American Handgunner articles from May 2007

American Handgunner archives from May 2007

Cooper tribute.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... "Just got the latest Handgunner (March/April) and read your tribute to Jeff. Having read just about everything in print about Jeff since his death I have to say your article was my favorite. I appreciated your honesty and the way you presented...

Armed citizens.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... I wanted to thank you for running the "Armed Citizen Shootings" article by Mas Ayoob (Ayoob Files, March/April). I've been a fan of Mas ever since I started reading his articles too many years ago to count. I don't think anyone knows more about...

American 1911?(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... In the March/April issue of Handgunner (Insider column), I read the short piece on the funny reader submission about the phony American Nineteeneleven dummy magazine cover. If you decide to publish an American Nineteeneleven, sign me up. You...

Convert.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... After trying for better than two years, my neighbor got me out to shoot. I've been one of those anti-gun kinds and frankly, I feel stupid now. I met the nicest people at the range, learned about gun safety and didn't see a gang member anywhere....

Connor? Nice guy?(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... Just a brief note to let you know how much I enjoy Connor's column (The Guncrank Diaries) in Handgunner. Your perspective on life, responsibility and family are, in my opinion, dead on. In a recent column, you said you had been described as...

Magic XD.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... Okay, four .45 empties flying at once (Cover Photo. Jan/Feb 2007)? At about .05 sec. per shot fired (at full auto), that still equals almost a fifth of a second--which should have the first empty fired almost half way to the ground. Huh? ...

Hates us.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... I'm a bit of a gun collector and up until recently my area of interest was primarily shotguns, rifles and muzzle-loaders. I decided to expand to handguns and picked up a copy of your Jan/Feb 2007 issue to do some research before purchasing a...

And this ...(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... The cover article on the XD ("A Xenophobic's Dilemma?" Jan/Feb 2007) is simply perfectly put. Clint's humorous take on our acceptance of European technology--hell, I've driven a VW for 30 years--is spot on. But I'm sure some whiner will take...

Cocked & locked.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... Love the magazine, and have a question. When I'm with friends and wearing a Colt Series 70 cocked and locked, they get nervous. When I wear a Glock or soon-to-wear Springfield XD .45, they have no complaints. What's the difference? The...

Sex doesn't sell.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... Recently, in a reply to a reader's letter, you mentioned Handgunner doesn't accept ads from tobacco companies of sex products. I hadn't paid particular attention to that aspect of your magazines (I get GUNS too) until I looked at one of the...

Holster question.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... I recently inherited a holster that's kind of neat. It's a military flap holster, made of what seems to be glossy brown leather with "U.S." stamped on the front. It has three rows of letters and numbers stacked one on top of the other: "G&K"...

Battleship sailor.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... I'm a Patrol Sergeant with the Milwaukee Police Department and an avid IPSC shooter. I'm a pretty new subscriber to both Handgunner and GUNS magazines. Suffice it to say I've dropped my subscription to one of your competitors because your...

Shot loads.(SPEAK OUT: YOUR FORUM TO PONTIFICATE, PONDER AND PROBE)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... Please send my kudos to Mike for his excellent work with various handgun shotloads (Jan/Feb 2007). It's about time someone did an in-depth look into what works and what doesn't, and his advice regarding where to obtain #12 shot helped me...

Are gun people on a different wavelength? (And why we should care).(GUN RIGHTS)
May 1, 2007... You ever talk to a non-gunner and get the feeling you ate on a totally different wavelength? I certainly have, and as an amateur philosopher, I found myself wondering about it. I suppose this feeling could simply be a natural part of being a...

Fixed or not?(REALITY CHECK[TM]: FIRST-PERSON THOUGHTS ON SURVIVING IN THE REAL WORLD)
May 1, 2007... There can be a range of arguments about the validity of sights on firearms. Early designs used the "point the thing, tuna your head and add fire" concept, generally leading to smoldering eyebrows. Sights improved as cartridge cases enclosed the...

