I have lost count of the number of times I have heard a fellow shooter say, “The 1911 pistol is the perfect handgun just the way John Moses Browning invented it!” But according to Webster, the definition of perfection is “something that cannot be improved.” Well, while I will no doubt anger many of its aficionados, I must state the obvious: The 1911 pistol is not perfect.

This is because the 1911 pistol is a man-made machine. A bullet-shooting machine to be sure, but a machine nonetheless. And any machine can and most likely will malfunction at one time or another. Ever since the first machines were invented, humans have been trying to make them as reliable as possible. And with his 1911 pistol, Browning succeeded to a greater degree than any of his contemporaries and many of the gun designers who came after him.

But while the service-type 1911 was known for its ability to function under some horrendous conditions, the loose tolerances that made it reliable kept accuracy from being one of its strong points. While this was not a problem in combat, it was for serious target shooters. The result was that more and more custom gunsmiths began “tweaking” the pistol to see if they could coax more accuracy from it without decreasing its overall reliability.

Today there are any number of companies producing 1911s that range from plain G.I.-style pistols to so-called “race guns.” One company whose 1911s have become known for reliability and accuracy, as well as looking darn good in the process, is Kimber.

Three Of A Kind

Kimber’s new Eclipse Series includes (from left to right) the Ultra II, Pro II and Custom II, which come in compact, Commander and full sizes with Crimson Trace Lasergrips to meet your self-defense needs.

Kimber entered the 1911 market in the mid-1990s, and over the years its product line has expanded to where the company now offers a complete line of high-end, single-stack 1911 pistols that have every feature demanded by today’s serious defensive and competitive shooters. All the customer has to do is take them out of the box, load the magazines and they’re ready to go.

RELATED STORY: Gun Review – Kimber Micro Advocate .380 ACP

Kimber recently introduced a number of new models, including the Eclipse Series. The Eclipse Series consists of three pistols—the Eclipse Custom II (LG) is a Government-sized pistol with a 5-inch barrel; the Eclipse Pro II (LG) is the Commander-sized member of the family and sports a 4-inch tube and shorter slide; and the Eclipse Ultra II (LG) is the smallest of the group with a 3-inch barrel and a shortened grip frame.

All three pistols feature stainless steel slides with polished sides and black-finished tops that reduce glare during sighting. The Custom II’s slide has grasping grooves on the front and rear, while the Pro II and Ultra II have a single set on the rear of their slides. All are sharply cut, allowing a firm grasp, even with wet of oily hands. To ensure that spent cases get out of the way quickly, all three pistols’ ejection ports are lowered and flared.

Along with a fast-targeting Crimson Trace laser, the Kimber Eclipse Ultra II (LG) comes equipped with snag-free Meprolight tritium sights featuring large dots that are easy to see in a variety of lighting conditions.

Dovetail cuts in their slides contain Meprolight tritium three-dot night sights, which can be adjusted for windage. The Ultra II and Pro II models are fitted with bushingless barrels. Custom IIs have traditional muzzle bushings to position their barrels. All three have full-length recoil spring guide rods for improved reliability and consistent lock-up, which improves accuracy.

RELATED STORY: Carry Small, Shoot Big with Kimber’s Micro Crimson Carry

As with the top ends, the stainless steel frames have polished sides while their undersurfaces sport a black finish. This contrasting appearance is very attractive and really sets these pistols apart from similar designs. Ergonomics, handling and recoil control all get a boost from beavertail grip safeties, checkered frontstraps and mainspring housings, and all three pistols have metal relieved under the triggerguard for a high, secure purchase.

Other controls include moderately extended, single-sided thumb safeties and skeletonized triggers and hammers. The slide-stop levers and magazine releases are all normally sized, which is just how I like them. Lastly, the magazine wells have been beveled, so shooters can expect to perform fumble-free reloads. For tests I used two 7-round magazines, one with an extended baseplate (KimPro Tac mag) and the other with a flush baseplate.

Laser Focus

“…it is a nice-feeling pistol, and I was especially taken by the frame checkering…”

The most unique feature of this trio of Kimbers is that they come standard with checkered Slatewood Crimson Trace Lasergrips, which feature an integral laser sight in the top of the right grip panel. A pair of batteries in the grip panels supply power while the on/off switch is located in the bottom of the left panel. Finger pressure on the rubber-encased activation pad on the Lasergrips’ frontstrap activates the laser.

RELATED STORY: Kimber’s Ultra CDP II – Built From The Ground Up For Everyday Carry

Mounting a laser sight on a handgun allows rapid target acquisition, especially in low-light conditions. A shooter can also engage targets from behind cover without exposing too much of themselves. Another advantage is that you can fire accurately without having to bring the pistol to eye level, which could be very useful if you are in an awkward position, must fire one-handed or if one of your hands/arms has been disabled. Finally, “painting” an attacker with a red or green laser has sometimes been known to have a mollifying effect on aggressive tendencies.

My “right out of the box” impressions of the Ultra II were that it is a nice-feeling pistol, and I was especially taken by the frame checkering and the large, easy-to-see sights. According to my trigger-pull gauge, the trigger broke crisply with a bit over 4 pounds of pressure.

Range Workout

My wife, Becky, and I headed out to the range the next day to see how this attenuated .45 ACP performed. As all gun writers’ standard operation procedure requires that we poke holes in paper at a measured distance, I set up a series of targets at 10 yards and, after sitting down behind my MTM K-Zone rest, proceeded to fire a series of five-shot groups with the Ultra II. I was pleasantly surprised when I produced several sub-2-inch groups. That’s not too bad for a “snubbie” semi-automatic.

As Becky and I dodged intermittent rain showers, I belted on a Galco Yaqui Belt Slide holster and ran series of drills on a pair of combat targets set at 5 and 7 yards. The large sights allowed me to acquire and transition between targets quickly, and the crisp trigger allowed me to place my shots accurately. While the checkered grip frame and grip panels provided good recoil control, when using the magazine with the flush baseplate, my little finger kept slipping off under recoil. But with the extended baseplate magazine, I was able to get a full, secure purchase on the pistol, which greatly aided in recoil control without sacrificing concealability.

Out of curiosity, I fired the Eclipse Ultra II with several full-length, eight-round magazines provided by Brownells, and I am pleased to report that the pistol functioned perfectly with them. If I used the Kimber for concealed carry, I would carry these magazines for reloads.

Turning on the Crimson Trace Lasergrips, I proceeded to engage a target at 5 yards, firing the pistol from waist level. Once I got the hang of holding that bouncing little red dot (fairly) still, I fired some 30 rounds that chewed up the center of the target in a most pleasing manner.

While I have never been overly fond of laser sights, these drills with the CT-equipped Kimber have come much closer to convincing me that a pistol with this type of laser setup could be very useful in a close-range defensive situation and would definitely be a wise choice for home defense.

Although Officer-sized 1911s aren’t necessarily my bag, I have to confess that Kimber’s Eclipse Ultra II has softened this attitude to a significant degree. I found it to be concealable, controllable and accurate. So if your idea of the perfect concealed-carry gun is a subcompact 1911, then the Kimber Ultra II should fill your bill.

For more information, visit http://www.kimberamerica.com or call 888-243-4522.

The post Gun Test: Kimber Eclipse Ultra II appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Perhaps no pistol is more readily identifiable than the 1911. These handguns have served men and women in the armed forces, in law enforcement and for personal protection. I’ve heard more than one enthusiast describe the 1911 to me as “America’s Pistol.”

It’s little wonder that this style of gun has been so popular for so long. Many people like the way the gun feels in the hand, and the single-action (SA) trigger pull can be truly exceptional. But, carrying a full-sized 1911 can be a challenge. For those who want to carry a 1911 for self-defense but would like something that is easier to conceal, STI International offers the Escort.

The STI Escort is a compact SA pistol that chops inches and ounces off a full-sized 1911 to make it better suited for concealed carry. The guns have 3.24-inch bull barrels— significantly shorter than the traditional 5-inch length—and an overall length of 7 inches. Unloaded, the guns weigh less than 23 ounces.

Escort frames are made of forged aluminum. Both the back- and frontstrap have a textured gripping area called STIppling. These machined surfaces are not the least bit harsh on the hands, yet they help the shooter maintain a solid grip on the pistol.

The Escort comes with high-visibility three-dot sights for easy aiming. Also note the high-swept beavertail grip safety.

STI makes the Escort in two very popular calibers: 9mm and .45 ACP. My review gun was chambered for the classic .45 ACP and came with a single six-round magazine. In 9mm, the magazine will hold eight rounds, while the .40 S&W will hold seven.

The Escort has a very refined look that inspires confidence. The frame has a matte silver colored Cerakote finish. The slide is blued. One of my favorite styling features of the gun is the STI cocobolo grips. These grip panels are finely detailed with a deep, rich red color. The best part is they feel just as good as they look.

RELATED STORY: 25 Proven and Popular Concealed Carry Handguns

The pistol’s sights are a three-dot configuration. The front is the company’s own competition sight. The rear sight is the Tactical Adjustable Sight (TAS.) It is ramped to reduce the possibility of it snagging on clothing during a draw.

A ramped rear sight is a popular choice with many shooters. However, I strongly prefer a rear sight with a hard front edge to assist with one-handed slide manipulation. In a situation where both hands are not available, being able to run the gun with only one hand is critical. Having a hard front edge to the rear sight can make slide manipulation off of another surface easy.

STI uses a polymer trigger in the Escort pistol. While it does feel different from a metal trigger, I could not find any fault with its performance. The trigger face was lightly textured, but not rough. While I prefer a perfectly smooth trigger face, I did not feel the Escort trigger impaired my ability to accurately shoot it.

According to STI, the polymer triggers prevent inertial firing from a drop or other hard impact. The STI trigger bow is made of stainless steel, and the trigger has a set screw to allow the owner to adjust the overtravel if desired.

RELATED STORY: 8 Competition 1911 Pistols Ready Right Out Of The Box

STI undercut the triggerguard on the Escort. What this means is the triggerguard curves up where it meets the grip, allowing the gripping hand to grasp higher on the frame. The undercut on this gun is not as radical as it is on some guns from other manufacturers. The cut is just enough to allow for a full, comfortable grip on the gun.

STI uses a high-ride, beavertail-style grip safety in the Escort. I found it to work very well, both protecting my hand from slide bite and with deactivating the safety when gripping the pistol. I did not need to apply any conscious pressure to the safety to deactivate it. It just worked.

A relatively large thumb safety is located on the left side of the gun frame. The lever was easy to operate, and disengaging it should be natural for any right-handed 1911 shooter. Movement and engagement was positive and sure without any wiggle or looseness. Like the beavertail grip safety, the thumb safety lever has a blued finish.

RELATED STORY: 10 Perfect 10mm Pistols

In the Escort, STI uses the company’s own Recoil Master guide rod. This assembly is designed to help absorb recoil, which in a small gun can be considerable. The rod assembly has a pair of springs that act as shock absorbers to reduce the recoil felt by the shooter. Something like this has the potential of significantly improving the gun’s shootability.

Range Master

In testing, the STI Escort handled well and turned in tight groups without exhibiting any malfunctions.

Compact 1911 pistols can be finicky. Sometimes they will only run reliably with certain kinds of ammunition, and other times not at all. I was eager to get the Escort to the range to see what this pistol would do.

My normal range was unavailable, so I headed to The Firing Line, a full service dealer and gun range in New Port Richey, Florida. The crew there was kind enough to let me use a private section of the range so I could set up my gear and move about without disturbing other shooters.

When I received the test gun, it showed signs of having been previously fired. Even so, I was intent on running the gun through several hundred rounds to ensure it was broken in prior to forming an opinion about its reliability. Shooting a combined 250 rounds of Remington UMC and Federal American Eagle 230-grain ball ammo, I experienced no malfunctions and felt the gun was broken in and ready for some hollow-point (HP) ammunition.

RELATED STORY: Today’s Top 10 Compact 1911 Pistols For Concealed Carry Protection

One of the self-defense loads I tested was a 185-grain JHP from HPR Ammunition. This load uses the Hornady XTP bullet and is marketed to provide “really tight extreme spreads” and “improved accuracy.” Running the load across a chronograph for five shots, the load produced a standard deviation of 36 and a standard deviation of 13. Handheld, the load gave me the best group: 1.87 inches at 15 yards.

I experienced only one malfunction with any of the self-defense ammo. When firing the first five-round string of 230-grain Federal Hydra-Shok, the nose of the fourth round hung up on the feed ramp. After that, I did not experience any additional problems with the Hydra-Shok or any other round.

As with any lightweight, compact .45, the gun does have significant recoil. Based on my experiences with other compact 1911 pistols, I can’t say that the Recoil Master guide rod significantly reduced felt recoil. To me, the recoil in the Escort felt the same as other compact 1911 pistols.

I would not expect that any proficient shooter would have problems with controlling the gun during rapid fire. However, a new shooter might have problems getting comfortable with the pistol. A recoil-sensitive shooter might have some trouble with the Escort.

Accuracy with the gun was good. Even with a serious case of lateral epicondylitis (aka tennis elbow) in my dominant arm, I was able to regularly make five-shot groups of 2.5 inches or less with most ammo. A better shooter, or shooting from a rest, could tighten up the groups.

RELATED STORY: 21 Ultra-Concealable, High-Powered Snub-Nose Revolvers

The trigger felt good. There was a small amount of take-up and no overtravel as it was delivered. The break was clean. Using a Lyman digital trigger-pull gauge, the trigger averaged 4.8 pounds on 10 pulls.

Magazine changes were uneventful, which is a good thing. Slightly stiff, the magazine-release button feels exactly the way I like it. The button is out of the way while shooting but still easy to access when needed. In this configuration, it is virtually impossible to accidentally activate the button, yet mag changes are quick.

After the range trip, I discovered that the left grip panel visibly wiggled against the frame. Closer inspection revealed that both the upper and lower hex-head screws had loosened slightly while I was shooting. A few turns of an Allen key tightened the grip panel back down. A small amount of blue Loctite would likely cure the problem permanently.

Takedown Power

There has always been a great deal of debate about the best handgun to carry for personal protection. Some camps eschew the 1911 platform for a variety of well-considered reasons. However, there is little disputing these guns have served many people well since being introduced more than a century ago.

If you like the platform, the STI Escort is worth your consideration. Based on the pistol I evaluated, I believe the guns are well built, reliable and accurate. The controls are easy to manipulate, and the gun just feels good in the hand.

Featuring a truly lightweight and compact design, the Escort from STI International is easy to carry. With the right rig, the gun can be concealed under a Florida summer T-shirt as readily as a Maine winter coat. In either location, seven rounds of .45 ACP are likely to be just as effective at protecting your life and those of your loved ones.

For more information, visit http://www.stiguns.com or call 512-819-0656.

This article was published in the 2016 issue of Gun Buyer’s Guide. For information on how to subscribe, please email Subscriptions@athlonmediagroup.com or call 1-800-284-5668

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The post STI Escort: A Carry-Ready 1911 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The 1911 has been around for 105 years, during which time it has been modified, improved, altered, customized, lengthened, shortened and all but completely overhauled. However, American Tactical’s FXH-45—short for Firepower Xtreme Hybrid .45—is very close to being a total redesign. More than another version of the Model 1911, the FXH-45 Hybrid is, as its name implies, a new approach to designing and building the Model 1911 to make it easier to handle, faster to operate and much more versatile right out of the box. And one look at the FXH-45 Hybrid’s design and it’s clear that American Tactical was thinking outside of the 1911 box.

Hybrid Specs

Available with a black or Flat Dark Earth frame, the FHX-45 comes with several custom-grade features, including an ambidextrous thumb safety.

American Tactical was granted a U.S. patent in April 2016 for the FXH-45 design. The company began by creating a high-strength polymer frame with 7075-T6 aluminum inserts to support the slide rails, fire control housing and mainspring housing. In other words, the frame is lightweight while still being very rugged. The polymer frame has a finger-grooved frontstrap and a distinctive, oversized and undercut triggerguard.

