In a lifetime of shooting, I have been involved in a number of forms of competition. My first pistol match was in Basic School at Quantico over 50 years ago. It was a bullseye match fired on the National Match course of slow, timed and rapid fire. Over time, I became an avid, if not spectacularly successful, bullseye competitor. Naturally, I had to have all kinds of specially modified pistols to shoot the course. Later, as a police officer, I was bitten by the PPC bug and traveled all over California to compete. It was a great time (particularly when I was driving a Volkswagen and gas was 30 cents a gallon) and I had the practical advantage of competing on the same course I fired for qualification. Literally, I was training as I was competing—great idea. Then, I became interested the IHMSA game, where we shot at silhouettes of game animals at great distances. This took a powerful and accurate handgun, but the basics of the game were still sight alignment and trigger management. In time, I discovered IPSC, IDPA and SASS and had brief flirtations with these sports. Yep, I have had a heck of a good time competing with handguns. In so doing, I have developed a huge fund of knowledge on how to lose a pistol match, because I have lost more than my share of matches.

It must have been the last gallant battle of the Wondernine Wars, but after everybody developed a durable, shootable 9 mm pistol in the 70s and 80s, the ammo industry went into herculean efforts to make 9 mm hollow point ammo that would expand reliably and penetrate deeply.

I’ve always enjoyed my collection of vintage handgun books, particularly when I get the chance to turn my friends on to a book of which few have heard.

There's a new product on the market, one that's quickly wormed its way into my affection—QuickStrips.

As much as I am fond of old classic gun books, I also enjoy modern ones when they present themselves. One of the best I have seen in several years is Mike Bussard's “Ammo Encyclopedia,” published by Blue Books Publications.