mi; AMERICAN

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OUTSTANDING AMERICAN HANDGUNNER AWARDS FOUNDATION

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*. .

New Contributing â

9MM

Nt i Revolver from France., r HANDGUN .- Kg:

THREE FEATURES- PLUS ExeCuAuie 9nteuueut:-- \ -l-7

A Look at the ;.!È,,L.--. A MILITARY MAF*; Super-X, the shortest distance between two points. Whether you're a match target- rifle or pistol shooter, or a high-power hunting enthusiast, you know that when you're working with super- or super-~atch~cartridgesyou've got it all going for . you; from primer to case to powder to bullet design, as fine a set of matched high performance com- ponents as Winchester and Western engineering can offer in its sporting ammunition- and that's the very best!

, *and TM refer to rradernarks of Olin Corporation Winchester Wesrern 275 Winchester Ave, New Haven Ct 06504 I, . FOUNDATION JNC. 30016 S. RIVER ROAD MT. CLEMENS, MICHIGAN 48045 NEWSLETTER

his page is new to 'The American Handgunner," and ROBERT PETERSON: Los Angeles, California. Publisher of T we've looked forward eagerly to its baptism. American "Guns and Ammo" magazine and a handgun, hunter. Handgunner magazine and the Outstanding American SKEETER SKELTON: Deming, New Mexico. Former federal Handgunner Award Foundation are now working togeth- agent, author, and handgun aficionado. er, and doings of the Foundation will be reported on this HAL SWIGGETT: San Antonio, Texas. Well known author, page in every issue. The two haven't merged physically; photographer, and handgun hunter. they are quite distinct separate organizations, but AHG is now the official organ of OAHGAF and as such, the editor These nominees represent a broad spectrum and have Jerry Rakusan will be supporting the Foundation editorial- all done much to promote the sport of handgunning. Their ly. Furthermore, new OAHGAF members will receive, for accomplishments are too numerous and varied to list here, their $15 annual dues, American Handgunner magazine but perhaps next issue we'll be able to tell you more as well as the identifying material of the Foundation. about them. The Outstanding American Handgunner Award Founda- Keep an eye out for this section of the magazine from tion has been completely reorganized under the very cap- now on. Here is where you'll find all the latest informa- able direction of Larry Kelly (President of Mag-Na-Port) tion on Foundation activities, especially including plans and a small, flexible board of directors. We are in better for the bigger-than-ever 1978 Awards Banquet and shape than ever and are looking forward to great things Ceremonies. in the future. We do need more members, and now is the time to sign up and receive American Handgunner maga- zine as a bonus. It's the only periodical devoted purely to handguns, and we don't see how any pistolero can do without it. Our nominating committee has just turned in the names of the 'Top Ten" from which the 1978 Outstanding Ameri- YES, I want to become a member of the Outstand- can Handgunner will be selected. Here are the names, ing American Handgunner Foundation and one of them will carry away the bronze handgunner statuette next spring. Enclosed is $1 5.00 for annual membership which includes a year subscription to The WARREN CENTER: Rochester, New Hampshire. Known American Handgunner Magazine principally as the designer of the very popular Contender I am already a subscriber to The American single-shot pistol. Handgunner; enclosed is $1 0.00 for my annual JIMMY CLARK: Shreveport, Louisiana. Pistolsmith par ex- membership cellence and one of our best competitive shooters. (Note: Life and Endowment memberships are avail- JEFF COOPER: Paulden, Arizona. Author and foremost pro- able, please write for details) ponent of "Practical Pistolcraft," director of the Interna- tional Practical Shooting Confederation. ELGIN GATES: Needles, California. Outstanding big-game Mail to: hunter and proponent of long-range handgunning. OUTSTANDING AMERICAN HANWNNER FOUNDATION DEAN GRENNELL: Dana Point, California. On staff of Gun 30016 S. River Rd., Mt Clemens, MI 48045 World magazine, an author of note and handgun lover. I TANYA METAKSA: Washington, D.C. Chief lobbyist for NAME ...... NRA on Capitol Hill and head of ILA State Liaison pro- I gram. ADDRESS ...... I.. I GEORGE C. NONTE: Peoria, Illinois. Our most prolific 1 CITY ...... shooting author, worldwide handgun hunter, and technical expert on handguns.

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 197 THE AMERICAN

NOVEMBERIDECEMBER, 1977 George E. von Rosen Vol. 2 NO. 6-8 Publisher

CONTENTS FEATURES

BROWNING BDA DOUBLE ACTION .45 ...... George C. NOnte 23 THE MAUSER MILITARY PISTOL ...... Donald M. Simmons 28 FRANCE'S NEWEST REVOLVER - THE M-73 ...... Michel Josserand 33 THE TIC INSTA-SIGHT ...... J. D. Jones 53 SPEED RIGS FOR COMBAT SHOOTING ...... Rick Miller 62

THE THOMPSONICENTER CONTENDER By Massad Ayoob GENISIS OF A PISTOL ...... 40 INTERVIEW: WARREN CENTER ...... 42 CONTENDING WITH THE CONTENDER ...... 46 THE COLLECTIBLE CONTENDER ...... 51

DEPARTMENTS

COOPER'S COLUMN .... .Jeff Cooper 5 HANDGUN HUNTING ..Geo. Bredsten 16 KEEP SHOOTIN' ...... 6 HANDLOADING ...... Dan Cotterman 18 THE COMBAT COURSE Mason Williams 10 COP TALK ...... Massad Ayoob 66 INDUSTRY INSIDER .. .Massad Ayoob 12 TAKING AIM ...... Claud Hamilton 69

, : .'b*. ¥;?A : ,t7,$-% , ,^.:-' 4 & $';ft' . 'hrome Rakusan ...... Editor Bill Bauer ...... Advertising Sales Herbert Gates ...... Associate Editor Michele Somers ...... Advertising Manager Robert C. O'Quinn...... Associate Editor Joan Tortorici ...... Advertising Production Sydney Barker ...... Art Director Jane Davidson ...... Adv. Customer Service Benton Covert ...... Art Production T.A. von Rosen ...... Production Director Albert Esklnazi ...... Subscription/Circulation if. . $ SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE: 0. Bennett, 8150 N. Central Park, Skokle, Ill. 80078 (312) 675-5611 !¥$ EDITORIAL OFFICES: Jerome Rakusan, 8150 N. Central Park, Skokie, Ill. 60076 (312) 675-5602 NATIONAL ADV. OFFICES: 8150 N. Central Park Ave., Skokle, Ill. 60076 (312) 675-6010 g,-g WEST COAST ADV. REPS: Media Sates Associates, 12121 Wllshlre Blvd., Suite 207, Los Angeles, 90025 (213) 826-8341 EAST COAST ADV. REPS: Buchmayr Associates. 19 Birch Rd., Darien. Conn. 06820 (203) 655-1639 a**^

THE AMERICAN HANDQUNNER is published bimonthly by Publishers' Development Corp.. 8150N. Central Park Avenue. Skokle, Illinois60076.AppllCationm mail at second clan postage rates is pending at Skokle. Ill. 60076 and at additional entry offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year (6 issues) $7.50. Single monthly copies$1.50. CHANGE OF ADDRESSES: Four weeks' notice reaulred on all chanaes. Send old address as well as new. CONTRIBUTORS submitting rnahuscriots. Dhotograohs or drawingsdoaoattheirownrisk. Material cannot be returned unless~ccompaniedby sufficient postage. PAYMENTwillbemadeat ratescurrentattinieof publication and will cover raproduction in any or all AMERICAN HANDGUNNER Magazine editions. ADVERTISING RATES furnished on request. Reproduction or uee of any portion of this magazine in any manner, withoutwritten permission, is prohlbited.~llrights reserved. Title to this publication passastosubscriber only ondelivery to his address. Attacking the traditional 2.7 wadcutter load seemed to be something like attack- ing home and mother. I was not in fact at- tacking it. I was simply wondering out loud. But the response was the same as if I had trod upon the flag. In the months following this inter- change I received four or five more ex- amples of the problem, three of them coming from overseas, where powder other than Bullseye was used, but powder of very similar characteristics; one in Eng- land, one in France and one in Africa. It would seem that while the risk involved in this sort of load is extremely low, it does exist. Or something exists. Just what, I Blowing Up With Two Point Seven cannot say. Then &other customer wrote to me after he matter first came to my attention discharge to flash over the powder against having written to the company which T many years ago on a visit to the Colt the base of the bullet and to ignite the en- makes Bullseye powder. He enclosed their factory. There, on Don Mitchell's desk, tire charge almost instantaneously." The response. I had mentioned only two re- cent blowups in my column, and the an- lay a Python which was well and truly black-powder .38 Special case is overlarge burst. Three chambers were blown away, for the amount of smokeless powder swer that my correspondent got back the top strap had buckled and the muzzle usually used in this load. The .357 case is, from the company ran thus: was pointing about thirty degrees skyward. of course, larger stilL Bullseye powder~a "Since neither incident mentioned in Said Don, "The customer claims he was very dense, quick-burning compound- the magazine have been brought to loading the regular-target combination, a may indeed tend to get lost in a large case our attention (sic), we are unable to 148 wadcutter and 2.7 grains of Bullseye. if a very small charge is used. offer comments on the cause. Some- I guess he got a double charge." But the conventional target load of a time ago a similar incident was On considering this, it became obvious 148 bullet and somewhat less than 3 brought to our attention. Investiga- that something else was at fault. Twice 2.7 grains of Bullseye has been used for tion revealed a large fluctuation in is 5.4, and a Python will take as much as 9 generations as a standard target and prac- the powder charge to the low side. grains of Bullseye with 158-grain bullet as tice load for tens of thousands of police- The most likely cause of that particu- a proof load. (Though don't try this. We men.. It would certainly appear that the lar incident was a bullet lodging in are reaching the end of the line.) Nor hazard of detonation would have become the forcing cone, with another round could the correspondent have made the common knowledge by this time if that in- firing into it." mistake of using a denser powder than re- deed were the problem. The assumption here was that a very commended, since Bullseye is about as Having received so many queries about low charge had simply forced the bullet dense as anything around. But there the this matter, I finally published a rather dif- forward into the cone, whereupon it was gun was, and it looked like it had nitrogly- fident appreciation of its possibility in a struck by a subsequent bullet, giving a cerin in its cartridge rather than gunpow- questions and answers column. Im- double weight in the barrel and forcing a der. Food for thought. mediately I got static from all directions. very low charge to blow up the gun. The In due course I heard of a similar inci- dent, and then another. I have now on my desk twelve such letters, all reporting the bursting of a hiihquality revolver when using target ammunition which was loaded light for ease of control. Never during this period did I receive comment about a revolve,r's being blown by what was admittedly an overload. It seems that excessively heavy loads (up to a point) tend to stretch revolvers out of shape ra- ther than blowing them. It is this light load that bursts them like a bomb. Now, why do you suppose that is? In the course of my explorations, I came across the word "detonation" It is generally used to describe the action oi automatic. The oosltlve a Holder wlnew insert wlo clips high explosive, such as TNT; rather than Model 34 Model 35 low explosive, such as gunpowder. It im- S11.45 112.45 I plies almost instantaneous rather than gradual combustion of a charge. Not be- ing highly qualified in either physics or chemistry, I enquired further. One ex- planation I got was this, "When a small charge of powder, especially a dense, quick-burning powder, is loaded into a Write us fc large case it tends to lie in a trough along the bottom of the case, rather than filling SAFARILAMID up the space. This may allow the prime1 1 Deot I 1941 S Walker Ave Mnnrnv~aCaltf QI"16 (913\%7-i'Qfl!Y more I consider that hypothesis, the less not blown wide open. . of internal combustion. His letter reads as likely it appears. I have seen several pis- I then received another letter. This time follows: tols fired with a bullet stuck in the barrel. from a man who identified himself as a "The burning rate of powders is In every case, the barrel was bulged and physicist. He was kindly attempting to re- controlled by several factors. Among rendered unserviceable but the fun was inforce my academic weakness in the area these are pellet size, geometry, chem- ical composition, and, very im- portantly, the degree of compaction in the cartridge case. In general, the greater the degree of compaction, the T' slower the burning will proceed. As 'Just Keep On ... burning rate is increased, breech pressures rise. This is due to greater gas evolution per unit period of time. "Regarding the charge in question, upon detonation of the primer, the powder pellets will be distributed - fairly uniformly throughout the car- tridge case. The result is a great in- crease in burning rate, because a small amount of powder is distribu- ted in a rather large case volume. The effect may be compounded because the primer in itself may exert enough force to start the bullet down the bar- - - rel, increasing the volume propor- Had some excitement here in town last week. Bonzo, that chimpanzee tionately into which the powder may from the movies, he was at a fair over at Pine Forge and Smitty Brown disperse. The small charge may thus heard about it. Smitty's the best friend and promoter shootin's ever be detonated. The high rate of pow- had, got the NRA building paid for in Washington with his ideas, der decomposition may indeed pro- though I hear those jaspers up there are on the move again. 'Smitty duce pressure with a magnitude far in sees shootin bigger than those TV tennis matches some day. excess of that which the firearm can You remember you met stand. Smitty at Perry last year. He "I would like to point out that the was coaching that new young progressive nature of any powder lady shooter from Florida, may be nullified through the use of Nancy Caldwell. She won the reduced loads. I strongly discourage Women's Pistol Champion- the use of any load which deviates ship beating that Washington greatly from those given in the hand- Flash Gertie Bachstrom by books. Even failing to perform a two points. Smitty was as recommended bullet crimp may re- proud as if Nancy'd been his sult in dangerous pressures. The own daughter, but he looked a loads listed in the handbooks are the mite like he was gonna have result of extensive testing. This infor- his second heart attack after mation should not be taken lightly." Nancy put on that race horse L. W. H.-Physicist finish. Any way, Smitty's always Gibsonia, Pennsylvania sayin he can teach anybody to Naturally, I found this letter most en- shoot a pistol in 30 minutes, lightening, as it tended to corroborate all they got to understand is sight alignment and trigger control. So he what I had been suspecting. It does not, of got the idea of taking Bonzo out and proving he could even teach a course, solve the mystery, because the chimp, probably easier than a human. Like Smitty said, "Hell, the very load in question is one which has monkey can't get on his back. . . he IS the monkey." long been recommended as absolutely Smitty got his favorite O.M.Colt he shot for so many years, and safe for both .38 Specials and .357's. The they gave that critter an unloaded gun to hold for the pictures. Tried to experience of the loading companies and put ear protectors on him, but he kept pullin them off. Then every time the loading manuals is fully on the side of Smitty'd shoot, that chimp'd scream and holler and stamp his feet. safety in this matter, ,and still we have As you can see in the picture I'm sending you, Smitty got off ten these explosions. Fortunately, up to now, pretty good shots at 50 yards. Showed Bonzo how to hold thegun, look they have not resulted in physical damage at the sights and pull the trigger, but couldn't bring himself to giving to the shooter, but they have completely that monkey a loaded gun. Like Smitty said, "Wouldn't be hard to destroyed the firearm. I do not pretend to teach him to shoot, but he'd never figure out how to use those NRA know what happens here, but I do know scorecards. " that something is happening, and that it is That's the gospel, have you seen the latest one they make the police very destructive. I cannot preach in this shooters use? Got 2 columns, marked 1-2 and 3-4, each line is totaled field; but, as for me, I will not use the clas- across for number of shots, multiplied by each shot value and then sic target loads of Bullseye in any revolver both columns added down and across into one total. that I own, and I intend to stay well clear Smitty's right, be easier to teach anybody how to hold em and of other people's revolvers in which such squeeze em. loads are used. I have too many examples ^lat now to regard this matter as one of trivial probability.