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The combination of a polymer frame with alloy inserts may sound a little familiar as of late, but never with a 1911. In designing the FHX-45, American Tactical researched the best features from a wide variety of handguns, and not all of them were 1911s. In overall appearance, the FXH-45 is a 1911, but when you begin looking at its individual features, a number of other well-proven handgun designs become apparent.

The nitride-finished slide has been significantly beveled to reduce weight. Also note the ports and cocking serrations.

The frame will accept any number of standard 1911 grip panels, but look at the finger grooves in the frontstrap and you’ll see hints of the Glock design. The integrated dust-cover accessory rail is similar to the Wilson Combat Protector 1911’s, with its high clearance and deep rear groove. The triggerguard is pure CZ 75 and Beretta M9.

The rakishly ported slide is reconfigured from typical 1911 contours and made from stainless steel with a black nitride finish. The lower shape of the slide is clean and tapered like an IWI Jericho pistol, but the unique, angular cuts in the slide are pure American Tactical. The slide also sports a red fiber-optic front sight and a dovetailed, wide-notch rear sight as well as a built-in, reconfigurable optics-mounting platform. Within the slide you’ll find a 5-inch, match-grade barrel made of 416 stainless steel.

The rest of the FXH-45’s features—including the skeletonized aluminum trigger, the finely checkered mainspring housing, the beavertail grip safety with a raised contact pad, the skeletonized Delta-style hammer and ambidextrous thumb safety—are all out of the 1911 custom features toolbox.

Stacking Up

Despite its innovative design, the FXH-45 uses a traditional recoil spring and guide rod assembly for easy field-stripping.

The FXH-45 could mark the beginning of a new era for the 1911 platform. In comparison to a traditional Government Model 1911, the FXH-45 has a total grip circumference (with standard-sized grip panels) of 5.56 inches, which is slightly greater than a Government Model 1911. Add the finger grooves and undercut triggerguard and you have a far more secure hold on this gun than a stock 1911. The oversized triggerguard also makes this gun much easier to operate with tactical gloves, and its squared, serrated front allows more options for a two-handed hold and longer rail-mounted accessories.

RELATED STORY: Gun Review – American Tactical’s Durable Omni Hybrid 5.56mm

An average Government Model 1911 weighs close to 40 ounces without a magazine; the FXH-45 comes in at 27.5 ounces without a magazine. That is considerable weight savings for a full-sized 1911. The gun’s overall length is 8.7 inches—about the same as a Government Model 1911 with an extended beavertail grip safety. Its height is almost identical as well at 5.4 inches.

Surprisingly, this very high-tech gun uses a traditional 1911-style plunger, recoil spring and guide rod, making field-stripping very straight-forward. But what about recoil? Polymer-framed .45s tend to have hasher recoil with the exception of those using dual recoil spring and guide rod assemblies like Gen4 Glocks and a handful of custom-built and handcrafted competition and tactical 1911s costing much more.

Shots Downrange

Despite its lighter weight, the FXH-45 has just as much recoil as a typical Government Model 1911. It’s an excellent combat pistol right out of the box.

The lightweight, polymer-framed FXH-45 is slightly nose heavy unloaded but balances out nicely with 8+1 rounds of .45 ACP ammo on board. Slide resistance when chambering the first round or clearing the gun is nominal for a 1911. The ambidextrous thumb safety solidly clicks into and out of lock, and the checkered slide release operates smoothly. The left-side-mounted magazine release is checkered well and operates quickly with either the strong hand or support-hand thumb, cleanly dropping the eight-round magazine. The black polymer, double-diamond-checkered grip panels sit well in the hand and are held down by first-rate hex-head screws.

The trigger pull on my test gun averaged 5.35 pounds with 0.125 inches of take-up, a crisp break, zero overtravel and a quick reset. To put this new .45 ACP though its paces, I chose a variety of ammunition, including Sig Sauer 230-grain Elite Performance FMJs, Aguila 230-grain FMJs, HPR 185-grain HyperClean JHPs, Federal Premium 230-grain Hydra-Shok JHPs and Hornady 220-grain Critical Duty FlexLock +P rounds. I tested the pistol off-hand on B-27 silhouettes at 25 yards.

RELATED STORY: New For 2016 – American Tactical’s MilSport 9mm Pistol and Carbine

There is total parity between the FXH-45 and a Government Model 1911 when it comes to recoil, despite the former’s lighter overall weight, and perhaps even a slight advantage due to its grip design. The trigger pull was light and consistent, and the sights were fast on target for quick follow-up shots. Muzzle lift varied from moderate with hardball ammo to substantial but very controllable with the hard-hitting, high-velocity Critical Duty rounds.

The Hornady and HPR loads tied for producing the best five-round groups, which measured 1.75 inches. The Federal load also produced a 1.77-inch group. My groups with FMJs were slightly wider, with the Sig Sauer load clustering five rounds into 1.9 inches and the Aguila into 1.95 inches. All of my shots were slightly above and left of the point of aim at 25 yards, but considering the evaluation was performed under windy conditions, I can’t complain with the FXH-45’s performance. It shot better than the majority of out-of-the-box Government Model 1911s I’ve tested.

21st Century Design

There are several features to like in the FXH-45. The big plus here is lighter carry weight, combined with a full-sized 1911 platform, an excellent grip design, a full-length accessory rail, an integrated solution for mounting optics and overall ease of operation. Overall, the American Tactical FXH-45 delivers an innovative design with an excellent fit and finish, consistent accuracy and value for the dollar. If the 1911 is an old dog, it has definitely learned some new tricks!

For more, visit http://www.americantactical.us or call 800-290-0065.

This article was published in the 2016 edition of the Complete Book of 1911s. For information on how to subscribe, please email subscriptions@outdoorgroupmags.com or call 1-800-284-5668.

The post Xtreme Firepower: American Tactical’s Game-Changing FXH-45 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

There’s no doubt about it. FN America‘s FNX-45 Tactical is a full-sized pistol that offers a lot of .45 ACP firepower—15+1 rounds. It comes ready to roll into harm’s way or keep the peace after that bump in the night with plenty of stopping power to end the situation. The pistol has been enhanced to accept a reflex sight—a popular trend these days with factory pistols—but FN built this capability into the pistol back in 2012. What really makes the FNX-45 Tactical unique, however, is how comfortable and soft-shooting this big-bore pistol truly is. Plus, it has nearly twice the firepower of a full-sized, single-stack 1911 while being about the same size and weight.

Gripping Details

The pistol comes with four different backstrap panels: checkered or ribbed, flat or arched.

The grip angle of the FNX-45 Tactical is similar to a 1911’s, which makes it point naturally when gripped and aimed. The polymer frame accepts four different backstraps—arched or flat, and either checkered or ribbed—in an effort to accommodate a variety of hand sizes. These inserts work well to give the pistol less girth. It feels a lot more like a double-stack 9mm in hand than a double-stack .45 ACP.

• RELATED STORY: FN’tastic FNS-40

The sides of the grip panels are coarsely checkered and offer good adhesion with no raspy abrasion after each shot. The area of the frame behind the trigger is smooth and comfortable, leading your trigger finger naturally to the trigger. The triggerguard is also undercut so you get a high hold on the pistol for comfortable double-action (DA) or single-action (SA) shooting. This design helps the shooter control muzzle flip.

The pistol’s controls are ambidextrous and designed so the more important controls—the magazine release and decocking lever—are more prominent than the slide stop. That’s also why the slide stop is surrounded by a small ridge. The decocker is placed under the thumb of the shooting hand, a natural location. The decocking lever has two functions: to decock the hammer from SA mode and to place the pistol on “safe” when in DA mode. It functions like a 1911 thumb safety. The up position is “safe” and the down position is “fire.” A red warning dot is exposed when the lever is placed in the “fire” position.

The 5.3-inch-long barrel features 0.578×28-tpi threading to accept most standard .45 ACP sound suppressors. FN also includes a knurled thread protector.

Speaking of the trigger, while the FNX-45 Tactical uses a traditional DA/SA system, it has been enhanced for modern-day gunfighters. The DA press is smooth and consistent, and it measured about 13 pounds on average on my test pistol, though it felt like much less. In fact, I found myself decocking the hammer during the range testing so I could fire the pistol in DA mode.

The trigger is wide, so it spreads the forced required to fire the pistol across a larger surface area. In SA mode, the trigger pull averaged a hair over 5 pounds, making it similar to a 1911. The trigger reset is short, and the initial take-up seemed spot-on for a pistol made for combat, law enforcement, competition or self-defense work. In fact, the FNX series of pistols evolved out of the U.S. military’s Joint Combat Pistol (JCP) program, so military specifications like a method for attaching a lanyard are built into the FNX-45 Tactical.

• RELATED STORY: FN 15 Competition – A 5.56 Prize Fighter

In addition to the receiver’s comfortable grip, the triggerguard is curved in lieu of the more common squared-off triggerguard. The front of the triggerguard is textured for shooters who hold this area. The frame also comes equipped with a Picatinny rail for mounting lights or lasers. The grip’s semi-beavertail does an excellent job of keeping your hand away from moving parts. The hammer is rounded, serrated and large enough to grasp on the sides.

The FNX uses steel, double-stack magazines that are fairly easy on the thumbs when reloading. It wasn’t that hard to get the 15th round into each magazine during testing. Witness holes on the backside of the magazines also clearly indicate how many rounds remain. The magazines use rounded floorplates, so inserting each one into the magazine well is comfortable without pinching your hand.

Like what you’re reading? Check out the rest of this article in ‘Combat Handguns’ February 2017. For information on how to subscribe, please email subscriptions@outdoorgroupmags.com or call 1-800-284-5668.

The post FNX-45 Tactical: Next-Gen Features In A Soft-Shooting Package appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Ruger just doesn’t know when to quit, and that’s a good thing. The Connecticut-based gun maker closed out a busy 2016 by announcing that the Ruger American Pistol Compact is now available in .45 Auto. This latest compact variant is offered in the “PRO” configuration, which does away with the external manual safety. See the release below for more on this tough, rugged and reliable pistol.

• RELATED STORY: One Tough Soldier – The Ruger American Pistol in 9mm

Ruger polled law enforcement and military trainers throughout the country to select the form, function and features of the Ruger American Pistol. The resultant pistol combines a recoil-reducing barrel cam (which better spreads recoil over time) with a low-mass slide, low center of gravity and a low-bore axis to provide better balance, less felt recoil and less muzzle flip than comparable pistols. The Ruger American Pistol also features a pre-tensioned striker system, which allows for a short take-up trigger with positive reset, and a modular wrap-around grip system that adjusts palm swell and trigger reach to fit a wide range of hand sizes.

 

With a 3.75″ barrel, overall dimensions of 7.25″ long, 4.65″ high and a weight of 28.6 ounces, the Ruger American Pistol Compact model shares all of the features and rugged reliability of the duty-size gun in a smaller, lighter, more concealable package. It ships in a hard case with medium and large replaceable grip modules and two nickel-Teflon® plated steel magazines (one 10-round extended magazine and one 7-round compact magazine).

 

The American-made Ruger American Pistol is built on a rigid, one-piece, precision-machined, stainless steel chassis with integral frame rails and fire control housing. Additional features include genuine Novak® LoMount Carry three-dot sights, a stainless steel slide with non-reflective, black nitride finish, a one-piece, high-performance, glass-filled nylon grip frame and a mil-standard 1913 accessory rail.

For more information on the Ruger American Pistol Compact in .45 Auto, visit Ruger.com or Facebook.com/Ruger.

The post Ruger American Pistol Compact: Now Available in .45 Auto appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

On the Internet, in some gun shops and even in training seminars, we have for some time heard the mantra, “All service pistol chamberings are equal in so-called ‘stopping power.’” Sometimes you’ll hear, “The 9mm and .40 S&W and .45 ACP are all the same on the downrange end.”

True or false? Well, if the answer to that were simple, we wouldn’t still be debating it. To gain a foundation for understanding, the first thing we have to do is look at the history of each chambering.

9mm Origins

9×19mm Parabellum rounds and a bullet for comparison.

The 9mm—aka the 9mm Luger, 9mm Parabellum and 9x19mm—came onto the scene in 1902 to answer concerns that the German P-08 pistol’s original 7.65x21mm cartridge (.30 Luger) of 1900 had insufficient stopping power. Essentially, the 9mm comprised case-head dimensions of the bottlenecked .30 Luger blown out to take a bullet 0.355 inches in diameter. By the end of the 20th century, this new round would become the most popular military pistol cartridge around the world.

As he neared the end of his life, John Moses Browning created a double-stack magazine that could take more of the narrower 9mm cartridges in a service-sized frame. He died before Dieudonné Saive, his protégé at the Belgium company of Fabrique Nationale, finalized the design that would become the historic Browning Hi-Power in 1935. It held 13 cartridges in its standard magazine and a 14th in its chamber.

Shortly thereafter, Walther in Germany introduced the P38, a 9mm with a single-stack, eight-round magazine and a long double-action (DA) trigger for the first shot. This, in theory, meant that the user didn’t need to rack a round into the chamber before shooting, nor thumb off a safety catch, thus theoretically allowing for a faster first shot. The P38 design would become the template for S&W’s first police service 9mm, the Model 39, and for the later, higher-capacity Italian Beretta Model 92.

The first major American law enforcement agency to adopt the 9mm was the Illinois State Police (ISP) in 1967. The ISP’s head of ordnance, Louis Seman, noted that off-duty troopers and plainclothes detectives were shooting dismal scores with their small-framed, 2-inch-barreled .38 Special and .357 Magnum service revolvers. He convinced his superintendent that the flat, light, easy-to-carry Model 39 would serve both roles superbly. Perhaps because the Model 39 went to an easy single-action (SA) trigger pull after the first shot, scores went up for all but the top revolver shooters after the adoption of the 9mm pistol, and more importantly, the hit potential soared from the typical “one hit per four shots in real gunfights with revolvers” to a high 60th percentile.

• RELATED STORY: Stopping Power – 18 Ammo Brands For Hard-Hitting Home Defense

In the late 1970s, I was the feature editor of “Illinois Trooper” magazine, the publication of Troopers Lodge #41 of the Fraternal Order of Police, the bargaining agent for the troopers in question. The revolver-versus-auto issue was significant among working street cops then, and with the cooperation of the ISP itself, we did a survey of the troopers. We found that a high percentage of the troops on the road at the time would prefer either a .45 ACP semi-auto or a .357 Magnum revolver.

The biggest reason was that they were dissatisfied with the 9mm ammunition of the time. The agency had started with full-metal-jacket (FMJ) “ball” ammunition, and there had not been a single instant, one-shot stop unless the bullet had pierced the central nervous system of the offender. Switching to soft-nose bullets was an improvement, but except for one muzzle-contact shot that had forced explosive muzzle blast into the liver of the would-be cop-killer, there had still been no one-shot stops that had not struck the brain or spinal cord. The department went through more than one hollow-point cartridge until it hit upon the formula that made the concept work: a 115-grain +P+ round traveling at 1,300 fps, as produced by Winchester and Federal.

Other police agencies did not start widely adopting the 9mm until the early 1980s. The usual load was a 115-grain jacketed hollow point (JHP) rated for standard (not +P or +P+) velocities. Not long after the highly publicized 1986 FBI shootout in Miami in which two agents died, three more were permanently injured and another two sustained lesser wounds, the Bureau gathered experts to analyze what might work better. In that shootout, a standard-velocity, 115-grain 9mm had inflicted a presumably un-survivable wound on one of the suspects, but the bullet had failed to reach the heart at a lateral angle that passed through the killer’s arm.

Dr. Martin Fackler, the U.S. Army’s head of wound ballistics at the Letterman Institute at the Presidio pointed out that the 147-grain, subsonic Winchester Olin Super Match (OSM) round, developed for Special Forces units to deliver headshots from distance with great accuracy from integrally sound-suppressed HK MP5 submachine guns, would have penetrated deeper according to lab testing with a new ballistic gelatin formula he developed. The FBI adopted this load, and much of the nation’s police—now deep into the switch to semi-automatic pistols largely due to their greater firepower—followed suit.

