GunsAmerica Product Reviews – Pistols

Smith & Wesson’s 2012 arrival to the micro-sized 9 mm-pistol market was fashionably late, about a year after just about every pistol company in the gun industry put out a pocketable 9mm. But while most of the competitors pared down their 9mm pocket gun, Smith & Wesson managed to keep most of the features of the full sized M&P, and this proved to be an instant hit with the army of M&P enthusiasts out there. It made perfect sense to retain as much of the M&P design as a micro-sized pistol would permit, but that took more time, and it was a tough judgement call for Smith & Wesson to debut the Shield at SHOT Show 2012 instead of 2011 when so many pocket 9mm pistols were released. A year later, just coming out of SHOT Show 2013, it seems to have paid off for Smith & Wesson. The Shield has been for the most part sold out since its introduction a year ago, and now with some serious range time on the guns, the Shield has shown to be very accurate and reliable. It is one of the few striker pistols on the market with a manual thumb safety, which almost puts the gun in a category by itself.

I’ve been carrying the Wilson Combat CQB Elite for more than three years and its only hiccup came a few weeks ago, oddly in the hands of my eldest grandson about to deploy. For some rarely used self-defense handguns that would be a serious indictment, but this 1911 has sent thousands of rounds downrange, it’s been carried nearly every day and I’m not known for being particularly “gentle” to anything I own. Add the fact that field stripping and cleaning duties have been surrendered to my teen grandsons—eager for takedown practice, but not always thorough in cleaning and proper lubrication—and this handgun is lifesaving reliable.

Then there’s its eagerness to digest anything and everything I feed it. I think I’ve loaded and tested this gun with nearly every modern .45 ACP load on the planet. If I wipe it down after a full day of carry I feel guilty because I have too much time on my hands, and despite the bangs and bumps of a one-hour commute to work, each way, it still commands reverence at the range. It is, after all, a Wilson.

It seems that the never ending demand for Kel-Tec guns isn’t ever actually going to end. The Cocoa, Florida company that was once known only for affordable, plain Jane pocket pistols has completely come of age. We were able to get our hands on one of the early Kel-Tec breakout products, the 5.56/.223 PLR-16 pistol, MSRP $665, and from a couple afternoons at the range it is clear why everyone seems to want a Kel-Tec. Never short on genius and guts the innovative line of quality Kel-Tec products are so different from everything else that they are beyond “game changers. ” They exist in their own world. At first this uniqueness was a challenge I’m sure. In the early days of the PLR-16 and it’s rifle version, the SU-16, I walked past them in gunshops and gunshows for many years with nary a second glance. They look funny, and they are, after all, plastic. But as an ever increasing army of Kel-Tec shooters will tell you, there are few flaws in any of these guns. Unfortunately, like most Kel-Tec guns right now, the PLR-16 is difficult to find for sale. But if you can find one, or if you can get yourself on the list to order, this is yet another superior product from Kel-Tec that simply has no equal.

For many police officers and most security guards, the choice of what pistol to carry is left up to you. There is generally an approved list and it is up to you to pick your duty pistol, holster, and on-duty gear. There are a number of issues to consider, but often it comes back to what you like, what you shoot well and of course, what you can afford.

The CZ-75, which is the steel or alloy gun on which this polymer framed P-07 model is based, is one of those “preference” guns that people just like and naturally shoot very well. It is by far the most popular pistol internationally among police and military, and many people refer to it as “the perfect pistol.” It has also become one of the most copied pistols in history, second perhaps only to the Colt 1911.
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The best gun to have in a gunfight is the one you chose to take with you that day. This is why small pistols are so popular. They are light and pocketable, so people actually carry them. But small pistols are also something of a conundrum. Smaller and lighter is better for concealed carry, but small guns means small parts, and small parts break easier, and they can be cantankerous when it comes to accuracy and reliability. There is no perfect small pistol, but after beating up one of the worst of the bunch recently, we thought it probably a good idea to review one of the best of the bunch, the Kahr P380, MSRP $649. The gun is somewhat ammunition sensitive, as most small guns are, but the P380 is built to the standards of a full size pistol, and performs as such. Made in the USA in Worcester, MA, the Kahr small pistols are chosen by more law enforcement and security personal than another brand of pistol, and the P380 is the smallest of the bunch. If you were scared away from small pistols by our horrendous Diamondback review, don’t be afraid. Legions of Kahr owners and fans unanimously say that Kahr pistols can’t be beat. There are some details you need to know though, so read on.

