Handguns 2003

328 Pages·2002·63.292 MB·English

by  Ken Ramage

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Blackpowder Airguns
Exclusive
• Semi-Custom Handguns
• Handgun Grips
SOUTHSANFRANCISCO
\ PUBLICLIBRARY /i xpert Reports: Handguniiingltends
unition •Reloading and Apldssories

DISCARD
1 5th Annual Edition
Edited by
Ken Ramage
dbrary
WWCECSTT ORANGE
AVENUE
©2002
by Krause Publications
Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
All rights reserved.
No portion ofthis publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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payment covers all rights and title to the accepted material, includingphotos, drawings and other
illustrations. Payment is at our current rates.
CAUTION: Technical data presented here, particularly technical data on the handloading and on
firearms adjustment and alteration, inevitably reflects individual experience with particular
equipment and components under specific circumstances the reader cannot duplicate exactly.
Such data presentations therefore should be used for guidance only and with caution. Krause
Publications, Inc., accepts no responsibility for results obtained usingthis data.
Published by
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£ i V kf, rause
publications
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HANDGUNS STAFF
KenRamage,Editor
HANDGUNS
Firearms&DBIBooks
EditorialCommentsandSuggestions
We’realwayslookingforfeedbackonourbooks.Pleaseletusknowwhatyoulikeaboutthis
editionrIfyouhavesuggestionsforarticlesyou’dliketoseeinfutureeditions,pleasecontact.
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About Our Covers...
Our covers carry two single-action revolvers embellished by Dan Love, a member of the Firearms
Engravers Guild of America (FEGA). Engraver Love has met FEGA’s requirements forthe prestigious
rating of ‘Certified Professional’ and his work is clearly excellent. Photographs of these two revolvers,
taken by Alan Richmond, were kindly provided by ourfriends at FEGA.
On the Front.
.
A Ruger Bisley-Vaquero 44 Magnum revolver,
nicely engraved and gold-inlaid.
On the Back.
.
This is a Texas Longhorn Arms No. 5
Keith, 44 Magnum revolver. Yes, the
loading gate and ejector rod are correctly
located onthe leftsideofthis particularmodel.
The small lever on the lower front of the revolver’s
frame serves to lock the cylinder pin in place to keep it
from backing out under recoil.
1
Handguns 2003
CO CO
Handguns for Sport and Personal Protection
CONTENTS
TRENDS
Handgun News:Autoloading Pistols 6
byJohnMalloy
Handgun News: Revolvers, Single Shots
and Others 18
byJohn Taffin
Update: HandgunAmmunition, Ballistics
& Components 27
byHoltBodinson
High-Tech Tactical Knives 33
byJamesAyres
Glock, The Road To Perfection 40
byChristopherR. Bartocci
Compact 9mm Pistols 48
byPaulScarlata
All Day Carry Comfort 52
Page40
byMassadAyoob
‘Spring’YourHandgun forMaximum Efficiency... 57
byBobCampbell
GUN TESTS
KahrT9 62
byDave Workman
Ruger’s 44-40Vaqueros 66
by“Doc”O’Meara
KimberPro Carry II 70
byDave Workman
HANDLOADING
Cast Bullets in the 380ACP Cartridge 76
byMike Thomas
Page77 CUSTOM& ENGRAVEDGUNS
ATribute to Ben Shostle 80
byTom Turpin
SELF-DEFENSE/CONCEALEDCARRY
The 1911 in Self-defense Today 82
byMassadAyoob
Knives with Multi-Carry Options 88
byRogerCombs
VINTAGEARMS
The Return ofSmith & Wesson’s Schofield
Revolver 98
by “Doc”OMeara
Six-Guns & Loads for CowboyAction Shooting .101
. . .
Page8 byJohn Taffin
A. wAMnmiMQ onm
HANDGUNHUNTING
HuntingDangerous Game 110
byChuck Taylor
Shooters Marketplace 114
CATALOG OFTODAY’S HANDGUNS
Handgundex® 124
SEMI-CUSTOM HANDGUNS
Autoloaders 130
Revolvers 137
Single-Shot 141
COMMERCIAL HANDGUNS
CENTERFIRE &RIMFIRE
Autoloaders 142
Competition 175
Double-ActionRevolvers 181
Single-ActionRevolvers 191
Miscellaneous 200
BLACKPOWDER
Single-ShotPistols 204
Revolvers 206 Page 132
AIRGUNS
Handguns 210
ACCESSORIES
HandgunGrips 213
MetallicReloadingPresses 225
Metallic Sights 234
MuzzleBrakes 238
Scopes 239
LaserSights 242
ScopeMounts 245
SpottingScopes 247 Page 196
REFERENCE
NRACompendiumofFirearmsLaws 249
. .