Browning’s .45 ACP

.45 ACP cartridges full metal jacket (left) and hollow-point (right).

The .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridge was first conceptualized by the great John Moses Browning circa 1903, and it first appeared in the Colt Model 1905 pistol. An ungainly thing that resembled a T-square with a gland condition, the Model 1905 never caught on or established any reputation as a gunfighting tool. That did not come until Browning’s vastly improved Model 1911 aced military tests and was adopted in its eponymous year. The military had insisted on a .45-caliber duty cartridge due to numerous “stopping failures” with the .38 Long Colt service revolver in use in the Philippines.

The new .45 ACP proved itself in 1915 when Herman Hanneken, a U.S. Marine, killed guerilla leader Charlemagne Perrault in Haiti, and during General Pershing’s expedition against Pancho Villa the following year. However, it was World War I that made the .45’s reputation. In the savage hand-to-hand combat that occurred in the trenches, the .45 ACP worked so well that General Pershing wanted every American doughboy armed with a 1911. Colt couldn’t keep up with that much demand on its autopistol production line, however, and S&W and Colt .45 ACP revolvers were introduced in 1917 to fill the gap.

Veterans returned from WWI with an appreciation for the .45 ACP. Anecdotal stories held that the .45 ACP dropped German soldiers rapidly, but the Germans’ 9mm Lugers did not act so swiftly upon even mortally wounded Americans.

Texas Rangers were probably the first to pick up on the .45 ACP for law enforcement. Unfortunately, criminals picked up on it, too. The “motorized bandits” of the Depression years favored them, notably Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Clyde Barrow. More cops began using .45s: Charles Winstead, of the fledgling agency that would become the FBI, killed Dillinger with a .45 ACP.

The .45 ACP’s reputation was reinforced by veterans of the Vietnam conflict, the last major war in which that caliber was standard issue for soldiers who wore handguns into combat. Yet in the Middle East, from the 1990s through today, some .45s were in the hands of elite military operators while 9mms were standard issue, both with FMJs. There would be some who came home from “the sandbox” saying the 9mm was every bit as good as the .45 ACP, and some who said the .45 ACP clearly outclassed the 9mm. Interestingly, none seemed to say that the 9mm, shot for shot, stopped enemy fighters better than the .45 ACP.

Birth Of The .40

When the .40 S&W was created, previous choices were mostly 16-shot 9mms like the P226 (top) or eight- to nine-shot .45s like the P220 (bottom).

As the sea change from .38 Special/.357 Magnum service revolvers surged through the 1980s, America’s police found themselves with a collision of preferences. Some cops figured if they were going to go from their trusted old six-shooters to semi-autos, they wanted lots more bullets, which meant 16-shot 9mms. Others felt that if they had to go from their powerful .357 Magnum revolvers to autoloaders, they wanted .45s.

Nowhere was this starker than in the FBI, where there were role model agents and firearms instructors on both sides. The higher-capacity 9mm faction was presumably led by Bill Vanderpool, while Urey Patrick headed the larger-caliber contingent. In the middle was John Hall, head of the Bureau’s Firearms Training Unit. Hall researched the matter intensively and determined that the 10mm Auto cartridge, somewhat downloaded from its maximum potential, might be the ideal answer. A 10mm pistol could hold more rounds than a .45 in roughly the same-sized package while being powerful enough to satisfy large-caliber devotees. It cut the Gordian Knot of the matter, creating a middle ground where each faction could say, “We got what we wanted for our people.”

The 10mm “FBI load” comprised a 180-grain JHP rated for 1,000 fps. Designed to work in .45 ACP-sized handgun platforms—the Colt Delta Elite 1911 in 10mm had been the initial test gun—it necessitated a large-framed pistol. The FBI specified and then adopted the S&W Model 1076, essentially the same overall pistol platform of S&W’s DA/SA .45 ACPs. The FBI adopted the 10mm circa 1989. Contrary to Internet gun lore, Bureau agents did not have trouble controlling the recoil of the full-power 10mm, resulting in the adoption of a “minus-P” load; rather, Hall and his team determined prior to issuance that the 180-grain bullet at some 1,000 fps would meet their specific needs of penetration with expansion and controllability in rapid fire.

• RELATED STORY: Top Fightin’ .40s – 15 Proven & Reliable .40 S&W Handguns

With a standard nine-round magazine and a 10th cartridge in the chamber—and extended backup magazines to be issued to each agent—the Model 1076 was a major step forward from the previous S&W Model 13 service revolver. A 10mm bullet weighing 180 grains was very close to the most popular police .45 ACP load of the period, a 185-grain hollow point at a nominal velocity of up to 1,000 fps. Thus, the 10mm seemed to strike an ideal middle ground between the needs of the higher-capacity faction and the larger-caliber faction.

However, being the same overall length as a .45 ACP, the 10mm needed a grip frame that was long front to back, and the Model 1076 was a heavy, all-stainless-steel pistol. As the 10mm seemed destined for sudden huge popularity thanks to the FBI’s adoption, others behind the scenes were working with the cartridge. Paul Liebenberg and Whit Collins had done the primary design work, and Tom Campbell at S&W along with Ed Hobbe worked on adapting it to S&W’s double-stack 9mm Model 5906. The result was a “10mm Short” cartridge called the .40 S&W, and it jointly debuted with S&W’s Model 4006 pistol and Winchester’s 180-grain JHP load at a nominal 1,010 fps.

Many departments saw this as the ultimate compromise. The traditional capacity of a .45 ACP had been 7+1 rounds while most double-stack 9mms held 15+1 rounds. The Model 4006 held 11+1 rounds—exactly in the middle between the 9mm and .45 ACP, and exactly twice the capacity of a sixgun. Glock immediately created the Glock 22, a .40-caliber version of its popular 9mm Glock 17. Because of its different geometry, the Glock 22 could hold 15+1 rounds. Seen by many as the best of both worlds, it quickly became the most popular police pistol, followed by similar designs such as the S&W Sigma of 1993 and the S&W M&P40 introduced approximately a decade later.

In more than a quarter century of the 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP being simultaneously in the field, some collective experience has accumulated. We’ll get to that next.

This article was originally published in ‘The Complete Book of Handguns’ 2017. For information on how to subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post The Great Ammo Debate, Part I: Which is Best Between 9mm, .45 and .40? appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

From the six-shooter days of the Western frontier onward, conventional wisdom has held that at typical handgun velocities, bigger bullets are better.

Around 1990, writer Charles Petty was given unprecedented access to the FBI’s wound ballistics studies that had led to the agency’s adoption of the 10mm cartridge. He wrote, “As the testing progressed, another factor became obvious. No 9mm loads came close to the 10mm and .45. ‘We expected that there would be a gap,’ said [the FBI’s Urey] Patrick, ‘but we didn’t expect it to be so large.’ In the first series of tests, the best a 9mm could do was 67.5 percent.

The .38 Special fared just as poorly, and the standard FBI-issue .38 Special [158-grain, lead, hollow-point +P] also achieved a 67.5 percent success rate. Among the initial rounds tested, only the 10mm, .45 ACP and a single .357 Mag round were able to score consistently above 90 percent.”

The late Dr. Martin Fackler was a huge influence in the field of wound ballistics, and much of the FBI protocols in this regard follow his principles. In a 2012 interview, Dr. Fackler said, “The size of the hole the bullet makes, the .45 is bigger than a 9mm. But how much bigger, by diameter, really doesn’t give you the measure of how much tissue it disrupts. What does is the area of a circle, or pi-r-squared. It’s the radius squared. So, if you take your .45, your .451, and your 9mm as your .355, take half that, the radius, square that, and what you’ll find is that the volume, or the area, of damaged tissue made by the .45 is about 60 percent more than made by the 9mm.”

Wound Placement

Some tout this image to support the claim that all service calibers create similar wounds, but careful observation shows otherwise.

In the hunting world, a debate lasted for decades between master hunters Jack O’Connor, who did much to popularize the light, fast .270 Winchester rifle cartridge, and Elmer Keith, who was a vociferous advocate of large calibers and heavy, slow-moving bullets. What was overlooked was that each man was a highly skilled rifle shot and could on any given day have borrowed the other man’s preferred rifle and still come home with a deer. The mechanism of wounding and destroying tissue takes second place to shot placement—not how the bullet damages tissue, but what tissue is rendered inoperable.

This is probably the only issue in this complicated argument the debaters seem to agree upon unanimously. Shot placement is the first priority in rendering a homicidal opponent incapable of continuing to harm others. To be semantically correct, “wound placement” should probably be the term we use, not “shot placement.”

• RELATED STORY: The Great Ammo Debate, Part I – Which is Best Between 9mm, .45 and .40?

Historically, shot placement has meant where the bullet strikes, whether it is the 10-ring of a target or the bridge of an opponent’s nose. Wound placement involves the track of the bullet until its trajectory stops. A .22 Short bullet that strikes between the eyes may be excellent shot placement, but if the projectile stops there without entering the cranial vault, no wound has been placed where it is likely to cause instant cessation of violent activity.

Now back to velocity. The .357 Magnum uses bullets the same size as a .38 Special, but drives them much faster. Historically, the .357 Magnum earned a reputation of being a more decisive “man-stopper.” The Illinois State Police was not happy with the performance of 100- to 115-grain, standard-velocity bullets in the 9mm S&Ws that for decades were their signature guns. But when those pistols were loaded with 115-grain hollow points at the +P+ velocity of 1,300 fps, troopers and command staff alike were happy with how swiftly solid hits ended gunfights. The clamor for .45 ACPs and .357 Magnums ceased. The department eventually transitioned to .40 S&W pistols simply because, some insiders say, the FBI recommended it at the time.

At the FBI Wound Ballistics Symposium in the late 1980s, Dr. Fackler impressed the Bureau with his laboratory assessment of the 147-grain Winchester Olin Super Match (OSM) load, which had been developed originally for precision accuracy out of the suppressed HK MP5 9mm submachine guns used by some elite military operators. He had found that the bullet penetrated deeper (14 inches in his particular formula of ballistic gelatin, which he had developed to replicate swine muscle tissue) than the 115-grain 9mm loads of the period.

Of course, the FBI is to American police leadership what the Harvard Business School is to Fortune 500 executives, and when the Bureau adopted these 147-grain subsonic rounds as its standard 9mm load, many U.S. law enforcement agencies followed suit.

The results were mixed. Running at 950 to 1,000 fps, the 147-grain bullets sometimes expanded and sometimes didn’t. Some agencies like the San Diego Police Department were happy with 147-grainers and stayed with them. Some, such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and the Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff’s Office (JSO), were disappointed with the results. Both went to lighter and faster 9mm loads; the LVMPD also authorized officers to carry .40- and .45-caliber pistols if they chose, and Jacksonville solved the argument by leaving the 9mm and adopting Glock .40s.

Projectile Design

Modern bullet technology has improved many calibers. Note the size of this Federal 230-grain, .45 ACP HST +P bullet, which dropped a charging hog instantly.

Projectile design is a key factor. The 147-grain, premium-grade, subsonic 9mm of today—as opposed to yesteryear’s versions—is a classic example. For years now, the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) have been happy with the field performances of their Winchester 147-grain Ranger 9mm ammunition, though both departments still authorize .45 ACPs for personnel who want more power than the 9mm affords, and the LAPD insists that its SWAT and SIS officers carry .45 ACPs.

The Federal HST design has been particularly effective in subsonic 9mm format. For some years, the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau has issued 147-grain HST 9mm ammo to its officers and reports that it has worked decisively on the streets. The St. Paul, Minnesota, Police Department went to the same load after switching from the .40 S&W to the 9mm, and reports seeing no difference in numerous shootings since. Its officers are happy with their 147-grain Federal HST rounds.

However, other departments have been very successful with other loads. The Orlando, Florida, Police Department (OPD) was among the first to issue Winchester’s 127-grain Ranger +P+ JHPs rated for 1,250 fps for its Sig Sauer P226 pistols, and for decades reported outstanding success with this ammo. The agency recently switched to bonded Winchester Ranger 124-grain +P rounds, partly because the +P+ ammo was hard on some small off-duty and backup 9mms, and partly for better windshield penetration. The OPD reports that the 124-grain +P is currently doing a good job for its officers.

For as long as any living New York cop can remember, NYPD officers complained about the feeble stopping power of non-expanding bullets in their .38 Special revolvers, and said the same of the 115-grain FMJ rounds they were required to carry when the department went to 9mm pistols circa 1993. Those complaints seem to have ended in 1999 with the adoption of the Speer 124-grain Gold Dot +P JHPs at 1,220 fps. The Topeka, Kansas, Police Department, which adopted this same load prior to the NYPD, has likewise reported spectacular gunfight results with this cartridge.

The LVMPD, we’ll recall, initially was disappointed with its field results with 147-grain subsonics. A few years ago, while interviewing some of the department’s firearms staff, I was told that the LVMPD issues all Speer Gold Dot ammo—subsonics in .45 ACP (230 grains) and .40 S&W (180 grains), but 124-grain +P rounds in 9mms. The firearms staff members were adamant that they could see no “stopping power” differences between those three rounds on the street, and were recommending the 9mm to their officers for the lighter recoil and higher cartridge capacity.

The Laws Of Physics

When you evaluate the 9mm (left), .40 S&W (middle) and .45 ACP (right), two-dimensional bullet holes don’t tell the whole story.

Some reading this are old enough to remember “the new math,” a short-lived fad in the 1960s where American grade schools changed the way math was taught. Now the phrase means any fad that quickly becomes highly discredited.

The suggestion that the 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP are equivalent is seen by some as “the new physics.” The same experts who argue that medium calibers equal larger calibers (particularly at similar velocities) tend to also say that “energy” is meaningless in the wound ballistic context. Yet we are discussing how to deliver a powerful blow that disrupts an opponent’s ability to do harm, and “powerful impacts” and “physics” cannot be entirely separated.

A wealthy man once said, “Money is not the object of the game of Life, but it is one good way to keep score.” In the same vein, “energy” by itself does not determine the outcome of a gunfight, but when rating the power of a given pistol cartridge to cause fight-stopping damage, it turns out to be “one good way to keep score.”

Returning to bullet diameter, one factor often overlooked in the quest for penetration is the width of the wound track as related to incapacitation. In Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) competition, the man to beat today is Bryan Dover. Shooting virtually every gun division of each tournament, he has sometimes won overall high honors with his “Heavy Metal” score—shot with his harder-kicking .45 ACP beating every other score posted—including his own with lighter-kicking 9mms. When I asked him about that, he replied that the larger-diameter .45 ACP bullet would often cut a scoring line and get the higher value that a 9mm bullet would have barely missed. This is also a reason why so many Bullseye shooters tend to use .45 ACP pistons in the centerfire event instead of the smaller, lighter-kicking calibers allowed.

• RELATED STORY: Ammo Roundup – 13 9mm Rounds For Self-Defense

Translate those two-dimensional targets to the three-dimensional bodies of opponents. Any trauma surgeon or homicide investigator can tell you of cases where “If the bullet had gone a tenth of an inch to the left, the victim would have lived,” or “If the bullet had gone a tenth of an inch to the right, the offender would have died before he could shoot the cop.” It doesn’t always come down to tenths of an inch, of course, but it happens often enough that it might be wise to get that tenth-of-an-inch factor working in your favor.

Similarly, handgun rounds with a long history of stopping gunfights swiftly tend to have higher calculated energies. The 158-grain lead round-nose (LRN) .38 Special—which performed so poorly cops begged for harder-hitting ammo—delivered about 200 foot-pounds of energy (fpe), but the 158-grain lead hollow point +P generated 278 fpe thanks to its higher velocity, and, combined with its expanding projectile, turned the .38 Special into enough of a “man-stopper” to make police unions stop complaining about having to carry .38s.

By contrast, no police union complained that 125-grain .357 Magnum bullets at 1,450 fps/583 fpe were too weak to stop violent offenders. In autopistol cartridges, many agencies were concerned that 147-grain subsonic 9mms at 310 fpe weren’t getting the job done, but that didn’t seem to be a problem with agencies issuing 124-grain +P, 127-grain +P and 1,350-fps 115-grain rounds at 384, 441 and 460 fpe, respectively. A 230-grain .45 ACP traveling at 880 fps brings 396 fpe to the fight.

