American Handgunner articles from March 2007

American Handgunner archives from March 2007

Polymerically correct.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... Thanks to Clint Smith for calling a plastic pistol a plastic pistol! The XD worked great, he bought several extra, but he did not succumb to the polymerically correct parlance of the purveyors of plastic pistols. Fred Clarke Via...

More polymer.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... What a great cover and cover article by Clint Smith ("Springfield's XD .45," Jan/Feb 2007). You pushed all of my buttons. As a student of Clint's at both the Texas Ranch and the Oregon Ranch, I was very pleased to read his positive,...

Arrogant gun'riters.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I have been a subscriber to Handgunner for some years now, and the renewal form for the mag is sitting on my desk. Frankly, your feature articles have gotten so stereotyped, they really aren't very informative. So I'm looking for a reason to...

Why custom?(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... A couple of years ago, my new motorcycle fell on me, breaking my leg in three places and necessitating a knee-to-ankle titanium insert. At that point, I sold the bike, which had sustained no damage, and had the necessary cash to send off my...

Cooper.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... My wife and I were walking on a city street in 1957 and saw a newspaper rack displaying a newspaper called The Daily Worker. It was a Communist rag and it really got my wife worked up. She hauled off and place-kicked it into the street before I...

Canceling subscriptions?(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... You folks are doing a superior job of putting a magazine together. As gun magazines go, you are way ahead of the curve. I'll be letting my subscription to Guns & Ammo lapse. They just don't offer what I'm looking for, but you do, in multiple...

Girls?(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... Am I the only girlie-girl out there who would prefer more feminine guns and accessories? If Barbie had a concealed weapons permit, she would not want to look butchy at the range. What's a princess to do? Why am I starting to build an "arsenal"...

Coon guns.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... We recently had a dispute here between a cat and a racoon. I was at work so was not here to intervene. Don't know if coon was rabid; had the cat put down. We also have large, unfriendly dogs roaming at times. I'm looking for the right deal on a...

Kicking ass in Iraq.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... My name is Lcpl. Eric D. Peterman. I'm currently in Iraq serving with 2nd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment, Golf Co. 2nd Plt. Just to let you know we are out here getting some, not getting fat in some cushy camp. I'm writing to thank you and your...

30th Anniversary issue.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... WOW! What a blast from the past (Sept/Oct 2006). A worthy salute to those who came along and did a pretty darn good job of picking up where Mssrs. Keith, Jordan, Skelton, Cooper, Applegate et-al left off. Much has come full circle, yet the...

Wanging with wadcutters.(HANDGUN HUNTING: TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND POLITICAL-INCORRECTNESS)
March 1, 2007... Smith and Wesson introduced the M&P revolver and .38 Special cartridge to the world in 1902. This combination quickly became the "Standard" police combination in the US and was extensively used worldwide. Original ammo was a 158 gr. round nose...

Hot wadcutters?(HANDGUN HUNTING: TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND POLITICAL-INCORRECTNESS)
March 1, 2007... A full-time Illinois State cop and part-time gunsmith introduced me to bullet casting with gang moulds for the .38 Wadcutter, and loading it with 2.7 grains of Bullseye on a STAR press when I was about 12. He even let me shoot a few...

Five-gallon fun.(HANDGUN HUNTING: TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND POLITICAL-INCORRECTNESS)
March 1, 2007... Impact velocity is the most important factor in bullet performance. I suggest you try this for grins. Get some Hornady .38 HB wadcutters and a really heavy duty five-gallon bucket. Seat the HB forward and about half the bullet into the case...

No obstacle-moaners.(BETTER SHOOTING)
March 1, 2007... Losers moan about all the obstacles keeping them from their goals, while winners quietly go about overcoming them. Obstacles such as modest physical size and strength, potentially debilitating injury and lack of practice time didn't stop these...

Razor Racaza.(BETTER SHOOTING)
March 1, 2007... J.J. Racaza first became interested in action shooting while living in the Philippines, influenced by the great speed-shooting champion Jethro Dionisio. Now in his mid-20s, J.J. has lived in California for several years. It's interesting to see...

