Table of contents for September/October 2020 in Combat Handguns

When the coronavirus pandemic locked down America in the spring of 2020, many states wisely declared gun shops to be “essential” businesses under the umbrella of safety and security. But that didn’t prevent many lesser officials from ordering local gun dealers to close, triggering lawsuits from the Second Amendment Foundation and others. That said, even if the shops were open, some states require waiting periods. In 2018, a RAND report stated, “A few jurisdictions impose a waiting period to purchase a firearm. For example, California and the District of Columbia require a 10-day waiting period before buyers take possession of a new firearm. In Hawaii, buyers must wait 14 days to receive a permit to purchase a firearm. Other states impose waiting periods only for handguns or only for handguns…

While the FN 503 is brand spanking new, CrossBreed Holsters began working with FN months ago to develop holsters and magazine carriers designed specifically for it. Now you can order 25 different products for the new 9mm, including ever-popular holsters like the SuperTuck, MiniTuck and Reckoning. Another great option is the Freedom Carry (shown), which CrossBreed calls the “most versatile holster” in its lineup. The Freedom Carry IWB rig is comfortable thanks to its slim holster design and leather backing, which prevents the gun from contacting your body without being too bulky. The sturdy clip locks onto your belt, and you can adjust its cant to shift the entire rig’s position on your waistband. The Freedom Carry works for strongside, appendix and cross-draw positions—the choice is yours. The ordering process…

I like to think I’m continuing in the colorful lineage of gun writers who also served as law enforcement officers in the American West: Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skelton, Charles Askins and Jeff Cooper. Surprisingly, larger-than-life gun writer Elmer Keith never served in law enforcement or the military. However, his influence was every bit as great. Before World War II, he developed the .357 Magnum by lengthening a .38 Special case. Then, in the 1950s, he did the same thing with a .44 Special, creating the .44 Magnum. In the debate over small, fast bullets versus larger, slower bullets, Keith always wanted to make large bullets go fast, too. Consequently, “Elmer Keith” and “big bore” became synonymous, and his influence is still felt today. Keith’s influence didn’t end with cartridges, either.…

I recently read an article from a top gun writer on point shooting. Like me, he believes that the technique is still relevant in today’s world, but then he began to tell readers how much practice and ammunition it was going to take to become truly proficient. In the past, I probably would have agreed with him, but things have definitely changed for the better. People have been upgrading their handguns with laser sights for decades, and many are now tailored for the grips themselves. With Crimson Trace models, for example, you simply grip the pistol and the laser activates instinctively. When you release your grip, the laser shuts off. So where am I going with this? I wondered if installing a grip-type laser sight on a handgun could help…

I’ve always felt that Glocks are like hammers—they’re useful tools that come in enough sizes, shapes and weights (calibers) to get the job done. I shoot thousands of rounds of pistol ammo every year, but I wasn’t really bitten by the Glock bug until I got a chance to build a clone gun. A few years ago, I hired a former Marine as a book editor for a small publishing company. He spent more than his share of time in Iraq hunting for bad guys. Since we were publishing gun books, we had a lot of time to discuss a broad array of gun-related topics and pulled triggers every chance we could. Ryan was a big Glock fan and told me that the first thing he did when he got…

10MM WHEELGUN SHOOTOUT S&W MODEL 610 VS. RUGER GP100 MATCH CHAMPION If you scan magazines and the internet about the 10mm Auto cartridge and its place in firearms history, you’ll inevitably see references to Jeff Cooper’s role in developing the round as well as the iconic Bren Ten, which was featured in Miami Vice. You’ll also see copious mentions of the 1986 FBI shootout in Miami and how that led to the bureau briefly adopting the cartridge for its service pistols. But a less common thread that’s been gaining a little bit of traction lately is using the 10mm in revolvers. There’s a dedicated and vocal group of shooters running loose in the wild that enjoy rocking the powerful semi-auto cartridge through old-school six-shooters. Hey, who am I to judge?…