Sure, “correlation is not causation.” That’s true, but correlations do offer clues. However, there are more tactical and practical concerns in caliber selection than just power, and we’ll discuss them next.

This article was originally published in ‘The Complete Book of Handguns’ 2017. For information on how to subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post 9mm vs .40 vs .45: Which Chambering Has More Stopping Power? appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

When it comes to selecting a duty/defensive handgun, there are issues that go beyond “stopping power.” Some of those are objectively measurable, but there are also subjective elements that can still be important and even decisive.

Cartridge Capacity

While round count is not an issue in every gunfight, it certainly is in some. After Officer Tim Gramins’ famous gunfight several years ago in Skokie, Illinois—where he was deep into the third and last magazine for his .45- caliber Glock 21 when his 17th hit finally killed his antagonist—he switched to a 9mm Glock 17. He also was allowed to start carrying more than 100 rounds of 124-grain +P Gold Dot 9mm ammo while on patrol.

• RELATED STORY: Which is Best Between 9mm, .45 and .40? The Great Ammo Debate, Part I

Such things happen to private citizens, too. In at least one of his famous gunfights with multiple gang-banger/armed robber opponents, watch shop owner Lance Thomas had to fire 17 to 18 shots before the last of his multiple opponents had died or fled. He was able to accomplish this by resorting to multiple handguns he had carefully staged behind the counter at his shop. Had he been forced to rely on a single handgun, a fully loaded 18-shot Glock 17 would certainly have served him much better than a larger-caliber sidearm holding too few rounds.

We resort to handguns for worst-case scenarios, which can go to high round counts. Thus, while a 9mm pistol’s greater cartridge capacity may not always be the deciding advantage, it is certainly an indisputable advantage.

Ammo & Cost

In both duty loads and practice ammunition, the 9mm is distinctly less expensive than the .40 S&W, and both are less expensive than .45 ACP. Whether we are talking about institutional or individual purchases, this is another indisputable, objective advantage to the smaller caliber. It takes less lead, copper and brass to manufacture. This means that, within a given budget, more ammo is available for skill-building practice. Since we can all agree that “wound placement” is the single most important element of using a gun to stop a violent attack, and the person inflicting that wound will require skill to do it, it follows that the more ammunition we can afford, the more likely we are going to be well trained.

While we are on the topic, it should be noted that some service pistol calibers not under direct discussion here—like the 10mm Auto, .357 SIG and .45 GAP—are so much less in demand that ammo companies schedule fewer production runs for them, usually on smaller production lines. This impacts cost as well as availability in a negative way, since the “economies of scale” that keep costs down on the 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP do not apply to the less popular calibers.

Another logistical element is weight. Soldier, cop or civilian—the weight of your ammo is a big consideration. If, for instance, you’re flying to a training session, the FAA and TSA generally limit each passenger to 11 pounds of small-arms ammunition in checked baggage. This will allow considerably more 115-grain 9mm training rounds than 230-grain .45 ACPs.

Recoil Control

In 2015, three Team Pro Arms competitors tested three similar Springfield XD pistols in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP to see which one was more controllable under pressure. After the smoke cleared, the results were quite suprising!

Conventional wisdom states that a lighter-kicking round will be easier to shoot rapidly and accurately than more powerful ammunition. While this sounds obvious and objective, it is not 100-percent true and therefore does have some subjective elements.

Competition shooters have noticed over the years in traditional, one-handed Bullseye events that some contestants have higher scores over the exact same course of fire in the .45 ACP stage than in stages where they have been using light .38 or 9mm loads. It is quite common for Bullseye competitors to use their .45 with the same harder-kicking ammo in the centerfire stage in lieu of switching to a lighter-kicking handgun. This has often been attributed to the harder-kicking gun forcing the shooter to “hold harder.”

Moreover, the smaller caliber does not always kick less. Differences in gun platforms may change things. A very small, very light 9mm may be more unpleasant to shoot and induce more flinching than a full-sized .45. Many shooters find the .40 S&W to have snappier, more distracting recoil than a .45 ACP in a similar platform. Your load choice can change things, too. In .40 S&W, for example, a 155-grain JHP at 1,200 fps or a 165-grainer at 1,140 fps are similar in power to a 158-grain .357 Magnum revolver load at 1,210 fps. This makes them particularly snappy and, as agencies such as the U.S. Border Patrol discovered, hard on the guns as well. Some 180-grain .40 S&W ammo in the 950- to 1,000-fps range is more manageable, and 165-grain .40 S&W rounds in the same lower-velocity range are even lighter in terms of recoil.

Certainly, as a general rule, in platforms of similar size, shape and weight, the 9mm will have less recoil. This will be a particular concern with new shooters or “remedial shooters” who tend to flinch or jerk their triggers in anticipation of recoil. Many law enforcement agencies (including the FBI prior to announcing an agency-wide return to the 9mm) had been in the practice of replacing poorer shooters’ .40-caliber Glocks with 9mms of the same make.

• RELATED STORY: 9mm vs .40 vs .45 – Which Chambering Has More Stopping Power?

However, when some pundits say, “You can shoot a 9mm faster than a .40 or .45 of the same platform,” they are simply not correct. Pressing the trigger, allowing it to reset forward and pressing it again takes exactly the same amount of time irrespective of caliber and recoil, assuming similar guns. What will change is that, if the shooter’s technique has not allowed the gun to recover from its recoil arc to get back on target, when the next shot breaks, the cone of dispersal between shots may be wider. There is also Geometry 101: as distances between the shooter and target increase, the accuracy should suffer accordingly, particularly if the firearm has not returned fully from its last muzzle rise when the next shot is fired.

But there is some subjectivity to this. In 2015, three members of Team Pro Arms set out to test this hypothesis. They took three otherwise identical Springfield Armory XD Compact pistols in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Each gun was loaded with heavy-for-caliber FMJs: 147-grainers
for the 9mm, 180-grainers for the .40 S&W and 230-grainers for the .45 ACP. On a range already set up for the IDPA Classifier event, two distances were chosen: 5 yards, the closest that had been marked out, and 20 yards, the farthest. The shooters were two IDPA Five-Gun Masters and one IDPA Five-Gun Expert. Each fired as fast as he thought he could hit the target. The times were measured and factored into their scores.

When the proverbial smoke had cleared and the numbers had been crunched, the two Master shooters had actually gotten better hit factors with the .45 ACP. The Expert had done his best with the 9mm. All three had their poorest scores with the .40 S&W. The lesson: Conventional wisdom does not necessarily apply to every handgun user.

The bottom line: While controllability most often favors the smaller caliber, it’s not an absolute. You cannot be absolutely sure which gun you will shoot fastest and/or most accurately with until you have objectively compared your skill with the different chamberings.

A Note On Confidence

Confidence and competence are inextricably intertwined. Talk with a man who didn’t draw his Seecamp .32 ACP against a dangerous aggressor because he didn’t think the tiny bullets would stop him, and considers himself lucky to have survived without fighting back. Talk to a man who decided not to engage a mass murderer because he didn’t think his five-shot revolver had enough rounds to stop the killer before he, the would-be rescuer, became the next victim—a decision for which he would forever after second guess himself.

Whether or not we all agree with another person’s assessment of what caliber to use or how many rounds to carry, we will not be with that individual when he or she has to make a life-or-death decision. The gun you are confident in is likely to be the one you perform best with, so long as it is reliable and loaded with ammunition suited for the task and the caliber. This is a subjective factor, but one that we cannot ignore.

Finding The Balance

Ammunition makers are creating some of the best loads ever—including this 230-grain, .45 ACP XTP +P from Hornady—but only careful consideration and testing will show you what you need to get.

The large-bore fan might proclaim, “Take a 147-grain 9mm bullet that might be going 950 to 980 fps from a compact pistol, and a 180-grain .40 S&W that might be doing the same velocity. A 230-grain Federal HST +P .45 ACP can achieve that velocity out of a Glock 41 pistol. Now, change grains to pounds. Do you think a 147-pound welterweight, a 180-pound light heavyweight and a 230-pound heavyweight punching at the same speed are all going to hit with exactly the same impact and effect? Sport boxing would forbid the 147-pound guy from fighting the other two! That wouldn’t be a fair match!”

• RELATED STORY: Handloading – 10 Common No-Nos You Need to Avoid

The 9mm fan might counter, “Yeah, but if the rules let the welterweight throw 18 punches per round, and the heavyweight only eight or nine, who would you bet on now?”

And so the argument goes, on and on. To some, this is not a debate but something close to a religious war, and they will occasionally declare their version of a fatwa against “unbelievers” who dare to challenge their doctrines. Which is why this long and acrimonious debate is destined to continue.

This article was originally published in ‘The Complete Book of Handguns’ 2017. For information on how to subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post 3 Final Things to Consider When Deciding Between 9mm, .40 and .45 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

My favorite handguns are chambered for the .45 ACP. I like using that round in 1911s, polymer-framed pistols and everything in between. I know there are faster choices. I know there are more powerful choices. But I like the .45 ACP.

I also absolutely love to hunt. I hunt just about anything and everything I can, mostly in my home state of Virginia. I like to hunt with a rifle and a bow. I tend to do more bowhunting these days and enjoy the challenge of getting as close as I can, and then one more yard, before I shoot. This philosophy would serve me well after I decided to learn to hunt whitetails with .45 ACP pistols.

.45 ACP Ballistics

Within a nanosecond of this idea, I did a reality check by reaching out to a few industry experts. Neal Emery at Hornady was the first person I talked to, and he had a lot to say. For hunting deer, Emery recommended I use the caffeinated stuff, or +P loads, that Hornady developed.

What is +P ammunition? It’s ammunition that has been loaded to pressures above industry standards but below the redline of SAAMI “proof” pressures. In short, +P loads give you more velocity. For example, the fastest .45 ACP load I shot was Hornady’s 220-grain Critical Duty FlexLock +P, which screamed out of my 6.3-inch-barreled Dan Wesson Bruin at a chart-topping 1,130 fps, which is 158 fps faster at the muzzle than Hornady’s standard 200-grain XTP load, which of course is a lighter bullet.

Emery suggested the loads with more speed to help me get better penetration with such a big bullet, stating that the lower velocities of a round like the .45 ACP, with such a big frontal area, limit penetration even before accounting for bullet expansion. His final words of advice: “I wouldn’t hesitate to use [the .45 ACP], but I definitely wouldn’t stretch the shots out very far.”

• RELATED STORY: 9mm vs .40 vs .45 – Which Chambering Has More Stopping Power?

On that note, I decided to set a personal limit of 25 yards regardless of the gun, ammunition or my skillset come hunting season on whitetails here in Virginia. I’m sure many of you will say that’s still too far, and still others will boast about clean kills at double or even triple that range. Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the good folks who set and enforce our local hunting regulations, have their own standards for handgun hunting: “Pistols and revolvers are lawful for deer and bear hunting only in those counties where hunting deer and bear with rifles is lawful. Cartridges used must be .23 caliber or larger and have a manufacturer’s rating of 350 foot-pounds muzzle energy or more.”

Based on the tested and verified velocities of the best hunting loads in all three of the guns I tested, I was well within the legal requirements even out to 100 yards, with the best performance coming from the Hornady 220-grain Critical Duty FlexLock +P rounds out of the Dan Wesson Bruin, providing 624 foot-pounds of energy (fpe) at the muzzle and still arriving at 100 yards with 475 fpe at 986 fps. The least powerful performance came from the shortest barrel in the HK45, which shot the Hornady 230-grain XTP +P rounds at 950 fps and 461 fpe at the muzzle and 871 fps and 388 fpe at 100 yards. While other hunting loads were faster, the Hornady 230-grain XTP +P grouped very well from the HK45 at 0.59 inches at 25 yards, and I’ll choose accuracy over speed whenever I can. Still, 25 yards was the rule for me. Not only did I keep this promise, but it changed the way I think about hunting overall. But more on that later.

You’ll notice that the first thing I talked about were my bullet choices. Why? Because when you’re talking about hunting with a .45 ACP—and really any hunt with any caliber—what bullet you choose and how well you place it matters far more than the manufacturer’s name on the boom stick you have in your hand. What gun you choose does matter, though. And I’m all about a handgun’s fit and feel for hunting.

DoubleStar C2G

DoubleStar’s C2G comes equipped with a match-grade barrel, Novak three-dot sights, aggressively checkered VZ Gunner grips, a Picatinny rail and a Dragon Hyde DLC finish to help resist corrosion.

The first handgun I decided to use was a superbly built 1911—DoubleStar’s C2G. The company had dazzled me with a silky-smooth AR-15 a few years back, so when I found out DoubleStar made a .45 ACP, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. And I wasn’t, as the full-sized 1911 instantly became my carry gun. It’s what inspired this whole story.

The DoubleStar C2G sports a match-grade, stainless steel, 5-inch barrel, Novak three-dot sights, VZ Gunner grips, a forged steel frame, a Picatinny rail and an eight-round magazine. My pistol’s trigger broke reliably at 4.5 pounds according to my RCBS trigger pull gauge, and the gun has never failed to cycle anything I’ve fed it. The single-action pistol is black and coated in what DoubleStar calls its Dragon Hyde DLC finish. I’ve put thousands of rounds through this gun, and it still looks like new. I’ve drawn and holstered it hundreds of times, banged it against brush, trees and dirt and hunted with it in the rain with absolutely no problems. The best part of the pistol for me—and the part of the gun I remember the most—are the sharp, aggressive VZ Gunner grips. They really keep my hands glued to the pistol and on target, whether I’m shooting light duty rounds or +P loads. The gun’s clean shape, solid fit and reliable accuracy make me a very confident shooter.

At the range, the DoubleStar C2G shot quite well, grouping three Black Hills 230-grain FMJs into 0.81 inches at 25 yards from a rest with an average muzzle velocity of 865 fps. With the hunting ammunition, the best group, measuring 1.12 inches, came with Hornady’s 220-grain Critical Duty FlexLock +P rounds with an average muzzle velocity of 1,062 fps.

Dan Wesson Bruin

Sporting a 6.3-inch barrel to get the most out of your .45 ACP ammo while offering a longer sight radius, the Bruin also features an adjustable rear sight, a high-swept beavertail and G10 grip panels.

The next pistol I tested was the Dan Wesson Bruin, which sports a 6.3-inch barrel. The longer barrel gives shooters a better sight radius and adds a little pep to your ammunition. That 1.3-inch difference in barrel length translated to higher velocities over the DoubleStar C2G. For example, the 220-grain Hornady +P load clocked in at 1,062 fps from the C2G and a whopping 1,130 fps on average from the Bruin. Remember, Neal Emery recommended the most speed possible for the .45 ACP, and this is where the Dan Wesson Bruin shines.

The Bruin holds eight rounds in its magazine just like the DoubleStar, but its grips are made of G10, and it has tritium sights, a forged stainless steel body and a tough “Duty” finish. The trigger on my test model was just as crisp and equal to the DoubleStar in pull weight at 4.5 pounds, but it shot the tightest groups on average out of all three handguns. The best group came with the Black Hills 230-grain FMJs, measuring 0.57 inches for three shots at 25 yards with an average velocity of 930 fps. Hornady’s 220-grain +P load clustered three shots into 0.94 inches at an average of 1,130 fps.

In all, the Bruin is a silky-smooth handgun designed to give hunters the maximum benefits a 1911 platform will allow with a long, slick barrel, clear sights and a trigger crisper than Kentucky Fried Chicken. That extra inch of barrel matters in more ways than one, though, as its balance, holster fit and pointability differ considerably from what most folks know a 1911 to be, so make sure you’re ready for it.

Heckler & Koch HK45

While the slide and frame on the author’s HK45 are sand colored, the controls—including the DA/SA trigger and ambidextrous slide and magazine releases—are black for a stylish contrast.