Internet auctions.(PISTOLSMITHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP ON PISTOLSMITHING TECHNIQUES)
March 1, 2007... The firearms industry is in what is called an "economic consolidation phase." This is the final stage of economic business revolution and growth. Products are standardized, all the costs are beat out of the works, and marketing is fined tuned....

Bid now!(PISTOLSMITHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP ON PISTOLSMITHING TECHNIQUES)
March 1, 2007... Then, suddenly, out of the blue, Internet auction sites have opened up a huge new world for those of us whose quest for just the right gun or part never ends Gun shows will always be a big deal, but Internet auctions and sales sites bring an...

USFA: guns of the wild bunch.(TAFFIN TESTS: THE SIXGUNNER HIMSELF: GUNS, GEAR AND MORE)
March 1, 2007... It was a time of great violence. Mexico was in revolution and Pancho Villa and others like him were fighting against the government troops. Today our southern border may be a sieve; in that time bloodshed was normal and the violence spilled...

The semi-autos.(TAFFIN TESTS: THE SIXGUNNER HIMSELF: GUNS, GEAR AND MORE)
March 1, 2007... Since 1837 the defensive firearm in the 19th century had been a single action in general, and the Colt Single Action Army in particular. Beginning in the 1890s the semiautomatics began to appear. John Browning turned from rifles to handguns...

Stupid things reloaders do.(HANDLOADING: SAGE ADVICE FROM THE HANDLOADING GURU)
March 1, 2007... It's probably less than charitable for me to call some of the things reloaders do stupid just because I don't do them myself. Some that really are stupid I've managed to escape because of good training and a benevolent God. The really stupid...

What's what?(HANDLOADING: SAGE ADVICE FROM THE HANDLOADING GURU)
March 1, 2007... Substituting powder is easy to do because it's very hard to tell one from another by appearance alone. The human brain enjoys letting us make fools of ourselves from time to time so if you go off and leave a loader sitting for a couple of weeks...

Cosmetics for brass?(HANDLOADING: SAGE ADVICE FROM THE HANDLOADING GURU)
March 1, 2007... Another thing we do that borders on stupid is obsess about cosmetic stuff. Cleanliness may be next to Godliness, but it doesn't help ammo at all. Our primer pockets may be so unclean lepers cross the street to avoid them, but our gun doesn't...

The greyhound rules.(GUNCRANK DIARIES[TM]: EXCUSES, ALIBIS, PITHY OBSERVATIONS & GENERAL EPHUS)
March 1, 2007... Okay, now you folks remember which page we're on, right? If not, go back to the last two issues, then rejoin us. This is the only way I can tell this, so get yourself a refreshing beverage, relax, and we'll play "let's pretend," okay? ...

The big bus farm.(GUNCRANK DIARIES[TM]: EXCUSES, ALIBIS, PITHY OBSERVATIONS & GENERAL EPHUS)
March 1, 2007... The buses--lots of 'em!--and some assorted trucks lived on a not-quite-flat crazy-quilt expanse of asphalt, grass and concrete patches behind some charm-free but room-rich government buildings. The buildings housed a vehicle maintenance...

Window-weirdness.(GUNCRANK DIARIES[TM]: EXCUSES, ALIBIS, PITHY OBSERVATIONS & GENERAL EPHUS)
March 1, 2007... Several BGs clambered aboard buses, and that was dumb. They trapped themselves. Most of the bus windows were two-piece, so they could be opened from top or bottom. One BG stood up and fired over a window's lowered panes, as though the glass was...

Handgun tests are silly.(SHOOTING IRON[TM]: THUMB BUSTIN' MUSING FROM THE DUKE)
March 1, 2007... Gun tests are silly. I know, because I've done many of them in my career; often not because I wanted to, but because an editor made me. What do they prove? Nothing! The accuracy with a "test gun" is simply what an individual gun delivers on...

Dog poo.(SHOOTING IRON[TM]: THUMB BUSTIN' MUSING FROM THE DUKE)
March 1, 2007... There are at least two other reasons gun tests are always positive. One is that in cases where the gun sent to a writer was a piece of crap, it was just sent back. For instance, while on contract to another gun magazine many years ago, the...

