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It’s fun to play off the title of a great book by Robert Ruark—“Use Enough Gun.” Ruark was writing about Africa and dangerous game hunting, and when you are facing some humongous beast that can kill you in an instant, it is wise to use all the gun you can manage. Most people never get to fire one of those big .470 doubles, so they nod wisely at the title and agree. The key element in the equation is “all the gun you can manage.” I believe that most defense shooters never really determine what they can handle. Further, I’m guessing that they can probably use a lot more gun than they realize. Guns are mysterious things to most people, having been formed by the chronic mis-use of firearms on TV and in the movies. Most new shooters choose a firearm for personal defense on the basis of a brief conversation with an enthusiastic young man at a gun store counter. While it is logistically difficult to pull off, a beginner really needs to shoot a variety of calibers, styles and models of guns before choosing. Unfortunately, this is probably not going to happen.
June 25, 2012
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In an age where pocket pistols are becoming predominantly polymer, Kimber wanted to give shooters an all-metal option that brought power and a little style to the concealed carry gun. They did just that with the Kimber Solo series.
June 25, 2012
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While there is no doubt that lasers are great tools for self-defense, there is a bit of an argument about instant-on versus push-button control. Some shooters prefer Crimson Trace because the laser activates when you grip the handgun, while others favor more control over the activation of the laser like the control button on LaserMax lasers.
June 20, 2012
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In the 1870s, an interesting phenomenon burst on the firearms scene. Cartridge firearms had been in use since the mid-50s, but most of the early ones were small calibers that were plagued with problems. The first widespread use of practical and powerful metallic cartridges in handguns came with the Peacemaker Colt and the .45 Colt cartridge in 1873. Both gun and ammo are still manufactured and are well known as milestones in firearms history. The big breakthrough was in the centerfire design. The big ol’ .45 Colt case was straight-sided and worked perfectly in the revolver’s cylinder with the rod extractor. In the same year, Winchester introduced a new rifle also destined for gun hall of fame—the 1873 Winchester rifle, chambered for the equally new .44 Winchester Center Fire (.44 W.C.F. or .44-40) cartridge. This cartridge was properly designed for the complicated lever-action feeding and extraction system. Since that mechanism had relatively low camming power and produced considerable cruddy residue, the new .44 cartridge came with a sort of tapered, semi-bottlenecked shape. It proved to be a very workable solution. Then, Colt realized that the new Winchester rifle cartridge could also be made to work in the Single Action Army revolver. Within a short time, the .44 WCF was available in Colt revolvers and Winchester rifles. Thus began the tradition of a cowboy using the same ammo in both carbine and revolver.
June 18, 2012
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Concealable guns continue to be among the hottest products at any gun shop, but SIG Sauer wanted to deliver something a little extra with the P224.
June 18, 2012
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There are times when you just can’t carry a gun. It might be because you’re in a place where it’s not legal, such as when flying or in a public building, but sometimes it’s just a matter of inconvenience.
June 15, 2012
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Comments on my discussion about Sighted Fire have made me decide to respond. Using sights is, and always will be, the best way to hit an intended target. However, there are times when point shooting is the best option, and self-defense shooters should train for these situations.
June 14, 2012
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Once in a while, a gun-savvy young man comes along with a better idea (or ideas) and Nat Stevens is just that guy. For a couple of years now, I have watched his product line, website and general success grow steadily. Nat makes simple and clever accessories for handguns through his company Tuff Products. I haven’t seen a thing in his line that doesn’t make sense, and some of it is pretty original.
June 14, 2012
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While swapping the Lightguard from my Kimber to my Colt, I discovered that Crimson Trace’s listing as it is for Kimber, Ruger and Smith & Wesson 1911s was accurate. The trigger guard on my Colt is just slightly too thick.
June 13, 2012
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Over the weekend, I attended a block party to get acquainted with my neighbors. While talking to a guy about a variety of topics, I noticed that a neighbor, who had recently moved into the area, was a police officer. I mentioned it, and the guy I was talking to said that he thought I also was a cop since I was carrying.
June 11, 2012
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With some exceptions, the majority of common automatic pistols have a feed ramp. They have to have one because the ammo is fed from below and behind the barrel and its chamber. In the feeding and chambering cycle, the fresh cartridge moves forward and up to its place in the chamber. This is a simple invention that has been used since the very first pistols. More often than not, a small portion of the chamber mouth has a radius to form this feed ramp. This creates a small crescent of surface of the cartridge that is not supported by steel chamber walls. In firing, this area takes the full pressure for just an instant. But it takes the pressure at the head of the cartridge where the brass—a wonderfully elastic material—is thickest and strongest. Literally, billions of rounds of ammunition have been loaded, fired, extracted and ejected from typical pistols since the first one was fired.
June 11, 2012
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Decades old and still vastly popular, Ruger's Mini-14 has few limits. The company's miniaturized version of the legendary M14, the Mini-14 is ideal for use on the farm and ranch, in the woods, at the range or for personal defense.
June 11, 2012
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Last year, I had an opportunity to try out the Crimson Trace Lightguard at Gunsite in a variety of night exercises. At the time, the only handgun that the new Lightguard was available for was the Smith & Wesson M&P. While there, a few of us writer types asked when a Lightguard would be coming for 1911 handguns. The only answer we received from Crimson Trace representative Iain Harrison was a smile, which we took as it was coming; he just wasn’t sure when.
June 07, 2012
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