Last but not least, I added my favorite polymer-framed pistol to the mix with Heckler & Koch’s HK45. While both the DoubleStar and Dan Wesson 1911s are well-machined works of art, the HK45 is the gun I carry the most, shoot the most and beat on the most. Why? It fits my hands like a pair of Isotoner gloves and shoots softer than the other two guns, although they weigh more. The pistol’s slide, decocker, exposed hammer, gorgeously bright sights and wide, easy-to-feed magazine well all pull me to this gun time and time again.

The HK45 wasn’t the most accurate overall, but it was accurate enough, and it shot the tightest group with a hunting load of all the guns, which surprised me. With the Hornady 230-grain XTP +P ammo, the HK45 created a best three-shot group measuring 0.6 inches at 25 yards with an average velocity of 950 fps. It wasn’t the fastest, but it was fast enough. This gun fed and shot everything I could find, and it worked well covered in mud, soaking wet, above freezing, below it. As long as I fired the gun in single action, the trigger was just fine with its 5.25-pound pull.

In The Field

“Hunting deer with a handgun where you set a limit to 25 yards or less means you have to hone your stealth as much as your shot.”

For two months, I rotated each of the three guns through hunting opportunities to allow Lady Luck to choose which gun landed my first handgun harvest. I got hold-your-breath close during the rut when I played hide-and-go-seek with a mature buck. I grunted the deer to within 50 yards and even drew the DoubleStar 1911, but that old, wise buck kept circling me until I flinched, making a mistake on wind and getting busted before he met my requirement of being within 25 yards. It was still a great hunt. A few weeks later, I pulled my HK45 out on a doe who never let me see her vitals despite being only 10 yards away in the woods.

• RELATED STORY: Bolt-Action Rifle – Getting Primed For The Hunt

Hunting deer with a handgun where you set a limit to 25 yards or less means you have to hone your stealth as much as your shot. I’m still working on both, so the only happy ending for this story is for the deer—for now. The deadline for this story came before the end of deer season here in Virginia, so I am hoping to add an author’s note about which gun got me my first deer with a handgun. If not, there’s always next year.

This article was originally published in ‘Combat Handguns’ May/June 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post 3 .45 ACP Pistols to Use on Your Next Whitetail Hunt appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Connecticut-based magazine manufacturer Mec-Gar USA has added a cool new specialty item to its product line: an eight-round .45 ACP 1911 magazine with the text of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment laser engraved on the body.

• RELATED STORY: 6 Companies Selling High-Quality Aftermarket Magazines

Manufactured from carbon steel and heat treated for strength with a blued coating, this special new Mec-Gar USA 1911 mag features a Type D music wire spring; removable high-impact polymer baseplate for ease of cleaning; lubricated nylon polymer follower with a metal insert where the slide stop activates, aligning ammo for reliable feeding; and numbered witness holes so you know how many rounds are remaining.

“We have always been strong supporters of the right of people to own and possess firearms. We are offering this magazine because we see the 1911 as America’s gun and are donating a portion of the proceeds to ensure second amendment rights are protected,” said David Larson, Mec-Gar USA’s national sales manager.

Specifically, the press release says 10 percent of the proceeds go to pro-2A organizations, but details on which ones were chosen aren’t listed.

• RELATED STORY: 12 High-Class Custom Shops For 1911 Guns

Mec-Gar USA’s laser engraved 1911 magazine is available at a retail price of $29.20 and is available right now.

For more information, visit mec-gar.com.

The post Mec-Gar Releases 2nd Amendment Laser Engraved 1911 Magazine appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Wilson Combat looks to continue its winning streak over the past several months with the release of its new Carry Comp Professional, a carry pistol that boasts improved weapon control while adding minimal bulk and weight.

• RELATED STORY: Xtreme Beauty – Testing the Wilson Combat EDC X9

Everybody remembers the accurate and reliable Accu-Comp that won essentially ever major practice pistol competition back in the 80s. Well, Wilson Combat used that same technology on the Carry Comp Professional to reduce recoil and muzzle flip. This model sports a four-inch stainless match-grade barrel including a half-inch muzzle extension that houses the compensation port; professional size carbon steel frame; four-inch carbon steel slide; 30 lpi frontstrap checkering; contoured magazine well; high-ride bullet proof beavertail grip safety; 3.5 pound – 4.25 pound trigger pull with a long three hole trigger; rear cocking serrations; Battlesight rear and fiber optic front sight; and an accuracy guarantee of 1.5 inches at 25 yards.

The Wilson Combat Carry Comp Professional measures 8.1 inches in overall length, has a width of 1.3 inches and tips the scales at 40.54 ounces unloaded, and 47.10 ounces loaded. It also features an eight-round magazine capacity. Available in .45 ACP, 9mm, .38 Super, the suggested retail price for this model is $3,200 for .45 ACP and $3,310 for 9mm.

• RELATED STORY: Subcompact 1911 – Shooting the Wilson Combat Sentinel XL

For more information about the Wilson Combat Carry Comp Professional, visit wilsoncombat.com.

The post New for 2017: Wilson Combat Releases the Carry Comp Professional appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest and most common falcon found in North America. But despite their size, they are accomplished hunters that will often hover in flight before diving in on their prey. The Kestrel is also the name of one of Nighthawk Custom’s newest pistols. I recently received a stainless Nighthawk Kestrel for evaluation and was immediately taken with the gun. The Nighthawk Kestrel could be considered the first cousin to my Heinie PDP Commander. In fact, Richard Heinie assisted in the development of the Kestrel and the Lady Hawk.

The Nighthawk Kestrel Takes Flight

With the Kestrel, Nighthawk has paired a Commander-length barrel/slide with a thinner grip frame while still offering shooters an 8+1 capacity of .45 ACP ammo.

The Kestrel is based on Nighthawk’s forged frame and slide, which are machined in-house in the company’s recently expanded shop. My test sample was an all-stainless pistol that had been carefully blasted to a matte grey finish. The finish was so smooth and uniform that it could be mistaken for hard chrome.

I immediately appreciated that the Kestrel is a true Commander-style pistol with a 4.25-inch barrel and a traditional bushing and recoil spring. When I field-stripped the pistol, I found the inside surfaces as clean as the exterior, and I couldn’t detect any machining marks. I also liked the clean slide; it was void of any markings except the Nighthawk logo on each side, behind the cocking serrations.

• RELATED STORY: Built for Fighting – The Nighthawk Costa Recon 1911

What makes the Nighthawk Kestrel different is that it is based on the same frame as the Lady Hawk. Nighthawk designed the Lady Hawk around a newly configured frame that reduced the overall circumference from the standard 1911 frame. The frontstrap and mainspring housing have been thinned to reduce the front-to-back dimensions. In addition, the Kestrel comes standard with ultra-thin Alumagrips. When combined with the high-cut frontstrap and beavertail grip safety, the grip is amazingly comfortable. Heinie Signature scallops are applied to the frontstrap and mainspring housing. These provide a nicely textured surface for adequate control without being abrasive.

The operating controls of the Kestrel are classic Nighthawk, and they’re machined from tool steel. The extended beavertail is precisely fitted and features a speed bump for positive engagement. The edges of the single-sided thumb safety have been beveled, and the paddle is contoured.

The top of the slide features serrations to reduce glare, and the ejection port is lowered and flared to help prevent jams.

The slide stop is one of my favorite designs, with a cleanly polished ledge that is relieved for a positive purchase. The mainspring housing is perfectly contoured to the frame, and the butt is slightly rounded, eliminating the sharp edge that can dig into the shooter’s palm. The trigger is Nighthawk’s three-hole match trigger. The trigger pull on my test pistol averaged a clean 4 pounds with no creep or grit. Finally, the magazine well has been beveled to aid in fumble-free reloads.

The top of the slide has been serrated, as has the rear of the slide. A Heinie SlantPro rear sight is matched with a dovetailed front sight. Both front and rear sights feature Straight Eight tritium capsules for the “dot on a dot” sight picture. The 4.25-inch, match-grade barrel is mated with a match bushing and then crowned with a deep recess. The recoil spring plug has been engraved with Heinie’s logo and gives tribute to his contribution to the design.

I wanted to compare the diameter of the Nighthawk Kestrel’s frame to my Heinie PDP Commander. I cut a ribbon of paper and then measured the diameter of the center of the frame, just below the grip safety. I also measured the diameter at the base of the frame. I found that at the center of the grip, the Kestrel was 0.3 inches smaller than the PDP Commander. At the base of the frame, the Kestrel was 0.2 inches smaller. Knowing that some of this was due to the PDP Commander having thicker grips, I broke out the calipers and measured the frame of both pistols between their frontstraps and backstraps at the base of the grip safeties. I found that the Kestrel was smaller by 0.1 inches. While this does not sound like much, when combined with the thin stocks, the difference is noticeable, especially to shooters with smaller hands.

Drilling .45s

At the range, the Kestrel turned in some respectable 25-yard groups with a variety of ammunition, from practice FMJs to personal-defense hollow points. It’s ready for everyday carry.

On the range, I tested the Kestrel with three premium self-defense loads and one FMJ ball load. Gorilla’s Silverback FBI load features a 230-grain solid-copper hollow point (SCHP) that provides tremendous expansion. This load is designed to meet the penetration requirements of the FBI’s protocol. It was also the softest-shooting load, averaging 756 fps and producing a 1.3-inch group at 25 yards.

Sig Sauer recently joined the ammunition market, and its V-Crown JHP line represents the company’s signature duty and personal-defense rounds. For this test I used Sig’s 200-grain V-Crown JHPs, which averaged 840 fps and produced a group that measured 1.50 inches.

• RELATED STORY: Shoot the Lights Out with the Nighthawk Custom Shadow Hawk

I used Aguila’s 230-grain FMJs to break the Nighthawk pistol in. However, I wanted to see how this load stacked up against the personal-defense loads, and I was surprised when the Aguila load averaged 757 fps with an extreme spread of only 25 fps. This consistency allowed me to shoot a 1.25-inch group at 25 yards.

Just prior to receiving the Nighthawk Kestrel, I saw a press release announcing that Super Vel was back in business. I reached out and was expedited a sample of its ammunition for this article. Space does not allow me to cover the story of Lee Juris and how, in the mid-1960s, Super Vel changed the rules when it came to personal-defense and duty ammo. However, as with the original load, this newest Super Vel load features a 185-grain JHP that averaged a screaming 1,121 fps. Even so, the Super Vel round produced a 1.5-inch group at 25 yards.

I shot a modified “10-10-10” drill at the very end of the range day. For those who are not aware of this drill, it is one of Ken Hackathorn’s signature training drills. It is shot from the 10-yard line using a 25-yard NRA Bullseye target. Starting from a low-ready position, the shooter is required to shoot 10 rounds in 10 seconds. It is the perfect drill to test both speed and accuracy. Since I was loaded with only eight rounds, I dropped my time to eight seconds. This is a drill that, while on the surface seems very easy, can really ruin your day if you aren’t prepared. My best score with the Nighthawk Kestrel a 92 out of 100. I was pretty pleased with this, especially since I was having to adjust to the thinner grip panels and frame,

Carry Ready

On several occasions, I carried the Kestrel in either an older Milt Spark’s Summer Special or a 55BH rig. The Kestrel was extremely comfortable, and I appreciated the contoured thumb safety and nicely rounded beavertail.

As with all of my evaluations, I attempt to share the pistol with my closest shooting friends to get their feedback. To a person, they were impressed with the fit and finish of the Kestrel. If I were to purchase a Kestrel, I’m not sure I would retain the Alumagrips. I found that under speed, the pistol would torque slightly. This could probably be corrected with a better purchase and more range time. That is an easy fix, if needed, and the only negative I could find with the pistol. It was 100-percent reliable with all four loads as well as an assortment of other miscellaneous rounds that I had taken out of carry rotation over the last year.

Nighthawk has another winner on its hands. To quote the company’s website, “It fits your hand like Dad’s old hammer and carries like Grandpa’s pocketknife.” I could not have said it better myself.

Caliber: .45 ACP

Barrel: 4.25 inches

OA Length: 7.85 inches

Weight: 36 ounces (empty)

Grips: Alumagrips

Sights: Tritium front, Heinie Straight Eight SlantPro rear

Action: SA

Finish: Stainless

Capacity: 8+1

MSRP: $3,695

For more information on the Nighthawk Kestrel and the complete line of Nighthawk Custom pistols, visit nighthawkcustom.com.

This article was originally published in “Gun Buyer’s Guide” 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Slim & Trim 1911: Testing the Nighthawk Kestrel .45 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The M&P series is the flagship of Smith & Wesson’s handgun line, with models in four sizes (long-slide, full-sized, compact, subcompact) and in several calibers: .22 LR, 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG and .45 ACP. The M&P pistols evolved from the Sigma series, which the company designed to compete with other polymer-framed pistols on the market. For several reasons, however, the Sigma never was a big success. In contrast, the M&P pistols are engineered differently and are essentially much better. Though both models were originally made simultaneously, the more durable and full-featured M&P prevailed while the Sigma was discontinued.

Firearms equipped from the factory with threaded barrels to mount sound suppressors have become much more prevalent in recent years, and though the trend seems to have taken hold more so with rifles, suppressor-ready pistols like the M&P45 Threaded Barrel Kit are now widely available. The Threaded Barrel Kit in the model name refers to the inclusion of an extra threaded barrel (with a thread protector) in addition to a standard barrel. The kit adds $120 to the MSRP over the base model, which saves you $55 over purchasing a separate barrel from Smith & Wesson.

Versatile M&P45

The pistol’s 5.18-inch barrel sports 0.578×28 threading, and Smith & Wesson includes a knurled thread protector.

The M&P45 uses a striker-fired trigger system similar in mechanics to other polymer-framed pistols. The striker is partially cocked by the operation of the slide, and pressing the trigger fully cocks and releases it to fire the pistol. This is essentially a double-action design since the action of the trigger both cocks and releases the striker. The M&P45 also has a trigger designed to be “drop safe” since it only moves rearward if depressed and pivoted in such a way that it can move rearward. The M&P45 design, however, departs significantly from polymer-framed handguns in all other respects. And though the M&P45 Threaded Barrel Kit does not come with a manual thumb safety, Smith & Wesson offers other M&Ps with them.

• RELATED STORY: Gun Test – Wringing Out the Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0

The full-sized M&P45 shares certain features used in the M&P CORE and Shield designs. These pistols all use a stainless steel chassis with integral slide rails instead of molded-in inserts to stiffen the polymer frame. Also, the action parts (e.g., the slide lock levers) and locking block are also directly connected to this chassis. This steel-to-steel connection is distinct from many other polymer-framed designs that rely on parts independently molded into a plastic frame rather than connected in one unit.

The use of steel in the M&P’s sights and recoil spring guide rods, for instance, are two elements of this pistol’s more durable design compared to pistols that use plastic. The M&P45 also has a Melonite finish on the slide, sights, extractor and barrel—inside and out—which has proven to be a very durable finish.

Field-stripping the M&P45 is simple but requires an additional step—pushing the sear downward so that is does not engage the striker and keep the slide from being removed. After removing the magazine and ensuring the chamber is empty, lock the slide to the rear and look downward, into the open action, to locate a small metal tab painted yellow. This tab must be pushed downward, which presses the sear out of alignment with the rear of the striker. Now rotate the takedown lever and pull the slide assembly forward, off the frame. Though the tab is small and seems flimsy, it has no function other than to allow disassembly: There’s no need to be concerned about breakage rendering your pistol inoperable in a gunfight.

The M&P45 has a very well-designed grip that came about from an extensive research and development investment made on Smith & Wesson’s part. Smith & Wesson’s engineers determined that an 18-degree grip angle was ideal for instinctively pointing a pistol, and subsequently incorporated it into all of the full-sized and compact M&P series pistols.

The M&P45’s grip panel can be changed to fit the shooter’s hand by simply removing a pin from the base of the frame and then removing the grip panel. While changing backstraps alone will adjust the trigger reach, it won’t address palm fit, which is a major factor in comfort. With the M&P45, the three grip panels add to the trigger reach and also adjust the grip’s girth. This is the only pistol where the user can adjust side thickness and backstrap width that I know of other than HK’s P30, HK45 and VP series pistols. Smith & Wesson also got it right with the contour of the grip side panels. They fit the curve of your hand rather than being flat-sided.

