck and primer sealant that is resistant (but not impervious) to water and lubricants.

Modern handguns are, by and large, well-constructed tools, and those made for self-defense are quite reliable, if not extraordinarily so, under very adverse conditions. Back in 1911 when the 1911 pistol was tested, 6,000 rounds was the reliability benchmark (which it passed). Now, a 20,000-round service life test is not out of the ordinary for military and law-enforcement acceptance.

Indeed, I know of a Glock Model 17 in 9x19mm that fired 350,000 rounds as an ammunition test pistol before being replaced. (Noteworthy: There was no information as to if or how often the gun was serviced.) Such tests done by gun makers have, of course, found their way into many a marketing and advertising campaign.

The unintended consequence of all this is creating a perception that modern handguns need little or no servicing--and therefore they get none. I've found this expressed time and again in comments made by otherwise pretty sharp gun handlers who say something to the effect of how long they have shot their Brand X gun without cleaning. One fellow told me how his 1911 would run only 500 rounds before malfunctioning, while his polymer and steel gun would go 2,000 rounds.

In fact, on more than one occasion while examining someone's gun for malfunctions, I've found screws loose or missing (on revolvers), parts gone or dislodged (right and left ambidextrous thumb safeties on a 1911), or caked-up extractors (semiautos generally) and dirty magazines to be the rule, not the exception.

Revolvers don't work well with missing screws, as a friend of mine discovered to his chagrin. While shooting an IDPA match with his Smith & Wesson Model 10, he went to reload and the cylinder and crane fell out of the frame. Why? Because the crane screw had loosened and fallen out. (Thoroughly cleaning the gun would have uncovered this before it became a problem, of course.)

I've also been told repeatedly how an individual's gun runs better "dirty." Funny, I wonder why this is not pointed out in any instruction manual, nor has any gun company taken advantage of this wisdom by shipping a gun all gunked up as a bonus incentive for the discerning customer.

As to the proper cleaning and lubricating, the accompanying instruction manual will often spell out just where the gun should be lubricated and where not. For example, the Glock pistol has a drain hole along the side of the cartridge pick-up rail that is not an oil

fitting. Striker-fired guns must have their striker channel clean and dry, with no oil in them; otherwise gunk can and does retard the striker blow on the cartridge primer.

The "innards" of a revolver are close fitting, and too much oil, plus powder or pocket lint, can literally combine to gum up the action. A revolver can be loaded and the cylinder closed with threads or unburned powder beneath its extractor star, but it will either not cycle or will hard-cycle when the trigger is pulled.

In essence, the mark of a genuinely competent gun handler is not fancy grips on the most expensive handgun, nor an exotic belt and holster in which it rides. No, a well-maintained, clean and properly lubed handgun is the true badge of someone serious about personal self-defense.

Expert TestimonyThe author extols the virtues of Para USA's newest 1911, the GI Expert.

The Para GI Expert is a full-size, all-steel gun that offers some pretty high-end features at a very economical price.

In the early 1980s, we were not in some golden age of gunsmithing or IPSC shooting--we were struggling with the surplus 1911s that were available. They were often well worn, and almost all of them were in need of improvements to be suitable for "combat" shooting.

Going to a Colt was little help. I won a brand-new Colt in 1981, and it wouldn't work at all without a whole lot of gunsmithing. However, that turned out to be a good thing, as I did a lot of the work myself and ended up on the path that led me here.

Fast-forward to 2009, and the woods are full of 1911s, built by companies from one end of the globe to another. From basic to tricked-out, you can get a 1911 pretty much any way you want. So why get excited about this new Para? I mean, its "just another GI gun" right?

Wrong. To put it bluntly, had Para USA been up and running in 1981 and offered this pistol, it would have put Colt out of business. For a "basic" gun, it has everything the

aspiring combat shooter ca. 1981 could have wanted--and pretty much everything you need today.

First, it is an all-steel, single-stack Government model in .45 ACP. Up top, it has fixed three-dot sights that are large enough to be seen but small enough to be concealable. If you are not partial to white-filled three-dot sights, they are easy enough to blacken.The ejection port is lowered and sculpted, something shooters paid a lot of money for back in the old days (and, I might add, paid for two or three times occasionally, as not all gunsmiths back then knew what they were doing).

The thumb safety is also large enough to be useful and compact enough to be comfortable. In fact, it is pretty much the contour of the Colt Series 70 safety that we all found entirely acceptable back then. It wasn't until later that we all "had" to have the bigger safeties, but truth be told the Series 70 is plenty big enough. Unless you have thumbs like an orangutan, the thumb safety will be perfect for you.

The trigger pull is as clean as a good gunsmith back then could make a trigger pull. Today, some gunsmiths can do a lot better, but for a carry or beginner's gun, you don't want a super-light competition trigger pull. You want something light enough, crisp and clean. Which is what the GI Expert delivers.

As part of that trigger pull, this new Para uses a lightened aluminum trigger of medium length and a Commander-style hammer--another aspect of the good old days now-forgotten. We used to toss the old GI hammers (many of them "tuned" to a "combat" trigger pull of six to seven pounds) and put in a Commander hammer as a replacement. To make it clear the grip safety when cycling we'd sculpt the top surface of the tang so the Commander hammer's rowel would clear. That is what Para has done here. So you have a crisp, clean trigger pull, a Commander hammer and less bulk in the grip safety. Again, a basic pistol set up very well for concealed carry.

As it takes standard single-stack 1911 magazines, you have your choice from the vast panoply of aftermarket mags or you can use the Para USA mags, which hold eight rounds each. That, too, is a big improvement as we used to have to depend on either crappy USGI mags or expensive and crappy Colts.

ACCURACY RESULTS | Para USA GI Expert

.45 ACP Bullet Weight (gr.) Muzzle Velocity (fps) Standard Deviation Avg. Group (in.)

Fiocchi XTP 230 848 25.7 2.0

Black Hills Blue JHP 185 971 34.1 3.0

Cor-bon FMJ 230 732 10.3 2.0

HornadyTAP + P 200 940 11.7 2.0

Speer Gold Dot HP 230 826 4.0 2.5

Remington Golden Saber JHP 230 750 14.3 3.0

Magtech SCHP + P 165 1,040 28.7 3.0

Notes: Accuracy test at 25 yards from a bench rest over sandbags, and results are average of three five-shot groups. Velocities are averages of five shots recorded on a PACT Mk IV chronograph 15 feet from the muzzle. Abbreviations: JHP, jacketed hollowpoint; FMJ, full metal jacket; HP, hollowpoint; SCHP, solid copper hollowpoint

The GI Expert’s ejection port is lowered and sculpted for reliable ejection of empties, a feature you used to have to pay extra for.

Also, the mag well of the GI Expert is beveled--an option we paid a lot of money for back then--that you get built into the gun. As part of the GI Expert specs, Para has applied the modern knowledge of feeding to the feed ramp geometry, frame and barrel. No more funky GI guns that feed only hardball; the Para GI Expert feeds it all.

The grips are black plastic, the finish is a flat black, the recoil spring is original-style, the barrel has a normal bushing, the barrel is a GI-standard ramped design, and the result is an entirely normal 1911. Looking at it, had the Army had its act together in 1985, it would not have adopted the 9mm but rather would have upgraded the 1911A1 to this and perhaps called it the 1911A2.

So why the excitement over this pistol? That was my reaction upon pulling it out of its green plastic box. The GI Expert arrived right on the heels of a slew of high-end pistols, and I had just finished checking out and shooting a bunch of 1911s--factory and custom--the least of which retailed for more than $1,500 and the custom guns stopping just shy of $4,000.

I still hadn't gotten any more excited about the Para by the time I took it to the range. I ran a swab down the bore and dry-fired it a few times--and thought, hey, that's a pretty nice trigger for a plain Jane 1911. I loaded it up, aimed at the 100-yard gong and broke the shot. I whacked the gong, which was not all that surprising, but I proceeded to do likewise with the rest of the magazine.

I tried it with all the types of ammo I had on hand. What it liked, it liked very well, and the gong suffered mightily for it. What it didn't, it wasn't too unhappy with, and I still managed a pretty good percentage of hits. A proper sight alignment and clean break just about guaranteed a "clank" from downrange. Para USA clearly went to the effort of getting this one zeroed before shipping.

To no great surprise, the company also did not skimp on the barrel when building the GI Expert. The tube is stainless and nicely fitted. There's just a bit of play in the slide-to-frame fit, and the barrel clearly locks up consistently.

It shoots a whole lot better than a cursory check of the fit might lead you to believe. Not that it is sloppy, but after handling a bunch of guns featuring hand-lapped slide-to-frame

fits, anything is going to feel a bit loose. Between the crisp trigger and the top-notch barrel, the GI delivered the goods on that first, and subsequent, range trips.

Still, it is a basic 1911, so why should you take note? Simple. If all you want is an out-of-the-box gun to serve your needs, here it is. The accuracy was amply demonstrated. As for reliability, despite the array of ammo I tried in it, it never once gave me a problem.

The trigger won't need the tender ministrations of a gunsmith, and you are not going to be chewed up by the grip safety. The thumb safety is plenty good enough, and few of you will really need something different.

That won't stop some of you from customizing the GI Expert, which is the second part of the attraction. You can spend a lot of money on a bare-bones 1911, just to get it to where this one is already. A lot of gunsmiths still make a good living tuning a trigger to be as good as this one is, tighten it to be as accurate as this one is and fuss to make it as reliable as this one is.

Start with the Para GI Expert, and you've not just started with a leg up on the path to custom-gun ownership because you've just saved all those potential costs: trigger, accuracy, reliability.

If all you do is stop with buying the GI Expert, you've saved money. If, however, you want to move on, you can put your hard-earned cash to better uses: adjustable sights if you wish, or checkering, stippling or some other nonslip grip treatment.

Swap out the plain plastic grips for something from Techwell, Ahrend, or John VanZyck of VZ Grips. With a basic gun so well-built as your starting platform, you'll get a lot more bang for your accessorizing buck than you would with something rougher.

And the best part? The price. For your $599, you're getting a lot of gun. As we all know, MSRP is a fiction that is required for modern commerce, and you're going to find the GI Expert for a lot less than "suggested retail."

Lest you think this is not a good deal, a couple of historical comparisons. I bought my first 1911A1 in 1978 for $179. The MSRP on my Colt, won as a prize for a match in 1981, was $277. Adjusted for inflation, that comes to $510 for my GI gun and $625 for the Colt in 2009 dollars.

And both of those needed work (the Colt, a lot of work) before they were even close to what the Para GI Expert gives you right out of the box. I certainly put a couple of hundred bucks into each of them, bringing the 2009 costs to more than a grand for either, compared to half that for the GI Expert. And, to restate the obvious, that makes Para USA's new 1911 one heck of a deal.

The new Para uses a lightened aluminum trigger of medium length that features a crisp, clean break. The safety is similar to that found on the Colt Series 70--compact for carry but plenty big enough to use easily. The grip safety is sculpted to clear the Commander hammer.

Bad, Badder, Baddest

The .44 Magnum was once considered the ‘most powerful handgun in the world.’ How quaint. Today’s monster mags leave it in the dust.

Once upon a time, Clint Eastwood’s Detective Sergeant Harry Callahan character pointed his S&W Model 29 at a recalcitrant felon and remarked, "This being a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world..." Well, it wasn’t--even in 1971, when "Dirty Harry" first hit the theaters. And it certainly isn’t now.

In fact, when it comes to real handgun power these days, the .44 Magnum isn’t even on the chart. Today, the threshold for true major-power magnum handguns has moved far beyond the .44 to calibers .45, .475 and .50.

Of course, the surge in biggest-bore magnum revolver popularity during recent decades does owe a great deal to Harry Callahan, both for sparking an enduring interest by shooters in owning and shooting "most powerful" handguns--and for prompting manufacturers to develop cartridges and revolvers that could rightly claim that title.

And while the genesis of all these more recent powerhouses can be traced to their developers’ search for cartridges and guns that would be effective as big game guns and bear-stoppers, the majority of sales have gone to shooters who simply seek the satisfaction of owning, shooting and mastering the most powerful handheld firearms available.

So if you’re interested in joining those ranks, here’s a quick survey of today’s biggest-bore handfuls, in order of caliber.

.454 CASULLAt the "bottom" of the current big-bore revolvers now eclipsing the .44 Magnum is the .454 Casull, developed by experimenter Dick Casull during the 1950s. Casull began experimenting with high-pressure .45 Colt handloads in the Colt Single Action Army but quickly realized that the thin chamber walls were inadequate. He developed a much

stronger five-shot cylinder and specially heat-treated frames and was able to drive a 255-grain bullet to 1,550 fps from a 7.5-inch barrel.

Realizing an even larger frame would be necessary to reach greater power, in 1957 he crafted a prototype single-action revolver that could chamber a .45 Colt-dimension case that used a Small Rifle primer and was strengthened and lengthened to 1.383 inches. It could drive 235-grain bullet over 2,000 fps or a 300-grain bullet to more than 1,700 fps.

Casull eventually partner in 1979 with Wayne Baker of Freedom Arms in Wyoming, and the FA Model 83 single-action revolver chambered in .454 Casull began shipping to dealers in 1983. Today, single-action .454 Casull revolvers are being produced by a variety of other makers such as Magnum Research Inc., and double-action .454 Casull revolvers are offered by Ruger and Taurus USA.

For many years, the .454 Casull reigned supreme as the most powerful commercially produced handgun round on the market. Revolvers so-chambered have been used by hunters to take the largest game in the world and are widely favored by outdoorsmen as a companion defense against animal attack.

.460 S&W MAGNUMIntroduced in 2005, the .460 Smith & Wesson Magnum was the second chambering to be offered for S&W’s extra-large X-frame revolver series. Like the .454 Casull, it is an even-more-lengthened and strengthened extension of the original .45 Colt case (.460 revolvers can chamber and fire both these other rounds) and operated at centerfire rifle-level cartridge pressure.

It sends a conventional 200-grain handgun bullet out the muzzle of a 7.5-inch revolver at more than twice the speed of sound, provides a maximum point blank range of 250 yards for deer hunting and develops nearly 1.5 tons of muzzle energy in its heaviest commercial loadings.

Once considered the king of handguns, the .44 Magnum (here in an S&W 629, bottom) has been far eclipsed by modern cartridges such as the .500 S&W and the monster revolvers built for them, such as this S&W X frame.

It’s the fastest, flattest-shooting big-bore revolver cartridge ever developed and carries more energy 300 yards downrange than a .44 Magnum offers at the muzzle.

Due to the weight and recoil-management features (compensated barrel and cushioned grips) of the S&W Model 460 revolver, its subjective recoil is little different than that of a conventional smaller-frame .44 Magnum revolver such as the S&W Model 29.

Ammo for the .460 S&W ammunition is commercially produced by Cor-Bon, Hornady, Winchester and Federal, as well as several other smaller specialty-load commercial ammunition makers. Production revolvers are available from S&W (double action) and Magnum Research (single action).

.475 LINEBAUGHNext up is the .475 Linebaugh, developed in 1988 by John Linebaugh primarily for hunting big game or as a backup when confronting dangerous animals. He based his invention on a .45-70 government case cut off at 1.500 inches with a reduced diameter rim and loaded with .475-inch diameter bullets weighing from 320 to 440 grains.

It was chambered originally in a modified large-frame single-action Ruger Bisley revolver fitted with a five-shot cylinder and a 5.5-inch barrel. From this revolver, Linebaugh’s 370-grain bullet load develops 1,495 fps and generates 1,840 ft.-lbs. of energy, and a 440-grain bullet load yields 1,360 fps and develops 1,800 ft.-lbs.--approximately 100 ft.-lbs. more than top .454 Casull loadings.

Commercial .475 Linebaugh ammunition is offered by Hornady and Buffalo Bore Cartridge, plus other smaller manufacturers, and five-shot single-action .475 revolvers come from Freedom Arms and Magnum Research.

The .475 Linebaugh offers superior power to the .454 in a conventional-dimension/weight handgun, while having a "softer" recoil-pressure peak due to its larger caliber diameter. It has been used with complete success on the largest African game.

.480 RUGERThe .475 caliber .480 Ruger was introduced in 2001 as a joint development by Hornady and Ruger for the Ruger Super Redhawk double-action revolver and was Ruger’s first brand-name cartridge. For all intents and purposes it is a ".475 Linebaugh Short," with a nominal 1.285-inch case length and a maximum overall loaded length of 1.650 inches.

Its case diameter, rim size and other specifications are the same as the 1.5-inch-case .475 Linebaugh, so the .480 Ruger cartridge can be fired in .475 Linebaugh revolvers.

Ruger offers the .480 in several different barrel-length versions of the Super Redhawk, including a snubnosed Alaskan version that’s proved popular among people seeking a defense against bear attack.

Ammo is available from Hornady and several other manufacturers. Hornady’s 325-grain .475 caliber XTP-Mag load offers a muzzle velocity of 1,350 fps and 1,315 ft.-lbs. of energy from a 7.5-inch revolver barrel. At 100 yards it retains more than 1,075 fps velocity and 835 ft.-lbs. of energy--19 percent less velocity and 29 percent less energy than the .454. When compared to a 300-grain .44 Magnum, the .480 Ruger has 17 percent greater muzzle velocity with nearly 50 percent more muzzle energy.

.50 ACTION EXPRESSAlthough originally developed as an auto pistol cartridge, the .50 Action Express has found a comfortable home in single-action revolvers manufactured by Freedom Arms and Magnum Research and was the first .50 caliber handgun cartridge to be commercially manufactured.