NRARight-To-CarryReciprocityGuide 252
ArmsAssociations 258
ArmsPeriodicals 260
ArmsLibrary 264
DirectoryoftheHandgunningTrade
TableofContents 285
Product& ServiceDirectory 286
Manufacturer’sDirectory 297
Page224
Trends
Handgun News
Autoloading Pistols
by John Malloy
ForMOSTOFtheyear2001, shooters, andmanynewvariations Moreandmore, companies
thefirearmsindustry, inparticular areavailable. Themilitary-style involvedwithautoloadinghand-
thesegmentthatofferedautoload- 1911A1, asusedduringWorld War gunsrealizethevalueofelectronic
inghandguns, lookedasifitwere II, hascaughtthefancyofmany, communication, andmaintainweb-
introuble. andseveralcompanieshaveintro- sites. Websitesforthevariouscom-
Theanti-gunpoliciesofthepre- ducedsimilarpistols. paniesareagainincludedinthe
viousClintonadministrationhad Pistolschamberedforthe22 followingdiscussion. However, this
broughtaboutamarkeddecrease rimfirearealwaysofinterestand publication’s WebDirectoryis
inthenumberofU. S.gundealers, severaldifferentnewconcepts, in becomingsousefulthatthissepa-
andrestrictionsagainstpurchasers thegeneralclassofplinkingpistols, ratelistingmaywellnotbeneeded
hadcutdownthenumberofpeople arenowoffered. inthefuture.
buyingfirearms. Lawsuitsby Newcartridgesforsemiautomatic Semiautomaticpistolsareof
municipalitieshaddrivensome handgunshavebeenintroduced.In interesttocompetitiveshooters, to
smallmanufacturersoutofbusi- pastyears,mostnewpistolcartridges plinkers, tohunters, tothosewho
ness, andsomeothersstoppedoffer- havebeenbigboomersof40to50cal- desirepersonalprotection... andto
inghandguns. iber, butnowthesmallerendofthe thoseanti-gunforceswhowould
Asingleeventcanmakeagreat scaleisgettingattention.Allthe restrictorbantheirpossession. In
differenceinpeople’sperceptions. recentnewcartridgeshavebeen thisframework, thereismuchhap-
OnSeptember11,2001, terrorists small-caliberbottleneckrounds. peningintheworldofautoloading
carriedoutadevastatingattack Theconcealed-carrymarketcon- handguns.
againsttheWorldTradeCentertow- tinuestogrow. Reportedly, applica- Withallthisinmind,let’stakea
ersinNewYorkandthePentagonin tionsforconcealed-weapons lookatwhatthecompaniesare
Washington. Thingswereverydiffer- licensesreachedrecordlevelsafter doing:
entafterwards, inmanyways. thetragedyofSeptember11,2001.
The UnitedStateseconomy, Almostallhandgunmanufacturers Alchemy
alreadyinaslump, wentintoa makesomethingtoappealtothose TheAlchemyArmsSpectrepis-
tailspin. Theeconomymadea wantingapistolforpersonalpro- tol,introducedin2000asanew
recovery, butforthefirstfewweeks, tection. Polymerframescontinueto designforpersonalprotectionoras
theonlythingssellingwellwere bepopular, andnewpistolswith aservicesidearm,hasundergone
Americanflags,gasmasks, Bibles polymerframesarenowavailable. somemodifications.Themanual
...andfirearms.
Asthisiswritten,themajorityof
firearmscompaniesseemtohavea
new, althoughcautious, optimism.
Therearestillsignsoftheold
uncertainty, though. Somecompa-
niesthatmadesemiautomaticpis-
tolsarenowoutofbusiness, but
somenewoneshavebeenstartedto
makesimilarproducts.
Anumberoftrendsseemevident.
Certainstatesrequiremechani-
calsafetydevicesonhandguns. So,
somemanufacturershaveintro-
ducednewsafetyarrangementsso
thattheycanselltheirproductsin
thoseareas.
The45ACPseemstobethelead-
ingcartridgefornewpistolsbeing
introduced. Manyofthenewpistol
offeringsareofthetime-tested1911
Colt/Browningdesign, butsome
areverydifferent. The 1911 design
stillinterestsa vastnumberof Malloytriesoutapre-productionspecimenofBeretta’snewplinking22,theU22NEOS
pistol,onthefiringline.
