American Handgunner articles from January 2003

American Handgunner archives from January 2003

Para...carry safely!
January 1, 2003... If you carry a handgun you do so to protect and serve the public or you possess a concealed carry permit to protect yourself and your loved ones. Since safety is your first and foremost concern you paid careful attention to the firearms...

Speak out.
January 1, 2003... NOVEMBER/DECEMBER Thanks, Gila Hayes, for the article in the Nov./Dec. issue entitled "First Day Jitters." The interviews were with real, everyday women, just like me, and it really hit home. Regardless of the initial reasons to learn...

Oops.
January 1, 2003... In Taffin Tests, Nov/Dec issue on the .218 BEE, the loading data for the .218 BEE and Mashburn BEE were swapped. Our thanks to several readers who took the time to point it out. Editor

Why me? (Reality Check).
January 1, 2003... For many young Americans, their first job is not necessarily the one they intend to choose for a life-long career. As a young man in 1968, I had a summer job that consisted of walking a lot and carrying heavy, dangerous objects. I'm sure had my...

Why do you carry a gun? (Reality Check).
January 1, 2003... A decision to carry a firearm in the public forum requires a commitment of enormous proportions. After making this decision, a person is often buried under an onslaught of information. Carry this ammo. Don't modify the gun or you'll get sued....

It's not about glamour or coolness. (Reality Check).
January 1, 2003... It's about this. If you carry, are you ready and willing to use this handgun to defend yourself? Just as importantly, are you ready to be held responsible for your actions? Always remember -- regardless of everything else firearms were and are...

Yeah, but why me? (Reality Check).
January 1, 2003... While walking through a rice paddy one of the Marines I was with was shot. The Midwestern cop was shot while being submissive, doing what she thought was the right thing at the time. You must ask yourself when, or if, someone confronts you on...

Cops need to fly armed--now. (Cop Talk).
January 1, 2003... Sky marshals are much in the news these days. We hear from many officers thinking of applying for the job on the theory it pays well and should be exciting. Certainly, the pay is fair, but the "exciting" part approaches delusional thinking....

Obvious proof. (Cop Talk).
January 1, 2003... In recent months, we've seen the positive effects of having such security in place. When an Albanian flight was hijacked, the immediate reaction of two armed security personnel onboard quickly, and fatally, ended the hijackers' mission, saving...

Mostly only just .44s. (Taffin Tests).
January 1, 2003... From the 1870s until the eve of World War I, the accurate .44 Russian served admirably in Smith & Wesson's single-action and double-action top-break revolvers. The black powder load was a 246 gr. round-nosed bullet that zoomed around 700 to 750...

Silly manufacturers. (Taffin Tests).
January 1, 2003... Ammunition companies loaded the .44 Special to the same level as the .44 Russian. And the .44 Special's true capability would not be discovered until the late 1920s. Elmer Keith and others experimented with the .44 Special for the next 30...

The thighs have it. (Handgun Leather).
January 1, 2003... Hardly anyone agrees on every little thing, especially when it comes to tactical gear. And disparity of opinion is found among the members of SWAT teams and Spec-Op units as well. The Navy SEALs favor the SIG P226, while the D-boys opt for...

Latch key holsters. (Handgun Leather).
January 1, 2003... The secret to the speed and security of the Safariland 6004 is a clever, thumb-activated retention strap that envelops the, top of the holstered pistol. Called the Self-Locking System (SLS), the lock consists of an inch-wide, U-shaped hood that...

Who are those masked men? (Handgun Leather).
January 1, 2003... Special Forces are found in all branches of the armed services, even the Air Force. The Marine Corps does not have any Special Forces. However, the leathernecks are technically a part of the Navy, which has SEALs as their representatives in the...

Loading the old warhouse. (Hand Loading).
January 1, 2003... We can never know for sure, but I'd bet big bucks the .45 ACP is either number one or two on the list of most commonly loaded handgun' cartridges. And here's why. The depth of the market for Government Model 1911-style pistols is simply...

Different but same? (Hand Loading).
January 1, 2003... I'm sure it's not a secret Hodgdon does not manufacture smokeless powder; they buy it from a number of different sources. Some of those have always been ball powders from Winchester. Hodgdon even went so far as to come up with their own...

The vast right wing conspiracy. (Hand Loading).
January 1, 2003... I received a letter recently from a reader who complained bitterly because a load I had published was entirely too puny for his tastes. He went on to accuse me of being a "pawn of the industry and a participant in the conspiracy" to deny him...