. . AMERICAN HANDQUNNE.. loading press, you can bet they p-ut plenty of work into it. And it shows in the final product., They start with the best die steel available and add 34 years of know-how. One at a time, each die is precision machined. Then each is kF polished inside, by hand. Which probably Next comes a 1700Âheat-treating helpexplain the fact process that makes RCBS dies that seven out of ten hard and tough enough to outlast a relo&em today are dozen gun barrels. Then more using RCBS presses hand-polishing till the die is just so. and dies. Seven out The results speak for themselves of ten. A close look every time you shove down the handle of an RCBS press. Of course, the good 01' "0"frame built boys are only passing this Let's say you already know why information along as a you want to get into reloading. The savings. The accuracy. The just plain satisfaction. But your not too sure yet just to make sure the frame what kind of press and dies to in- vest in. Well, far be it from the good 01 boys to give you some high- pressure pitch on their Sooner or later, you'll RCBS reloading tools. B The Block "0" design, together with the patented RCBS compoun leverage system, can absorb tons of work pressure without going out . of whack. Yet these presses oper- ate so smoothly, you can actually feel a difference between them and ordinary presses. The reason is most wm- better fiiing parts. And casting 2naRK tolerances within fifteen ten- this thousandths of an inch. r.u. BOX1919, Ormilie, CA 95965

Since the inside of the dies is where all the work gets done in a re- Get the whole shootin' match fmm the good or boys: CCI primers and ammo, Spew bullets and RCBS mloading tools. 32nd Edition -- - Edited by John 1. Amber An all-new edition of the most U,au, I' comprehensive and complete gun By Tom Brakefield book for all shooters, collectors, hunters and outdoorsmen. With an The really complete reference to eye as unerring as a Weatherby, North American big game hunting. scope, the estimable John T. Amber This comprehensive, lively volume has again selected great new gun gives sound advice to beginning articles by the world's best con- hunter or practiced sportsman. tributingauthors. Features by Learn how to choose the right guns Waters, Labisky, Thomas, Sterett, and scopes, which gear and duffel Nonte, Steindler, to name just a few. are necessary for different types of Articles on handguns, air guns, hunting, where to find the big ones. rifles, black powder guns, hand- Special chapters on all major loading, collecting, smithing. Plus North American big game species DIUSti~son where, when and how a largecatalog sectian complete . ' with specs and prices on all U.S. to baithem. ~hroughoutthis new and imported firearms and acces- volume, you'll find many helpful sories. 448 8%" x 11" pages. ideas to add enjoyment to the hunt. $795 No. GDlW 288 8Y2" x 11" Daaes. No. BG3816

10th Edition Edited by Harold A. Murtz and the Former National Varmint Calling Editors of Gun Digest Champ and hunter Jim Dougherty tells how the local pros call and hunt-tips well salted with his sub- tle sense of humor. Learn the pre- dictable patterns of coyote, bobcat, raccoon, even mountain lion and bear. Covers hunting with gun or , bow; the art of hiding and camou- flage; calibers and loads for rifle,

mouth and electronic calls as well &it names of foreign-gun makers as calling techniques. Plus exten- and much more. Plus extensive cata- d sive listings of manufacturers of all log of guns and accessories with types of hunting and calling gear. 256 8Y2" x 11 " pages. current retail prices. 288. 8%" x 11" pages. No. GI6066

By Robert Beeman , In one definitive volume AIR GUN By Jack Lewis and B.R. Hughes DIGEST assembles enough infor- A cut above any other volume pub- mation to boggle the imaginations lished on pocket or folding knives. of those who fondly remember Liberally illustrated; extensive his- mom, apple pie and the Daisy air tory; blade design, materials, rifle. Beeman traces the first air, shapes and sharpening techniques. spring air, C02 and other types of Tells how quality folding knives air guns from prototype to present- are made for mass production. day models. Major chapters on Also covers custom knives, the maintenance, current gun laws and "Swiss Army knife" and many safety precautions. The author is other extraordinary blades. What to optimistic about the future of air- look for in buyina an evewdav w gunnery as a leisure activity. as well pocket knife;-a hinting kdfeiafine as the hunting possibi1itieii.n areas custom design. Full directory of where combustion types are pro- hibited. 256 8Y2" x 11" oaaes. mass and custom makers. 288 8Y2" ,- --0- - $--5 x llrtpages. $795No. FK9176 No. AG8116 USE COUPON ON OPPOSITE PAGE TO ORDER NOW!- BUY ANY IDBN! BOOK-- ANYWHERE.. . GET ANOTHER ,bBll BOOK FREE! three stages at the same time. Stage Num- ber 1was fwed on the center range, Stage Number 2 was fwed on the left-hand range, with Stage Number 3 fwd on the right-hand range. I have seldom attended a match where everything went so smoothly and so rapidly. Waiting time was held to a minimum. Management, efi- ciency and functioning was idwL The match was restricted to a maxi- mum of one hundred twenty-five shooters. There were two classes of shooters. Thii made up the Open Claea These men were f~gas individuals and came fiom all ,<# over the country. They had not won the &. right to attend the matches by having fired , ,. in Regional shoots. The other 95 shooters, f+ in the Championship Class, were 5% 5% + \+ The 1977 National United States the top men from Regional matches !i$! Practical Pistol Championships throughout the country. ,p? The Open Class fwed Wednesday and .$z Thursday. The Championship Class fired Friday and Saturday. Sunday noon, the 1 thiieen natiois Act in Columbia, to any situation is one of the keys to practi- banquet was held in the Holiday Inn in Mkouri to create the International Prac- fm Golden. As the results became apparent, cal marksmanship. Each course of is ' tical Shooting Confederation Note the based upon a practical situation. In addi- the advantages of this type of shooting be- second word in the title-Practical! Thii tion to d that, it makes an excellent spec- came obvio~ht me give you the details. is the word that makes the IPSC stand tator sport. It's fun to participate in and There were one hundred forty-two prizes alone in the realm of handgun shooting. most interesting to watch. Thii type of valued at $5,500. The five top men in the The National matches held in Denver, shooting has been growing for the past Championship Class were given paid trips June 8th through June 12th 1977, were twenty-odd years and I fmt came into con- to Rhodesia for the World Cmpion- the fmt nationals held under the auspices tact with it back in the middle 1950's. ships adding another $10,000.00 to the of the IPSC. Anyone with a sound background in hand- total prize list. Perhaps a few words of background are gun shooting, plus normal physical capa- The amazing thing about the matches necessiuy at this point. For many years, an bilities and reflexes, can enter these was that the winner-Kirk Kirkham-has ever increasing number of people have matchea and stand a good chance of plac- only been in practical pistol shooting for been questioning the validity of conven- ing high. about three months. His score of 342 was tional handgun matches that are based The IPSC held regional matches the hiihest ever shot in National competi- upon rigidly controlled, known rules and throughout the world and the competitors tion. This clearly illustrates that good match conduct. These conventional who qualified in the United States at sec- health, excellent reflexes, plus a sound matches resemble a ballet in which the tional matches in the Fall of 1976 fired in shooting background, are defmitely the participants have practiced and rehearsed the Championship Class at Denver. Only basic requirements for Practical Pistol for months, or even years, until each men from thii Championship Clam are Shootink nuance is controlled to absolute perfec- eligible for the US. Team that will travel The US. National Team that will repre- tion. Change one detail and it all falls to the World Championships in South sent this countm in modesia consists oE apart. These matches have their place, Africa in August of 1977. but, as I mentioned above, more and The Denver Nationals were run by the 2. Leonard Knight439 more shooters are moving towards what is Table Mountain Gun Club of the Colo- 3. Jerry Kay434 termed bbpractical"handgun shooting rado Pistol League. The range is located 4 Ray Chapman333 Practical shooting involves accuracy, just outside of Golden. The range was di- 5. Jerry Usher-332 power, and speed; but possibly the most vided into three sections, each entirely These men make up the 1977 US. important factor is Diversity. No two separate from any of the other two, thus Team. They will travel to Africa with all matches ever include the same courses of permitting the simultaneous fhgof the - expenses paid.

Ray Chapman shoots part of course where the gun uncovered and course is fired, first with the right is covered with handkerchief; then, at signal, it is hand, then with the left hand. Try it sometime! The next five men form the backup must move the endulum as far as, or gun and gear. The most important thing, team and they also can wear the IPSC more than -45 A& hard ball ammunition. of course, is the ability to handle the gear shirt: If a competitor's ammunition fails to meet and handgun. Next comes accuracy, but 6. bul Waltem the requirements for major classification, this evolves out of practice and more 7. Tom Campbell then it will be considered to belong in the practice. 8. Mike Dalton minor .classification with resulting differ- I talked to a lot of people. Most told me 9. Rick Miller ence in scoring targets. The theory being that a good, new Colt Mark IV will cut the 10. John Davis that a man who can shoot top scores with cake, so if you want to get into thii game, Prizes consisted of Colt pistols, Dan-D a -45 ACP.shou1d not be forced to com- you do not need to spend a lot of money. knives, Weatherby rifle, Davis leather, pete on an equal basis against a man f~ng The interesting part of Practical Pit01 Star pistol, trophies, medals, pocket a .38 special wad cutter load. All loads, Shooting is that no two courses of fue are knives, plaques, and dozens of pieces of whether major or minor, are scored the ever repeated for competition. Note that merchandise. same for center hits but hits outside of the there is nothing extremely diffkult about I would like to list some pertinent data center will be scored one point higher for any of these courses nor are they slanted for those people-men, women and all major caliber classifications. against revolvers or the new shooter. Any- youngsters-who would like to move into An acce~tablehandload for the -45 ACF one with a sound shooting background this type of shooting. for these matvhes is a 230 grain, round- can come into thii sport and do well. It is The handguns used consisted of 87 Colt nose, hard lead bullet, ahead of either 7.2 a tremendous spectator sport and I pm- -45 ACP pistols, one-9 mm, one44 Mag- grains of Unique or 5.2 grains of Bullseye. dict that once the IPSC becomes num and two--38 specials. No need to say These loadings will move the pendulum to thoroughly organized, that it will attract anymore. record a maj& caliber. an ever increasing number of spectatom Before f~ng,each competitor had to Holstem were varied and many, but and the news media in all its branches do a back roll of 360 degrees to prove most, were made by Milt Sparks, Ander- from newspapers to W. that his holster would safely retain his son, Snick, Rogem, Davis and Bianchi. Anyone interested in more information handgun. Thii is one of the basic require- Handguns were altered and modified by should write directly to Rick Miller, 1863 ments of Practical Pistol Shooting. Swenson, Hoag, Clark, Greenwald. Modi- Troy Urgana Road, Troy, Ohio 45373. Next, each competitor had to fire his fications consisted of high visibility sights, Rick, a frequent contributor to The Amer- match ammunition on a hllistic Pendu- combat safeties, beveled magazine wells, ican Handgunner, is the historian of the lum to determine whether his load falls hard chrome fmishes and square front IPSC and the same man who won a place into a major or minor ammunition classi- trigger guards. on the US. backup team. It's not often fication. In order to place a load into the Obviously, a competitor can spend any that a man can both write well major classification, the ammunition amount of money he wishes upon hand- and shoot well.

center fire reloading components are hard to beat. This year, more dealers than ever before -** stocking the full line of Remington center fire components. So you'll no longer have to settle for anything less than Remington quality in your handloads. Remington center fire cases, for instance, contain more brass by weight than other brands-for greater strength and reloadability, shot after shot. And when it comes to bullets, Remington wrote the book. Whether you need the maximum stopping power of our "Core-Lokt" controlled- expansion bullets-the ones that big game hunters have helped make famous- ! or the long-range accuracy and stability of our patented "Power-Lokt" bullets, your local dealer has just what you need-over 100 different bullet weights and calibers. For the full story, pick up a copy of 1 our 1977 Reloading Components Catalog& at your dealer's. Or write to Remington Arms Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn. 06602

are trademark regisleredin the U S Pat =nd he has a solid base to talk from), and cre- ate a plastic case for use with live ammo. He isn't talking about the basement prac- tice shells, those that work just with prim- HANDGUN ers and tend to fall apart in your gun; he's talking about 2.7 grains of bullseye behind a 148-gr. lead semi-wadcutter .38 Special load, the most profitable handgun ammo to make since there's so much large-volume demand for it from police agencies. He thinks he's got a high-stress plastic that will take the pressure. It might be good for a few reloadings, or one, or none at all, and he doesn't much give a damn; he figures he can make his plastic cases so cheapthey'll be disposable any- By MASSAD F. AYOOB way. Sound incredible? Youbetcha it does. And yet, we would have said the same you think the skyrocketing price of licated his concept, and he couldn't get a thing last year if somebody had told us a 1Fb rass is hurting you as a handloader, supply of cases from them. major company would come out with a just think how you'd feel if you were a cor- Canon, a totally independent kind of plastic sabot that would let you shoot a porate exec of an ammunition company guy who takes nothing from nobody, is ne- .224 bullet over 4000 feet per second in and made your livelihood out of the pro- gotiating with a Korean firm to supply your .30/06. But Remington did it, and it's fitability of the ammo you could produce. quality, precision spec brass, at a decent the hottest property going in 1977 small Some ammo-makers are looking to al- price. If he pulls it off, look for a flood of arms ammo. Our "mystery man" pointed ternatives, even radical alternatives. one ammo company executives at the TWA to a Remineton Accelerator sabot and is Jack Canon, ramrod of Deadeye Asso- booking counters picking up their over- said, "If thisplastic composition holds up ciates in Louisiana and the purveyor of seas tickets. as well as it does with the pressures gener- super-effective Glaser Safety Slugs. When The other solution is a lot more radical. ated by a 4000 fps rifle bullet, what makes you're a little guy making-special ammo, .Last week, an "individual in the industry" you think I can't make a plastic cartridge you're dependent on the guys who sell you came by my office and spent four hours casing that can take a puny .38 wadcutter cartridge cases. Witness Lee Jurras, who telling me about his proposal to revolu- load?" said he pulled the plug on Super Vel be- tionize ammo manufacturing. He plans to It is interesting to listen to this guy, and :awe the biggies all had rounds that dup- take certain plastics (an industry in which correlate what he says with the fact that Remington won't tell you exactly which plastic it is, of the thousands of formulae available, that they're using in the Accele- rator. There's lotsa bugs to be worked out, SHAKE HANDS WITH but the theory can't help but fascinate. A Our source claims that he'll have loaded BROWNING rounds available for an exclusive Ameri- can Handgunner test in a few months. RELIABILITY. We'll wait and see. Ted McCauley of Remington answers Meet Browning's semi-auto- these rumors as follows: .308 Winchester matic pistols . . . from top is the next cartridge to be "Accelerated," to bottom: and no serious thought has been given to a handgun version of theAccelerator. The 22 Long Rifle . * plastic .38 ammo theory, he says, is laugh- 1 able. And while Remington is pleased with caliber. 10 the upsurge in demand for the XP-100, no shot magazine 7 plans have been made to chamber it for capacity. $149.95. larger calibers. Hi-Power. 9 mm caliber. We had asked McCauley about future 13 shot magazine plans for the XP-100 pistol, the funny lit- tle bulldog bolt action based on the old 7;':- Adjustable or fixed Model 600 rifle action, because with the k:x sights. Standard or burgeoning growth of metallic silhouette Renaissance grade. handgun competition, this oddball gun that was once for varminters-only is ex- From $289.95. periencing a new surge of popularity. The reason; it has rifle strength, and can be Super or 45 caliber. chambered for calibers like .308 and .358 capacity in 9 mm an that blow a heavy steel goat over like magazine capacity Superman swatting mosquitoes. A bunch 'suggested retail price of gunsmiths are already making such XP-100 conversions and selling them for Inuenton of America'* Great GUM premium dollars. McCauley says a factory version ain't in the cards. FREE 120-page hill-color catalog on all Browntr urn ¥an sports eq* ment. Send postcard to: Browning, Dept. 229.1 ...a an, Utah 84050. Nevertheless, Remington has already 1 ^ERICAN As a safety check, every Colt Detective Special is proof fired with to special high pressure ammunition Colt before it leaves the plant. That's why Coltof ammo. can recommend For additional any facts major on brand the h*e At the critical moment of discharge, safety and use of hand ns, send for be a gun you the Colt advancing hand holds the Colt's free booklet, "Gdling the cylinder rigidly in line with the Handgun." Write Colt Firearms, barrel. That means less chance of Dept. 31 J Hartford, Conn. 06102. can rely on. shaving lead as the bullet enters the There is no obligation, of course. barrel. And that means a safer, more

Colt Detective Special double action revolver 38 Special caliber, 2"barrel, all steel frame, ramp front sight, wal- Hand crafted precision. nut stock. Colt Blueor Nickel finish k

the ejector rod is damaged, the gun and you get less. may not lock up at all. If it won't Compare a Colt lock up, it can't be fired. The Colt inspector checks barrel- with a less expen- shrouded, free-floating ejector rod chamber alignment (range) sive revolver. on a Colt has nothing to do with The Colt gives you six shots. Some cylinder lock-up. So a Colt can take revolvers give you only five. The rough treatment and still perform. barrel and cylinder walls on the Colt Pretested for accuracy and are sturdier. Note the location of the safety. Many manufacturers do not bolt notches on the cylinder. Instead target their handguns at all. Some of weakening the cylinder wall at its use employee testers to do the job. thinnest point, Colt cuts these Only Colt uses a laser boresighting notches off to the side where the system that completely removes the You can count on a Colt. If you metal is thicker. The cylinder human factor. This remarkable buy a revolver that isn't a Colt, you'll release latch on a Colt pulls to the instrument consistently holds probably pay less money. You'll rear. With the forward moving latch center-of-impactvariability to within definitely get less gun. Only a Colt found on many revolvers, the shooter one tenth of an inch. Every Colt gives you the reliability your per- can inadvertently open the cylinder revolver is laser targeted before sonal handgun has to have. Even if and dump the cartridges. shipment. you never use it.

Off-cent ;olt cylinder Shrouded Colt elector rod we hes or holster.

