American Handgunner articles from July 2000

American Handgunner archives from July 2000

SPEAKOUT.
July 1, 2000... Get It Straight Massad, get it straight! Contrary to your comments (March/April 2000) regarding the stopping power debate, the L.A.P.D. dropped the 115 gr. Remington load in 1997. The only approved 9mm load is the 147 gr. Winchester Ranger...

Insightfully Yours, Gaston Glock.
July 1, 2000... Glock fixed sights are pretty good and their current adjustable sights are not too bad. Original Glock adjustable sights, with their tiny adjustment screws, tight sight picture and flimsy construction, were another matter. The plastic sight...

A Boy And His Gun.
July 1, 2000... Wherever there are varmints, there is challenging handgun sport. Don't have a varmint gun? Sure you do. Any handgun can conceivably be used on varmints if you have enough patience, initiative and desire. I grew up as a farm kid when World...

Varminting For Fun And Pleasure.
July 1, 2000... If a kid with limited ammo could get plenty of varmints as part of his farm chores, you can do the same with whatever pistol you happen to have--if you have the desire and patience and aren't afraid to come home empty handed. It doesn't...

Be Berry, Berry Quiet.
July 1, 2000... After rabbit season opened and the first hard frost killed all the rabbits with "rabbit fever" (tularemia), I took a 16 ga. Winchester 97 to grade school almost every day, parked it in the teacher's closet with some of the other kids' guns and...

The Shame Of It All.
July 1, 2000... I had the opportunity to examine a table full of returns at a major holster manufacturer the other day. What really caught my eye were the returns from cops. The holsters, in all their black basketweave glory, told a very clear story. I...

WHAT NO ONE BOTHERED TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE SAW AGREEMENT.
July 1, 2000... Smith & Wesson, the nation's largest handgun manufacturer, has become the first American gun manufacturer to fall to the federal, state and local governments' litigation campaign. On March 17, it entered into a sweeping agreement imposing...

A Cartridge With Flourish.
July 1, 2000... The .357 SIG was born amidst a spate of high intensity mid-bore cartridges, all intended to roughly duplicate the legendary wound ballistics of the 125 gr. .357 Magnum hollowpoint revolver round. The .356 TSW and the 9x23 Win. have faded away,...

TALES FROM THE MORGUE.
July 1, 2000... Given the numerous departments using the .357 SIG, a database has started to develop. So far, the .357 SIG has achieved high marks. In one shooting, it punched into a heavy duty truck cab to kill a gunman when .45 slugs hadn't penetrated. One...

What Goes Around, Comes Around.
July 1, 2000... The bottlenecked case was supposed to be stoppage-proof. It isn't. They seem to jam about as often as the same guns in .40 S&W, which is to say, very seldom. One Richmond, Va., PD firearms instructor told me that when their SIG Pros do...

IN DEFENSE OF CHECKERING.
July 1, 2000... With the overwhelming popularity of the semiauto pistol as a self-defensive sidearm, gripping surfaces are handled in many ways. There are many shooters that prefer their sidearm to wear a nearly smooth gripping surface. However, the only...

GET A GRIP.
July 1, 2000... When it comes to using a handgun well, the manner by which you grasp your pistol or revolver is very critical. A firm, positive grip of the handgun is necessary for both consistent and accurate firing. In the days when everyone carried...

Nothing That A Roll Of Tape Can't Solve.
July 1, 2000... One of the easiest ways to make your grip more secure is to add a strip of skateboard tape to the grip frame. Skateboard tape can be purchased at any hardware store, and is easily trimmed with scissors to accommodate the shape and fit of your...

FILL YER HAND.
July 1, 2000... Cowboy shooting is taking the country by storm. It even seems to be acceptable to Rather-Jennings-Brokaw because it doesn't use any of those nasty "black guns" that the antigun media villifies every chance it gets. With cowboy shooting's...

FAVORITE COWBOY LOADS.
July 1, 2000... My fondness for the .32-20 Win. came as a surprise. Even though I usually like the old black-powder cartridges, I had heard somewhere that the cartridge wasn't particularly accurate and was difficult to load. My very first experiences proved...

You're Boneheaded And Stupid, That's Why.
July 1, 2000... We have the technology and knowledge to prevent hearing loss. So why does it still occur? Because people are boneheaded and stubborn. My friend, certified audiologist Jerry Knapp, M.A., used to sell good quality earmuffs at matches and...

If I Don't Hear it, It Can't Hurt Me.
July 1, 2000... Many big game hunters, myself included, have noticed that when firing at game the gunshot report is hardly noticeable, more like a distant "pop." Many people who have been in combat situations have noted the same phenomenon. I've heard shooters...