Kudu commentary. (Handgun Hunting).
January 1, 2003... Handgun Hunters International sponsors hunting trips for members in various places. This year, one was at Sand River Safaris near Messina, South Africa. Sand River is owned by Johann Wolvaardt (sandriver.co.za) and represented in the US by Jim...

.375 JDJ vs. twig. (Handgun Hunting).
January 1, 2003... In my experience it seldom happens this way, but suddenly there was a magnificent Kudu bull standing broadside at about 50 yards, with a clear lane through the bush to him. I raised the SSK .375/06 JDJ and placed the crosshair of the Leupold 4X...

No more stupid accidents. (Handgun Hunting).
January 1, 2003... This isn't usual for my column, but it's important and I want to take the time to spread the word here. Occasionally cops shoot cops. It's tragic, but it happens. I'm aware of two fatalities in the last year during training exercises when real...

All wound-up. (Combat Shooting).
January 1, 2003... Marc Cosat's goal is to bring gun spring technology into the 21st century. He found it odd pistolsmiths recommend changing the recoil spring in 1911-style pistols every 1,000 to 3,000 rounds; yet the valve springs of an Indy race engine undergo...

Loosing your free length. (Combat Shooting).
January 1, 2003... Many 1911 shooters have noted a new recoil spring often loses 1/2" of free length after just a few hundred shots. Cosat explains the spring has passed its "first yield point," the point at which it will not return to its original length. ...

Put the bounce back. (Combat Shooting).
January 1, 2003... All springs lose free length with every cycle. Cosat claims that due to the materials and postcoiling treatments used in making ISMI springs, they lose free length at a much slower rate than music wire springs. ISMI springs function...

Don't flip 'em the finger. (Tactical Advantage).
January 1, 2003... One of the easiest ways to determine whether a person is dialed-in with firearms, and handguns in particular, is to watch where they place their trigger finger when they handle a firearm. The next time you go to a gun shop or gun show, notice...

Perfect placement is paramount. (Tactical Advantage).
January 1, 2003... Some trainers teach to actually place the tip of the trigger finger against the protruding tip of the slide lock on an auto pistol so you will know right where the finger belongs. Doing this on a 1911-type pistol may push the slide stop out of...

Drop-in accuracy? (Pistol Smithing).
January 1, 2003... Right up front let's get something out of the way -- "There ain't no such thing as drop-in accuracy." There's also no such thing as a pre-fit barrel or a full-length guide rod that does anything what-so-ever to stiffen the action and enhance...

The machine never lies. (Pistol Smithing).
January 1, 2003... Before testing Marc's match barrel I purchased a brand new Kimber Classic II and had one of the finest machine-rest testers around give it a test. Ralph Talbot, a retired US Army Distinguished Master competitive shooter and former president of...

Blued? Stainless? Oops? (Pistol Smithing).
January 1, 2003... As an important sidenote, there is something shooters and gunsmiths should know about the Kimber Custom II pistol. Everything under the slide composing the lower unit is stainless steel. Winslow Potter, in Kimber's Custom Shop, said, "This...

As a side note. (Pistol Smithing).
January 1, 2003... Have you ever wondered why an expensive handgun like the Colt Gold Cup is one of the only products you can purchase, and when received, does not work, does not perform the function for which it was intended and has to be taken to an outside...

See what terrible things happen when you don't have guns? (The 10-Ring).
January 1, 2003... When those gun-grabbing liberal Canadians started outlawing and seizing firearms, we warned 'em about "weapon substitution syndrome," but oh, no, those smarty-pants wouldn't listen -- and now the violence has spread to the croquet fields. ...

Excuse me, officer? Can I opt for being shot, instead? (The 10-Ring).
January 1, 2003... So, you think it would be pretty bad to get shot by a cop? There's a guy in the jail ward of a Florida hospital who can tell you what's worse. After robbing the At Cost Liquor Store in St. Petersburg, our Crime King fled the scene in his...

Quick, percival, run and borrow alistair's bullet. (The 10-Ring).
January 1, 2003... Political brass hats attending the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Queensland, Australia, naturally assumed they were receiving the sharpest, tightest security possible. After all, Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime...

"Did he have a gun?" The lessons of the Thomas Shea incident. (The Ayoob Files).
January 1, 2003... Situation: Two men fit the description of armed robbers, and one turns with what appears to be a gun. You fire -- and a 10-year-old boy lies dead. Lesson: Complainants need to be thoroughly investigated -- the attacker you shoot may not be...

Building the gun gulag. (Gun Rights).
January 1, 2003... President Bush has instituted a crime-fighting initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods. The program funds 113 new assistant U.S. attorneys to serve as fulltime prosecutors for violations of federal firearm offenses under tough mandatory...