When it comes to hunting small game or varmints, the name of the game is accuracy. While the rimfire crowd seems to be in tune with factory ammunition, those who hunt with centerfire weapons have various components and resources available to maximize their capabilities with tailor-made handloads. Over my lifetime, I’ve hunted small game with everything from short rimfires, centerfires, and even with factory shotshell ammunition for barn swallows or game birds. When it comes to guns, I’ve tried just about all of them, too—from singleshots to revolvers and semi-autos. I like single-shots like the Thompson/Center Contender and Encore because they’re easy to feed and built for optics. They’re also easy to adapt for various cartridges and are quite deadly in the backwoods. I mostly use revolvers, and my writing…

PISTOL-CALIBER ARs have been all the rage the past few years. Such weapons can be excellent tools for a number of applications, including training, competition, plinking, and vehicle and home defense. Personally, I love having a 9mm AR as a truck gun for a number of reasons. They’re usually extremely portable, utilize some of the most popular pistol magazines and are just so damn fun to shoot. They also offer very little recoil, so they’re ideal for training new shooters. So when I first heard about the FG-9 from Falkor Defense, I knew I had to get my hands on one and see if it lived up to the hype. The FG-9 is a bit on the pricey side for this category with an MSRP of $1,499, but I wanted…

SURE, WE ALL KNOW THAT GLOCKS are super-reliable pistols. But if you’ve ever used one straight out of the box, you also know that they’re a bit lacking in certain areas. Thankfully, a few companies have picked up where Glock left off, and the biggest has to be Zev Technologies of Centralia, Washington, which truly perfected the platform by listening to what shooters actually want. Then Zev turned heads by introducing the “Original Zev 9mm,” or O.Z-9, series. With this modular, striker-fired platform, you can take one fire control unit and pair it with different frames, barrels and slides, creating entirely new pistols. You can also start with different base models, like the O.Z-9 Compact and O.Z-9 Covert. But one model that’s really burning up the ranges is the O.Z-9…

Tritium sights significantly improve your ability to shoot accurately in low light, but they have some drawbacks. They aren’t very bright in twilight, and it’s possible to misalign the front and rear dots. Several remedies have been tried to resolve these problems, but I’ve not been aware of any night sights that address all of them—until XS Sight Systems introduced its new RAM night sights. ALWAYS GLOWING XS Sight Systems is known for its rugged, dependable and innovative sights, and the new RAM (RadioActive Material) series is no exception. These sights are designed to overcome the problems that beset traditional three-dot tritium sights. To get around that faintness in twilight, the front sight has a wide photoluminescent ring surrounding the tritium lamp. This material is continually charged by the light…

ELITE SURVIVAL MARATHON GUNPACK Wearing lightweight running shorts and a tank top can present a challenge for the active concealed carrier, but the Marathon GunPack from Elite Survival Systems is a great solution. This runner’s belt holds a compact semi-auto and two hydration bottles. The large pack fits popular compact pistols like the G19, S&W Shield, Walther PPS, Sig P365 and similar-sized guns. The fully adjustable belt has a quick-release buckle, and the water bottles each hold 7 ounces. Then there’s the phone pouch, which has a pass-through port for earbuds. The pack is fully ambidextrous, has dual ripcords for quick-opening zippers and retails for $60. (elitesurvival.com) Fanny packs are often derided as uncool or nerdy. But perhaps this is unfair when you consider how effective they are at carrying…

Back in the day, the Officer’s Model, in its various configurations, was the premier target revolver offered by Colt. That all changed in 1955 with the introduction of the Colt Python. This Rolls-Royce of Colt revolvers had as its most distinguishing feature a heavy vent-rib barrel and a full-length ejector rod shroud. A tapering ramp led up to a Baughman-style front sight, and the rear sight was fully adjustable for both windage and elevation. It was built on basically the same E-Frame as the Officer’s Model, but due to its floating, frame-mounted firing pin, the platform was designated the “I-Frame.” Much attention was lavished on the double-action/single-action (DA/SA) mechanism, giving it excellent trigger pulls. It also had a six-shot cylinder chambered for .357 Magnum cartridges and standard barrel lengths of…