Hunchbacked and bespectacled?(HANDGUN LEATHER: FROM CLASSICS TO CUTTING EDGE IN CARRY METHODS)
March 1, 2007... Did you ever have a picture in your mind of what someone looks like based on their occupation? My mind's eye always pictured a true high-end custom holster maker as a grizzled man in his 60s or early 70s; hunchbacked and bespectacled from...

Devils in the details.(HANDGUN LEATHER: FROM CLASSICS TO CUTTING EDGE IN CARRY METHODS)
March 1, 2007... Bulman has been making holsters since age 16 when he became interested in the art, watching his grandfather craft and carve saddles and tack for their horses on a Pennsylvania ranch. Josh has been selling his designs commercially for about 10...

Retention quality.(HANDGUN LEATHER: FROM CLASSICS TO CUTTING EDGE IN CARRY METHODS)
March 1, 2007... Except for his shoulder rigs you'll find no external retention devices on Josh's work. Retention is accomplished by hours of fitting and hand molding the leather to a specific gun type. He pays extra attention to the tension and zero-tension...

Smelling bad?(REALITY CHECK[TM]: FIRST-PERSON THOUGHTS ON SURVIVING IN THE REAL WORLD)
March 1, 2007... I recently had the misfortune to fly on a commercial airline. Don't get me wrong, everyone was civil and things were about as good as they could get considering what we were doing. And, I admit I'm just not much of a traveler anymore. My real...

Armed citizen shootings: the Chris Bird collection.(The Ayoob Files)
March 1, 2007... Situation: Armed private citizens from all walks of life face deadly danger, and prevail. Lessons: Preparedness, strength and courage. Add indomitable will, and you have a combination the most vicious criminals will find hard to beat. ...

Should cops compete?(COP TALK: OPINION AND FACTS FROM THE MEAN STREETS)
March 1, 2007... The scene was the 10th annual IDPA National Championships in Little Rock, Arkansas. I watched Matt Morgan, a 19-year-old criminal justice major and IDPA shooter, sucking up some wisdom from two of his idols. On his fight was Dave Sevigny, who...

The history.(COP TALK: OPINION AND FACTS FROM THE MEAN STREETS)
March 1, 2007... The names Askins, Jordan and Skelton all resonate with knowledgeable civilian shooters and police firearms instructors alike. All were competitive shooters in their younger days, Charlie winning the National Championship at Camp Perry one year....

Pressure factor.(COP TALK: OPINION AND FACTS FROM THE MEAN STREETS)
March 1, 2007... "You must separate skill building (practice) from testing (competition)." These are the words of one of our great champions in action shooting, Rob Leatham, in lads article "Learn To Love That Rush" in the September/October 2006 issue of...

The sixguns of Hamilton Bowen.(THE SIXGUNNER)
March 1, 2007... Several days this past week were spent on "Holy Ground" helping to put the finishing touches on the newly opened Elmer Keith Museum at the Boise, Idaho Cabelas. It was my great privilege to be able to help place the firearms and also write the...

Competitive plastic Glock's 35.(WINNING EDGE: SOLID ADVICE TO KEEP YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION)
March 1, 2007... Limited division is a popular category in USPSA competition. The term is a bit of a stretch. Unlike Open division, Limited handguns cannot have optical sights, barrel ports or compensators. Otherwise the limits are not too stringent. You'll see...

Group-tightener.(WINNING EDGE: SOLID ADVICE TO KEEP YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION)
March 1, 2007... Over sandbags at 25 yards, five-shot groups from my 35 seldom exceed 4", but on the other hand 3" is about the best I've come to expect. I don't delude myself I need more accuracy for home defense, but for competition, frankly I want a bit...

Glock mode.(WINNING EDGE: SOLID ADVICE TO KEEP YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION)
March 1, 2007... The Glock 35 is quite similar to the model 22 and uses the same magazines. Main differences are overall length and trigger pull. The model 35 has a longer barrel (5.43" vs. 4.49") with correspondingly longer slide and sight radius. Trigger pull...

Magnificent mates: a .22/.45 duo from Morris Custom.
March 1, 2007... Sometimes a .45 just isn't enough gun. What's that he said? There are select times when a .45 just isn't enough gun to do the job at hand. Perhaps it's too much gun for the job. So, it's time to think small--while you still think big. And...

