When it comes to winning a violent encounter, getting the first hits can significantly increase your chances of prevailing. The sooner you force your attacker to begin protecting himself, the faster you shift their focus away from the attack. Just as important is the idea that, as a violent encounter progresses, it tends to become more dynamic and more difficult to turn the tide.

Responding to a violent situation with speed has value. Incorporate the following tips into your defensive handgun practice to make progress toward the physical skills you need to get first hits fast.

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1. Get A Grip

One of the best ways to ensure fast first hits with your handgun is to maximize your grip. A solid grip helps to position your hand for a consistent presentation to your threat. Set your hand up for a smooth trigger press and manage recoil for faster follow-up shots.

So, you need to establish and habituate a grip that works well for you. Your hand and how it interfaces with your handgun are unique. You need to determine the one- and two-handed grips that work the best for you. Qualified professional instruction can help you make grip adjustments that aid in precision and recoil management while maximizing speed. Then your dedicated practice will burn that grip into your neural pathways. Every time you shoot or even just handle your handgun is an opportunity to habituate your one- and two-handed grips.

Once you find and habituate your best grip, you must learn to achieve as much of that grip as possible while the gun is still in the holster. Your carry position and holster can be strong determining factors in how much of a grasp you get on the gun in the holster. The better the holster design, the better grip you can get on the gun while it is still in it. You’ll be better served by establishing your full grip in the holster instead of shifting the grip after you draw.

Make sure that you can get your pinky, ring finger and middle finger between the grip of the handgun and the belt. Your holster may be designed or set up in a way that makes it difficult to fit the ring finger between the belt and the gun, but this will force you to shift your grip as the gun comes out of the holster.

It’s also important to practice drawing from concealment. Establishing your grip on the gun is usually the longest part of the drawstroke in dynamic violent situations. If you carry concealed, this adds another layer to the already complex problem. Take the time to train and practice accessing your gun from your typical cover garment. It is tempting to head to the range with a fishing vest for practice. However, if you conceal under an untucked, closed-front shirt, you are making a mistake.

2. Practice Efficiency

An efficient presentation from the holster is a critical component in getting the first hits in a defensive scenario. Your drawstroke needs to be simple and practical. An efficient drawstroke should provide you with the ability to get the gun from the holster and oriented towards the threat with speed. A defensive drawstroke should also provide opportunities to put rounds on the threat from a retention position so that you can deal with threats in physical contact as well as at greater defensive distances.

When practicing your drawstroke, work to minimize excess movement. Economy of motion is one of the keys to speed, so place an emphasis on economical movement. Once the muzzle of your gun is oriented toward the target, drive the gun in a straight line toward the threat. Not only will this be the shortest distance, but you will also have the ability to fire with effect on your threat at any time, and your will reach full extension with your pistol’s sights steady on the threat.

Once you are comfortable with your presentation from the holster, it needs to be practiced consistently. Quality repetitions will help to automate your presentation from the holster. With that, you don’t need to invest thought energy into making it happen. Developing speed is less about doing something fast and more about doing it the right way again and again. If you want to be fast, be consistently correct in your practice and the speed will come.

3. Shoot With Precision

Although shooting fast is, in general, a different skillset than shooting precise shots, there is some overlap. As with practicing your drawstroke, pressing the trigger correctly is much more important for learning a fast, precise trigger press than pressing the trigger quickly. Learn how to press the trigger well and the speed will come with the practice.

Obviously, one great way to get feedback on your trigger press is to shoot at very small targets. Even a minor flinch or jerk can cause a miss. With practice, you will develop very refined aiming skills and a smooth trigger press to complement them.

Your standard target is full of options for extreme precision. Instead of the main target area, select logos or letters in the words on the target. You can also take things a step further. Instead of aiming at a letter or number, aim at a part of the letter or number. For example, try to put the shot through the hole in the center of the numeral 6.

Shooting with extreme precision can be a great exercise in pushing your limits and helping you to develop realistic confidence in how much sight and trigger control refinement you can accomplish. Knowing your limits of skill is the first step in understanding what you can do. It serves as a prerequisite of knowing how fast you can do it. Taking some time to shoot with extreme levels of precision helps to both develop skill and develop an understanding of what your skill is. Both come in handy when you need to get hits in first.

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4. Throttle Back

Getting the first hits when you’re defending yourself from a lethal threat seems like it is all about speed. At times, however, the key to being fast can be to slow down.

Imagine you are driving an Indy car into a tight turn. I don’t know much about driving a racecar. However, I do know that if you take the turn too fast, you are going to lose control of the car and end up off the course. In racing, you need to match the speed of the car to the maneuvers that you need to navigate through. In defensive shooting, you need to match your speed to the demand for precision that the shot places on you. The smaller or more distant the target, the more likely you will need to slow down to improve your sight alignment or refine your trigger press. The closer or larger the target is, the less control you need to exercise over the gun and the more speed you can apply to making the shot.

Invest training and practice time in this concept by randomizing your need for speed and your need for precision. Vary your distance from the target or provide yourself with multiple target sizes so that you are forced to determine how much control the shot requires and how much speed you can use while making the shot. Having a training partner can help to randomize your practice. But you can also simply flip a coin or roll a die to tell you what to shoot. You can also use the countdown timer on your phone while you or your target are moving to tell you when to shoot.

Make sure you only slow down what you need to slow down. Shooters commonly slow down the wrong actions. You see, the only area where you may need to slow down and/or refine your control over the gun is in the final fractions of a second before the shot breaks. The rest of the motions required to get the gun on target can be at full speed. Grasping the gun, drawing from the holster and driving the gun onto the threat can all be flat-out. As the gun begins to reach full extension, simply downshift and allow the gun settle smoothly into and parallel with your line of sight, bring your attention to the sights to align and place the sights, then smoothly press the trigger to the rear.

First Hits: Accuracy Is Final

Making one shot that hits what needs to be hit is a vastly superior technique than sending a large number of rounds at your threat hoping that you will get the hit you need. As the old saying goes, you can’t miss fast enough.

Getting first hits fast requires a combination of physical skills and tactics. Taking the time to develop your physical skills on the range is a critical part of your self-defense plan. In addition, knowing that you can get fast first hits when you need to most can provide an important confidence boost and shift in mindset that can reduce the likelihood that you will ever need hits on your threat in the first place.

Investing effort in getting a solid grip on your defensive handgun, developing efficiency in your drawstroke, shooting with extreme precision and knowing when to put the brakes on are all important physical skills that you should develop to help ensure you are able to get fast first hits.

The post 4 Tips to Get First Hits with Your Handgun During a Violent Encounter appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Success begets success, and there’s no better example than Heckler & Koch‘s VP9 series of pistols. First introduced in 2013, this series of polymer- framed, striker-fired 9mm semi-autos now includes the VP9 Tactical with a threaded barrel, the long-slide VP9L and the subcompact VP9SK. There’s also a model offered in .40 S&W, the VP40.

Carrying different-sized pistols of the same basic design with identical controls and sights eliminates the need for re-familiarization when the change from winter to summer clothing suggests a downsized pistol for better concealment. The same logic applies to backup pistols. Here, the VP9SK is an ideal backup for the VP9 or VP9L, and it accepts their larger magazines.

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Imported from Germany, the VP9SK fits squarely into the subcompact category. Comparing its dimensions to the Glock 26 show that it is slightly longer, taller and heavier than the latter with the same barrel lengths and magazine capacities. But the VP9SK has a single-action-like trigger, which means the fully cocked striker only moves forward when released by the trigger sear. When the striker is cocked, the red-painted portion of the firing pin protrudes through a small hole at the rear of the VP9SK’s slide. This system differs from Glock triggers, which pull a partially tensioned striker slightly rearward before releasing and are therefore considered “double actions.”

The VP9SK also has a pivoting trigger tab that prevents the trigger from moving rearward unless depressed. This tab is a drop safety that supplements the firing pin safety, which captures the striker until the trigger is depressed. The trigger tab and firing pin safety allow a round to be safely carried in the chamber.

All VP9 pistols continue HK’s practice of using cold-hammer-forged, polygonal-rifled barrels made of the same abrasion-resistant steel used in certain cannon barrels. These barrels are proven to last longer than barrels with conventional land-and-groove rifling. But you should not shoot un-plated or un-jacketed lead bullets through polygonal-rifled barrels, as the lead can accumulate forward of the throat and spike chamber pressures.

The slide is made from a single carbon-steel forging and is tapered toward the top to shave unnecessary weight. This also makes the pistol more comfortable to carry inside the waistband compared to a pistol fitted with a blocky, square-profile slide. The slide also has forward serrations, and there are two “charging supports” at the rear to help shooters rack the slide. These are removable by drifting the rear sight.

The VP9SK keeps in line with the excellent ergonomics of the other VP9s, making this pistol incredibly comfortable to hold, point and fire. The grip has contours to naturally fit the hand, and the frontstrap has two wide finger grooves that won’t detract from your grasp even when wearing gloves. This fit is far superior to pistols with flat sides and small finger grooves. Moreover, the VP9SK’s grip can be changed in girth and front-to-rear length by drifting out a roll pin with a punch and swapping out side panels and/or backstraps.

Thoughtful engineering is also reflected in the oversized “winter” triggerguard that allows a gloved finger adequate access. Yes, small triggerguards are more aesthetically pleasing on small pistols, but the VP9SK is about performance, not winning beauty contests. The oversized triggerguard enhances safety and speed, as winter gloves can cause accidental discharges if squeezed into small triggerguards.

The controls on the VP9SK are fully ambidextrous, with slide release levers on both sides and two magazine release levers at the rear of the triggerguard. The slide levers are accessible to the thumb without adjusting your firing grip. Rather than retracting and releasing the slide with the support hand, these slide levers are intended to be activated to chamber a round. These levers are extremely easy to use, especially if you’re in a dark, stressful situation. However, that being said, the VP9SK’s slide levers could be wider, closer to the dimensions of the HKP30’s levers.

The magazine release levers are best activated by the trigger finger. Two techniques work: sliding the trigger finger rearward along the bottom edge of the triggerguard or tapping the release lever directly with the fingertip. This design departs from what American shooters are used to, but it’s been around for decades and is extensively used on Heckler & Koch and Walther pistols.

The VP9 was designed with a competition-grade trigger, and the same unit is used in the VP9SK. My sample pistol had a trigger pull weight of 6.2 pounds according to my Lyman digital trigger pull gauge—a little over the factory specs of 4.5 to 5.6 pounds. This was the heaviest but crispest trigger of the three HK VP9 pistols I have tested, with no creep and only about 0.1 inches of movement while breaking. Better yet, the trigger resistance is like a solid wall without the springy rubber-band-like break of many striker-fired pistols. The trigger reset is fairly short and readily felt, and the pistol’s wide trigger shoe made the pull weight seem lighter. Also, the trigger safety tab fully recesses into the shoe and doesn’t protrude into the index finger like other designs.

The VP9SK comes with two steel 10-round magazines: a flush-fitting model that requires a partial grip and one with an extended edge that affords a full grip. More notable for those who may carry the VP9SK for defensive purposes, a magazine from any HK VP9 or P30 will fit in this gun. I like this because I can carry the VP9SK in an ankle holster with its standard 10-round magazine while carrying a 15-round spare in my pocket or two spares on the other ankle in a DeSantis double-mag ankle pouch.

The VP9SK uses three-dot sights with luminous green inserts. Though the sights glow in the dark, they must be charged before use by exposing them to light, and they need to be recharged in less than half an hour. The sights are made from steel, not polymer, and are windage adjustable by drifting. They also have some subtle engineering that helps makes this pistol easier to shoot. To maximize the sight radius, they are mounted at the very front and rear of the slide. The rear sight is tapered towards the top, which quickly guides the shooter’s attention to the front sight, where it needs to be.

Defensive Tests

I tested the VP9SK by shooting groups at 11 yards from a Caldwell rest with Black Hills’ 124-grain JHPs and two 115-grain FMJ loads from Remington and Winchester. Shooting from a rest verifies the pistol’s mechanical accuracy and demonstrates how a load prints on the target relative to the sights. Following that, I shot the VP9SK off-hand to determine how well it would perform as a defensive handgun in a crisis. Three additional loads were used to test the pistol’s reliability, which was perfect except for one failure to feed caused by an out-of-spec round.

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The Black Hills load produced the best and average five-shot groups of 0.63 and 0.93 inches at 11 yards, respectively, which is very good performance for a tactical pistol. For those who like to compare velocities between barrel lengths, the VP9SK’s 3.39-inch barrel lost only 32, 41, and 58 fps with the Black Hills, Remington and Winchester loads, respectively, compared to the VP9 with its 4.09-inch barrel. This shows that the Black Hills load performs relatively well in short-barreled pistols.

Firing off-hand demonstrated how easily the VP9SK handles recoil, both with the flush-fitting magazine as well as the extended one. The muzzle rise was minimal, and I could easily recover my sights for quick follow-up shots. The superbly shaped grip enhances the shooter’s control over the pistol even when shooting stout loads like Black Hills’ 124-grain +P JHP, which generates .357 Magnum-like ballistics from carbine-length barrels.

The sights on the VP9SK worked very well during the day. They are easier to pick up than any type of white-dot sights I have previously used. They could be improved, however, with Heine E-Z Lock sights that have tritium inserts for night use, a cocking ledge on the rear sight to rack the slide in case one hand is injured, and are easily windage adjustable without needing any tools.