Changing the size of the grip panel improves comfort, but the more important aspect is to find a panel that positions your finger on the trigger in a way that your trigger stroke goes straight to the rear without disturbing the sights. Find out what size works best by dry-firing using all three grips, and don’t assume that the panel that feels the best is the best for trigger control. A laser-aiming device like the Streamlight TLR-2 HL I use works well for this exercise because you can see exactly how much the pistol moves as you work the trigger. When you find the right one, be mindful that there may be tradeoffs between choosing the best trigger stroke and how easily you can access the magazine release and slide lock lever.

Range Ti-RANT

In testing, the M&P45 Threaded Barrel Kit ran flawlessly with and without a titanium, 9.3-ounce AAC Ti-RANT 45S sound suppressor mounted.

To measure the M&P45 Threaded Barrel Kit’s inherent accuracy, I used the standard, non-threaded 4.5-inch barrel and a rest to fire three 230-grain FMJ loads from Black Hills, Remington and Winchester. I also ran the pistol with the threaded 5.18-inch barrel and an Advanced Armament Corporation Ti-RANT 45S suppressor. I tested the pistol’s reliability using several brands of ammo, including those with hollow-point bullets, and there were no stoppages or malfunctions with any of the loads, with or without the sound suppressor.

• RELATED STORY: Hot 8-Shot Snubbie – Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 627

All three FMJ loads shot accurately, with the smallest five-shot group of 1.4 inches being delivered with the Black Hills ammo, followed by the Remington and Winchester loads at 1.7 and 2.5 inches, respectively. The Black Hills load was match grade, as the results reflected. Also, this is a full-power load, so it had a 43-fps higher average velocity than the more economical Winchester-brand practice ammo.

The M&P45’s trigger pull weighed just over 7 pounds, according to my Lyman digital trigger pull gauge. Its take-up and creep were typical of many striker-fired pistols where the striker is partially cocked by the cycling of the slide and fully cocked and released by action of the trigger.

You might be wondering how much of an uptick in velocity to expect from using the threaded 5.18-inch barrel over the standard 4.5-inch barrel. I conducted an informal test with the Remington and Winchester loads. The results showed that the average increase in velocity from the extra barrel length was only 6 fps for the Remington load and 39 fps for the Winchester. The increase in velocity was greater, however, when comparing the velocity with the standard barrel to the threaded barrel with the AAC Ti-RANT 45S suppressor in place. Here the increase was 43 and 97 fps for the Remington and Winchester loads, respectively. This increase, as expected, results from the bullet losing frictional contact with the barrel but still accelerating from the forces of gas pressure within the suppressor.

The AAC Ti-RANT 45S is the shorter version of the original Ti-RANT 45. I own both versions but prefer the shorter model because it usually provides less of a point-of-impact (POI) shift. The POI shift is the change in the place a bullet strikes the target when a suppressor is mounted to the firearm. With the M&P45, the POI shifted directly downward by about 4 to 5 inches at 20 yards with the suppressor attached.

The exact shift was difficult to quantify because the sights on the M&P45 are low profile, and it’s hard to obtain a good sight picture because the sound suppressor gets in the way. High-profile sights would rectify this, but even after an exhaustive search, I could not locate any that could be installed without additional machining on the slide. One solution is to remove both the front and rear sights using the MGW Sight Pro adjustment tool and install an optical sight at the rear, like the Leupold DeltaPoint. I have used the MGW Sight Pro tool for replacing and drifting dovetail-mounted sights on several pistols and find it does the job without damaging the slide and with a certain degree of precision.

Quiet Riot

The M&P45 Threaded Barrel Kit comes with a lifetime warranty and offers additional features, very good durability and a very good grip. All of this adds up to make it competitive with other polymer-framed pistols. Though suppressor-height sights would be a big enhancement for this pistol, the additional threaded barrel offers a significant cost savings.

Caliber: .45 ACP

Barrels: 4.5 and 5.18 inches

OA Length: 8 inches

Weight: 29.6 ounces (empty)

Grip: Polymer

Sights: Three-dot

Action: Striker-fired

Finish: Matte black

Capacity: 10+1

MSRP: $719

For more, visit smith-wesson.com or call 800-331-0852.

This article was originally published in “Combat Handguns” May/June 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Muffled Masterpiece: Testing the S&W M&P45 Threaded Barrel Kit appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

If you were to set out to build the ultimate defense pistol, the criteria you’d use would be determined by your knowledge of the platform, shooting experience and manufacturing expertise. While almost any firearm factory can build a 1911, it is doubtful that any of them could build a gun comparable to the Wilson Combat X-TAC Elite Carry Comp. Bill Wilson’s experience as a gunsmith, world-class competitor and 1911 builder is unmatched. Every feature of this pistol was included with one purpose: to give its user every advantage in a lethal encounter.

Featuring a compensator designed to reduce muzzle rise and help get more rounds on target faster, the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp has an overall length of just 8.1 inches while being just 5.1 inches tall. Though it is not a gun designed for competition shooting, it is dedicated tool created with the intent that its user would not finish second place in a gunfight.

The more time I spend with the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp, the more I have come to appreciate not only the quality of the gun, but also the thought and deliberation that went into its design. Things like beveling the slide edges, or flat-topping and serrating the slide top, or machining the frontstrap and mainspring housing with the X-TAC pattern, which will lock a shooter’s hand into a firing grip better than any style of checkering or stippling. Or the fluting on the barrel hood, which gives residue a place to go rather than allowing it to cause a stoppage. While some of these features may seem small and insignificant, they add up to make this pistol a world-class defensive tool.

Elite Carry Comp Features

The slide has X-TAC serrations on both sides for easy racking.

Designed for carry, the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp uses a frame that is shortened by about 0.5 inches. I have large hands and didn’t even realize it was a compact frame until I looked at its magazine. The frontstrap offers room for all three fingers, and the mainspring housing/magazine well adds about 0.25 inches to the rear of the gun, giving the shooter a very comfortable grip.

Machined from carbon steel, the pistol’s frame should provide a lifetime of trouble-free shooting. The beavertail grip safety’s tang has been shortened so it won’t print when concealed, and it also possesses a palm swell for shooters, like me, who shoot with their thumb on top of the thumb safety. A Wilson Combat concealment hammer is also used for its smaller profile. Machined from tool steel, its light weight provides for faster lock times.

• RELATED STORY: Xtreme Beauty – Testing the Wilson Combat EDC X9 Pistol

Normally I am not a fan of ambidextrous thumb safeties on carry 1911s. Over the years, I’ve had a number of custom 1911s and sometimes discovered in the course of normal activity that something would brush against the right-side lever and disengage my safety without my knowledge. But the Wilson Combat Tactical Bullet-Proof safety engages and disengages crisply with 5 pounds of pressure, and the levers are of trim dimensions. Standard models come with single-sided safeties, too.

The trigger pull on my test sample was set at 4 pounds. For a trained professional or 1911 aficionado, 4 pounds is just about ideal for a defense gun. I hate to use the old tired expression that “it breaks like a glass rod,” but it’s absolutely true in the case of the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp. The pull was very consistent and made shooting groups a joy.

A carbon-steel slide is used on the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp, and the aggressive X-TAC pattern texturing is used instead of cocking serrations. The top of the slide is also serrated to reduce glare. The X-TAC Elite Carry Comp uses an original-style internal extractor and also has a lowered and flared ejection port. Wilson places a heavy bevel on the bottom of the slide to prevent a sharp edge from cutting skin or an expensive holster. The back of the slide sports 40-lpi serrations, and even the concave back of the rear sight is serrated to prevent glare.

Designed by Bill Wilson, the rear Battlesight has a wide, deep U-shaped notch for low-light sighting. Two setscrews secure the sight in its dovetail, and the only complaint I had with this pistol was the sight is so tightly fitted that it took a lot of effort to drift it for windage in its dovetail.

Up front is a bright green fiber-optic sight. The housing the green optic sits in provides a sharp sight picture for precise shots. With just a little bit of ambient, light the rod glows a florescent green and certainly attracts the eye’s attention.

What sets the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp apart from any other defensive 1911 is its barrel system. Wilson Combat machines the barrel and compensator from one billet of stainless steel, so there is no way the compensator will work loose or otherwise make the gun inoperable. There is no bushing, and a reverse recoil spring plug is used to capture the recoil spring. The barrel is of standard configuration and is not fully supported. It is, however, beautifully throated and well polished to feed just about any bullet nose profile. The fitting of the barrel is as good as I’ve ever examined. The compensator sits perfectly flush against the slide front, and there’s not an iota of movement when pressing on the barrel hood or twisting the compensator. Even the flats of the compensator and the slide match up flawlessly. The barrel is 4 inches long, and the compensator adds another half-inch of length.

Finally, the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp is coated with Wilson Combat’s rugged Armor-Tuff finish. My test sample wore a non-reflective satin black finish, but other colors are available. The finish is designed to protect against corrosion and abrasions, and it has a lubricity factor that requires less oil.

How It Runs

It’s one thing for a company to boast about its gun’s accuracy, but it’s another thing entirely for a manufacturer to guarantee accuracy. Wilson Combat guarantees 1.5-inch groups at 25 yards. That’s a heck of a feat for any gun, but then again, the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp is one heck of a gun!

I set my Shoot-N-C targets up at 25 yards and fired all of the five-shot groups from a seated rest, utilizing a Millett BenchMaster for support. The groups were nice and round without vertical or horizontal stringing. The excellent sights and crisp trigger made shooting groups almost effortless.

• RELATED STORY: Subcompact 1911 – Shooting the Wilson Combat Sentinel XL

I also took the gun on several desert outings to shoot steel targets. The compensator plays a significant role in reducing recoil. Even 200-grain CorBon +P rounds were comfortable to shoot. I am hesitant to even list my split times, as that is more a factor of the shooter’s skill and I am several years removed from being an active USPSA competitor. However, shooting an MGM BC Zone target at 15 yards, my split times averaged 0.21 seconds with the Wilson compared to 0.25 seconds with my normal full-sized, steel-framed competition 1911. And 0.04 seconds might not seem like a lot, but it’s actually 16-percent faster, and for self-defense, I’ll take every advantage I can get. Also, the compensator is more effective with the lighter bullets pushed at higher velocities. Ruger’s ARX load felt like a light 9mm load, and the Federal Guard Dog rounds were very soft shooting.

During my testing and daily carry, I used Wilson Combat’s Practical holster. Designed to be used as a concealed-carry or competition rig, it is built to last a lifetime. Constructed from a leather/polymer laminate, the holster is rigid and possesses a sight track for unhindered draws. It has a durable back plate contoured for comfortable carry, and it’s adjustable for cant. Users can adjust the screw for retention, and its low front cut will ensure the fastest draw possible. It sits a little lower on the belt than most concealed-carry holsters, but this position provides for a more natural drawstroke. This was my first experience with the Practical and it has become a new favorite of mine due to its speed and comfort.

Work Of Art

It isn’t often that I’m treated to the opportunity to evaluate a gun of the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp’s quality. Every minute spent shooting this gun was a joy, and examining its workmanship was like appreciating a work of fine art. Wilson Combat’s attention to detail and flawless machining work make the X-TAC Elite Carry Comp well worth its price tag. It truly is a gun that shoots as good as it looks, and it’s certain to give its user every advantage in a lethal encounter.

Caliber: .45 ACP, 9mm

Barrel: 4.5 inches

OA Length: 8.1 inches

Weight: 38 ounces (empty)

Grips: G10

Sights:  Fiber-optic front, Battlesight rear

Action: SA

Finish: Armor-Tuff

Capacity: 7+1

MSRP: $3,850 (.45 ACP), $3,960 (9mm)

For more information, visit wilsoncombat.com.

This article was originally published in “America’s Handgun Model 1911” 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Gun Test: Wilson Combat’s X-TAC Elite Carry Comp .45 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

When Sturm, Ruger & Company introduced the SR1911 in 2011, it quickly proved to be a very reliable, well-made and reasonably priced 1911-style pistol in .45 ACP. The public clearly liked it, and for a while it was very hard to get one. Within two years, Ruger introduced a Commander model and, more recently, a Lightweight Commander. Given its record of success, it’s no surprise that Ruger just introduced the new SR1911 Target model to round out its line of 1911s, and it’s a good one.

Zeroing In

The hammer, sights, G10 grip panels, and controls—except for the trigger—are black for a nice contrast against the stainless steel slide and frame.

As its name implies, the SR1911 Target is a classic target pistol. Like many other target 1911s, this SR1911 has a 5-inch barrel; a Series 70 firing mechanism; a long, skeletonized target trigger with an adjustable trigger stop; a BoMar-style adjustable rear sight; and a steel frame with dimensions that are very similar to many other full-sized 1911s.

On the other hand, the SR1911 Target also differs from the standard 1911 target pattern in several important ways. First, it has a matte stainless steel finish instead of a polished blued steel finish. In addition, it has deluxe checkered G10 grips instead of custom wood grips. It also has a Commander-style hammer, a full-strength recoil spring, a beavertail grip safety, a raised magazine release button, an ambidextrous thumb safety, a lowered and flared ejection port, a ramped front sight and a beveled magazine well. These features make the SR1911 Target as well suited to IDPA and IPSC matches as it is for shooting Bullseye competitions. Sadly, not that many people shoot in Bullseye matches anymore, and to sell well in today’s market, a target 1911 has to be usable for all types of competition, not just Bullseye.

• RELATED STORY: Remastered Ruger LCP .380 – A Look at the LCP II

In addition, the SR1911 Target has features that are only found on Ruger 1911s. The Target model uses an ultra-light titanium firing pin to help prevent an unintended discharge if the pistol is dropped. In addition, if you’ve ever had a 1911 plunger tube take off for parts unknown (and I have), you’ll appreciate the SR1911 Target’s integral plunger tube, which cannot be separated from the pistol like the older-style staked tube can.

Another interesting element of the pistol’s design is the fact that the slide and bushing are machined from a single piece of bar stock. Ruger states that this enhances the pistol’s accuracy. It also has a swaged barrel link pin to help eliminate any play in the lower lockup as the barrel moves in and out of battery. This also helps the barrel return to the exact same position each time it cycles—another feature promoting inherent accuracy.

The Unboxing

Ruger outfits this SR1911 variant with a skeletonized target trigger as well as a lowered and flared ejection port.

It’s one thing to have a lot of nice features, but a target pistol must be made well to be both accurate and reliable. There are no do-overs in IDPA, and the last thing a Bullseye shooter wants to do is slow the line down shooting alibis. Have lots of alibis and you may soon find yourself being “invited” to call the line instead of shoot on a frequent basis.

The first things I look for when I field-strip a gun for a bench evaluation are tool marks (especially in out-of-the-way places), scratches, spots or an uneven finish, roughness in the bore, an uneven crown on the barrel, a loose fit between internal parts, sharp edges and poorly conformed parts or lines. I found nothing inside or outside on the SR1911 Target indicating poor workmanship. On the other hand, if I used this gun for practical shooting, I would take a small file and round the ears on the rear sight, as they were a bit sharp for clearing stoppages rapidly.

I reassembled the pistol and examined its action to determine how well the slide fit the frame, to assess the weight and smoothness of the trigger pull, and to check the ease with which the sight adjusted. In addition, I assessed the smoothness with which the major controls operated, the fit and operation of the hammer and grip safety, and the fit of the magazines in the magazine well. Everything fit and worked very well. The slide movement was smooth, and there was only a barely perceptible amount of play between the rear of the slide and the frame. The trigger pull had some roughness and creep. On the other hand, the trigger consistently broke at 4.25 pounds. Overall, the trigger was decent but not as exacting as those in more expensive .45s.

Running The Ruger SR1911 Target

The author was very pleased with the gun’s performance during an Army “L” match.

