American Handgunner articles from July 2002

American Handgunner archives from July 2002

Speak out.
July 1, 2002... MAIL CALL Invade? We Don't Think So After reading the letters in the May/June issue concerning the reasons the Japanese didn't invade the West Coast in the early part of WWII, I have a few comments. Without casting doubt on the...

125 gr. Nosler = $120. (Handgun Hunting).
July 1, 2002... That's right -- kill seals. There are too many harbor seals, and migratory seals can grow up to 800 pounds; an all around impressive animal in size, appetite and trouble. First and foremost, the seal is the host for ringworm. Voracious eaters,...

Fire and Iceland II: don't save the seals. (Handgun Hunting).
July 1, 2002... Aren't those cute seals on television and in the circus just so adorable? Think again. In the wild, seals are destructive and not such little critters. Usually called harbor seals, they are smart and easily trained to perform simple tasks. They...

Eyeball to eyeball. (Handgun Hunting).
July 1, 2002... The seal appeared to float on water and at first, it appeared an eyeball shot was necessary to affect an instant kill. He turned his head and the shot became a spine-at-the-base-of-the-skull or nothing shot. Trigger squeezed, hammer falls, pin...

Much ado about nothing. (Tactical Advantage).
July 1, 2002... Despite the huge shift in America to the .40 S&W cartridge, I'm not at all sure it's all that big a deal. If you prefer the .40 S&W, great. But I believe you're not the least bit under-gunned if you choose the 9mm -- as long as you stuff it...

9mm vs. .40 vs. .45 vs. who cares anyway? (Tactical Advantage).
July 1, 2002... We've learned quite a bit over the years about the .40 and the 9mm. if you are a police officer, keeping in mind that the odds are high you'll be involved in a shooting around, near, or through a vehicle, rounds like the 147 gr. JHP Hydra Shok...

And the winner is? (Tactical Advantage).
July 1, 2002... Even with the technical data touting the edge the .40 S&W round initially offered, the simple fact was the .40 seemed to offer the power and ballistic edge of the larger diameter, heavier bulleted .45 ACP. In truth it really did neither. Some...

Let the other guy make the mistakes. (Cop Talk).
July 1, 2002... Experience, it's said, is the collected aggregate of our mistakes. Otto von Bismarck took it one step further. "Wisdom," he said, "was garnered without pain from the mistakes of others." Earlier this year I attended the annual conference...

Potentially problematic predicaments. (Cop Talk).
July 1, 2002... At a national-class shooting tournament recently one of the 140 or so contestants accidentally discharged his pistol. The shot went safely downrange, so he wasn't disqualified, but the unintentional shot is a learning point. It was a...

When slim is better than fat. (Cop Talk).
July 1, 2002... A number of the Anchorage cops at ASLET had customized Glocks in their duty holsters. APD issues the .45 caliber Glock 21, offers the smaller-gripped .40 caliber Glock 22 for those with smaller hands and will pay Robar to do a frame-slimming...

Pullin' the trigger on primers. (Handloading).
July 1, 2002... I suspect many of you use progressive loaders and know that filling primer feeder tubes is a chore. At the SHOT Show I saw the coolest thing, guaranteed to reduce that problem to a faded memory. It's called the Vibra-prime. At first glance...

Redding six-pack problem solver. (Handloading).
July 1, 2002... If you're like me you've got dozens of shell holders scattered around your loading bench and I always have to pick up every dog-gone one before I find the right one. Funny, how it's always the last one. Redding has come up with a nifty kit...

Hardball vs. softball. (Handloading).
July 1, 2002... When we think of bullseye pistol competition we usually think of powder-puff wadcutter loads. But, there is also a requirement for service ammunition, better known as "hardball," and the way the two loads perform is considerably different....

Different ain't necessarily wrong. (Better Shooting).
July 1, 2002... In Rudyard Kipling's poem "In the Neolithic Age," a line reads "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays, and every single one of them is right!" Or more prosaically, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Actually, I've...

The three no-evils. (Better Shooting).
July 1, 2002... 1. To achieve accuracy, the gun must be held as still as possible. Fire a five-shot group on a 50-yard target from a sandbag rest, then fire another group from the back of a moving pickup truck being driven across a plowed field. Groups will, I...

Holstering 'yer flashbulb.
July 1, 2002... The late Bill Jordan was one of the most adept handgunners who ever lived. One of his stunts was to balance a flashbulb on the back of his shooting hand, held above his holstered revolver. He would draw the gun and the bulb would drop into the...

Comfy, convenient and careless. (Handgun Leather).
July 1, 2002... We've had an awful lot of fun in this column over the years but this one is semi-serious. A friend of mine had a close encounter of a distinctly uncomfortable kind not Long ago and was kind enough to bring it to my attention. I might add he had...