The modern Tomahawk: from stone to steel two million years and still going strong.
March 1, 2007... Somewhere, sometime, in the lost millennia of our ancestors' history, an ancient man chipped two stones together producing a razor sharp edge. "This is good," he grunted--and it changed the future of mankind forever. However, the very nature of...

Cooper remembered: Lt. Col. John Dean Cooper, USMCR, May 10, 1920-September 25, 2006.
March 1, 2007... Those of us who think of ourselves as pistoleros owe a debt of gratitude to Jeff Cooper. Without him and his ideas, we might still be in the dark ages with regard to weapons-craft. The King is dead, long live his memory. --Rob Leatham,...

Taurus PT 24/7 PRO LS: a pac-man of a pistol.(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... I am one of the lucky ones--or unlucky ones--depending on how you look at it. I happen to live in very close proximity to the home office of FMG Publications, AKA the "Secret Bat Cave" of American Hand-gunner, American COP and GUNS. My close...

Is the weak hand wiling? 'Different-hand' shooting tips.
March 1, 2007... Webster's defines weak as "lacking strength, a lacking of skill or proficiency." Using this train of thought is our non-dominant shooting hand actually the weak hand as it's often called, or is it better yet just lacking in skill or...

A gripping experience: Elen Hunting & Importing custom grips.
March 1, 2007... Maybe you have a custom gun in progress, maybe you're giving a gift or maybe you just really want a custom look for your favorite piece. What's the easiest way to get a truly polished, eye-poppingly-fabulous look? Easy--custom grips. I'm...

The 1911 in combat: iron men and steel pistols.
March 1, 2007... A natural question about the Model 1911/1911A1 would be, "How well did they actually serve in World War II?" Especially considering they were used around the globe, in conditions ranging from sub-zero temperatures and snow to the tropical...

Spyderco revival: classic Endura and Delica models get face-lifts.
March 1, 2007... As folding knives go, Spyderco has to be the most instantly recognizable brand in the world. There's no mistaking that "round hole" in the blade, a trait dating back to the early 1980s when a budding entrepreneur named Sal Glesser first came up...

STI/American Handgunner world shoot-off.(TOO MUCH FUN. TOO FAST!)
March 1, 2007... If you're a dedicated Handgunner reader you know about the eight-day marathon blast-lest named above. Held at the San Juan Range in Montrose, Colorado, it's a chance to bring your family, leave your cares behind and shoot two or three thousand...

The Ultimate 1911 Accessory?
March 1, 2007... If you've never fired a Thompson you've managed to miss one of life's "funner" things, as my old bud Gene Wolberg used to say. Gene was a forensic firearms criminalist at the San Diego Police Department and one of the perks of the job was...

Bushnell Holosight.(GUNNYSACK)
March 1, 2007... The Holosight has gone through some evolutionary changes over the years and the newest iteration simplifies things a bit with a change to the more common AAA battery. The previous version--which is still available and sometimes preferable--uses...

Blackhawk Blades.(GUNNYSACK)
March 1, 2007... It seems as if Blackhawk Products group has set out to corner the cool tactical market. They've got lots of neat stuff and lately I've been working with two new Blackhawk Blades. It's most accurate to call them defensive knives for they are not...

"Police Undercover".(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Charter Arms Charter Arms brings back the old favorite the "Police Undercover." This little work horse is a five-shot, 16-ounce, affordable .38 that you'll really enjoy. Available in a one-piece 2" barrel with a stainless or blue finish,...

CQC-13 Bowie.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Emerson Knives Emerson Knives has introduced their version of an American icon, The Emerson Folding Bowie. The CQC-13 Bowie is one of the latest additions to the Emerson Knives Catalog and is one bad ass tool. The knife features a 3.850"...

Liger Gun Belt.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Edgygear The Liger Gun Belt by Edgygear is now available with the Gen3 buckle which is sleeker and more contoured than any of the previous versions. Finger grooves were added for ergonomic purposes. The belt is totally impervious to water,...