It was developed in 1988 by Evan Whildin of Action Arms and originally chambered in the Magnum Research Desert Eagle auto. Its rebated rim is the same diameter as the .44 Magnum, as is its 1.285-inch case length, which allowed existing .44 Magnum Desert Eagle pistols to be converted with only a barrel change and also allows it to be chambered in conventional-length revolver cylinders.

Ammo for the .50 AE is currently available from Speer. Its current 325-grain Uni-Core hollowpoint hunting load develops 1,450 fps muzzle velocity and 1,517 ft.-lbs. energy from a six-inch barrel, which puts it on a par with the .454 Casull and is considerably more powerful than the .480 Ruger. Its perceived recoil is also notably less sharp than the smaller-caliber/higher-pressure .454 Casull, particularly in the gas-operated Desert Eagle.

For fans of "short-case" .50 caliber handguns, its only drawback is limited commercial ammunition availability (Speer offers the aforementioned load and a 300-grain Gold Dot hollowpoint) and also limited bullet selection if you want to handload for an autoloader--although component bullets are not an issue for a revolver.

Some of the demand for guns like these Taurus revolvers—one in .454 and the other in .500 S&W—is for handy protection in bear country.

.500 LINEBAUGHThe .500 Linebaugh was the first .50 caliber revolver cartridge to achieve notable recognition and was developed by John Linebaugh at generally the same time he was working on the .475 Linebaugh. It is based on the slightly tapered .348 Winchester case, shortened to 1.410 inches and loaded with .512 caliber cast-lead bullets.

Linebaugh’s earliest .500 revolvers were built on both the now-discontinued Seville revolvers and Ruger Super Blackhawk single-actions, but all current .500s built by Linebaugh Custom Guns are on the Ruger Bisley platform. A variety of other "production custom" gunmakers also currently produce .500 Linebaughs based on the Ruger platform.

Commercial ammunition is available from Buffalo Bore, as well as smaller specialty-load suppliers. Buffalo Bore currently offers .500 Linebaugh loads in 400- through 525-grain bullet weights, in velocities from 950 fps through 1,400 fps and energies from 871 ft.-lbs. to 1,741 ft.-lbs.

With heavier loads, the subjective recoil of the .500 Linebaugh is profound, given the relatively light weight and grip configurations of the single-action revolver platforms universally used for the cartridge. It’s primarily for those who want the maximum handgun power combined with maximum portability in dangerous-game country.

.500 WYOMING EXPRESSThe newest .50 caliber magnum revolver cartridge is the .500 Wyoming Express, a proprietary load developed by Freedom Arms and introduced in 2005. It is unique in that it is a belted-case cartridge designed specifically for a revolver.

Freedom Arms needed a .50 caliber round that would fit into its existing Model 83 cylinder diameter and ratchet design, and its research demonstrated that the rim of any rimmed-case design would need to be so small that it could lead to headspacing problems. The belted .500 Wyoming Express avoids this, adds strength to the case and allows a heavy roll crimp on the bullet.

The .500 WE case uses Large Rifle primers, has a maximum case length of 1.370 inches and a maximum overall cartridge length of 1.765 inches. It uses conventional .50 caliber bullets.

Commercial ammunition is loaded by the Grizzly Cartridge Company, with cast wide flatnose gas-check bullets including a 370-grain at 1,300 fps, a 400-grain at 1,250 fps and a 440-grain at 1,200 fps. The same bullet weights are available with muzzle velocities of 950 fps with substantially less recoil. Grizzly also offers 400-grain bonded-core jacketed flatnose and 420-grain solid-bullet loads at 1,250 fps velocity.

.500 JRHThe .500 JRH revolver cartridge, designed by custom revolver builder Jack R. Huntington, was originally created specifically to allow use of a rimmed .50 caliber cartridge in the Freedom Arms Model 83 Revolver. Its case is 1.400 inches in length with

a base diameter of .526, and it launches 400- to 510-grain .50 caliber bullets at velocities comparable to the .500 Linebaugh.

The .500 JRH is basically a shortened .500 S&W Magnum case and can even be reloaded with .500 S&W Magnum dies when adjusted for the difference in case length.

Huntington Custom offers Freedom Arms and Ruger Super Blackhawk conversions for the .500 JRH, and Magnum Research currently sells .500 JRH cylinders for its .50 AE BFR revolver.

The crown for fastest and flattest-shooting goes to the .460 Smith & Wesson. It’s no slouch in the devastation department either.

Factory .500 JRH ammunition is available from Buffalo Bore. One caveat: You can’t fire .500 JRH ammunition in a .500 Linebaugh cylinder. The caliber is smaller (.500 compared to .512) and the rim diameter is smaller, so it will drop inside the counterbored .500 Linebaugh chambers.

.500 S&W MAGNUMAnd finally, the king. The .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum truly is the most powerful handgun cartridge in the world--if by that you mean a cartridge actually designed for a handgun. In fact, that was exactly S&W’s intention when it developed the cartridge an entirely new revolver frame dimension for it in 2002. As S&W’s Herb Belin then put it (with a nod to Harry Callahan), "it’s time to get back in first place."

The original .500 S&W Magnum loads from Cor-Bon included a 275-grain Barnes solid-copper XPB hollowpoint with 1,662 fps muzzle velocity and 1,685 ft.-lbs. muzzle energy at a maximum average pressure of 26,800 psi; a 400-grain Hawk Precision jacketed flatpoint with 1,676 fps velocity and 2,492 ft.-lbs. energy at 46,500 psi; and a 440-grain Cast Performance flatnose lead with 1,625 fps velocity and 2,578 ft.-lbs. energy at 49,500 psi.

Notably, even though the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge tops out at more than a ton and a quarter of muzzle energy, all these loads operate under 50,000 psi, which is significantly

less than the 60,000 psi SAAMI-limit maximum average pressure for the smaller-caliber .454 Casull.

In the seven years since, .500 Magnum loads have also been added by Hornady, Winchester, Federal, Magtech and a host of smaller manufacturers. Double-action and single action .500 revolvers are now offered by Taurus USA and Magnum Research and have been used to take every game species in the world from whitetails to elephants. I’ve personally made one-shot kills with a .500 S&W revolver on both African cape buffalo and American bison. Like I said, it’s unquestionably the king of the magnum hill.

A Brave New Walther

This isn't James Bond's PPK, but the new PK380 is an economical, incredibly soft-shooting .380.

I have a confession to make: I was underwhelmed when I opened the package and took out the new PK380 from Walther. I mean, I was expecting to get my tux cleaned and be posing with the latest PPK. But as I held the gun I was thinking, "This is too big for a mere .380, and where'd the clean lines go?"

Then my wife walked into the office and asked "Is that what I signed for?" I handed it over, and she smiled. "Oh, I like the grip."

Hmm. My wife is only a shade over five feet tall, and any pistol that fits her hand is one that must be given a second look. She liked the grip shape and feel so much it took a while to get it back from her. Once I did, I packed it up with a gun bag full of ammo and headed to the range to consider the PK380 anew.

First of all, it is big compared to other .380s, but it is light. Compared to Bond's PPK, which weighs 23 ounces, the PK380 is only 19 ounces. It is also, unlike a host of other .380s, a locked-breech design.

So we have a lightweight, medium-size pistol that has a soft-feeling recoil spring, one that is easy to rack. And that's no small issue. My wife, for example, doesn't have a lot of

hand strength, and she simply cannot work the slide on a compact blowback .380. The PK380, however, is easy for her to manipulate, and for her--and many other shooters looking for a defensive handgun--that's a big plus.

Those using it as their main defensive handgun--or even as a backup pistol--will be pleased to see the magazine holds eight rounds, two more than other .380s. The magazine goes into a polymer frame with a grip that my wife can handle and yet is comfortable for me to hold on to.

I don't have huge meat hooks (I'm more the slender surgeon's or pianist's hands type), but small guns can be troublesome for me. The PK380 fits us both, which means it will likely fit a whole lot of other shooters' hands as well. A big part of that comfort are the sculpted recesses behind the trigger on each side of the frame.

In overall appearance, the Walther PK380 looks just like a scaled-down Smith & Wesson SW990. The swoopy frame is mated to a squarish, angle-sided slide, giving it a non-nonsense look.

The recesses behind the trigger are a big part of what makes the PK380 so comfy to shoot. The paddle at the rear of the trigger guard serves as the mag release.

The sights are comprised of a sharply angled ramped front and a rear blade. They're the obligatory three-dot sights that have been all the rage since the mid-1980s and are surprisingly large for what one might consider a pocket pistol. However, bigger means easier to aim, and aiming is a good habit to encourage.

The magazine release is the Walther design: an ambidextrous paddle that rides at the rear of the trigger guard. I've found that the best way to work it is not with a thumb but with the trigger finger.

There are two recessed levers inside the frame, one on each side forward of the trigger. The one on the right is the trigger lock. Use the provided tool to rotate the lever to lock or unlock. The indicator is clear and obvious, marked "F" and "S" for fire and safe: If the bar runs parallel to the bore, you can fire; if it is crossways to the bore, no fire.

The integral trigger lock requires a tool to engage or disengage; the same tool is used for disassembly. In other words, don’t lose the tool.

The bar on the other side is the disassembly bar. The process is simple. Unload the pistol (check it twice), then close the slide. Insert the special tool provided (it works on both the lock and the takedown) and turn the internal bar 135 degrees counterclockwise. Then pull down the locking block and remove the slide and barrel assembly from the frame.

Now, I'm all for trick and high-tech engineering, but I have to wonder about this. I have spent enough time working in gun shops to imagine how quickly this tool will get lost. And if you lose the tool and need to lock or unlock the pistol, or disassemble it, what's going to happen?

I can imagine gun shops faced with PK380s featuring gouged frames at the takedown and lock holes, where not only did your cousin Merle get to it with needle-nose pliers but didn't bother to get the really narrow ones. If you decide to get a PK380, inquire about a spare takedown tool.

Those reservations aside, the design is a compact way to put a secure disassembly method into the frame and incorporate an integral lock as well, which some states do or will mandate. As a further bonus for those planning on using it as their main gun, the PK380 comes with an accessory rail for a light, laser or combo unit.

The PK380 is slim. At its widest, across the ambidextrous safety levers, it is only 1.20 inches thick. Elsewhere, it is a mere .85 inch thick.

The rear of the barrel is cleared from the ejection port, around the extractor, to act as a loaded chamber indicator. Look in. See brass? Loaded. No brass? Not loaded.

The trigger is a traditional double action/single action. You can stroke through the trigger on the first shot and then have a shorter, lighter pull on subsequent shots.

The trigger isn't what is different on this new Walther; the safety is. The safety--an ambidextrous lever on the rear sides of the slide--is not a decocking safety.

What would a pistol today be without an accessory rail? Walther does not disappoint in this regard.

You can work the slide with the safety in either the up or down position. So once you have inserted a loaded magazine and worked the slide to chamber a round, you have two choices. One, you can push (or leave) the safety in the down (safe) position and leave the hammer cocked. Before you fire the gun, you'll have to remember or have trained yourself to push the safety up to the fire (horizontal) position.

Or, having chambered a round, you can push the safety to the safe (down) position and then carefully lower the hammer. Once the hammer's down, you can then push the safety up to the fire position, and when you need your PK380, simply stroke through the double-action trigger pull.

My thumb does not meet the safety bar when the bar is down, so for me the best way to address this would be to engage the safety, lower the hammer, then disengage the safety. But I'd be extra, extra careful when lowering the hammer because if I'm tired, distracted or otherwise not up to speed, it's possible I could forget to engage the safety before proceeding. If my fingers are cold, wet or cramped, I don't want a compilation of mistakes on my part to lead to a TV with a hole in it.

Then again, for a new shooter, learning any safety mechanism is a new thing. It is only us old-timers who grumble about changes, old-timers who find our sensibilities put out of joint by this new approach--although it's worth noting that this is same type of safety found on Walther's P22 rimfire pistol.

So we have a big-enough, lightweight-enough .380 pistol that has increased magazine capacity and a safety mechanism that us old-timers will have to get used to. How does it shoot? Well, for a pre-production gun, not too bad.At press time there were exactly two PK380s on this side of the Atlantic. One went to Mustafa Bilal, who did the cover photograph and the lead photo for this article, and the other went to me for range abuse.

I took a selection of current premium ammo to the range, as well as a bucket of what I call "commodity" ammo--plain Jane lead roundnose and jacketed roundnose reloads I use for volume shooting.

The author wasn’t enamored of the safety design, which blocks the firing pin but doesn’t decock the hammer.

On the first shot with the PK380, I stopped, removed the magazine and checked the chamber. Then I checked the bore. The recoil was so soft I wasn't sure the pistol had actually cycled. Perhaps the bullet was stuck. Nope, there was clearly daylight down the bore. So I loaded up again and watched the backstop. Sure enough, at the sound of the shot, a puff of dust appeared where I was aiming.

Soft recoil does not begin to describe the PK380. With regular .380 ammo and even the current premium loads, it shoots so softly you might just think you're firing a .22 Long Rifle. A 90-grain bullet at a little faster than 900 fps is no big deal.

If you want someone who is recoil-shy to have a reasonably effective defensive pistol, this is the one. I had none of Cor-Bon's .380 ammo along, and I'm sure out of the PK380 barrel its ammo would be delivering all of the advertised 1,050 fps. I'm also sure it would not be any big deal to shoot, unlike the usual labor of robust Cor-Bon recoil out of a compact .380.

I proceeded to do my chronographing and then spent altogether too much time having fun plinking at the hill before I got back to work. If you plan to use the PK380 for defense or want to teach someone to use it for defense, find some inexpensive .380 ammo and have some fun, because this pistol will deliver it. And your student will not be driven off by recoil.

However, no fun goes unpunished. Soon after I settled down to do my accuracy work, disaster struck. I managed to shoot a couple of groups, enough to determine that the accuracy I was seeing while plinking was not an illusion. My 25-yard groups with Hornady FTX 90-grain ammo averaged 3.0 inches. Then the PK380 stopped firing. It wouldn't close, and I couldn't get it apart.

I called the factory and got permission to whack it apart with a rawhide mallet (trained professional, closed course, do not attempt). What I found is that the rear of the recoil spring (in the finest German fashion, a multi-strand, braided affair that will probably never wear out) had slipped over the end of the guide rod. The tip had wedged against the bottom lug of the barrel and kept the slide from closing.

The barrel is relieved at the rear by the extractor, the setup serving as a loaded-chamber indicator.

I've told S&W--sole importer of Walther firearms--about this, and I'm sure the Walther people will take care the issue.

Lest you think this is a problem with the PK380, it isn't. It is exactly why the gun makers let guys like me shoot (and break) their pre-production prototypes.

Me, I'm not worried. Once I bent the end of the spring back into shape, the little PK380 cranked along just fine--although, unfortunately, by the time I got this all worked out I had to turn in the story and never got to finish the rest of my accuracy testing.

Again, I'm not concerned. My biggest fear now is, if I ever get a production gun and my wife gets the chance to shoot it, I'll be out a couple hundred bucks. Actually, come to think of it, that's not such a bad thing.

Carry On

The new Special Forces Carry from Ed Brown is one special 1911.

The Government-size 1911 is a paragon of reliability, durability, efficiency and looks. What it isn't so much is concealable. The five-inch barrel and concomitant slide is hard to wear, and many holsters poke the muzzle into your thigh or hip, leveraging the grip safety into your kidney. Meanwhile, the rear of the frame is poking at your coat, or hanging up on the cloth, draping it and "printing."

Enter the Commander size, which solved many of those problems. By shortening the barrel (and slide) by three-quarters of an inch, the leveraging and the kidney-torture are greatly diminished. However, for some even the Commander doesn't solve the problem of printing. Ed Brown has another solution: Cut it off. Not your jacket, the corner of the frame--as in Ed Brown's proprietary Bobtail frame.

The conversion is simple in concept but a bit of work to actualize. In order to trim the corner enough to matter, Ed had to relocate the mainspring housing retaining pin. That meant a change in the mainspring and its internals. But with the correct tooling and some modified parts, anything is possible. The result is a much more concealable pistol.

With the Special Forces Carry, Ed and the crew have combined all the attributes needed to produce a reliable, accurate and easy to carry pistol. First of all, he made it out of stainless steel. Yes, stainless will be more visible in some instances. But it will also be more resistant to rust, a particular virtue in warmer climates than mine.

The shorter barrel makes for easier concealed carry, although some might worry about a loss of accuracy. They obviously have not been paying attention to the performance levels that Ed insists on. If a pistol is not accurate, Ed doesn't send it out.

The Special Forces Carry features Ed's Chainlink texturing, which is applied to the frontstrap and the mainspring housing. The pattern is a series of truncated concave ovoids machined into the surface of the steel in a repeating pattern. It's not only cool-looking, it's a non-abrasive surface that provides a secure grip.

When I first went to Gunsite, I had paid attention to the things Jeff Cooper had been writing, so my pistol already had its sharp edges knocked off when I arrived. Others in my class had not paid attention, and so the evening after the first class I spent time with file, stone and abrasive cloth knocking the sharp edges off their handguns.

The pistols from Ed Brown do not have sharp edges, as he (and the rest of us who were paying attention) have long since learned to find and remove sharp edges. All the edges are de-horned without the pistol looking like it had been thrown against a belt sander.

As do all Ed Brown pistols, the Special Forces Carry features his proprietary grip safety and thumb safety. Back in the early days we all fussed over grip safeties. I, along with many other gunsmiths, experimented on them--even going so far as to weld some up to then be ground, filed, machined and otherwise fitted to a frame in the quest for comfort and better shooting.