6 HANDGUNS 2003
Trends
safetyhasbeenredesignedfor interestingadditiontoBeretta’sline. Bernardelli
comfortofuse, andthesafetynow Thecompactpolymer9000Sis Bernardelli,anameinfirearms
willlocktheslide. nowavailablewithanewB-Loksys- manufacturingsince 1721,has
Thenewsightsarebigandwide, tem.Thisoptionalkey-lockblocks beenabsentfromtheshooting
aanclehlwioewfvirenagmateshieignhscthoorpopitocertrau’trseeesqyuaeinctkoalcyc.esA- tahreeRem9comavlmelmtaehnnadttttohfheethMMeoodhdeaelmlm99e62r.ppiissttoollss bwwoeerenlntdrbfeaoocrrkgaaitnnitimozee.pdrToahdnuedcctsiooommnpeaingnuynhsas
soryrail. However,thepistolis are40caliber.Thenew92/96 November2001.
alsoavailablewithoutarail. Vertechasareshaped“vertical” Allpreviouslines,including
TheAlchemySpectrewasini- (well, more-nearlyvertical)grip Bernardelli pistolsin22 Short, 22
tiallyavailablein45ACP.The frame.Therearealargenumberof Long, 22 LongRifle(22 LR), 25
originaldesignhada4 1/2-inch shooterswhobelievethe 1911 Colt ACP,32ACP,7.65mmParabellum,
Avbinaaucrrghriueeassln.ttaA2hn0adn0se2m,nweoa94ws-muijmrnoceihnaden“dadCbioot4.mu0mBtSay5n&xad7bWeoru”t hBfmearorsaremettehtleaioknbeh.eat.ss.htweses‘lfheleae.vl.p’a.eroadifa1tan9hnt1esy1i.rtpoigAsrfti“eopesll.hoSrot,- b3sr8ece0hsq,euud9miutemledmeda,bylf9oixJrn2uepu1nrpeo.adn2Sud0co0t4m2i0.eonSToh&ftioWtsh,bewewilelre
versionswerescheduledtobe reach”triggerandthingrippanels formersmallBernardellis,how-
available. addtothiseffect.Vertecpistolsuse ever,willnotbe availableinthe
www.alchemv.com thesamemagazinesasdothestan- UnitedStates, duetoU. S. import
dard92and96variants.
Beretta Tocommemoratethemilitary resAtritcottiaolnlsy.newdesignof9mmpis-
ofnBeerwetpitsatohlass.iMnotsrtodaurceemdoadinfuicmab-er ohpaesrianttiornodaugcaeidnsatnteewrrMoroidseml,B9e2retta tionl2w0a0s2,sbcuhtedduelteadilfsowreirnetrnoodtucatviaoinl-
tionsofpistolspreviouslyinthe “EnduringFreedom”variant.Itwill ableatthe2002 SHOTShow. How-
line,butoneisacompletelynew bemanufacturedinfiveversions, ever,thereweresuggestionsthatit
offering. honoringtheU. S.Army,Marines, maybe apolymer-framedouble-
numPrbeevriooufsl2y2,-cBaelriebtetrapihsatodlso,ffbeurteda NavMya,nAyirsFhoorocteerasnaddCdoalsasteGrusairgdh.ts actwiwown.(bDeAr)napridsteolll.i.com
neveronethatcouldreallybecalled topistolsasaftermarketitems.Ber-
aplinkingpistol.Theywereeither ettanowofferstheModel92FS,a Browning
smallpocketpistolsorprecisiontar- 9mmpistolthatcomesfromthefac-
g“eNtEpOiSst”olpsi.sNtoolwi,stahenebwra2n2d--canleiwbeUr22 tTohreylwaistehrasilgahst,erwsiitghhtitisnbsatatltleerdy. theWirha9tm?mDipidstBorlosw?nNion,gbudtistchoent9imnume
pistoldesignedasanaffordable poweranditsbeamgenerator,is sectionwasinadvertentlyleftoutof
entry-levelplinkingpistolthatcould containedentirelywithinthegrips, the2002catalogbytheprinter.
beputtomorepreciseuses.Its andisprovidedbyCrimsonTrace. Hopefully,revisedcatalogswillbe
mouldedgripwithits‘slanty’angle, TheCrimsonTracecompanyhas availablebythetimeyoureadthis.
anditsturn-screwbarrelremoval, beenbuildingexcellentgrip- Oneitemnotinthecatalogisthe
willremindlong-timeshootersofthe mountedlaserssinceJune 1994, “ForestCamper”22pistol. Itisa
oldHighStandardDura-Maticofthe andwasalogicalchoicetoprovide variantoftheCamper22pistol,
’50sand’60s.However,Berettahas thelasersightforthenew92FS. introducedonthesepagesseveral
incorporatedmodernconcepts.The www.berettausa.com yearsago,butwithagreenanodized
magazinereleaseislocatedonthe frameandmulticoloredlaminated
right,abovethetrigger,soitcanbe
operatedbytherightindexfinger.