Raising The Bar

The number of polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols is vast and growing, with new models coming out each year. But even in this crowded field, the VP9SK raises the bar in the subcompact segment. Once you shoot it side by side against your favorite competitive model, it’s easy to see why. This pistol’s superior ergonomics and quality of manufacture really come together to make a pistol that is accurate, reliable and very easy to shoot well.

HK VP9SK Specs

HK VP9SK Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains. Velocity measured in fps by chronograph. Accuracy measured in inches for best five-shot groups at 11 yards.

For more information, visit hk-usa.com.

This article was originally published in “Pocket Pistols” 2018. To order a copy, go to outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post New CCW Test: The Heckler & Koch VP9SK Pistol appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The newly-redesigned Bersa TPR pistol series is now shipping in the United States, distributor Eagle Imports Inc. has announced.

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Available with a standard 4.25-inch barrel or a compact 3.52-inch barrel, the Bersa TPR boasts a smoother, lighter trigger in addition to a bunch of ergonomic improvements that the company says boosts accuracy and control. These tweaks include a thinner grip, which allows for a better reach to the trigger during single and double action; ambidextrous safety, slide and magazine releases; and a lightweight, snag-free slide profile that features front slide serrations for easy racking.

The TPR also includes a loaded chamber indicator protruding fro the upper face of the slide; interchangeable Sig Sauer-type sights; improved Browning-Petter locking system; lightweight aluminum alloy frame; and a Picatinny rail for accessories.

“We’re excited to bring this next generation of Bersa TPRs to American consumers,” Eagle Imports president Michael Sodini said in a press release. “Once available only to military and law enforcement personnel, it’s always offered rugged durability and impressive accuracy. This new evolution makes the TPR officially one of my favorites for self-defense and sport.”

The TPR is available in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP, with MSRPs ranging from $508 to $528.

For more, visit bersa.eagleimportsinc.com.

The post Bersa TPR: Eagle Imports Shipping Newly Redesigned Pistols appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

As a general rule, it’s good to be able to carry more bullets. No one has ever wished they brought fewer bullets to a gunfight and there are numerous examples of police officers getting into extended shootouts with suspects. However, is a high capacity firearm really necessary for the average citizen?

The conventional wisdom is that defensive shootings involving civilians tend to follow the “rule of threes” of police shootings. In other words, shooting incidents tend to (though don’t always) occur at a distance of 3 or fewer yards, last three or fewer seconds and are concluded in three or fewer shots.

If taken as true, that would mean that a relatively high-capacity firearm would be overkill for the typical citizen. You don’t have to get the Glock 19; the Glock 26 carries all you’ll need. You can elect for the S&W M&P Shield over the full-size M&P. The 1911 guys can be considered vindicated in their choice of sidearm.

What sort of data is out there to back up the idea?

Police & Armed Citizen Comparison

Police shooting studies tend to tacitly confirm shorter distances, short durations and low round counts being the norm. However, this is a flawed comparison. Law enforcement officers are tasked with stopping a suspect and taking them into custody. It’s their job to put the threat down and then put them in cuffs. Mere flight may not be an option for the armed criminal; a shootout may be their only hope of escape. Additionally, many officer-involved shootings also involve multiple officers firing their weapons.

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For the armed citizen, the goal is stopping the threat. The shooter is also alone in laying down fire. Therefore, police shootings are not the best comparison.

As for civilian defensive shootings, one of the few studies or surveys into the matter was conducted by Claude Werner, a former Army officer in Special Operations who then became a market researcher and firearms instructor. Werner analyzed five years of shooting reports from “The Armed Citizen” columns in various publications such as “American Rifleman.”

The average and mean number of shots fired was two. Most incidents involving more than two shots fired consisted of the shooter emptying the gun into their attacker, which was more common among those carrying revolvers.

Of the 482 incidents compiled by “The Armed Citizen,” roughly 72 percent (347) involved shots being fired. Of those, only three incidents involved reloading of any kind, one of which was the shooting of an escaped lion with a .32 caliber revolver.

Armed Citizen Examples

A few other incidents could be found via a search of the web. One incident, from a 2013 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, recounts the experience of one John Wolf, who was held up at gunpoint while talking a walk outside his home in May of 2010. Wolf distracted the mugger, drew his .40 caliber Glock and emptied the magazine into the mugger. The would-be robber fell down, but got up while Wolf was reloading and fled across the street, only to collapse and expire.

Another incident, dating to November of 1990, appeared in the “Ayoob Files,” the collection of shooting incidents compiled by Massad Ayoob in various publications. A group of thieves broke into Harry Beckwith’s Guns — still in operation in Micanopy, Fla. though Mr. Beckwith is no longer with us — and started absconding with firearms, loading them into two stolen cars. Ayoob’s write-up of the incident is actually featured on the Harry Beckwith’s Guns website.

Beckwith, then 62, armed himself with a select-fire AR-15 and a S&W Model 76 submachine gun, being licensed to own fully automatic weapons. Beckwith approached the shop to stop the burglars, but was spotted and one of the getaway drivers tried to run him over. He opened fire with the AR-15, emptying two 15-round magazines into the oncoming car. The driver swerved away and fled the scene, despite suffering a chest wound that would prove fatal hours later. He then pinned down the rest with bursts from the Model 76, which he also used to disable the remaining car.

All told, Beckwith fired 105 rounds, having emptied two 15-round magazines through the AR-15 and was on his third magazine in the Model 76.

High Capacity Final Thoughts

It’s impossible to predict what will happen in any given situation, but what evidence does exist regarding defensive shootings indicates high capacity pistols are not, strictly speaking, necessary for the concealed carrier. The odds your carry gun will ever be used are already remote at best; the odds you’ll fire more than a few times appear to be vastly lower.

Granted, a person should carry the pistol they are most comfortable and most competent with. If that’s a double-stack Wonder Nine, great! If that’s a snubbie, that’s fine too. It is also true that magazines are a common source of failures in semi-auto pistols; a spare magazine is therefore an insurance policy. With that said, you can be confident that the easy-to-carry single-stack subcompact is all you’re likely to need.

About the author: Sam Hoober is a contributing editor for Alien Gear Holsters, a subsidiary of Tedder Industries.

The post Is High Capacity Necessary For Concealed Carry? appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The carrying of a backup gun remains a controversial topic.

I have often been the recipient of some strange looks and the occasional comment as I remain a true believer in the concept of backup weapons. “Are you expecting some trouble?” is something I’ve heard more than once over the years. My response has always been, “Not really. If I was, I’d be carrying my rifle.” That usually sends my inquisitor scurrying away.

Oddly enough, negative attitudes about backup weapons are also common in law enforcement. This is despite the fact that there have been numerous instances where an officer utilized a hidden backup to save the day. A buddy of mine, recently retired from a high-profile federal agency, was forbidden to carry a backup gun. Go figure! Like parachutes and life jackets, a backup represents your only chance of prevailing should things go bad.

During my law enforcement career, I routinely carried a backup gun discreetly hidden on my person. But in retirement, does this continue to make sense? I am no longer paid to confront people, and in my current role as a responsible citizen, avoiding conflict is the order of the day. But we can’t always pick our spot.

Truth be told, old habits die hard. That same routine I followed as a law enforcement officer—carrying a primary handgun plus a backup weapon—is followed today. A little over the top you say? Let’s consider for a second a few reasons to carry a backup weapon: You need more ammo, your primary gun fails, a bad guy attempts to strip you of your primary weapon, or you need to arm another person. Think these situations can’t happen? Guess again! I’m personally familiar with real-life incidents where these very things occurred and a backup saved the day.

What Can You Carry?

Comfort remains high on our list of priorities. Given a choice of carrying heavy, cumbersome tools or light, compact ones, most everyone will opt for the latter. But, is it the best choice?

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Jeff Cooper is widely recognized as the father of modern pistolcraft. The good Colonel once stated, “Action in which a pistol is involved is unpredictable. There is no such thing as light duty or heavy duty in a pistol.” Truer words were never spoken. The good news today is that we no longer have to rely on heavy metal to keep us safe. One can indeed carry a lightweight yet formidable weapon or two and still blend into polite society.

First, consider your primary weapon. While we can effectively conceal a full-sized, all-steel 1911 with the right clothing and holster, most folks will probably opt for something smaller and lighter. It would be presumptuous of me to dictate what sort of handgun you should carry, but the art of compromise often weighs in. By all means, select something you can shoot to a fairly high standard when the chips are down. For me, that is a 9mm Glock 19. If my clothing or legal restrictions come into play, I might go with a Glock 26 or Kahr K9.

A few years ago, I wouldn’t give you a plugged nickel for a pocket-sized autopistol to be used as a backup gun. But that has all changed now, and pistols like the Glock 43 and S&W M&P Shield excel in this role. Dinosaur that I am, I continue to rely on a S&W Airweight Bodyguard in .38 Special as my backup gun of choice.

I do have some hard and fast ideas relative to defensive handguns when it comes to caliber. The bottom of my power floor is set at 9mm and .38 Special. Even with the best ammunition, I consider the .380 ACP marginal. The bottom line is that handguns chambered for a legitimate service cartridge give you the best chance of prevailing against a determined adversary.

Carry Locations

During the cooler months, my primary handgun is worn in a belt scabbard covered by a garment. When the mercury rises, I often have to make an adjustment and go with an inside-the-waistband (IWB) rig covered by an untucked shirt.

I no longer have to wear a jacket and tie or function in a business environment where clothing options are somewhat restrictive. Women will often find discreet carry options to be even more restrictive. For many of us, hiding one gun is a challenge. Stashing a second gun somewhere on the body can really be problematic.

Assuming my primary is on the belt, I typically place my backup in my support-side hip pocket. This gives me the capability of drawing and firing with the support hand if injured or struggling over my holstered primary handgun. Some folks prefer rear-pocket carry, but I for one don’t find it comfortable. To each his own.

Ankle carry is yet another viable option for a backup handgun. I’m less than enthusiastic about ankle holsters for any primary handgun, but it does have merit for a backup. On rare occasions, I have also found I could carry one gun in the pocket and another on the ankle. Better two small yet formidable guns on your person than a 1911 in the glove box.

One excellent alternative for carrying a backup gun is the Holster Shirt from 5.11 Tactical. Crafted from poly/spandex, the Holster Shirt contains two pockets for carrying pistols and magazines. Worn as a T-shirt under a light covering garment, this innovation from 5.11 Tactical fills a most useful niche. The Holster Shirt comes in black and white and is available for men and women.

Another option is the iTuck from Tuff Products. The iTuck features an external cell phone compartment that is worn outside the belt and an inner compartment that can harbor a small handgun. As the name implies, the inner compartment is tucked inside the pants, effectively hiding it from view. It’s unlikely the iTuck will raise an eyebrow, and your gun is instantly accessible by lifting the outer flap.

Backup Gun Practice

Suffice it to say that shooting small guns isn’t a lot of fun. Most of us would rather spend our range time working out with our primary or fun guns. But we need to practice with all of our safety equipment. This includes all those rude snub-nose revolvers and pocket rockets we might have to protect our life with.

Our practice should include drawing our backup gun from whatever type of holster we select and the type of clothing you might routinely wear. The good news is that you can practice that important drawstroke at home with an empty gun. Something else to consider is that you might have to simultaneously manage your primary weapon while drawing your backup. Quite frankly, it’s not a good idea to leave a gun on the battlefield, even if you feel that it’s inoperable.

When graduating to live fire with the backup, be sure to incorporate a lot of one-handed shooting, both with your dominant and support hands. I would also suggest that you work in some shooting from a seated position and from various grounded positions to simulate slipping or being pushed to the deck. The more realistic we can make our training, the better prepared we’ll be.

The Knife Option

Can a knife be used as an effective backup weapon? You bet! In close quarters, a knife is a very effective tool. In certain instances, a knife can be quickly brought into play when you aren’t able to draw your handgun. A retention scenario where you are struggling over your holstered weapon is one such example that comes to mind immediately. Knives are deadly. They never jam or run out of bullets and can be hidden much more easily than a handgun.

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Defensive knives fall into one of two categories: folders or fixed blades. Both come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Folding knives are far more discreet and easier to pack, but slower to get into action. A fixed blade is faster and stronger, but not especially practical for many folks. No matter your choice, make sure your knife complies with the law, as legal restrictions vary from one state to the next.

I have a preference for folders that can be opened very quickly. Two favorites from Spyderco include the P’Kal and the Karahawk, both of which incorporate the Emerson opening feature. As the knife is drawn from the pocket, the blade is instantly locked open, allowing one to quickly bring it into play.

New this year is the Spyderco Introvert, which has great potential as a backup weapon. The Introvert is a folding version of the Swick neck knife. It was specifically designed for carry where fixed blades are not legal, or their use is frowned upon. Key features include a flipper opener, a sturdy back-lock mechanism and an integral finger hole that facilitates quick opening and exceptional grip security. I’m especially fond of the finger hold for retention purposes.

The Introvert has a 2.7-inch blade, with a closed length of 4 inches. The textured G-10 scales make for a positive grip, and the reversible deep pocket clip offers both left- and right-side carry. A good knife like the Introvert represents yet another ring of safety should trouble visit.

Always Armed

I’ve carried one or more weapons every day for most of my adult life. But in the end, it doesn’t matter if you carry one or 21 guns and knives if you are unprepared. Clearly, chance favors the prepared individual, and that only comes with hard work.