Very few guns have everything. These days there are so many polymer, striker fired pistols on the market, it is very hard to tell one from another sometimes. But if you look for a gun that truly has everything, you have to look at the FNS from FNH-USA. It is made in America by Americans, has a street price under $650, and one by one, you can count the features that are unique to this gun. It is completely ambidextrous. The magazine release, slide stop and safety lever appear on both sides of the frame. The drop safety itself is a revelation of sorts and should make a lot of people jump up and down screaming “YES, FINALLY.” Few companies have dared put a manual safety on their striker pistols and this is the first in a gun that can compete with the big boys. And with a rail on the front, double useful slide serrations, an external extractor, stock night sights, and downright good looks, there is little you could want in a full sized duty pistol that the FNS doesn’t already have, right out of the box.

In the world of small semi-automatic pocket pistols, you have a lot to choose from these days. Diamondback Firearms has laid claim to the “smallest and lightest” in that category, so we decided to take a look at a couple of their guns, the DB380, and the newly released DB9, both with a street price under $400 . Are they really the smallest and lightest? Apparently so, at least as compared to the more common names out there, including the Kel-Tecs, Kahrs, and S&W Bodyguard. But do they work? Our results were mixed. The .380, which is the more mature product, performed almost perfectly, but is not that accurate. The 9mm version weighs only 11 ounces empty, compared to 18 for the S&W Shield, 21.4 for the Walther PPS, and even the tiny Beretta Nano is 17.7. Diamondback may have tried the impossible with this gun because we didn’t find the DB9 to be reliable or accurate. If you are going to buy a Diamondback, for now you should probably stick to the DB380. We have to put a do not buy on the guns however, due to the way they seem to be handling what are clearly problems with their guns

It is amazing that one of the most scarce and in demand pistols today is the Kel-Tec PMR-30. You can’t get one, and many gun dealers have even created sign-up lists for customers to get them as they come in. The PMR-30 isn’t a cheap gun. The MSRP is $415, yet the demand for the PMR-30, after literally years, seems unquenchable. But if I asked you to play word association on guns, and my hint was “plastic 22WMR pistol with orange and green fiber optic sights and a 30 round magazine,” what would you say? Nothing, right? Nothing comes to mind. So what on earth is this gun for? That’s the point. The PMR-30 is for just about everything.

Even the most diehard American gun nut will be hard pressed to have heard of the Turkish gun manufacturer “Sarsilmaz.” They are, however, the third largest firearms factory in Europe and have been making guns since the 1880s. Sarsilmaz makes over 40 different firearms, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns, and they are the makers of the Armalite AR24, which is a CZ75 clone. The Turkish military is the second largest military in NATO and it is supplied by Sarsilmaz exclusively for duty pistols. So why haven’t we heard of Sarsilmaz? Who knows. But the guns are recognized worldwide for their quality and durability, and it looks like they are finally going to come into the US market in a big way. The European American Armory, or EAA, is introducing some of the Sarsilmax guns this year under the name SAR Arms. We got to take a look at the 9mm ST10 that carries a street price around $500 for the all black one. I have never owned an HK USP, which this gun is nearly an exact copy of, and I thought it felt like a cross between a CZ75 and a Sig 226. Sarsilmaz has several international patents themselves for firearm design, but this gun is clearly a side by side copy of the HK USP. Since this is a very expensive firearm, the Sarsilmaz copy coming in around $500 is probably a good buy if you love the USP. We can’t compare it directly because we have no test HK gun, but overall the ST10 is a great gun, and could owe some of its biggest positives to HK engineers, who made the USP similar to a Browning Hi-Power action, which this gun is also a decendant of now. The most interesting note about this gun is that it has no decocker. You have to let down the hammer with your thumb if you want to fire it double action first shot. This is an option on the USP (#9) but not common, making this Sarlsilmaz and interesting and high quality gun at a reasonable price.

The European American Armory, or EAA, is introducing some of the Sarsilmax guns this year under the name SAR Arms. We got to take a look at the 9mm ST10 that carries a street price around $500 for the all black one. The gun feels like a cross between a CZ75 and a Sig 226, though it doesn’t appear that Sarsilmaz copied any particular gun for the design. They have several international patents themselves for firearm design, so they don’t need to just copy guns. We offer the comparison just to give you an idea of how the gun feels.