@-an American I heritage established a precedent of making rifles to paperwork on shipments, he'll send your cause he couldn't afford to pay them the specific needs of metallic silhouette ammo to you only in care of your local po- much over minimum wage, and few shooters, and we think a similar step with lice headquarters address. stayed long, because welfare and unem- their one-and-only handgun would be in ployment insurance in that state some- order. True, the metallic silhouette hand- times pays more than minimum wage. Joe gun shooters are a small market by them- THOMPSON CENTER has good news reports some workers were deliberately selves, no matter how fast the sport is in two respects: the inventor of the Con- antagonizing supervisors to force their growing; but, their sport is being well or- tender pistol, Warren Center, is virtually own firings to get on welfare. "This kind ganized and publicized, and if Remington completely recovered from the car crash of labor," says Joe, "is why the guns guns win there, many times more varmint that almost took his life, and should be weren't as well fitted as they could have hunters and non-competitive 'handgun back to work on the gun-designing board been, even though the design improve- enthusiasts will have an excuse to reach by the time you read this. Also they're ments and the quality control were into their pockets and buy the "gun that bringing out ten calibers in the comfort- enough to ensure that they functioned wins." I predict a metallic silhouette com- able-hanging bull barrel configuration better than the competition's once they petition XP-100 as a factory option within that has only been available in the Con- left the factory." Result: Joe is moving to

18-- to-- 24- - months.-~ - tender thus far in the .30 and .357 Herrett the boondocks, good OF heartland Amer- Jack Canon, whom we mentioned a few wildcat chamberings. One of-them will be ica, where there are workers who still take paragraphs back, has introduced a new .41 Magnum, T-C's 24th caliber on their pride in what they turn out . . . generation of GLASER SAFETY list that's current, and their 30th counting Meanwhile, over at SMITH & WES- SLUGS-for big bores. He has one for the .17 wildcats they dropped when sub- SON, some new grip designs for revolvers .45 ACP, one for .44 Special that is de- smallbore mania died. The .41, like the (beginning with the "K" series) are signed expressly for the popular Charter Contender, has excellent potential in me- already off the drawing boards. The first is Arms .44 Bulldog; and the inevitable .44 tallic silhouette shooting, since it retains, a slimmed-down version of the current Magnum. As one might imagine, the com- proportionately, a little more of its veloc- oversize target-style stocks, modified with bination of the Glaser concept (a capsule ity than does the .44 Mag at long range. a speedloader cutout on the left side. Also filled with fine birdshot suspended in liq- Joe Lee of SECURITY INDUSTRIES, planned is a birds-head configuration that uid Teflon, traveling at plus-minus 2000 maker of the Chief Special-y stainless should combine better combat handling feet per second out of a .38 caliber wea- snubbies in .38 and .357, has read our ar- with much improved concealment. One pon) combined with big bore projectile ticles where we applaud the design and observer of a prototype said, "It's shaped volume and powder capacity, results in an smoothness of his guns, and deplore the like a banana." So long as it does the job awesomely destructive anti-personnel lousy workmanship. He agrees with our . . . prices should be comparable to cur- round. assessment 100%. He explained to us that rent optional S&W stocks. Glaser Safety Slugs are available from the problem is his New Jersey location We started this column with a "mystery Glaser Safety Slugs, Inc., P.O. Box 1975, and the problem of the state's labor pool. man with a great handgun idea," and we'll McAllen, Texas 78501. They're expensive Since there had been little in the way of end it on the same note. You must under- as hell: 75<;a cartridge in .380, .38,9mm., an armsmaking industry in N.J. over the stand: there are a lot of people out there or .357; and they'll go $1.00 a shot in .44 years and therefore few trained gunmak- with bullkitten ideas, who seek $ou out if or .45. But you have to be a cop to get ers, he had to take skilled and semi-skilled they think you can get them some public- them, for obvious reasons. Jack Canon machinists from other fields and teach ity. Jack ~ndersohmust go up the walls doesn't want just anybody walking around them. To make matters worse, his assem- after screening them. But this guy, like the with this kind of firepower. In fact, to save bly people had a high turnover rate, be- one we auoted before. knows what he's talking about: the individual in question has a decent background in industrially- applied metallurgy,and he's going out on his own with a plating process that he SAFETY VAULT hopes will revolutionize handgunning. I can't tell you who he is yet, or what it is, or JWfik HANDGUN DISPLAY if it works, but he says he can out-armalloy Beautifully-built cases for all sizes and Armalloy, and can both harden and build types of hand s. Finished in simu- late sculpturedpanish Oak up steel at crucial points to accurize revol- with solid brass hardware. vers and especially automatics. He also Has built-in changeable com- says that his process is so fine and precise bination lock dust and mois- he can plate bores and increase velocity. hire seal and unique velve ,, interior that "automatic a& This individual claims that he can take a molds itself to custom fit any Contender in .30 Herrett, plate the bore, type or size of handgun. Interi- and bring velocity up over the unheard-of ors are reversible red or black A (in a pistol) 3000 foot seconds mark, be- CORROSION INHIBITOR prevents cause his plating will reduce friction drag all rusting. Three Old English initials in the bore that sharply. At the same time, available at $1.50 extra. A durable high- he avows, his plating is so thin that the quality CASE to protect and display your avorite weapon. bullet will take a perfect bite into the rifl- ing, won't be "squoze" too tight, and will 7x4%x2W ...... equal or better previous accuracy in the 8 x 5%x 2W . . . ^'"'"GRIFFIN. 43.50 1 TEL: 207.çç4-33CASES, Oquossoc, Maine 04964 same barrel. We're skeptical, but we're watching. . " 2V ' ' Please send me, postpaid, case, Dept. - AH-11-77 . 12x7%x3" ..... -~t'~i55.5Olsize Quantity/rice But enough of ballistic mystery men. 14% 7?42 3" . . 63.50 1 Three Gold Initial-rice $1 .SO Next issue, we'll go back to the industry's - official spokesmen, and see what they 12' lo . . . 65S0 I Please send free color brochuk 16%~ll%x3% '" . . . 91.001 Nama have to say-for attribution or not- Check or Money Order 1 about new handguns must accompany order. I and loads. city-tato-ip AMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 NOVEMBERKECEMBER 1 977 sures more than half its own diam- eter!). Or the .44 magnum Sheriff (a recent U.S. Dept. of Justice report says it's the most effective handgun load made). The good 01' boys make a few

' 380AUTD Reserve 88JHP 1000 WSec. 9mm LUGER Marshal 100JHP 1315WSBC. M-P 125JSP 1120 WSec. 38 SPECIAL Special Agent 110 JHP 1245 WSec. Detective 125 JHP 1425 FUSBC. Patrolman 125 JSP 1425 WSec. Deputy 140 JHP 1200 FVSec. Match 148 HBWGlça 825 FUSac. 158 SWC-lead 975 Ft/Sec. Service 158 RN-lead 975 FVSec. I Tr00~er 158 JSP 1025 WSec. S.W.~A.T. 158JHP 1025 WSÇC 381357 Shotshell #9 Shot 1150 FVSec. Nearly half the good 01' boys' Law- Of course, once a bullet finds its 357 MAGNUM man ammo is used up by lawmen. target, it's also got to have some Special Age* 11OJHP 1700 WSec. Detective 125JHP 1900 wsec. Lawmen all around the country, wallop. So the bullets in Lawman Patrolman 125 JSP 1900 WSec. from the Feds to the Lewiston, cartridges are built Deputy 140JHP 1780 WSec. Trooper 158 JSP 1825 WSec. Idaho Police Dept. for dramatic S.W.A.T. 158JHP 1625 WSec. That tells you two things. That it's expansion. 44 MAGNUM Sheriff 200 JHP 1675 W%. really good ammo, alright. And that Manv cal- Sheriff 240 JSP 1650 WSec. the other half is up for grabs. ibers have soft 44 Magnum Shotshell #9 Shot 1200 FVSec. 45 AUTO But how did this bunch in Lewis- lead cores and 1 Inspector 200JHP 1025 WSec. ton become such big shots in inner fluted jackets. 'Test barrel velocities. handgun ammo, turning out more And the hollow points come kinds of pistol loads than anyone with the Penta-Point cavity, which loads no one else does. .45 Auto else in the popular calibers? Well, makes sure a slug really opens up. 200 gr. JHF? .380 Auto 88 gr. HI? mainly by being very serious hand- For handgun hunting, Lawman 140 gr. JHP in .38 Special and .357 loaders and handgun shooters ammo gives you all the stopping Ma num. And shotshells. themselves. power you need. In loads like the eyalso use an ammo package They tested all available propel- .45 Inspector (its hol- no one else does-a tough, reus- lants to find the ones that produced ow point m-, able plastic box, with a grid that a combination of the highest veloc- holds each cartridge separate. itv, best accuracy and most consis- 1 So whether you choose the 50 tent ballistic packs of So's, gmm's, -38's and uniformity. .357's, or the 25 packs of .44's and So Lawman -45's you can bet this Lawman ammo has ammo won't let you down. accuracy Because it's already got quite a that's just record with the police. plain amaz- ing. Like five shot groups less than an inch across producecj at 50 yards by jacketed .38's. I 'MARK. Or ten shot groups the same size* 7 from the same distance by Match Snake River Avenue, Lewkton, Idaho 83501 .38's. Get the whole shooffn'match from the good ol' boys: CCIprimers and ammo, Speer bullets and RCBS reloading tools. For quick and easy reference AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAGAZINE BINDERS

By GEORGE BREDSTEN

on the letters of handgun hunt- governmental agency or agencies BASEDers received by The American Big having jurisdiction where the hunt is Game Handgunner's Association to occur. (ABGHA), there appears to be increasing 2. No big game animal shall be consid- interest in hunting trophy or record class ered for ABGHA records where said big game; this applies to the exotic as well animal was acquired by any means as the indigenous species. From its incep- other than a handgun used during a tion, ABGHA recognized the need for a legal hunt criterion to determine trophy eliibility, a 3. No big game animal shall be consid- standard system of trophy measurement, ered for ABGHA records if any oth- sanctioned official measurers, the recog- er person or persons also shot the nized species and the minimum scores animal. qualifying trophies for possible records in- 4. Compliance with the ABGHA Sys- clusion Each of the foregoing will be tem of Measurement is mandatory. Protect your American elaborated upon to the extent that the in- 5. Although a particular species of big Handgunner Magazines for terested big game handgun hunter, game is on the "endangered species years to come with this whether or not an ABGHA member, will list" of other countries; if legal to handy "MAGAZINE COL- have available in one reference or source hunt, take and possess in the country LECTOR." The attractive most of the pertinent information. where the handgunner is to hunt, leather-like vinyl binder will The criteria used in determining the eli- ABGHA will accept for records con- hold up to two full years of gibility of handgunned big game trophies sideration any big game with the The American Handgunner for records consideration are as follows: minimum score or higher, if so 1. Mandatory compliance with all ap- taken. and can stand either hori- plicable laws and regulations of the 6. No handgun utilizing a shoulder zontally or vertically on your shelves. Available in either red or black with gold trim, the binder is 8Y2" deep, ABGHA Minimum Qualifying Scores 111/;" high, and 4" wide. Its for Western Hemisphere Big Game handy label holder makes SCORE identification easy. For quick CATEGORY SCORE CATEGORY and easy American Hand- BEAR: JAGUAR 13.5 gunner reference, order Alaska Brown 26 JAVELINA yours today! Black (Collared Peccary) Grizzly 19-5 2 for $5.95 Polar 25 MOOSE: 4 for $10.95 Alaska-Yukon 6 for. $14.95 BISON lo5 Canada Min. order two. Be sure and specify color. CARIBOU: Wyoming (Shiras) Barren Ground Mail to: AMERICAN HANDGUNNER Mountain 375365 MUSKOX MAGAZINE BINDERS 8150 N. Central Park Ave. Quebec-Labrador 350 PRONGHORN Skokie, Illinois 60076 Woodland 275 SHEEP: COUGAR 13.5 Bighorn Name Desert

- DEER: Stone Address Colurnbian BlacktaiVSitka 110 White (Dall) City State Zip Coues 90 AMOUNT Mule 180 WALRUS QUANTIN- COLOR__ ENCLOSED- whitetail 165 WAPITI (Elk) GOAT, Mountain 44 WILD PIG

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 NOVEMBEFVDECEMBER 1977 stock attachment, or any other Larry Kelly impossible for the dedicated and ethical device permitting a three point sup- 30016 South River Road big game handgun hunter to take a trophy port system, shall be used. Mt. Clemens, Mich. 48043 meeting or exceeding the required mini- Except for number four, all of the mum. above criteria are self-explanatory, and Ronald A. Ricci Thompson B. Temple (Box 181- the more salient features of ABGHA's 66 Frederick Avenue Mountain Home, Texas 78058) is current- System of Measurement are now given: Medford, Mass. 02155 ly the individual responsible for the com- 1. All measurements shall be made pilation and listing of the records of exotic using a steel tape, and measure- The foregoing list is subject to revision- species; e.g., Axis Deer, Aoudad, or ments shall be recorded to the near- addition and/or deletion of names* cir- Blackbuck Antelope. The results are a est '/w or '1s inch as specified on the cumstances warrant. Whether or not an complete scoring system for all the com- application form. ABGHA member, those responsible mon United States exotics, and a compar- 2. When indicated, certain measure- handgun hunters interested in serving as ative ranking of the top exotic trophies ments shall be taken with a base plat- an official measurer should contact taken in the United States. Unfortunately, form, having two uprights (90 de- ABGHA for additional information. this listing does not differentiate between grees to the base) used to determine For the most part, ABGHA recognizes those trophies taken with rifle, handgun such measurements as greatest the same Western Hemisphere big game or bow. It is the intent of the ABGHA Rec- width andlor greatest length. species as does the Boone & Crockett ords Committee to coordinate with Mr. 3. All measurements, other than any (B&C) Club. The main difference being Temple so that his present system can be body measurements, shall be taken that ABGHA recognizes as big game both modified to provide a section for listing after at least sixty (60) days have the javelina and the wild pig, while B&C the requirements and the record class ex- elapsed between obtaining the tro- does not. Also, the minimum qualifying otics taken with a handgun. phy and its official measurement for scores for possible ABGHA records inclu- With this brief discussion of records ABGHA records consideration. sion are somewhat lower than those re- and related material, itis believed that the 4. All applications, for records consid- quired by B&C. subject be brought to a conclusion with eration, shall be accompanied by at The ABGHA Records Committee con- the following: If, during a hunt, your field least one photographic print-either sidered many factors, all relevant but not skills' as a handgun hunter are truly black and white or color-not small- necessarily of equal importance, before tested, then taking a big game trophy- er than five inches by seven inches. the minimum qualifying scores of big record class or not-is a most rewarding 5. The Boone & Crockett and/or Row- game trophies were established. The con- experience. However, whether or not a big land Ward species measurements sensus of the ABGHA Records Commit- game trophy is taken, you should remem- are used by ABGHA, except that tee was that the minimum qualifying ber that ethical and responsible behavior ABGHA does not list or record non- scores should be both realistic and reason- afield is always the typical trophies per se. able. Thus, it ought to be difficult but not finest trophy! La One of ABGHA's long term goals is to establish affiliated chapters in each State and to have at least one member of each chapter serve as an official measurer. Thus the handgun hunter who has taken a Exclusive new "Auto Fhx" gun potential record class big game trophy retainer of molded would not have to travel too great a dis- surgical rubber for tance to have an official measurement made. At the present time, and in addition to the members of the ABGHA Records Committee, there are but nine persons sanctioned to serve as official measurers. ~ewBlanchi Pistolero" Model . .5 - Belt, Metal Lined Holster & Clip Thomas R Brick Rig for .45 Auto, Browning 9mm Hi-Power 5" barrels. Route 3, Box 38 A Special molded Sight-Channel A Berlin, Penn. 15530 protects your sights. "Clip- A Bob Hagel Grip," adjustable tension, quick-draw mag. hoid- Gibbonsville, Id. 83463 er and fully contoured A 2%'' non-slip, fancy John F. Lake stitched suede lined P.O. Box 379 belt complete this Cordova, AK. 99574 fantastic rig. Price: $89.95 Complete. Wayne P. Fontenelle At franchisee! dealers 15228 N.E. 4th Place everywhere or order direct! Bellevue, Wash. 98007 ! Send cash, check or money order (sorry no COD'S). Add Lee E. Jurras $1 for postage and handling. Drawer F. Calif. Res. add 6% sales tax. State black or tan, right or left hand. Hagerman, N.M. 88232 Immediate delivery. Ray Meketa mmm mmMmml P.O. Box 282 Douglas, AK. 99824 .day for almt BmMii ^f color dialog Haight Barry L. 100 Calle Cortez, Dept. AH-I1 Tei ula, California 92390 Star Route, Box 20184 Fairbanks, AK. 99701 MDQI of ammunition with primers that haven't been seated deeply enough, especially in handguns. In the matter of shot-to-shotconsisten- cy of ignition, we have to acknowledge the existence of a linking of essentials like the force with which the firing pin strikes, headspace and so on. Some of the forego- ing involves basic elemental mechanics within the individual gun. But, remember, the primer is, in a sense, the very founda- tion of every cartridge. Think of the primer, its parts and how they relate to the primer pocket and, for There Are Right Ways And Wrong Ways To Seat A that matter, to the diameter of the flash , Primer! It Pays To Know The Difference. hole, and you'll begin to appreciate the fact that the way that primer is seated has By DAN COTTERMAN to be rather critical. The modern primer consists mainly of nyone who has encountered the prob- result of a lot of the "guess, then-to-hell- three parts, that is, the cup, the pellet and A lem of difficult cylinder rotation with-it" methods of primer seating that the anvil. When the firing pin springs for- with handloads in a revolver or who has prevail over handloading benches ward and pokes a dimple into the cup, the experienced misfires because of improp- throughout the world. pellet is pinched between the cup and the erly seated primers will benefit through If things are to go right with handloads head, or center, of the anvil. This is the in- simply reading, then following, the advice in revolvers or autoloaders, there must be stant at which the component parts of the I'm about to offer. consistency in the way primers are seated. pellet come into play: An initiator, along Has it ever occurred to you that the Lacking consistency, any number of unfa- with sensitizer particles ignite the fuel. most uniformly precise part of a cartridge vorable things are liable to happen: The This action creates the intense needle of case-the primer pocket-is the very difficult (or impossible) cylinder rotation flame that acts to ignite the propellant place' where those of us who handload are mentioned earlier will exist in the case of charge. The entire drama of events, as you obliged to do our least precise work? For primers not fully seated. There is the fur- well know, takes place in less time than it'll that matter, another precision-made com- ther possibility of misfires, a loss of the ac- take me to strike a T to begin the next sen- ponent, the primer itself, is too often sub- curacy you're seeking, velocity variations tence. The object of importance, as far as jected to undue punishment, simply as a . . . even danger is not unknown to the use we're concerned, is to realize that the uni- formity of ignition obtained controls the - performance of our handloads. - Quality control in the manufacture of today's primers is pretty well in hand. The Don't judge Western style boots goofing happens, 99 percent of the time, when the guy next to the bench gets his until you've worn a pair. grizzly paws into the act. For knocking around in the rugged Back to the primer. . . that delicate ob- outdoors Browning Saddle Tramps Comfortable full ject. You may have noticed that the legs of can't be beat. They offer good leg glove leather and ankle rotection and quick pull- lining on Saddle the anvil (two, maybe three of 'em, de- on, pull-onconvenience. No laces to Tramp 11. pending on the manufacturer) extend just fuss with. a tweak past the open end of the cup. If But Saddle Tramps take comfort Non-slip the primer is seated the way it should be, a step further. They have a basketweave these legs should just touch the bottom of lower, wider walking heel, a tread for good lower arch and a roomier toe the pocket. The pocket, as discussed in than the typical steep arched, traction. the last printing of T.A.H., should be ~ointedtoe western boot. This clean and free of residue. If, in the worst Wellington styling makes the 1 Goodyear Saddle Tramps versatile, leather welt for of events, the legs of the anvil are not in extremely comfortable outdoor good support contact with the bottom of the primer sports boots. with flexibility. pocket, the blow caused by the firing pin Try a pair at your Browning dealer's. may dislodge the anvil, shoving it forward. Heel counter In all liilihood, a misfire probably will not Saddle Tramp I1 has for good fit and occur; however, some of the force of the water-repellent Norwegian / firm support. firing pin may be used up .in dislodging leather upper. Saddle Tramp I has tough oil tanned the anvil or, in another possibility, in driv- Low, wide ing the entire primer forward within the cowhide upper. , walking heel for stable footing. pocket. Irregular ignition of the propel- lant charge will be the least of difficulties. From $49.95, I have heard of instances in which an im- suggested retail properly seated primer-one that is not within the pocket-will cause the car- Steel shank for firm tridge to fire as the bolt slams forward. arch support. But wait, let's not get the idea that ram- Send a postcard for our Free, ming the primer in as far as possible is the b' 120-page, Goods full-color Sporting answer, either. If the legs of the anvil, Catalog, Browning, Dept. B51, Morgan, Utah 84050. which are supposed to be in no more than Copyright @ Browning 1977 firm touchcontact with the bottom of the THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER WANTS YOU!