Thus,thegripframecanbeeasily
replacedwithalternateframestobe
offeredbyBeretta.Theadjustable
sightsarecontainedwithinafull-
lengthtoprailattachedtothebar-
rel,arailthatwillacceptopticalor
electronicsights.TheNEOSisan
CenturyInternationalArmsimportstheBlueThunder
lineof1911-type45pistols.Centuryhasinitiateda
smallchangethatallowsColtandaftermarketgripsto
ThosewholiketheP38designwillbe beeasilyinstalled.
interestedinCenturyInternational’s
importationofWestGermanpolice
PI pistols.
15thEDITION 7
Trends
Coltoffersamixtureofold
andnewdesigns,andhasreintroducedits
Series70GovernmentModel.
regardedbymanywhowouldlike TheSeries
toseesomecompanyundertake 70Govern-
Nosurprises—themechanicsofthe newproduction.TheseexcellentPI mentBluepis-
CenturyBlueThunderarestraight1911. variantsshouldservenicely. tollikewisehas
www.centuryarms.com theslidemark-
ingsandcon-
grips.Itwillbemadeinlimited Cobra structionoftheoriginalSeries70
numbersforspecialdistribution. CobraEnterprisesisanewname guns, andcomeswith“bigdia-
The40S&Wchamberingisback thatofferssomefamiliardesigns. mond”woodgrips.
forthe“HighPower”pistol.Lastyear, WhenDavisIndustries,Republic AllnewColt45-calibersemiau-
onlythe9mmvariantwasmade. ArmsandTalonIndustrieswentout tomaticpistolsnowcomewithtwo
www.browning,com ofbusinessrecently,Cobrabought magazines.
alltheexistinginventoryandtooling www.colt.com
Century International ofthethreecompanies,andsetup
CenturyInternationalArms’ thenewcompanyheadquartersin
“BlueThunder”lineof45-caliber SaltLakeCity,Utah. Toonewfortheir2002catalog,
1911-stylepistolswasintroduced TheCobralineconsistsofapoly- CZ-USAhasintroducedtheCZ-
lastyearandisinfullproduction. mer-framedouble-action-only(DAO) P.01 Policepistol.Thisisaconven-
Onesmallchangehasbeenmadein 45pistol(Republic),apolymer-frame tionaldouble-actionpistolwitha
current-productionpistols.Early DAO9mmpistol(Talon)and32-and nicetwo-stagedecocker. Offeredin
gunshadgripscrewsofshankand 380-calibersingle-actionsemi-auto 9mm,ithasanaccessoryrail.
headdiameterslargerthanthoseof pistols(Davis).Derringersformerly DesignedtoCzechpolicespecifica-
originalColtscrews.Thus,Coltand madeundertheDavisbrandarealso tions,itistightlyfitted,butall
mostaftermarketgripswouldnotfit includedintheCobraline.Itisgood partsarecompletelyinterchange-
withoutmodification.Nowtheywill, toseetheseaffordablepistolscon- ablefromonespecimentoanother
forthescrewsofcurrentpistolsare tinuetobeavailable. withoutadditionalfitting.
ofthecorrectsizetouseColt-type Somesmallimprovementshave www.cz-usa.com
girmippos.rtTahnitstiostahossmealwlhcohawnagnet,tboutuse bCeoebnramnaadmee.onStpiilslt,oClsobcraarrwyiilnlgdtohwear- Dan Wesson
differentgrips,orspecialtygrips, rantyandrepairworkforpistols DanWessonhasintroduceda
suchaslaser-sightgrips.Apolymer- madebythepreviousmanufacturers. newlineof1911-typepistolsasa
framedouble-stack45variantisin www.cobrapistols.com lower-cost“Patriot”line.Thenew
theworks,butdetailshadnotbeen
workedoutatpresstime. Colt
CenturyisnowimportingPI ColtoffersanewDefenderPlus
pistols.ThisistheoriginalWalther pistol,a45witha3-inchbarreland
P38designwithanaluminum full-sizelightweightaluminum
frame,asusedbytheWestGerman frame.Thus,ithasfullcapacityina
police. Thegunscomewithahol- lightweightpackage.ThenewColt
sterandanextramagazine. The hasaburrhammer,skeletonized
P38pistoldesignishighly trigger,beavertailgripsafetyand
finger-grooverubbergrips,things
thatseemtobein
voguenow.
Colt’sothernew
offeringsareamix-
tureofoldandnew.
TheBlueGovern-
mentModelhastheconstruction
andslidemarkingsoftheoldpre-
1970GovernmentModel,with
modernnicetiessuchasaburr
hammer, ambidextroussafetyand
skeletonizedtriggeradded.
DanWesson’snewPatriotseriescanberecognizedasthecompany’s
firstpistolwithanexternalextractor.
BillJefferyofDanWessonintroducesthe
newPatriotpistolatthe2002SHOTShow.
8 HANDGUNS 2003