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The R1 is Remington’s first semi-automatic pistol since the 1920s.
January 13, 2011
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I have been involved in several marathon shoots that gunzine editors take such delight in ordering. One was with a rifle (Colt H-BAR), another was a disaster with a gun that was quickly withdrawn from production and one more was with a Sig P220 .45. This last one was easily the most memorable. The project consisted of a crew of volunteers running 10,000 rounds of high-quality Black Hills ball ammunition through the gun in one day-long session. We could have done it quicker, but I insisted on being fair to the gun, as well as finding out some interesting stuff along the way.
January 12, 2011
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As an infantry guy, I called for illumination quite often. It usually came from mortars or howitzers, but occasionally from naval gunfire or aerial flares. As a cop, I used my big 4-cell Kel-Lite far more than my Model 19. And as the saying goes, you can't fight 'em if you can't see 'em. Of all the possible accessories to a good fighting handgun you could possibly buy, one of the most important is an effective light. It's so important that the synonym for flashlight in the tactical sense is “target identifier.” There's a vast liability issue awaiting the police officer or even armed citizen who lets fly with old Betsy without positively identifying the target, but that's only part of the handgunner's need for a good light.
January 05, 2011
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Times are a' changing. Not so long ago, almost every handgun hammer had a spur. This is the rearmost visible extension of the hammer on a pistol or revolver. It's the part on which the shooter places his thumb in order to cock the gun's action.
December 20, 2010
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I recently picked up a brand new pistol. The gun was the new Taurus 709 SLIM and it appeared to be the latest in a seemingly unending string of polymer receiver autos with simple DAO lockwork. This is a highly successful system, used by many makers and available in all the popular calibers. Most models follow the example set by Glock, where the slide's movement to the rear partially cocks the internal striker while trigger pressure completes the cocking action before releasing the striker to fire. The new Taurus model appeared to be another DAO, but I should have seen that it was not. This was particularly true when I couldn't get the pistol to fire and blamed the good folks at Taurus for sending me a broke gun.
December 17, 2010
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A lot of what I hear and read on the subject of defensive handguns shows evidence of confusion on terminology. There is a world of difference between a concealed-carry handgun and a home-defense handgun. Since we don't usually carry our handguns openly as we go about our daily lives in public view, we need to carry them concealed. I must emphasize that this can only be done where it is legally permissible and usually only when we have obtained the necessary governmental license to do so.
December 13, 2010
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I'm not sure where this underlug business really got its start, but I was around when it really got rolling. A term that relates most commonly to DA/SA revolvers, underlug refers to an integral extension of metal that runs along the bottom side of the barrel. Although underlug-like fixtures are found on some of the Frontier-era S&W break tops, I think the first gun to have one (in the modern sense) was the Triple Lock of 1908. It was necessary for the complex locking system of that magnificent old gun, but it came to be highly regarded because it protected (or shrouded) the revolver's ejector rod. These shrouds are still a regular feature on most of S&W's N-frame revolver models. However, not until the 1950s did we see a shroud on the barrel of a K frame. It was on the Model 19, developed at the instigation of the late Bill Jordan. Bill was a real humorist at times; I can remember him chuckling over the use of an ejector rod shroud like it was a Holy Grail. He called it a “stroud,” solemnly assuring his listeners that every gun needed a good “stroud.”
December 09, 2010
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Marketing executives at our major gun companies are aware that they need to offer their customers many choices in every gun style. That's true not only for optional features such as sights, grips and lasers, but also for pricing . The overwhelmingly most popular type of handgun today is the high capacity, DAO auto in 9 mm or .40 S&W, usually with a receiver made of molded polymer. This style of gun is available at a wide array of prices. Current industry jargon for the suggested retail price is the “price point.” The point I am making is simply that big makers would like to have a gun of this type available at several different price points—literally several different guns. Obviously, this is done to attract as big a percentage of the potential buyers as possible.
November 29, 2010
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Question: You have said that a handgun is the worst possible weapon for personal defense. How about telling us what are better choices and ranking them in order, 1 through 10.
November 18, 2010
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“Double Tap” is a slang term that I don't believe has a precise meaning. They don't use the term at Gunsite, which has been teaching for a long time now. Most commonly, I believe it means two fast pistol shots.
November 10, 2010
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Remington's recent decision to offer the public a 1911 style .45 pistol is well timed. Back in March, we passed the 99th anniversary of the official adoption of the M1911 pistol as the sidearm of the U.S. Army. Next year, we'll see the centennial of that great old classic. For a host of reasons, the 1911 is an enduring firearm. I have yet to handle a sample of the Remington version, but it looks good and the early reviews of the gun by other writers are favorable.
November 05, 2010
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Over 20 years ago, I was just beginning to get rolling as a gunwriter. I had a couple of years behind me working for one of the smaller magazines and had just been called up to the show at one of the big books.
October 28, 2010
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S&W addresses America’s interest in compact and concealable handguns.
October 28, 2010
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The high capacity automatic pistol is now an accepted necessity in the 21st Century gun culture. While it is most commonly done in 9 mm Luger, the double-wide pistol may or may not be a necessity in the real world. That's an opinion, so we had better take a deeper look at the virtues and vices associated with this class of gun. The advantages of a high capacity magazine should be obvious, but are best summarized in Wayne Novak's words: “the reload is in the gun.” Sure, there is a great potential for misuse in a seemingly endless supply of ammunition, but the answer to that one lies in good training. It doesn't make sense for the traditionalist to condemn the pistol's capacity for potential misuse when the gun doesn't have anything to do with the way it's used. In my view, the problems associated with this class of pistol are the physical characteristics that are by-products of those two columns of cartridges.
October 26, 2010
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At this year's SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Taurus introduced new variations of the Judge revolver. The Judge is the whimsical name that the Brazilian-based American gunmaker gave to their revolver that fires both .45 Colt cartridges and .410 shotgun shells.
October 25, 2010
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