That's right! The American Handgunner wan to know about your interests in handgunning. Spend a few moments and send us your answers to the questions below. As soon as we receive your questionnaire we'll send you this handsome shooting patch ABSOLUTELY FREE as our way of saying ^thanks".

1. SEX 0 Male Female 2. AGE 0 18-24 0 25-34 0 35-49 0 50 or over 3. Please indicate highest educational level attended: 0 high school 0 college 0 trade school 0 graduate school 4. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR OCCUPATION: 0 Technical 0 Professional 0 Business 0 Skilled Operative 0 PoliceILaw Enforcement (full or part time, regular or auxiliary 0 Farmerlrancher 0 Sales 0 Armed Forces 0 Other, please specify 5. WHAT IS YOUR AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME? 0 Under $10,000 0 $10,000-$15,000 0 $15,000420,000 0 (20,000425,000 0 Over $25,000 6. HOW MANY HANDGUNS DO YOU PRESENTLY OWN? Pistols (Single Shot) Revolvers Automatic Hack Powder 7. HOW MANY OF YOUR HANDGUNS HAVE BEEN CUSTOMIZED OR ACCURIZED? If so, by whom? 8. IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU LAST PURCHASE A HANDGUN? ____ 9. HOW MANY HANDGUNS WILL YOU BUY IN 1978? 10. WHAT MODELSICALIBER DO YOU ANTICIPATE BUYING? 11. WHAT IS PRIMARY USE OF YOUR HANDGUN? 0 Law Enforcement 0 Collecting 0 Self-defense Hunting 0 Target shooting 0 Other 12. HOW MANY SCOPES DO YOU OWN FOR HANDGUN USE? ___ 13. WHAT POWER ARE YOUR HANDGUN SCOPES? 14. WHAT BRAND IS (ARE) YOUR SCOPE(S)? 15. WHAT BRAND MOUNTS DO YOU USE? 16. DO YOU HANDLOAD?0 Yes No (If no, please proceed to question 27) 17. HOW OFTEN DO YOU HANDLOAD? more than once a week 0 once a week once a month 0 occasionally 0 infrequently 18. WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY REASON FOR HANDLOADING? 0 economy 0 increased accuracy 0 unavailability 0 personal preference 0 other (please specify) 19. WHAT IS THE APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF ROUNDS CONSUMED IN A YEAR? 20. HOW MANY ARE factory loads home reloads commercial reloads 21. DO YOU ANTICIPATE CONTINUING HANDLOADING IN THE FUTURE? 22. IF SO, 0 in greater amounts 0 less frequently 0 same amount 23. IF NOT, WHY?

24. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HANDLOADING? 0 less than 1 year 0 1 to 4 years 0 5 to 10 years over 10 years 25. WHAT CALIBER(S) DO YOU HANDLOAD MOST FREQUENTLY? 26. WHAT ARE YOUR PREFERRED HANDLOADING PRODUCTS (please list manufacturers) Primers Anuiriar Cases Bullets DieçPres Powder scale or measure 27. DO YOU OWN A CHRONOGRAPH? IF SO, WHAT MAKE? 28. DO YOU OWN A MACHINE REST? ______29. HOW MANY HANDGUN HOLSTERIRIGS DO YOU OWN? Shoulder Ankle Belt 30. WHAT BRAND HOLSTERS DO YOU OWN? 31. HAVE YOU EVER USED A SPEED LOADER? 0 Yes 0 No Brand preferred 32. DO YOU ANTICIPATE USING A SPEEDLOADER IN THE FUTURE? 0 Yes 0 No 33. DO YOU HAVE CUSTOM OR SPECIAL GRIPS ON ANY OF YOUR HANDGUNS? If yes, what make? 34. ARE YOU PLANNING THE PURCHASE OF SPECIAL GRIPS NEXT YEAR? 35. HOW MANY PAIRS OF HUNTING FOOTWEAR DO YOU OWN? 36. WHAT BRAND ARE THEY? 37. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORTING KNIFE MANUFACTURER? 38. HOW MANY PEOPLE, BESIDES YOURSELF, WILL SEE YOUR COPY OF THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER? pocket, are crushed in, the sensitivity of punch is adjusted. the primer has been altered. You are, in I have, for many years, been using a sys- fact, doing part of the work that is sup- tem of primer seating that is both quick posed to be done by the firing pin. It is not and absolutely precise. It consistently inconceivable that, in the extreme case, seats primers an exact .005-inch below the some of the pellet might be caused to surface of the case head, and does so re- break away and find its way through the gardless of variations of rim thickness or flash hole into the propellant charge. Re- the amount of pressure I apply to the arm sult, inconsistent ignition, velocity varia- of my regular reloading press when I seat tion and lost accuracy. primers. Let's now consider how we're supposed This little primer seater is not a sepa- to be able to seat each primer the same rate tool, but fits instead into the priming way each time . . . ideally having the legs arm of C-H, RCBS, Herter's and other re- of the anvil abut the bottom of the pocket loading presses. It's called the "PI" (Posi- in, as nearly as humanly and mechanically tive Indexing) primer seater. Unlike other possible, the same way. seating devices that must be used separ- Tools that are made exclusively for the ately, it does not, in any way, depend on seating of primers provide something of a the thickness of the case rim, nor, for that solution. They at least facilitate the overall matter, does it necessitate the adjustment handloading operation by allowing one to of a stop. It is*constructed with four little do all primer seating as a separate func- fingers that index against the head of the tion. There is, in the case of some, such as case, then, as the priming punch pushes the old Shoffstall Universal, the RCBS, the primer into place, the fingers, which the Lee and so on, the advantage of a are under light spring pressure, move shorter lever that allows one to more or back out of the way. The priming punch less "feel" the primers into place. The var- itself has a precision-machined step that iable in precision here lies in the fact that projects .005-inch above the top of the there is a difference in the amount of ten- punch. The step is small enough in diame- sion between the wall of the pocket and ter to allow the punch to move the primer the cup. It's there . . . from round to to exactly the same depth each time. The round and from brand to brand. "PI" seater in my RCBS A-2 press has Granting the fact that special primer been in continuous use for over a dozen seating tools provide a decided advantage, years. It has, among other things, meant there is yet, in my considered opinion, a an end to so-called "high" primers, as well better way. There have, of course, been as primers that are over-seated in cases of methods involving the control of the dis- varying rim thickness. It also has put an tance the primer is allowed to travel into end to the tedium of attempting to feel the pocket. This is done through the ad- each primer into the pocket. I simply justment of a threaded stop. This is all move the arm of the press till I feel it stop well and good, except that it doesn't take solidly and know the primer is seated into consideration one additional critical right! dimension, that being the thickness of the The importance of consistent primer rim. The shell, held in the shell holder, seating depth-especially to those of us will lift when the primer seater applies who reload for handgunning is an indis- pressure to the base of the primer cup. A pensable element of the well assembled moment's thought will reveal the fact that, cartridge. If you're interested in the "PI" for example, a case rim that is slightly seater you can get them for both large and thinner will allow the case to lift a slightly small diameter primers. They sell for greater distance before the primer is $4.95 each, postpaid, from Parke Preci- shoved into the pocket. Conversely, a sion Handgun Products, Dept. AH, 842 thicker rim will not move as much with Crestfield Drive, Duarte, CA 91010. the result that the primer will tend to be Don't forest to snecifv the brand and seated further into the pocket-all this, re- gardless of how the stop on the seating

Needle sharp, crystal clear sighting. fecbiermeitr 4ccurate adjustments. Effective fog Get a Grip on Your ', , Rugged reliability! The Thompson-Contender .eupol"OOf"¥ "Golden Ring*" perform- Order the New Replacement Stock and Forearm ~odairll mca starts on the inside and cli- naxes with totdl satisfaction-for wen the most demanding shooter. 'roveft at your dealer's. For catalog., LevpoW 8 Stevens, Inc.. Dept. AH-3, ? 0. Box 688. Beaverton, OR 87005. Forearm can be wei hted to lessen muzzle jum ~enuinewalnut-oilfinish Please specify caliber when ordering forearm Exotic woods.available upon request ind Check or M.O. Leupold sights Bankamerlcard or Master Char e Please give exp. date and number on bank cards. P ' rs in BOX 704 - AH Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 tt I "V i i 'H NOSLcn DULLC I O AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1 977 1 are contemplating the construction of a range, but also by anyone who uses a range with any frequency. The book, of course, was written primarily for those who are interested in range construction, Books of Interest to Handgunners and for them, there is no book written that covers the subject so thoroughly. Anyone contemplating the construction of a range would be a damned fool to go into it with- HISTORY OF SMITH & WESSON, by collector, but to the gunsmith, gun trader out this book. J.R Roy Jenks. Beinfeld Publishing Inc., and shooter. J.R 13222 Saticoy St.., North Hollywood, Cali- ¥ Easy hour Hudy wurw pmpam mn fornia, 91605 1977. $15.95 GUIDELINES FOR POLICE SHOOT- and women for tn* exciting and word- This book was published as part of ING RANGES, by Ted Busch. The Sente Ing invuligalion prohuton. SEND NOW FOR FREE DETAILS about wune, lapel S&Ws 125th anniversary, and it will be Co., P.O. Box 517, Minneapolis, MN pin and diploma. No uluman will call. included with the special commemorative 55440. Paper, $17.50 guns offered to collectors.. I wish I had this book over. the past The first three chapters, while impor- several years. You'd be surprised how tant to the book as a whole, retrace the many people wanted and needed informa- history of Horace Smith and D. B. Wesson tion on building a range, and how many of BETTER SHOOTING and the company they founded. All of the them queried me on the subject. With this rest of the book traces the history of the book, I could have answered most, if not various gun models produced from 1852 all, of their questions. through 1977, and that's where the impor- Here is a practical guide to range con- tance of this book is recognized-it is up- struction, covering all of the important to-date. aspects; basic designs, backstops and Each of the models, from the first .22 bullet traps, target retrieval systems, light- tip-up through the Model 39 and 59 auto ing, ventilation, noise control, etc. The pistols and including the new stainless ver- coverage of each of these factors includes sions of the revolvers, is covered in depth not only "how" but also "why," and that as to variations, manufacturing modifica- makes for a much more enlightened read- Hand-nudo Holder* 6 Belt*. Leather 6 Clarino tions and serial number ranges. This type er. I believe that this book should be read MELVIN TYLER MFG; AND DIST. of information is valuable not only to the not only by those who operate ranges or 1 1320 W. Brltton Rd.. OkMiomi City. Oki*. 73114 I

We didn't "me too" our way to a ranking position Fully adjustable or among the leaders in the handgun business. How we Unbreakable square notched beryllium copper rear sghts. got to where we are is a tribute to our willingness to firing pin. change what we thought should be changed in handgun design, and leave untouched those con- cepts which have proven themselves to be unimprovable. Take the matter of weight. Our hand- guns generally weigh considerably less than the competition. They're more compact with thinner ramp front sight. silhouettes yet our frames are still all steel. We re- duced the number of moving parts and the result is Barrel button rifled greater reliability, easier maintenance and repair. with 8 grooves instead If you're in the market for a handgun, we'd like to of the usual 6. suggest you buy Charter Arms. Not because we're different. Because we're better. We make the Bulldog .44, Target Bulldog ,357 Magnum, Police Bulldog .38, Undercoverette .32, Undercover .38, Corn /ere& and Pathfinder blocked hammer .22 LR and Arms Corporation for absolute Stratford,Connecticut 06497 safety. Magnum.

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER l NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977 In the Continuing Saga of the Emergence of the Double Action Pistol in the U. St, Here's Another

The Browning (Sig Saner)

DA AUTO Left and right side photos of the BOA. controls, left to right. are: take-down lever, de-cocking lever and slide release and lock.

