Category Archives: ccw

Oh, Baby

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The very cute Browning Baby had a lot going for it when it was introduced in 1931. Just 9-ounces, the pipsqueak gatt was reliable, made of steel, and could fit in a pocket, and allow 6+1 shots to the user.

On the downside, it was chambered in the downright lilliputian 6.35mm (.25ACP), which is still better than a poke it the eye, but not by much.

Nonetheless, it gained popularity over time. Prior to WWII some 50,147 of these guns were produced by FN in the decade before the assembly line was interrupted by the Germans– and in return, some of those early guns made it to the hands of the Resistance, where their size came in handy

Then, after the U.S. market opened up and the guns were sold there via the Browning Arms Company in 1954, the gun really caught on, with over 13,000 shipping to the states that year alone. By 1968, production had ramped up to more than 42,000 Babies per year.

Then came the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the wheels fell off.

More in my column at Guns.com

The G is still buying (a few) revolvers

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What can I say, everyone loves wheelguns, right? (And yes, that is my Colt Dick along with same-period Roscoe switchblade, thanks for noticing!)

The Government Accountability Office last week released a report on recent purchases of firearms, ammunition and tactical equipment by federal law enforcement agencies.

The 86-page report focused on the weapons acquired by 20 diverse federal agencies ranging from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General to the FBI. What it found were that the agencies reported spending at least $38.8 million on firearms, $325.9 million on ammunition, and $1.14 billion on tactical equipment in the past eight years.

Of interest to wheelgun lovers will be the fact that at least three of the agencies — NPPD, ICE, and U.S. Secret Service — reported buying small numbers of revolvers recently, although they accounted for less than 1 percent of total purchases across the review. Other revolvers appeared on the existing inventory of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and the IRS, proving the old hog leg is not as dead as to be believed.

More insights into the report in my column at Guns.com.

A new take on an old idea

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The first revolver speedloader patented was that of William H. Bell in 1879. Bell’s device was a simple metal disk with a rotating locking mechanism that held six revolver rounds. When used with a top-break revolver of the time, such as the Smith and Wesson Lemon squeezer, the speedloader would drop six ready rounds in the cylinder extremely rapidly. It is unclear if Bell’s device ever was manufactured, but it certainly seems like the first of its species.

Now, 130 years later, people are still tweaking the idea.

CK Tactical went live with their Ripcord series five and six-round revolver speedloaders in September and they have been generating some buzz in the gun industry and earning newfound fans. Their signature product is designed, like other speedloaders, to hold a full load of spare rounds for a wheel gun until needed, then dump them into the cylinder.

Unlike existing Safariland and HKS loaders that use a central knob or button, the Ripcord, as its name implies, is designed to be deployed by pulling by a loading tab, leaving the cartridges behind.

At a cost of $10 for a two-pack, CKT currently offers the loader in two different models with a range of compatibility with various Chiappa, Rossi, Ruger, S&W, and Taurus revolvers. As such, I am getting a few sets to see how they stack up against the Bianchi speed strips and HKS/Safariland loaders I’ve used for years.

More on the CKT in my column at Guns.com.

Nice to see blued steel is back

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Ruger is offering a variant of their classic SP101 small frame double-action revolver for those who eschew the gun’s normal stainless configurations.

The new five-round wheel gun is manufactured from alloy steel, and features a 2.25-inch barrel, fixed rear sight and ramped front sight. Chambered in .357 Magnum and weighing in at 26-ounces, Chris Killoy, Ruger president & CEO said in a statement the company has fielded numerous customer requests for the new model, which is manufactured in their New Hampshire plant.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Confusingly, now Glock has a 9mm called the G45…among other new guns this week

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Typically, gun makers debut new product at large firearms industry events like SHOT Show in January or the NRA Show in late April/early May. However, that leaves 7-8 months of deadtime which it is hard for makers to get a ton of easy exposure.

But then, there is September.

That’s when you have The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference, which caters to the LE crowd, and the NRA’s new Carry Guard Expo which is geared to the nation’s 18 million CCW holders.

While the latter got rained out due to Florence and the former still a minute away, the releases are still flowing. Remington just released a new V3 shotgun (it’s a 22-inch barrel Compact model), Savage has a new (and suppressor-ready!) Rascal, et. al.

Well, Glock drummed up the PR bandwagon and dropped the new Glock 45 on the market this week.

Short story: the G45 is a 5th Gen 9mm that basically (and stop if you have heard this before) “combines the fast handling of the GLOCK 19 compact-sized slide with the full-size frame as a compact Crossover!”

Yes, it is a G19X, but in black instead of coyote tan and with front serrations.

“After the release of the G19X, we saw a strong interest from the law enforcement community for the design in a black model,” said GLOCK, Inc. VP Josh Dorsey. “The G45 is the result of a design that meets the demanding level of reliability with distinctive Gen5 design enhancements to improve durability, accuracy, and performance to those who go into harm’s way where fractions of a second matter.”

Personally, I have put 2,500+ rds through my own G19X and I really like it (full review here) but I think they could have just dubbed a black version with serrations as the same model, but tweaked, e.g. the G19BXFS or some shit. Meh.

