Table of contents for December/January 2024-25 in Handguns

Steel Yourself The Apache in your October/November issue looks and sounds like a fine gun, but I have a question. Construction is said to be on a pre-hardened 4140 stainless steel frame. However 4140 is a carbon-alloy product. Is that an error? Just curious as to what it is. BILLY WILES Mr. Wiles: Interesting question. Based on my web research on 4140, some steel makers say it’s neither carbon steel nor stainless steel but a one-of-a-kind, low-alloy steel. It has a chromium content of 0.80 to 1.1 percent; typical stainless steels have a minimum chromium content of 10.5 percent. Carbon content is 0.38 to 0.43 percent. 4140 is reported to be tougher than plain carbon steels, and it has good machinability and high fatigue resistance and torsional strength.—Scott 2024 Olympics/Paralympics…

SMITH & WESSON’S KIT GUN WAS ORIGInally intended as a lightweight revolver for inclusion in a fisherman’s or trapper’s kit. The little .22 rimfire practically became a fashion accessory. Everyone had to have one, and many carried the piece in a Mackinaw pocket or the back jeans pocket while hiking or hunting. The original Kit Gun was built on Smith & Wesson’s Hand Ejector Frame, also known as the I frame. The first Kit Guns were the brainchild of an influential gun dealer named Phil Bekeart. He asked for Smith & Wesson to chamber the six-shot .32 Hand Ejector in a six-shot .22 version. He specified target-style grips and adjustable rear sights. These revolvers were sometimes called the .22/.32 Target Model, Kit Gun or Bekeart Special, and most were six-inchers.…

AS A CADET IN THE RESERVE POLICE academy during the mid-’90s, I was taught to shoot using a Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver, which some California police departments were still issuing to their reserve officers. I learned right away that the toughest part about shooting a revolver wasn’t shooting at all. It was loading. I never carried a revolver as a duty sidearm, but I’ve carried one concealed plenty in an off-duty capacity and now as a retired officer. Although largely replaced by semiautomatic pistols, double-action or double-action/single-action revolvers remain viable defensive options—provided you know how to load them properly. Most defensive revolvers hold five or six rounds in their cylinder, which is about half the capacity of even most subcompact pistols. As such, it’s a good idea to carry…

Most shooters associate the Bersa brand with its compact Thunder semiauto pistol line, so it may have come as a surprise when Bersa introduced a new B1911 .45 ACP semiauto single-action pistol this year. Perhaps even more surprising to some is the fact that these 1911s are not built in Argentina, where Bersa is headquartered, but rather at the company’s new, state-of-the-art facility in Kennesaw, Georgia. This is not, however, the first time Bersa has taken on the 1911. In fact, that’s where the brand got its start, if only tangentially. In 1958 a trio of Italian firearm engineers—Ercole Montini (who had worked at Beretta), Benso Bonadimani and Savino Caselli—set up shop not far from Buenos Aires and began making parts for Ballester-Molina. Ballester-Molina’s best-known firearm was the Pistola Sistema…

WHILE POLYMER-FRAME GUNS STILL OWN the lion’s share of the semiauto pistol market, consumers and gun companies have recognized that metal-frame guns offer real benefits. Walther was at the vanguard of this “back to the future” move toward metal, and its latest example is the PDP Compact Steel Frame. Walther bills its PDP Steel Frame series, which includes 4.5- and five-inch models in addition to the Compact, as a sort of hybrid race/duty gun. That makes sense, since the weight results in a flat-shooting gun that will prove easy to shoot for a lot of folks. The PDP Compact Steel Frame weighs just a shade over 40 ounces—on par with, say, a full-size steel 1911. Its four-inch barrel produces an overall length of 7.4 inches, and its 5.4-inch-high frame accepts 15-round…

NIGHTHAWK CUSTOM WAS STARTED by a group of four men who had a true passion for the 1911 platform. Through the years, the line has grown rom a few basic models to dozens of guns—each built by one gunsmith and guaranteed for life no matter who the owner is. This example is the third model in the Boardroom series, called the Vice President—a 9mm on the Commander frame. The Vice President has a durable black DLC finish, applied smoothly and evenly. The slide is of tri-top design with steep angles, and forward of the twin slide serrations at the front are two lightening cuts. My sample came with the optional “blackout” barrel. It’s match grade with a target crown and a polished feed ramp, and it is hand-fitted. A serrated…

TO SAY SIG SAUER IS AT THE FOREFRONT of firearms manufacturing technology is an understatement. Not only is this forward-thinking company making a staggering number of firearms for military, law enforcement and private citizens, but it’s also developed a line of optics, lights and ammunition. SIG Sauer’s most recent innovation is its SIG Connect app, which pairs to your smart device to provide an on-demand training experience that’s as entertaining as it is educational. The SIG Connect app is available at the App Store and Google Play. The free app grants you limited access to instructional videos from SIG Sauer Academy instructors and professional shooters, podcasts, SIG films and the Rose program. Not bad for free, but when you upgrade to a premium membership—$10 per month, after a free one-month trial—things…

SPRINGFIELD AOS Springfield has developed an optics mounting system for its 1911s called AOS, or Agency Optic System, in collaboration with Agency Arms. It uses a series of plates that will accommodate popular footprints including the Trijicon RMR, Shield, Leupold DeltaPoint Pro and Docter. AOS guns will ship with a cover plate with rear sight. The red-dot adapter plates are machined from billet steel. Purchasers will get one discounted plate for $49; regular price is $129. The initial AOS launch will be in the Emissary and Ronin lines, plus a new aluminum-frame Operator (shown here). {SPRINGFIELD-ARMORY.COM} CCI HEVI BISMUTH SHOTSHELLS If you’re looking for lead-free pest-control rounds for your handgun, CCI has you covered with the new lineup of Hevi-Bismuth loads featuring the Catalyst lead-free primer. The shot has a…