By GEORGE C. NONTE

seems near half a lifetime ago that I factory-supplied photos of the gun in its ment and delivery of the firt production ITslipped behind some curtains at the definitive form. But, completed, produc- examples is generally measured in years Astro Hall in Houston to be shown pri- tion guns have not been available until rather than months. Such was apparently vately a prototype of a new autoloading now. the case with the P.220, but all is forgiven, pistol design then under development by ,At some point along the way, SIG made because only a few hours ago the brown, the well-known Swiss firm of SIG. That the decision that it would not manufacture UPS truck delivered a deceptively light prototype looked very promising though this new pistol in its own facilities. package to my office which, upon open- we leveled more than a few criticisms at it. However, full development was done by ing, was found to contain one of the new In fact, the reason for the gun being SIG, and arrangements were made for the pistols in 9mm Parabellum caliber. shown to us was to obtain our reactions gun to be manufactured by the well- But, let me hasten to say, that the gun and criticisms so that they might be con- known, West German J.P. Sauer & Sohn which emerged from that package bears sidered during further development. The Arms plant. As such, the gun was given the name "Browning Arms Company" new SIG design did go through a fairly the name "SIG/Sauer P.220." and the model designation "BDA." This long development period, and was even- As anyone involved in manufacturing marking of the gun is due to the fact that tually assigned the Model number knows, tooling for a completely new quite some time ago Browning Arms "P.220," which has appeared in various mechanism of any sort these days is a Company contracted with SIGISauer to shooting publications over the past couple lengthy and very costly process. The lead have the gun manufactured under its years along with brief descriptions and time between completed product develop- name for sale in the US. There is nothing AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977 Slide locked back by pushing slide release Decocking lever provides a safe method of. upward. Note angle of barrel out of battery. lowering cocked hammer to half-cock notch;

Designed for the .45 ACP, the BOA is not a View of magazine well shng only a slight - small pistol. Overall length is 7.8 inches. funneling; not enough for speedy reloading.

new in that; it's been done in the arms in- chambered for this cartridge in the U.S.A. ers are welded or brazed assemblies of dustry almost since the beginning of fire- Consequently, the basic design was devel- more than one part, often a combination arms. Incidentally, we do not mean to im- oped around the dimensions of the .45 of a stamping and a screw-machined piece ply that Browning Arms Company will be ACP rather than the European favorite or casting. The readily visible parts that the only and exclusive importerldistribu- 9mm Parabellum. Had the gun been de- fall in this category are the disassembly tor of this particular design. As a matter of signed purely for the 9mm Parabellum, it lever, de-cocking lever, slidelre- fact, Browning will market it only as the would have been much more compact, leaselejector, lanyard loop (strap ring), "Browning BDA", and we expect the but like the S&W M39/59 series, it would and magazine catch. Perhaps more im- same gun to be available under the origi- have been "locked in" to a cartridge pressive is the fact that the entire slide is nal Sig-Sauer name through other which simply could not exploit the full po- built up of a thick-wailed, stamped steel sources. tential of the American market. Dimen- shell with a muzzle piece welded in place What we have here in this long-awaited sioning the P.220 around the .45 car- and separate breech block pinned in posi- autoloader is essentially a double-action, tridge made it necessary to provide a tion at the rear. After forming and weld- locked-breech, 10-shot, 9mm Parabellum longer recoil stroke, wider magazine, and ing, the slide is finish-machined, and the pistol measuring 7.625 inches long, 5.375 thicker slide, frame, and barrel. Thus, guide grooves which ride on the frame are inches high, and 1.235 inches wide; while our sample gun is in 9mm Parabel- closely machined. From the rear of the weight 28'12 ounces, barrel length is 4.415 lum, it is comforting to know that in the ejection port forward, the slide has a rath- inches. The more astute among you may not-too-distant future the Browning BDA er complex shape, and this is apparently immediately conclude that the dimension- will become available in both .45 ACP intended to provide the maximum rigidity al envelope just cited is a bit large for the and .38 Super Automatic. and support for the locking system. All 9mm Parabellum cartridge. Quite true; The BDA is innovative in both design parts in the entire slidelbarrel assembly but; then, there is quite a good reason for and construction. In construction, it is de- are of steel. On the other hand, the frame this. Early in the game, SIG engineers rec- signed specifically to make maximum use proper is of a lightweight, high-strength, ognized the great popularity of the .45 of what we usually call "stampings" but aluminum alloy and is made in the form ACP cartridge in North and South Ameri- the Europeans refer to as "steel pres- of a rather thin shell. To provide the ca, as well as the tremendous market po- sings." Many of the smaller parts are sim- strength and durability needed in the area tential of a double-action autoloader ple one-piece steel stampings, while oth- of the barrel seat and locking mechanism, 24 AMERICAN HANDnl INNER a massive, hardened, steel insert is held in- the under-side of the barrel operates to lift also be engaged manually if one wishes. side the frame by the disassembly lever the barrel to lock into the slide as it goes The slide stop incorporates the ejector, pin. In this fashion, all firing and locking into battery. Cams in the locking piece and the entire assembly is a single, rather loads imposed on the frame are taken by serve to lower the barrel to unlock. complex stamping. steel parts and, as a result, the peening or To the rear of the trigger, we have the Take note here that we've not said one battering encountered in some alumi- decocking lever. When the gun is cocked, word about any manual safety. No need num-framed designs is avoided. The for whatever reason, and it is desired to to, for there is none. SIG has such faith frame is finish-machined in typically pre- lower the hammer, it may be done quick- (apparently justified) in the efficacy, of its cise, Swiss fashion, so it simply isn't possi- ly, safely, and easily by simply depressing automatic, firing-pin safety and its de- ble to say whether this component begins this lever. As the lever reaches the bottom cocking lever system that no manual safe- as a casting or a forging-though I would of its stroke, it disengages the sear, allow- ty whatever is incorporated in this design. suspect the latter in view of the advanta- ing the hammer to fall and be caught by Outside of the firing pin being struck hard ges it offers. If it is, in fact, a casting, that the half-cock or intercept notch. It is enough to shear substantial sections of certainly can't be recognized from casual mechanically impossible for the hammer highquality, heat-treated steel, the firing observation. to strike the firing pin in the process, but pin cannot reach the primer under any The BDA offers quick takedown in the even if it did (because of a broken part, circumstances unless the trigger is held form of a pivoted disassembly lever for- etc) an automatic, firing-pin safety inside fully to the rear. Only when the trigger is ward of the trigger on the left side of the the slide would prevent the firing pin from in that position can the substantial safety frame. With the slide drawn back, and being driven forward to fire a cartridge. block, called a "safety slide," rise out its held by the slide stop, simply rotating this Directly behind the decocking lever we seat in the firing pin and allow the pin to lever downward 90 degrees frees the bar- find the slide catch. It is activated auto- move forward. This safety block is disen- rel so that the complete barrellslide unit matically by the magazine follower when gaged by a part called the safety lever may be removed forward. The pin at- the last shot is fired, locking the slide fully which is rotated by the trigger rod con- tached to the takedown lever passes rearward to indicate that the gun is empty nected to the upper limb of the trigger. through the frame, and forms the cam- and, further, to facilitate rapid reloading. The system appears quite sturdy and fool- ming surface against which the cam on It must be disengaged manually, and can proof, and apparently has its roots in the

Parts List - BDA Pistol Item Part Port Item Part Part No. No. Name No. No. Name 43 PO54143 Barrel 45 Auto 10 PO54010 Hammer 43 PO54243 Barrel 9mm Luger 12 PO54012 Hammer axle 43 PO54343 Barrel 38 Super Auto 11 PO5401 1 Hammer pin 3 PO54003 De-cocking lever 18 PO54018 Hammer spring pin 2 PO54002 De-cocking lever seat 14 PO54014 Hammer Hop 4 PO54004 De-cocking lever spring 13 PO54013 Hammer stop pin 26 PO54026 Disassembly lever 24 PO54124 Locking inesrt, 45 Auto 35 PO54135 Extractor 45 Auto 24 PO54224 Locking insert, 9mm Luger & 35 PO54235 Extractor 9mm Luger 38 Super Auto

and~ 38-- Sucmr-~ Auto 49 PO54149 Magazine base plate, 45 Auto - . ~ Firing pin 49 PO54249 Magazine base plate, 9mm Luger Firing pin spring 49 PO54349 Magazine base plate, 38 Super Aut< Firing pin retaining inner 46 PO54146 Magazine casing, 45 Auto Firing pin retaining outer 46 PO54246 Magazine casing, 9mm Luger Grip plate, left 46 PO54346 Magazine casing, 38 Super Auto Grip plate, right 17 PO54017 Magazine catch Grip plate screw 19 PO54019 Magazine catch pin Grip plate washer 47 PO54147 Magazine Feeder, 45 Auto & 38 Super Auto Magazine Feeder, 9mm Luger Magazine spring, 45 Auto Magazine spring, 9mm Luger & 38 Super Auto Main spring Main spring guide Rear insert, 45 Auto Rear insert, 9mm Luger & 38 Super Auto Recoil spring Recoil spring guide Safety lever Safety slide Safety slide spring Sear Sear pin Sear torsion spring Sear torsion spring pin Sight, rear 33 ~054133 Slide, 45 Auto 33 PO54233 Slide, 9mm Luger & 38 Super Auto 22 PO54123 Slide release, 45 Auto 22 PO54222 Slide release, 9mm Luger 22 PO54322 Slide release, 38 Super Auto 25 PO54125 Slide release spring, 45 Auto 25 PO54225 Slide release spring, 9mm Luaer & 38 Super Auto 31 PO54031 Strap ring 20 PO54020 Trigger 23 PO54023 Trigger pin 21 PO54021 Trigger rod 27 PO54027 Trigger spring firing-pin safety of the Walther PP-series pistol be carried witn the hammer'in e ly engaging the slide stop it no magazine is of nearly 50 years ago. Safety is further en- half-cock position." in place. Then, a single cartridge is hanced by the unusually sturdy sear de- Sights on the BDA are of the most basic dropped through the ejection port into the sign. Instead of engaging the hammer fixed type, the front blade being welded to chamber, and the slide stop is depressed with a thin-edged surface, the SIG sear the top of the slide, and the rear element to allowthe slide to run home into battery. utilizes a thick shoulder which resists the being dovetailed into the slide where it The decocking lever is then immediately may be moved laterally for windage, ei- depressed to drop the hammer. Then, the chipping.- - sometimes encountered in lesser designs. ther by use of a drift or a rear-sight clamp. nine-shot magazine is charged in the usual Doubtless a good many traditional pis- The visible face of the front sight contains fashion, and pressed home in the butt un- toleros will find it difficult to accept an an inlaid white spot, while centered be- til the butt-mounted magazine catch snaps autoloading pistol which does not possess neath the rear sight notch is an inlaid securely over its base. In this condition, an obvious and visible, manual safety. We white rectangle. These two white spots can the gun is perfectly safe and may be car- believe, based upon experience to date be quickly aligned in poor light and pro- ried without fear of accidental discharge. and upon SICS explanation of this sys- vide acceptable, close-range accuracy To fire hurriedly, simply draw the gun and tem, that the gun may be carried with without too much concern for the outlines pull the trigger double-action fashion. This complete safety against accidental dis- of notch and blade. will fire the first shot, and the hammer will charge, even though no manual safety is The grips are of checkered, black plas- remain cocked afterward, requiring sub- sequent shots to be fired single-action un- less time permits use of the decocking lever to first lower the hammer. To fire in the single-action mode, simply thumb- cock the hammer in the usual fashion, and fire. Unloading is as with almost any other auto pistol-disengage the magazine' catch and draw out the magazine, then re- tract the slide, to extract and eject the loaded cartridge from the chamber, and manually engage the slide'stop to hold the slide open so that the chamber can be vi- sually inspectedto insure that it is empty. The slide can then be run home by disen- gaging the slide stop and the magazine re- placed. Hurried reloading, as ina combat situa- tion, compares poorly with some other big-bore autoloaders. After the last shot is fired, the slide catch will hold the action open, signifying that reloading is neces- sary. The magazine catch is then disen- gaged, and the empty magazine allowed to fall clear. A fresh, charged magazine is then rammed into place, the slide catch disengaged to allow the slide to run for- ward and chamber the first cartridge, after which fire may be resumed. In this respect, unfortunately, the BDA is inferior to the Colt Government Model and other pistols whose magazine catch is located to the left rear of the trigger. The butt-mounted location of the BDA maga- With grips removed, the hammer spring can be seen in its seat. zine catch makes magazine removal a Lanyard loop-shown at right-can be removed if not needed. two-hand operation, after which the hand must pluck a spare magazine fr belt or pocket and insert it into the b provided. Even when carried in the full- tic, bearing the Browning logo at the top, In addition to the delay introduced by t cock condition, hammer back, it is me- and are of the wraparound type. The butt-mounted magazine catch, the mouth chanically impossible for the gun to fire frame possesses no back strap, so the grip of the BDA magazine well is not bevele unless the trigger is pulled to the rear. halves fill this space. A lanyard loop or but is sharp edged all around. The value Carried with the hammer down, either "strap ring" is sandwiched between the of a beveled, magazine-well mouth to fully down or in the half-cock position, it bottom of the left grip and the frame, and rapid reloading is certainly well known to- still cannot fire unless the trigger is pulled it is easily discarded for those who have no day, and I can see little excuse for this fea- and, from this position, pulling the trigger reason to employ a lanyard. ture not being present on a new design. requires a great deal more effort. While Overall finish of the BDA is a dull, Functioning of the BDA is quite simple Browning states that the gun may be car- matte grey-black, with the exception of and orthodox. In battery, the rear of the ried perfectly safely with the hammer fully rather small areas polished bright on the barrel is cammed upward by the lugs on down and resting on the head of the firing sides of the slide. The temptation has its under-side and the pin of the disas- pin, the instruction booklet, accompany- been resisted to supply a flashy chrome sembly lever. Upon firing, barrel and slide trigger and hammer as is found in some *:. 1 ing our sample pistol, states clearly on recoil lock together for a very short dis- A:. page 6 "even though it is perfectly safe to other designs. tance, during which cam surfaces on the carry this pistol with the hammer in the Operation of the BDA is quite simple. I barrel lug and the locking insert force the dropped position, we recommend that the prefer to draw the slide back first, manual- barrel breech down and out to engage- AMERICAN HA1 Double - action triggering

If the loaded weapon is not cocked, the shot can be fired directly via the trigger, by way of the double-action of the latter. The trigger is squeezed, whereby the hammer is cocked via the trigger rod. In the process the safety lever is pressed against the lock pin. The sear is moved away from the hammer, and the firing pin released by the lock pin. On squeezing further, the hammer lifts out of register and fires the shot.

De-cocking lever and hammer safety notch

The de- cocking lever permits hazardless lowering of the hammer into the safety notch, so that the loaded weapon can be carried without danger. The safety notch is the position of rest for the hammer. The firing pin is always blocked during and after de-cocking. The weapon is therefore absolutely safe.

Firing pin safety catch

In order to achieve maximum safety, the firing pin is locked.~uickreadiness for firing is always assured, as this safety catch is released automatically by the trigger action, without the manipulation of any lever. The catch is thus not released until the shot is about to be wilfully fired. Thanks to this style of safety device, a loaded weapon is always safe, even with hammer cocked.

ent with the slide, allowing the slide to trigger rod to rise and engage the sear, after the last shot has been fired, the mag- continue rearward alone to extract and whereupon pulling the trigger will disen- azine follower is pressing upward on-an in- eject the fired case. During its rearward gage the sear from the hammer and allow ward protrusion of the slide catch, causing travel, the slide cams down the trigger rod the hammer to fall. And, as the trigger the catch to rise inside the slide and hold to disengage it from hammer and sear, nears the rear limit of its travel, a lug on it rearward. and drives the hammer to full cock, com- the trigger rod engages the safety lever, None of the actions or functions de- pressing the mainspring. Then, the slide is lifting the safety slide out of its notch in scribed above are new in handguns. The forced forward by the recoil spring, strip- the firing pin so that when the hammer precise shape and dimensions of the parts ping the top cartridge from the magazine strikes the pin it is free to move forward involved are peculiar to this design, but all and feeding it into the chamber: then car- and fire the cartridge. If it is decided not of the design features have appeared in g the barrel forward with it, and dur- to fire a second shot, simply depressing the past in other guns. It appears, then, the last portion of that forward travel, the decocking lever disengages the sear that the BDA has been designed by what is barrel is cammed upward to lock into and allows the hammer to fall, but causes often considered the very best approach- slide by the disassembly lever pin. At it to be caught by the sear in the half-cock that of selecting proven features and me- point, releasing the trigger allows the notch. And, as the slide travels rearward (Continued on page 68) NOVEMBER/ 27 By DONALD M. SIMMONS or a long time very little of the history F of this great handgun was known, but I recently books have been published giv- ing a wealth of details on the Mauser Mili- tary. Still, there seems room for an arti- cle just pointing out its amazing long life and the features of its design that have contributed to this longevity. Most mate- rial in print tackles the Mauser from an 1, advanced collector's point of view rather than from the shooter's or just the lay- men's outlook.

TYPE OF ACTION The Mauser Military can be categorized by saying it is a short recoil action, self- loading pistol. Thus, the action is the same as the later Browning Colt and the much vaunted and later Parabellum (Luger). The short recoil system required that the barrel and the bolt remain locked together for a short distance during the re- coil of those parts. The sequence as fol- lows: a) The piece is fired b) The barrel and the bolt recoil under the action of tlie explosion in the chamber c) In less than the distance of the car- tridge length, the barrel is unlocked from the bolt and stops its rearward motion while the bolt travels on to A Short History of the 1896 full recoil. The old cartridge case is ejected and under the action of the . v-, ,.= Self-Louding Pistol of Mauser Fame, With - recoil spring, the bolt returns to the 1 locked or ready position, feeding a !'% , - "rf:-'-tinforrnationon the Variations Produced AMERICAN HANDGUNNEP NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1977 ::.. . . '. A irwith ten r starting to tm c ocked by 3 bolt; . -ã unh 'I -. 0 tro~t in full recaill and hammer at full cock position.