Range Etiquette.
July 1, 2000... An important part of range etiquette is to warn bystanders when you are about to shoot. Jeff Cooper popularized the use of the military term "Fire in the hole!" as a warning. If you find that too dramatic, just say, "Earmuffs on!" or even more...

TAFFIN GETS TAKEN.
July 1, 2000... (If It Seems Tao Good To Be True, It Is) I should have known better. The gray in my beard didn't get there overnight. I earned it. Been there. Done that. Seen that. Yes, I should have known better. But, I had been cowboy shooting all...

Cannons To Right of Him, Cannons To Left Of Him.
July 1, 2000... It's a short, sad, stupid story, and though there were certain similarities, it took a lot less time than the original charge of the Light Brigade. Emilio Rodriguez, 19, not known to be a poetry fan or a student of the Crimean War, didn't...

Taking A Big Fashion Risk -- And Failing.
July 1, 2000... Used to be, no self-respecting stick-up man would even think of pulling a heist without wearing at least a three-quarter-length coat -- or a nice knee-length trench coat -- even in the summer. Sure, it wasn't absolutely necessary to hide a...

MILLENNIUM WARRIOR.
July 1, 2000... Walther's new high-tech P-99 pistol has a unique action, ingenious ergonomics and incredible reliability. Walther's newest pistol, the P-99 is a truly high-tech blend of polymer and steel construction with a heaping dash of ingenuity....

ENTRY GUN.
July 1, 2000... Light 'em up with this STI high-cap fighting .45 ACP from custom pistolsmith Mark Morris Take what the SWAT cops and Special Forces operators have learned, combine it with the best components in the hands of a master pistol-smith, and you...

The AYOOB FILES.
July 1, 2000... ARMED CITIZEN RESCUE SHOT: THE ROY AULTMAN INCIDENT Situation: A crazed armed-robber holds up a market, threatening to kill the young clerks. Lesson: The rescue shot can be the Good Samaritan's only chance to save innocent lives. ...

The MYTH Of The Full Length Guide Rod.
July 1, 2000... Do you really need this popular accessory for the 1911? According to pistolsmith Wayne Novak, full-length recoil spring guides do three things: "Make the gun harder to take apart, change the point of impact and make money for the guy who...

Tactical Elegance THE KNIVES OF BRIAN TIGHE.
July 1, 2000... You'd need a calculator to count the number of custom knife-makers who have jumped into the tactical fray over the past five years. You can tally the cream of the crop on two hands, being sure to earmark one of those digits for knifemaker Brian...

DAMASCUS KNIGHT.
July 1, 2000... Master pistolsmith Terry Tussey presents a sub-Officer's 1911 with seven rounds of payload in a super compact package. Bridging a chasm some 2,000 years wide, master pistolsmith Terry Tussey has melded one of the oldest metallurgical...

THE 1911 AND THE MEDAL OF HONOR.
July 1, 2000... Murvaux, France, September 29, 1918: The blazing remains of three German observation balloons had barely settled to earth when their assailant force-landed in the gathering dusk. Lt. Frank Luke had taken off against orders and undoubtedly would...

GLOCK ON SAFARI.
July 1, 2000... Cat scratch lever hits Africa when outspoken gun rights activist and rock 'n roll guitarist Ted Nugent brings his Glock on Safari. Each daybreak stroll along the Blydes River in South Africa brought my family and I great calm and peace....

Introducing.
July 1, 2000... A Pair OF Talented Young Craftsmen, An Engraver And A Gripmaker. Looking over the participants at cowboy shoots, one soon notices that I there are two opposite and distinct classes of shooters with several in-between blendings, giving a...

CLARK M-41 CUSTOM BARREL.
July 1, 2000... The SHOT Show was a little sad this year. Jim Clark wasn't there. Over nearly 40 years, it was my good fortune to shoot, hunt and talk guns with Jim. He is to be missed. But the company he founded goes on with his kids, Jim Jr. and Kay, at the...

TALISMAN KNIFE.
July 1, 2000... Almost everyone who carries a gun also carries a knife. I'm not talking about anything unwise-- like taking a knife to a gunfight-- but as yet another layer of protection in our personal armory. They complement one another. Several years...

MCCORMICK "THIN" GRIPS.
July 1, 2000... One of the latest items from Chip McCormick's growing line of "Easy Fit" 1911 products is a pair checkered rosewood grips that reduce the thickness of a standard 1911 with stock grips by 0.16' to improve concealability. I was a little surprised...

AIMTECH SCOPE PISTOL.
July 1, 2000... The folks at Aimtech just keep coming up with mounts for handguns that look as if it would be impossible to put a scope on them. The secret to almost all their mounts is the use of existing screw or pinholes and cage-type mounts. They simply...