Getting the right gear is the easy part. But by all means, get some training on the tools you might have to use and engage in regular practice. Be aware of what is going on around you and be willing to use extreme violence to see that you prevail.

A winner’s mindset, coupled with skill and sound tactics, will go a long way in keeping you safe. The best tactic I can offer the responsible armed citizen? Don’t go to places that angels fear to tread. Unlike the police, you have a choice, and avoidance of potential conflict is the rule.

I’ll admit in retirement I don’t always carry that backup gun. But, I never leave my house without a service-caliber handgun, extra ammunition and a knife. Having that ability to go to Plan B can keep you safe when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.

This article was originally published in “Personal & Home Defense” issue #204. To order a copy and subscribe to that magazine, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post A Retired Cop Makes a Case for Carrying a Backup Gun appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Cabot Guns is introducing two new pistols for 2018: a sleek 1911 dubbed “The Icon” and a high-end carry gun called the “Gentleman’s Carry.”

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Hyped by the company as its “newest, most distinctly unique 1911 ever,” the Cabot Icon 1911 boasts a modern, monolithic design. The gun is made entirely from 416 stainless billet steel and is available in government and commander size. The government variant features a five-inch national match grade barrel with a reverse crown, while the commander version has a 4.25-inch barrel. Both models sport a “Cabot Icon Racking Button” on the left side of the slide. The gun is available in either .45 ACP or 9mm.

Also included here is a countersunk and recessed slide stop notch; aluminum trigger; lowered and flared ejection port; flat top slide; scratch proof slide stop; Cabot’s rhombus cut front strap checkering; main spring housing with 24 lpi checkering; beveled magwell; stainless monochrome grips; beavertail grip safety and a full-length guide rod.

The Cabot Icon 1911 ships with two 8-round magazines in special black cases made in Italy. The price is $4,995. If you add an alligator holster the company is offering, the price jumps up another $500.

The meticulously crafted Gentleman’s Carry pistol is Cabot’s second new gun for 2018. Chambered in .45 ACP or 9mm, it features a 4.25-inch flushed and recessed crowned barrel with Cabot barrel brushing; bobtail cut frame; frame and slide machined from billet 416 stainless steel; hand polished feed ramp; Cabot Black Diamond 13 degree slide serrations; black aluminum TriStar trigger; recessed slide stop notch; checkered walnut grips adorned with the Cabot medallion; matte black finish and tritium front and rear sights.

The Gentleman’s Carry ships with two 8-round mags and is priced at $4,795.

See below for a rundown of features on the Cabot Icon 1911 and the Gentleman’s Carry. For more on Cabot Guns, go to cabotgun.com.

Cabot Icon 1911 Features

• Cabot’s Tribute to Modern Art
• Available Chambered in .45 ACP or 9 mm
• Crafted from USA Sourced 416 Stainless Billet Steel with components constructed to Aerospace Standards Tolerances
• Cabot Frame and Slide
• 5 in. NM Grade Barrel With Reverse Crown (Gov’t) or
• 4.25 in. NM Grade Barrel with Reverse Crown (Commander)
• Cabot Icon Racking Button
• Countersunk and Recessed Slide Stop Notch
• Aluminum Icon Trigger
• Cabot Idiot Scratch Proof Slide Stop
• Lowered and Flared Ejection Port
• Flat Top Slide
• Cabot’s Unique Rhombus Cut Front Strap Checkering
• Cabot Main Spring Housing with 24 Lpi Rhombus Cut Checkering
• Cabot RH Thumb Safety
• Beveled Magwell
• Cabot Beaver Tail Grip Safety
• Cabot Stainless Steel Monochrome Grips
• Cabot Barrel Bushing
• Cabot Full-Length Guide Rod
• Engraved Star at Front of Guide Rod (Govt Only)
• Front Sight – Reverse dovetail style – No Dot
• Cabot ACE Fixed Rear Sight
• Two 8 Round Cabot Magazines
• Black Box Case (Made in Italy)

Cabot Gentleman’s Carry Features

• All Black Finish
• Available in 45ACP or 9mm
• Cabot Frame and Slide Constructed from USA Sourced Billet 416 Stainless Steel
• CNC Machining, EDM Wire, EDM Sink, CNC Surface Grinding
• Full-Cycle Technology Construction
• 4.25 in. Barrel, Flush and Recessed Crowned
• Hand Polished Feed Ramp
• Cabot Black Diamond 13 Degree Slide Serrations
• Carry Cut Slide
• Top Slide Serrations
• Recessed Slide Stop Notch
• Cabot Idiot Scratch Proof Slide Stop
• Black Aluminum TriStar Trigger
• Rhombus Cut Front Strap Checkering 24 Lpi
• Rhombus Cut Checkered Main Spring Housing
• RH Thumb Safety
• Bobtail Cut Frame
• Beaver Tail Grip Safety
• Walnut Grips – Checkered with Cabot Medallion
• Front Sight – Reverse Dovetail – Tritium
• Rear Sight – Warren Style U Notch – Tritium
• Two 8 Round Cabot Magazines

The post New from Cabot Guns: Cabot Icon 1911 and Gentleman’s Carry Pistol appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Despite what you might’ve heard, concealed carry guns have always been top sellers—not only today, but they also took high honors some 167 years ago. Although small, mostly single-shot pistols had been around for a few centuries, it took the percussion cap and Samuel Colt’s inventive mind to come up with a truly practical and concealable repeating handgun.

Early Colt’s

From 1836 to 1842, Colt produced his Paterson revolvers and some, such as the No. 1 Baby or No. 2 Belt Model, were in .28 and .31 caliber and could be had with a barrel as short as 1.75 inches. Unfortunately, Colt’s company went under, but it was resurrected in 1847 during the Mexican-American War, when Colt introduced the huge .44 Walker revolver and then the Dragoon models for the military.

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Samuel Colt, a visionary for his time, saw a market for a small revolver to sell to civilians and scaled down the Dragoon in both size and caliber (.31) and called it the “Baby Dragoon.” The next year saw the introduction of the 1849 Pocket Model that was another .31, but it could be had with a five- or six-shot cylinder. This became Colt’s big seller, with 325,000 made. The most popular barrel length was 3 inches, making it easy to hide.

S&W Origins

Smith & Wesson started out with a somewhat strange and under-powered lever-action handgun, but what really put the company on the map was the launch of a tiny, 10-ounce, seven-shot revolver in 1858 that fired a revolutionary .22-caliber, self-contained metallic cartridge.

Called the Model 1, it fired a round much like today’s .22 Short rimfire and normally came with a 3.19-inch barrel. S&W sold all it could make, and the Civil War prompted a call for a larger .32 rimfire revolver. The six-shot Model 2 Army came out in 1861 chambered in .32 Long with a 5- or 6-inch barrel. The larger caliber was appreciated, but many wanted it in a smaller package, so in 1865 S&W came out with the Model 1½, a five-shooter that could chamber .32 Short or Long rimfire cartridges and came standard with a 3-inch barrel. Supply never caught up with demand.

S&W already had the rights to the Rollin White patent for the bored-through cylinder, but the company spent a lot of money and effort in the 1860s acquiring patent rights on various inventions that would enable S&W to make a big-bore revolver with a hinged frame. The tip-up frames on the .22 and .32 revolvers were not strong enough, but the hinged frame allowed the production in May 1870 of a .44-caliber sixgun. The Model 3 didn’t garner the U.S. military sales S&W hoped for—although the company did sell a modified version to Czarist Russia. So S&W again turned to the civilian market and, using the Model 3 design, came out with the Single Action .38 in March of 1876. It chambered the new .38 S&W cartridge and had a five-shot capacity as well as a spur trigger. A smaller and improved model in .32 S&W appeared in January of 1878.

S&W never rested on its laurels and in January of 1880 announced a hinged-frame, double-action .38. Versions were available with 3.25-, 4- and 5-inch barrels, and S&W improved this series until it reached the Perfected Model, which was made until 1920. In 1880, a double-action .32 came onto the scene, but one of the most popular versions, the Safety Hammerless came out in May of 1884. Its concealed hammer and grip safety spawned the “Lemon-Squeezer” moniker.

New Century

Revolvers in .32 and .38 caliber proliferated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with millions being manufactured by companies like Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Hopkins & Allen, Merwin & Hulbert and others, plus a host of foreign knock-offs. These diminutive revolvers filled a lot of pockets for the better part of 70 years along with various derringers from Colt, Remington and Sharps.

The hinged-frame revolvers had a lot of good features, principally their simultaneous ejection of brass and easy reloading with the exposed cylinder breech. The negative side was the strength of the lockup, which relegated them to low/medium-powered cartridges. Colt made a pocket-sized double-action .38, the Lightning, which followed the design of the Single Action Army but was just as slow to unload/reload. Then, in 1889, Colt introduced the first revolver with a swing-out cylinder, beginning a whole new era in wheelgun design. It began life as the New Navy in .38 Long Colt and later was improved and adopted by the Army in 1892. With healthy sales figures, this medium-frame sixgun could also be had in .41 Long Colt with a barrel as short as 2 inches.

Colt was the first gun-maker to produce a small-frame, swing-out-cylinder double action that it called the New Pocket in 1893. This was a six-shot .32 with a barrel starting at 2.5 inches, and some 30,000 were made before it was replaced with the safer-to-carry Pocket Positive in 1905. A more police-oriented .32 called the “New Police” was released in 1896 and became standard issue for the NYPD under Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt. The year 1905 also saw the introduction of the “Police Positive,” which was a six-shot .38 that Colt renamed the “New Police.” A short-barreled version was called the “Banker’s Special.”

S&W entered the swing-out-cylinder revolver market with the Hand Ejector model in 1896. This small I-Frame took a new .32 S&W Long cartridge. It was adopted by the Philadelphia Police Department and could be had with a 3.25-inch barrel. Some design weaknesses were corrected, and it became the .32 Hand Ejector Model of 1903—the first S&W double action to have the locking lug on the underside of the barrel. This Hand Ejector spawned the Regulation Police .32 in March of 1917, and it had a longer grip for uniform police use. It was followed by a similar gun with a five-shot, .38-caliber cylinder. This .38 cylinder on a .32 frame was also known as the .38/32, and in 1936 popular demand dictated a 2-inch-barreled, round-butt version named the “.38/32 Terrier.”

Today, these small .32 and .38 revolvers would be classified as “mouse guns,” but back in the day they were considered adequate for their roles in law enforcement and self-defense.

The First Semi-Autos

The 1890s ushered in the dawn of the semi-automatic pistol as smokeless-powder cartridges became the norm. Most early designs were large handguns for military use, but American arms inventor John Moses Browning went to FN in Belgium with a design that became the Model 1900 in 7.65mm Browning Short (.32 ACP), a cartridge he’d invented. It was an odd-looking single-action pistol but was relatively flat, and its box magazine held seven cartridges. It was another gun favored by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Colt teamed up with Browning for an improved .32-caliber pistol known as the Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless (a misnomer, as it had a concealed hammer), and it was a slim, sleek pistol with a 3.75- or 4-inch barrel and an 8+1 capacity. It immediately became popular for self-defense and as a gun for plainclothes officers and detectives. It was also adopted by the U.S. military as a “General Officer’s Pistol,” and 572,215 were made over 42 years. A .380 ACP version called the Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless was also popular and adopted by the Shanghai Police. Another introduction that year was the .25-caliber Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket, which became Colt’s third most popular autoloader behind the Model 1911 and the Model 1903.

Other small semi-auto pistols came onto the scene to compete for a market share. A real “Art Deco” design was the Savage Model 1907 in .32 ACP, and its claim to fame was a 10-round magazine and a cocking lever that looked like an exposed hammer. It had a single-action mechanism and was endorsed by such notaries as Buffalo Bill, Bat Masterson and William Pinkerton. A .380 ACP version came along in 1920.

S&W enter the small semi-auto fray with the Model 1913 in .35 S&W, a cartridge developed in cooperation with Remington. It was a single action with a grip safety incorporated into the frontstrap, but its odd appearance and cartridge resulted in it being discontinued in 1922. In 1924, a more streamlined version in .32 ACP was offered, but it retailed at $11 more than a Colt Model 1903, and production declined to nothing in 1929.

Specials & Magnums

In 1899, S&W released its K-Frame .38 Hand Ejector, which became known as the “Military & Police.” This revolver, later designated the Model 10, was S&W’s most famous revolver and ended up being synonymous with the term “Police Special.” The new sixgun was also coupled with a new cartridge, the .38 Special, which had improved ballistics over the .38 Colt, with a slightly heavier bullet and powder charge. As the Prohibition took hold in America, cartridges like the .32 and .38 S&W fell out of favor. The K-Frame M&P was not a pocket gun, even with a 2-inch barrel and a round butt. The FBI issued the tapered 4-inch-barreled version, but it was a belt holster proposition.

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Colt jumped on the bandwagon in 1908 with its new Police Positive Special. It had all the attributes of the Police Positive, but with a longer cylinder so it could chamber the more powerful .38 Special. It was the lightest and most compact revolver out in .38 Special and had a square-butt grip frame. It could be ordered with a barrel as short as 1.75 inches.

