Table of contents for January/February 2020 in Combat Handguns

PERHAPS THE BIGGEST MYTH IN THE SELF-DEFENSE WORLD IS “A good shoot is a good shoot.” What makes a “good shoot” a questionable use of deadly force? Quite simply, a question. And that question may be raised by a grieving family of the man who forced you to kill him, or a politically motivated prosecutor who wants Michael Bloomberg to contribute to his next re-election campaign, or a greedy plaintiff’s lawyer, or a public relations man who can benefit financially by painting you as a monster. Or perhaps all of the above. Let’s look at some examples—and some lessons we can learn from them. FALSE NARRATIVES Case One occurred recently but has already become historic. Duly elected captain of his community’s neighborhood watch, George Zimmerman spotted a young man looking…

There’s no question that our eyes should be protected at all times, especially when we’re at the range. With the introduction of its new Compass sunglasses, Wiley-X provides shooters great protection and awesome style. The sunglasses I received for testing had a lightweight Kryptek Neptune frame and polarized lenses that meet the ANSI 787.1 standards for high-mass and high-velocity protection. That’s a good deal of protection in itself for regular environmental concerns, but Wiley-X also offers the Compass with Smoke Gray lenses made of Selenite, which is billed as shatterproof. Those lenses also meet the U.S. military’s MIL-PRF-32432(GL) standard, which offers over six times the impact resistance of the of the Z87.1 standard. In fact, for spectacles, the latter standard requires the defeat of a .15-caliber projective moving between 640…

Often forgotten, the .41 Magnum is still around and offers a great alternative to the .44 Magnum. First unveiled to the world by famed author Elmer Keith in 1964, and with the help of Smith & Wesson, Remington and Bill Jordan (who envisioned it as the perfect tool for law enforcement), over time it has established a spot in the long list of usable handgun calibers. However, it’s traveled a rocky road since its introduction. Just a notch above the popular .357 Magnum and a notch below the .44 Magnum, looking back, this .41-caliber round hasn’t always had it easy. While it enjoys a lower recoil sensation than some of the calibers around it, the .41 Magnum still has a good trajectory for hunting, and you can move the power…

With the ever-increasing popularity of polymer-framed 9mms, there is no shortage of new pistols being unveiled to address a particular need. Pistols of all sizes and shapes are being introduced, but it seems that the most popular are compacts, and for good reason. Mid-sized pistols have a decent capacity while still being fairly concealable. For those on a limited budget, they remain the best compromise for both home defense and concealed carry. FN and Ruger have staked out their own territory in the polymer-framed marketplace, and both have recently introduced their own mid-sized offerings to compete for that consumer sweet spot. In this article, we’ll take a look at the FN 509 Midsize and the Ruger Security-9 to see how they fare in a head-to-head matchup. FORMULA 509 It wasn’t…

Ever hold a stick of dynamite when it explodes? That’s how one shooter recently explained how it felt to shoot his snubbie revolver loaded with full-powered .357 Magnum rounds. That’s a problem. If your gun is painful to shoot, you’re unlikely to practice enough with it to become proficient in its use. A lack of proficiency is a surefire way to lose a lethal-force encounter. While the snub-nose .357 Magnum revolver is anything but new to the market, Kimber has a new version that’s designed to take the sting out of its hefty recoil, which will hopefully lead to an increase in proficiency for many people. Say hello to the K6s Control Core. If I was to design a concealed-carry revolver from scratch, the Kimber K6s series would be darn…

Readers of Combat Handguns already know about the SCCY CPX-3 in .380 ACP. Similar to SCCY’s proven 9mm handguns, the CPX-3 is small, sleek and ready for self-defense. And this issue, we’re proud to be giving one away for a lucky reader. But, as with every “Fully Loaded” giveaway, there’s more in store, including Elite Survival Systems gear and Black Hills ammunition. Let’s take a closer look. 1. SCCY CPX-3 The CPX-3 is a .380 ACP pistol that will fall right into that “Goldilocks Zone” of not being too small or too large, but just right for more shooters when it comes to range practice and everyday carry. The heart of the gun is the Roebuck Quad-Lock system, which locks the barrel in the front and rear of the chamber…

Combat Handguns has been privileged to get a firsthand look inside the range bags of some of the most nationally renowned pros within the shooting industry. In this issue, I reached out to the current champion of the IPSC Lithuanian Open, Marius Kazanskis. The Lithuanian Open spanned a total of six weeks with six competitions in Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Kazanskis brought home four medals in two disciplines: Pistol Caliber Carbine (PCC) and the Semi-Auto Rifle Open. Not only is Kazanskis the Lithuanian Open champion, but he also won the Lithuanian PCC title, the 2019 season overall result of four ranking matches. This two-day competition involved 20 stages with competitors from six countries, and Kazanskis won with a 7-percent advantage. Kazanskis says that shooting is in his…