When the Ed Brown design came out, we all stopped because here it was: The Ed Brown grip safety gets your hand higher behind the line of bore than any other. For some the extra height doesn't matter, but for a lot of us it does. I can shoot a 1911 with just about any grip safety on it, but given a choice I go with Ed Brown.

To aid those like me who find a high grip can be problematic in terms of always getting the grip safety off, Ed has added a "gas pedal" or palm pad to the grip safety. It ensures that your hand always engages the grip safety.

The reshaped mainspring housing keeps the gun from “printing” when carried concealed and doesn’t affect control during firing. The Ed Brown grip safety gets your hand higher behind the line of bore than any other. Fixed three-dot night sights are standard on the Special Forces Carry.

You can order an ambi safety for yours, but I find most just don't work for me, so the standard one-sided safety paddle is all I ever ask for. The sight selection is easier--you have your choice of night sights or night sights--which makes sense since this is a carry gun. The rear is a Novak-shaped wedge with gripping grooves on the side, and the front is the very stylish ramped Patridge seen on all the best guns these days.

The slide features serrations on the rear only, and here Ed might be out of favor with some of the "modern" pistoleros. Front cocking serrations are a competition item, used so competitors can check the chamber after they've loaded. Since you'll load and unload a pistol on each stage, and in some matches could be doing that a dozen times a day, some competitors like to check to make sure.

For a carry gun, I've worked out a different method. I load the magazine, insert it and close the slide and apply the thumb safety. I then remove the magazine. If there is a round missing, guess what? It is in the chamber, so there's no need to pull the slide back to check. I top off the magazine, re-insert it and get on with life.

For daily concealed carry, forward cocking serrations often perform only one function: to grind the leather or kydex out of your holster from daily wear.

The fit and function of a pistol (especially the 1911) is dependent on the fit of slide, frame and barrel. Some gunsmiths are fond of fitting a pistol so tightly that you have to "pop" it open when it is new. Yes, it will be more accurate and stay accurate longer, but how long is long enough?

I have pistols with more than 50,000 rounds through them that are still accurate. I have one that is over 100,000 and is still more accurate than I am. An Ed Brown pistol closes firmly and securely but does not require excessive force to open. I'm sure if I ever get to the point of that many rounds with an Ed Brown, it will still be accurate. And reliable.

All the internals are, of course, Ed Brown internals. He builds his pistols using his Hardcore internal parts. Each of them have been carefully spec'd to use the correct and best alloy and heat treatment, and they're made to exacting dimensions. These rugged, correctly made parts are all hand-fitted.

The result is a 100 percent reliable 1911, which is what you're looking for in a defensive pistol. Alas, I cannot report that I fired some imposing number of rounds through the Special Forces Carry; I had time and weather only to put a few thousand through it. However, not one of them caused a problem--not even the first couple of hundred, which is where, if you're going to have a problem with a new gun, you often see it.

No, right out of the box this was one well-behaved carry pistol, digesting any and all ammo I had to feed it. As you would expect from an all-steel pistol, recoil was a non-issue. Even the most energetic loads were easy to shoot, and the gongs at the club suffered mightily as a result.

As far as accuracy is concerned, the Special Forces Carry demonstrated one of the basic laws that any firearm displays: Test it with enough different loads and the gun will tell you what it likes. If you are planning on using a pistol for defense, you should fire about

200 rounds of what you will be depending on--to make sure the pistol likes it. That can get expensive, but it's nothing compared to the expense of discovering a problem when you are in a dark alley.

Every firearm will also show preferences in how accurately it shoots some ammo and where the point of impact is. So don't take it as gospel that you have to use "XYZ load" for your firearm just because I reported it in this or another article. Test your gun with your ammo in your hands, and then go by what you see.

In this Special Forces Carry, I can definitely tell you not to feed it older IMI hardball--at least not the batch I have. This batch suffers from a lack of neck tension. Thus, bullets will set back in the case on feeding.

The company’s Chainlink pattern - located on the mainspring housing and the frontstrap - provides a secure but non-abrading gripping surface.

That can cause problems in feeding, although the Special Forces Carry took that in stride. What it inescapably means is a larger variance in velocity and larger groups. I have found few pistols that will shoot this ammo well, although later production lots do not suffer from the same problem.

The point is, while the Special Forces Carry didn't shoot this stuff accurately (not the gun's fault), it did feed it all, which is something other pistols have failed at.

Once I had done my due diligence as far as accuracy testing and chronographing were concerned, I spent the rest of my time doing what practice drills I could in the snow. The Commander-length barrel and slide made the Special Forces easy to draw, the weight dampened recoil, and the brass was consistently ejected back and to the right.

It worked with all my magazines, but then I do not keep bad magazines on hand. If you want to ensure your Ed Brown pistol works 100 percent of the time, you can order extra magazines right from Ed. He offers standard seven-shot magazines as well as his new 8-Pack magazines, designed from the ground up to have an eight-shot capacity.

In this day of mass-produced goods, cranked out at the lowest cost to satisfy consumers who have little or no taste or concern for quality and durability, it is nice to know that guys like Ed Brown are paying attention to the details. So if you're in the market for a supremely well-made, reliable carry gun, you'd do well to investigate further.

The Special Forces Carry shot all but the IMI ammo quite well, showing a real affinity for Hornady TAP.

Heckler & Koch P-30L

My interest in firearms is totally related to personal defense. I look at a gun and ask, "Where does this fit into my protection plan?"

When selecting a handgun, I look for reliability, worthwhile features and personal fit.

It's the same way that the late Jeff Cooper explained it; the gun must be reliable, have high-visibility sights, a good trigger and I add how well it fits me. If it doesn't, can it be made to fit? Price can be a concern, but it is not the only concern if a particular gun meets my needs.

Police agencies worldwide have a similar process when selecting a gun for issue. They want reliability, which is directly related to quality, though quality usually results in a higher price. They are also interested in how well it will fit the wide range of hand sizes that makes up their agency, and they also question if the gun will be easy to repair or require the services of a gunsmith.

When the Norwegian Police Services wanted a new issue handgun to replace its Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolvers, these were the specifications it wanted to meet. In the end the department selected Heckler and Koch's P-30 as the gun that best fit its needs, but it wanted a version with a longer barrel for the uniformed service that would not be concealing it. HK met this demand with its new model, the HK P-30L, which stands for Long Slide.

The new P-30L is one of the most modern police pistols to come along in quite awhile. During its development, the designers felt the most important requirements were flexibility, functionality and as much safety as could be incorporated into a weapon.

Ergonomics of the grip are probably the best on the market, as the backstrap inserts and lateral plates for the sides are interchangeable. This means the entire 360-degree surface of the grip can be adapted to fit a shooter's hand, as can the ambidextrous slide and magazine release levers. The P-30L can literally be "built" to fit the hand of most any shooter. The P-30L has a self-decocking, double-action hammer with a firing pin block that eliminates the need for a manual, exterior-mounted safety lever. Another worthwhile feature is the open square-notch, slant-back rear sight with Luminova dots, which assist

fast and accurate target acquisition even under poor lighting conditions. These sights are drift adjustable and are quite robust.

The double/single-action pistol incorporates a long first pull with subsequent short strokes. Many shooters view the first long trigger pull as a safety against involuntary discharge.

In my experience, the double-action pull of HK triggers is usually heavy, and I suspect it is due to HK pistols being used around the world where the quality of ammo is suspect at best. The hammer fall on an HK is likely to dent even the hardest of primers, so if the gun is used somewhere in Africa it will probably work.

Here in the U.S., ammo quality is excellent and the long, hard double-action trigger is unnecessary. I have always changed the stock hammer spring for one from Wolff Springs, and if I were to carry the P-30L this is what I would do.

Regardless of ammo style, the HK P-30L was more than accurate enough for combat.

he P-30L is as ambidextrous as any handgun can be. In addition to the modular grip, the magazine and slide lock levers are located on both sides. I do not usually like the magazine release lever on HK pistols, as it requires a downward push in order to eject the magazine. I have small hands and it does not matter if I use my thumb or trigger finger, I cannot release the magazine without some shifting in my hand.Fortunately, the new L-shaped lever on the P-30L can be pressed to the rear, which will release the magazine.

For testing, I pulled together all of the 9mm ammo that I could, including various hollowpoints from Winchester, Cor-Bon, Federal, Black Hills, Remington, Hornady and even some old Trition Quick Shock ammo.

I also found some old 9mm reloads that had been in my attic for years--some of the cases were actually green--but I decided that I would see if the HK would handle it.

Accuracy testing was conducted at 25 yards from a Hornady Delta Rest; results are shown in the accompanying chart.

As far as reliability goes, it's an HK--what more need I say? The pistol ran without a hiccup, though I shot all the aforementioned questionable ammo through it. I ran it one-handed, two-handed and upside down. Performance was flawless.

Ergonomics were actually not that different from the standard P-30, other than taking slightly more lift to clear the holster when drawing.

Controllability was excellent, with just a bit more of a weight-forward feel than the shorter P-30. It would even work for concealed carry, though the standard P-30 is a smarter choice for that application.

The long slide P-30L will make a very formidable arm for any law enforcement agency, officer or legally armed citizen. In a world of compromise, choosing to carry a pistol from HK compromises nothing.

The decocking lever on the P-30L is on the rear of the slide, out of the way of the shooting hand.

In Praise of Snubbies

It's increasingly a semiauto world, but there’s still a place for diminutive wheelguns.

Classic two-inch .38s, clockwise from top: S&W Model 15, S&W Model 60, S&W Airweight 442 and Colt Agent. The two on the left are six shots each, the two on the right hold five.

There was a time when pistols were considered just not good enough to bet your life on. Wheelguns were real guns, and real men carried them. Sometimes more than one of them. Called the "New York reload," carrying an extra gun (or two or three) was the solution to the perceived low capacity of revolvers. After all, even when the FBI was publishing statistics like "the average gunfight is over in 1.5 seconds, and involves 2.7 rounds fired" (or whatever that year's statistics actually were), who wanted to be the statistical anomaly of a guy holding a six-shooter in a seven-shot shootout?

Why a revolver? Three things: trigger, springs and ammo. The trigger of a revolver is less likely to be a lure to flinching than a pistol. Yes, the pistol trigger is shorter in the distance you need to pull and can be lighter in weight, but the length of the revolver trigger pull means your subconscious doesn't know when to expect a bang. The surprise-break aspect of revolvers is good for accurate, flinch-free shooting.

Also, revolvers don't depend on magazines, and their springs, for reliable function. Yes, I have shot pistols using magazines that had been left loaded for many years, but in a revolver that is a complete non-issue.

As for ammo, as long as it fits the chamber, is within pressure specs and has a bullet within a reasonable weight range, a revolver will be fine with it. I've known handloaders who made special super-light practice ammo in .38 Special cases using wadcutters of less than 100 grains. At 700 fps, such a load is no threat to a new shooter. Try something like that in your plastic wondernine.

But for daily wear revolvers have these barrel things that make them long and hard to carry concealed. So we invented the snub-nosed revolver. When I say "we," I mean consumers who requested snubbies from manufacturers.

Some cringe at the use of the word "snubbie," but not me. The first revolver specifically made and marketed for carry was made by Colt in 1927: the six-shot .38 Special Detective Special. Since that time, every revolver maker, if it expected to be taken seriously, made a short-barreled revolver positioned for the concealed-carry market. And while many were compact, some were barely so.

A popular snubbie for agents of the newly armed FBI was the S&W Registered Magnum. You could order it in any size and configuration you wanted, and many of them opted for the 3.5-inch version. Now, I've packed a lot of guns through the years, but you won't find me claiming a 3.5-inch Model 27 is a "compact" gun. (No round-butt frames back then, either.)

Today, anyone who wants to pack that much size and weight has a lot better choices than a .357 Magnum. You see, the .357 depends on velocity, and a short barrel like that takes too much speed from the bullet for the ease of carrying, at least for my tastes. If I'm going to pack something that big, it will be something in a caliber beginning with the numeral "4."

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start small and light, and work up. Smith & Wesson's J-frame revolvers have even more compactness than the old Detective Special,

but they hold only five shots. I have a pair of J frames. One, a Model 60, is a police trade-in--at one time a good source of inexpensive snubbies. As police departments divested themselves of wheelguns, they became much more common on the used-gun market.

While many worry about the loss of velocity in short barrels, ammo makers such as Speer are using new technology to get plenty of punch out of snubbies.

My trade-in Model 60 is a stainless, round-butt model with a spur hammer. The more modern J-frame is a Model 442, which makes up for all the Model 60's shortcomings. An alloy-frame Airweight, it features an enclosed hammer and a black finish. It is the very description of a pocket gun.

Another ultra-durable five-shot snubbie is the Ruger SP-101. While the Model 60 is tough, the SP-101 is nearly indestructible. If you want a new, inexpensive snubbie, look into Charter Arms revolvers. It offers both alloy and steel revolvers.

Moving up in size to six shots you have to go to the Smith & Wesson K frame or the Ruger GP-100. However, the GP-100 is available only down to a three-inch barrel, while you can find S&W K-frames at two, 2.5 and three inches in length.

My carry pair here are a Model 65 in .357 Magnum with a three-inch barrel and a Model 15 .38 Special with a two-inch barrel. As a daily carry item, either would accompany me in an upside-down shoulder holster. I'd pack the magnum as the main gun, with the Special as the backup to something on my belt.

The magnum is a pro's gun, in that it's difficult to shoot with full-magnum ammo. The Model 15 is so easy to shoot that were I a bit more predatory I'd try to work up bets on the range. "See that rock at 100 yards. Five bucks says I can hit it four out of six times."

The work required to get performance out of a short-barreled magnum makes bigger calibers attractive. Here, Ruger drops from our choices. Yes, a Redhawk is strong, but a

snubbie Redhawk is a contradiction in terms. It is just too big to carry concealed on a daily basis.

A compact S&W N frame, but in a big bore, works wonders. My main gun in that regard is a cut-down 25-2 in the evergreen .45 ACP. I installed a short barrel and recontoured the frame to round-butt configuration, years before S&W ever offered such a model. In .45 ACP, a 230-grain jacketed roundnose leaving your vicinity at 730 fps is hardly onerous in recoil. Nor is a 200-grain XTP leaving at 804 fps. But either will certainly cause a change in career path of a would-be assailant.

The beauty of the 25-2 is that you load it with full-moon clips, so you have all six rounds in and out at once. As a bonus, you can use .45 GAP ammo, a trick USPSA competition revolver shooters figured out. The rounds fit just fine in the moon clips, and there is no loss of accuracy or velocity.

If you find moon clips are just not your style, then search for .45 Auto Rim ammo. There, you'll have a plain lead roundnose that does everything a 230-grain jacketed roundnose does.

And if you find that an all-steel big bore snubbie is just too heavy for daily carry, then the new S&W Night Guard series (profiled in the December/January issue) is just what you're looking for.

Why a snubbie as a main gun or backup? Speed and reliability. I was at a law-enforcement-only class once, where the instructor told us as he took us up to the range that the purpose of the drill we were about to do was to make us flub reloads and run dry of ammo.

Once I'd expended all the ammo I had for my pistol, I dropped it and drew the magnum. After I delivered a pair of shots I heard a shout from the other end of the line: "What was that?" It seemed I was the only one in the class who was packing a backup gun.

Practicing with a snubbie can make you a much better overall handgun shooter as it demands the utmost trigger control and follow-through.

Drawing a backup gun is faster than reloading a pistol. So much so that many times through the years the Main Event at Second Chance was won by a revolver shooter, one who simply did a "New York reload" instead of trying to reload the gun he'd run dry.

A backup gun will (more so than your main gun) ride with you for a long time and not be called on. A revolver is much more forgiving of lint, dust, perspiration and lack of lubrication than many pistols can be. Also, there are no switches, levers or other controls to practice with and remember. Just line up the sights and stroke through the trigger. Repeat as necessary.

There are another couple of aspects of snubbies that I find fascinating but others find aggravating. They can be unforgiving of follow-through. If you don't keep the sights on the target all the way though the shot, you can miss.

When I shoot in USPSA competition with my full-size 25-2, its 6.5-inch barrel is very forgiving. If my front sight is anywhere inside the A zone of the target, I get a hit. If I go back through the same stage with my two-inch Model 15, I have to pay attention to what I'm doing or I'd throw C-zone hits.

So to improve match performance I'll occasionally shoot with a snubbie in practice instead of the big gun. When I do that, match hits with the big gun are so accurate you'd swear the thing is radar-guided.

The other aspect of snubbies that I like is reloads. The short barrel makes it a snap for me to juggle the gun while ejecting moon clips or brass and getting moon clips in or a speedloader to the cylinder.

Some time ago an indoor range in town held a winter league. They decided to have a revolver division. I took one look at the course of fire and brought a two-inch Model 10 in .38 Special. The course called for multiple reloads. Those using PPC revolvers and big, duty 586 and 686 magnums struggled to get their reloads done in time.The course called for 48 rounds, and I watched them average 40 to 42 shots per match under the time limits. I was able to reload the snubbie with ease and get all 48 every night. I gladly gave up a point or two now and then to get six to eight extra shots per night.

Packing a snubbie is a piece of cake. No holster maker who makes more than one model lacks a holster for a snubbie. And if a holster is not what you need, a big pocket will do. To test that latter idea (something I've done many times in the past) I put on the snubbie Model 25-2 in an Uncle Mike's inside-the-waistband holster and the Model 65 in my upside-down Safariland holster. Then I shrugged on a new Eotac field jacket, then dropped a snubbie in each of the four pockets. (Airweights up top, all-steel guns in the lower pockets.)

