Tabla de contenidos para November/December 2021 en Combat Handguns

Someone once told me that life begins at the end of your comfort zone, and once you find yourself at that ledge, leap. These words have always stayed with me and on occasion I meet someone who personifies them beautifully. Mandy Bachman is, without a doubt, among these people. Bachman is the only female shooter currently competing on the Wilson Combat Shooting Team. She also works full time as the Operations Manager for the IDPA handling membership relations, assisting with planning the National Championship and making sure the day-to-day operations of the IDPA run smoothly. Bachman has an impressive list of awards, which have all been earned in just the last few years. This is where Bachman’s story shows the endless possibilities that are waiting for you once you find…

With the R7 pointed in a safe direction, remove the magazine and clear the chamber. After ensuring the gun is completely unloaded, grasp the slide and pull it rearward 0.25 inches. Using your other hand, grasp the pulldown tabs with your thumb and forefinger and pull downward. Continue to pull down on the tabs while letting the slide go forward. With the gun pointed in a safe direction, pull the trigger and release the pull-down tabs and push the slide 0.25 inches forward. The slide assembly can now be lifted straight up off the frame rails. Remove the recoil spring assembly, which is captured on the recoil spring guide rod, and the barrel can be rocked out of the slide. Reassemble in reverse order.…

The firearms industry is full of success stories. In fact, the need for “something different” is what has fueled a mega parts and accessories portion of the industry. While the new products offered by big name manufacturers get all the initial attention, it’s a healthy parts and accessories support that will fuel continued growth. The Glock has been that beast of a platform that has consumed so much accessory and add-on availability. At the forefront of that has been Lone Wolf Distributors. While being a major contributor to the success of Glock modification is an admirable position, it’s not where Lone Wolf will stay. Change is upon us. The LTD19 pistol release was their first step toward establishing their commitment to being more than a distributor. And now they have…

There are certain things in life that never really change. It may have a different coat of paint on it or be given a modern name, but in the end, it is really the same. Nowhere is this more evident than in gunfighting. The primary goal remains the same across time. How it was accomplished and with what tools is about the only difference. I have long been a student of the Old West and of gunfighters more specifically. The skills of men like Wild Bill Hickok show us that they took their gun fighting very seriously. Of course, it would be almost criminal to not mention one of the Old West’s most famous gunslingers, Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an…

SCCY Firearms, pronounced “sky,” is perhaps best known throughout the firearms industry for its line of extremely low-cost, highly vibrant multi-colored compact pistols. The goal of the brand’s founder and CEO, Joe Roebuck, from the very beginning of his venture was to bring value to the consumer with a potent formula and ethos: “SCCY is the presence of talent and technology with the absence of greed.” When he first began considering a venture into firearms manufacturing, Roebuck had discovered a significant gap in the firearms marketplace for low-cost, high-quality carry guns. He set out to determine if his decades of production savvy and skill in manufacturing could satisfy the massive need, noting, “My mission is to make an affordable gun and put it in everybody’s pocket. By far, this gun…

For many years I carried a Kahr PM9 pistol for personal defense. Introduced in the early 2000s, the gun was just 1 inch wide, had a 3-inch barrel and weighed just over a pound fully loaded with the 7+1 extended, single-stack magazine. Carried in a Crossbreed AIWB holster, I went blissfully about my business without any concern that I was somehow inadequately armed. I wasn’t alone. It seems every manufacturer offered a 9mm micro-compact, striker-fired, polymer-framed gun with a single-stack magazine. Sales were brisk among the CCW crowd, and the little guns proved reasonably accurate, reliable, and their light weight and slim profiles made them very easy to carry. Magazine capacity was the sacrifice we all made to have these easily concealed handguns. No one seemed to mind. At least…

We were in the last stretch of our run and turned from the sand and dirt trail behind my subdivision, onto the asphalt of my street. A hundred yards ahead I could see an unfamiliar pickup truck parked in front of my house with its driver’s side door open. “Who is that?” I asked Gunner, and we picked up our pace until we got to the truck. Just then, a man in his mid-30s came running from my front door, and the look on his face told me he’d been caught in the act. Nearly every morning will find me taking my chocolate Labrador for a walk or run in the desert. It’s a great way for us to start our day, and we usually go down to the wash,…