I bench-tested the SR1911 Target at the Big 3 East Training Center to measure its accuracy and velocities. I also used it to fire an Army “L” course during the weekly Bullseye match at the Flagler Gun & Archery Club. Four loads were chosen for testing: CCI’s 230-grain Blazer Brass FMJs, Freedom Munitions’ 230-grain Hush RN ammo, Black Hills’ 200-grain semi-wadcutters (SWCs) and, since the SR1911 Target has a standard 1911 recoil spring system and can also be used for personal defense, Sig Sauer’s 230-grain V-Crown JHPs. The pistol’s reliability was very good with the loads using JHP and RN bullets, but there were a couple of failures to feed with the Black Hills SWC load, which uses rather short, blunt, 200-grain projectiles.

To test the pistol’s accuracy, I fired three 5-shot groups with each load at 25 yards. The bench testing indicated that the SR1911 Target tended to shoot tighter groups with the Black Hills and Freedom Munitions loads. Overall, groups fired from the bench were 3 to 5 inches in size. Some groups would have been smaller, but there was a tendency for an occasional flyer to open up the groups. I measured the velocities using a Competition Electronics ProChrono chronograph. The Black Hills ammo was the fastest load, and the most powerful was the Sig Sauer ammo, which left the barrel at 867 fps and generated 384 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

• RELATED STORY: Patriotic Defender – Ruger’s American Compact Pro 9mm

I competed in the Army “L” match by running the SR1911 Target pistol through three stages with just my strong hand. The “Slow Fire” stage involved firing 10 shots at 25 yards in approximately five minutes. The “Timed Fire” stage, also fired at 25 yards, involved shooting two 5-round strings, each one in 15 seconds. The target was then moved up to 15 yards for the “Rapid Fire” stage, which also involved firing two 5-round strings, each one in 11 seconds. The total possible score was 300-30X. My total score was 283-13X, with the individual stages being very close in score: 93-4X for Slow Fire, 96-6X for Timed Fire and 94-3X for Rapid Fire.

This test clearly demonstrated that the SR1911 Target could be fired accurately, quickly and consistently under stress, which is the intended use of a target pistol. Finally, I did a little informal shooting at steel plates. The pistol proved capable of consistently hitting steel out to 25 yards.

The Ruger SR1911 Target is clearly a well-made pistol that performed well for me in Bullseye competition. Even better, its $1,019 price tag is quite reasonable for all the features that this pistol offers.

For more information, visit ruger.com.

This article was originally published in “Combat Handguns” July/August 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Right-On Target: The Ruger SR1911 Target .45 ACP appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The term “classic” is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind.” I can think of no better description of Colt’s Model 1903 and Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless pistols. When introduced, the Model 1903 was an immediate success, and well over half a million were produced. Chambered in .32 ACP, the Model 1903 was adopted by the U.S. military and was issued to general officers. The NRA National Firearm’s Museum, located in Fairfax, Virginia, has an excellent display of Model 1903 general officer’s pistols, including the pistol issued to General Douglas MacArthur. Colt later introduced the Model 1908 in the more potent .380 ACP caliber. These pistols remain extremely popular to this day. Colt has even partnered with U.S. Armament to produce a new production of the Model 1903.

• RELATED STORY: Retro Firepower – U.S. Armament’s Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Cylinder & Slide and spend a couple of days with my good friend, Bill Laughridge. On a cold and gloomy Nebraska Saturday, Bill and I were knocking around the shop when he decided he needed to do an inventory of his personal firearms. (In reality, I think the sole purpose of this exercise was to torture me!) As we opened the first drawer of a blueprint file cabinet, I saw a number of pistols that caught my eye. However, none captured my attention like two pristine Colt Pocket Hammerless models. One was a Model 1903 and the second was a Model 1908. Bill explained that he had always been enamored with the little guns. His next statement caught me by surprise. Bill said, “Too bad Colt never made one in .45 ACP.”

A couple of years went by before I received a call from Bill. He asked what I thought of upscaling the Model 1908 to fire the .45 ACP. I was immediately enthralled. Bill went on to explain that he thought he could use an Officer’s Model frame and a Commander-length slide as the foundation for the build. If anyone could figure this out, I knew it would be Bill. I also knew that it would either be done correctly or not at all!

Model 1908 To Model 2008

To quote Bill, “The greatest problems to overcome were making a slide and frame that would conceal the hammer and the internal extractor that the 1911 was designed with. The advent of the external extractor for the 1911 pistol solved the extractor problem, but the manufacture of the slide and frame was still the problem. Welding additional pieces of metal onto the slide and frame and re-machining them was not a good option, as the welding would ruin the heat treatment in the slide and frame. Re-heat treating the parts was not an economical option. It suddenly came to me that the additional metal parts could be silver soldered on without destroying the heat treatment in the slide and frame, and I have one of the best silver solder experts working with me in the shop, Chris Hagemann. I approached Chris about the project, and he thought that he could solder the parts together without any problems.”

Bill started off with a Caspian Commander-length slide with an external ejector and an Officer’s Model frame. He then set out to “graft” an extension onto the rear of the slide and redesign the hammer to function inside the extension. He also had to design a new mainspring housing, grip safety and recoil spring plug. The recoil spring plug had to fit flush with the end of the slide and the contour of the barrel. Then came the barrel. Bill designed a conical barrel that did not require a barrel bushing but had the uniquely shaped extension past the end of the slide. Due to the enclosed slide, the firing pin had to be modified. The greatest problems to overcome were making a slide and frame that would conceal the hammer and the internal extractor that the 1911 was designed with.

Every few weeks, as the prototype was being built, Bill would send me a few teaser photos and we would talk on the phone about the project. The project was not without its challenges, but Bill was able to solve every problem. Once the prototype was completed, Bill needed to crunch the numbers and contact the manufacturers to see if the project was actually feasible. Bill drafted the blueprint drawings of the parts and set about finding vendors for items that he could not produce in-house. His first call was to Caspian for the frame and slide. Caspian found that it could modify one of its frame molds to include the rear extension. The company also signed on to machine the slides with the rear extension to conceal the hammer. Bill is quick to point out that without Caspian’s assistance, the project could have never gone into production. Bill Jarvis agreed to manufacture the uniquely profiled barrel. Internally, Bill used Cylinder & Slide’s billet alloy steel hammer, sear and disconnector. Bill retained the 1911’s traditional frame-mounted magazine release.

Pocket Big Bores

The Standard model comes with a three-hole trigger, walnut grip panels and an extended thumb safety. The slide flats are polished.

The end result was the introduction of the Cylinder & Slide Pocket Model 2008. Due to the substantial investment of the specialized components, the first production run included 50 pistols. The majority, “Historical” variants, featured original-style fixed sights. These guns were master polished on both the rounds and the flats before bluing. The extractor, thumb safety, magazine catch, slide stop and grip screws were finished in a high-luster niter blue. The result was absolutely stunning.

The markings on the C&S Pocket Model deserve a special comment. Bill worked to find a font that replicated the original Colt markings and a size that was proportional to the size of the pistol. The right side of the slide is marked “C&S AUTOMATIC” with a second line that is marked “CALIBRE .45 ACP HAMMERLESS.” On the left side of the slide is the manufacturer’s marking with “CYLINDER & SLIDE FREMONT NE USA” on the top line and “POCKET MODEL M2008” on the lower line. The markings are crisp and add to the appearance of authenticity. It looks like a Model 1908!

However, Bill also recognized that there was a market for everyday carry and personal defense. Therefore, he also offered the “Standard” model, which featured Novak low-profile sights, a three-hole aluminum trigger and a Cylinder & Slide extended thumb safety. In addition, the Standard model has a matte blue finish with only the slide flats being polished.

In 2016, Bill started the process to build a second run of 50 Pocket Models. I recently received one of his Standard models for evaluation. As with the Historical models, the Standard model is shipped in a cardboard box that is stamped with the C&S logo and company information. A line is also provided for the model and serial number of the pistol. This is a very old school touch. Opening the box, I found that the pistol was wrapped in corrosion-inhibiting paper, another nice touch.

A closer examination found that the Pocket Model was built to the same high standards as every other custom C&S pistol I have tested. The slide-to-frame fit was void of any play, and the slide cycled like glass on glass. The lockup was very tight, and I was glad I ran a box of 230 FMJs through the gun to break it in. The enclosed slide provided a very clear and uncluttered sight picture, something I had not thought about. The extended thumb safety is contoured so that, when in the “fire” position, the lever lays parallel to the slide. The speed bump on the grip safety ensures that positive contact is made with a proper grip. The trigger broke cleanly, averaging 4.44 pounds with no overtravel. Finally, the rounded butt prevented the corners of the shortened frame from digging into the palm of my hand. Although the hammer is concealed, the manual of arms for the Pocket Model is the same as any other 1911. The single exception is that there is no way to manually lower the hammer.

Standard Testing

Despite being chambered in .45 ACP, the Pocket Model 2008 is easy to keep on target thanks to its ergonomic, hand-filling design.

Since this Standard model is designed for personal defense, I selected three modern defensive loads for this evaluation. Perhaps the most unique is Gorilla’s Silverback 230-grain FBI load. The bullet is a solid-copper projectile that is machined on a Swiss lathe. The projectile has a very distinctive waist and is pre-scored for rapid and controlled expansion. The Silverback was the mildest shooting of the three loads, averaging 750 fps. I also tested Hornady’s proven 185-grain Critical Defense FTX load, which averaged 984 fps. My final test load, Sig Sauer’s 200-grain V-Crown JHPs, averaged 867 fps. All of the loads were reliable in the Pocket Model, with the Gorilla load being favored due to the lower velocity and soft shooting characteristics. Also, the pistol’s three-dot Novak sights were more than adequate for the testing.

So, is the Pocket Model worth the price? Setting aside the classic appearance, the Pocket Model is a modern and reliable pistol built with quality and proven parts. It is a specialty pistol that requires a substantial investment to own. However, it is no more expensive than mid-level pistols offered by Nighthawk Custom and Wilson Combat. The Pocket Model fits the hand, conceals well and shoots like a dream. It is certainly a pistol that I would carry on a daily basis in my Milt Sparks Summer Special IWB rig. The design also makes it an ideal pistol for appendix carry for those who favor this method of concealment.

• RELATED STORY: American Beauty – Cylinder & Slide’s Modern Classic Pistol

If I could change anything, I’d probably opt for a plain black rear sight and a gold bead front sight. I would also prefer a solid, medium-length trigger. The three-hole unit just doesn’t look right to me. Finally, I would have to invest in a set of politically incorrect ivory grip panels! Even being an everyday-carry pistol, the lines of the pistol are begging for some engraving. I may not spring for full coverage, but it would take an already gorgeous pistol and make it stunning.

I want to thank Bill and the C&S crew for allowing me to grab one of the first Standard models out of the second run for this evaluation. While I have tested a lot of neat pistols over the years, this one was special.

C&S Standard Pocket Model 2008

Caliber: .45 ACP

Barrel: 4.38 inches

OA Length: 7.88 inches

Weight: 39 ounces (empty)

Grips: Walnut

Sights: Novak three-dot

Action: SA

Finish: Blued

Capacity: 6+1

MSRP: $4,000

For more information on the Pocket Model 2008, visit cylinder-slide.com or call 800-448-1713.

This article was originally published in ‘Pocket Pistols’ Spring 2017. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Cylinder & Slide’s Pocket Model 2008: A Colt Model 1908 in .45 ACP appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

There has never been a time in history where handgun consumers had more high-quality choices. Not all that long ago, you could count your options on two hands—some would argue one. But now there are dozens of quality products, providing years of reliable enjoyment, practical protection and personal satisfaction. Whether you’re looking for simple out-of-the-box usability or masterful customization, there is something out there for every buyer. Improvements in construction, machining and materials have never been better. Touring the floor of the SHOT Show earlier this year only solidified this belief, and I noticed a strong emphasis on personalization and customization.

Custom Touches

The vine-scroll engraving complements the fish-scale-like front and rear serrations. The pistol comes with an engraved, wooden presentation case.

Firearms have been customized at every level since they were first introduced to the world. Gun owners have altered their firearms’ stocks, grips and other aspects to personalize them. Manufacturers have also offered everything from custom coatings to masterpieces of artwork in the form of engraving. You might find rifle stocks with precise carvings and pistol grips sporting checkering, engraving, even jewels.

But custom metal engraving has been the most popular, and it’s often the most amazing enhancement. Touring personal and public museums, the level of craftsmanship can be astounding. Hunting scenes, landscapes or even simple scroll work often take firearms to a whole new level. Some are valued as works of art, and many are given as gifts to heads of state. For collectors and admirers alike, engraving remains a popular draw for many shooters.

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Several masters are still out there, producing stunning engraving by hand. But, like many specialties requiring decades of training and experience, hand engraving is becoming a lost art with each passing year. Today, wait times for projects are often measured in years, and the finished guns cost several times what they originally cost. If you are looking for collector’s value and rarity, it’s worth it. Firearms like these are investments, with prices to match. Unfortunately, average gun owners have been left out of that market—at least until now.

Modern computer-aided machining has progressed exponentially in the last 10 years. While it lacks the touch of a master engraver, it remains pretty impressive and looks pretty good. Some of the early attempts handled by other manufacturers were less than impressive, but I recently got my hands on a machine-engraved gun that looks really nice. Just as importantly, you get that custom look at a fraction of the cost and without a lengthy wait time.

Smith & Wesson is now offering a few revolvers and a 1911 with quality machine engraving, making it easier for shooters to get their hands on a new gun to show off at their next BBQ.

Engraved 1911

Along with its extensive machine engraving, this particular 1911 boasts an undercut triggerguard, a checkered frontstrap and mainspring housing, and an external extractor.

For what’s simply called the “Engraved 1911,” Smith & Wesson starts with one of its proven SW1911 E-Series pistols in .45 ACP. These 1911 pistols have proven very popular over the years, with many features often seen on custom pistols.

Made from stainless steel with a bead-blasted matte silver finish, the Engraved 1911’s slide features three-dot sights and serrations on top to reduce glare. You’ll also notice horizontal serrations on the rear of the slide for the same reason. Smith & Wesson’s fish-scale-like cocking serrations are found at the front and rear on both sides.

Both the frontstrap and mainspring housing are checkered for enhanced traction. The laminate E-Series grip panels also provide a nice look and another level of control. The frame also sports a now-common extended beavertail grip safety as well as a crisp, clean single-action trigger.

All together, the Engraved 1911 comes in an engraved wooden presentation case that would look good on display on any shelf, and Smith & Wesson includes two 8-round magazines.

Now for the engraving. You’ll notice scroll engraving on the slide flats as well as on a few small areas of the frame. And looking closely, this engraving is pretty impressive for being done by a machine. It’s clean with few imperfections and a consistent depth. Running my fingers across the engraving, I didn’t feel any burrs or imperfections.

While the overall pattern is similar, each side is adapted to the contours of the pistol. Even the small patterns on the frame are slightly different on each side, such as around the magazine release. This is significant because hand engraving is never precisely duplicated on both sides of a pistol—it’s part of the artist’s touch.

Several people handled my test pistols—some at my local gun shop and a few at the range—and they all commented on how nice the Engraved 1911 looked. Even a couple of collectors with many works of art already in their possession said it was a beautiful .45 ACP.

No Safe Queen

At the range, the Engraved 1911 proved that it runs just as well as it looks.

It’s pretty rare to find a collector who will run one of their engraved pistols very hard. Some will carry them, and the pistols might get used on occasion, but most of these guns live in climate- controlled safes. However, thanks to machine engraving and the resulting low price for this pistol, you can work this pistol pretty hard without cringing too much.

At the range, the Engraved 1911’s accuracy was pretty solid—about what you’d expect from a factory pistol—with my best group measuring just outside 1.5 inches using Federal’s 230-grain HST ammunition. All of the self-defense ammunition I tested created groups tighter than 2 inches at 25 yards using a bench and a WieBad Tac Pad as a rest. Shooting groups at 10 yards off-hand, the Engraved 1911 created an ever-larger hole with all of the self-defense ammunition. The accuracy results were very similar using mostly 230-grain FMJs from Prime Ammunition, Remington and Federal.