Lefties and a power tool.(PISTOL SMITHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP ON PISTOLSMITHING TECHNIQUES)
May 1, 2007... I've always had a place in my thoughts for left-handed shooters. Shooting right-handed guns, they have to get used to all manner of inconveniences such as hot brass bouncing off their noggins and having to work bolt action rifles by reaching...

One policeman's custom revolver.(COP TALK: OPINION AND FACTS FROM THE MEAN STREETS)
May 1, 2007... Wyatt Earp. The name resonates through American history, and not just among peace officers. Stuart Lake's biography Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal established him as a national legend when it was published in 1931, a couple of years after Earp's...

Things I can't live without.(HAND LOADING: SAGE ADVICE FROM THE HANDLOADING GURU)
May 1, 2007... I'm not the average reloader. The last time I counted there were over 75 sets of dies on my shelf. Many of those aren't used often--or at all--but were bought for a project long ago. Of course you don't throw dies away because you never know...

The sixguns of Jim Stroh.(TAFFIN TESTS: THE SIXGUNNER HIMSELF: GUNS, GEAR AND MORE)
May 1, 2007... Any regular reader of these pages and our sister publication, GUNS, and any of my several books knows how much I have a passion for converting Old Model .357 Blackhawks to the #1 Cartridge of the 20th Century, the much loved .44 Special. Those...

Big bores or big bores.(HANDGUN HUNTING: TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND POLITICAL-INCORRECTNESS)
May 1, 2007... For the sake of those few .41 caliber aficionados left I'll admit the .41 Magnum to the big-bore category. Actually if considered a medium bore it would be at the top of the heap. As a big bore it's at the bottom of the stack where it belongs....

More/better.(HANDGUN HUNTING: TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND POLITICAL-INCORRECTNESS)
May 1, 2007... For several reasons, the T/C Contender and Encore make heavyrecoiling cartridges more pleasurable to shoot and provide more power in a controllable manner than any revolver. Now that S&W has purchased Thompson Center, the two largest...

Intolerable?(HANDGUN HUNTING: TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND POLITICAL-INCORRECTNESS)
May 1, 2007... Nothing is free in ballistics or gun design. Progress in one direction results in a shortcoming in another direction. The dynamic handling of the lighter Freedom revolver is lost in the bigger, heavier S&W. People of limited strength will final...

A super-super.(WINNING EDGE: SOLID ADVICE TO KEEP YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION)
May 1, 2007... Today the sport of practical shooting has divisions for many types of handguns: Open, Limited, Limited Ten, Production, Revolver and Single Stack handguns. Thirty years ago there were no such divisions. Through the 1980s and into the early...

Taking the leap.(WINNING EDGE: SOLID ADVICE TO KEEP YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION)
May 1, 2007... Late 1986 of early 1987 I called Wilson Combat to talk about building a custom gun. They had a full-house Accu-Comp LE in stock. The price was $1,875--a substantial sum today and even more so 20 years ago. After a couple of days of prayer and...

A zillion rounds.(WINNING EDGE: SOLID ADVICE TO KEEP YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION)
May 1, 2007... From 1987 through 1989 I fired some 41,000 rounds through this gun, and dry fired maybe five or 10 times as much. I had two broken parts. The firing pin stop broke in two, the bottom part falling out, but the top part kept the firing pin in...

Commanding presence.(SHOOTING IRON[TM]: THUMB BUSTIN' MUSINGS FROM THE DUKE)
May 1, 2007... Model 1911s have been made in a bewildering array of styles. Colt alone has made 1911s, 1911A1s, Gold Cups, Officer's ACPs, Delta Elites, Double Eagles and many more. That's not to mention all the 1911 clones out there, whose models duplicate...

Duke's mistake.(SHOOTING IRON[TM]: THUMB BUSTIN' MUSINGS FROM THE DUKE)
May 1, 2007... Then I got a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special 1911, and it was so exquisite a handgun I got rid of all my Colt-made 1911s, Commanders and all. But the true lest of how you feel about something is to get rid of it, and then see if you actually...