At the gun club I just looked like another guy with too much stuff in his pockets. I had six .45 ACP, six .357 Magnum, and 22 .38 Special rounds on-call. And switching from one to the next would be no switch at all, as they all work the same way.

An additional note or two on shoulder holsters: all of them allow you to be casually fingering your holstered snubbie and pass unnoticed. The upside-down one allows for drawing while seated or using a left-handed draw. All useful in sticky circumstances.

So let's total the score. When compared to pistols, we have a bit of bulk, and perhaps some capacity issues. On the plus side we have reliability, adaptability of ammo choices, simplicity of use and tradition. No comparison here, I'm keeping my snubbies.

The Guns of Dan Wesson

A line of high-quality pistols that does an iconic brand proud.

The Dan Wesson name is synonymous with switch-barrel revolvers. After all, that's all it made for as long as I can remember, in good times and in bad. And there were plenty of bad times.

Dan Wesson struggled through much of its existence. Not surprisingly, quality rose and fell with the company's bottom line, and the company changed hands several times over the years. The first 1911s that rolled off the production line in 1997 were a product of the bad times. Quality had improved a bit by 2004, but when CZ-USA purchased Dan Wesson in January of 2005, things got better fast.

The main differences between the guns of old and today's Dan Wesson 1911s are the quality of the individual parts and the hand-fitting that goes into each gun.

Dan Wesson VALORType: 1911 semiautomaticCaliber: 45 ACPCapacity: 8+1Barrel Length: 5 in.Overall Length: 8.8 in.Height: 5.5 in.

Width: 1.5 in.Weight: 2.4 lb.Frame/ Slide: stainlessSights: low-profile adjustable Novak night sightsFinish: black matte ceramicTrigger pull: 4lb. 9oz.Grips: VZ slim line micartaPrice: $1,494Manufacturer: Dan Wesson Firearms, 800.955.4486

Every Dan Wesson pistol is built on a forged slide and cast frame, with the exception of the new Valor, which is built on a forged frame. Each frame and slide is run through Dan Wesson's state-of-the-art CNC machines, then sent to the polishing department to be de-burred.

Those same folks then hand-fit the barrel, frame and slide. Finally, they hand-radius every sharp edge, blend the rear of the slide and frame, sandblast every radius, polish the flats, and throat and polish the feed ramp. This is all done by hand.

Next, they stake the plunger tube, pin the ejector and thoroughly clean the gun before sending it to the assembly department. There, the small parts are polished and fitted to each pistol. Dan Wesson does not use any drop-in parts on its 1911s, which is one reason they are so accurate and reliable.

Every trigger job is tuned by hand with the use of a Power Custom Jig. The extractor hooks are polished and tuned, and the match barrel bushing, oversized firing pin stop, grip safety, thumb safety and slide stop are all fitted. After assembly and function testing, each gun is test fired in the test tunnel before a final quality-control check.

The parts used on today's Dan Wessons are also superior to those made in the pre-CZ days. Ed Brown makes the tactical thumb safety, slide stop and beavertail grip safety. Greider makes the trigger. The stainless barrels and bushings are match-grade parts made by Dan Wesson, as are the tool steel ignition parts. The springs are by Wolff.

Back in 2006, I tested the Pointman Seven, a stainless steel, full-size 1911 with Bomar adjustable sights. It was nicely fitted, accurate and totally reliable. But I was not surprised given the quality of the parts and the overall fit and finish of the pistol.

Another gun I tested, the Commander Classic Bobtail is aimed at the concealed carry market. The 4.25-inch barreled pistol adds frontstrap checkering, Ed Brown's bobtail mainspring housing and fixed, Novak-style sights with three-dot tritium inserts. Its polished slide flats and rich, figured cocobolo grips give it a classy look. My test gun was beautifully fitted and shot great. In fact, I liked it so much I bought it.

As much as I like my Commander Classic Bobtail, when I wrote the review I mentioned that I thought the company should change the 20 lines-per-inch checkering. Well, the

powers that be must have agreed because a much smoother 25 lpi checkering is one of the many improvements on current-production Commanders and the new Valor, which I recently tested.

The low-profile extended safety has a wide enough shelf to ride with the thumb, but it’s not so wide it digs into your side or would be inadvertently deactivated. The Valor's 25 lines-per-inch, machine-cut checkering is nicely done and gives plenty of traction without being abrasive to the hands during firing.

The Valor boasts several upgrades--a forged frame, a durable new finish and even more hand-fitting among them. During fitting, the Valor is built tighter than its brethren, and the hand-fitted extractor and grip safety are blended flawlessly.

Once the fitting is complete, the pistol is finished in a durable, matte black Cerakote (which the company calls Duty Coat). This finish is very corrosion-resistant and tough as nails. It is also applied very evenly and smoothly, which I cannot say about some companies' spray-on finishes. When the pistol comes back from finishing, every part has to be fitted once again to deal with the added thickness of the coating.

The Valor is built on Dan Wesson's forged slide and frame of 416 stainless steel. The frame sports an undercut trigger guard, 25 lpi checkering on the front- and backstrap, and a beveled magazine. The magazine release and forged Greider slide stop are slightly extended.The trigger is Greider's solid, aluminum model. It is adjustable for overtravel. The slick trigger, Wolff springs and the hand-fitted, match-grade, tool-steel ignition parts combined to give the pistol a crisp, clean trigger pull that measured four pounds, nine ounces and felt even lighter.

The Valor's linen micarta slim-line stocks are by VZ Grips. They have a fair amount of texture but are not abrasive. The slim grips feel great in my small hands, and the gray color looks sexy against the matte black pistol.

The hand-fitting is very evident in the beautifully blended Ed Brown beavertail grip safety. There were no uneven gaps or sharp edges between the grip safety and the frame, and the raised bump made it easy to engage the grip safety every time, even with a less-than-perfect firing grip.

Ed Brown's tactical thumb safety is my favorite. It has a wide enough shelf for me to ride with my thumb, but it is not so wide that it digs into my side nor so large that it is prone to inadvertent deactivation. The safety engaged smoothly and positively, as I expected it would given the amount of hand-fitting involved.

The Valor's forged, five-inch slide is also a stainless steel part. It is devoid of the front cocking serrations that are so en vogue. That smooth slide and the tasteful Valor logo give it a classic, all-business look. Like all Dan Wesson pistols, the Valor's ejection port is flared, and the barrel and bushing are Dan Wesson-made, stainless steel, match-grade parts.

The front sight is neatly dovetailed into the slide. It has a green tritium insert with a white outline that the company refers to as a target ring. The adjustable Novak rear sight has two identical dots that glow white. The dual-colored dots are a pretty ingenious way to avoid confusing the front and rear sights in a low-light, life-or-death situation.

The slide-to-frame fit on my sample was exceptionally tight. The barrel locked up bank-vault solid, and the controls were smooth and positive. All that hand-fitting really showed.

As pleased as I was to see the amount of human attention given the Valor, I reserved judgment on the pistol because, in my experience, such tightly fitted pistols are hit-or-miss in the reliability department. Though they are usually incredibly accurate, tight pistols don't always run so great right out of the box. I had only 400 rounds to run through the Valor, so I was hoping it wouldn't require a lengthy break-in period to hit its stride.

The Valor was tightly fitted, and it showed - firing groups that would be tough to beat with even the most expensive custom pistol.

I started at the seven-yard line, where I fired a few magazines to get a feel for the Valor and make sure everything worked as it should. I was thrilled to see my first few rounds fall into a nice, tight group, just a hair below the center of the three-inch bullseye. I quickly adjusted the Novak sight and brought the groups up and into the bull, then fired for effect. The Valor felt great in my hand, and it fed, fired, and ejected as flawlessly as I hoped.

I did my accuracy testing with the Valor from a sandbag rest at 25-yards. Because it was so tightly fitted, I was expecting good accuracy, but I confess that my first bughole group blew me away. I shot that incredible, .954-inch, five-shot group with Hornady's 185-grain XTP load.

But as good as that group was, it wasn't a fluke. In fact, my next two groups measured .925 inch and .974 inch. Nerves caused me to open things up a bit, but the five-group average of just 1.18 inches ranked right up there with my best full-house-custom 1911s.

It would be unfair to expect another load to match the accuracy of that Hornady load, but Federal's 230-grain Hydra Shoks came close. With a best group right at one inch and a five-group average of just 1.57 inches, that gun and load combination proved downright impressive.

I also tested ammo from Black Hills and Winchester. Both averaged over two inches, but the Black Hills load turned in a best group of 1.5 inches and probably would have averaged a bit better than the 2.2 inches I got had I shot it first, when I was a bit less fatigued.

A few days later I headed back to the range with two friends, Mike Ambrose and James Jeffrey, to complete my reliability testing. Mike, a Vietnam-era Navy SEAL, fired 60 rounds through the Valor. He raved about the Valor's trigger and accuracy.

James, who has a great deal of experience with high-end 1911s, also fired 60 rounds. He loved the Valor, too. He particularly liked the feel of the checkering and grips, and he thought the Valor might be the most accurate pistol he'd ever shot.

Once we were done with that, I loaded up a bunch of magazines and rapid-fired the last 160 rounds through the Valor. I really liked the match-grade accuracy and crisp, clean trigger, and because of my small hands I loved the combination of the slim grips and 25 lpi checkering. The grip was easy to wrap my hands around, and the checkering locked the gun into my hands during rapid-fire drills.

At the conclusion of my testing, I called Dan Wesson's Keith Lawton to brag about the Valor's accuracy. He was not surprised. "I know you expected me to be surprised about the groups you shot with the Valor," Lawton said, "but accuracy like that is not uncommon."

Lawton said the hand-fitting described earlier and the high-quality, name-brand parts Dan Wesson uses led to increased consistency and quality. He went on to say that by 2009, all Dan Wesson pistols will be completely free of metal-injection-molded parts, which are not held in high regard by many.

Under CZ-USA, Dan Wesson has endeavored to improve the quality of its 1911 line. Based on the Valor I tested, I would have to say the company has succeeded. I couldn't find a thing to complaint about. In fact, I was so impressed with the new Valor I bought it. I can't think of any higher praise than that.

S&W Model 58

Our friend and resident dinosaur Payton Miller over at Guns & Ammo is a revolver nut, and he bestowed on Smith & Wesson's Model 58 a great honor--calling it one of the coolest revolvers ever. Sure, the Model 29 gets all the press, thanks to the "Dirty Harry" movies, but the Model 58 holds a special place among cultish types.

For one thing, it was introduced to fire a new cartridge, the .41 Magnum, which nowadays has also been relegated to cult status. But in its day, the combination of the cartridge--brainchild of the legendary Elmer Keith--and the revolver held the promise of becoming the new gold standard for policemen.

Introduced in 1964, the Model 58 is a square-butt K frame with a heavy four-inch barrel, and for the purist, an unadorned ejector shroud. It was discontinued in 1977, but over its lifetime it was adopted by large police departments such as San Antonio and San Francisco.

Although its eventual demise would've occurred with the advent of double-action semiautos anyway, the Model 58 might also have been hurt, according to Miller, by the introduction of two .41 Magnum loads.

A service load firing a 210-grain wadcutter at 1,000 fps was tailored for the Model 58, but a load designed for the Model 57 (a sporting version of the 58 introduced the same year) spit out a 210-grain jacketed hollowpoint at a smoking 1,300 fps. At 41 ounces, the Model 58 is no shrinking violet, but a few rounds of the more powerful load out of its skimpily stocked, checkered walnut grips surely convinced more than a few people that the gun wasn't for them.

By 1993 the Model 57 had also been discontinued. The .41 Magnum lived on in the Model 657 in various guises until just a couple of years ago, and now there's a reintroduced Model 57 in S&W's Classic line. But to many revolver aficionados, none have had or will have the panache of the Model 58.

New Handguns for 2009

Here's a sneak peek at this year's new, enticing pistols and revolvers.

Curious as we are about what's new, at press time not all manufacturers were willing to share with us what plans they had for '09 as it's traditional for them to play the cards pretty close to the chest until the grand unveiling at the industry's major trade show, which occurred after press time for this issue. However, I did persuade several to give me a glimpse of the future. There are introductions as well as variations on themes that, for true handgun lovers, just might cause a bad case of hyperventilation. Does anyone have a paper bag?

SpringfieldThe excellent XD(m) line has been broadened to include .40 S&W caliber. This gun leads the industry in factory stock pistol capacity: 16+1 in .40 caliber and 19+1 in 9mm. One of the most ergonomic handguns available, the XD(m) offers interchangeable backstraps, grip safety, minimal reset trigger and match-grade barrel as well as a great sight system. An integral tactical rail makes mounting accessories such as lights and lasers easy, and the USA (Ultra Safety Assurance) trigger system and loaded chamber/cocking indicators provide an extra measure of safety. Weight: 32 ounces. Barrel length: 4.5 inches. the-m-factor.com

Ruger The super-successful Super Blackhawk revolver is 50 years old this year, and Ruger is honoring it with an anniversary model. In .44 Magnum (of course), it features gold trim, checkered hard rubber grips and a high-gloss blue on its 7.5-inch barrel.

Traditionalists like myself will be glad to see the Vaquero line now includes a Bisley version. Initially offered in .45 Colt and .357 Magnum, it sports simulated ivory grips and a high-gloss finish. Made of stainless steel. Barrel length is 5.5 inches.

An Axiom-stock version of the 10/22 Charger line features a black synthetic stock. A bipod, scope base and gun rug case are included. And to wrap it up, the Mark III line is featuring a new stainless-steel Hunter model with Cocobolo grips and fiber-optic sights on its 4.5-inch fluted barrel.

Also, good news for those in restrictive states, the updated SR9 pistol has been accepted onto the approved lists of California and Massachusetts.

CZ-USAHard on the heels of the popular new SP-01, CZ-USA has announced a polymer-frame version that's a full 33 percent lighter than the steel frame model. The CZ 75 SP-01 Phantom has a forged steel slide with a weight-saving scalloped profile, accessory rail and two interchangeable grip inserts to accommodate users with different size hands. It also features a decocking lever, accepts all previous CZ 75 magazines, and holds 19 rounds of 9mm ammo. Weight: 28.2 ounces. Barrel length: 4.6 inches.

The CZ P-07 Duty features the ergonomics and accuracy of the CZ 75 with a totally new, simplified and improved trigger system called the Omega. A polymer frame and new sleek slide profile reduce weight, making the P-07 Duty a great choice for concealed carry. Capacity: 16 rounds of 9mm. Weight: 27 ounces. Barrel length: 3.74 inches.

The BD version of the RAMI improves on the 2075 platform with several new features: a decocking lever, weight-lightening scallop on the slide and tritium three-dot combat sights. It's a great choice for backup or concealed carry.

Most intriguing of all, the semiauto version of the CZ vz. 61 Skorpion submachine gun is now available. Chambered in.32 ACP (7.65mm Browning), it's classified as a handgun and does not include a folding stock.

It's a very cool firearm originally developed for use with security forces, then adopted by the Czechoslovakian Army in 1961 as a sidearm for vehicle drivers, armored vehicle personnel and special forces. Capacity: 20 rounds. Weight: 45 ounces. Two 20-round and one 10-round mags are included.

Dan WessonThe Classic Bobtail has proven so popular--due to its concealable profile--that Dan Wesson designed something even more concealable: the Concealed Carry Officer. This model is built with a Commander slide on top of an Officer-size frame, providing control and reliability.

Dan Wesson bobbed the back of the mainspring housing, built the frame and mainspring housing from anodized aluminum, and undercut the trigger guard. The frontstrap and mainspring housing feature a chain-link pattern for a superior gripping surface. Dual colored tritium lamps allow fast low-light target acquisition.

KimberThe Tactical Entry line has two new members joining its family: the Tactical Entry II and the Tactical Custom HD II. They are unique to Kimber's tactical line in that both have stainless steel rather than aluminum frames. Identical in every aspect other than the rail on the Tactical Entry II, both pistols feature match-grade .45 ACP barrels, night sights, extended magazine wells and 30 lines-per-inch checkering on the frontstrap.

The exotic Raptor family also has a pair of new siblings, both in .45 ACP. The Stainless Ultra Raptor II features an aluminum frame topped with a stainless slide housing a three-inch barrel. The Stainless Pro Raptor II is all-stainless and sports a four-inch barrel.

Common to both are night sights, ambidextrous safety and zebra-wood grips. Both models are built in Kimber's custom shop.

Last but not least, the highly accurate Team Match II pistol is available in 9mm caliber this year, and the Aegis family has changed from bobbed hammers to spur hammers.

Para USAAside from the company's move to Charlotte, North Carolina, the first big news from Para is the introduction of the GI Expert, an entry-level 1911 pistol that's basic in design but has some really nice features.

The barrel is stainless, the fixed sights are dovetailed into the slide and are eminently usable.

The ejection port is lowered and flared, the magazine well is beveled, and the hammer is a skeletonized spur. The package is finished in Covert Black Para Kote, and has checkered polymer grips.

FNH-USAA new configuration of the autoloading Five-SeveN pistol includes a fixed C-More combat sight. Firing the high velocity 5.7x28 cartridge, the Five-SeveN sports a hammer-forged and hard-chrome-lined barrel for enhanced accuracy and extended service life.

It is available in matte black, olive drab or flat dark earth frames and can also be purchased with an adjustable three-dot target sight.

Legacy ArmsBased on the gun that cowboy character Josh Randall carried in the 1950s television series by the same name, the Puma Bounty Hunter Model 92 has a 12-inch barrel, loop lever and is legally considered a handgun.

Manufactured in Italy by Chiappa Firearms, it's available in .45 Colt, .44-40 and .44 Magnum. Capacity is six rounds.