Feedback to the hype on the new G45 has been luke already, although I am sure Glock will sell a million of them.

Also, Glock is expanding their Gen5 MOS (Modular Optic) series to include a G19 and G17, both optic ready right from the factory to enable users to mount their preferred reflex sights to their pistol in order to improve their target acquisition.

All of the new-ish Glocks will be available for purchase starting October 5th at dealers.

Smith’s answer to the G30

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So I’ve been carrying a S&W M&P M2.0 Compact in 9mm since last October off and on and, over 2,000-rounds later, I really dig it and it has been holding up well. Size-wise, it is a dead ringer for the Glock 19 and has a lot of bonuses that the G doesn’t.

My M2.0 chilling, also, forgive the homage to Alex Colville’s Pacific.

I also from time to time carry an assortment of Glocks to include my G19X, Gen 3 Gen 19, and Gen 4 G30– with the latter being a 10+1 round .45ACP with a 3.78-inch barrel. I like it so much that one of the characters in my zombie fiction franchise carries one.

With that being said, my interest was piqued to find out that Smith now has an M2.0 Compact in .45ACP, complete with a 10+1 round capacity and a 4-inch barrel. Color me on the T&E team for that one.

Vale, P239

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I always kinda liked the P239. Slightly more ergonomic than the classic P6/P225 West German police pistol, it was a great carry for its time, sort of a 9mm Walther PP.

P239 with Hogue G10 grips, SRT, Trijicon HD’s and a new guide rod spring

Sig Sauer debuted the compact, personal-sized handgun in 1996 in 9mm and .357 SIG, later adding .40 S&W to the stable two years later. Over the years the company sold them in DAO and double/single action configurations as well as with their DAK trigger system with various finishes and options.

However, when the 2018 catalog and dealer price list came out last Fall, Sig forums lit up with the news that the model had been quietly discontinued. Last month, it largely disappeared from the company’s website, leaving with a whisper.

More in my column at Guns.com

What’s in your mint tin, anyway?

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So Trailblazer Firearms seems to be doing pretty well with their single-shot folding .22LR (with an optional .22WMR barrel) Lifecard handgun.

Small enough to fit in an Altoids tin or the 5th pocket of a set of jeans (should they still exist), the thing is pretty neat. Just not $400 neat, IMHO, as you can spend the same amount and get a Ruger LC9 with a holster and a few hundred rounds of practice ammo.

However, they have sold over 6,000 of these little popguns in the past year, which isn’t a lot compared to the million Glock 43s sold in the past two years, but that is pushing close to the $2.4 million mark– not bad coin for a startup gun.

Especially one about the same profile as a credit card.

Anyway, more in my column at Guns.com

Looking for a good 9mm with a little history that won’t break the bank?

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Classic Arms is selling ‘”fair condition” Star (Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A) Model BMs, which is a 9mm Colt Commander-sized single action made for Spanish police between 1972 and 1992, for $149.

Wut.

These sweet little pistols are great– I’ve picked up a few in recent months. Pro-tip if you get into collecting these: C.G.P. markings on the slide are for the Civil Guardia Policia for Spain and P.A. is the Policia Armada for Spain. CGP patrolled the rural areas while the PA patrolled the cities (Madrid, Barcelona, etc.).

The model was used by LaFrance Specialties to make the famous “NOVA 6-Pack” in the 1980s that could use either a chopped 6-round mag or the standard 8-shot.

Photo via an old GunsAmerica listing

Stars from the Eger Collection, lol:

Standard…

And with Chinese elm aftermarket panels by Reine Smith at 4S Grips and an Outbags full-grain leather Colt Commander-sized holster that fits like a glove.

 

Making notes from a bad day

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Two weeks ago there was an absolutely bonkers LE gunfight caught on body cam by Las Vegas Metro during which the officer engages in a running fight with two armed murder suspects in a stolen SUV across city streets. I wrote it up over at Guns.com and the details– some 65 rounds fired by two officers and two subjects with shell casings recovered at five different locations– are the stuff of a Michael Mann movie.

One of the interesting takeaways I noticed: once the primary officer has to perform an emergency reload he fumbles the magazine exchange for a couple seconds by inserting the fresh mag upside down, which he then has to clear, reassess and perform correctly to engage the threat.

This is a good time to point out that you should index your reloads to where they orient naturally when pulled from your spare mag pouch/system. Practice, practice, practice this several hundred times with a clear gun (or with snap caps) and mags in a safe location and revisit that practice regularly. Luckily, he had the seconds to spare.

Sadly, most LE only get paid to recertify for their actual range time each quarter– if that– and most neglect those crucial hours of muscle memory dry firing drills that can help alleviate situations like this.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not knocking the officer, I am sure that the auditory exclusion, adrenaline overload and pucker factor of the situation had his rear end clenched tighter than a cheerio and kudos to him for being able to fix the problem. But you can also take that problem and learn from it.

Also, there is the whole firing through the dashboard thing, which for a handgun is an iffy situation as few pistol rounds can be considered “barrier blind,” but that is another gripe session for later days.

Carry on and be safe!

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