new round into the chamber. All this that only 170,000 or 180,000 of these but were never really successful in making happens so quickly that the eye can were bought by the military, the very a long range killer out of the 7.63 mm only see the ejected cartridge in the group that the Mauser was supposed to at- Mauser. air after firing. The above descrip- tract. The Double M was much sought The Mauser Military was, in its forty- tion applies to all short recoil ac- after by the Oriental and Russians as a three years, offered in two other calibers. tioned arms, but sometimes the personal arm for officers and party offi- The firt to appear in 1908 was the 9 mm word slide is used instead of bolt to cials. In fact, one Model of the Mauser is Mauser, also called the 9 mm Export describe the action. called the Bolo after the Bolshevic Party Mauser. This cartridge was never used in of Communist Russia. The Mauser was al- any other pistol than the Mauser and is to- HISTORY ways a relatively expensive gun; it almost day, the longest and most powerful 9 mm The Mauser Military was not really in- always was sold with a combination wood- cartridge ever made. It was discontinued vented by Paul Mauser as is often stated. en stock/holster. This added to the cost in 1914 or thereabouts, with Germany's Actually, three men working in Mauser's but it made a ten shot carbine out of a arming for World War I. The next and last experimental section devised the pistol in rather awkward pistol. caliber to be applied to the Mauser Mili- the early 1890's. Mauser ' realized that tary was the German service cartridge, the there might be a market for this type of THE CARTRIDGE 9 mm Parabellum or Luger as we call it pistol and took out patents on his em- A great deal of the Mauser Military's This was an attempt of the German army ployee's automatic. Thus, it was that' the +po larilycan also be traced to the car- to use the Mausers in the later days of real designer's, the three Feederle broth- È*wed.-Th" 7.63 mm Mauser car- World War I as a substitute weapon. ers, names went down to oblivion while was borrowed" from one of the ear- About 140,000 were made in a separate Paul Mauser's name became synonymous feat commercial automatic ' pistols-the series in the 9 mm Luger caliber. With the with this great gun. The Ma- Military %k&&&h.The 'original Borchardt car-. disappearance of the 7.63 mm Mauser as we call it generically, started life as the" tridgewgsmade more powerful and thus ammo today, these 9 mm Luger pistols Mauser-Selbstlader (self-loading) Model was bo~%'the"7.63 'torn Mauser, a very will be the mainstay of the Mauser Mili- 1896. This model, according to the fa@- xu& vetectty, btet because ef its light bul- tary shooter in years to come. The 9 mm tory records,'- made untilr@k@ by It+& ai@qw%)Ènpa& i?ot~nd.'TheMau- Luger caliber Mausers can usually be the Model 1930. The &del 1930 was & 7.68 and &dge @& aiaagnum- immediately identified by the large red really the lastselfhading hwrMfli~uy Ktà velocity of 16@0 feet per~econdwith "9" found embossed on the wooden grips. and was made until 1939'when the Maa- "me Euriqean ammo and' 1420 with Because these Mausers were made during ser factory dropped the MiPitomake ' 0.S: commemeial ammo. The energy is war-time they will usually not have that su- the Nazi war machine's.accepte# weapons 'tely hetweeayO to 400 foot pounds. To perb finish associated with other Mausers. for World War II. During thtg period of WBBS&'s~~thte tack of ¥stoing power in forty-three yeare more thwr aae aiillion of tfae sd85 jacketed Maueer bullet, MAGAZINE CAPACITY the Military Mauser pistols were made in hollowpoints and soft nose-bullets were The Mauser Military usually has a ten the two models, 18% and 1930. This is an made. These- more lethal bullets were of- round capacity magazine. There are two awful lot of pistols when one considers fered commercially up to World War I1 other size magazines which may be en- AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977 -, countered, although both are very rare. fortune to manufacture today. with the minimum use of words. Most of The more common is the six shot maga- So, Mauser pistol shooters and collec- the variations will be found in the early se- zine which tried to make the Mauser more tors will have to make do with the supply rial numbers. After serial numbers in the like a contemporary revolver, in both ap- that is left; this will have a forcing action 40,000's, very few changes are encoun- pearance and weight. They were never on prices. One word to the shooter; don't tered until the introduction of the Model very popular and are collector pieces to- shoot a pristine Mauser because you may 1930 at about serial number 800,000. day. Going to the other extreme, Mausers ruin it as a collector's piece and in so The most common expression is the were made with twenty round capacities. doing, drop hundreds of dollars from its phrase "broom handle" Mauser, meaning This made the magazine as long as the value. My shooter has all its numbers the Mauser Military, this of course comes grips which made a very awkward pistol; matched but has fading blue and a pep- from the appearance of the grips. The two even worse the wooden stock/holster had pery barrel and is a very common type of basic types of pistols are the regular Mau- to be made larger to accommodate the ex- 7.63 mm Mauser in the 189,000 serial ser Military with a 5'/2" barrel and the tended magazine. These twenty shot Mau- range made in about 1912. You don't Bolo with its just under 4" barrel length. ser Militarys are very, very rare and are need the match serial numbers and you The next most noteworthy feature is the definitely a collector's prize today. The could use a reblued specimen and have hammer and safety. One will hear words Mauser magazine was built into the pistol just as much fun shooting. My shooter still like cone hammer, larger ring hammer, in front of the trigger guard. Thus both in will bring around three hundred dollars in universal safety, etc., these all mean some- location and in form, the Mauser maga- a gun show as it is on the borderline of col- thing and help to date the pistol. zine is quite unusual in a day where most lectability, because bore condition is not The first type hammer used had a cock- pistols use detachable magazines which too important to a collector. If you can get ing section characterized by a series of are mounted in the pistol's grip. The Mau- the "red nine" Mauser Military you will concentric milled discs which produce a ser was loaded by a charger which was in- have a much more procurable ammuni- cone on each side of the hammer, thus the serted in guides in the barrel extension. tion situation. 9 mm Luger ammo is still cone hammer. The next type hammer is The rounds were forced into the magazine very available and the shooter who doesn't the large ring hammer. This type hammer by thumb pressure and when the charger reload will pay high prices for 7.63 mm when at rest in the fired position, blocks was withdrawn, the bolt which had been fodder today. the sights thus telling the user that this pis- locked to the rear slides forward automati- tol is uncocked. The large ring hammered cally on most models. This makes for ex- VARIATIONS Mausers gave way to the small ring ham- ceedingly fast loading and since loaded There is a language which has sprung mered type. The first two hammers had chargers weigh a good deal less than load- up among collectors to describe the varia- the safety applied by being pushed down, ed extra magazines, the Mauser shooter ti6ns found in the Mauser Military and while the small ring hammer required the could carry a large amount of extra am- while it sounds like gibberish to the unini- safety lever be pushed up to be engaged. munition with him. tiated, it does serve to describe a variant The next and most common type of ham- CONSTRUCTION In general, the Mauser Military with its small recoiling bolt, looks very strange to our eyes today, we are so used to the Browning type with a full slide like the Colt Model 1911. Basically, the Mauser is much more like a revolver than our image of an automatic pistol. The broom handle grip, the magazine in front of the trigger guard, the thin uncovered barrel are all re- volver-like features. The Mauser's recoil action has been called weak in that it seems to lack positiveness. I don't feel that this is a fair criticism of a pistol which has had an unblemished-history for eighty years. This prop-up locking system is the same basic system used by the ultra-mod- em P-38 with such great success. No, the Marser locking is strong enough to lock adequately the hottest handgun load around until the mid-1930's when the 357 Magnum came on the market. The Mauser bolt assembly with firing pin and extractor weighs only four and one half ounces. Because of this lightness, the locking must be positive and must hold until late in the cycle to avoid the bolt recoiling at too high a velocity. In the Mauser Military there is no hint of recoil- blowback action, the bolt just continues to full recoil after being unlocked using the full inertia imparted during initial +recoil. The one important feature of an action like the Mauser's is that all parts must fit extremely closely or play will develop causing accelerated wear on key corn&- :, nents. The Mausers have hand-fitted hard- ened parts which would make them cost a 30 - row is also small ana iaenticai to its $

By MICHEL H. JOSSERAND

merican collectors are hardly familiar with French re- market for small caliber pistols (up to .32 ACP), but the pat- A volvers; they have such a vast field to study with their ents for these dated back to pre-WW I days. The 1939 de- own indigenous production that they may be excused for crees strengthening this severe restrictions of 1934 have overlooking the fact that the very first center-fire revolvers never been repealed; they have been patched up time and in the world appeared in France: these were the Devisme again. though no change for the better has appeared. Some and the Perrin revolvers (1 858-1 859). Even French collec- points are not very clear, others can be twisted this way tors know very little about the early center-fire Lefaucheux and that. Such as they are, we have been saddled with revolvers (1870). these regulations for forty years, and they have proved In 1973, American shooters and gun enthusiasts proudly wholly inadequate against crime, the only victims being celebrated the centenary of the Colt Peacemaker, while law-abiding citizens who are simply fond of shooting and French collectors, who simply dote on the Peacemaker, collecting firearms. could sentimentally remember that it was a hundred years How then, can shooters survive in France, since they re- too, since the Chamelot-Delvigne 11 mm (.45) service re- fuse to relegate firearms to wall hangers? Provision had volver had first appeared. This revolver, also called Model been made for them in the past; before March 1973, mem- 1873, was the best revolver designed and produced in bers of shooting clubs could apply for permission to pur- France so far. Some connoisseurs will insist that the chase three rim-fire and one C.F. large caliber handgun; mechanism (though not the ammo) is remarkable, and in ev- since March 1973, they may be allowed to buy three large ery way as good as the Colt's. caliber, center-fire handguns instead of one. Unfortunately In 1892, this revolver was replaced, though not made ob- local authorities are left free to grant or not to grant these solete, by a smaller caliber revolver: 8mm (.323). It may be permits. Yet a growing number of shooters have stubbornly of some interest to note that swing-out cylinder and smaller refused to be turned away. They favor Smith & Wesson calibers appeared simultaneously on both sides of the At- K-38 and Colt Officer's Model Match revolvers. lantic. Of recent years .22 and 38 revolvers have been im- Then what? In the USA., plenty; in France, nothing at all. ported from Germany, Italy and Spain. Western Europe had Not a single French revolver was made, either for commer- re-discovered the advantages of revolver shooting while cia1 or military purposes; not one4 How can this be ac- the French gun business was .still slumbering, though counted for? French Police forces were getting interested in American There are many reasons: in 1914 the French army had Police training methods. quite a large supply of 1873, 1874 and 1892 revolvers. The Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin did not allow Yet, during WW I, the different French services ran short of this to pass unnoticed. This firm, commonly called all types of firearms, including handguns (the U.S. Army MANURHIN, had never manufactured a revolver since none was to be confronted with a similar problem in 1917). As a had been designed in France since, 1892. But they were consequence, the French government (from 1915 onwards) well-known manufacturers of automatic pistols, and spe- bought just under a million .32 ACP automatic pistols from cialists in firearms techniques. The firm was created in Spain, and 485,281 Spanish revolvers, of the Smith & Wes- 1920 as a manufacturer of high-precision machine tools, son or Colt types, though chambered for the 8mm Mle 1892 but their firearms department with a staff of 300 out of cartridge. So that after WW I the French army and services 4,000 workers is remarkably well organized. Just after were abundantly supplied with these different handguns. WW II, Manurhin began manufacturing Walther automatic French gunshops were crammed with cheap Spanish and pistols under license, and though Carl Walther has left Belgian handguns. Gun lovers who could afford them, al- ZeIla-Mehlis for Ulm, Manurhin are still turning out PP, PPK ready preferred American handguns. So that, for 15 years and PP Sport automatics; they also supply the Bundeswehr or so after the WW I, a French designed and made revolver with P.l pistols (i.e. P.38). These Manurhin Walthers are at would have been redundant. least as good as the pre-war German-made Walthers, This brings us to the early thirties: 1934 was a hectic though some will praise the so-called "Ulm-made" pistols year with fascist and communist supporters staging pro- above the Manurhin ones. The ZeIla-Mehlis Walthers have test marches on the Paris streets. After a riotous day in understandably become collectors items. February a panic stricken and unimaginative government chose to restrict the sale of firearms. Who then, would have In the early months of 1971, Manurhin had already pro- been bold enough to manufacture a new revolver, since this duced 525,000 Walther automatic pistols; the production would have been no saleable commodity? There was still a has now reached 700,000. 1st Modem French Revolver Design The r-

By MICHEL H. JOSSERAND sights. A .357 Magnum six-shooter filled the bill. I need not remind American read- hough Manurhin acquired the skill ers that this ammo reauires robust revolv- T and technology for making automatic ers, especially when the frame is compara- pistols, they had no experience at all with tively small. I suppose the Manurhin peo- revolvers. Moreover, they had decided to ple bore in mind the trouble with the work fast; perhaps too fast, as some critics J-frame and hi-velocity .38 cartridges. put it. The result was a revolver which at first In 1971, they started from a wooden glance looks like any reasonably good mock-up looking very much like a Smith modern firearm, but the machining and fitting are first class. I must say I like the & Wesson revolver; no designer could fail to do so. In the first stages, the firm had look of the deep smooth dark blue finish one aim in mind: design a high-powered and a sandblasted rib. An original feature is the extractor rod which is fully housed police revolver. No other market was under the barrel; this affords sensible pro- contemplated at the time, but the new tection against possible damage. On firearms regulations of March '73 (allow- ing shooters three C. F. handguns) Smith & Wesson magnum-frame revolv- opened up new channels. for the gun ers this extractor rod housing is 3'12'' long, trade, in the nick of time! on all barrels. On the M. R 73 it is as long The Manurhin firearms design depart- as the barrel on each version of the re- ment had been working in close connec- volver, which looks a bit unusual on a tion with the specialists and ballistics ex- perts of the French Police; they knew Left: Combat version of the M73 what law enforcement personnel required: with 3" barrel. Below: Cleaning a robust revolver with good, though, fixed of extractors prevents problems. Special cylinder for 9 mm ammo has uniquely designed, spring- loaded extractor for each rounf'

first batch brought out in the early montt.., of 1973. It was named M. R 73: (Manu- Rhin 1973,) which was all that French gun enthusiasts could wish for: the 1873 serv- ice revolver was just 100 years old. This first batch was immediately sent to Paris to be tried by the police. Unfortunately, eagerness prevailed and quite a few of these early revolvers jumped this experi- mental stage and were suddenly issued to police officers~before they had been thoroughly tried by experts. As a result of this patriotic eagerness, a rumor of teething troubles with the M.R 73 persist- ed long after these troubles were over. 5'/d1 barrel, and still more so on the 8" The walnut grips were generally de- A LOOK AT THE MECHANISM barrel. Of course this is quite a good point signed as target grips for all versions of for a service revolver, which may after all the revolver; they look quite elegant, The very firs revolvers did have prob- be expected to survive any amount of which would be beside the point if they lems where double actionwasconcerned. rough usage. were not handy for combat and target It was very unfortunate that the first M. R Another interesting feature on the shooting as well. 73 should have a problem of varying trig- :: M. R 73 is the cylinder crane or yoke After the new revolver had been tested, ger resistance; the trigger was too hard, or which is the full width of the frame and improved, checked and tested again and the hammer did not strike the primer pivoted at the bottom; most common again with unusual severity, a prototype hard enough. This.was eliminated by the cranes are half the width of the frame. was specially selected for police use; the use of two adjustable springs,.one for the

34 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBEP ^ O77 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 126130 136 FIG. 3 rn

136

120 Of

Hammer at rest Hammer cocked er In striking position

^$- v-y^ , ;.^' - * .- "; * ;- 9 ¥I " r- hammer, one tor the trigger. Finding an shooter does not allow the trigger to come volvers the transfer bar allows percussion adjustable mainspring on a revolver is a back fully forward before pressing it to take place only when the hammer is good thing; finding an extra one for the again, the trigger does not operate the cocked. On the Manurhin, the safety bar trigger is even better. hammer, yet this rotates the cylinder (as blocks the lower face of the hammer un- Since the by-gone days when small V on the 1892 French service revolver) less the trigger is held back. shaped springs were housed in the frame, though this sort of carelessness will stop Though the revolver had passed the under the cylinder, the trigger return had the cylinder on any Smith & Wesson re- tests of mud, sand, extreme cold, another been operated by the mainspring (bearing volver. was added, as required by U.S. regula- straight on the trigger or through a lever). The barrel, manufactured by cold swag- tions: a mass of 1 kilogram (2 pounds 3 On the M. R. 73, the tension of the trigger ing process, is available in different barrel 02.) was dropped on the hammer from 2 spring is adjustable. It acts on the rebound lengths, ranging from 2'/2" and 3" (com- meters (6.7 ft.) several times; the top of slide through a roller. The rebound slide bat versions only) to 4" (combat and tar- the hammer did break after a time, but no glides on four rollers along the frame get models); a special 5'14" barrel (I.S.U. round was fired. base thus there is no friction. The result- specifications), a 6" and an 8" barrel (tar- The cylinder is chambered for the .357 ing double action is both constant and get version only) have been added to this Magnum cartridge, but the whole range of smooth. The single action is above stan- normal range of barrel options. .38 Special can be shot in this revolver, dard design since the shooter can adjust The inner safety device consists of an though one of the Target models can his revolver to .double or single action. internal bar whose operation is just the re- shoot only the .38 Special cartridge. This trigger-spring makes for a swift and verse of the transfer bar on the Ruger Se- The French constabulary (as distinct smooth return of the trigger. When the curity Six, Speed Six etc. On the Ruger re- from the Police; it is a part of the Army,

MR 73ÑLIS OF PARTS

Oll-Frame 071-Front sight 134-Mainspring 013-Firing pin bushing (Patridge, target type) 135-Strain screw for 014-Frame lug 063-Barrel pin 113-Trigger bar pin mainspring 015-Yoke stop 064ÑFron sight pin 114-Rebound slide 136-Inner safety 016-Hammer stud 066-Locking bolt 115-Rebound slide rollers 137-Hand 017-Trigger stud 067-Locking bolt spring 116ÑTrigge spring roller 138-Hand spring 018-Cylinder stop plunger 068-Locking bolt pin 117-Rebound slide 139-Inner safety and hand pin 019-Cylinder stop spring pin 075ÑYok roller pins 140-Cylinder stop 020ÑStoc pin 077-Yoke spindle 118ÑTrigge spring 141-Cylinder stop pin 025-Side plate 078-Yoke pin 119ÑTrigge spring pin 160ÑMicroniete rear sight 026ÑSid plate screw, rear 079-Yoke screw 120ÑStrai screw for 166ÑMicromete rear 027-Side plate screw, front 085Ñ.35 magnum cylinder trigger spring sight springs 031-Thumb piece 008-9-mm P. cylinder, with 123-Trigger shoe 167-Micrometer rear sight pin 032-Bolt special extractor 124-Trigger shoe screws 180ÑRigh hand stock 033-Bolt plunger 086-Ejector guide ring 126ÑHamme spur - 181-Left hand stock 034-Thumb piece screw 087-Ejector ring pins 127-Sear 182-Ring for right hand stock 035-Bolt spring stud 088-Ejector with ratchet 128ÑSea pin 183-Nut for left hand stock 036ÑBol spring 089-Ejector rod 129-Sear spring 184-Stock screw 052-Barrel 091-Center pin 130ÑFirin pin 185-Riveted medalion 058ÑFron sight, combat 093-Center pin spring 131-Firing pin rivet with monogram 061-Front sight 094-Ejector spring 132-Hammer stirrup (high ramp, target, special) 095-Ejector collar 133-Hammer stirrup pins

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1 977 Even long barrels have full shroud.