10MM 1911 SHOOTOUT KIMBER RAPIDE BLACK ICE VS. SPRINGFIELD RO ELITE OPERATOR CALIBER 10mm BARREL 5 inches OA LENGTH 8.7 inches WEIGHT 38 ounces (empty) GRIP G10 SIGHTS Tru-Glo TFX Pro ACTION SA Semi-Auto FINISH KimPro II CAPACITY 8+1 MSRP $1,645 CALIBER 10mm BARREL 5 inches OA LENGTH 8.6 inches WEIGHT 41 ounces (empty) GRIP Thin-Line G10 SIGHTS Fiber-optic front, tactical rack rear ACTION SA Semi-Auto FINISH Black-T CAPACITY 8+1 MSRP $1,145 Sometimes, every bout in the ring isn’t an ear-biting fight for a title belt. Quite often, two contenders square off in an exhibition match to simply show off skills and prowess and to provide good, old-fashioned entertainment. That’s a little bit of what we have here with two supercharged 1911s from Kimber America and Springfield Armory. Chambered for…

When you think of firearms for combat and defensive purposes in today’s modern age, images of custom-built ARs and tricked-out pistols come to mind. There’s all kinds of gadgets and gizmos that you can affix to current weapons to make them look like the next centerpiece of a sci-fi blockbuster. What you don’t hear too much about or see in the latest and greatest video reviews is the erstwhile derringer. With the derringer’s basic design originating in 1825, there have been many companies that have seized on Henry Deringer’s original concept to produce numerous iterations of their own. From pot-metal throwaways to four-barrel wonders to Remington’s classic over-and-under design, the derringer-style pistol has a certain mystique about it within American firearms history. While it doesn’t have the sex appeal of…

My relationship with the Taurus Raging Hunter has gotten progressively more violent over the years. My first introduction to the platform was via its .44 Magnum chambering. The next year I was introduced to it in .454 Casull, and now for 2021 it’s available in the .460 Smith & Wesson. For those not familiar with the round it has roughly the energy equivalent of the first two combined. Another accurate comparison would be an entire cylinder of Hornady’s .45 Colt Critical Defense going off at once. Yeah, this thing is going to rock whatever is in front of it. Designed in 2005, this cartridge is intended for long-range handgun hunting as well as for dangerous game. Having five of these at the ready is more than just “loaded for bear,”…

While being accurate with a pistol can be a natural gift, safe gun handling, range safety and the effective use of basic skills is a learned behavior. Gun owners learn to be safe, confident and consistently accurate primarily through organized instruction from good shooters who are not only knowledgeable about firearms but are effective teachers as well. To receive the tools to continually improve and build the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment, new gun owners must first be good students, absorbing correct fundamentals that produce immediate, positive results. Glock Professional, a separate training and competitive arm of Glock, Inc., now offers just such a class at their training facility located close to the Glock headquarters and manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Georgia. The Glock Training “Brilliance in The Basics” (BITB)…

The .44 Remington Magnum has been one of the top choices for those seeking big-bore performance since its inception in 1955. A collaboration between famous gun writer Elmer Keith and Smith & Wesson led to introductory designs that would eventually become the legendary Model 29. Once known as “the most powerful in the world,” this cartridge still fits the bill for hunting, self-defense and even recreational shooting. As more than 60 years have passed since the world fired its first rounds, several companies load for it. For this edition of the “Ammo Match” column, I gathered a mix of new and old offerings to demonstrate the omnipotence of the cartridge that can truly do it all. TEST EQUIPMENT To get the job done, I reached out to Ruger to borrow…

At the 2020 SHOT Show, I was introduced to a line of revolvers being imported by Armscor/Rock Island Armory (RIA) called the Alfa Master Series. Made in .38 Special, .357 Magnum and 9mm, these mid-sized wheelguns are made by Alfa Proj of Brno, in the Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1993 but only began serious handgun production in 2002. The Alfa-produced firearms are not new to these shores but are a new offering through RIA. AL9.0 OVERVIEW Revolvers chambering cartridges meant for semi-autos have been around for over 100 years. Originally produced to augment the inadequate supply of service pistols to the military, in more modern times they have appeared in places where pistol cartridges like the 9mm are more prevalent. Most have been put to use by…

The Weaver classic series handgun scope is built to withstand recoil from magnum cartridges like the one tested in this article. Its 2-6x magnification is just right for hunting at distances inside of 100 yards, and the simple Dual-X reticle is fast and instinctual. The author found that eye relief was spot on whether he was shooting from the bench or in the two-handed standing position. Above all, with a price point of $172.49, it’s unbelievably durable and held zero throughout this punishing range day. To get yours, visit natchezss.com, as they are the exclusive retailer for this product.…

I opened my eyes just a crack and looked at the alarm clock. It was 4:15 a.m., so I still had an hour before the alarm would go off, but I got up anyway. I was too excited to go back to sleep. I threw on my clothes, fed the dog and put him outside, and started my drive south. I’d be celebrating this Thanksgiving a little differently than most people. GIVING THANKS The hour-long drive through curving mountain passes gave me time to reflect on my year and give thanks for all I had. I was sick in March and spent a week in bed. The dreaded COVID tested me but did not prevail, and for that I am thankful. I’m also thankful for the big sister who brought…