Ed BrownA new severe-use coating gives the new Special Forces Carry pistol improved wear resistance and rust protection. The engineering, precision manufacturing and hand-fitting the Brown family is famous for makes the handgun a prime candidate for those anticipating the need for performance when conditions get down and dirty.

The frontstrap has a chain-link pattern machined into it to provide a secure grip. The slide houses a 4.25-inch barrel, and the Commander-size frame features Brown's bobtail design. Available in both stainless and blued configurations. Weight: 35 ounces.

In the same family and sporting the same high-performance features, the Special Forces Light Rail is a full-size, 40-ounce 1911 with an integral light rail. A test sample of this gun is winging its way to Patrick Sweeney; look for his review in an upcoming issue.

Smith & WessonA whole corral of the new and exciting is being announced at S&W for this year. To start with, all models--full-size and compact--of the popular M&P semiauto will be available with thumb safeties. As with the standard M&P, all feature interchangeable palmswell grip inserts, stainless steel barrel and slide with black Melonite finish and polymer frame.

Three cheers for the S&W Classic line, which now includes the wonderful Model 17 Masterpiece, a .22 LR revolver with a traditional six-round cylinder. It features a six-inch bright-polished blue barrel, adjustable rear sight and pinned Patridge front and a square butt. I'm guessing the Masterpiece will become one of the line's greatest hits.

The Model 14 also lives again. It features a six-inch bright blue or bright nickel barrel with unshrouded ejector rod, six-round .38 Special cylinder and a square butt.

Rejoice, .41 Magnum lovers. S&W has breathed new life into the Model 57; the new M57 is available in both four- and six-inch barrel lengths.

Moving into the realm of the modern revolver, the Model 632 Carry Comp Pro Series revolver sports a three-inch barrel with tapered full underlug, six-round .357 Magnum capacity, adjustable sights and a matte black finish on the all-stainless construction. The muzzle features PowerPort technology with an expansion chamber.

The growing Night Guard line brings us the .41 Magnum-chambered Model 357. Confused? Just focus on the caliber, not the model number. It's possibly the perfect caliber to complement the Night Guard concept in revolvers and features tritium sights, scandium alloy frame, 2.5-inch barrel, and Pachmayr Compac Custom grips.

And last but not least in the revolver world, a new Model 642 lightweight .38 Special hammerless snub-nose without the internal lock will please those with a distrust for all things lawyer-generated.

Notable--and the single all-new introduction that we are aware of in the semiauto line--is a 9mm Pro Series 1911. Built on a full-size stainless frame, it sports multiple upgrades such as a 30 lpi checkered frontstrap, hand-polished integral feed ramp, oversize extractor, ambi safety, extended mag well and stoned hammer and sear for a crisp trigger pull.

Sights are fixed three-dot, grips are stippled wood, and capacity is 10+1 rounds.

Kahr ArmsIf you want a really fine micro-compact pistol, consider the new P380. Chambered in .380 ACP, it has a 2.5 inch barrel and an overall length of 4.9 inches. It has a black polymer frame, matte stainless slide, and textured polymer grips. The barrel is a premium Lothar Walther match grade polygonal rifled design. Drift adjustable white bar-dot combat sights are dovetailed into the slide; night sights are optional. Weight: 10 ounces without mag. Two stainless-steel six-round magazines come standard.

Sig SauerIf you saw our October/November 2008 issue, you know about the P250 already. And while the gun is not exactly new for 2009, it does now fully deliver on the promise of its platform.

The P250 is a polymer-frame semiauto built on a modular design that allows it to be converted from a full-size gun to a compact or subcompact simply by buying a new grip module and slide assembly.

Calibers can be changed simply by buying the appropriate slide assembly and magazines. And that's what's new for 2009: all the calibers--9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W and .45 ACP--are now available.

The base P250 comes in two different grip modules: one for 9mm, .357 SIG and .40 S&W, another for .45 ACP. These can be ordered as full size, compact or subcompact, and the P250 offers the option of a short trigger or a long trigger as well.Dimension are 8.1 inches long, 5.5 inches high and 1.4 inches wide for the full size; 7.2/5.3/1.4 for the compact; and 6.7/4.7/1.1 for the subcompact. Weight: full size, 27.6 to 29.6 ounces; compact, 25.1 to 27.0; subcompact, 24.8 to 25.1.

Suggested retails range from $750 to $870. Upgrade packages go for $375.

Best-Bet Bullets

How to choose the right bullet for your needs and your wallet.

Hard-cast bullets (left) are inexpensive, accurate but just a bit messy. Jacketed bullets (right) are much cleaner but cost more. Plated bullets (center) split the difference but have their own issues.

When it comes to shooting, bullets are an essential component. And, yes, the pun was intended. Which bullet is best? As with so many things in life, the answer starts out as "that depends…."

Let's start by outlining our options. We have jacketed, plated and cast. Swaged is a subset of cast, with some advantages but more downsides in the mix.

Jacketed bullets are made by pounding a disk of copper into a cup, inserting a lead core and bashing the two until they form a unit. They can be full-metal jackets, hollowpoints or softpoints. Usually, the former is made by having the opening in the rear, and the latter two made by having the opening in the front.

The advantages are that you can usually push a jacketed bullet to a higher velocity, and you can also, if you're willing, buy jacketed bullets that expand far better than soft lead ones would. An ancillary benefit is accuracy, as at the outer reaches of accuracy it is easier to load jacketed bullets to the nth degree than lead.

For example, serious competitors at the Bianchi Cup insist on loads that deliver 1.5 inches at 50 yards or less. To do that requires either jacketed bullets or some very serious and time-consuming testing and sorting with lead bullets. The typical Bianchi Cup bullet is a Hornady XTP for the stellar accuracy it delivers.

Jacketed bullets are clean to load, clean to shoot and forgiving of some reloading mistakes. They are, however, unforgiving of others, and a jacketed bullet that is tipped too much on seating will simply crush the case.

The disadvantage to jacketed bullets are cost and lack of performance at low velocities. The cost is both from the lead and copper (copper being relatively expensive compared to lead) and the work it takes to fabricate and combine the two.

As for the velocity downside, it takes a certain amount of force to engrave a jacketed bullet into, and push through, the rifling of your barrel. That greater friction means you have a higher threshold of "won't get stuck" velocity you have to maintain. If you try to go too slow with a jacketed bullet for super-low recoil, you'll quickly get one stuck in the bore. That is not good, and the hazard of launching another behind it, and ruining a barrel, should be enough to keep your speeds up.

Lead bullets offer many advantages, primarily cost. A cast bullet and a jacketed bullet of the same weight typically shows a price advantage of up to 50 percent to the cast bullet. That's right, half off.

Hard-cast lead bullets, where allowed, offer a significant cost advantage, and that's why a lot of competitive shooters shoot lead. Matched to your caliber and use (lead bullets above 1,100 fps can be a problem), they can be startlingly accurate. They do, however, shoot "dirtier" than jacketed bullets. The powder residue, lubricant and lead can create a gooey black residue in your gun and on your hands.

Part of the cost advantage is locality. That is, it takes an industrial setup to produce jacketed or plated bullets. But a local caster can produce high-quality bullets with a modest setup, and when you buy local you save on shipping.

Lead is easier on bores, too. The Hensley & Gibbs No. 68 bullet, a 200-grain semi-wadcutter for the .45 ACP, basically built the sport of IPSC. I figure I've launched something on the order of nine tons of those downrange. How many does it take to wear out a barrel? Significantly more than 100,000 of them, based on the wear on my guns.

However, some ranges don't allow lead. Exposure to lead can be unhealthy but is greatly mitigated with proper ventilation and hand washing. That's right, just as all our mothers told us: "Wash your hands when you're done." However, hand-washing alone isn't enough for some who experience long-term exposure, like range officers on indoor ranges. That's why ranges may insist on all-jacket or lead-free bullets--even lead-free primers.

But where they can be used (which is most places) something like the hard-cast bullets from Oregon Trail will be superb.

That brings us to our last category: plated bullets. Here, lead cores are shaped to bullet profiles. Then they are dumped in a vat of copper-containing electroplating solution, and the electricity is turned on. (Obviously there are more details than that, otherwise they'd be fused into one copper-plated mass.)

The copper-plated bullets are tougher than all lead but not as tough as jacketed ones. They are also in between in cost, too. However, if you do not need the expanding abilities of jacketed hollowpoints, want the cleanliness or speed of jacketed--at something closer to lead in cost--plated bullets are for you.

You'll have to be aware of a few things, however. Plated bullets can be very touchy about crimp. Reloading your ammunition requires that you bell the case to allow clean bullet insertion. Then, you have to un-bell and typically apply a slight crimp. If you crimp a plated bullet too much, you can cut through the plating, and then accuracy typically goes all to hell.

Berry's Bullets makes plated bullets, and it also makes a type known as the "double strike" plated bullet. There, the bullets, once plated, are fed into a machine that "bumps" or slightly swages them, to increase uniformity and to harden the plating.

Now, there are always exceptions. Speer Gold Dots are bullets made via the plating process but are so thickly plated, and then pierced and swaged into hollowpoints, that they perform like the best of jacketed bullets.

Hornady XTP bullets are known for their accuracy. And their expense. Since expanding in cardboard targets is an aspect completely absent in competition, Hornady makes its HAP; the XTP without the extra work to make it expand. Still superbly accurate but less expensive because there is less work involved in making them.

And what if you want penetration but not expansion? Go with a jacketed bullet? No, lead. There, a hard-cast lead of the right shape, such as one of Cast Performance bullets like its 300-grain Wide Flat Nose Gas Check for the .44 Magnum, will not expand worth a whit, but it will drill a .430-inch diameter hole for the next four feet of critter (driven to the correct velocity, of course), which is what you need if you are hunting bear, moose, or other big, dangerous animals.

Wise InvestingAs the most expensive component of your ammunition, bullets are a significant investment. They do not, however, have a shelf life. Bullets bought last week work the same as bullets bought in the last century. If you find a bullet that works well in your handgun, and you expect to be using it for some time, inquire about volume buying. Cast bullets especially can be had at a discount if you buy a lot, and even more if you can arrange to pick them up.

I once arranged the pickup of 50,000 hard-cast bullets for reloading and met the caster at the match where he was going to be anyway. Yes, my truck struggled mightily on the trip back, but the cost in extra gas from the weight was nothing compared to the shipping cost they'd have racked up.

Get together with some of the guys at your gun club. Find someone with a truck up to the task. Make a group purchase and pickup, and then divvy them once you get back home. The more you save, the more you shoot.

Pass/Fail

How The FBI determines what ammo goes to the head of the class

The question often comes up, "You talk about the FBI tests, but exactly what are they?" As I mentioned in passing in my previous column, until the mid-1980s we did not have a scientifically repeatable tissue stimulant in which to test bullet performance. Then Dr. Martin Fackler--working at the U.S. Army Wound Ballistics Research Laboratory, Presidio of San Francisco--developed ballistic gelatin, which permitted researchers to test and compare bullet performance.

After the FBI Miami shootout--in which eight agents fought with two suspects, the latter continuing the battle even after being hit more than once--the Federal Bureau of Investigation set about creating a scientific method to measure bullet performance. I don't think the bureau intended to make the test an industry-wide standard, but that's the way things have turned out.

The process starts with gelatin, specifically Kind & Knox 250, in a 10 percent solution--one part gelatin by weight to nine parts water by weight. The process is strictly defined: The temperature during mixing has to remain within a limited range. If the mixing water is too hot or cool, then the strength of the resulting gel mix changes.

Once mixed, it is poured into molds and cooled. The mold size is defined for either handgun or rifle cartridge use. Handgun tests employ blocks that are 6x6x16 inches, and the blocks are cooled to 39.2 degrees and stored until needed.

The blocks must be shot within 20 minutes of being removed from the refrigerator. The gel blocks each have a thermometer stuck in them to check their temps. If they get too cool or warm, they are either adjusted or discarded.

Once the temperature is checked, then the block is further tested for consistency by having a steel BB fired into it. The BB is chronographed as it is fired, and if it is too slow or fast, the test has to be repeated. The pellet, once fired within an accepted range, has to penetrate a certain amount, plus or minus a small margin for error. Again, if it does not pass this test, the block is pitched.FBI Ammo Test Video

Finally, it has a bullet fired into it. One block, one bullet, 10 feet from muzzle to gel block. In some labs, the block can and will be melted, filtered, cast and re-chilled. In others, one use and it is gone.

Now we get to the interesting part: Repeat as necessary. You see, the FBI, in proper scientific fashion, shoots a number of bullets and then takes the averages of their performance: depth of penetration, expansion, retained weight, etc.

So five shots, each with its own block. Penetration is measured to the nearest quarter-inch, and expansion is measured as well. Expansion is the smallest diameter averaged with the largest diameter on each bullet.

But, wait, it gets better. The FBI recognizes that armed encounters rarely involve naked perpetrators. Bad guys do wear clothes, and they do hide behind things, so the bureau tests for those parameters, too. A full test will involve bare gelatin, as well as intermediate barriers of heavy clothing, plywood, auto glass, sheet metal and wallboard. And just to be thorough, the heavy clothing and auto glass tests are repeated at 20 yards in addition to the 10-foot distance.

The heavy clothing test uses four layers: T-shirt, dress shirt, synthetic insulation and heavy denim are laid against the face of the gel block before firing. The sheet metal test uses two six-inch square pieces of 20-gauge hot-rolled galvanized steel, set three inches apart and 18 inches from the gel block impact face. The gel also has a T-shirt layer on it.

he plywood is a six-inch square piece of AA fir plywood, but just one. Again, the distance is 18 inches from plywood to gel, with a single layer of T-shirt material on the gelatin.

The wallboard is two pieces of standard half-inch gypsum, spaced 3.5 inches apart. Why 3.5 inches, you ask? The actual width of a 2x4, this simulates an interior wall. And again, there are 18 inches of air space between "wall" and gel, with a single layer of T-shirt material.

Last up is the auto glass, and here I have a minor quibble with the FBI. The glass is laminated safety glass: a 15x18-inch piece of quarter-inch windshield glass. The glass is 18 inches from the gel, and yet another long-suffering piece of T-shirt material is on the gel. The glass is tipped back at a 45-degree angle, which is good, simulating an auto windshield to someone on foot.

However, the FBI also insists that the glass be angled 15 degrees to the side, to create a "compound" angle. Guys, study your Euclidean geometry: The intersection of a line and a plane has a simple angle of incidence. No matter how much you tilt that glass, there is no compound angle. But, as I said, it's a minor quibble.

The data gathered by all this are rigorously correct and accurate. Is it, however, a realistic expectation of what bullets do to people? The jury is still out, but in that regard ballistic gelatin is a whole lot closer than earlier test media.

Just what is the desired outcome of all this? What do we learn? Well, the FBI expects a bullet fired in all these tests to expand and not fragment. It must penetrate 12 inches of gelatin or the bureau considers it a failure.

As I've written before, if a bullet traverses a felon's sternum and then expands to the size of a manhole cover, but stops at 11 inches, the FBI considers it a failure. I would not.

The bureau wants full expansion, at least 12 inches of penetration, and up to 18 would be peachy-keen. That's a lot to ask of a handgun bullet, but the manufacturers have stepped up and provided bullets that meet the test. These cost more than bullets developed before the protocols and bullets not meant to meet the standards.

Conducting a full cartridge test is expensive, and the manufacturer has to do it before it hands ammo over to the FBI since there's no point in shipping the bureau ammo that won't pass muster. It takes no fewer than 48 gelatin blocks to do a test, and depending on how parsimonious the testers are, a single cartridge test can use up a good bit of heavy clothing, as well as a number of T-shirts.

Ten pieces of steel, 10 pieces of wallboard, five pieces of plywood and five pieces of auto glass get used up for each cartridge. At an optimistic estimate of costs, each cartridge test runs about $3,000 in test materials. Add in ammunition costs, the overhead for the range, the kitchen and coolers to chill the gel, and the salaries of the agents involved, and I can't see the cost of FBI testing being less than $10,000.

So now when next you see a list of FBI-tested calibers and bullet weights, you have an idea of the work involved as well as the cost. And you have a good idea of why ammo can be expensive.

Bullet Points

A guide to choosing the right slugs for handloading.

I started reloading for two very good reasons: I was a kid who couldn't afford factory ammo and factory ammo was wildly inaccurate in my reproduction .44-40 Single Action Army. Those two reasons--the high cost of factory ammo and the ability to load ammo for a specific gun/purpose--still stand as the primary ones for me.

I like to shoot in small-time action-pistol matches, and I can't afford to buy nearly enough ammo to practice and compete with. A progressive reloading press and bulk-purchased cast bullets solve that. There are good choices for ranges that require bullets with no exposed lead, too. More on that later.

I also like to shoot high-performance handgun loads, whether it be .357 Magnum silhouette-type loads or .500 S&W Magnum hunting loads. Some of these are simply not available in factory ammo, and those that are typically cost a great deal. So I handload.

Full-metal-jacket bullets are reliable and easy to reload, but for economical shooting, bulk cast or swaged bullets are the way to go.

Also, in some cases, one must reload to attain acceptable accuracy. That .44-40 is a good example. It had some real problems, primarily the fact that it had a standard .429-inch-bore barrel instead of the .427-inch bore diameter called for in .44-40 cartridge specs. So factory loads with the proper .427 diameter wouldn't shoot well at all, but once I slugged the bore and discovered the true bore diameter, I realized I could safely handload .429 and .430 bullets. The gun shoots them like a champ.

