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For some reason, I have lately been reflecting on a lifetime of shooting, which includes the fine gun people I’ve met and the great gun places I have visited. I found both in the old San Francisco Gun Exchange. The store has been out of business since September of ’99, but it was an iconic institution for the 52 years preceding that unhappy date. Those who study marketing would be well advised to examine the way that grand old store was run. They had what you needed (as well as most competing products), their sales people knew a great deal about the product and the sale was completely honest and above board. It was a dignified, yet cordial atmosphere, and for most of the five-plus decades the SFGE was in business, owner Nate Posner worked hard to keep it that way.
June 11, 2013
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In a revolver, the hand is the long bar that reaches up through a slot in the standing breech. The upper tip of the hand engages a lug on the rear of the cylinder (usually part of the extractor) and turns the cylinder.
June 05, 2013
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Fans of Big Green’s .45s get to reap the benefits of well-made pistols where it counts most—downrange.
May 30, 2013
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The swing-out cylinder DA/SA revolver has been around since the 1870s and has been refined in many ways. While there are variations in the common brands and models, they pretty much remain alike with their handling. However, they usually differ in the way you get the cylinder open for extraction and loading. Colt always used a pull-back latch, originally “L” shaped and evolved into a gracefully rounded knob. Smith & Wesson favored a dished-out button that you pressed forward to allow the cylinder to swing out. When Dan Wesson came along with the flat lever that tilts down to release the cylinder, it was mounted forward of the cylinder on the left side of the frame. That unusual arrangement drew criticism until PPC shooters discovered the utility of the system’s ease of reloading.
May 28, 2013
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There is a variation of the basic pistol that is worthy of a quick look, but is a variation that most of us will never fire, much less own. It’s called a machine pistol, which means a full-auto pistol—illegal without federal registration and tax stamp. Less there be confusion in terminology, understand that the abbreviation MP is sometimes used to describe them, but the Germans use that same abbreviation to describe the submachine gun—MP38, MP5, etc. In common use, the submachine gun is a compact full-auto firearm that fires pistol cartridges. It has a buttstock for support and is very effective in trained hands. In most cases, submachine guns are not easily concealed. Machine pistols, on the other hand, are full-auto guns firing pistol cartridges and having fairly concealable characteristics. More often than not, they do not have stocks or other support devices. I do not believe the machine pistol has characteristics that make it an effective firearm for anything but highly specialized roles.
May 21, 2013
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There is an old saying, repeated often enough to be a cliché, which says “Practice makes Perfect.” On the face of it, this might seem to apply to learning the skills of gunhandling and marksmanship. But when you think about the consequences of errors in handling a gun and using it skillfully under stress, then maybe it’s time to refine the cliché’d just a little. How about adding a word, making it “Perfect Practice makes Perfect?” In essence, this simply means that you must execute every aspect of a training regimen to perfection before additional repetitions will produce a beneficial effect. It has been pretty well established that you must do something on the order of 5,000 reps of a physical act before muscle memory takes over and it becomes habit. That’s a tall order.
May 16, 2013
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On several occasions in the past, I have stated an opinion that I will re-iterate here. When you are choosing a concealed-carry firearm, the most important physical characteristic to consider is weight. As you make your comparisons to narrow the choices, we’ll assume that you chose a gun of a caliber that is well-suited for the job. In autos, nothing smaller than a 9 mm, while .38 Spl. is as light as you should go in a revolver.
May 14, 2013
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Before automatic pistols had one piece receivers of best-quality, industrial grade polymer, they came with two pieces of (usually) wood fastened to the sides of the butt. Revolvers go even farther back in the chronology and did the same thing. Wood shapes easily and can even be user-customized. However, what is the correct name for these wood, bone, horn, ivory or whatever plates. For most of my shooting life, I have called them “grips” and I believe the majority of the firearms world does the same.
May 06, 2013
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From just before the American Civil War to just after the turn of the century, America underwent a westward expansion unparalleled in history. Millions migrated with the sun to the new opportunities beyond the wide Missouri. In order to have this happen, the frontier population went armed with the fast-developing firearms of that day. In our time, this movement has been romanticized heavily, including the use of a wide variety of guns. The process has involved a great many so-called “western” motion pictures and TV shows. This, in turn, has created a demand for shooting samples of all of these types of guns. I’m delighted to point out that you can now buy brand-new examples of almost all of the guns that served to conquer the frontier. Made of modern steels and fitted very nicely, these guns come from a variety of factories, most of which are in Italy.
May 03, 2013
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The course of fire known as the PPC was developed to give peace officers a more realistic training experience than the bullseye courses that used to be in police basements all across the country. For administrative reasons, the Practical Pistol Course needed several important characteristics. It had to be easy to run and require a minimum of space. Also, there was a need for an easy-to-score system and a minimum of range staff. There was a bit of fiddling around with the course, but it eventually settled into a routine with stages as 7, 15, 25 and 50 yards. All you needed was a flat piece of ground with a berm to contain the bullet strikes and lines at the four ranges. After my Marine service, I started shooting this course for qualification and in competition. I fired it early and often, shooting the course probably 1,000 times in the years I was a deputy sheriff. It was fun meeting other officers on the competition circuit and my revolver skills improved along the way. Eventually, however, the use of the PPC course as a competition device produced some problems.
April 29, 2013
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SIG has updated the P228-based gun, adding two rounds of capacity to the compact 9 mm Luger pistol.
April 24, 2013
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Everybody loves a bargain, but there are a lot of shooters in these hard economic times who absolutely need a bargain if they are going to keep shooting. Where handguns are concerned, you might want to consider what’s available in the pre-owned category. In doing so, know that there is a difference between worn out junk and a well-maintained service handgun.
April 22, 2013
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In the 1970s, I lived and worked in an area with a number of excellent gun stores. One of them was in a coastal city, and about half the salesmen were off-duty deputy sheriffs. This store was big enough to have an enormous array of guns, both new and used, and it was well connected to the major makers, so rare guns were not uncommon. It was in this cop-friendly emporium that I saw my first Smith & Wesson pinto revolver. Now, what is a Smith & Wesson “pinto” handgun?
April 17, 2013
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Wiley Clapp explains the worst mistakes that most beginning shooters make, and offers solutions.
April 15, 2013
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Centennial denotes a period of 100 years. When those 100 years are identified as a specific period, such as 1901 to 2000, it’s called a century. The 20th century was a milestone time in history, both in general and in the history of arms and their use. We witnessed enormous changes in guns and ammunition in the 20th century, from the U.S. Army riding to battle on horseback to Marines using Osprey VTOL airplanes in the Gulf wars. Similar changes occurred in police and civilian arms. It struck me the other day that there are a few significant items that literally span a century, being popular and meaningful throughout. Take the revolver cartridge, for example. At the beginning of the century we had two that merit our attention.
April 12, 2013
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