Colt had a penchant for short-barreled wheelguns dating back to the Baby Paterson, and the popularity of the Police Positive Special led to a 2-inch-barreled revolver with a round-butt grip frame in .38 Special—the Detective Special. This small six-shooter really took off and became a favorite with police and armed citizens alike. It wasn’t much bigger than the S&W Terrier, but it carried six rounds of .38 Special instead of five rounds of .38 S&W cartridges. It was smaller and lighter but had the same cartridge capacity as the 2-inch-barreled M&P.

The “Gangster Era” spawned another popular cartridge and a revolver to go with it. Police complained that the .38 Special, even in the heavy-duty .38-44 load, was not powerful enough to punch through the car bodies of bootleggers and motorized crooks like Bonnie and Clyde. So, in 1935, S&W rolled out a big N-Frame revolver chambered for the new .357 Magnum that the company had developed with Winchester. It was at first a special-order proposition and became known as the “Registered Magnum.” It fired a bullet of the same weight as the .38 Special but at much higher velocities, and a metal-piecing load was also made. S&W presented a .357 Magnum to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and the big sixgun became popular with agents, as it could be had with a 3.5-inch barrel to aid in concealment. Its popularity resulted in its being made a standard-production item and later was designated the Model 27.

Civilian gun manufacturing slumped during WWII, and arms-makers took their time getting production lines rolling again after the war. S&W was still looking for a small revolver to better compete with Colt’s Detective Special and took the I-Frame of the Terrier and stretched it to accommodate a longer cylinder. Thus, the J-Frame was born. It was a five-shot .38 Special with a 2-inch barrel. S&W took it to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Convention in 1950 for its debut and asked the police chiefs in attendance to give it a name. The new snubbie was christened the “Chief’s Special” before becoming known as the Model 36 a few years later. S&W still offers it today.

Reliable Concealed Carry Guns

Compared to what we have now, the concealed carry guns of yesteryear might seem inadequate. They were generally all steel, making them heavie. They also weren’t as ergonomically designed and the sights were often tiny and difficult to see clearly. Ammunition has also improved exponentially, with hollow-point bullet designs and improved gunpowder making old cartridges like the .32 or .38 S&W obsolete. But these guns still managed to do their jobs in the right hands with proper bullet placement, which is still more often than not the deciding factor rather than gun design or cartridge efficiency. Many of these guns still see service today. Don’t be too surprised if you should see a Savage Model 1907 or Colt Detective Special riding on my hip.

This article was originally published in “Concealed Carry Handguns” 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Concealed Carry Guns: A Look Back at CCW Classics of Yesteryear appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

It was at the 2008 SHOT Show in Las Vegas that I first ran across the Boberg XR9 pistol. I was immediately attracted to the semi-auto’s unique profile. It was a bullpup design, meaning the trigger sits in front of the barrel’s chamber, giving the gun a decidedly abbreviated look. It utilized a rotating barrel lockup and was a hammer-fired, double-action-only (DAO) design. But perhaps the most radical design feature of the XR9 was its reverse-feed mechanism, which utilized a claw to remove the cartridge from the back of the magazine and then lift it for smooth chambering as the slide moved forward.

Despite its stubby appearance, the gun possessed a barrel 3.35 inches in length—long enough for most defensive loads to build effective velocity. It had a unique balance, with the bulk of the gun’s weight positioned directly in the shooter’s grip, with a 7+1 capacity, and it weighed just a couple ounces more than a pound. The XR9 also possessed an innovative small-diameter recoil spring that made racking the slide extremely easy. As I held the gun and examined it, I felt like I was either looking at the future of defensive handguns or an oddity that time would forget.

During my meeting with Arne Boberg of Boberg Engineering, he told me the gun existed only as a prototype, and he was looking for financial backers. I sporadically checked Boberg’s website over the next couple years to see if his XR9 was in full production. But I eventually forgot about this interesting handgun.

Bond, Gordon Bond

That is until 2016, when I was at a writer’s event and Gordon Bond of Bond Arms unveiled the Bullpup9. I immediately recognized it as the old Boberg XR9 and was excited to learn that Bond had purchased the company and was intent on putting the gun into production. It was then I learned that Boberg’s problems weren’t only finding financial backing for the gun. In fact, there were also several design issues that prevented it from becoming widely accepted as a defensive handgun. Only 2,700 pistols were produced before Bond acquired the company.

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Gordon Bond told me, “The first time I disassembled the gun, I got black anti-seize grease all over my fingers. Every gun guy I know will wipe that grease out of the gun, and it will stop functioning. Even firing a few magazines heats the gun up enough where the grease will melt and the functioning will cease. I thought to myself, ‘That grease has to go!’ So, we tried coating the barrel with electroless nickel-Teflon, and that solved the problem. Boberg had recommended a 500-round break-in, and most people won’t ever fire that many rounds through their gun. The new coating eliminates the excessive break-in.”

Another problem related to the reverse-feed design is that sometimes the slide’s velocity creates enough G-force that it separates the bullet from its case. Bond solved part of this issue by adding weight to the slide to slow its velocity. The other part isn’t as easy to fix. According to Bond, “Most aluminum-cased ammunition doesn’t have much of a crimp, and the bullets will separate from the cases and tie the gun up. We’ve done extensive testing and posted an approved list on our website.

Ammo

As long as people stick with that list, their Bullpup9 will work really, really well. Most ammo is usually only being pushed forward and the crimp becomes less critical, but the reverse feed system is a whole different animal. Hollow points designed for defensive use usually have ample crimps. We hardly have issue with most self- defense loads—it’s usually the ball ammunition that causes us problems. One range load that works very well with our gun is Winchester’s ‘white box’ 115-grain FMJ rounds.”

A Closer Look

I recently had the chance to visit the Bond Arms factory in Granbury, Texas, and see exactly how the Bullpup9s are manufactured. The frame is machined from a billet of aircraft-grade 7075-T6 aluminum alloy. Nearly 90 percent of the material is removed in the machining process, which takes approximately 30 minutes. The slides are machined from 416 stainless steel, and even though Bond owns some very expensive precision robotics, there is still plenty of handwork performed on every pistol. While Bond tries to do as much as possible in-house, the frames are sent out for anodizing and the barrels are sent to another facility for the electroless nickel-Teflon coating.

Because of the bullpup design, the pistol possesses a very useable 4.5-inch sight radius and sights large enough to present a good solid sight picture. The sights are set up in the usual three-dot arrangement, which I had no problem seeing during my range time with the Bullpup9.

The Bullpup9 only possesses two external controls: the magazine release and the takedown lever. The magazine release is located in the usual Browning-inspired location where the triggerguard meets the frame; it is not ambidextrous. Just above the mag release is the takedown lever, which is extremely low profile in design, and the grip has been relieved to accommodate its arc. This part also pulls double duty as a slide lock. If you pull the slide all the way back and move the lever 45 degrees, or straight up and down, it will hold the slide to the rear.

Disassembly

Disassembly of the Bullpup9 is easy and doesn’t require any special tools. After removing the magazine and clearing the chamber, remember to rack the slide multiple times in case there is a cartridge in the claw. Pull the slide all the way rearward and rotate the takedown lever to the 6 o’clock position.

Visually inspect the chamber to make sure it is clear. Now hold the slide back while rotating the takedown lever to the 9 o’clock position. The slide can now move forward off the frame. Remove the recoil spring and its guide, and now the locking block and barrel can be removed from the slide. The barrel and slide can now be cleaned, and there is no need for further disassembly of the gun.

The Bullpup9 doesn’t possess a manual safety, instead relying on its long double-action trigger pull to prevent an inadvertent shot. The hammer looks more like a pickup’s tailgate than a traditional semi-auto hammer, but it does the job and gives the gun a more streamlined appearance when it is at rest. The gun’s trigger mechanism also allows for a second-strike capability.

Trigger Time

The trigger pull on my test gun registered right at 7 pounds and was extremely smooth with some stacking just before let-off. This made the trigger pull very predictable and allowed me to prep the trigger when firing at multiple targets.

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For the accuracy portion of my evaluation, I set my targets out at 15 yards and fired five shots for each group. Every group was fired from a seated rest using my DOA Tactical bench as well as a Millett BenchMaster handgun rest for support.

Gordon Bond recommended Winchester’s 115-grain “white box” FMJs for practice, and these rounds performed flawlessly in the Bullpup9. They grouped well and shot to the same point of aim as the higher-velocity defense rounds. I’m happy to report that none of the loads I tried, including some that are not on the recommended list, did not separate while firing. Of course, just about everything I tried possessed a high-performance hollow point with an adequate crimp. The average group size for the five loads I tested measured just under 1.25 inches, proving the Bullpup9 possesses more than adequate accuracy for a subcompact defense handgun.

Despite the very small-diameter recoil spring, the Bullpup9 really doesn’t have much felt recoil. And even though the gun weighs just over a pound, there was nothing harsh or unmanageable about its bite. Part of the credit goes to the beautiful Bond rosewood stocks. While some may criticize them as being too wide, they feel good in my hand and help control the little gun and do not, in my opinion, negatively affect the gun’s concealability.

One Unique Design

There are smaller, lighter, cheaper and even more accurate subcompacts on the market than the Bullpup9, but I’m not sure there are any that are more interesting. Watching the Bullpup9’s journey from concept to production has been intriguing. Without Gordon Bond’s commitment and perseverance, I’m not sure the reverse-feed bullpup would have ever evolved past that of a firearms oddity.

But it has, and it looks as though there is plenty of support to earn its place as a legitimate defensive tool. Gordon Bond tells me his company is tooling up to keep pace with the Bullpup9 orders, and he’ll be adding to the new semi-auto line by offering a Bullpup45 as well as a Bullpup380. Additionally, he’ll soon have a suppressor-ready version of the Bullpup9. You’ll be able to keep track of these exciting new additions by checking in regularly at bondarms.com.

Bond Arms Bullpup9 Review: Specs

• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel: 3.35 inches
• OA Length: 5.1 inches
• Weight: 17.5 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Rosewood
• Sights: Three-dot
• Action: DAO
• Finish: Matte black, stainless
• Capacity: 7+1
• MSRP: $977

Bond Arms Bullpup9 Review: Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains. Velocity measured in fps by chronograph. Accuracy measured in inches for best five-shot groups at 15 yards.

This Bullpup9 review was originally published in the March/April 2018 issue of “Combat Handguns” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Bullpup9 Review: Bond Arms’ Interesting New Subcompact Defender appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

I’m not telling our readers something they didn’t already know when I say that some of the hottest items on today’s handgun market are .380 pistols. The reasons for this dramatic increase of interest in .380 pistols are threefold: materials, ballistics and CCW laws.

As more and more states have adopted “Shall Issue” CCW laws, the demand for small, lightweight handguns has skyrocketed. In the past, quality .380 ACP pistols like the Colt Model 1908 and Walther PP/PPK were all steel, thus they were heavy for the cartridge they fired. But today, the use of polymer frames has lightened them significantly, making them much easier to carry all day.

The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) was designed by John Moses Browning and first chambered in Fabrique Nationale’s Model 1910 pistol. On this side of the pond, Colt, H&R, Remington and Savage Arms all offered .380 ACP pistols.

As originally loaded, the .380 ACP consisted of a straight-walled, rimless case 17mm in length topped with an FMJ bullet weighing 85 to 95 grains, traveling at approximately 900 to 1,000 fps. The use of improved propellants and high-tech JHP bullets has dramatically improved the on-target effectiveness of the .380 ACP cartridge, making it a much more practical choice for defensive purposes without any real increase in recoil.

The .380 Pistols

We felt that it would be interesting if I assembled a selection of new-breed .380 pistols and ran them through a side-by-side shoot-off to see if any provided a significant advantage over the others. So I received a Ruger LCP II, Kahr CT380, Beretta Pico, S&W M&P Bodyguard 380 FDE and Remington RM380 to play with—I mean carefully evaluate in a professional manner.

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Our quintet of compact .380 pistols had a number of similarities and differences. All had steel slides and were locked-breech designs. Four utilized polymer frames while the Remington RM380 was the odd man out with an alloy frame.

Four had double-action-only (DAO) type triggers while the Ruger’s was of the single-action (SA) persuasion. The Beretta, Remington and S&W all had second-strike capabilities. While the Kahr is a striker-fired design, the other four all use hammers to ignite cartridges.

More Details

The Kahr, Beretta and Remington lacked external manual safeties while the S&W had a flush-mounted safety on the frame and the Ruger featured a paddle-type trigger block on the face of its trigger. Four of the pistols had magazine releases (ambidextrous in the case of the Remington) that were pushed in to release the magazine while the Beretta has an ambidextrous paddle under the triggerguard that is pushed down.

The sights on all five .380 pistols were basic: a blade front mated to a square-notch rear. The Beretta had three white dots while the Kahr featured a white-dot front and a white bar on the rear sight. The remaining three had plain black sights. It should be noted that S&W, Ruger and Kahr all offer versions of their pistols with integral laser sights as an option.

In terms of cartridge capacity, the Kahr uses a seven-round magazine while the magazines of the remaining four each hold a half-dozen cartridges. The Kahr also came fitted with a rubber grip sleeve that the company offers as an option.

Rules Of The Ring

I obtained the enthusiastic assistance of my good friends Dick Jones and Perry Windsor, both of whom are avid action pistol competitors and hold CCW licenses. As in earlier “Battle Royales,” it was decided that we would evaluate the pistols in eight areas: ergonomics, trigger control, recoil control, sights, offhand accuracy, ease of reloading, reliability and, considering their role in life, concealability. We felt these categories would give each of us a good overall feel for these compact autoloaders.