But honest, I didn't do it. (Handgun Leather).
July 1, 2002... My friend had taken to carrying his Kel-Tec P32 in his right pocket for almost the two years he's had the pistol. At only around six ounces, he hardly knew it was there and the .32 was arguably enough to keep him out of hot water. The caliber,...

Operator error. (Handgun Leather).
July 1, 2002... He quickly picked-up the fallen knife, got back into his car and drove away, pulling over around the corner to collect his wits -- and throw-up. He said, "I kept waiting for the blood but when I looked through the hole, I was untouched, not...

You've gotta have somebody to rob. (The 10-Ring).
July 1, 2002... Seems like "having a victim" is one of those crucial elements of a successful robbery, and one guy in San Diego knows what it feels like to be all dressed up with nobody to rob. In Rancho Bernardo, an upscale community in San Diego, a dude in...

Next time just shoot us with nice, clean bullets. (The 10-Ring).
July 1, 2002... This digruntled postal-worker rage stuff is not only getting completely out of control, it's become downright weird. One recently-terminated post office employee in Grand Rapids, Michigan, came back to the office and instead of whipping out an...

Different rules in Hawaii, mainland boy. (The 10-Ring).
July 1, 2002... This stickup man had to be from the mainland, because he stupidly violated the Hawaiian Rules of Robbery. A lot of the basics are the same as anywhere else, but when you pull a heist in the islands, you've got to remember a few things like,...

They didn't give him a free tank of gas, though. (The 10-Ring).
July 1, 2002... It was a fast, breezy, professional stickup, as a masked marauder blew into a 7-Eleven store in St. Peters, Missouri, waved his pistol, unloaded the cash register, and scooted on out the door. The employees were so stunned with the robbery they...

An even dozen. (Combat Shooting).
July 1, 2002... Jerry Barnhart has been one of the top competitive action shooters for a long time, winning his first national championship in 1987. For more than a decade now, Barnhart has been one of the "Big Three" (along with Todd Jarrett and Rob Leatham),...

Slippery when wet. (Combat Shooting).
July 1, 2002... I cringe at the thought of two bare metal surfaces rubbing together, especially under load. At the same time I don't care for oil stains on my clothes, or getting oil specks on my shooting glasses during a practice session. Kleen-Bore is a...

Skate rats 'r us. (Combat Shooting).
July 1, 2002... Many practical shooters stick skateboard tape on the frontstrap of their autopistols for a secure grip. Burner Grips are made of wood (except for those for SIG pistols, which are plastic) and sport a secure, non-slip finish similar in...

Stringing together a win. (Pistol Smithing).
July 1, 2002... Making a semiautomatic pistol shoot accurately is one of the principle jobs the custom pistolsmith performs. Not all shooters want to shoot 2" groups at 50 yards, but most want the cotton pickin' thing to shoot within a 3" circle at 25 yards...

The hands of a master. (Pistol Smithing).
July 1, 2002... Regardless of what pistol you use, the work required to make it shoot tight groups is the same. In a 1911, the slide must be a tight fit to the frame and the barrel must lock-up tightly at the rear of the hood and where the slide stop contacts...

Discretion is still the better part of valor. (Strategic Solutions).
July 1, 2002... Previous columns dealing with cornering have covered mind-set, distancing, timing, the rhythms, as well as illusive horizontal and vertical displacements. This time we take a look at actually breaking the threshold of the corner to dominate the...

Respect 'em and then finish 'em. (Strategic Solutions).
July 1, 2002... When you turn that corner, what do you see? You see a man with a gun, trying to do exactly what you are doing. How good is he? We already know. You are engaging your mirror image so ask yourself another simple question: "Would you bet your life...

No head -- no threat. (Strategic Solutions).
July 1, 2002... If you see it, it gets hits, right now. Fire your rounds and vacate the space. I typically fire a triple volley and change position. Whether the threat immediately goes down or not, re-observe from a different angle and distance. If you missed...

Oh, no...passengers with guns? (Gun Rights).
July 1, 2002... The March/April 2002 column ("The real day of infamy?"), prompted an unusual amount of criticism and I thought I'd address some of it. My last article covered the events of 9/11 and suggested the airplanes would not likely have been hijacked...

Penetration testing Big Bore Handguns: we pit a .500 Nitro Express against some of the biggest, baddest Magnums and the results may surprise you. A handgun isn't all that far behind an Elephant rifle.
July 1, 2002... This is a test. Rank the following in order from that offering the deepest to the shallowest penetration: .500 Nitro Express, .458 Win. Mag., .45-70, .500 Linebaugh and .45 Colt. If you're like most shooters, you would probably say they are...

Furtive movement shooting: the Robert Bauthues case. (The Ayoob Files).
July 1, 2002... Situation: The man peering into your window is fully masked and dressed like a ninja. You confront him and he spins toward you with his hand rising as if to shoot. Lesson: You do the right thing, yet still get indicted. The key to your...