Bullet choice is a big part of concocting handloads for handguns. And there are so many choices out there that it can become mind-boggling.

The best approach I've found is to identify the critical aspect of the loads intended purpose. Is it for practice--a lot of practice--only? Do you intend to compete with it? What kind of competition? Or is it going to be called on to expand reliably and penetrate deeply on a big, heavy-boned game animal, possibly at long range?

I should note here that I don't handload self-defense ammo, primarily for liability reasons. If, heaven forbid, I ever do have to use deadly force to defend myself or loved ones, I don't want a prosecutor labeling me a nut who builds special "man-killer" loads.

The biggest quantity of handgun ammo is loaded for practice, plinking and competing. But even here, certain stipulations apply. For instance, reliability isn't that important when plinking, but in competition a jammed pistol can mean the difference between winning and losing. Also, some ranges prohibit bullets with exposed lead.

When choosing a bullet for this category, which in my case is primarily limited to action-pistol shooting, I tend to start with a bullet in the mid- to upper weight range. In some semiautos, they seem to function better than the light-for-caliber versions.

I like lead bullets, and I'll usually choose a design with nice clean lines on its nose. I've always felt that when it comes to reliability, any edge that can catch on something will. So I like roundnoses for semiautos and for revolvers that will be loaded with a speedloader.

Some shooters are concerned with the leading problem often associated with lead bullets. With correct bullet choice, it shouldn't be an issue. Assuming a proper-diameter bullet, the most important factor is velocity, and bullet type must be matched to a suitable velocity.

Factory ammo for some cartridges is very expensive. It’s much cheaper to reload high-performance ammo. From left: .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, .460 S&W Magnum, .480 Ruger, .500 Linebaugh and .500 S&W Magnum.

For accurate, inexpensive revolver practice, it’s hard to beat Hornady's hollow-base wadcutters from a .38. For a bit more distance, load Sierra’s 170-grain silhouette bullets in your .357 Magnum.

Swaged (cold formed) lead bullets shouldn't be pushed much over 1,000 or 1,100 fps, and I prefer to keep velocities under 900 fps with them. Cartridges such the .45 ACP and .38 Special, combined with a bullet in the mid- to upper weight range, are perfect candidates for those velocities.

When you step up in velocity to anything in the 1,100 to 1,600 fps range, you need a hard-alloy cast bullet. The alloys necessary to make a bullet hard enough to withstand these velocities are too hard to be swaged from cold stock. Most revolver and some semiauto cartridges--such as the 9mm--fall into this category.

If you intend to push cast bullets faster than about 1,600 fps, you need a hard-cast bullet with a gas check. Basically a very short copper cup that crimps on over the base of the bullet, it protects the base from hot gases and lessens the effect of dramatically increased friction. A gas check will allow you to shoot cast bullets at well over 2,000 fps.

For cartridges that will likely be loaded in bulk for competition, the author prefers smooth-contoured roundnose bullets.

Grease grooves and crimping grooves can play an important part in choosing a cast bullet, especially the crimping groove. Grease grooves simply provide lubricant to help avoid excessive fouling and leading, but occasionally, on multiple-groove bullets, the forward grease groove also acts as the crimping groove.

Cast bullets, by nature, seem to grip the inside walls of the cartridge case quite well--better than jacketed bullets do. And some light-recoiling calibers may not call for a crimp.

However, a crimp should be used--in broad terms--with almost all handgun handloads, and the crimping groove must be in the correct place on the bullet shank to allow the bullet to be loaded to correct overall length.

How do you tell? The most reliable method is to measure the bullet with a caliper. If you know the correct overall length parameters of the cartridge you're loading, simply subtract the correct case length, and the remainder should roughly equal the distance from the forward edge of the crimping groove to the nose of the bullet.

Bullets for semiauto pistol calibers often don't have a crimping groove. This is because many such calibers headspace on the mouth of the case, and should a well-meaning handloader aggressively crimp the mouth of the case into a groove, it would cause excessive headspace--and that's bad.

In most cases, it's best to give cartridges that headspace on the mouth of the case only a mild crimp. If no crimping groove is present, the mouth of the case will simply press into the shank of the bullet slightly.

Don't get too hung up on the groove issue though. If a bullet is designated for a particular caliber, the groove--if present--will almost always be located correctly.

If a bullet with no exposed lead is called for when building practice, plinking and/or competition ammo, I really like Berry's plated bullets. Less expensive than jacketed bullets, they shoot well and feed well in most pistols. They don't lead your bore, and they're available in bulk. My friends and I have shot literally thousands downrange with no issues.

I also like full metal jacket bullets very much, but they start to get expensive--not as expensive as hollowpoints but too expensive to fuel my shooting addiction. I do use them, but not extensively.

Handgun bullets usually require a crimp -- especially heavy-recoiling magnums -- and crimp grooves must be in the right place. Some bullets have dual crimping grooves to accommodate various cartridge overall lengths.

As far as loading semiauto pistol ammo with hollowpoints, I almost never do. The calibers involved aren't usually powerful enough for hunting big game, so really the only purpose is for self-defense. And as I said, I don't use handloads for self-defense.

However, I do load hollowpoints and softnose designs for several revolver calibers, typically in magnums I intend to hunt with. For the .357 Magnum, the generally accepted minimum caliber for deer-size game, I like heavy-for-caliber projectiles, such as Hornady's 180-grain XTP or Nosler's top-notch 180-grain Partition, that are designed specifically for hunting.

As cartridge size becomes bigger, gaining appropriate bullet weight becomes less of an issue, and appropriate choices become much broader.

Many of the bigger revolver cartridges are specialized to the point that it's worthless to load anything but bullets suitable for hunting in them. I like either hard-cast Keith-type lead bullets, flat-nose bullets with very broad meplats or quality jacketed hollowpoints or softnose bullets for use in practically all big-bore revolver loads from .41 Magnum to .500 S&W Magnum.

However, for the combination of long-range accuracy and knockdown power that silhouette shooters require, you need long, streamlined bullets. Handgun silhouette shooters are among the most passionate about high-performance handgun handloads, those designed specifically to carry well and knock over heavy steel ram silhouettes at 200 yards.

And there is merit in loading practice loads for the really big magnums. Firing 50 to 100 full-power rounds through a .500 S&W Magnum in one practice session is an exercise in folly, and it can cause spectacularly bad shooting habits to develop.

If you're interested in lighter loads for the magnums, simply choose a bullet that falls in the lightest category for your caliber, whether cast lead or jacketed, and load with starting charges from a reloading manual.

On today's shooting scene, factory ammunition is becoming so expensive that it's almost out of reach for many of the most active shooters. In calibers like the .500 S&W and other big-bore magnums, cartridges can cost upwards of $2 or $3 a pop. And even basic full-metal-jacket pistol ammo is reaching 20 to 50 cents a shot. That adds up in a hurry during a dedicated practice session or a competition.

With today's myriad choices in inexpensive and high-performance component bullets, there's no better time to get serious about reloading. And who knows? With the right choice of bullet, your handloads might just outperform the factory loads you've been shooting.

A Critical Choice

Hornady's newest has the right mix of power and penetration.

In bare gelatin, the Hornady Critical Defense .380 load showed excellent penetration for its power level and perfect expansion.

We don't all carry big guns. If you spend any time at all packing after getting your carry permit, you quickly learn that packing a big gun can be a literal pain in the back.

If you've followed the progress of bullet design to any extent, you'll have some recollection of the FBI tests. Beginning in the mid-late 1980s, the FBI turned itself into the bullet-testing arm of law enforcement. Basically, the FBI added barrier penetration-- light and heavy clothing, sheet metal, auto glass and marine plywood--to the International Wound Ballistics Association bullet-testing ballistic gelatin protocol.

The FBI also insisted on deep penetration; anything less than a foot was deemed insufficient--for law enforcement needs, that is. For the rest of us, the need to shoot through auto glass, sheet metal and plywood are probably not as great. However, there is one aspect of the FBI test that is of importance: performance through clothing. An attacker in the winter might well be wearing multiple layers of clothing, layers that can clog a hollowpoint and decrease or prevent its expansion.

The design aspects of hollowpoint construction that aid bullet performance through metal, glass and wood often work against performance in heavy clothing. A bullet that holds together after passing through auto glass may well fail to expand after passing through a down vest and multiple layers of denim. Also, to generate the performance the FBI requires, ammunition manufacturers have to load their ammunition to the top of its performance specs.

That can be tough to deal with in lightweight carry guns that are comfortable to have around all day. In some calibers, it can't be done at all. The .38 Special is a "threshold" caliber, where you may or may not be able to generate the performance the FBI needs. The .380? Forget about it--at least in any conventional load.

Hornady considered what most of us really carry and designed a line of ammunition for those guns often on our belts and the performance we'll most likely need: reliability, accuracy, relatively low recoil and full expansion in gelatin after clothing.

Hornady specifically designed the Critical Defense line for .380, 9mm, .38 Special and .357 Magnum, the calibers we're more likely to be carrying. The bullet is intended to perform well in gelatin--clothing or no--but auto glass, metal and plywood performance are not as good. That's the price you pay for an easy-to-shoot load that works well in the non-law enforcement world.

I had a chance to shoot with the Hornady ballisticians and later test some gelatin for myself. The cases are nickel-plated for reliable feeding, and the bullet shape--a flat-pointed cone--also aids in feeding. The hollowpoint is plugged with a small blob of polymer.

I fired .380 and 9mm Critical Defense through combined heavy clothing and down vest material, into gelatin and found that it performed pretty well.

The .380 load fell short of the FBI minimum, which is 12 inches of gelatin with full expansion. The Critical Defense out of a Ruger LCP managed "only" nine to 10 inches of penetration. But again, this is designed for civilian needs, not law enforcement, and compared to other .380 loads, this is darned good.

Other current hollowpoints out of .380s often fail to reliably expand, or the hollowpoints clog with cloth and act as full-metal-jacket bullets. And it's only recently that the idea of a .380 bullet expanding reliably would even be considered as hollowpoint .380 ammo from even a decade ago won't expand at all in bare gelatin, let alone in the heavy clothing test. Short barrels make expansion even less likely, and you really have to work hard to find something more compact and easier-to-carry than a Ruger LCP or, say, a Kel-Tec P3-AT.

Critical Defense exhibited excellent 25-yard accuracy out of a Kel-Tec P3-AT. The box will probably look much different by the time the ammo hits dealer shelves.

I happen to have just such a Kel-Tec, and that's what I used for chronograph and accuracy testing. I was able to shoot groups just over four inches in size at 25 yards. That won't excite you Bullseye shooters out there, but for a double-action-only compact .380 with dinky sights, it is very accurate indeed.

As for velocity, the 90-grain bullets averaged a very consistent 860 fps. No, that isn't a blazing speed, but who wants to shoot a compact pistol with a .380 load that does all it can to approach 1,000 fps? No, 860 fps is a good velocity when you consider that you get nine to 10 inches of gelatin penetration, Hornady accuracy and reliability, and consistent expansion.

If you're certain you'll be shooting miscreants through barriers such as glass, metal and wood, or if you simply have to show off to your buddies that you carry the absolute fastest ammo, Critical Defense is not for you. For the rest of us, who balance all the factors that go into load selection, Hornady has another winner.

Military Ammo Today

Modern body armor has the armies of the world rethinking their pistol rounds.

At the dawn of the 21st century, service pistols face a new challenge that threatens to render them all but obsolete: Body armor capable of stopping standard service pistol cartridges is becoming widely available. Currently there are two trends in military handgun ammunition to address this growing concern. One is the development of small-bore, high-velocity, armor-piercing rounds. These are capable of penetrating soft body armor but have questionable terminal performance.

The other is an attempt to extend the life of the 9x19mm through the development of modern armor-piercing loads. Both approaches are an attempt to keep the standard service pistol a viable weapon on the modern battlefield. Although perhaps adequate when it comes to soft body armor, no military handgun ammunition is capable of defeating current hard plates.

5.45x18mm

Developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, the 5.45x18mm 7N7 cartridge was the first of the modern small-bore military handgun rounds. A tiny bottlenecked round, the 5.45x18mm was designed specifically for the compact Pistolet Samozaryadniy Malogabaritniy (Pistol Semi-automatic Miniature or simply PSM) pistol. Dimensionally it has a caliber of 5.45mm (.214 inch) and a case length of 17.8mm (.701 inch). The projectile is a gilding metal clad, steel-cored flat point. Projectile length is approximately 14mm with a weight of 41 grains.

Muzzle velocity is a sedate 1,033 fps, which generates a lackluster 98 ft.-lbs. of energy. Despite the low velocity, the 5.45x18mm’s projectile diameter and design allow it to penetrate 30 to 45 layers of Kevlar. Intended for high-ranking Soviet officers, the PSM was light and easy to carry yet still capable of penetrating the U.S. flak jackets of the period.

Strengths: A small round chambered in an easy to conceal handgun, good penetration of soft body armor, mild recoil, easy to suppress.

Weaknesses: Underpowered, poor terminal performance, largely unknown outside of Russia.

5.7x28mmIn the 1980s, lightweight personal body armor was becoming more prevalent among Soviet units. While these flak jackets were easily penetrated by rifle fire, they were able to defeat 9x19mm ball rounds. So there was growing concern over NATO’s 9x19mm weapons being rendered obsolete. Fabrique Nationale recognized this threat and began working on a solution in the 1980s, an effort that picked up steam when NATO established the CRISAT target--a 1.6mm titanium plate and 20 Kevlar folds--as a penetration standard. FN responded with a small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge called the 5.7x28mm.

A small bottlenecked cartridge with a 28mm-long case, it’s topped with a .224-inch-diameter projectile. The standard military SS190 ball loading features a 31-grain armor-piercing FMJ-BT projectile, and there are tracer, subsonic and practice rounds, too--as well as commercial 40-grain sporting ammunition (SS196 and SS197). (Editor’s note: FN and ATK, parent of Federal Cartridge, recently signed a distribution agreement under which ATK would become the exclusive distributor of commercial sporting ammo in the U.S.; the restricted law enforcement and military ammunition remains an FNH USA product.)

The cartridge’s overall length is 40.5mm, and it weighs half what a 9x19mm cartridge does. To cut through soft body armor, the .224-diameter SS190 projectile incorporates a cone-shaped steel penetrator sitting atop an aluminum core surrounded by a steel jacket.

Velocity of the 5.7x28mm SS190 ball load from a P90 PDW’s 10.2-inch barrel is 2,346 fps. Fired from an FN Five-seveN service pistol it still clocks a respectable 2,133 fps. Despite the high muzzle velocity, recoil is approximately 30 percent less than a 9x19mm. The 5.7x28mm is capable of defeating the CRISAT target at 200 meters.

Of all the small-bore cartridges the 5.7x28mm appears to be the best of the bunch. It’s quite accurate, allows a high magazine capacity in a handgun, has mild recoil and is capable of penetrating a substantial amount of soft body armor. It also appears to offer an edge in terminal performance over its small-bore peers.

However, many qualified individuals still question if the terminal performance of this round is adequate for military use. What becomes of the 5.7x28mm, if anything, regarding widespread military adoption remains to be seen.

Strengths: excellent penetration of soft body armor, very good accuracy, mild recoil, high magazine capacity, a variety of loads available, growing more common, produced by a recognized leader in the small arms industry.

Weaknesses: bright muzzle flash, untested terminal performance in military use.

5.8x21mmOne little-known recent development is the 5.8x21mm cartridge recently fielded by China. For decades, the standard service pistol of the People’s Liberation Army has been the 7.62x25mm Type 54. When the PLA began looking for a suitable replacement for the Type 54, it decided to replace the 7.62x25mm cartridge with a small-bore, high-velocity round. Chinese engineers believed such a projectile would yaw quickly in tissue and produce a larger wound cavity than a conventional 9mm FMJ projectile. In this way they hoped to enhance terminal performance.

By pushing the small, 5.8mm projectile to above-average velocities, penetration of body armor would also be substantially improved. It was envisioned the new cartridge would be able to outperform any 9x19mm armor-piercing loads in this regard. Recoil would be light, allowing fast follow-up shots. Plus, as the cartridges would be smaller and lighter, magazine capacity would be greater, allowing more rounds to be carried.

The end result of is the 5.8x21mm DAP-92. It’s a small bottlenecked cartridge with an overall length of 33.5mm. The copper-washed steel case is 8mm in diameter at the rim and has a slight taper to aid reliability. Overall cartridge weight is just 92.5 grains.

The cartridge is topped with a .236-inch armor-piercing projectile weighing 45 grains. The projectile features a steel jacket, a hardened steel penetrator and a lead filler in the base. The PLA claims a muzzle velocity of 1,574 fps when fired from its newly adopted QSZ-92 service pistol.

The PLA says this round will penetrate a 1.3mm-thick plate of 232 helmet steel and two inches of wood planking at 50 meters. During testing performed by the PLA in 12-inch blocks of soap, the load yawed within 1 centimeter of entry and tumbled--leaving a cavity 2.5 times larger than a 9x19mm FMJ. Recoil, as to be expected, is mild. Accuracy is said to be good, with a 20-round group having an extreme spread of 2.1 inches at 25 meters.

The Chinese went on to adopt QSZ-92 pistols in not only 5.8x21mm but also 9x19mm (more on that later). The QSZ-92 is currently replacing the old Type 54s still in service.

The 5.8x21mm is important because it is the first small-bore, high-velocity round to be adopted by a major military power on a large scale. Whether its terminal performance is adequate remains to be tested in actual combat.

Strengths: armor-piercing ammunition standard, mild recoil, very good accuracy, high magazine capacity, very good penetration of soft body armor.