I believe that trying to shoot tight groups from a stationary rest with pistols of this class is a poor indication of how they perform. Instead, I decided to see how they would digest different types of ammunition. Accordingly, I ran two magazines each of Hornady 90-grain FTX, Winchester 95-grain Train & Defend, Black Hills 60-grain Honey Badger and Browning 95-grain BXP ammo through each pistol. I was pleased to see that all five pistols digested whatever I stuffed in their magazines and spat out the empty cases with metronome-like regularity.

As is the standard in these “Battle Royales,” I disassembled, cleaned and lubricated each pistol, which would be the only maintenance they would receive throughout the test. If one malfunctioned during testing, we would attempt to correct the problem and keep shooting.

Drills

Off-hand testing consisted of running three drills with IPSC targets kindly provided by the Target Barn set out at “real-life” distances of 3 and 5 yards considering the class of the pistols we were using. We used only a quantity of Bronze 90-grain FMJs from PMC for these practical range drills. Finally, the .380 pistols were carried and drawn from a reliable Galco Front Pocket Horsehide holster.

Our drills included:

• El Presidente: Draw the pistol and double-tap (fire two rounds) on each of three targets at 5 yards. Perform a combat reload and reengage the targets. Reload magazines as necessary and repeat one more time for a total of 24 rounds.
• FBI Drill: Draw the pistol and fire two body shots and one headshot on a pair of targets at 5 yards. Perform a combat reload and reengage the targets. Reload magazines as necessary and repeat one more time for a total of 24 rounds.
• One-Handed Drill: Draw the pistol and fire six rounds on one of three targets at 3 yards, firing all rounds with an unsupported (one-handed) grip. Reload and engage the two remaining targets in the same manner for a total of 18 rounds.

In the end, each shooter would be required to fire a minimum of 66 rounds from each pistol for a total of 330 rounds from all five of the test guns.

Range Time

I met my friends at the Piedmont Handgunners range in Southmont, North Carolina, on a chilly, overcast November morning. After unpacking our gear and setting up the targets, we proceeded to send rounds downrange. One of us would fire a pistol while a second acted as a range officer and the third loaded magazines. Family responsibilities prevented my wife, Becky, from assisting us so my friend, Richard Cole, volunteered to serve as our photographer and score keeper.

As brass piled up on the tarp next to the shooters, it became obvious that these “little” pistols were capable of surprisingly good accuracy with some help from the shooters. In fact, of the more than 1,000 rounds we fired at the targets, very few impacted outside the targets’ A-zones and (when required) “heads.” While it must be admitted that the ranges were short, the triggers and sights on several of our test pistols were not conducive to fine shooting.

There was the usual moaning when I told them they could not pick up the spent brass (yes, some people do reload .380s) until we had finished the paperwork. Richard handed out score sheets and pens, and each of us graded the five pistols on the aforementioned criteria with a one being the poorest and five the highest score. These were then added together to give each pistol a final score in each category.

In-Depth Results

Note: 15 is a perfect score for each category while 120 is a perfect total score. 

Reliability

Early on, we experienced several early slide lock-backs and slow closures with the Kahr, which caused its score to suffer. But after an application of oil, it ran perfectly for the rest of the day. We had two failures to eject and one stovepipe jam with the Ruger and one failure to feed each with the S&W and Beretta while Remington’s pistol just kept chugging along. Considering they were all new out-of-the-box pistols, we considered this performance satisfactory.

Ergonomics

The S&W, Kahr and Remington tied in this category because of their excellent “pointability.” The Ruger’s short grip frame counted against it slightly while the Beretta came in fifth place. Its smooth, narrow grip frame made shooting difficult while the slide stop lever and magazine release were both very difficult to operate. On the plus side, the large finger rest extensions on the Beretta magazines provided a full three-finger grip on the pistol. Note that the Kahr’s slide was very difficult to retract to chamber or clear a round, which would be problematic for someone with small or weak hands.

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Trigger Control

The Remington and S&W both had smooth, stage-free trigger strokes while the Ruger’s single-action trigger was liked by all. Two of the shooters felt the Kahr’s trigger stroke was heavy and a bit gritty, while all three of us agreed that the Beretta’s was long with a heavy let-off.

Recoil Control

The Remington finished first in this category thanks to its wide grip frame and weight. The Kahr was the runner-up thanks to its long grip and rubber sleeve. The S&W’s finger rest magazine basepad allowed a firm purchase, but the Ruger’s smallish, narrow grip was not conducive to rapid fire. All of us felt the Beretta’s grip frame was too narrow, and its lack of any type of checkering/texturing allowed it to move around in the shooter’s hand under recoil, forcing each of us to reacquire a firm purchase every few shots.

Sights

Considering the distances we were shooting at, the sights weren’t a major factor. That being said, all three of us agreed that the Kahr’s bar-dot sights were the fastest to align and provided the best sight picture. The Beretta’s three-dot sights were high, easy to acquire and allowed fast transition between targets.

Off-Hand Accuracy

All five .380 pistols showed they were capable of reliably putting rounds where the shooter wanted them fairly quickly.

Reloading Ease

Let me say right off that it is highly unlikely that the shooter will have to perform a speed reload with this class of pistol. That being said, the magazine releases on the Remington, S&W and Ruger all worked easily, and their magazines fell free, partially loaded or empty, slide forward or locked back. The Kahr’s magazine release was difficult to access, and its magazines did not always fall free and had to be manually started or pulled out. The paddle-type release on the Beretta was difficult to access and awkward to manipulate and, as with the Kahr, magazines sometimes had to be manually extracted. The Beretta’s magazines were quite difficult to fully load. Maybe a loading tool would be a nice option?

Concealability

While all of the test guns were small enough to conceal easily, the size and narrow widths of the Beretta and Ruger gave them perfect scores in this category with the S&W coming one point behind the pair. The Kahr’s long grip sometimes made it a difficult to draw from a pocket holster while the Remington’s width created a bit of a signature.

The Results

As I normally do at these “Battle Royale” shoot-offs, I queried Perry and Dick about their choice as to the pistol with the best handling qualities and which one they would choose to carry on a regular basis. I believe the readers will find our answers interesting.

Dick Jones chose the Remington for handling but couldn’t decide between the Ruger or Beretta for carry. Perry Windose picked the S&W for handling but the Ruger for carry. I personally chose the Remington for handling and concealed carry.

Well, there you have it. My two fellow shooters and I agreed that the most important features of this class of pistol are reliability, accuracy and concealability, and all five of these .380 pistols provide that. The other features will depend on what the individual shooter prefers or needs.

Beretta Pico Specs

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Barrel: 2.7 inches
• OA Length: 5.1 inches
• Weight: 11.5 (ounces)
• Grip: Polymer
• Sights: Adjustable three-dot
• Action: DAO
• Finish: Matte black, stainless
• Capacity: 6+1
• MSRP: $300

Kahr CT380 Specs

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Barrel: 3 inches
• OA Length: 5.52 inches
• Weight: 11.45 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Polymer
• Sights: White bar-dot, adjustable
• Action: Striker-fired
• Finish: Matte black, stainless
• Capacity: 7+1
• MSRP: $419

Remington RM380 Specs

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Barrel: 2.9 inches
• OA Length: 5.27 inches
• Weight: 12.2 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Glass-filled nylon
• Sights: Fixed
• Action: DAO
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 6+1
• MSRP: $436

Ruger LCP II Specs

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Barrel: 2.75 inches
• OA Length: 5.17 inches
• Weight: 10.6 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Glass-filled nylon
• Sights: Fixed
• Action: SA
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 6+1
• MSRP: $349

S&W M&P Bodyguard 380 Specs

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Barrel: 2.75 inches
• OA Length: 5.3 inches
• Weight: 12 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Polymer
• Sights: Adjustable front and rear
• Action: DAO
• Finish: Matte black, FDE
• Capacity: 6+1
• MSRP: $379

For More Information

Beretta
beretta.com

Kahr
kahr.com

Remington
remington.com

Ruger
ruger.com

Smith & Wesson
smith-wesson.com

This article is from the March/April 2018 issue of “Combat Handguns” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Pocket Battle: Scores & Rankings of 5 Popular .380 Pistols appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

In early October, I attended the Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous, a gathering of writers and firearms manufacturers, in Gateway, Colorado. It was here that I had the opportunity to see and shoot the new Beretta 92G Centurion Tactical built exclusively for Wilson Combat. Sporting a full-sized frame and a shortened top end with a 4.3-inch barrel, the gun balanced like a dream! Its slick trigger and awesome sights made missing nearly impossible. Of all the guns from different manufacturers I fired during this three-day event, the Centurion was the one that I enjoyed the most. Before I left the range, I placed an order for a test sample with Wilson Combat’s Guy Joubert.

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The fact that the pistol made such an impression on me was a huge surprise, as I have never exactly been a Beretta fan. I was leaving the Marines about the time the new M9s were being phased into inventory. To put it bluntly, I was a much bigger fan of the 1911 than the M9. Time and experience have softened my prejudice against the Beretta a little. I even bought a couple: a Marine commemorative and an Enduring Freedom limited edition. I’ve put some rounds through the Marine pistol and was impressed by its ability to shoot just about everything I put through it, but I’ve never have carried it for anything more than a range session. The fat grip and long, heavy double-action trigger pull just didn’t appeal to me.

Wilson’s Way

But the 92G Centurion Tactical, as built for Wilson Combat, is as different from the M9 as the Cobra was from the Mustang. Its balance is completely different with the shortened top end, and when the gun comes up, it’s like the front sight finds its way into the rear sight. The fat plastic grips have been replaced with slim VZ G10 grips that totally give the gun a much better feel. For the Wilson Combat Centurion, Beretta checkers both the front- and backstraps with coarse checkering. This model also features a light rail on the frame and a rounded triggerguard.

Bill Wilson, the owner and founder of Wilson Combat, spec’d out the Centurion for this exclusive build. And while Beretta makes the Centurion for normal distribution, this is not the gun that Wilson Combat sells. Bill Wilson selected every feature of this gun and even ships parts of his own company’s manufacture to use while the guns are assembled at Beretta’s Maryland facility. Wilson Combat provides steel parts like triggers, guide rods and decockers. Bill also specified that Beretta use his company’s steel magazine release on this model as well as the Elite-style skeletonized hammer.

Features

One of the more useful features on the Wilson Combat Centurion is the steel mag guide that is anchored at the rear of the frame. Combined with the heavy bevel on the magazine well, reloads are fast and certain. Another feature that makes a lot of sense is the ambidextrous decocker. This is one feature that sets the Wilson Combat Centurion apart from the Beretta M9 and 92F.

Wilson Combat’s Guy Joubert explained that while reloading the gun and racking the slide, sometimes the shooter inadvertently engages the slide-mounted safety/decocker, leaving the shooter with a charged chamber but a dead trigger. The Wilson Combat “G” conversion replaces the safety/decocking lever with a spring-loaded lever that pops back instantly to its “up” position after decocking the hammer. It does not push the trigger bar out of engagement, so the shooter won’t ever be left with a dead trigger. The conversion does not act as a safety, but that’s not a big deal, as it’s a double-action/single-action (DA/SA) semi-auto. In the event the shooter inadvertently hits the “G” conversion lever, it will only decock the hammer—the gun will fire the next shot in DA mode. If you already own a Beretta pistol in the 92 family, the Wilson Combat “G” decocker system can be retrofitted to your gun.

More Details

Wilson Combat also supplies Beretta with its steel Battlesights for these builds. This rear sight features a deep U-notch. Beretta also dovetails the front of the slide to accept the Ken-Hackathorn-designed AmeriGlo front sight that features a tritium lamp surrounded by an eye-catching florescent orange ring. As I mentioned earlier, it’s as if the front sight finds its way into the U-notch. The setup is extremely fast; I wish I had these sights on every defensive handgun I own.

Interested parties can buy the 92G Centurion Tactical from Wilson Combat as they receive it from the Beretta factory or with one of two trigger packages Wilson offers. One package includes Wilson Combat craftsmen polishing the engagement surfaces of the trigger and hammer. The other package includes everything the first offers but with all-new chrome-silicon springs. My test sample was prepared like this.

As I mentioned before, one of the reasons the Beretta M9 was never a go-to pistol for me was its long and heavy trigger pull. The Centurion, with its trigger job and chrome-silicon springs, is an entirely different gun. Though the DA trigger pull is still long, it’s silky smooth and breaks at just 7.5 pounds. For me, it is easy to maintain a sight picture while pressing the trigger through its long arc. The SA trigger pull—just 3.25 pounds—was crisp with just a little overtravel.

Smooth Shooter

Wilson Combat doesn’t do anything mechanical to the Centurion to make it more accurate, though Joubert says Beretta slides and frames are selectively chosen for their tight fits. Beretta uses a stainless steel barrel measuring 4.3 inches in length. It is blackened with a Bruniton finish. A recessed target crown protects its rifling in the event it is dropped on its muzzle. And while the Centurion isn’t billed as a target gun, it certainly possesses match-like accuracy.

I did all of my accuracy testing at 25 yards, firing five shots to a group. I shot from a seated rest using a DOA Tactical portable shooting bench and utilizing a Millett BenchMaster for support. The light rail on the Beretta’s dust cover made for a stable rest while shooting. All of the groups were shot in SA mode.