Winkin', blinkin' and nod. (Better Shooting).
January 1, 2003... Blinking--closing the eyes just as the shot is fired--is the mildest form of flinching and the most common shooting fault. Action-movie directors love the "downrange camera" angle, focusing on the gun and the hero's face while a fast string of...

Bench presses for your eyeballs. (Better Shooting).
January 1, 2003... Visual acuity is an important element of good vision, but not the only element. Other factors include peripheral vision, speed of adaptation to changes in light, and speed and accuracy of focusing. I've been nearsighted most of my life and have...

Moderately, masterly dominant? (Better Shooting).
January 1, 2003... Keeping both eyes open enhances depth perception and increases peripheral vision. Those with a strongly-dominant master eye find it easy to keep both eyes open. I know instructors with this type of vision who insist everyone should shoot with...

Meet Taffin's toy...and Baby too. (The Six Gunner).
January 1, 2003... One of the worst words in the English language is "Someday". It's frequently used in conversation and thought, but in actuality it rarely ever arrives. We all have plans to do many things someday -- we just can't seem to discover when someday...

S&W's rare registered model: elegant and deadly, this unrivaled statement of the gunmaker's art will always hold court as the first "magnum". (Magic).
January 1, 2003... Dick Tracy called it the world's most powerful handgun, and for a long time it was. But I'm sure in 1935 nobody at Smith & Wesson had any idea attaching the word magnum to a stretched-out .38 Special would launch a trend that prospers today....

Technological taffy: when technology and common sense collide--who wins?
January 1, 2003... In March, I had a student show up at a Defensive Handgun school with a brand new, out-of-the-box, Glock Model 22. During the first range session, the pistol fired about two rounds and then started into a series of stop-pages that never allowed...

Holster heart-throbs: "classic" or trash--is it time to retire "old reliable?".
January 1, 2003... I was at the range a few weeks ago trying out a new 1911 from CQB Products. Right next to me was a grizzled old detective from the local police department. From his lime green polyester pants, white patent leather shoes and matching belt, I...

LAPD SWAT: Los Angeles' finest choose Kimber's Custom II.
January 1, 2003... On August 11, 1965, the Los Angeles Police Department became embroiled in one of the most lawless and violent incidents in American History, the (first) Watts Riot. As a young police officer with the LAPD assigned to what is now the Southwest...

The eyes have it: armorize those peepers.
January 1, 2003... Two fundamentals of marksmanship are trigger pull and sight alignment. Strength training will help hold that handgun as steady as possible, and to properly align the front and rear sights. Yet how the eye focuses on sights and target is the...

Komrade Nagant's revolver: no wonder the Soviet Union fell apart.
January 1, 2003... In the late 19th century, the introduction of smokeless powder by the French created a flurry of activity among the world's armies. State-of-the-art weapons were obsolete over night, leading to a mad scramble to replace black-powder weapons....

Preventing unwanted access: lock em, or loose em.
January 1, 2003... This is no blatant "round-up" of advertisers, nor is it a "suck-up" attempt to garner advertising dollars. It's an important call to readers of Handguner to take responsibility for their sport, their avocation, their hobby and maybe their jobs....

Handguns of note: the Night Hawk colt.
January 1, 2003... Trusted and loyal friends of Buffalo Bill Cody, the three brothers Powell practiced medicine and sported colorful nicknames bestowed upon them by Indians they'd healed. For though they hailed from the flatlands of LaCrosse, Wisc., the brother's...

Ultimate: Kimber Ultra Ten II from Custom Arms Co.
January 1, 2003... The Kimber Ultra Ten II is designed for maximum-capacity concealed carry. Weighing just 24 ounces, and with a 3" barrel, it carries .45 ACP power in a small package. The stainless steel slide has rounded edges, the bull barrel is bushing-less,...

Handgun Hunting: Traveling The World in Pursuit of Wild Game. (Book Review).
January 1, 2003... By Mark Hampton In the early '80s, I organized an African Safari for several members of Handgun Hunters International. Mark and Karen Hampton were among those who hunted the million-plus acre Nuanitsi Ranch in Zimbabwe on that memorable...

Dillon Cowboy gear bag and Stage Strip. (Gunnysack).
January 1, 2003... In the early days of practical shooting, one of the axioms was not only you had to shoot well, you had to look good doing it. That has been multiplied exponentially by Cowboy Action shooting. A thriving industry has grown up to supply...

