9mm

SIG Sauer is best known for military-style hardware, ranging from submachine guns and sniper rifles, to the new Army M17 pistol. It is easy to forget they also make 1911 pistols, some of the best around. The first time I shot a Sig 1911 over a decade ago, it was hard to miss the value of the included high-end features. This year, SIG released a special edition “ We the People” model, a sure win for collectors.

SCCY is one of the last of the little guys, a firearms maker that isn’t part of a giant conglomerate. They set out to fill a single niche, and they have done that well. Sitting down with SCCY at SHOT 2018, we learned some of the reasons why.

SAR Arms had a new pistol, but more importantly a new company. The days of multiple importers are over, SAR is now SAR USA. This is a subsidiary of the Turkish firearms maker and will be handling all warranty issues for SAR pistols, regardless of who brought it into the country. This should smooth over any and all issues regarding parts availability, new models, and magazines.

Mechanical systems evolve over time. The earliest German Messerschmitt Bf 109 A fighter plane first flew in 1937. That remarkable aircraft sported a Jumo 210A 600-horsepower engine driving a fixed-pitch two-bladed propeller. Seven years later the Bf 109 G-6 carried a Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 powerplant producing 1,455 hp turning a constant-speed variable-pitch paddle-geometry three-bladed prop. The G-6 was easily twice as capable as the earlier A model. The Nazis ultimately produced 33, 984 copies of the plane. Operational pressures exerted by full-bore combat on three fronts drove the Bf 109 to evolve over time.

Bond Arms has been making quality products for a very long time, most notably derringers that are standard by which all others are judged. Made in Texas, by Texans. Let us not forget that either. This year, however, they have stepped out into magazine fed arena. And the product should have other CCW specialty companies worried.

Syntech Ammunition was launched a few years back, specially designed as a high-quality training round. It keeps a lead core, but the jacket is polymer. The bullet is encased to keep any lead on steel contact from inside the gun, eliminating aerosolized lead and overall making a cleaner to shoot round. The construction also reduces splash back from steel targets.

Naming your latest handgun “The American Pistol” makes a pretty clear statement. Add to that the timing of the launch of this product line amidst the backdrop of a highly contentious Presidential campaign and a continuingly more divided American narrative, and it makes a loud and clear statement. Ruger is an American company that is dedicated to American values and to its American customers.

I was a young cowboy with a fondness for horses, firearms, and pretty girls, in that order. One afore-mentioned pretty girl awaited my arrival across a high mountain pass that guards my Rocky Mountain home, but as my diesel pickup growled its way upward toward the pass I knew I was going to be early for our date. So I geared down and pulled off the highway into a small patch of ponderosa timber. The motor grumbled to a halt and I lifted my most recent crush off the truck seat, it’s long frame svelte and gleaming in the late afternoon light. The action was as smooth as whipped cream sweetened with maple sugar, and I forgot all about my upcoming date. Carrying the curvaceous form a little way from the truck I swung it to eye level and squeezed. A distant twig disappeared with a thunderous crack, and smoke rose in slow spirals from the six-inch barrel of my vintage Colt Python. I was in love.

aracal USA made a huge splash earlier this summer with the introduction of the Enhanced F pistol. The ergonomics are fantastic, they feel great. The triggers are well above average, and the bore axis is incredibly low. The quick sight model features an innovative design, with the rear sight, moved to the front of the chamber, making for lighting fast acquisition. So with that much new earlier this year, what was left? Turns out, plenty.