American Handgunner articles from March 2001

American Handgunner archives from March 2001

American Arms.
March 1, 2001... American Arms, the Missouri-based importer of such lines as Franchi shotguns and Uberti revolvers, has been sold to Tristar Ltd. Sporting Arms, another Show Me State importer.

Wilson Combat.
March 1, 2001... Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat has bought the entire assets of his eponymous company from his ex-wife. The company had been jointly owned prior to their divorce.

Springfield Armory and Kimber.
March 1, 2001... Springfield Armory and Kimber are both introducing "safer" 1911 pistols in 2001. Kimber is fitting all of its models with a passive firing pin block safety that does not- repeat, not- adversely affect the trigger pull, a Kimber spokesman...

Magnum.
March 1, 2001... Magnum rifle cartridges are seeing their greatest level of factory-initiated innovation since the decade from '54 to '64, the "golden years" of cartridge design. (Just name the round. It probably came from that decade- .223, .308, .300 Win....

Korth.
March 1, 2001... Korth, the German handgun maker renowned for making a $2,500 revolver that didn't shoot as well as a $250 Dan Wesson, has gone out of business. The company also made a $4,000 semiauto pistol that shot about like a Gold Cup, which is to say, it...

What's New For 2001.
March 1, 2001... Gun companies like fanfare to accompany the unveiling of their new models. Most of them choose to ring bells and beat drums during the annual SHOT Show, the largest trade show of the shooting industry with over 470,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space....

ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
March 1, 2001... Spare us multi-purpose products in general, holsters in particular. We prefer task-specific tools-- one thing tailor-made precisely to perform one job, and do it extremely well. But the Wilson Adjuster is the Leatherman of holsters. The...

THE SMART HOLSTER.
March 1, 2001... While Colt, SIG and Smith & Wesson were getting all the headlines over their efforts to build a "smart gun" -- not to mention cushy government R&D grants -- little ole Michaels Of Oregon was busy building a holster that scans an officer's...

Mr. Shultz Goes To Tennessee.
March 1, 2001... Ed Shultz, the president of Smith & Wesson who made the fateful decision to sign the "agreement" with the Clinton White House, is no longer the president of the world's second largest handgun manufacturing company. Shultz had been serving...

Marlin Firearms Co.
March 1, 2001... The Marlin Firearms Co., has acquired the assets of H&R 1871, the world's largest manufacturer of single-shot, break-top shotguns and rifles. The new company, known as H&R 1871 Llc, will include the brand names Harrington & Richardson, New...

PURVEYOR PERFECTION.
March 1, 2001... Tactical work is a team effort, and no one knows this more than Jay and Karen Sadow of Arizona Custom Knives (AZCK). This husband-wife duo has been a silent force behind the tactical folder market even before the genre came into its own....

IPSC-2000.
March 1, 2001... A MATCH REPORT ON THE GUNS AND GEAR OF PRACTICAL SHOOTING'S LIMITED AND OPEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. American practical pistol shooting has been dominated in recent years by three men: Todd Jarrett, Jerry Barahart and Rob Leatham. In the...

PISTOLSMITH PROFILE.
March 1, 2001... Dane Burns: Practical Guns For Serious Users Dane Burns was a brash young man. In 1981 he climbed the north face of Mount Edith Cavell in the Canadian Rockies. Alone. Without ropes and an anorexic margin of safety, Burns dashed up the 4,000...

LEWIS LEAD REMOVER.
March 1, 2001... This wonderful tool seems to have been around forever, but I am amazed at the number of young shooters who have never heard of it. If you shoot lead bullets, the odds are that you'll need one someday. Leading is almost always our own fault...

WALKER'S GAME EAR.
March 1, 2001... Hearing protection is the second most important accessory for a shooter. Number one is eye protection. Within the last few years there has been a veritable explosion in electronic hearing protection of every shape and style, but there are some...

SPYDERCO SHARPENER.
March 1, 2001... Spyderco's Tri-Angle Sharpmaker caught my eye because it looks like it would allow even a moron o sharpen a knife. I freely admit that I'm a klutz when it comes to sharpening knives. My friends who, have grown tired of me showing up with a...

SPEER COWBOY BULLETS.
March 1, 2001... When a company markets a produce and tells you how wonderful it is without much other information, they are really saying, "Trust me." In a country where a majority would probably complete that phrase with, "I'm from the government and I'm here...

A MODERN MASTERPIECE.
March 1, 2001... THE MODEL 617 IS A DIRECT DESCENDENT OF SMITH & WESSON'S K-22 MASTERPIECE. As a linear descendent of the K-22, the Model 617 is a particularly interesting member of the family of Smith & Wesson double-action revolvers. The K-22 Outdoorsman...

CHANGING OF THE GUARD.
March 1, 2001... Fifty years ago, William B. Ruger Sr. founded a gun company with his partner, Alexander Sturm. It was called Sturm, Ruger & Co. Ruger was the idea man, and Sturm was the organizational man. They chipped in $50,000 to get the company off the...