Birthdays.(SHOOTING IRON[TM]: THUMB BUSTIN' MUSINGS FROM THE DUKE)
May 1, 2007... Colt introduced the Commander in 1949, the year I was born, and I bought my first one in 1970 on turning 21. It was the first 1911 I bought for myself. My father had given me an old military 1911 Al a couple years previously. Standard for a...

Strader strives.(BETTER SHOOTING)
May 1, 2007... Phil Strader is an IDPA and USPSA Grand Master competitor, winner of over 40 state, regional, and national titles. He's perennially among the top finishers at the USPSA Nationals and has been Top Law Enforcement several times. For information...

More to it.(BETTER SHOOTING)
May 1, 2007... In practical and action-shooting matches, Phil believes shooting skill is just part of the picture, and not the most important part at that. He ranks the necessary skills for success in match shooting like this: (1) gunhandling skills (2)...

Duh ... basics.(BETTER SHOOTING)
May 1, 2007... Phil Strader believes in building sound, basic skills. For a beginning shooter he suggests the first step is becoming familiar with the equipment. Put your shooting gear on and wear it around the house, at least 30 minutes a day at first. ...

The shoot-down drill: a fairy tale.(GUNCRANK DIARIES[TM]: EXCUSES, ALIBIS, PITHY OBSERVATIONS & GENERAL EPHUS)
May 1, 2007... Once upon a time on a faraway world very much like our own, there was a teeny-tiny nation surrounded by bigger, bitter enemies. On one side of it lapped an azure sea, but it otherwise kinda sat there like a chocolate fudge nut brownie on the...

Code-breakers.(HANDGUN LEATHER: FROM CLASSICS TO CUTTING EDGE IN CARRY METHODS)
May 1, 2007... If you're sitting around your prison cell and reading this--or more realistically having someone who knows what the funny marks on the paper mean, reading this to you--you may recognize the meaning of G-Code. It stands for Ghetto...

The "OK Corral shootout": a lesson in the importance of evidence preservation.(The Ayoob Files)
May 1, 2007... Situation: Seven men shoot at each other. Six get shot. Three die. And a century and a quarter later, people are still trying to figure out what the hell happened. Lesson: If you've been in a shooting, make damn sure the evidence has been...

The sixgunner: long hunter .45 rodeo: a PPP of a pistol.
May 1, 2007... Several years ago I coined a phrase that has become a household word among dedicated connoisseurs of the sixgun--that phrase was Perfect Packin' Pistol. Regular readers of my articles and columns in American Handgunner and GUNS know immediately...

Wilson ADP: a 'thinking-man's' pistol. This gun is not fun to shoot. But that's okay. It's not meant to be.
May 1, 2007... It's one of the growing list of "carry a lot/shoot a little" handguns popular for concealed carry these days. And in that regard the Wilson ADP--for Advanced Defensive Pistol--is generally successful. The ADP is a small polymer-frame 9mm pistol...

The edge and beyond: Emerson knives continues to expand its horizon.
May 1, 2007... The modern tactical knives we know today all owe their roots to a handful of talented custom knifemakers who helped define the genre back in the early 1990s. Among that small, elite group was Ernest "Ernie" Emerson, a talented metal-morphing...

Seeing red: illuminated reticle sights.
May 1, 2007... Illuminated reticle sights have had a profound impact on competitive handgun shooting. They're often called "'red-dot" sights, as the reticle is usually red and usually a dot (impeccable logic). However there arc reticles which are neither, so...

Kimber's cool carry combo.(Cover story)
May 1, 2007... Robert Heinlein, the science fiction author, is the man who coined the phrase most of us all hold near and dear: "An armed society is a polite society." I've admired and respected both the man and his work since I was a kid. Heinlein also...

USFA ultimate Sixgun: C&S's take on the SAA.
May 1, 2007... Handgunner shamelessly endorses the concept of handguns as a "high art" form. From the mundane to the staggering, you've seen it on our pages and will continue to do so. At times, however, the "less is more" concept proves yet again simplicity...