Frame of Manurhin 73 weighs 28 ounces; 12 oz. after machining.

though not a Military Police) however, re- final device: each chamber has its own ex- inch. None of these reactions were altered quired an extra model with a cylinder tractor, which is operated by a small and when I shot the various M.R 73 models. chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum car- very adequate spring. I first tried a 4" Target model and I tridge. Then, arose the problem of eject- found it not unpleasant, but after just a ing rimless cartridges. The Manurhin SHOOTING TESTS few rounds I noticed that though I was designers rejected the half-moon clip solu- I had an opportunity to shoot a few hun- using a common .38 Special wad-cutters tion to their problem. They first experi- dred rounds with the different M. R 73 the grips were bruising my hand. When mented with a cylinder hand ejection sys- revolvers: not one misfired. I must admit shooting hi-powered ammo the shooter tem with wire loop spring, gripping all the that I am not a marksman. With my may find himself with a bruise somewhere cases at the same time. Unfortunately, this .22/32 Kit Gun, K-22, Officer's Model between the thumb and forefinger, but proved to be defective: adding a cartridge Match or a K-38,I rarely score above 250 this bruise was somewhere on the second next to an already loaded chamber would out of 300, and have sometimes scored as knuckle of my thumb. The grips were just release the previously loaded car- low as 240. For mysterious reasons I do found to be what can now be termed early tridge from the extractor. Then came the better with a 3 or 4" barrel than with a 6 type grips, which had to be thinned out. Standard new grips were fitted on the re- volver, and I proceeded with my shooting with added comfort. Wonderful what a few grains of wood, scraped off a pair of grips can do for a revolver! I then tried the 3" and 5'/4" models, and enjoyed their grip and balance. The 3" is not too light, the 5'/4" not too heavy. No problems with .38 Special W-C car- tridges; though the .357 Magnum (Nor- ma) did bother me a little. The 4" barrel revolver is still OK for the .357 Magnum round, but in the 3" barrel revolver it jumps quite a bit, though the blast is less noticeable than with the Smith & Wesson 19 in the same barrel length. I mention this particular S&W because it has been

Left: Standard grips. Right: thin grips used by plainclothes police.

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1 977 specially modified for the French G-Men. VARIATIONS (delivered by Prefectures, i.e. local au- The 3" barrel M. R 73 has recently fitted At the time of writing, the M. R. is avail- thorities) are kept waiting. The Police Na- with smaller grips, which had originally able in two configurations: combat (3 dif- tionale are issued 3" bbl. revolvers. The been designed to make the butt less con- ferent barrel lengths) and target (4 differ- Constabulary (Gendarmerie) are partial spicuous when carried by plainclothes ent barrel lengths). They are basically the to 4" bbl. with an optional cylinder cham- men. These new grips have certainly made same revolvers though the combat ver- bered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge. the jump less noticeable when shooting sion has a ramp front sight, the rear sight They order not only 4" bbl. combat mod- .357 Magnums. is just grooved out of the top of the frame. els, but a special 4" bbl. which is a com- Recoil is equally noticeable with 9 mm The target version has a Patridge front promise between combat and target mod- arabellum cartridges in the 3" barrel sight and a micrometer adjustable rear els since it has a micrometer rear sight El.R 73, but of course, French 9 mm sight. A new target M. R. 73 is just coming (like the target model) and a specially de- Service cartridges are known to be hot, out: it is chambered for the .32 S&W signed ramp front sight (higher than the and can damage many a good handgun; long, a shooting competition ammo combat model). A special branch of the the 126.5 gr. bullet has a 1,214 ft/sec ve- French shooters are slowly getting ac- Gendarmerie (Croupe ({'intervention, a locity in a 4.4" barrel automatic pistol. quainted with. I certainly broke no record special group of highly trained marksmen Shooting .38 special W-C in a 3" barrel when trying this new revolver. A .22 LR and snipers) have 5'/4" bbl. Manurhin M. R 73, from 15 meters (16'12 yds.), Manurhin M. R. 73 should appear shortly. M. R. 73. after a few trial shots, I hit the center of On the whole I can say this revolver has the target and got a 2.5" group (height MODELS IN USE IN FRANCE been carefully designed and tested. It is a plus width); shooting .357 Magnum car- This M. R. 73 had originally been de- really fine revolver that has only one fault: tridges in a 4" bbl, the group opened to signed for the French police; as a conse- it is too expensive. 2.6". Switching to double action shooting quence, the different police forces in the Such as it is, this revolver, the first in 80 .38 W-C in a 3" bbl. I must say the shots country have a priority. Ordinary people, I years, shows that French designers are were wider apart: I grouped 5.6" in 5 sec- mean shooters with licenses (delivered by back in business where revolvers onds-certainly not top form! shooting clubs) and firearms certificates are concerned.

The Manurhin 73 with 2Wbarrel.

meI Contender Story AD F. AYOOB

A. w. I nornpson Tool Coi~~~anywas established auoui 1947 ng Island, and rapidly became successful in the nlanufacture parts for other companies with investnlent casting, or lost wax, process. the 1900's. the firm moved to Ken Hampshire. Right about that time, one Warren Center was finalizing his patents on a single-shot pistol with interchangeable hamls. Center connected with Ken W. Thompson on the possibility of their pro- ducing the gun, and K. W. Thompson. Inc. was 11) Gustafson recalls, "We had been looking for -4dmake ""irkct ourst4yt~s.something to - .. 'valleys, of production to outside orders. ' For a lot of reasons, we found the pistol very promising." In 1967, the gunmaking operation was installed at the foundry in Rochester, N.H., and the floor space was expanded from twenty thousand square feet to thir- ty, with the firearms division occupying the newly enlarged area. Thompson-Cen- ter Arms was formed as a subsidiary of K. W. Thompson, and Center was ap- pointed head of the fledgling gun division. AMERICANHANDGUNNER traced the first ens that came off the line. Serial num- bers began with a one-thousand prefix. Contender #1001 was presented, ironi- cally not to Center, but to Ralph Ellison, the senior toolmaker on the project. The gun, a ten-inch barrel version, is listed in the records as chambered for .357 Mag- num. This is odd, because the only five calibers offered at first were .22 Long Ri- fle, .22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum, .22 Hornet, .22 Jet, and .38 Special. It ap- pears that, despite the serial number, Con- tender 1001 either wasn't the first gun completed, or Ellison didn't take delivery on it formally until a couple of months later, when the .357 was added. The first gun to leave the factory com- mercially, #I004 in .22 L. R, went to Haggett's Sport Shop in Concord, N. H. Proprietor Paul Knee, who wishes now that he realized the gun's significance at the time, sold it almost immediately, and like most dealers across the country, he has found the Contender to be a steady seller over the years. ' Why were the firs guns small caliber? Gustafson explains,"We didn't think at d style trigaer group (top) and new style with anti-backlash screw. the time that the 'magnum syndrome' would take as much of a hold on the hand- gun-buying public as it did. Our original intent was a light, versatile pistol for infor- mal target shooting, pFking, and small game hunting. We were also a little frightened at first of the brute strength of the big magnums, since the gun had not been expressly designed for them. We quickly learned, however, that the gun was more than amply strong for the really big calibers, and when we started chambering for heavy stuff, the gun really took off." Sales initially were slow. The notorious- ly conservative American gun buyer wanted to take a long look before invest- ing in a firearm as radical and strange looking as the new Contender. At the time, the brass at Thompson didn't really mind; though the gunmaking operation was working at only five to ten per cent capacity, the overall picture was just right, and it was "filling in the hills and valleys" between production demand, government spending, and other factors that affected

Vent rib barrels have these simple sights. Rear is adjustable for windage only and front sight for elevation.

AMERICAN HANDGUNNEF .Â¥ff?"? ,-.^:.'<Â¥/9Â their main business. , $7. , * :<,flifi *.. 2:: be if the Contender hadn't been success- the grip shape was changed, and made But with the advent oT the magnum ful enough to justify K. W. Thompson's narrower and steeper with a more round- chamberings in the Contender, asales faith in the farsightedness and engineering ed edge for the web of the hand. Pointing growth pace was established for the gun genius of Warren Center. characteristics suffered slightly, and most that has yet to change: slow, but a steady There are twenty-three calibers' now observers agree that the new grip lacks the increase in popularity. What had hap- available in the Contender .22 LR, .22 racy, rakish flow of line that characterized pened was that a whole new class of buyer WRM, .22 Hornet, .22 Jet, 5 mm Reming- the original design. The problem was that had discovered the Contender; not the ca- ton, .222, .22 K-Hornet*, .221 Fireball, with magnum calibers, recoil in the old sual shooter or trailsman they had envi- .218 Bee, .256 Winchester Mag., .25135 style stock was almost intolerable; the sioned at first, but the involved and dedi- Winchester, .30/30 Winchester, .30 car- square edges were hitting right at the base cated enthusiast who saw in the strange- bine, .38 Special, .38 Super, 9 mm Luger, of the thumb. looking single-shot a gun that did things .357 Magnum, .30 Herret*, .357 Herret*, Hard-kicking calibers also caused the nothing else did. .357/44 Bain & Davis*, .44 Magnum, .45 switch, around 1975 to a screw-on fore- In the 10" barrel, with no cylinder-bar- Long Colt, and .45 ACP. Note that half a end, replacing the original design which re1 gap, velocity and energy skyrocketed dozen of these are purely rifle cartridges, used a spring-loaded ball bearing and de- beyond what was practically available or were until the advent,of the Contender. tent system. "Especially with the Herretts, before. Factory 240-grain slugs in a Con- Note too that four of these rounds, desig- the recoil was such that the fore-end tender .44 Magnum went past the foot- nated with asterisks, are wildcats; to my would want to stay in one place while the seconds marks that had been attainable knowledge, no other firearms manufac- gun moved to another," a T-C exec told before only in carbines and pressure test turer has ever offered that many calibers us. While the new-style fore-end takes a barrels. Accuracy was amazingly good, simultaneously that were not available as little longer on and off, it won't bother generally better than top revolvers. The factory ammo. anybody in the field; shooters don't quick-change barrels gave the handloader Actually, the list has been somewhat change barrels as readily as photograph- one familiar gun in, say, six calibers for trimmed: at one time, it included several ers change lenses, after all. the price of two conventional revolvers. .17 caliber wildcats: the. 17 Hornet and K- Metallurgically, nothing has been As the demand for the Contender grew, Hornet, the 17 Ackley Bee, the .17 Mach altered from the basic Contender formu- Thompson-Center kept pace. Today, IV and the .I71222 . . . but the interest in la. A 4140 chrome-molybdenum steel is some ten years and 75,000 pistols later, the super-hot sub-smallbores died as still the basis of barrel and receiver, with the foundry still has 30,000 square feet quickly as it had come alive, and these cal- suitably hardened tool steels and occa- . . . but the gun division has its own sepa- ibers were soon dropped from the line. sionally 1020 alloy being used in less- rate 50,000. One T-C executive says suc- Lack of interest has not killed other odd- stressed pans. While the composition or cinctly, "The gun division became the tail ball calibers in the lineup; the .357/44 design of an occasional spring has been that wags the dog." Still more expansion is Bain & Davis remains in the catalog, changed, there have been no major altera- underway at this writing. though it's really available only on a cus- tions of the Contender's design or metal- Naturally, the gun division isn't limited tom-order basis with a waiting period that lurgy during its decade of shooting. to the Contender; the immensely popular can run close to a year. The .17s were The investment casting process that Hawken, Renegade, and Seneca rifles lead dropped only when lack of interest com- made the gun possible (and which is used TIC sales by a substantial margin. But bined with the engineering-difficulties of by a number of other armsmakers, nota- these fine guns would never have come to making bores smaller than .22, and the re- bly Ruger and Savage, the latter in fact sultant exhorbitant increase to the manu- contracting some of its parts from facturer per gun. Thompson-Center), works thusly. A mold Design changes over the ten years -of is used to make wax models of the parts to Contender production have been remark- be used: one wax model for every single ably few. little less than two years ago, part that is to be made. These are coated

[?Earn^ / Warren Center By MASSAD F. AYOOB

T 62, WARREN CENTER is a square-faced, gravel-voiced turer who called him and said, in effect, "We hear you have a A man who has been there and back in thefirearms world, revolutionaryfirear~wdesign, and we'd like to produce it." The and has more to show jor it than most who have been the same rest is gunmaking history: five super-successful guns in a row, route. He parlayed a basement gukhop in the 1930's into a designed by Warren for Thompson-Center, and a permanent career in the industry three times over, always leaving to strike place infirearms history. But Warren Center isn 't resting on his back out on his own until the final, fateful meeting with Ken laurels, Editor Massad Ayoob found out when Handgunner sent Thompson. That ultimate stroke that changed his career was him to do an exclusive interview with the man who created the the julfilled dream of every would-be gun. inventor: a inanufuc- Contender Pistol. L AMERICAN HANDQUNNER NOVEMBER&~MBER 1977 ,'+ "" *<. '^v ~'&y,'¥È,~with ceramic slurry and sand-stuccoed , %several times until a super-hard ceramic -¥.i.w' coating has formed completely over the part. The wax is then removed by heat (not merely melted, but steamed and ac- tually heat-blasted away). What remains is the ceramic shell. A final chemical bath removes the last traces of the wax, leaving a perfect ceramic mold into which the +

molten steel is carefully poured. After +\: %.* Contender with 10" bull barrel is avail- cooling, the ceramic cast is broken away able in .30 or .357 Herrett calibers., (no mean feat, since it's harder than some steels). The cast steel part is then finished and fitted as a machined component would be. The result is high uniformity of specs, per- fectly adequate strength, and a definite production economy. This is one reason guns by the makers using investment cast- ing are still reasonably priced. Rugged in- vestment cast steel parts are not to be con- fused with flimsy stampings, none of which are used in the T-C Contender. The wood in the Contender stocks and fore-end comes from another K. W. The .357 and .44 Magnum calibers are Thompson subsidiary, a sawmill in Kan- available with T/C detachable choke sas. Since the mill sometimes does itsbwn (shown here) or an internal choke for lumbering, T-C execs like to say that they Thompson/Center's Hot-Shot turn trees into gunstocks. It's the same walnut you find in those fine-looking Hawken stocks; in fact. Contender blanks are usually made of reject rifle blanks. Those, we hasten to point out, are rejected because they're cut and undersize or there's a burl or knot in the wrong place: inferior wood never makes it to T-C's New Hampshire plant begin with. Contenders are generally noted for class wood with at- tractive, subdued grains. Contender barrels, with their graceful This is standard Contender barrel avail- taper and octagonal form, give a nice bal- able in 21 calibers; with either the ance for a light pistol, but a lot of serious 10" barrel or the 8%" barrel length. shooters want more substantial tubes. Bull barrels were introduced two years ago