Portrait Of An Enlightened Firearms Policy.
March 1, 2001... Sheriff Gary Penrod of the San Bernardino (Calif.) Sheriff's Dept. puts the safety of his personnel at the top of his list of priorities. For many years, his agency issued the 9mm Glock 17 with the 147 gr. subsonic hollowpoints recommended by...

Training Expertly, LIKE THE EXPERTS DO.
March 1, 2001... Expert shooters are better because they train better. Average shooters stay average because they don't train effectively. Whether your interest in shooting is for recreation, competition, self-defense or hunting, your goal should be to get the...

MAKE EVERY SHOT COUNT.
March 1, 2001... Experts make every shot count. Experts don't plink or waste shots. They put their best effort into every shot. Plinking at rocks or shooting inattentively not only wastes time and ammunition, but it also reinforces sloppy and lazy mental...

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE EXPERTS REALLY LIKE IT.
March 1, 2001... Experts welcome the challenge of tough conditions. When it's raining or windy or they aren't feeling well, most shooters find something else to do. Experts relish tough conditions. They know that, whether in a match or on the street, they can't...

AN OPEN MIND.
March 1, 2001... Experts never stop learning. It astonished me to learn that experts are note open to new ideas and less positive about their shooting techniques than many average shooters. Some of the most strident proponents of various shooting techniques--...

The Difficult Way Up.
March 1, 2001... Experts practice things that are difficult. Average shooters don't like to work on things that are difficult. They like to practice speed shooting, fast draws, things that are fun. It's the same in any activity. Mediocre golfers spend their...

And Some of Them Art Those Rotten, Nasty "Assault Eggs".
March 1, 2001... Brazil's presidential security detail is pretty much like the Secret Service protective unit at the White House-- you know, loyal, well-armed, highly trained and ready to take a bullet for their protectee at any moment. In recent months,...

GOOD MOTIVES, BUT POOR TECHNIQUES.
March 1, 2001... Witnesses to the robbery of Chase Manhattan Bank in Brooklyn gave several suspect descriptions to the cops, with the usual crazy inconsistencies, but one thing they all agreed on was that the stickup crew seemed, you know, "amateurish," like...

ELITE FORCE.
March 1, 2001... Beretta's upgraded version of the legendary M92, the Elite II, is the winningest gun in IDPA. It's go-to-hell-and-hack reliable and as accurate as most target pistols. In case you haven't gathered, we like it. A lot. The Beretta Elite II...

Big Bore Redhawk.
March 1, 2001... Chambered in .45 Colt, Ruger's rugged double-action opens new vistas of power for the hand loader. Over the years, the Ruger Redhawk has been offered in .357 Magnum and .41 Magnum, in addition to the standard .44 Magnum offering. The two...

Eagle Grips.
March 1, 2001... Customize Your Revolver Or Pistol With Stag, Ebony, Ivory, Rosewood Or Other Exotic Material from This Illinois Gripmaker. Changing grips is the most common form of handgun customizing because anyone can do it. Most of the time, a...

Selecting Home Defense Ammunition.
March 1, 2001... Something is in your nest with your mate and your cubs. It's a carnivorous predator, and it has intruded with harmful intent. Instinct tells you what to do. Destroy the invader! But that same instinct screams an equally imperative order: do not...

The Hilarious Antics Of Cops And Their '70s Holsters.
March 1, 2001... Rummaging in my old holster box the other day, I stumbled onto this classic. Since I'm sort of a classic myself, I thought I'd share this one with you. Remember Adam 12? Reed and Malloy would suddenly have their guns in their hands, and it...

HOW TO DEAL WITH A GUNSMITH.
March 1, 2001... Dealing with a gunsmith is a very pleasant experience in most cases, but sometimes it turns into a nightmare. Many gunsmiths have come out of other businesses in which they were an employee stashed in a back room, where contact with the general...

GREAT EXPECTATIONS.
March 1, 2001... Close to 100 percent of the gunsmiths who have been removed from the rolls of professional organizations in the firearms industry have been given the boot not for poor skills, but for bad business practices. To solve problems with a...

FROM OUT OF THE PAST, MORE GREAT LEATHER FOR SIXGUNS.
March 1, 2001... A wise man once said you cannot go back, but he was wrong. I can go back-- at least in my mind-- and welcome anything that in some small way allows me to catch a fleeting glimpse of the glorious days of the Old West. Learning to appreciate...

RUNNING GUNFIGHT: THE JIM MORGAN INCIDENT.
March 1, 2001... Situation: It's "cops versus Crips" as the armed robbers empty their pistols into the patrol car. Lesson: The vicious lust to murder a deputy is no match for courageous determination and professional teamwork. At approximately 8...

