GunsAmerica Product Reviews – Pistols

Are you a revolver fan, or a do you pack a pistol? Even if the answer to that question is easy, it may not be as simple to pick a winner in this head-to-head. The Colt Python vs. The Coonan Compact. Which one is a better delivery platform for the hard hitting .357 Magnum?

In the realm of budget 1911s the American Classic stands out for the “extras” they come with. I am not talking about the other stuff in the box, I mean the stuff on the pistol its self. This is a solid commander sized 1911. Metro Arms offers a lot of bang for your buck on this pistol. There are a few fit and finish issues and the mold lines left on some parts does bother me some. But that is being a bit nit-picky. The American Classic Commander works and shoots like a champ, and that is what really matters, right?

Here’s the big dilemma: thousands GLOCK fans bought the GLOCK 42 because they couldn’t buy a 43. Thousands of others bought single stack 9mms from Kel-Tec, Skky, Ruger, Smith, Beretta, Bersa, Taurus, Springfield…. Some even ponied up for some ill-fated Remingtons. And now we all have to decide. Do you stick with what you have? Do you swap your old-standby for a 43?

The GLOCK 43 is a reality. A single stack 9mm that proves the rumors to be true. And GunsAmerica has an inside look at the gun. So how does it stack up to the other GLOCKs? Read on to find out more.

There are some guns that you just have to shoot to understand. The Coonan is one of them. This is a semiautomatic. How does the hopped up revolver round function in a classic single-action pistol platform? Fantastic. And if you want a hard hitting concealed carry gun, this compact would be a kickass option.

The final design of the 1911 really came about from a series of trials that the US Government put it and other pistols through. These tests let Colt and John Browning see how the pistol held up. There were also requirements that the design had to meet. A lot of the credit for how the 1911 came out can be attributed to the trials and specifications required for the new pistol.

Legend has it that John Moses made the first prototype of the Vest Pocket to carry in his, you guested it, vest pocket while walking around on this land in Utah. He supposedly wanted a tiny pistol for defense against coyotes. True or not, Browning did design a great little pistol that will fit in a vest pocket.

When you think of Sig Sauer pistols, you think of classic double/single-action. What you don’t think of is striker-fired. While the new P320 clearly inherits some ideas and inspiration from the modular Sig P250 design, the action is all new. It’s a constant action, striker-fired pistol, complete with the internal safeties you would expect in a striker design. And the modularity will allow you to easily swap between calibers and frame sizes.

Shooting History. This is the name of a new series that we will be running here at Guns America. We will take some historic guns, shoot them and review them not too much unlike our new gun reviews. It was seeing the new production Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless at SHOT Show this year that got me to thinking, so, it makes sense to kick it off with an antique 1903.