Collecting Western art as a sixgunner. (The Sixgunner).
July 1, 2002... Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be an artist. I was always very envious of my older cousin who had a tremendous talent for pencil sketching and even today turns out beautiful artifacts carved in wood. I took art classes in high school,...

Hail of lead: with a shotgun under-barrel and a nine-shot cylinder, the LeMat revolver was the most devastating Cavalry pistol of the civil war period. Now a faithful copy is available from Navy Arms.
July 1, 2002... By 1856, the caplock revolver had become a primary tool and symbol of the "Age of the Western Empire." This was the year that Jean Alexander LeMat obtained a patent for an open-frame single-action revolver of martial caliber. Even more than the...

Elite II competition/carry gun. (You can win a custom).
July 1, 2002... Marines are valuable national resources and should always be put to best use. Put this particular former Marine at a custom-pistol workbench and you end up with something, for lack of a better word -- Marine-like (tough, reliable and obedient)....

AO sight systems: big dots; sometimes old ideas are still the best ideas.
July 1, 2002... The drop of sweat hangs above your right eye, precariously dancing just at the upper limits of your peripheral vision. The humid night has hung, like a limp towel, following you on patrol, alley to alley, call to call. The bloody and...

Liebenberg.
July 1, 2002... After Feeding The Muse In South Africa, At Pachmayr's And As The Driving Force Behind The S&W Performance Center, Leibenberg Is Back Doing What He Knows Best... No-Limits Custom 1911 Work. Incubated like sand in an oyster, only to...

A Hawkish hankering: Knifemaker grant Hawk's tacticals redefine the term functional-beauty.
July 1, 2002... You'll find two kinds of people in Idaho City. Tourists, and people with good reason to be there. Only about 300 or so are residents drawn to this rural outpost for maybe no other reason than the fact it's just a great place to escape the...

The new sixguns of Dan Wesson arms: resurrected and rejuvenated, the old Wesson Firearms are back with their signature interchangeable barrels and tack-driving accuracy.
July 1, 2002... For big bore sixgunners, the late 1970s were the dark ages. Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry and "Make my day!" had created such a demand for double-action .44 Magnums that Smith & Wesson was working around the clock and still unable to keep up with...

APG gun of the year.
July 1, 2002... The American Pistolsmiths Guild has once again united their collective talents to produce a masterpiece of cooperation in craftsmanship. Based upon a Springfield Armory Champion .45 ACP, the basic gun was then extensively modified, honed and...

Taffin tests.
July 1, 2002... DO IT YOURSELF SIXGUN ACCURIZING HOW TO CUT CHAMBER THROATS FOR BETTER ACCURACY. For some odd reason known only to manufacturers of very fine revolvers, the cylinder chambers, and especially the chamber mouths, are cut so that...

Instant relief, but only temporary salvation. (10-Ring).
July 1, 2002... James Wilson was going to have a great holiday. The 47-year-old planned to spend a bright, crisp day putting up Christmas lights and decorations on his Vancouver, Wash., home. And everything was going great until he started looking for those...

Romance and robbery just don't mix well. (10-Ring).
July 1, 2002... An old con once said that loving and larceny are best kept separate. But apparently Mark Wharton, age 31, either never heard this expression, or chose to ignore it. Mark had just pulled a robbery in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England and was...

World Speed Shooting Championships: Koenig makes it three in a row. (Steel Challenge Pistol Tournament).
July 1, 2002... Surrounded by citrus groves and vegetable farms, the 2001 Steel Challenge blasted its way through the canyons near Lake Piru, Calif., August 16 through 19. A short distance from the range, Lake Piru, a family fishing spot, may have echoed with...

Brownells screwdrivers. (Gunny Sack).
July 1, 2002... There's no greater sin in gunsmithing than buggering a screw. Well, there might be, but screw-buggering is still at the top of the heap. I don't know how I'd get along without the sets of Brownells Magna-Tip screwdrivers I use all the time....

Firepower FP-10. (Gunny Sack).
July 1, 2002... Of all the things we shooters buy, cleaners and lubricants are the most confusing. There are so many and some make questionable claims. None of us have the facilities to really test this stuff so I have devised a simple plan. I clean a gun real...

Caspian target grips. (Gunny Sack).
July 1, 2002... There was once a time when the first thing you did when you got a new Government Model was get rid of those tacky plastic grips and put on wood panels -- often target style. These days most pistols come standard with nice wood grips, but there...

Merit optical attachment. (Gunny Sack).
July 1, 2002... Pistol shooters know that as their eyes age the front sight becomes a stranger. Sometimes you see it and sometimes you don't. The human eye is very much like a camera lens. When you reduce the diameter of the diaphragm the depth of focus...

17 years of pure fun. (Industry Insider).
July 1, 2002... According to an old tradition in publishing, every time a magazine editor resigns, he must subject his longsuffering readers to a wistful journey down memory lane. Reminiscing about his long and eventful tenure, the lame duck editor must hold...