UnAmerican: the .30 caliber autos.
May 1, 2007... One of the bonuses of a writer's life--at least here at FMG--is you can indulge in a change of pace anytime you want. So that's what I'm doing here, going 180 degrees from big bore revolvers to small bore autos--namely the .30 Luger and .30...

Lee Jurras: the man who gave us hollowpoints.
May 1, 2007... The firearms industry loses its own history. Like any other industry, survival depends on sales, and sales depend on new products. The irony is precious few of these innovations are new. Most are reruns of an idea that's come around before and...

It's what's up front that counts: Hindi duty belt safety system.
May 1, 2007... Why am I devoting space in American Handgunner to a dedicated police duty belt system? Easy, a large percentage of Handgunner readers are cops, and the rest can learn about a new way of thinking regarding your personal protection gear. You...

Lasergrips for Super Redhawk.(GUNNYSACK)
May 1, 2007... While there's no doubt lasers have become popular on defensive handguns, I'd never really given them much thought for hunting until I put a pair of Lasergrips on my Super Redhawk. It was a wakeup call. We all know the limitations of lasers in...

Remington knives.(GUNNYSACK)
May 1, 2007... We're all familiar with Remington's famous "Bullet Knife" series, but they've gone back into the knife business in a very big way with a wide line of moderately priced knives made in Italy. And, since tactical is all the rage, they have lots of...

Odor Eliminator.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Novum Solutions American Handgunner has n substantial number of folks in the law enforcement field who subscribe or buy the magazine on the newsstand. For this reason, we thought it was appropriate to include this wonder Odor Eliminator in...

XM-HD Binoculars.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Carson Optical Carson's new high performance, full size 8x42HD and 10x42HD XM HD (High Definition) Binoculars offer excellent optics plus new optical coating technology. This technology significantly enhances light gathering capabilities...

Submachine gun case.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Elite Survival Systems Okay, I'll grant you the fact that this isn't exactly a handgun-related item hut hey all of us have at least one submachine gun that needs a new carrying case. Just ask the media and they'll give you all of the...

LG-403 for the Mark II/III.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Crimson Trace Crimson Trace is cranking out new models so fast it's hard to keep up with them. Even with two in this issue, we're not even close to showing all the f new goodies. First up here is the LG-403 designed specifically for the...

LG-303.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Crimson Trace Take the popular Ruger SP-101, install the new Crimson Trace LG-303 Lasergrips and you have yourself one dandy self-defense weapon. The LG-303 features a comfortable rubber overmold construction for a positive grip, plus the...

Off Duty .38 Special.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Charter Arms Charter Arms is reporting for duty again with the very popular "Off Duty" .38 Special. This model transforms Chacter's fine design into a totally new concealed carry revolver. One great feature is the heat-treated aluminum...

CQC-14 Snubby.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Emerson Knives Leave it to Emerson Knives to come up with more and better products to protect and defend. One of their newest entries is the CQC-14 Snubby, a perfect urban carry that embodies the motto "To some they are accessories, to...

XD .45 ACP Compact.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Springfield, Inc. Springfield is proud to unveil a brand new category of XD Pistol: the .45 ACP Compact. This beauty is a 4" barreled pistol with o shortened grip frame for easier carry. Each gun comes with two magazines. A 10 round...

Add it up.(THE INSIDER[TM])
May 1, 2007... 40 People sent to ER for dog bites per minute. 7 BILLION Gallons of bottled water sold in U.S. yearly. 1.5 MILLION Barrels of crude oil used to make the bottles. 2.5 MILES Length of Three Mile Island. $5,000 Amount family is...

AH in the sandbox.(THE INSIDER[TM])
May 1, 2007... Dustin Harkness sent us this photo from "over there" and I just had to share it. His note to me said morale was great, they were kicking butt, to not believe what we read in the press and that Handgunner "rocked." What better compliment do we...

SHOT show surprises.(THE INSIDER[TM])
May 1, 2007... Just back from the Shooting and Hunting Outdoor Trade Show in Orlando, wherein they show everybody all that's new in the biz. With some 1,500 vendors inside of a hall one-third of a mile long, to say it's overwhelming leaves room for more of...