IF YOU SIMPLY CAN’T GET ENOUGH GUNS and shooting, the My Outdoor TV (MOTV) app is a resource like no other, a curated treasure trove of firearms- and outdoor-oriented television shows and videos. For example, MOTV offers nine seasons—102 episodes—of “Handguns” (formerly “Handguns & Defensive Weapons”) alone. The show focuses primarily on personal protection and includes plenty of recreational shooting activities such as plinking and action-shooting competitions. It features reviews of the latest firearms, ammunition and shooting accessories, as well as advice on marksmanship, gun handling, self-defense techniques and a host of other handgun-related topics. But wait, there’s more! There are 10-plus seasons of the popular “Guns & Ammo” television shows, encompassing more than 200 episodes available on the app. You can also check out past episodes of shows like “Gun…

Customizing factory handguns to increase their performance potential is incredibly common these days. It seems that, no matter what brand of pistol, there is a company out there willing to trick it out. One of the innovators in this space has been Langdon Tactical Technology, a company that specializes in out-of-the-box custom handguns as well as performance upgrades to existing pistols. One of Langdon Tactical’s flagship models is the 92G Elite LTT Full-Size, based on the Beretta factory handgun. Langdon Tactical was founded by Ernest Langdon, a former Marine who trained shooters on the Beretta M9 as an instructor in the elite Hostage Rescue Team counterterrorism program. Langdon has earned 10 national championships and is a Grand Master-rated USPSA shooter. He won his first IDPA national with a stock Beretta…

RUGER INTRODUCED ITS ENTRY INTO THE high-capacity micro 9mm market about three years ago, and like other manufacturers have done with such models, the company has tweaked the Max-9 to make it slightly bigger. The new variant has a four-inch barrel and, spoiler alert, I like it better than the original. The gun is 6.8 inches long and weighs 21.2 ounces. That compares to a six-inch overall length and 18.4-ounce weight for the original and its 3.2-inch barrel. Otherwise the platform remains the same. The Max-9 four-inch features a through-hardened alloy steel slide with a black oxide finish. For all you non-metallurgists out there, through-hardening is a process that boosts the strength of steel alloys by heating them above their so-called transformation range and then quickly quenching them. Through-hardening is used…

I DON’T THINK I HAVE TO TELL ANYONE reading this magazine how much fun it is to shoot a single-action revolver patterned on the famous Colt Single Action Army. The list of companies producing these guns just grew by one with the introduction of Taurus’s new Deputy. It’s available in .357 Magnum and .45 Colt and in 4.75- and 5.5-inch barrel lengths. My sample was the 5.5-inch .357. The Deputies are six-shot revolvers that incorporate a transfer-bar safety so they can be carried with all chambers loaded. Currently they’re offered with a black satin finish and black plastic grips, which are set off by brass escutcheons. Sights are your standard blade front and gutter rear milled into the topstrap. The guns have that wonderful four-click sound when cocking, like on the…

A FEW YEARS AGO IN THIS COLUMN, I wrote an article on concealed-carry options for runners, and what I learned covering miles of backcountry trails with a gun in tow is that today’s athletes have only a handful of solid options if they want to comfortably and effectively conceal a weapon while working out. Most of the carry methods were fine for short workouts that didn’t require a lot of exertion. Step up your game and start burning more calories, though, and the list of suitable carry options dwindles faster than a pile of free bananas at a 5K. That’s why I was so intrigued by Arrowhead’s new Carrier Traveler Joggers (ARROWHEADTACTICALAPPAREL.COM). For starters, they aren’t ugly. While it should seem obvious that clothes shouldn’t be ugly, not all concealed-carry garment…

Reports of the death of the double-action/single-action semiautomatic have been greatly exaggerated. Certainly our military’s decision to move away from this design to the now-ubiquitous striker-fired system didn’t do the DA/SA any favors, but despite that, in recent years we’ve seen a number of new DA/SA models. Taurus has had DA/SA guns in its stable for years, most recently the TH series. Haven’t heard of the TH? For the most part it is a refresh of the old PT 809, with full-size and compact guns in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Even Taurus will tell you this series has not gotten the attention it maybe deserves. “The TH is like the hidden gem of the Taurus lineup,” said Taurus’s Caleb Giddings. “It’s one of our best guns, but it’s…

SO MANY HANDGUNS THESE DAYS ARE simply clones of other models. Every once in a while, though, something unique comes along. Rock Island Armory’s RIA 5.0E certainly fits that bill. This handgun, and its predecessor, are unique. Although it looks a bit like something from a science fiction movie, its features are functional and practical. At first glance the RIA 5.0E appears to be a striker-fired handgun, but it is actually a single-action pistol with an enclosed hammer. While that is unusual, it doesn’t mean much in a practical sense. A more serious departure from the norm is the recoil system. Most modern semiautomatic handguns either use some adaptation of the Browning tilt-barrel system or are simple blowback designs. The RIA 5.0E has a unique linear recoil design called the Ram…

SIG SAUER’S P226 TURNED 40 YEARS OLD in 2024. It was the company’s entry into the competition to replace the 1911 as the U.S. military’s sidearm, and while it didn’t win, the Navy SEALs decided the P226 was just right for them and officially adopted it. Today the P226 is available in nine different versions, and one of the most recent is the XFive Legion. While it shares many characteristics of the P226-XFive I reviewed in the February/March issue, there are some key differences. Chief among them is the integrated expansion chamber machined into the slide. SIG has done this with a couple other models, and in the case of the P226-XFive Legion it has made a fast-shooting pistol even faster. The result is a full-size slide surrounding a 4.4-inch, deeply…