5.11 TACTICAL LV M4 SHORTY 18L Designed as a concealment bag for an M4 Carbine, 5.11 Tactical’s LV M4 Shorty 18L bag also works well with the Mossberg 590 Shockwave. The pack has a main compartment pocket that is 29 inches long by 12 inches wide and 2 inches deep, and there are nylon and Velcro straps to keep the gun from shifting. It also has a fleece-lined outer pocket near the top for carrying eye protection, and a second pocket (approximately 20 inches high by 12 inches wide) below that with a laser-cut loop panel as well as a mesh bag to help break up the outline of the gun stowed in the main compartment. The pack features padded shoulder straps that can be arranged to convert it from…

Let’s nerd out for a minute. Think back to 1981’s Escape from New York, starring badass Kurt Russell as antihero Snake Plissken. In this fun sci-fi action thriller set in the far-off future of 1997, Snake is tasked with rescuing the president of the United States from Manhattan, which has become the entire country’s only maximum-security prison, after Air Force One crashes. There’s a great scene where we find the bad guy, Isaac Hayes, using the president as target practice for the suppressed and scoped MAC-10 he stole from Snake. (And the scope is mounted on the suppressor, no less.) Hayes makes the president repeat the phrase “You are The Duke. You are A-Number-One” over and over. In fact, everyone on the island fears The Duke and refers to him…

In 1891, Georg Johann Luger took a job as an accountant with Ludwig Loewe & Company of Berlin, Germany. Over the next three years, Georg gradually earned a role as consultant designer. Three years after that, Luger traveled to America to demonstrate the radical new Borchardt C-93 pistol to the U.S. Army. By then, Ludwig Loewe had morphed into the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM, or German Weapons and Munitions Works). Despite Luger’s efforts, the U.S. Army rejected Borchardt’s creation as being too cumbersome and complicated to make an effective combat pistol. With the creative seed now planted and fertilized, Luger returned home, dissected Borchardt’s innovative toggle-lock design and made it better. The result became the iconic Luger P08 Parabellum, one of the most effective and recognizable handguns ever made.…

Sometime back in the early 1980s, I was perusing the local newsstand when I came across a magazine called Combat Handguns. This immediately struck a chord with me, and I quickly realized that there was indeed something different between the pages. Sure, there were other magazines that reviewed handguns, but their primary focus was on recreational shooting as opposed to fighting with a gun. The articles in Combat Handguns focused on pistols and revolvers you would actually carry as well as ammunition, holsters and street-smart tactics. Best of all, the editorial content was penned by people who had actually “been there and done that.” As a guy just starting to get his feet wet in the firearms training game, I found the information presented in CH to be especially valuable.…

The Remington R1 line of classic 1911-style pistols has been around for over eight years now and has been well received for the most part. Last year, Remington began offering several double-stack versions, and I recently got my hands on the Recon Commander Double Stack in .45 ACP for testing. It’s 5.25 inches tall with a 4.25-inch barrel like other Commander-style 1911s, but with twice the usual cartridge capacity. The slide and frame are also made of stainless steel, bringing it up to 38 ounces unloaded. DOUBLING DOWN The Recon arrived in a big green, foam-lined case with an owner’s manual, a plastic bushing wrench and two 15-round magazines. I carefully inspected the pistol from top to bottom, and all of the machining, including the metal-to-metal and grip-to-metal edges, looked…

The patent-pending steel receiver within Zev Technologies’ groundbreaking O.Z-9 pistol is now available individually as the O.Z-9 Modular Build Kit (MBK). Why is that important? Because Zev knows that smart gun owners always want to have it their way. The O.Z-9 MBK offers complete customization so you can build your very own O.Z-9 from the ground up. Simply start your custom build by choosing between a black DLC or Titanium Gray O.Z-9 steel receiver. Zev’s vice president of marketing, Dave Roberts, said, “This is a big deal for the consumer who already owns a custom Zev firearm or the necessary compatible Zev components that go into an O.Z-9. It’s also the perfect starting point for the consumer that wants to build an O.Z-9 in the exact configuration they want. The…

Working for CH’s original editor, Harry Kane, was a hoot back in the 1980s. When we moved into the 1990s, many of us were slow to embrace new technology. Articles were still composed on legal pads and typewriters. When complete, they were stuffed in an envelope and mailed along with photographs. Except for the covers of Combat Handguns, professional photographers were not utilized, and contributors were responsible for their own images. For me, this was a steep learning curve, because every image was shot with 35mm black-and-white film. Harry took me to task on a few occasions over my less-than-stellar photography. Just when I had it all figured out, we moved on to color slides and ultimately digital images, which were far easier to work with. Communication was by telephone,…