Redding Pro Series competition dies. (Gunnysack).
January 1, 2003... One of the better kept secrets in handloading is that Redding makes a die set specifically designed for users of Dillon progressive loading tools. They call them the "Pro Series" and they have now expanded that offering to include a Competition...

Eagle Heritage series grips. (Gunnysack).
January 1, 2003... Even though the economic reasons were probably sound, I hated it when S&W closed their wood shop and began using grips from outside vendors. I know somebody will yell at me for not using the factory-approved word "stocks," but I've called them...

Brownells mainspring housing hone. (Gunnysack).
January 1, 2003... This is one of those neat little things that works wonders in an unexpected location. When I first heard of honing the interior surface of a 1911 mainsprin housing, my reaction was, "Who cares?" One of the golden rules of pistolsmithing is...

GSR1911 Ball Bearing Trigger. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... Castillo's Custom Actions Castillo's 1911 Ball Bearing Trigger reduces the "creep," or friction, between trigger pod and frame by reducing the contact to the tip of a small spring-loaded ball that bears and slides on the frame track. A CAD...

096 SRT Thigh Holster. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... DeSantis Holster and Leather Goods DeSantis Holsters unveils its new Style 096 SRT Thigh Holster made to withstand the rigors of tactical engagements, Made of virtually indestructible Kydex, the holster retains its shape, allowing for easy...

Concealed Carry Wallet. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... Mad Dawg Global Marketing, Inc. Mad Dawg's genuine leather Concealed Carry Wallet is designed specifically for the armed citizen. The CCW holds 2 pieces of ID, up to 6 credit cards, and features a leather-covered money clip that can hold...

K-9 Leather Kote. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... KG Industries KG Industries offers the KG-9 Leather Kote that improves the performance of classic Old Western leather holsters while reducing wear on the historic handguns they carry. KG-9 contains no oil and will neither soften nor...

The Master. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... Nill-Grips Nill-Grips introduces on ergonomically shaped 1911 grip, "The Master." The palm swell fills your hand for a comfortable fit. The contours on the thumb area and strong lower slim line let you find the exact grip time after time....

Strider Solution. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... Buck Knives Buck Knives has collaborated with Mick Strider and Duane Dwyer of Strider Knives to produce the Strider Solution. Built for the harshest conditions where failure is not an option, the wide (1 13/14") drop point blade is 4 3/4"...

The Hog Hunter. (Spotlight).
January 1, 2003... Lightfoot Knives Anyone who has been around high-quality custom knives knows the work of Greg Lightfoot. Writer Pat Covert coils the Canadian knifemaker "one of the smoothest designers in the industry." Now Lightfoot tops even his own work...

The "I expect things like this to happen" department. (Insider).
January 1, 2003... We give a hearty American Hand-gunner hand to Afghan President Hamid Karzai after suffering an assassination attempt in September 2002. Leaning out of his car to greet a young boy, a gunman approached Karzai's car and fired two rounds, narrowly...

How to contact Congress. (Insider).
January 1, 2003... Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to the Washington D.C. Congressional offices. If you don't know the name of your representative, give the operator your ZIP code. Get the fax number for the office of your...

Too stupid for words. (Insider).
January 1, 2003... If they can't win by telling the truth, they'll try lying. Michael Bellesiles, author of Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture will be leaving the campus at Emory University. The Atlanta university has placed Bellesiles on paid...

Spyderco's class act. (Insider).
January 1, 2003... Spyderco knows rescue knives and since the early '80s they've been making them for cops, paramedics, military and anyone else who enters harm's way. To honor those emergency workers who chose to run toward the WTC during the attack, rather than...

No giggles for Google. (Insider).
January 1, 2003... Google, the widely used Internet search engine, refuses to accept advertising from firearms dealers or companies that sell gun parts and knives, although it will sell ads to pornographic sites. According to the owners of Bowman's Brigade, a...

.50 S&W? (Insider).
January 1, 2003... Rumor has it Smith is coming out with a .50 caliber revolver. Preliminary word has it on a very -- very -- large frame and may use a locking device forward of the cylinder (like the Dan Wesson design). No details yet, but as we hear of 'em,...

Clint Smith wins NTOA Award. (Insider).
January 1, 2003... Handgunner's own Clint Smith was recently awarded the Spirit of NTOA Award in: "Grateful recognition of his continued support of Police Special Operations and the NTOA mission." The NTOA is the National Tactical Officer's Association, an...

The Insider.
January 1, 2003... Red America Let's just face it -- most of us are Middle America. We have families, go to PTA meetings, buy Girl Scout Cookies, drive pickup trucks, have a gun or two or six, a wife who makes sure we take out the trash, a good dog, kids who...