Crimson Trace 1911 Lightguard

June 07, 2012

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.

Speed or Tactical

June 06, 2012

Every time I do class at Gunsite with a pistol, the top-notch instructors repeat the techniques of performing both speed and tactical reloads. For the uninitiated, a speed load is when the shooter in an ongoing gunfight has fired several rounds, ejects the magazine onto the deck and inserts a fully loaded replacement. Contrast that with the tactical reload, where the shooter drops the partially expended magazine into the palm, then inserts another with the same hand. The partially expended one goes into a designated pocket or pouch.

The Armed Citizen® June 5, 2012

June 05, 2012

People fled in terror when a gunman entered a medical building and took several people hostage. A doctor at the practice, Jeff Ferguson, retrieved his gun and guarded an exit, allowing an estimated 50 people to escape down a stairwell, warning them, “If this guy opens this door, I’m going to have to shoot him.” Ferguson said after the ordeal, “I was absolutely prepared to shoot him, yes.” Despite negotiators’ best efforts to get 28-year-old Dominic Oliver to surrender peacefully, he was later shot during a confrontation with police.

Canfield Spices Up “Cajun Pawn” With A BAR

June 04, 2012

There were some delays as the network jockeyed the season premiere time slot, but American Rifleman Field Editor Bruce N. Canfield will make his debut as the firearms expert tonight at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on History’s “Cajun Pawn Stars,” which is filmed at Jimmy “Big Daddy” DeRamus’ Silver Dollar Pawn & Jewelry in Alexandra, La. The show airing tonight has Bruce sizing up a Model 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle brought into Silver Dollar. DeRamus not only has an FFL, but a machine gun dealer’s license, too.

Beretta Nano

June 04, 2012

The market for subcompact handguns hasn't cooled, and Beretta got involved in late 2011 with its new Nano.

Sighted Fire

May 31, 2012

The best way to ensure that you will hit what you’re aiming at is to use the sights that are included on every handgun built. It’s amazing how manufacturers are able to put those little indents and raised platforms on a gun in such a way that you would think they had been doing this for centuries and might have an idea of how to build guns. Oh, wait, they have and they do.

Walther PPS .40

May 31, 2012

One of the things that stands high on my “to-do” list is shoot and write about a particular pistol that seems to be running under the radar. It is a Walther, sold in the United States by Smith & Wesson under a strategic agreement with the legendary German gunmaker. Most shooters are aware that this agreement has resulted in a number of the very popular Walther pistols becoming available in the United States at competitive prices. The particular pistol to which I refer is the Walther PPS, which stands for Police Pistol, Slim. As a guy that has looked at all of the current genre of small, single column 9 mm Luger pistols in detail, I found the PPS in 9 mm to be a very appealing personal defense package. Best of all, it was reliable.

Daughters at the Range

May 29, 2012

Taking our sons, nephews and male friends to the range to learn about shooting just seems like the right thing to do. But often, we leave the girls at home on those days that we pile guns and gear into the truck for a day of plinking.

Frangible Ammo

May 29, 2012

The above photo is a Federal Hydra-Shok hollow point.

The Armed Citizen® May 29, 2012

May 29, 2012

Dale Vigliarolo and his wife were walking into Holiday Market when they spotted 43-year-old David Shuten in the parking lot wilding a large hunting knife. After a failed attempt to break into a vehicle, Shuten turned his attention to a nearby couple with an infant child.