To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. My groups ranged from 0.66 inches with Wilson Combat’s 135-grain remanufactured HBFN ammo to just under an inch. But what impressed me even more was that the Centurion fired all of the bullet weights, from DoubleTap’s 77-grain hollow points up to Sig Sauer’s 147-grain V-Crown JHPs, with equal accuracy.

Rendezvous Results

When I fired the Centurion for the first time at the Athlon Rendezvous, it felt as though I couldn’t miss on steel targets set out at about 15 yards. During my field outing back home, I brought along an MGM BC C-Zone steel target to try some double-taps. The target approximates a USPSA target with the D-zone removed. Set up at 15 yards, I used a PACT timer to measure my splits, or time between shots. My splits ranged from a low of 0.18 to 0.23 seconds, with the average being 0.20 seconds. This surprised me even more than the Beretta’s accuracy. I am many years removed from USPSA competition, but splits of 0.20 seconds with a 1911 was about as good as I could ever do.

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What didn’t surprise me about the Centurion was its legendary Beretta reliability. Not only did it feed, fire, extract and eject every load I put into it, from light handloads to serious self-defense rounds, but it seemed to do it effortlessly.

Final Thoughts

The disassembly process follows that of M9- and 92-pattern guns. Remove the magazine and clear the chamber. Lock the slide to the rear and push the takedown lever button on the right side of the frame while pushing the takedown lever on the left side of the frame 45 degrees. Depress the slide stop and carefully run the slide and barrel assembly forward and off the frame. Turning the slide over, the recoil spring and steel guide rod can now be removed and the barrel can be lifted from the slide. That’s all there is to it for routine cleaning and maintenance of the 92G Centurion Tactical. Reassembly is in the reverse order.

I’m glad that I’ve had this opportunity to evaluate the Beretta/Wilson Combat 92G Centurion Tactical. Despite my previous prejudices against the M9 and 92 family of guns, this is a pistol that I’d carry anytime, anywhere. It feels good in my hand, has excellent balance and all the accuracy and reliability that a serious pistolero needs. Priced at $1,250, the Centurion impresses me as a lot of gun for the money!

Wilson/Beretta 92G Centurion Tactical Specs

• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel: 4.3 inches
• OA Length: 7.75 inches
• Weight: 33.2 ounces (empty)
• Grips: VZ G10
• Sights: AmeriGlo Hackathorn front, Battlesight rear
• Action: DA/SA
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 17+1, 20+1
• MSRP: $1,250

Wilson/Beretta 92G Centurion Tactical Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity measured in fps by chronograph and accuracy measured in inches for best five-shot groups at 25 yards.

For more information, visit wilsoncombat.com.

This article was originally published in the March/April 2018 issue of “Combat Handguns” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Full Gun Review: The Wilson/Beretta 92G Centurion Tactical appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

“New” does not always translate to “better.” At times, it’s wise to take a step back to where we started. At least those were my thoughts when I reached down and picked up the Taurus Raging Bull sitting on the shooting bench.

I was at the first annual Athlon Rendezvous Gateway, Colo. Taurus was one of nearly 30 manufacturers partaking in the three-day event. Just the sight of a large-frame revolver sent me spiraling back in time to the day when revolvers ruled the handgun market and anything chambered in .44 Magnum was king of the hill. However, the flood of “Wonder-Nines” introduced in the mid-70s eventually supplanted the revolver as the handgun of choice.

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In the Field

Yet, just the fact that manufacturers produce so many different models proves that revolvers still have a place in the market. They are often used by many for home defense or for outdoor adventures where they can’t be beat.

In fact, it is those outdoor adventures that is the primary purpose of the Taurus Raging Bull. These revolvers are available in .44 Remington Magnum and .454 Casull, and in barrel lengths ranging from 2.25 inches to 8.375 inches.

I got to play with the 6.5-inch model, the one that, in my opinion, is the most versatile. The shorter models are ideal for easy carry in situations where you need a sidearm for protection from snakes or large predators. The longer barrels, however, make this a premier weapon for handgun hunting.

In .44 Magnum these guns have a six-round capacity. If that won’t put your quarry down then you have no business shooting at it.

Fortunately for all of us, as semi-autos were being developed one after the next, subtle changes were also being made to revolvers.

.44 Magnum Upgrades

The .44 Mag was notorious for tearing apart handguns and shooters. The Raging Bull is equipped with a dual locking system on the cylinder to combat the torque created by the pressures of the .44 Magnum and the barrels are ported to counteract the recoil. For the comfort of the shooter, Taurus has created a synthetic grip with a cushioned insert to further dampen the felt recoil.

Taurus has not overlooked the aspect of safety with its revolvers either. The Raging Bull is equipped with the Taurus “Transfer Bar” safety, assuring the firearm will not fire until the trigger is pulled. The Taurus Security System (TSS) assures the gun cannot be fired or cocked with the simple turn of a key.

My time with this handgun was well spent. Even though the Raging Bull’s stainless steel construction could have handled any conditions, the weather that day was great. Even my old eyes found the sights perfect and “ringing the steel” was easy.

After six shots all I could do was grab more ammunition. I was having too much fun as flashbacks to my competitive days of “Handgun Silhouettes” matches danced through my head. Just imagine what my scores could have been if I had a Taurus Raging Bull on my side.

For more information, please visit TaurusUSA.com.

Taurus Raging Bull Specifications

• Finish: Stainless Steel
• Status: Available
• Caliber: .44 Magnum
• Grips: Soft Rubber
• Capacity: 6
• Weight: 53 ounces
• Barrel Length: 6.5 inches
• Action: DA/SA
• Front Sight: Patridge
• Rear Sight: Adjustable
• Trigger Type: Smooth
• MSRP: $839

The post The Taurus Raging Bull Revolver Kicks the .44 Magnum Up a Notch appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The year 1970 was the apogee of the Space Age. The unpopular war in Vietnam was straining American patience, and Neil Armstrong’s one small step had been trod less than a year before. NASA had only recently introduced us to such novel stuff as freeze-dried foods, Mylar and Velcro. The US and the USSR stared at each other over the sights of thousands of nuclear weapons, and the world was never more than a button’s push away from extinction.

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Back in those days, we called polymer “plastic.” The word plastic is actually an adjective rather than a noun, but it has come to refer to synthetic materials that are viscous when hot and rigid when cooled. Such stuff can be formed into the most complex shapes easily and cheaply. It is also naturally environmentally resistant and, if properly contrived, quite strong. While plastic pistols are de rigueur these days, in 1970 they were as unnatural as conservatives in Hollywood.

Which brings us to the HK VP70, a pistol that Heckler & Koch introduced in 1970—one as cutting edge as the moonshot. “VP” actually stands for Volkspistole or “People’s Pistol.” The same moniker was recycled for the recent VP9 and VP40.

Designed for simplicity of production, reliability and modest weight, the polymer-framed VP70Z (“Zivil”) was the semi-automatic civilian version of the select-fire VP70M (“Militar”). The VP70M was issued with a polymer buttstock that doubled as a holster. When mounted on the stock, the VP70M was capable of both semi-automatic as well as burst-fire operation. In three-round burst mode, the gun had a cyclic rate of 2,200 rounds per minute.

The gun was to be reliable and inexpensive so as to lend itself to wide distribution. As a result, the VP70 eschewed the frills you might expect from a typical combat handgun in favor of utilitarian efficiency.

Breakthrough Design

For all of its novel technology, the HK VP70Z was a simply dreadful handgun. Operating via an unlocked blowback action and sporting a legendarily long, heavy, hideous trigger pull, the VP70Z was born as a machine pistol and really never should have left the nursery. However, the 18-round, double-stack mag was commendable, and its rakish lines landed it in several sci-fi movie roles without any ancillary window dressing. It also formed the foundation for the striker-fired, polymer-framed revolution that eventually displaced the service revolver from every law enforcement holster.

The HK VP70 incorporated a number of remarkably prescient features. The weapon was the very image of simplicity and must have been dirt cheap to produce. The unlocked blowback action minimized the overall parts count, and the striker-fired trigger blazed the trail for literally everybody else. However, the massively heavy trigger pull was undeniably atrocious, and the magazine release was arranged in the heel of the gun, as was the European custom.

The HK VP70 also sported novel deep-grooved rifling that purportedly minimized bore erosion but resulted in slightly lower muzzle velocities than might be the case with comparable handguns. This deep-groove rifling is evident when you look down the bore.

Details

And while much about the HK VP70 was right, some of it was quite terminally wrong. Striker-fired triggers were subsequently perfected, but the HK VP70’s definitely had its teething troubles. The system is completely unloaded at rest, so each trigger pull has to fully compress the striker spring prior to activation. By contrast, modern striker-fired versions remain partially compressed by the gun’s action so the trigger can be light and crisp. Were I to conjure a metaphor, I would say the VP70 more favors an industrial staple gun than a firearm.

The trigger intentionally stacks just prior to its break so that a shooter familiar with the system can stage it safely, albeit with difficulty. In so doing, the gun is more accurate than it might otherwise be.

The revolutionary front sight consists of a fixed and polished ramp incorporating a groove cut right down the center. This innovative design renders the illusion of a front post via the negative space produced by this groove.

As mentioned, the HK VP70’s magazine is a double-stack design like that of the Uzi or MP5. This makes loading easy without a tool and allows a prodigious capacity in a modest package. The safety is a simple crossbolt. Push it right and the gun is on “safe.” Push it left and gun is hot. The slide does not lock back when the magazine is empty.

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The polymer frame fits the hand well, though its smooth character makes it a bit slippery if wet or rushed. The military VP70M version can be discerned at a glance via finger bulges molded into the frame. The civilian VP70Z lacks these features.

The gun runs well enough for its intended mission. The heavy trigger is arguably the worst I have ever squeezed, but the gun still shoots straight. It’s still an HK, after all. After an afternoon spent turning 9mm ammo into noise, I would rate the HK VP70Z as almost, but not quite, awesome.

Foundational Firearm

The HK VP70’s revolutionary story is one of opportunity lost and potential wasted. The gun remained in production for 19 years, and it was the first high-capacity handgun I owned. I traded that first gun in short order after tasting its wretched trigger but have always regretted it. When I tripped over a copy on GunBroker.com at a nice price, it seemed an opportunity to right a wrong.

Like the Italian Villar-Perosa, the Chauchat light machine gun or, for that matter, the original Volkswagen Beetle, the HK VP70 was a necessary stepping stone along the path toward greater things. In each case, these otherwise unremarkable contrivances were legitimately novel for their day yet remained hampered by the state of the art in either design or materials science. The awkward Villar-Perosa spawned remarkable submachine guns like the MP18, the legendarily flawed Chauchat evolved into such stuff as the RPD and the M249 SAW, and the VW Beetle eventually became every compact car on the planet. These were truly groundbreaking designs for their time.

The HK VP70 was a similar tool. Not unlike a movie star, the gun was rakish and beautiful yet fundamentally imperfect. The basic concept, however, eventually evolved into the ubiquitous Glock, the most popular combat handgun of the modern age.

HK VP70 Z Specs

• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel: 4.6 inches
• OA Length: 8 inches
• Weight: 28.9 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Polymer
• Sights: Fixed
• Action: Striker-fired
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 18+1
• MSRP: N/A

This article was originally published in the March/April 2018 issue of “Combat Handguns” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post HK VP70: The Gun That Started the Polymer-Framed Party appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Atlas Gunworks out of Vermont has introduced its new double-stack Nemesis pistol for USPSA Limited Division competitive shooters, though it’ll also work in 3 Gun and IPSC standard.

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The key feature to note on the Atlas Gunworks Nemesis is a fixed front sight block which the company says “delivers the benefits” of a shorter lightened slide; less reciprocating mass; enhanced balance point; more weight at the barrel’s end; and a front sight that won’t move with the slide.

“The Nemesis truly is an amazing pistol for Limited shooters. Recoil is softer and flatter than traditional guns allowing the gun to return to true zero. The sight system allows for faster shooting and follow up shots that are always closer to true zero,” Atlas President Adam Nislon said in the press release.

The Atlas Gunworks Nemesis also shares many features found on the company’s other guns in this category, including a five-inch KKM bull barrel; Phoenix Trinity EVO grip; X-Line Vario trigger; and a flared ejection port. The pistol comes in either an all-black DLC coating or DLC black with a PVD gray frame and slide. Multiple magwell choices can also be had.

Available in .40 S&W, .45 ACP and 9mm, this gun is priced between $4,750 to $5,129, depending on the options you choose. It ships out—with a case and one 140mm magazine—in less than three months. See the specs below, and visit atlasgunworks.com to learn more.

Atlas Gunworks Nemesis Specs

• $4750 Introductory Pricing
• Delivered : 3 months or less
• Suitability : USPSA Limited, 3 Gun, IPSC Standard
• Perfect Zero Engineering (sight returns to zero with correct load)
• Custom Built Sight Block
• PT EVO Grip
• X-Line Vario Trigger
• KKM Bull Barrel 5.0 (OAL)
• Flared Ejection Port
• Magwell Options
• DLC Coating or DLC with PVD Gray
• Ships with Case and 1 – 140mm Magazine
• Extra Mags Available for Purchase
• Available in 40SW, 45 ACP, 9mm

The post New Competitive Shooting Gun: Atlas Gunworks Nemesis Pistol appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

California-based accessories manufacturer Zev Technologies has introduced its new Pro Compensator for your 9mm Glock pistol.

