GunsAmerica Product Reviews – Pistols

The Pro-Custom 18.9 isn’t your typical 1911. It might look like its ancestors, but it has a distinct difference. The double-stack magazine holds 18 rounds of 9mm. While I’m hesitant to call that an advantage, it does have its benefits. If you’re looking for a fast race gun, you won’t have nearly as many reloads with the 18.9 as you would with a .45 ACP 1911 (even one that’s a double-stack). And because it is a 9mm, you can still get a decent grip on the gun.

If the popularity of the 101-year-old Browning-designed Model 1911 pistol tells us anything, it’s that great guns get even better through the application of modern technology. Remington took a page out of that playbook in the design of its newest pistol, the 9mm R51. What today is a beautiful sub-compact concealed carry gun started in 1917 as the Remington Model 51, designed by John Pederson. Pederson was a contemporary of John Browning, who called him “the greatest gun designer in the world.” Remington based its new gun on the Pederson design, resulting in a pistol with a crisp trigger, reliable action and a low bore to reduce felt recoil.

Ed Brown Products started life as a machine shop producing parts to consistently close tolerances. This experience greatly influenced the company’s manufacturing as it evolved into a custom 1911 manufacturer. Ed Brown Products is here at Shot Show 2014 showcasing a collection of beautiful guns. If you’re looking for a special 1911, you have to check out the unique pieces coming out of this shop. Because every part of the 1911s is produced in-house, you have a wide selection of components, finishes, and engraving from which to choose. There are four series of guns– the Classic series, Executive, Kobra, and Special Forces. Each has its own unique features and checkering patterns. There is also an in-house master engraver to provide whatever look you desire. Whether you’re looking for a full-size 1911 Commander in stainless steel with black Generation III coating or a Special Forces gun, Ed Brown can help you make it uniquely your own.

Cabot Guns https://cabotgun.com/ Cabot Guns makes 1911s with aerospace precision.  Their pistols are tighter than tight. They guarantee that the slide to frame fit is 0.001 of an inch or less.  Cabot has made what is a one-of-a-kind Damascus 1911.  President and CEO Robert Bianchin said it might be the toughest task they have taken on [...]

There’s a time and a place for small guns. The Beretta Pico is the latest in a long of defensive handguns from the venerable firearms family. The Pico’s lines are reminiscent of the Nano, only the Pico is small enough to drop in your pocket. And Beretta’s putting a fashionable twist on the diminutive .380: it will be available in a traditional two-tone or with a variety of colorful frames.

Springfield Armory is announcing a new variant of the XD-S for 2014. It is the logical next step in the evolution of the sensationally popular XD-S sub-compact format. No, it’s not a new caliber offering – it is a new barrel length! Springfield has stretched the 3.3” barrel just ever so much to an even 4 inches. Why is this significant? For starters – recoil. I obtained my copy of the XD-S in 2012 in the initial offering of .45 ACP. If you have ever fired that gun, you know that it has some “personality” to it. Simple physics I’m afraid. Less size and weight of the handgun means more felt recoil for the shooter. The 2013 introduction of the 9mm version was welcomed by many because of the reduced pressures of that round, but it still has some snap. A 4” offering of this same gun adds weight where it is needed most – out at the muzzle. This helps reduce felt recoil. The XDS-9 4.0 also has a longer sight radius; adding ¾” to the length of the slide allows Springfield to push the front sight further forward by that same distance. This translates to a more accurate sight picture and better shots. Small errors in aiming are more noticeable, and therefore easier to correct with a longer sight radius.

One of the biggest stories at SHOT Show for 2014 is a new single-stack .380ACP 6+1 from Glock called the Model 42. We were able to get a first look at the gun, and it is a lot of gun in a very small package. Most important, it is a Glock, and that carries a lot of weight with gun buyers in the market. Known for their ubiquitous “safe action” pistols, Glock is perhaps the biggest name in pistols in the gun world. The G42, at 13.6 ounces, 6 inches long tip to tail, 4 inches high from the top of the sight to the bottom of the magazine, and 13/16ths of an inch thick, is slightly bigger and heavier than the other micro .380s in the market, but small enough to be pocketed comfortably. The barrel is about 3 3/16ths or 3.2 inches long. The G42 handles much better than the tiniest of the pocket .380s, and we were able to shoot it into less than one-inch groups at 10 yards with Winchester range ammo. The only hiccup was that the G42 didn’t like Hornady Critical Defense, but that could be just because this is an early writer sample, and it is a brand new gun of course. The best carry gun is always going to be the gun you will actually carry and that you shoot well. A nice light, small and easy-shooting Glock .380 has been long awaited. We don’t have a projected MSRP for it yet, but as an everyday concealed-carry gun, this new Glock 42 should do very well.

Sometimes the reviews here at GunsAmerica are driven by advertising, but not the way you have come to expect them to be in the print pubs. In the case of the Springfield Armory EMP Micro-Pistol, the first time an ad for it ran alongside one of our Digest emails, over 7,000 of you clicked on the ad, instead of one of the articles (ahem). This seemed to indicate that a lot of people were interested in the gun, so we asked Springfield for a test subject, in .40 S&W. The result was not only getting to shoot a genuinely nifty and useful firearm. It turns out that the gun is not just YA1911. (Yet Another 1911). Unlike all of the other 1911-style pistols in 9mm and .40S&W, the EMP was re-engineered to shoot these cartridges specifically. It is truly a “scaled down” 1911, and the components have been made to function reliably with both a smaller cartridge, and smaller barrel length, in the 1911 design. The grip angle is the same as the standard 1911 but the grip is thinner, and guts of the gun are smaller to work in a shorter space. We tested our EMP extensively, and it is both reliable and accurate. At a street price in the $1,200 range, this is not an inexpensive firearm, but with stock tritium night sights and custom shop grade parts, the Springfield EMP is a lot of gun if you want to carry a 1911 for personal defense. This gun has been available for many years in both 9mm and .40 S&W, but judging by how many of you clicked on the ad, there are still plenty of people who didn’t know about it.

If you like small guns, you’ll find the Bond Arms derringer both capable and versatile. Its capabilities stem from the fact that it’s not as punishing to shoot as you might expect. In fact, controllability and shootability are very good with every caliber shot for this review. Its versatility stems from the wide selection of barrels, calibers and grips available. Whichever of the eight models you select initially (nine including their new Backup model), you can add barrels and grips to turn it into any of the other models. Mix and match grips and barrels to customize it to your needs. Bond Arms’ price list shows a total of 21 barrels capable of firing 17 different calibers. Their 3” barrel, their most versatile, is available in .22LR, .22Mag, .327 fed mag, 9mm, .357/.38spl., .40 S&W, 10mm, .44spl., .44/40, .45GAP, .45ACP, .45Colt, and .45/.410 (2 ½” chamber). However, as in most guns that serve multiple needs, it does some things better than others. I toured the factory in Granbury, Texas, USA, with owner and president Gordon Bond to see just how these guns are made. With the exception of the 400 series stainless steel forgings from which the guns are machined, all the work is done in-house. It may be a small company, but that doesn’t mean they don’t use state-of-the-art equipment to ensure their high quality standards. From numerically controlled milling machines operating down to less than ten thousandths of an inch accuracy, to robotic arms which provide precision and repeatability in surface preparation, to the artistry of individual experts who assemble, polish, and time the  function of the finished product — quality is their principal driver.