Handguns

Police officers, competitive shooters, and military units train with air guns. What do they know that you don’t?  It is safer and cheaper than live fire while measurably improving performance. There is no better way to teach trigger control and reduce anticipation of recoil. The cost of range training is more than just the ammunition. We must also include vehicle mileage, targets and range fees but perhaps the most precious resource consumed is time.

Sometimes, as the tagline goes for Springfield’s new 911, the police are minutes away, the threat is seconds away, and you’re your own first responder—whether you want to be or not. Springfield’s new 911 may look like other sub-compact 1911-style 380s, but it handles better than any I’ve shot. The engineers at Springfield tweaked the mini-1911 design to minimize felt recoil, improve ergonomics, and provide a clearer sight picture even in the most stressful situations. Plus, it’s a great looking gun. The 911 stands out among the crowds of striker-fired handguns, and it won’t fail to deliver in a crisis.

Glock has been updating the line up to Generation 5, as seen here on the 17/19 and here on the 19X. We aren’t going to rehash all the changes for the Gen 5 here, but a highlight reel is helpful if you haven’t been paying attention. The accuracy is improved by a factor of half, the new triggers are better, gone are the finger grooves, and there is a right side slide release for the

Improving on initial success, Springfield Armory is introducing a new variation of both models. Now, you have the factory option of the Heavy Operator with an RMR pre-installed, cut deep into the slide. I predict another big win, this is the perfect set up for a 10mm 1911.

The Battle Rifle is commonly accepted to be an autoloading combat rifle that feeds from a detachable magazine and fires a full-sized .30-caliber round. While Battle Rifles found their stride in the years following the Second World War, they have been largely replaced by small caliber Assault Rifles nowadays. However, combat in such places as Afghanistan has shown us in recent years that the need still exists for a man-portable .30-caliber rifle that can offer precision fires out past the range of the 5.56mm cartridge.

Overall the Colt 1917 is a very interesting revolver. It was a stop-gap sidearm that ended up with American troops in two world wars. 1917 revolvers, both Colt and Smith & Wesson, can usually be found for reasonable amounts of money (especially in comparison to other US military revolvers, or WWI 1911s). They are not difficult to find suitable ammunition for, and they’re strong enough to enjoy some range time with. So if you’re looking for a WWI handgun to add to your collection, consider one of these old Colts.

Mirroring the fit and finish of the full sized Pointman 9, the Carry features a Commander length slide on an Officers sized frame. The Dan Wesson Pointman Carry is chambered in 9mm and is an absolute pleasure to shoot. 

This week we got a chance to look at the XDM OSP. The OSP is a 4.5 inch duty size gun that comes out of the box with a Vortex Venom on top.

Wind calls, trajectory compensation, trigger control, and even the basic shooting form can be practiced and polished by using nothing more than a simple .22 rimfire.