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Zev Pro Compensator Details

The Zev Pro Compensator is specifically built for the Glock 19, but it’ll also function on other 9mm Glock models. The Pro will cycle with standard 9mm ammunition without you having to modify the guide rod or recoil spring. When you factor in its compact design, when installed on a Glock 19 with a Zev threaded barrel, the Pro has the same overall length as a Glock 34 slide. That means it’s compatible with a majority of Glock 34 holsters.

More on the Zev Pro Compensator via the company’s 2018 product catalog:

The Zev Pro Compensator is available for $99. For more on Zev Technologies, visit zevtechnologies.com.

The post New: The Zev Pro Compensator for 9mm Glock Pistols appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Everyone has their own interests and quirks when it comes to products they like—especially firearms. A longtime favorite category for myself has been higher- capacity .45 ACP pistols. The .45 ACP round is as American as it gets, plus who doesn’t want an extra 45 to 70 percent more magazine capacity if it’s available?

Trends do change, and now we’re in the midst of a 9mm renaissance where proponents are once again heralding that chambering’s virtues as a fight-stopper because of advancements in bullet technology. That’s certainly a credible sentiment, but it also applies to other calibers as well, including the venerable .45 ACP.

So, given my druthers, I’d rather go with a full-capacity .45 than a 9mm when it comes to a full-sized pistol for open carry or home protection. In that vein, for this “Tale of the Tape” installment we’ll be putting two 13+1-capacity .45s head to head: the Springfield Armory XD Mod.2 Tactical and the Glock 21SF.

The Contenders

Both Glock and Springfield have had high-capacity .45s for quite some time now and have seemingly influenced each other’s designs over the years. The first iteration of the Glock 21 occurred in 1991, while Springfield’s introduction of its high-capacity XD-45 didn’t happen until approximately 15 years later, around 2006. The XD-45 was touted for its ergonomics and impressive comfort considering its 13-round magazine capacity.

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Oddly enough, in 2007 Glock began producing its Short Frame (SF) models for its large pistols in 10mm and .45 ACP. The SF models reduced the circumference of the grip at the backstrap and included other minor changes. This resulted in a pistol that handled and felt better than the original G21 while still keeping its own 13-round capacity.

In 2014, Springfield introduced its new XD Mod.2 series of pistols with several enhancements. The most recent entry in that line is the new XD Mod.2 Tactical in .45 ACP that was just released this year.

Fresh Meat

The XD Mod.2 pistols have a number of changes that were made to improve upon the performance of the original line. One of the more obvious changes was the incorporation of a fiber-optic front sight, which I appreciate more and more each year with advancing age. The Mod.2 versions also come with slimmer slides and frames than the originals, making them even more comfortable and easier to carry.

The Mod.2 pistols also have what Springfield calls “GripZone” texturing. It essentially divides the grip up into three categories, and a specific texture type is applied to each area. The user’s purchase on the pistol has also been augmented. For the Mod.2 pistols, Springfield created a nice relief behind the triggerguard and redesigned the beavertail, both of which allow the user to get a higher grip on the pistol to help mitigate recoil.

Other niceties include slimmer controls like the takedown lever, a low-profile rear sight, an accessory rail, an ambidextrous magazine release and more aggressive slide serrations at both the front and rear. These are updates for the entire Mod.2 line of pistols. The main difference with the .45 ACP Tactical model is the inclusion of a 5-inch barrel rather than the 4-inch version that comes on the Service model.

The Stalwart

Glock is, well, Glock. After a quarter of a century of producing the high-capacity G21, there really have been only a few significant changes over the years with new models. Oh, the company will fuss with the internals a bit, giveth finger grooves and then taketh them away, but there hasn’t really been a seismic shift or major overhaul with the design. The closest Glock has come is when it created the SF version of the G21.

The Glock 21SF is a Gen3-style pistol. But, lest you think I’m putting Glock at a disadvantage by not comparing the most recent generation against the Springfield, that is not the case. I am simply using the model I think is Glock’s best iteration of a high-capacity .45 ACP pistol.

I have acquired and used a G21 Gen4 but still prefer the G21 SF, despite the introduction of the interchangeable backstraps. Others seem to feel the same way, because even though Gen4s came out in 2010, the G21 SF is still being sold.

The Glock 21SF I picked up when it was introduced has a true Picatinny rail, but most of them (including Gen4s) use Glock’s proprietary rail design. I personally prefer the Picatinny rail. I am also partial to the feel and handling of the G21 SF over the Gen4 model. While I don’t care for the texturing or the enlarged magazine release of the Gen4, I like the finger grooves on the SF. And, for whatever reason, I shoot better with the G21 SF. Go figure.

Entering The Ring

During the handling comparisons and while firing the Glock and Springfield, it was easy to find certain features on each pistol that were better than the other. However, it was very difficult to come to an overall conclusion. For instance, there’s no question that the XD Mod.2 had a slimmer and more comfortable grip. In fact, the texturing had just the right balance between being too slick and too irritating.

On the other hand, the Glock 21SF is not as tall as the Springfield, and I was able to get a higher grip relative to the bore, despite the relief changes made to the Mod.2 version. This difference resulted in more control over the 21 SF during recoil with less muzzle flip. Though it was an admittedly small advantage since the Mod.2 Tactical was very soft shooting and easy to control as well.

Both pistols have accessory rails, ambidextrous magazine releases and the exact same capacity, so those features are pretty much a wash. However, the XD Mod.2 Tactical would not accept my SureFire X400 Ultra laser/light unit, which fit perfectly on the Glock 21SF’s rail.

There are mixed feelings out there over the grip safety on the XD. I actually like the concept of a grip safety. It adds another layer of security against accidental discharges without requiring the user to perform a second separate action before firing. It’s in the grip and is thereby instinctively activated.

While both are matte black, polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols with a similar finish, the XD Mod.2 Tactical is more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, for whatever that is worth to the individual consumer. For some, this type of pistol is all about function, not appeal, but others may view it differently.

Impressions

During the range testing, I found that I picked up the fiber-optic front sight on the XD Mod.2 faster in daylight than the sights on the G21 SF, though I typically opt for night sights anyway. There is also a marked difference between the trigger pulls of each pistol.

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The XD Mod.2 Tactical’s trigger broke at an average of 5.14 pounds while the G21 SF’s averaged 5.78 pounds. Despite the lighter weight, the trigger on the Springfield required a bit of travel even after resistance was met. It felt like stretching a rubber band to its limit before it broke, though it was a very smooth pull.

On the other hand, the Glock’s trigger didn’t have all the travel of the XD Mod.2’s, though, once it broke, there’s a disconcerting vibration that feeds back to the trigger finger. However, I got over the Glock’s trigger pull long ago, and despite the XD Mod.2’s smoother and lighter pull, the Glock’s reset is much shorter, making it quicker to fire follow-up shots. It’s dealer’s choice as to which feature is more important to the user.

Both pistols seemed to shoot equally well off-hand, but I still shot them from a rest at 25 yards to wring out the best results with three different loads from Speer, Sig Sauer and Federal Premium. The Glock’s average five-shot group size was 2.44 inches while the XD Mod.2’s average group ran about 2.63 inches. When you include the human factor, that’s just about dead even.

The Verdict

As mentioned before, it’s a difficult process to determine which of these pistols would be better overall for the shooter who wants a high-capacity .45. The pistols match up very closely in most areas. Even the MSRP for both pistols ($637) is exactly the same. Both pistols had no malfunctions while being fired, so reliability wasn’t up for discussion as a deciding factor, either.

Basically, what I think will serve as the tipping point on deciding between these two pistols for the consumer is user preference for “feel” and handling. One might prefer the lighter trigger pull of the XD Mod.2 Tactical or the faster reset of the Glock 21SF. The Glock’s shorter height might do the trick for some while the longer sight radius of the XD Mod.2 Tactical might be preferred by others.

It will be the little things that decide it for each person. Both pistols have similar finishes, are very accurate and provide great value for the money. Spec to spec, they are matched very closely to each other, and both perform at a near-equal level. All that’s left are the finer points, but the good news is that, either way, you won’t go wrong.

Springfield XD Mod.2 Tactical Specs

• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Barrel: 5 inches
• OA Length: 8.1 inches
• Weight: 31 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Polymer
• Sights: Fiber-optic front, two-dot rear
• Action: Striker-fired
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 13+1
• MSRP: $637

Glock 21SF Specs

• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Barrel: 4.6 inches
• OA Length: 8.03 inches
• Weight: 29.3 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Polymer
• Sights: Fixed
• Action: Safe Action
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 13+1
• MSRP: $637

For More Information

Glock
glock.com

Springfield Armory
springfield-armory.com

This article was originally published in the March/April 2018 issue of “Combat Handguns” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post 45 ACP Pistol Battle: Springfield XD Mod.2 Tactical vs Glock 21SF appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

North Carolina-based company Carolina Arms Group is bringing its latest 1911 pistol, the Privateer Carry Commander, to market.

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Available in .45 ACP and 9mm, the Privateer Carry Commander sports a 4.25-inch stainless match-grade barrel and bushing; stainless steel slide; stainless steel bobtail frame; one-piece machined guide rod; wide beavertail grip safety; wire EDM hammer; and a lightweight trigger. Rounding out the features on this gun are forward carry cuts; recessed slide stop; light rail and carbon fiber grips.

Carolina Arms Group machines all its 1911s to exact tolerances and inspects them for precision and accuracy. To that end, the Privateer Carry Commander was stone-lapped, hand-filled and fitted, and then tested for accuracy in a ransom rest. The pistol was also hand-fired by the company’s “quality experts” for “feel and function,” the press release says.

Touted as being designed for concealed carry, the Privateer Carry Commander was developed by U.S. Navy veteran and Carolina Arms Group founder Mark McCoy. It’s available at a MSRP of $4,200. See below for a rundown of features. For more, visit carolinaarmsgroup.com.

Privateer Carry Commander Features

• 4.25” Commander Model
• Forged Stainless Steel Frame & Slide – Hand Lapped For Smooth Fit
• Forward Carry Cuts
• Light Rail
• Patented Kart Precision National Match Barrel, Hand-Fit, Machined Bushings
• Full Length Guide Rod
• Night Sights
• Bobtail Frame
• Checkered Front Strap with 25 LPI
• Machined Wide Ride Beaver Tail Grip Safety Blended To Match The Frame
• Extended Ambidextrous Thumb Safety For Better Control & Comfort
• Wire EDM Hammer, Sear & Disconnector
• Adjustable Aluminum Trigger
• Machined Slide Stop
• Custom VZ Grips
• DLC Black Finish
• Two (2) 8-Round Magazines
• Available in .45ACP and 9mm

The post New From Carolina Arms Group: Privateer Carry Commander 1911 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

U.S. distributor Luxury Firearms has announced that the Czech-made FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol is now shipping in the United States.

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Designed primarily for long-range competitions, silhouette shooting and hunting, the FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol is a single action handgun with a tilting barrel type mechanism and a proprietary recoil attenuating system. The gun features a six-inch barrel and measures 10.25 inches in overall length. Additionally, it weighs 2.8 pounds. The height is 5.63 inches with a butterfly sight, while measuring 5.35 inches without. Furthermore, the capacity on this gun is 16 +1.

The FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol is chambered in the proprietary 7.5 FK cartridge. Here’s what Luxury Firearms—which manufactures the ammunition—says about it:

The 7.5 FK is a completely new proprietary cartridge caliber. The case is 27 mm long with a total length of 35 mm, and a head diameter of 10.8 mm. This caliber is not a necked-down version of any other caliber. The case is designed to withstand higher pressures than usually used in pistol calibers.

This cartridge will not fit in any other manufacturer’s magazine, nor will it function in any other current production model pistol.

• Muzzle velocity: 610 m/s
• Velocity at 100 m: 465 m/s
• Muzzle energy: 1200 J
• Energy at 100 m: 2.866 pounds
• Bullets weights: 6.35 – 6.67 g

According to the press release, Luxury Firearms CEO Tony Mussatto has spent the past four years working on bringing the FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol to the U.S. market:

This firearm was never intended to be sold in the United States, but after many conversations with the creator of the weapon, Mussatto was invited to the FK facility in Brno, a small city in the Czech Republic.

“I was fortunate enough to be the first American to shoot this amazing pistol, said Mussatto. “Just after two shots from 100 meters and off hand I heard the ping of the target down range. With all my experiences with firearms, hitting a target at 100 meters one handed has to be at the top of my list. I was also allowed to attach the shoulder stock and at 100 meters, I could not miss.  One must experience and allow this gun to perform as intended to fully understand how unique of a firearms this is. So I knew immediately this was something I wanted to help other American shooters experience.”

Over the last two years of hard work, countless emails and phone conversations, numerous on-site visits with the creator, Mussatto now has the first shipment of FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistols in his warehouse.

The FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol is available in two models: Standard Field Pistol and Combat Sport. The gun is priced at $7,500. See the specs below. For more, go to luxuryfirearms.com.

FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol Specs

• Length: 10.25 inches
• Width: 1 inch
• Height: 5.35 inches without sight / 5.63 inches with butterfly sight
• Weight: 2.866 pounds
• Magazine capacity: 16 +1
• Finish/coal: Nitridation / Dark gray
• Finish/coal life: 30+ hours salt spray bath
• Action: Single action
• Barrel length: 6 inches
• Match use-barrel life: 20,000 rounds
• Normal use-barrel life: 30,000 rounds
• Grip material: Aluminum G10
• Grip design: Standard/Slim (both sets included)
• Sights: Butterfly sight/3-point target
• Accuracy: Guaranteed to shoot less than 100×100 mm rectangle at 110 yards

The post The FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol Is Now Shipping in the United States appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

A concealed carrier in North Carolina stepped in and saved a police officer who was struggling with a violent suspect last week.

The Daily News says Officer Aaron Thompson of the Swansboro Police Department was on patrol when he spotted 32-year-old Michael Lynn Lee Jr. driving erratically on N.C. 24 Thursday morning. He pulled Lee’s U-Haul truck over and received word that Lee had an outstanding warrant out for his arrest.

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Thompson ordered Lee out of the truck and took him to the shoulder of the highway. As Thompson was about to place Lee in handcuffs, Lee suddenly grabbed him. This caused both men to fall into a roadside ditch.

Concealed Carrier Intervenes

An area resident named John Babbie happened to be driving by when Lee and Thompson were fighting in the ditch. Realizing what was happening, Babbie pulled his vehicle up behind Thompson’s patrol car. He then got out and drew his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun.

“I gave the command: Stop resisting, stop resisting,” Babbie told The Daily News. He then ordered Lee to roll over onto his belly.

“When he saw the barrel of my gun, he complied. I’m glad nothing bad happened,” Babbie said.

Police arrived on the scene soon after and arrested Lee. He has been charged with possession of methamphetamine, resisting a public officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a revoked license. Police later determined that Lee was using his U-Haul truck as a meth lab. Consequently, he was hit with additional charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance and two counts of possession of methamphetamine precursors.

Lee was placed in Onslow County Jail. His bond set at $5,000.

Babbie, who spent eight years as a correctional sergeant with the N.C. Department of Public Safety, won’t face any ramifications for the incident.

Swansboro Police Chief Ken Jackson said the incident is a prime example of what officers face every day.

“While this was happening, people were at home feeding their children or still asleep while an officer is alone on the side of the road. Nobody knows at that very same time, that police officers are on the job rolling around in a ditch,” Jackson said.

The post North Carolina: Concealed Carrier Saves Cop Struggling With Suspect appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

While striker-fired pistols have become practically the default firing mechanism for pistols, there are still a plethora of double-action guns to be had. Everything from service pistols like the Sig P226 and Beretta 92 to S&W N-frame magnum revolvers, to compacts like the CZ P07, Sig P225 or Beretta PX4 Compact, to snubbie revolvers and micro pistols like Ruger LCP for easy concealed carry.

Say what you want, the double-action firing system’s merits are well-established and some shooters prefer them. However, some shooters also find double-action pistols are more difficult to shoot accurately than striker-fired or single-action pistols due to the longer, heavier trigger pull.

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How, then to tame that harder trigger and better your double-action shooting? With some of the following tips, proven for years to improve trigger control and make DA fire more accurate. If your double-action shots are suffering, here is where you start.

Press with the Distal Joint of the Finger

A common bad habit that some people acquire is shooting with the pad of the finger. While you won’t have any issues with a 1911 or the lighter trigger of many striker guns, this will not result in good double-action shooting.

The pad of the finger isn’t very strong in and of itself. The additional pressure exerted by the pad of the finger to actuate the double-action trigger will pull the shot wide, often to the left.

Instead, use the distal interphalangeal joint, or the last knuckle of the finger. You’ll want to contact the trigger on the crease of the finger or just ahead of it.

The DIP is stronger than the fingertip, which means you can make a harder, smoother squeeze without pulling the gun off-target.

Handgun Grip Should Be High and Tight

The proper handgun grip is a matter of some debate. Some say it should be sufficient to avoid limp wristing but still supple. Others insist you want to throttle the thing like it owes you money. With a double-action gun, you need to grip as hard as you are comfortable doing.

The hand, minus the trigger finger, has to be a stable platform so the trigger pull doesn’t move the sights off target. While you want to grip the pistol as high as possible, you also want to make sure the thumb of the shooting hand isn’t riding on the slide. Curl the thumb down onto the middle finger.

This gives you a good, stable grip. You want firm, constant pressure with the fingers and thumb that hold the gun steady.

Stop Stacking the Trigger and Ride the Reset

Next is the trigger stroke itself. Years ago, a popular method of double-action trigger operation was the two-stage pull, a.k.a. stacking the trigger. The idea is you take up the slack, pause (and realign the sights) and then squeeze the trigger.

Instead, a double-action trigger squeeze should be like making a tackle in football or a punch in boxing. You don’t make light contact and then push; you hit through the target. The squeeze should be smooth and uniform from the first millimeter of take-up all the way to the rear.

After discharge, let up the pressure but don’t break contact. Ride the reset instead of lifting off. Doing so precludes slapping the trigger on the next shot and ensures your finger stays in the sweet spot.

Don’t Neglect Dry Firing

Make sure you’re dry firing. Get yourself a snap cap and get to it. If you want to improve your shooting, you’ll get more mileage out of dry firing than almost anything else.

This is also how you can fine-tune your grip and trigger technique.

The two best dry fire drills for fine-tuning DA shooting are the wall drill and the balance drill

In the former, you align the front sight on a target and dry fire (obviously, make sure your pistol is clear of any ammunition) while observing the front sight. If the front sight doesn’t move, you’re doing it right.

The latter exercise balances an object (a coin, empty cartridge, what have you) on the top strap, barrel or slide of your pistol. Dry fire and observe the object; if it doesn’t move, you’re doing it right.

About the author: Sam Hoober is a contributing editor for Alien Gear Holsters, a subsidiary of Tedder Industries.

The post Double-Action Handguns: Important Tips For Better Shooting appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.” His idea was that everything in creation, no matter how small, had a role to play and was worthy of study. Perhaps following Jefferson’s example, Sturm, Ruger & Company understands that guns of all sizes have a role to play in self-defense. While large guns may offer more capacity and larger calibers, very small guns can have a major impact on the lives of those who carry them.

Enter The LCP

I remember being at the SHOT Show in 2008 when the Ruger LCP was introduced. There were small .380 ACP pistols offered by other companies, but the Ruger model seemed to stand on its own due to its combination of features, size and price. Quite a few gun writers and dealers were talking about the gun then, and now, nearly a decade later, many people are still enamored with the gun. Why?

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Fundamentally, the gun lives up to its name. LCP stands for “Lightweight Compact Pistol”—and that’s exactly what it is. It’s about 0.8 inches thick and weighs less than 10 ounces unloaded. Roughly 5 inches long overall, this gun disappears into a pocket or waistband, giving the owner a nearly perfect way to discreetly carry a self-defense firearm.

While the .380 ACP won’t earn top marks for that elusive thing called “stopping power,” it is still a respectable cartridge and an impressive step up from the smaller rounds available on the market. Seven rounds of this classic cartridge would certainly seem to be enough for most personal-protection scenarios. Considering I’ve carried a five-shot J-Frame in a front pocket for much of my adult life, having two additional cartridges without any additional bulk seems like a luxury.

Ruger has always been respected for building dependable firearms. With nearly indestructible handguns like the GP100 in its catalog, the LCP benefits from a halo effect by simply having the company name on the frame. When you mix in the incredibly low suggested retail price of only $259, the question changes from “why” to “why not?”

Pocket Carry

If, in fact, every gun has a role to play, it is clear that the Ruger LCP was born to star as a pocket pistol. Its flat surface minimizes printing while riding in your pants, and its short overall length keeps the butt from peeking out of the top of your pocket. This gun can take a supporting role in an appendix holster, but it is clearly meant for carry inside the pocket, not the waistband.

Should you have any doubt about Ruger’s design intentions, the company includes a pocket holster with the gun. The synthetic holster has a suede-like exterior with a strip of rubber-like material around its midriff. Presumably, the holster’s exterior will help keep the gun from flopping about in a large pocket while anchoring the holster when the gun is drawn from the pants.

Even though the included scabbard did a good job of breaking up the outline of the pistol, I found that it would not consistently part company with the Ruger LCP when I drew the gun. This can lead to the far-less-optimal scenario of sometimes pointing a holster at the target rather than the gun alone.

Other Options

Manufacturers differ on holster designs, but generally the use of a tacky material combined with the use of a wide “wing” to catch on the inside of the pocket is the most reliable method of separating the gun from the scabbard. The rubber strip did not seem to provide any significant friction in my pocket while the wing under the grip isn’t very wide. Instead of curving up to form a hook to catch the pocket corner, it slopes down to make it more likely to simply slip right out of the pocket with the gun. Some break-in time might put this issue to bed, or you can go to Plan B.

Fortunately, there are many other options for pocket rigs on the market. Two of my favorites are the synthetic DeSantis Nemesis and the leather Flat Pocket Holster from RKBA Holsters. Both of these holsters are affordable and have proven themselves in years of use with my guns.

Range Testing

Let’s be perfectly honest: A pocket gun is not an ideal combat handgun. To be small enough to slip into a trouser pocket, certain compromises must be made. For the most part, we are talking about size—the size of the grip, sights magazine and even cartridge all comes into play. Shrink things too much and you wind up with a gun that is too small to be effectively employed or, even worse, one that is unreliable.

The only way to tell if Ruger got it right was to head out to the range with a pack full of ammo. So that’s what I did. I tested the Ruger LCP with 400 rounds of ammunition from the folks at Aguila, Hornady, Liberty Ammunition and Winchester. I believe this is enough rounds to get a feel for the gun and determine if it will be reliable.

One of the concerns I had was the lack of real estate for my hand. With the extended floorplate on the magazine, I barely got two fingers from my medium-sized hand on the gun. Even with a mild cartridge like the .380 ACP, not having a good grip on the pistol can lead to excessive muzzle flip. But I discovered that recoil wasn’t as big a problem as I thought. While a larger grip would definitely make this a complete pussycat to shoot, it would also ruin the gun’s extreme concealability. The recoil was very manageable with all of the loads I tested.

Liberty & Winchester

Liberty Ammunition’s 50-grain JHP load is a speed demon. The company uses a nickel-jacketed, all-copper-core hollow point that is light for the caliber, especially when you consider that most .380 ACP rounds carry 90- or 95-grain projectiles. But the Liberty round’s lighter weight allows the bullet to reach a much higher velocity for greater expansion. In my testing, the Liberty rounds averaged more than 1,300 fps out of the LCP’s 2.75-inch barrel. For a .380, especially a small one, that is an unheard of velocity. Reliability with this round was also perfect, and I didn’t notice any additional recoil, though these rounds tended to hit slightly higher on the target than the others —between half an inch and an inch at 7 yards.

Winchester’s PDX1 turned in the best groups of the day. Completely un-supported, I managed a best five-shot group of 0.99 inches at 7 yards. Not bad at all considering the size of the gun and the age of my eyes. Truthfully, I was not terribly surprised that this load produced the tightest group, as I have found the PDX1 to show excellent accuracy in a number of handguns I have tested.

I mentioned the age of my eyes because the sights on the Ruger LCP are biased toward concealment. In other words, they are pretty darn small. The good news is that they will not catch on your pocket when drawing. However, the downside is they are harder to use—especially under stress and in low-light conditions. For shooting on the range, they are adequate and even better than some of the options from competitive pistols.

Additional Factors

If having better sights is important to you, take a look at Ruger’s LCP Custom. For only $10 more than the standard LCP, you get much larger sights, including a photoluminescent front. For many people, that could be the best $10 investment you will ever make in a pistol.

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The only malfunction I experienced was with the Aguila load. This round is a 95-grain FMJ, or ball, load. I was a bit surprised to see a problem with it, and I cannot be sure of what exactly caused the problem. With about 50 rounds through the gun, the third round in the magazine failed to feed. The spent shell ejected properly, but the nose of the next round appeared to hang on the ramp. Pulling the slide to the rear sharply allowed the cartridge to chamber, and I returned to firing. I experienced no additional problems with the Aguila or the LCP for the rest of the day.

Some companies making small pistols delete the slide stop. This prevents you from locking the slide to the rear for cleaning and inspection. Ruger smartly designed a manual slide hold-open lever into the left side of the gun. While the slide will not lock back when the magazine runs dry, you can manually engage the lever to keep the slide open. To keep things flat, the hold-open lever is relatively small and barely protrudes beyond the frame. For those with arthritis or dexterity issues, it may be somewhat difficult to engage this lever.

Discreet Performer

Overall, I think the Ruger LCP is an outstanding performer for the role it plays. The LCP is not a bedside gun for fighting off a home invasion. Rather, this little gun tucks neatly into tailored pants when discretion is a must. In this context, it delivers good accuracy with a respectable cartridge and capacity. Wrap in the Ruger name and ridiculously inexpensive price, and I only have one question: Why don’t you already own one?

Ruger LCP Specs

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Barrel: 2.75 inches
• OA Length: 5.16 inches
• Weight: 9.6 ounces (empty)
• Grip: Glass-filled nylon
• Sights: Fixed
• Action: DAO
• Finish: Matte black
• Capacity: 6+1
• MSRP: $259

Ruger LCP Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity measured in fps by chronograph and accuracy measured in inches for best five-shot groups at 7 yards.

For more information, visit ruger.com.

This M&P340 review was originally published in “Pocket Pistols” #186. To subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Is the Ruger LCP the Best CCW Bang for Your Buck? appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.