The Mini-Rukus.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Benchmade The Boys and Girls at Benchmade just can't leave a good thing alone. Even after they have a proven winner in the Nell Blackwood Rukus, they have to go and improve on it by now offering of all things a new Mini-Rukus. The Mini is...

Pygmy Falcon-II backpack.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Maxpedition Hard Use Gear Maxpedition's most compact backpack the Pygmy Falkon-II (Item #0517) has finally arrived and is available in Black, Green, Khaki and Digital Foliage Camo. While the utilitarian compartments were retained in their...

The Springfield EMP.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Springfield Armory Springfield Armory now offers a whole new class of pistol, the short-action 1911. The new EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol) is the first production 1911 made from the ground up to shoot short cartridges like the 9mm, .40 S&W...

Quik-Chek Holster.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... DeSantis Gunhide The Quik-Chek Holster (model #043) is a no nonsense safely type belt slide holster. This compact leather slide features their SLH (self locking holster) and a molded polymer sight track. With the SLH feature, Quik-Chek...

The House Gun.(SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2007... Housegun.com Spotlight doesn't usually feature rifles or shotguns but the House Gun is an exception. It's no secret that a sawed-off shotgun makes one of the best home defense weapons around. Trouble is, sawed off shotguns are illegal. A...

Add it up.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... 38,000 Square feet of Weatherby's new digs in Paso Rabies, California. 67.9 MILLION HICS background checks since inception in 1998. 12% NICS checks up in 2006 over same period in 2005. 8,300 School girls in...

AR-24 pistol?(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... Yup. ArmaLite, long known for their AR rifles, have developed a new semiauto pistol. With a heritage making use of design ideas from the French M1935A, SIG P-210 and CZ-75, the pistol is traditionally machined from honest steel forgings. They...

Writer-writes.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... Handgunner's own Shane Gericke, who has been known to pen a feature or two for FMG is a gun-guy and sterling word-crafter. His first novel, Blown Away is a cops and robbers thriller with plenty of good gun action and being a gun-guy--Shane...

Book of the .44.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... Since were flying the flag here. I'd like to wave it in the direction of John Taffin's new book Gun Digest Book of the .44. It's subtitled "An illustrated encyclopedia of America's favorite caliber" and that pretty much sums it up John's...

Ah so ...(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... With all due respect to our friends in Japan, sometimes English is simply a bit confusing. Jeff John, editor at GUNS brought a box of .177 air gun pellets into my office the other day. He was laughing and snorting, and handed me the box. I read...

Firepower golf.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... I guess reader and old friend Peter C. plays golf in a rough neighborhood there in Arizona. If you look carefully, you'll see an FN-FAL and a Thompson in that golf cart rack. Peter says it's "Just for fun" but still, when his foursome asks if...

Warlock wonder.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... Old bud Allen Elishewitz, "knife-maker-wunder-kinde" lent me a knife recently I wanted to share. Called the Warlock, it has a machined titanium frame with white micra inserts; The blade material is 154CM for those who understand such things,...

Ichiro-san.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... If you read Handgunner you know Ichi's work. I'm blessed with calling Ichi a friend, and a mentor when it comes to picture-taking, philosophy, appreciating knives and more. But still, it's hard to resist a chance to twist his arm a bit in fun....

Good guys.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... A reader who only wants to be known as "Charles" asked me for help with a gift for a returning soldier. He wanted the "Best 1911 and holster I can get" for this young soldier. A "BBQ gun, if you know what I mean," he said. It seems this young...

American 1911?(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... Reader Kelly McElyea (a graphic artist) took offense to a recent issue of Handgunner where we concentrated on the 1911. Now, since we hardly ever run an article about a 1911 I wondered what he was upset about. To best illustrate his frustration...

'Send battleships'.(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... At 887 feet with nine 16" rifled Guns and anywhere from 1" to 17.5" of armor--12.1" on the main side belt--the "Iowa" class battleships were the last word in "Big Guns" during WWII. And, so it seems, in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War. We...

TR DVDS arrive!(THE INSIDER[TM])
March 1, 2007... Since Clint is on-staff here we lent a hand and helped him produce his latest round of training videos. They are full of vintage Clint, and come complete with timed-warnings onscreen of when to expect a "Clint-ism"! The three DVDs are a handy...