A Great Gunsmith For Sixguns.
March 1, 2001... Tom Sargis of Bozeman Trail Arms You and I, and probably even Aunt Millie, know that today it is a fact of life that most sixguns, be they double- or single-action, domestic or foreign, can benefit greatly from an action job performed by a...

TRAINING.
March 1, 2001... Personnel from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Dept. qualify a minimum of three times yearly with all weapons. The agency maintains three FATS simulators, one mobile for regular access by deputies at the more remote stations around the county....

How To Train With A Fanny Pack.
March 1, 2001... Practice drawing and firing from your fanny pack just like you would from a belt holster. Your training should include both deployment and replacement of the pistol back into the fanny pack. One should also train to open the fanny pack, draw...

TAURUS TITANIUM TRACKER.
March 1, 2001... COULD THIS BE THE GUN REVIVES THE .41 MAGNUM? From its very beginning in the '60s, the .41 Magnum has had a difficult life. Many of the gun writers of the time saw no useful purpose for it, and, for most of the past 35 years, it has been...

THE PRINCE OF POCKETS.
March 1, 2001... Often, simple ideas turn into complex conceptualizations, but Michael Meredith, owner, operator and one-man-show at Pocket Concealment Systems (PCS), has kept his original inspiration at the forefront. His elegantly simple designs show great...

LEATHER GOOP.
March 1, 2001... Rusty Sherrick, a holster maker, makes this slick stuff called "Hyde Glyde." A water-based goop, you can use it to shine up that old leather gear or, more importantly, put a dab here and a dab there to make the iron exit easier, as it were. I...

A NEW .375 FOR HANDGUNNERS.
March 1, 2001... Shortly after the introduction of the Encore, I developed the .375-'06 with a .30-'06 case maximized for case capacity and utilizing a 60 degree shoulder. It does 2,400 to 2,450 fps from a 15" barrel with the 270 gr. Hornady. Pretty potent....

Come With Us How As We Take An Incredible Journey Into Ihe Inner Depths Of A Reloading Die.
March 1, 2001... Most of the time you really don't need to worry about what's happening inside a loading die. If you've adjusted it properly, you just ram the case in there and it comes out right. Amazing. We get a lot of questions about how long reloaded...

Carbide Fever.
March 1, 2001... One of the greatest boons to the reloader was the development of carbide sizing dies. Most shooters take them for granted these days and probably wouldn't dream of buying conventional steel sizing dies for straight-wall handgun cases, but there...

EVERYONE LIKES A LITTLE SQUIRT.
March 1, 2001... For quite a while, carbide dies were limited to cases with straight walls, but we have them now for some cases with gentle tapers such as the 9mm Luger or .30 Carbine. There are even a few for rifle cases. One of the great selling points of...

The Crimson Tide.
March 1, 2001... Crimson Trace Lasergrips incorporate an eye-visible laser inside a grip panel-- batteries, laser, everything right there in the grip. They are available for most popular models of service handguns, revolvers and autos. I tested a pair that were...

AND THEN THERE ARE THE NEGATIVES.
March 1, 2001... The laser beam source can be observed from downrange and could serve as a target. After firing several shots, smoke hanging in front of the gun showed the laser beam as a clear line leading to the firing position. Sound tactics are to change...

Tactical Pluses For Laser Sights.
March 1, 2001... For input on the tactical utility of laser sights, I gave the Lasergrip-equipped Beretta to a local police department for feedback from SWAT team members. It was used for night firing drills, and for low-light training in simulated building...

A TOUCHY-FEELY SORT OF BILL OF RIGHTS SO WE CAN ALL FEEL SAFE.
March 1, 2001... The November 2000 issue of Epidemiology reports that, based on a nationwide survey of 2,500 adults, 50 percent said that they would feel less safe if more people in their communities owned guns. Only 14 percent said they would feel safer. Lead...

IT'S NEITHER A PACK NOR A FANNY, BUT WE LIKE THE "GUNNY SACK" ANYWAY.
March 1, 2001... If need to hide my gun in plain sight, the carry system I prefer is the fanny pack. When Gene De Santis first offered his "Gunny Sack," he turned on a whole new handgun-carry system that has spread across the country. Many holster manufacturers...

TACTICS FOR ALL SEASONS.
March 1, 2001... The means by which we carry a sidearm can change from day to day and from season to season. Ideally, a man carries his sidearm the same way constantly. I prefer to carry my pistol on my belt in either a good concealment holster or an...

SPEAK OUT.
March 1, 2001... MAIL CALL The Emperor's Clothes "The Modern Isosceles" (Nov/Dec '00) was superb. Ron Avery had the balls to write-- and American Handgunner had 'em to publish-- that the "emperor has no clothes on." Most of us armed civilians, who are...

The Three-Seven-Five: Greatest Game Getter Of All Time.
March 1, 2001... Holland & Holland's .375 Magnum is generally considered the most versatile big-game rifle cartridge in existence. It's quite true that others shoot flatter at long range, some drill bigger holes, some smaller, and there are cartridges that...