Weaknesses: unknown outside of China, potentially poor terminal performance.

7.62x25mmFirst fielded by the Soviet Union in 1930, the 7.62x25mm has seen extensive combat over the years in both submachine guns and handguns. Replaced by the 9x18mm in Soviet service in the 1950s, it soldiers on with the People’s Liberation Army of China. Although currently being replaced in Chinese service, 7.62x25mm Type 54s will no doubt be fielded well into the future with certain PLA units.

Based on the old 7.63mm Mauser, this bottleneck cartridge has an overall length of 1.35 inch (34mm) and a case length of .97 inch (25mm). Rim diameter is .390 inch (9.9mm). Projectile diameter is .309 inch.

During its service life, the Soviets issued a number of loads in this caliber including ball, armor-piercing, tracer and incendiary ammunition. Standard ball ammunition has a projectile weight of 86 grains, with both lead- and steel-core projectiles being common. Depending upon the country of origin and application, velocities range from 1,350 fps to 1,600 fps.

It is the only standard service pistol cartridge capable of defeating modern body armor when loaded with standard steel-core ball ammunition.

Strengths: widely available, very good penetration, capable of defeating lower-threat-level soft body armor with ball ammunition, good accuracy.

Weaknesses: no modern pistols available in this caliber, no modern armor-piercing loads in this caliber, bright muzzle flash, corrosive ammunition and lackluster terminal performance.

9x18mmDeveloped in the late 1940s, the 9x18mm cartridge replaced the 7.62x25mm in Soviet service. A squat, underpowered cartridge, the 9x18mm has seen widespread use in the former Communist bloc countries and around the world. The cartridge has an overall length of just .970 inch and a case length of .709 inch (18mm). Rim diameter is .390 inch and bullet diameter is .364 inch (9.25mm). Bullet weight can vary, but the standard Russian load drives a 95-grain steel-core FMJ at 1,033 fps.

Despite a 50-year service life, this cartridge has never been popular in Soviet military or law-enforcement service due to its poor terminal performance and inability to penetrate body armor or automobile bodies.

In an attempt to improve performance, the Russians developed an improved "anti-vest" load for the PMM pistol. It drives an 89-grain bullet at 1,213 fps and is said to be capable of penetrating a 3mm-thick armor plate 80 percent of the time at 25 meters. But even this slightly improved loading was not deemed sufficient, and Russia has recently adopted the 9x19mm PYa, although the 9x18 will be widely used around the world for years.

Strengths: accurate and widely available in an easy to conceal and reliable platform.

Weaknesses: poor terminal performance and poor penetration.

9x19mmThe most commonly fielded service pistol cartridge around the world is currently the 9x19mm (aka 9mm Parabellum). Dating from 1901, the 9x19mm has seen combat around the world in both handguns and submachine guns. Adopted by the U.S. military in the 1980s, the 9x19mm is universally disliked by American soldiers. This is due to the lackluster terminal performance of the standard-issue M882 ball round. Although steps were taken to replace the current issue 9x19mm M9s currently in U.S. service with a modern .45 ACP, nothing came of the effort, and it appears the 9x19mm will soldier on with the U.S. military for the foreseeable future.

It’s interesting to note that the 9x19mm is not so unpopular on the other side of the pond. As mentioned, the Russians recently replaced their domestically designed 9x18mm cartridge with a modern 9x19mm armor-piercing load.

Designated 7N21, this 83-grain load was developed specifically to penetrate modern soft body armor. The extremely light weight of the projectile allows it to be driven very fast, and the muzzle velocity is an unconfirmed 1,509 fps. It’s claimed this load is capable of penetrating a 4mm thick armor plate 80 percent of the time at 55 meters.

Accuracy of the ammunition is listed as an R50 of 1.1 inches at 25 meters (meaning the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle 1.1 inches in diameter at 25 meters).

Like the Russians, the People’s Liberation Army of China has also recently adopted the 9x19mm cartridge. It’s chambered in the new QSZ-92 pistol. The standard issue load is an armor-piercing round designated DAP-92 9x19mm. Bullet weight is listed as 123 grains, and muzzle velocity is purported to be 1,181 fps.

Although the ballistics of this load appear rather ho-hum, the Chinese say its "compound core structure" (with a dual lead-and-steel core) provides enhanced penetration without the need for extreme velocity.

The Chinese claim this load will penetrate a 1.3mm-thick plate of 232 helmet steel and then two inches of wood planking at a distance of 50 meters. They also claim this load yaws quickly in soft tissue, thus improving terminal performance over a conventional 9x19mm FMJ or high velocity armor-piercing projectile. Accuracy of this load is good, with 20 rounds having an extreme spread of 2.3 inches at 25 meters.

Despite all the hoopla, I doubt the terminal performance of either the Russian 7N21 or Chinese DAP-92 will be any better than our M882 ball load. That said, the claimed penetration of Russia’s new 7N21 load is fairly impressive. If it proves capable of penetrating U.S. soft body armor, it would provide a real advantage over our own M882 ball round.

Strengths: available around the world, capable of excellent accuracy, relatively mild recoil, high magazine capacity and capable of penetrating soft body armor in specialized armor-piercing loadings.

Weaknesses: mediocre terminal performance with ball ammunition, standard ball ammunition unable to penetrate soft body armor.

.45 ACPThe big .45 ACP was developed in 1904 specifically to provide U.S. troops with a handgun cartridge possessing excellent terminal performance. Replaced in the 1980s, it still soldiers on with some special operations units. Driving a 230-grain .451-inch FMJ projectile at 830 fps, the .45 ACP is held in high regard by U.S. troops. When limited to FMJ projectiles, the .45 ACP still provides the best combination of terminal performance and recoil.

The weakness of this cartridge is its lack of penetration. Easily stopped by soft body armor in its standard FMJ loading, a specialized armor-piercing load would need to be fielded to enable it to defeat this obstacle. It’s unfortunate that everything that makes the .45 ACP perform well against an unarmored target works against it when facing soft body armor.

Strengths: good terminal performance with ball ammunition, excellent accuracy, easy to suppress.

Weaknesses: poor penetration, heavier than average recoil, heavy ammo.

Totally Shocking

Extreme Shock ammo takes a radical approach to lethality.

talk about Extreme Shock. Yes, the advertising campaign is different. So is the ammo. Extreme Shock loads the projectile jacket with a compressed pellet of tungsten powder. The powder has been treated so it does not sinter-weld in the jacket and thus does not

form a homogenous projectile. When it hits a target, the jacket breaks up and the tungsten powder pellet then creates a storm cloud of hundreds of small wound channels.

If you are firmly of the belief that the FBI 12-inch penetration protocol is not just correct but graven in stone, you’re probably sputtering at this point. To see what it was about, I

took a trip to Extreme Shock (extremeshockusa.com) and spent a day with Jeff Mullins and his crew. The plant is large (for a custom bullet/ammo maker) clean, well-lit and has modern loading machines as well as the testing instruments you would expect for a metal-working shop.

I also shot and watched shot a bunch of blocks of a waxy substance to see what happens. I later shot ballistic gel to test the various bullets, and not surprisingly the bullets perform as described.

But they do not work as we expect traditional bullets to, so I’m still trying to get a handle on the dynamics and physics of it. Extreme Shock controls the rate of bullet disintegration by changing a number of bullet features. Obviously, jacket thickness controls bullet breakup, as does velocity; thinner jackets and higher velocities are going to create faster/sooner breakup.

Also, some of the Extreme Shock bullets have plastic tips in them. The tip material controls the rate of breakup as well. A harder plastic is going to set back faster, compressing the tungsten and bursting the jacket sooner. A softer composition is going to delay breakup, and the plastic compresses more before transferring the load to the tungsten core and thus to the jacket.

Still, there are some matters of simple Newtonian physics that simply cannot be gotten around, which I confirmed in my own testing. First of all, for this approach to work you need velocity. Slow things down enough and you decrease or eliminate the effect of the cartridge design.

Yes, I managed to make the rounds fail. It was not easy, but I managed it. The solution was to take the slowest round of the toughest design and shoot it in a firearm that decreased velocity even more. You also have to decrease resistance. Wax, ballistic gel, water-soaked paper, all offer more resistance than plain old water. So I shot into water, trying to make the bullets fail.

I know, I know, the FBI test protocols call for ballistic gel. I should know; I’ve done it enough times that I sometimes can smell the oil of cinnamon in the gel in my sleep. I was looking for the threshold of performance, the “below this it doesn’t work” level. I did find it, but it took some effort.

The route to that threshold is to take the .38 Special 115-grain Enhanced Penetration Round and fire it into water at the lowest velocity possible, where you will get an undeformed projectile for your efforts. To minimize the velocity, I shot it from a two-inch Charter Arms Undercover. The same bullet (115-grain EPR) out of a 9mm Ruger SR9 produced the impressive performance you expect from these bullets. The higher

initial velocity of the 9mm loading and the longer barrel of the SR9 ensured the bullet performed as expected.

What do the Extreme Shock bullets do, you ask? To compare once again to the FBI test, where anything that does not penetrate 12 inches has been deemed to fail, Extreme Shock bullets produce a six- to eight-inch wound track in ballistic gelatin with hundreds of particles in the impressive, football-shaped wound track.

In the larger calibers, with more mass to deliver, there are sizeable fragments exiting the “wound cloud” that exceed the 12-inch minimum. Even in water, once the velocity is up high enough, the follow-on water jugs look as if they have been shot with a shotgun. They’ll have dozens of holes through both sides of the jug walls.

Now, a lot of you with long memories will say “This has been done before” and point to various lead pellet-filled bullets from the past. However, tungsten has a greater density than lead and thus will penetrate deeper for any given size. Also, the formula Extreme Shock uses does not readily self-weld, and even those fragments that hold together are small while still penetrating well.

In the course of shooting various calibers, I ran into some interesting and entertaining info. The muzzle blast of the 9mm 85-grain AFR (Air Freedom Round), which is meant to be highly frangible, is so great that the first few shots recorded an average of 3,372 fps—which happens to be the speed of the muzzle blast shock front. I backed up a few feet and then got the real bullet velocity, shown in the accompanying table.

The velocities of the rounds do not appear to be obtained with excessive chamber pressure. In fact, the .38 Special and .45 ACP had primers that didn’t appear any different than the powder-puff target ammo I was testing on the same range trip. The .40 loads had normal primers, and the 9mm cases had primers that appeared to have had to work for a living, but not any harder than any other 9mm +P load I’ve ever shot.

The traditionalists among you will dismiss all this as just so much ballistic voodoo. However, the folks at Extreme Shock have a large number of satisfied customers and an impressive file of dead critter photos to show that, in hunting loads, the bullets kill game quickly.

One thing is for sure: This is the absolutely best ammo to be using indoors, in shoot houses and on steel plates. No lead, no fragments and no steel damage. Even if you believe the whole terminal ballistics of it is hoo-ha, police departments would be negligent if they didn’t investigate Extreme Shock ammo for indoor training.

Compared to traditional cup-and-core bullets Extreme Shock is expensive. Compared to other frangibles, it isn’t. Extreme Shock is developing a new formula that will lower the cost of the bullets without decreasing performance. Me, I’ll have to do more testing to wrap my brain around this.

In Defense of the 9

The world's most popular handgun round has its detractors. Here's why they're wrong and everyone else is right.

While the 9mm Parabellum--a.k.a. 9mm Luger, 9x19, 9mm NATO--is used by more armies, police forces and civilian shooters around the world than any handgun cartridge in history, it generates strong opinions among shooters. Some go so far as to claim its present popularity (it has, by the way, lasted 104 years) is but a passing fancy and shooters will come to their senses any day now and embrace larger caliber pistol cartridges.

Its rich history begins with Georg Luger, an Austrian engineer employed by Ludwig Loewe & Co. of Berlin--later known as Deutsche Waffen und Munitionfabriken or DWM--who was responsible for radically redesigning Hugo Borchardt's cumbersome semiauto pistol into what became the Pistole Parabellum. A new cartridge was also developed for it, the 7.65mm Parabellum, a rimless, bottlenecked case 23mm long that was topped with a 93-grain full-metal-jacketed bullet that was propelled to 1,220 fps.

Since the days of the first Browning Hi Powers, part of the 9mm’s allure for armies around the world--including ours--has been the ability of pistols so chambered to hold lots of rounds.

The pistol was adopted by Switzerland in 1900, and while the German army expressed interest, officials were concerned about the possible poor stopping power of the 7.65mm round. In 1902, DWM's engineers blew out neck of the cartridge case, shortened the length to 19mm, loaded it with a 9mm 124-grain FMJ, truncated-cone bullet traveling at approximately 1,150 fps and named it the 9mm Parabellum. Shortly after that, 9mm versions of the Pistole Parabellum were adopted by the German army and navy.

After the Great War, several new 9mm Parabellum pistols were developed, the most prominent being the FN Mle. 1935 (Belgium), Lathi L-35 (Finland), Radom VIS vz. 35

(Poland) and the Walther P38 (Germany). Of these and others, it was the FN Mle. 1935--better known as the Browning Hi Power--that probably had the biggest influence on the popularity of the 9mm cartridge. The Hi Power introduced the high-capacity magazine, and the gun eventually became the most widely used military/police pistol outside of the Soviet bloc.

1955 saw the introduction of the first U.S.-made 9mm Parabellum pistol, the S&W Model 39, and beginning in the 1970s a plethora of new 9mm pistols were introduced that combined the DA/SA trigger mechanism of the Smith & Wesson with the Hi Power's high-capacity magazine to produce a genre of handguns that became known as the "Wondernines."

While many traditionalists scoffed at the very concept of the Wondernine, the breed was immediately popular and soon became the choice of police agencies and armies around the world. NATO settled on the 9mm Parabellum as its issue pistol cartridge, and even the U.S. Army finally replaced .45 ACP 1911A1 pistol with the 9mm M9 Beretta. Then, in the late 1980s, Glock brought out the Glock 17, a high-capacity 9mm pistol with a polymer frame, and today nearly every major handgun maker has something similar in its stable.

But yet, despite this widespread popularity, the 9mm cartridge has its fair share of detractors. Critics generally call out the round for two things: lack of stopping power and lack of accuracy.

The author’s ballistic gelatin tests with 9mm bullets such as Remington’s Golden Sabre demonstrate the round’s excellent mushrooming and weight retention.

Perhaps at one time the "bigger bullets are better bullets" advocates had a point, but only to a degree. Ever since the less-than-positive interaction with the Moros of the Philippine islands, an influential clique in the U.S. Army has insisted that it was folly to go in harm's way armed with any handgun whose caliber did not start with a "4," and it is generally held that, when restricted to FMJ bullets, larger pistol cartridges are more effective than smaller ones.

Similar PerformanceWhile partisans of the .45 ACP claim it has a proven track record as a close-range fight stopper, the 7.62mm and 9mm cartridges used by other armies have their advantages, namely better penetration and superior long-range performance. While we have all heard it claimed that the .45 will knock 'em flat even it hits 'em in their little finger, a number of studies have shown that, when using full-metal-jacket bullets, the performance of the .45 ACP and 9mm Parabellum are quite similar.

Early knocks against the cartridge’s capabilities stemmed from lackluster ammo, which is no longer a problem with today’s excellent and varied jacketed hollowpoint loads.

According to the now-famous Strasbourg Tests, the Average Incapacitation Time of animals shot with .45 ACP hardball was 13.84 seconds while that of 9mm FMJ was 14.40 seconds. Further, Marshall and Sanow's study of one-shot stops in actual police shootings gives 9mm FMJ a higher rating (70 percent) than .45 ACP hardball (62 percent).

For all practical purposes, the accusation that the 9mm Parabellum lacks stopping power has been rendered largely moot by the development of high-performance ammunition. Beginning in the early 1970s, American ammunition makers developed jacketed hollowpoint bullets for the 9mm Parabellum, many of which are now offered in +P and +P+ loadings. These have been constantly improved to the point where they now provide both reliable penetration and expansion.

According to the aforementioned tests, results from 9mm JHP and .45 JHP are surprisingly similar. The Strasbourg tests of the best 9mm load (Federal 115-grain +P+) gave an Average Incapacitation Time of 8.9 seconds while the highest rated .45 ACP (Remington 185-grain +P) came in at 7.98. Marshall and Sanow rate the best 9mm load, also the Federal, with 91 percent of one-shot stops; the highest-scoring .45 ACP (Federal 230-grain HydraShok) had 96 percent.

There can be no denying that the .45 ACP is an excellent combat cartridge. But I think the results of these tests show that the 9mm Parabellum is not the ineffective pipsqueak many of its detractors claim it to be.

The 9mm also gets knocked for a lack of accuracy. Until the 1960s, most American shooters' only exposure to the 9mm Parabellum usually consisted of shooting beat-up European military pistols with horrible sights and bad triggers. At the time, the only 9mm ammunition readily available in this country was the standard commercial FMJ load or surplus ammunition. But with the rise of the Wondernines came an increased use of 9mm pistols in bullseye, PPC, USPSA, IDPA and steel matches, which resulted in the development of high-performance match ammunition.

Several years ago I tested an S&W 952 target pistol which, when fired from a rest at 25 yards with Cor-Bon 147-grain Performance Match ammunition, routinely produced one-inch groups. I currently use a Para-Ordnance 18.9 High Capacity Single Action pistol for steel plate matches which, with my 9mm handloads, has shown itself capable of shooting sub-two-inch groups at 25 yards all day long.

The 9mm Parabellum is simply not the inaccurate wimp of a cartridge its detractors make it out to be, and I think there's another case to be made: that the 9mm is actually a more practical choice than its bigger-bore brethren.