• RELATED STORY: Winning the Day – Smith & Wesson’s SW22 Victory Pistol

My first Smith & Wesson E-Series .45 ACP has been a workhorse for years. Starting life with a laser, I’ve since replaced its sights, grips and a few internal components, but it’s run well over 10,000 rounds over the last few years. It remains one of the few box-stock 1911s in my collection that consistently passes Hilton Yam’s duty 1911 test protocol, thanks in part to its external extractor. While this feature is either loved or loathed by shooters today, one thing is certain for me: It works. And this gun often goes with me as a backup in training classes where a .45 ACP 1911 is required. This engraved model worked just as well, suffering no failures to feed, extract or eject with several types of ammunition.

I used several magazines along with those supplied by the factory. My eight-round magazines from Wilson Combat and D&L Sports proved the most reliable. Both are rugged and nearly bulletproof. With one of the factory magazines, the slide did not always lock back after firing the last round, but I never had this issue with the other factory mag during the testing. Both of the 10-round magazines I used from Chip McCormick and Wilson Combat worked fine, but they would sometimes stick in the magazine well on occasion rather than drop free.

After a few hundred rounds, the white-dot front sight tended to fade a bit, but I also have older eyes and tend to equip my 1911s with large orange-dot sights instead. This is something to consider as Smith & Wesson continues to use a proprietary front sight cut on its E-Series 1911s. It limits your choices, although most shooters won’t have any issues with the white-dot sights. Tritium sights are also available from the factory as well as Trijicon, XS Sight Systems and Dawson Precision.

One Of A Kind

While I didn’t exactly abuse the Engraved 1911, I also didn’t baby it. I carried it in a leather holster for several days and ran it from both nylon and Kydex rigs at the range. Nothing seemed to affect the engraving. After training with it, the slide and frame were very easy to polish and clean.

The thumb safety was a bit loose for my preferences, but I also prefer a safety that is a lot stiffer on carry pistols than most other shooters would want. The grip safety had just the right amount of tension, and the pistol never rattled when it was carried. The trigger pull weight was in the 5-pound range with proper take-up, allowing for solid sear engagement. Overall, the trigger was pretty crisp with very little overtravel. Finally, the aggressive frontstrap checkering really locks this pistol in your hands.

If you are looking for a proven 1911 that will also turn heads at the range, this is an excellent choice. Smith & Wesson’s E-Series has proven itself over years of use, and the engraving adds a really nice touch. The Engraved 1911’s stainless steel construction also makes it a great starting platform for further upgrades, and the MSRP of only $1,219 keeps it within just about anyone’s reach. If you are looking for something at a reasonable price with proven reliability and a touch of class, make sure you take a close look at the Smith & Wesson Engraved 1911.

Caliber: .45 ACP

Barrel: 5 inches

OA Length: 8.7 inches

Weight: 39.1 ounces (empty)

Grips: Wooden laminate E-Series

Sights: Three-dot

Action: SA

Finish: Matte silver

Capacity: 8+1

MSRP: $1,219

For more information, visit smith-wesson.com.

This article was originally published in “Combat Handguns” September/October 2017. To subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Touch of Class: The Smith & Wesson Engraved 1911 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The “VIP” in Nighthawk VIP here stands for “Very Impressive Pistol,” and we couldn’t agree more.

This heirloom-quality Nighthawk 1911 in .45 ACP is dripping with some of the finest upgrades, which include a classic antique nickel finish, a crowned National Match barrel, a 14-karat gold bead front sight and giraffe bone grips. (Yeah, giraffe bone.)

RELATED STORY — Nighthawk Tri Cut Carry: Cutting-Edge Style, Match-Grade Performance

All of the engraving here is done by hand. The frontstrap and mainspring housing, as well as the “memory bump” on the beavertail grip safety, all have matching vertical serrations.

To complete the package, the gun comes in a custom cocobolo presentation case.

RELATED STORY — Kimber K6s CDP: PDW’s ‘Gun of the Month’ for September 2017

MSRP on the VIP is $7,995. Sure, the price might be steep, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better 1911 to pass down to your children and their children.

For more information nighthawkcustom.com)

The post Nighthawk VIP Pistol: PDW’s ‘Gun of the Month’ for October 2017 appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

Anyone who peruses gun magazines is aware of two major trends in the American handgun scene: the popularity of polymer-framed pistols and the resurgence of interest in the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. Every handgun manufacturer of note now offers “plastic” pistols chambered for Georg Luger’s cartridge.

And while there is still a vocal group of traditionalists who bemoan these developments, they are slowly but surely being brought over from their insistence upon “real steel and walnut” pistols to accept the advantages of modern polymer technology.

But when it comes to the 9mm, most of these traditionalists refuse to budge from their belief that “bigger bullets are better bullets” and continue to champion the .45 ACP cartridge for defensive purposes.

While the firearms media is awash today with stories of the 9mm cartridge and the polymer- framed pistols chambered for it, we felt that we’d follow the beat of a different drummer and compare a selection of polymer-framed pistols chambered for the iconic .45 ACP cartridge. While there are a number of polymer 45 pistols on the market today, print space and time limits resulted in us restricting ourselves to a quartet of the newest and/or most popular of the breed: the Smith & Wesson M&P45 M2.0, the Glock 21 Gen4, the Ruger American Pistol and the Springfield Armory XDM 4.5″.

Settling The Score

These polymer 45 ACP handguns all contain similar features, which makes it easier to compare them. They’re all striker-fired with polymer frames, steel slides, high-capacity (10- to 14-round) magazines, interchangeable backstraps, ambidextrous or reversible controls, accessory rails, durable/high-tech finishes, similar disassembly processes and fixed sights.

To see if any one provided advantages over the others, we decided to run them through a series of defensive-type drills. So as to have the input of several shooters, I obtained the assistance of my friends Dick Jones and Richard Cole, both of whom are competitive shooters, CCW permit holders and fans of the .45 ACP. After much discussion—and argument—we decided the following drills would give us of us a basic understanding of each pistol’s positive and negative features:

• Modified El Presidente: Lift the pistol and double-tap each of three targets at 7 yards. Perform a combat reload and repeat. Run the drill two more times.
• FBI Drill: Lift the pistol and fire two body shots and one headshot on a pair of targets at 7 yards. Reload and repeat. Run the drill two more times.
• One-Handed Drill: Lift the pistol and engage three targets at 5 yards with two rounds each, firing all of the rounds with an unsupported (one-handed) grip. Run the drill three more times.

Make-up shots would only be allowed for misses. This meant that each shooter would fire a minimum of 96 rounds from each pistol for a total of at least 384 rounds.

Aguila Ammunition provided us with a quantity of 230-grain FMJs sufficient to our purposes. This high-quality, Mexican-made ammunition performed admirably, and we did not experience a single ammo-related malfunction. To have something to perforate, the Target Barn kindly supplied us with cardboard IPSC targets. All of the drills began with the shooter holding the pistol at the low-ready position.

• RELATED STORY: 3 .45 ACP Pistols to Use on Your Next Whitetail Hunt

Each shooter graded each pistol on a 1 (worse) to 5 (best) scale in seven categories: reliability, ergonomics, trigger control, sights, off-hand accuracy and ease of reloading. These were then added together to give each pistol a final score. So as to level the playing field a bit, I installed the medium- sized backstrap on each pistol.

A few days before we met at the Piedmont Handgunners Association range in Southmont, North Carolina, I tested the four polymer .45 pistols for accuracy by firing them from an MTM K-Zone rest at 50 feet. All four shot to the point of aim and showed they were capable—with careful nursing of their triggers—of producing five-shot groups in the 2-inch range, which I felt was an impressive performance for service type handguns. I then disassembled, cleaned and oiled the pistols, which would be the only maintenance they received during test-firing other than wiping off visible grit or residue with a cloth. If a pistol choked, the shooter would attempt to clear the malfunction and, if possible, keep on shooting.

The Battle Begins

Taking turns, we each proceeded to fire the four polymer 45 ACP pistols, alternating them so as to allow them to cool off (it was a hot, humid day with the temperatures in the upper 80s). While one person shot, the other acted as a range officer and changed targets while the third loaded magazines, an onerous task made easier thanks to Brownells providing us with a pair of UpLULA magazine loaders. As we shot, my wife, Becky, took photos that, with editing, would hopefully make us all look very skillful.

We began shooting about at 11 a.m. and continued, with a 30-minute break for lunch, until 2:30 p.m. By the time the smoke cleared, we had sent almost 1,200 rounds of hardball ammunition downrange and were very glad to have brought along a ground sheet for the ejected cases to land on. And all three of us freely admitted to having sore hands.

Before I go any further, I want to mention that during this excessive expenditure of ammo, all four of our test pistols functioned flawlessly. That’s right. We did not experience a single malfunction despite the fact that they all were new-out-of-the-box pistols, each using five different magazines, and the pistols got quite dirty.

Despite protests from my two compatriots, both of whom are avid reloaders, I informed them that we had to score the pistols before they could police up the brass. With the help of Becky and her pocket calculator, we added up each pistol’s scores, and they finished as follows:

A bit of explanation of these results is in order. As for reliability, what can I say? They all ran like gangbusters. Ergonomics and recoil control are closely related, and the results mirrored each other. The S&W’s new grip texturing got a big thumbs up from all three of us, as it greatly aided in recoil control. As can be seen by the close scores, the shape of the Springfield and Ruger grips were well liked. While the Glock’s grip provided a secure purchase, two of us have relatively small hands and found the grip a bit too fat for positive control. Even though I felt the Ruger was the heaviest recoiling of our quartet of test guns, I fired my best targets with it. Go figure.

Trigger control was a subjective call. Richard Cole, an avid 1911 shooter, did not care for any of the pivoting triggers while Dick Jones and I both have extensive experience with the Springfield and Glock. The Ruger had a heavier trigger pull than the S&W and Springfield, and we all felt that the Glock’s was the grittiest of the four and had the worst let-off.

• RELATED STORY: 9mm vs .40 vs .45 – Which Chambering Has More Stopping Power?

As for sights, it was unanimous that the Springfield’s red fiber-optic front sight provided the best sight picture and the fastest target acquisitions. None of us are fans of the three-white-dot sighting arrangement, and we also felt that the Glock’s white-outlined rear sight produced a blurry sight picture. Dick Jones said that if we had brought along a black marker pen and blacked out the offending dots and outline, we all would have shot better.

Accuracy was another four-way tie, although several of us freely admitted to purposely firing slower and more carefully with pistols whose sights/ergonomics we found problematic. My excuse is that I always tend to fall into “USPSA mode” and shoot too fast, and I’m sticking to it.

As for ease of reloading, we all found the S&W’s magazine release to be the most positive in operation while the Glock’s was the largest and easiest to acquire, but its polymer magazines did not always drop free and on occasion had to be pulled out. The ambidextrous magazine releases on the Springfield and Ruger proved problematic as Dick and Richard both hit the right-hand release on occasion when acquiring a grip, dropping loaded magazines. I found inserting a fully loaded magazine into the Springfield with the slide forward required an inordinate amount of effort, which twice led to me dropping loaded magazines during combat reloads.

And The Winner?

After we were finished, I queried my friends as to their top choice of the four. Dick Jones said he was torn between the Springfield and the Smith & Wesson while Richard, despite his freely admitted dislike of all their triggers, chose the S&W. Me? Well, since I own several of them and have used them for competitions for years now, my money goes on the Springfield.

In conclusion, we found our four polymer 45 ACP pistols all provided more than sufficient reliability, accuracy and positive handling features for a service-type autoloader. You wouldn’t go wrong with any of them, so my recommendation is to try all of them and choose the one that handles and shoots best for you.

Polymer 45 ACP Pistol Specs

For More Information

Glock
glock.com

Ruger
ruger.com

Smith & Wesson
smith-wesson.com

Springfield Armory
springfield-armory.com

This article was originally published in “Combat Handguns” November/December 2017. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Tests & Scores of the 4 Most Popular Polymer 45 ACP Pistols appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.

The Wilson Combat Pinnacle Pistol brings with it a very deep conversation. Before we get there, a quick philosophical note.

“Life is too short to settle for less than spectacular.” That is a phrase I was taught early on and I have done my best to adhere to it. Whether it be food, drink or even guns, I have tried to stay with the best.

The reality for most of us though is the real cost of “spectacular.” While a bottle of the Macallan Lalique 62-Year Old Single Malt Scotch is certainly spectacular, it is also $30,439. So, we must learn to deal with different levels of spectacular. The question I always get when I talk about this subject is, “Is it worth it?” Well, that depends.

RELATED STORY — Concealed Carry Masterpiece: Wilson Combat’s X-TAC Elite Compact

This question was raised again during a very interesting conversation on guns. The conversation quickly turned to price and in turn, ultimately to 1911s.

While the market is full of a variety of handguns at different price points, high-end 1911s still hold the title of “priciest guns.” The specific gun in question is the aforementioned Wilson Combat Pinnacle Pistol.

The pistol is based on Wilson Combat’s Classic Supergrade model and is completely detailed inside and out with “a full suite of options specially selected by Bill Wilson.” The reason the Pinnacle jumped into the discussion is because this nice 1911 from our friends at Wilson Combat comes in at a breath less than $8,000.

So the question was, ”Is it worth it?” Before we can render judgment, let’s take a closer look inside.

The Details

The Wilson Combat Pinnacle 1911 is expertly hand fitted and finished by a Wilson Combat Supergrade Pistolsmith. To the uninitiated this sounds like someone assembling a gun. That is like saying Salma Hayek is just cute. This is an understatement of epic proportions.

Pistolsmiths are as much artists as they are mechanical geniuses. This is especially true in the 1911 realm.

Following the fitting an application of spectacular hand engraving in a traditional classic scroll pattern is applied. Like the pistolsmiths, hand engravers are artists and are also becoming rare. After hand engraving, a Master Pistolsmith will then further hand detail and finally apply a rich, deluxe blue finish.

From the blued-steel trigger and spiral-fluted guide rod to the custom burl walnut grips, there are several minor and unique differences from a typical Supergrade.

The immaculate hand engraving of the Pinnacle is expertly applied over the complete pistol by renowned firearm engraver Wayne D’Angelo. D’Angelo is one of the world’s foremost engraving artists and his attention to detail is legendary. He is the former chief engraver for Smith and Wesson and contract engraver for Colt. Wilson Combat is proud to work with him on this project.

The Pinnacle is truly Wilson’s pinnacle of craftsmanship and in the world of bespoke, custom pistols it truly stands alone.

That Trigger Though

While the looks of the gun are stunning, the function is just as great.

The Pinnacle has the same trigger heritage as the Super Grade. It is a spectacular trigger with a butter smooth press and short clean reset. Simply one of the finest 1911 triggers available.

“Is it Worth it?”

So with that we need to answer the question. Without hesitation I will say, “Yes.” The gun is absolutely worth $8,000. My reason for this belief is straightforward: This gun is as much, if not more so, a work of art as it is a handgun. This is an heirloom piece and they are only being made in very small numbers.

Ultimately, it is an investment piece for those of you looking to one day expand your bottom line.

RELATED STORY — Xtreme Beauty: Testing the Wilson Combat EDC X9 Pistol

I would also point out one very important thing in this discussion: The question is whether the gun is worth the price on the tag. Many people conflate this with, “Can I afford it?” That, my friend, is a totally different measurement. Honestly $8,000 for a pistol is not an easy purchase for most. However, I would say that if the gun is indeed in your price range, that you would be well served to invest in this fantastic gun.

For more information on the Wilson Combat Pinnacle, please visit WilsonCombat.com.

Wilson Combat Pinnacle Specifications

• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Magazine Capacity: 8 rounds
• Barrel Length: 5 inches
• Overall Length: 8.7 inches
• Sight Radius: 6.6 inches
• Height: 5.6 inches
• Width: 1.3inches
• Weight Empty: 36.6 ounces
• Weight Loaded: 45 ounces
• Accuracy Guarantee: 1 inch at 25 yards
• MSRP: $7,995

The post Is the Wilson Combat Pinnacle Pistol Really Worth $8K? appeared first on Gun News | Gun Reviews | Gun Magazine: Personal Defense World.