For starters, the 9mm is lighter. I don't know about you, but as I have matured I have developed an aversion to carrying heavy objects for extended periods of time and, accordingly, the two pistols I use for everyday carry are polymer-frame guns whose lightweight bona fides are accentuated by being chambered for the 9mm.

As an example, my 9mm Glock 17 loaded with 17 rounds of 115-grain JHP weighs approximately 31.5 ounces, which is less than an empty .45 caliber 1911 pistol.

Not only can 9mm pistols be made smaller and lighter than larger caliber ones, but the ammunition weighs less, which allows the shooters, soldiers and police officers to carry more rounds for the same weight. For instance, 100 rounds of 115-grain 9mm ammo weighs approximately 42 ounces, whereas an equal number of 180-grain .40 S&W and 230-grain .45 ACP weigh 59 and 74 ounces respectively.

Now, while there are a number of excellent compact and subcompact .40 and .45 pistols, some of which are nearly as light as their 9mm brethren, the laws of physics dictate that no matter what you do about it, they are going to produce heavier levels of recoil.

Recoil is one of the primary limitations to fast, accurate shooting. While some people are willing to exchange bullet diameter for speed and accuracy, I am not. I would much rather hit the target accurately and quickly with multiple 9mm projectiles than perhaps miss with one .40 or .45.

Speaking of multiple projectiles, magazine capacity was, and is, one of the major selling points of 9mm pistols. While some say that high capacity leads to a dependence on "spray and pray" instead of firing well-aimed shots, I believe you can never have too much ammunition in a defensive firearm. And when I carry a pistol for personal protection, I think it's convenient having 12 to 17 rounds available without having to pack spare magazines.

Many critics of the 9mm say the round must expand to .45 caliber to be effective while the .45 ACP, of course, starts out at that caliber. Assuming for a moment that .45 inch is the standard for effectiveness, my testing of three different brands of 9mm JHP ammunition shows that the cartridge passes this test with flying colors.

I fired the rounds into ballistic gelatin blocks and then measured the size of the expanded projectiles and noted their retained weight. The Remington and Federal cartridges were fired into bare gelatin; Winchester rounds were fired into gelatin blocks that were covered with a layer of cloth to simulate a shirt.

While this is only a modest sampling, it does show that different brands of 9mm JHP bullets, selected at random (only one of which was a +P loading), all provided more than adequate expansion and weight retention.

My intent here is not to belittle the .40 S&W and .45 ACP cartridges nor to dissuade anyone from using pistols so chambered. My goal is simply to tell you this: With today's high-performance 9mm JHP ammo you get an accurate and sufficiently powerful defensive round--one fired from a handgun that is smaller, lighter, produces less recoil, has a higher magazine capacity and is easier to carry than its larger-caliber brethren. To my way of thinking, this is a win-win situation if there ever was one.

A Very Effective .38 Snubbie Load

There's a saying among the firearms cognoscenti: "Friends don't let friends carry mouseguns." That is, manly men, real men, carry big guns in big calibers. I guess I have to confess to not being a manly man because there have been times I've been packing a handgun whose caliber designation did not start with the numeral four. And all my usual backup guns are smaller than that "4" start. Oh, there have been times when I've been packing heavy and had bigbores and lots of them on my person. But the whispered seductions of an airweight .38 snubbie are sometimes like those of The One Ring--impossible to ignore.

But what do you feed the snubbie? The old 158-grain lead roundnose is great for practice but not much else. The FBI load (a swaged 158-grain SWC with a hollowpoint in it) was all the rage for quite some time, and for good reason. When it was current, it was the best there was.

But all .38 snubbies face the Procrustean bed of ballistics: One size doesn't fit all. Usually, to gain expansion you have to give up penetration. In some circles that's an acceptable tradeoff. Me, I'd rather not give up anything if I can keep it.

Which is why I found the Cor-Bon DPX line so interesting. Using bullets made of copper, they have no lead (thus are "condor safe") but still expand. The idea behind the DPX line of ammunition is to offset the usual decrease in penetration by using a bullet that expands in a controlled manner but still penetrates. Thus the copper bullets lacking lead and the deep but narrow (relatively speaking) hollowpoint.

The bullets themselves are longer than usual, again due to the lack of lead. To make this 110-grain bullet out of copper and provide a hollow up front that expands (but is controlled in doing so) requires a bullet nearly as long as a 158-grain softpoint of the old style. Expansion is directly related to velocity; the more you have, the more you get.

Coming from Cor-Bon, you can expect lots of velocity. However, you aren't going to get all that velocity out of a snubbie, and what you get you'll pay for. I have found that in full-size guns you get exactly what Cor-Bon says you'll get. In 9mm and .45 pistols, I have sometimes found myself clocking Cor-Bon ammo at greater-than-posted velocities. But revolvers are another breed. The variances between barrel lengths, cylinder gaps, throat diameters and bore tightness and roughness can shove velocities all over the map.

Thus, I was not the least bit surprised to find that the listed 1,300 fps of the 110-grain DPX load appeared only when I shot the ammo in some of my full-size guns. In my ICORE S&W M-28, they turned up 1,260. In the six-inch M19 I actually got 1,311 fps.

But in the various snubbies, a bit over 1,100 was the norm--which, out of a two-inch barrel, and an airweight frame at that, is impressive.

With any bullet design, if you have too much velocity you get a sudden decrease in penetration, as the energy goes to expansion, disintegration and loss of bullet integrity. The trick in using velocity to increase penetration is to design a bullet that is tougher to expand but not so tough that it won't expand.

I was also not surprised to find the promised penetration while still expanding. In ballistic gelatin, the Cor-Bon 110-grain DPX penetrated 15 inches. The track was straight; the bullet remained nose-forward. The expanded bullet measured almost .60 inch in diameter and kept all of its expanded petals.

This is perfect performance. Penetration was all the way to the back of the first block, 15 inches deep. Straight, nose-first and fully expanded.

Even more impressive was the heavy-clothing portion of the test. Multiple layers of denim can clog hollowpoints, making them act like solids--or at least the older designs. Modern designs have been tuned with FBI test protocols in mind, and this bullet demonstrates that. Even with a shred of fabric attached to one petal, and a small ball of it cut out and left in the center of the mushroom, the bullet went (again) 15 inches.

Lacking glass and sheetmetal for the full tests, I couldn't try the .38 against them. Given the relatively low velocity, I would not be surprised to find the .38 coming up short--but keep in mind here, we're talking about a snubbie. Outside of the movies, shooting at a vehicle with a five-shot snubbie is not a good thing to be doing.

As for accuracy, I was able to easily keep all my shots in the "A" zone of a USPSA target at 25 yards. That's a 6x11-inch rectangle. I'm sure if I shot prone (I really didn't want to be in the freezing mud that day) and learned the zero for that load, I could make some miscreant's life a short and merry hell using the Cor-Bon ammo and my snubbie. It isn't a Bullseye or PPC load, but it is plenty accurate for its purpose. The limitation is more the snubbie than the ammo, as I was able to ring the club's 100-yard 10-inch gong five of six DA shots with the six-in M19.

Hornady Rimfire GaugeIn the new handgun-ammo products category, I just found out that Hornady is offering a rimfire gauge. Those not paying attention to accuracy in their plinkers need not worry, but those seeking accuracy can find one of these a right handy tool. Rimfire handguns can

be very particular about what they shoot accurately. You can spend big bucks on premium ammunition and still not be sure you're getting all you need. Or you can sort by rim thickness.

Accuracy depends on consistency. Rims of different thicknesses can cause markedly different lock times. The rim gauge lets you sort ammo by rim thickness. Now, someone will be sure to say, "That takes a lot of time." It can. However, a regular box of .22 LR costs you about $2. The premium match stuff can run $10. If you get most of the accuracy of the premium stuff for some time invested and the cost of the tool (around $25), it doesn't take long to earn back your money.

If you want to kick the butts of the guys at the club while apparently shooting inexpensive ammo, this is the tool for you.

SourcesCor-Bon (800) 626-7266

Hornady Manufacturing (800) 338-3220

A Pearl of a Pistol

Wilson Combat celebrates 30 years with a special 1911.

"I figured if I could make watches, I could make guns," said former watchmaker come pistolsmith and competitive shooter Bill Wilson when asked why he started building custom 1911s back in the late 1970s. Based on the many championships he and many other shooters won with Wilson-built 1911s in the 1970s and 1980s, I would have to say he was right. Still, I doubt Bill had a clue of just how successful he would become or how big a role his pistols and parts would play in the 1911 market 30 years after he started building pistols full-time.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when Wilson Combat announced a pair of pistols to commemorate its 30th year in business. In fact, given Bill's many contributions to the shooting sports as a world-class competitive shooter, pistolsmith and founding member of IPSC and IDPA over the last three decades, I would say a commemorative pistol is well-deserved.

The specs of the two pistols introduced last year are very much in the style of pistol that made Bill famous. One, the Master Grade Presentation Model, is a hand-crafted work of art, with a stainless steel frame, charcoal-blued slide, hand engraving and silver inlays. It is paired with a limited edition knife from Wilson Tactical with a matching serial number and presentation case.

The Limited features scroll engraving with a border on the slide. The Wilson eagle and "30" are engraved in a small box behind the grasping grooves.

With a suggested retail of $6,995, I can't imagine many shooters will actually fire the Presentation Model. So for those looking for a more affordable, shootable commemorative, Wilson also offers a Limited version of the Master Grade with a price tag of $2,995.

The gun I tested was, obviously, the Master Grade Limited, a striking, two-tone pistol built to replicate the classic custom pistols that made Bill famous in the 1970s and 1980s. It is built on a stainless steel slide with a high-cut front strap checkered at 30 lines per inch. The mainspring housing has the same 30 lpi checkering. The checkering is nicely executed on the mainspring housing, and the front strap checkering is sharp and clean, with no run-out or visible flaws.

The magazine well is beveled to facilitate faster reloads, and Wilson Combat's High Ride beavertail grip safety is flawlessly fitted. Combined with the high-cut front strap, the beavertail allows the shooter to get the highest possible grip for better recoil management.

The trigger is Wilson's extended, aluminum model in the classic, three-hole style. The trigger on my test pistol breaks at an ounce under three pounds, with a minimum of creep and overtravel; factory specs call for a pull weight in the 3½- to 3¾-pound range.

Other controls include Wilson's extended ejector; stainless, tactical ambidextrous safety; skeletonized, Commander-style hammer; and extended magazine release. All are well-fitted and work perfectly. The feed ramp is also throated and polished to a mirror finish.

Perhaps the most immediately noticeable part of the frame is the unusual grip design. Made from black G10, the grips are striated in a pattern that Wilson Combat calls Starburst. Though they are not the least bit abrasive to the touch, the deep, angled striations combine with the checkering to make for a solid, non-slip grip. They're also pretty darn cool looking.

The Master Grade Limited's slide is finished in Wilson's proprietary matte black Armor-Tuff. Though it doesn't have the class and sex appeal of old-school charcoal bluing, Armor-Tuff is a rugged, corrosion-resistant finish that is much better-suited to regular, hard use than classic bluing.

The Limited features Wilson's High Ride beavertail grip safety and ambi safety levers. Slide-to-frame fit was excellent.

The unique grips are made out of black G10 in a Starburst pattern that proved as handy to shoot as it is good looking. The flat mainspring checkering is 30 lpi.

The slide is machine-engraved on both sides. Behind the rear grasping grooves, the Wilson Combat eagle and the number "30" are framed in a box with double borders.

The left side of the slide has "30th Anniversary Limited" and "1978-2008" framed in a double border with a bit of scroll engraving in each corner. The right side has "Classic 130" and "Master Grade" framed in the same border and scroll work. The slide also has forward grasping grooves and the same border, sans engraving or scroll work, at the muzzle end.

The front sight is a black, serrated blade, and the rear sight is Wilson's adjustable unit with a plain black blade. I have these sights on another gun, and they're rugged, easy to use and simple to adjust. They match the pistol's theme perfectly and are mostly well-fitted On my sample, there was a tiny gap between the slide and the front sight that I am not used to seeing on Wilson guns.

Wilson CombatMASTER GRADE LIMITED

Type: 1911 semiauto

Caliber: .45 ACP

Capacity: 8 + 1

Barrel length: 5 in.

Overall length: 8.7 in.

Height: 5.8 in.

Weight: 40 oz.

Sights: adjustable rear; serrated black front blade

Trigger: Single action; 2 lb. 15 oz. as tested

Grips: black G10 with starburst striations

Price: $2,995

Manufacturer: Wilson Combat 800.955.4856

The Government Model-size slide is fitted perfectly to the frame. It reciprocates smoothly and is tight enough to make it accurate but not so tight that it hampers reliability. The ejection port is lowered and flared for enhanced reliability; a full-length guide rod and plug are standard.

The five-inch barrel is one of Wilson's stainless match units. It and the stainless match bushing are hand-fitted with a great deal of expertise, as evidenced by the pistol's smooth, positive lock-up and the nice, even wear that indicates a properly fitted barrel. The throat is polished to ensure reliable feeding; the extractor is one of Wilson's Bullet Proof models.

The Limited comes as a complete package: test target; bushing wrench; instructional video; two magazines; and an attractive soft case with two large pockets on one side and seven magazine pouches on the other.

I really wanted to shoot the new pistol, but I must admit that I felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar when I popped the first cap out of the elegant, limited-edition pistol. But I had a job to do, so shoot it I did.

It was cold and rainy for the better part of the month I had to test the Limited, so I did my testing indoors. Though the lighting is not conducive to great photography, the 50-foot range allowed me to run each pistol through a wide range of accuracy and reliability tests.

I started out at seven yards to get a feel for the pistol. It was no surprise, given my familiarity with the 1911 platform, that I felt right at home with the gun. The sights were dead-on, and the crisp, light trigger pull made breaking accurate shots easy. In fact, it didn't take long to chew a gaping, fist-sized hole in the middle of an IDPA target from the seven-yard line.

Next, I shot some controlled pairs. Recovery time was standard for a 1911, and accuracy was exceptional thanks to the great trigger. Pairs went well, so I sped things up a bit and shot some double taps. Once again, speed was pretty the same as with my other 1911s, though I did have a bit of trouble picking up the black sights quickly in the reduced light of the indoor range. Nevertheless, my hits were fast and true, and the pistol ran like the proverbial top, ejecting empties well clear of the gun, and not off my forehead, which is a good thing.

Wilson's adjustable rear sight has a plain, black blade that the author generally likes for an all-around pistol, even if the sights were hard to pick up on the indoor range.

With the preliminaries out of the way, I moved the target back to 15 yards and did a bit of accuracy work from a sandbag rest. Once again, the black sights were a bit tough to pick up in the indoor range, but I did eke out a few really nice groups when I took my time and made sure of my sight picture before touching the super-light trigger.

In fact, two loads--Hornady's 200-grain XTP and Cor Bon's 230-grain Match--averaged right at an inch and showed flashes of brilliance that I unfortunately ruined by shooting ill-timed fliers.

Federal's 230-grain Hydra Shok load was right behind those with a 1.48-inch average, and Black Hill's 185-grain JHP load was no slouch either, with a 2.1-inch average.

| Accuracy Results| Wilson Master Grade Limited

ACP Bullet Weight (gr.) Avg. Velocity (fps) Avg. Group (in.)

Black Hills JHP 185 912 2.1

Cor Bon Match 230 826 1.0

Federal Hydra-Shok 230 814 1.5

Hornady XTP 200 898 1.1

Notes: Accuracy is the average of five, five-shot groups fired at 15 yards from a sandbag rest. Velocity is the average of 20 rounds measured 10 feet from the muzzle. Abbreviation: JHP, jacketed hollowpoint

The Limited is not just a pretty face --it's a shooter featuring an excellent trigger and a beveled magazine well for faster reloads.

A few weeks later, I returned to the range to see how the still-dirty pistol ran with an additional 300 rounds of assorted ammunition from Black Hills, Cor Bon, Federal, Hornady and Winchester. As expected, the Limited ran flawlessly, feeding, extracting and ejecting as reliably as I've come to expect from Wilson Combat's custom offerings.

Wilson Combat's Master Grade Limited worked as well as I expected, but I did learn a few things about the gun from my rapid-fire testing.

First, I really like the Starburst grip striations. Though they aren't sharp, the depth and pattern of the grooves work hand in hand with the checkering to lock the gun in your hand during rapid-fire strings. Two of my training partners who tried the gun made the exact same comment, so Wilson may be onto something with the new grips.

I also fell in love with the test pistol's trigger. It was so clean and light that it was easy to break accurate shots under pressure. In rapid fire, it really shined. Though the sub-three-pound pull was most certainly a fluke, the trigger was so crisp and clean that an extra pound of pull would be inconsequential.

As I mentioned, the test pistol's all-black sights were tough to pick up in low light, but they are still my first choice for a general purpose pistol. A gold or tritium front bead is nice on a fighting gun, but black just seems to work so much better for me on the target range and in the field, which is where pistols with adjustable sights belong.

To be honest, there isn't much I would change about the test pistol. I would opt for a standard-length guide rod over the full-length model and a single-side tactical safety over the test pistol's ambi safety were the pistol mine, but I could certainly live with the Limited just as it is.

Wilson Combat's Master Grade Limited is a fitting tribute to a man and company that have been so important to the shooting sports for the last 30 years. I use my pistols too hard to justify the expense of such a beautiful pistol. But for the 1911 collector, Wilson Combat's 30th anniversary pistol is a must-have.

Gun services provided by Fountain Firearms. Range facilities provided by Top Gun Indoor Range.

Smith & Wesson Model 27