HANDGUNNER: Mr. Center, we un- was so similar, there was some litigation CENTER: I designed the Trailsman top- derstand that you have an extensive back - on it. My job was researching new designs break revolver and later I made the Trails- ground in firearms production and de- for him. He died, and I wound up as a man snub-nose, which was one of thefirst sign. Can you elaborate on it for our read- gunsmith in the firearms section of a successful guns with an in~estment~qast ers? sporting goods store in Dallas. I had the barrel. It wasn't really anything earth- CENTER: I started in the 1930's doing opportunity there to do a lot of custom shaking, just a logical amalgam of the best home gunsmithing in a cellar, and I work. things that were already in the iver- realized that I'd need a foundation in tool- I still wanted to be on my own, though, Johnson line. making if I wanted to do everything I and went back to my native Massachusetts HANDGUNNER: But in '59, the inde- could with it. I went to work in a little ma- and started my own operation again, this pendence bug got you again, and you went chine shop and stayed there nine years. In time a combination gunsmithing service back out on your own, right? 1942, I went into the army and spent and gun store. her-Johnson made me a CENTER: Yes, I started a gunshop in some time with the ski troops, then got good offer, and I closed out to go to work partnership with Elton Whiting, who died transferred into Ordinance. for them as General Manager. I was there a couple of years ago. We did mainly cus- After the War, I found myself in anoth- from 1954 to '59. tom stuff, though we had a repair station er basement machine shop. About that HANDGUNNER: We understand you franchise for Winchester and Remington. time, a fellow came out with the Shooting designed one or two of the models that Elton pushed me a lot on my own de- Master, a variable choke for shotguns that have been lauded as her Johnson's best signs. That was when I was building the was similar to the PolyChoke. In fact, it handguns. first prototypes of the Contender. Anyway, * AFRICAN HANOGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1077 .. , h .... ,&A.?,+I . with the .30 and .357 Herrett chamber- ings, and were met with such favor that by  the time vou read this. T-C will have made the- -.- he&.. . .. tube a catalog notion for ten cal- ibers: .22 LR, .222 ~cm.',.45 Long Colt, .22 Hornet, .44 Magnum, .221 Fireball, .357 Magnum, 30130, .256 Winchester Mag., and their new .41 Magnum. Sights give an excellent picture, though you lose a little depth of vision in your rear slot the lower you crank the eleva- tion; the adjustment screw kind of gets in the way. The sight is the same furnished on the superbly accurate Hawken rifle, and is removable; beneath the sight is a pre-drilled and -tapped base for a scope mount furnished by the company. The Contender seems meant for a scope. According to the company's sales figures, something like 30% of Contend- er$ are mounted with T-C's Japanese- made Lobo and Puma 1.5X long-eye-re- lief scopes. When you figure in the num- ber of shooters who take their Bushnell Phantom and other handgun scopes off Paul Knee of Haggett's Sport Shop sold first commercially released Contender. their other guns and mount them on Con- He describes the T/C "It's a steady seller and is seldom traded back in." tenders, and equate that with observations of Contender users, it is not far-fetched to assume that probably every other Con- tender in serious use mounts a scope. lent reputation for accuracy-with certain The Puma, T-C's original scope, has calibers. The company believes that their been dropped. While it worked fine with most accurate load is the .22 Hornet; with small and medium calibers, it couldn't factory rifle ammo, they say it will stay in stand up to the buffeting it took with big an inch at 100 yards. Next come the Her- magnum loads like the .44 and the two rett rounds, with good grouping capability Herrett wildcats. The Lobo scope was spe- in both .30 .357. Most Contenders shoot cifically designed to endure maximum quite well, but you occasionally run into a recoil, and at $45 seems an excellent load that doesn't group well in any gun. value. The only problem is getting them: The .30 Carbine is a case in point. The T-C's Jaoanese suoolier is wav behind on .30/30, according to everyone I've talked deliveries, and so is ~hom~&n-center. to who has used it including the factory ex- ,Thq Contender has acquired an excel- perts, doesn't shoot anywhere near as tight ' . &--., ." ' A,^-,^. in the Contender as do some of the others. .222 won't equal Hornet performance in Rack of Contender trigger guard forms the pistol with factory loads, though it can that have been dipped into ceramic do so with carefully worked-up handloads. slurry and then coated with sand. The .44 Magnum is the single biggest-

would sell. Gene designed a .308 pump ri- fle that pre-dated the Remington model 760, and was every bit as good if not bet- ter, and I'm sure it would have sold very -- - . well. But they chose not to produce it. , ;9:; Warren Center I learned a lot from Gene. He was a nice guy, and a brilliant gun designer. Later, I took over as the head of Re- I went to work for Harrington & Richard- they never made. Gene, you see, was kind search and Development for H&R. I son a couple of years later as a project en- of a free agent. He came in every day, but worked mostly on the Ultrarifle. I just put gineer, and worked all the way through on he wasn't on salary: if they produced a gun it together, really; that's all it was, an as- the M-14 project. That was an interesting he designed, he got a royalty, and if they sembly job of mating excellent, already- experience, but the most valuable thing I didn't produce it, it wound up hanging on proven components: a Fajen stock, an FN got from that period was the opportunity a wall somewhere. action, and a Douglas barrel. to work for two or three years with Gene HANDGUNNER: Would you have HANDGUNNER: During this period, Reising. worked on that basis? where had the design of the Contender I didn't create anything new for H&R; CENTER: No. there would have been too pistol progressed to? mostly, I worked with Gene on his proj- many times where what I thought would CENTER: I had made the first proto- 2 autoloading rifle sell didn't coincide with what they though type, around 1959, with a falling block ac-

AMERICAN HANDGUNNEP - NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1 977 designed to take the spin out of the shot own a Contender, especially since the --' $ by 357 Magnum, .22, .22 Hornet, and capsule after it goes through the rifling shotshell muzzle attachment can be re- ' .30/30. The ~errettcalibers are catching (they can't make a smooth shotshell-only moved and dropped into a pocket at any 2 up fast. .22 Long Rifle is right up there, barrel on a pistol, since it would then be time to permit use of standard ammo; the ,. - too (the gun has two firing pins, one each classifiable as a sawed-off shotgun), and barrel comes with a special key wrench to - 4 for rimfire and centerfire; you select one straightens them out of their spin before facilitate this operation. Whatever you do, \1 or the other by turning the screw on the they clear the muzzle. don't shoot jacketed Magnum slugs hammer nose.) Gustafson admits that one The shells themselves took a lot of through a HotShot barrel when the choke " '4 reason the .44 Mag is on top is the avail- work: early HotShot rounds didn't per- attachment is on. ;$ ability of the HotShot shotshell loads. form anywhere near up to expectations. The genesis of the Thompson-Center - >, Promised to equal .410 shotgun per- By going to a special grade of Butyrate Contender is a meaningful chaptqn gun- ¥ formance, the Hotshots are plastic shot- plastic, T-C achieved thinner walls that at making history. The articles that awom- i \. - filled capsules fired through standard .44 once increased the birdshot payload of the pany this intro in this issue's Bonus Hand- or 357 barrels, with suitable attachments. capsule, and made release of that payload gun Feature will give you a deeper sense .-< Both the barrels and the shells (produced more reliable. They also put in some in- of what it means to firearms heritage . . . ,4 at the T-C plant) have gone through a dents to decrease the strength of the nose and, perhaps mqe important, what it ; '. ' -- number of changes since the concept first for better opening. A number of outdoors- means and can mean to you, today, as an .\' came in. The shotshell attachment now men have found the HotShot option to be active American consists of a flush-front choke device that one of the really compelling reasons to Handgunner. screws into the bore with a special tool that provided; before, a bulkier muzzle attachment was used. This choke device is Three different Contender grips (left to right): early factory stock; the current . . factory stock, sans grip cap; and Herrett designed Controller (on gun). . .

tion. I did a good deal of hunting with it, in the investment casting business. At tender, the Patriot pistol, and the woodchucks and such, and got a lot of in- Thompson, Barraclough learned that they Hawken, Seneca, and Renegade black put from the people I knew in the industry were looking for a product of their own to powder rifles. and the people I went hunting with. By the fill in between component-producing con- HANDGUNNER: What's the next Cen- mid-sixties, I had finalized the design into tracts for other firms. He had seen my ter design? pretty much what the production gun is gun, and told Ken Thompson about it, CENTER: The last one was a double now. and Thompson called me. barrel, but 1 doubt if we'll ever produce it. So many people who had tried the gun HANDGUNNER: And the rest is fire- The reps tell us there isn't a market for it. wanted one, that I more or less decided to arms history. We know that after you HANDGUNNER: What do you think go into semi-production on it myself. I ap- signed on with Ken Thompson, a whole the reps would have told you ten years ago proached the Hitchener Manufacturing new corporate division was created for about the market for a single shot, multi- Company, a producer of investment cast firearms production. What exactly is your caliber pistol? parts, for some quotes on producing cer- title? CENTER: Nobody knew. I never tain components in certain numbers. CENTER: Damned if I know. Nobody thought it would sell a million, but I knew They gave me a quote, and I went back to ever told me. I just design guns and run it would sell enough to produce. consider it. the gun production. HANDGUNNER: Did it surprise you Meanwhile, one of their salesmen, HANDGUNNER: How manv Thomo- when so much of the pistol's sales turned Roger Barraclough, had left Hitchener for son-Center suns have vou designed? K.W. Thompson Company, a competitor PART TWO Contending with The Contender

s even the most skeptical reader has less than an exercise in masochism. Any- A gathered this far into the bonus fea- body tells me they like shooting a stiff- ture section, the TIC Contender has a loaded .357 Herrett in a factory stocked heckuva lot going for it. This is not to say, Contender, I begin to suspect that they however, that it is noquestion, flat-out, have a collection of whips and chains and stardust-on-the-gossamer-wingsperfect. hair shirts at home, right next to their bed There are a few things that could be bet- of nails. ter on the Contender, and as we'll see, There are two reasons for the savage there are ways to make them better. But recoil. One is the overall silhouette, with the hardest thing to square away is also the the line of the bore so close over the hand biggest thing that's wrong with the Con- that the gun doesn't pivot upward like a Brad Marshall works on one of his $10 tender. If you've ever shot one bigger than revolver, but instead comes almost trigger jobs, a custom option for the .22 rimfire, you know what that thing is. straight back into the hand. A second and T/C well worth having says the author. You spell it with a capital "R". Recoil. more culpable factor is grip design. As the In fact, with the really big calibers, you recoil is transmitted back through the can capitalize the other five letters, too. frame of the pistol, it meets the hand in the sales percentage of contenders in hot The Contender kicks, gentlemen. In .357 the worst possible places-right at the chamberings increased, the company magnum, for instance, it has a comeback base of the thumb, and just below the base made an effort to do something about it, nastier than any other .357 around, in- of the index finger joint. The result, with a and drafted Steve Herrett's stockmaking cluding itty bitty ones like the .32-frame heavy load, is a sensation that makes you talents. The result was a much-changed Security Industries revolver or even the feel like you've just been stricken with grip, more vertical to make a kind of ful- old Hy Hunter two-shot derringer. In .44 premature acute arthritis. crum that the gun could pivot up on in- Magnum it makes your S&W model 29 In fairness to TIC, the original stock stead of coming so straight back into the with factory grips seem a veritable mouse- design-indeed, the whole original gun- hand (muzzle lift was irrelevant, since in a gun by comparison. In .357 Herrett, was not intended for Magnum recoil. single-shot, recovery time ceases to mat- shooting the Contender becomes nothing When the problem became apparent as ter). The new stock was also more round-

mer can't hit the firing pin until the trig- ger is pulled. But I get people telling me, "Well, the guy in the sporting goods store told me I should pull it back until I heard a click because that's the half-cock Warren Center; .;; notch." The gun has no half cock notch, as such. Once you close the pistol, you leave the hammer where it lies until ,,:?'; . - you're ready to cock the hammer and iSi.*!,.+-4*AÈ3A putting anythingUlike.44 Magnum into it. haven't read the instruction manual. I put shoot; if you cock the hammer and don't It's a rough caliber; to me, there's no plea- inall kinds of instructions on how to work shoot, pull up on the trigger guard as if" sure shooting it. But there's no the gun, but every once in a while, some- you were going to open the uncocked pis- that the gun worked out well for people body who didn't read them can make it go tol, and the hammer will drop safely who want that caliber with maximum pos- off accidentally. down, and you won't even have to open sible accuracy. HANDGUNNER: How do they manage the action before you can cock it again, HANDGUNNER: We can't dispute you that? the way you have to during dry fire. on that. Tell us, do you hear any beefs CENTER: Usually by pulling the trigger HANDGUNNER: The Contender pistol about the Contender design? after loading when they haven't cocked it. strikes us as quite safe. But, tell us, what CENTER: Only from people who When the gun is used properly, the ham- would you have changed in the initial de-

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOWMBER/DECEMBER 1977 ed in the web-of-the-handarea, better dis- having him cut his muzzle slots in, upside your hand pattern, and $25. For an extra tributing recoil. down. I'm serious. MagNaPort, as Larry $10, he9'll expand the checkering on both It is still far from the complete answer, will be the first to tell you, is to reduce your stock and fore-end. In a small to me- L however. To really tame the recoil, you've muzzle jump, not recoil, since they are dium caliber, and especially with the got to go all the way to Herrett's own two different things. He keeps the muzzle early-style Contender grips, the result is as '6stock answer," the handle he appropri- down by channeling gases up. Theoreti- comfortable and visually appealing as any- ately calls "The Controller." It has more cally, if the gases were channelled down, thing you can put on this handgun. rounded contours to better distribute the the muzzle might lift enough to divert Other little things can improve your recoil shock, and a more pronounced some of the recoil force away from the ability to successfully contend with the palm swell that contributes to this same joints in the "V" of the shooting hand. All Contender. One area is the trigger. Fresh effect. There is a grip adapter effect be- of which, incidentally, is pure speculation. out of the box, it's creepy and heavy, with hind the trigger guard, wide on the bottom If absorption of Magnum Force oppo- substantial backlash. Neophytes let that as on Steve's Jordan-style revolver stocks. site-reaction is not particularly your con- fool them into thinking the gun has a This too helps the whole hand take up the cern, Bud Richards does a fine modifica- lousy trigger. It hasn't. As it comes from impact, and the effect is that the whole tion of your existing Contender grips. He the package, with a little application of a gun arm lifts up more in recoil, instead of slims 'em down, puts iri memory grooves, screwdriver and the provided TIC alien the gun being "driven into the hand" as removes the epoxy finish and replaces it wrench, you can come up with one of the Herrett aptly phrases it in his catalog. It with a handrubbed oil surface, and gives finest factory go-buttons around. The trig- has more slant than the new TIC stock, you what has to be the most naturally- ger is easily adjustable for weight and and keeps the middle knuckle farther pointing single shot pistol ever built He length of pull (just follow the instruction from the trigger guard. rounds the square edges, too, so there is sheet that comes with the gun). Next, take In my own hand, shooting the awesome still some kick reduction. Send him your that alien wrench and adjust the trigger .357 Herrett, recoil seemed reduced by a stocks and a Herrett style paper tracing of stop in the back of the trigger guard. I'd third to almost half from the new-style fac- tory stocks when I slipped on a Henett Controller. It's not the whole cure, but Bud Richards custom job on Contender grip enhances handling qualities. like putting Ben-Gay on an aching joint, it sure does give some symptomatic relief. Warren Center told me that Monty Kennedy once made him a pair of Con- tender grips bound in thick leather that worked remarkably well in cushioning re- coil, but were Godawful expensive to pro- duce. Another answer seems to have ap- peared on the horizon: Pachmayr's immi- nent introduction of rubber Contender stocks. I wasn't able to try a set by dead- line, but if past experience with the Pach- mayr product holds true, reduction in the felt recoil of the Contender should be most significant. About the only other shock absorber for the Contender that I could think of would be the drastic step of sending the barrel to Larry Kelly at MagNaPort and

sign if, ten years ago, you had had as much though it's torn up now, I still have some Center design on the drawing boards? input as you have now? of the parts. But I don't think it would CENTER: I've been toying with a gas- CENTER: I'd have probably done sever- have been economical to produce. operated semi-automatic pistol. The prob- al things different. It's the Monday morn- HANDGUNNER: Tell us more about lem is, as you saw when you toured the ing quarterback syndrome. But, seriously, that very first Contender. plant, we're expanding heavily now to there are things I might have changed. I CENTER: I made the very first proto- meet production demands on products think I would have put the lock on the re- type in .22 Hornet caliber. It worked fine that are already in our catalog. Tooling up ceiver instead of on the barrel. That would on 'chucks. There's a funny anecdote; I to produce a new design will require that have required a lot less pull-up pressure worked to handbuild a pistol accurate much more expansion. That's expensive, on the trigger guard to open the gun- enough to scope and be truly effective, and I don't know how far in the future a some female shooters tell me they find it and when I had the prototype, I wrote to really new Thompson-Center design will hard to operate. I think I might have Paul Jaeger for one of his pistol scopes. be. made it so the tang on the trigger guard He wrote back and told me he had stop- HANDGUNNER: Whenever it comes, was a little farther away from the knuckle ped selling them 'cause they couldn't we have a feeling it'll be worth waiting for, on the trigger guard. Some people with stand up to .357 Magnum recoil. I wound along with the new generation of Contend- -eally huge hands tell.me they get banged up putting another scope on the first pis- er pistols that you've been toying with at in the knuckle when they shoot. Who tol; it was a brand I can't remember. home, Mr. Center, and we'll look forward knows, I might even have made it in drop- HANDGUNNER: Then going from past to seeing them all in lick; the first anwas in droplock, and to future shock, what's the next Warren the next few years. -^L y^w^ ,.^' - ,$.. -- E'~"

Author spent a good deal of time at the factory getting this T/C story; shown here firing the .30 Herrett on the range.

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1 977 T~~OMPSON/OENTER ROCHESTER. NEW HAMPSHIRE 03867

36-2 Trigger Stop Screw 29A Guard Stop Spring 41A Sight, Rear Screws (2) 13 Bolt 4 Hammer 69 Sight, Rear Pivot Pin 65 Bolt Spring 50 Hammer Nose 9190 Sight, Rearcomplete (Specify Caliber) 099 Bolt Stop Pin 52 Hammer NoseDetents (2) 84 Striker 16 Bushing Screw 53 Hammer Nose Screw 23 Striker Pin 60 Dovetail Lock 51 Hammer Nose Spring 85 Striker Spring 12 Extractor 59 Hammer Pin 71 Trigger 69 Extractor Stop Pin 24 Hammer Spring 36-1 Trigger Adjusting Screw 14 Firing Pin Bushing 18 Hinge Pin 70 Trigger Guard 15A Firing Pin, Center Fire 9182 Complete Hammer Assembly 22 Trigger Pin 15 Firing Pin, Rim Fire 58 Roller 68 Trigger Return Plunger 26 Firing Pin Springs (2) 8 Safety 27 Trigger Spring 44 Forend Complete 64 Safety Spring 88A Interlock Screw 9173 Forend Bushing 46 Sear 9183 New Style Trigger Guard Assembly 9174 Forend Screw 20 Sear Pin 89 Inter-Lock Safety 9175 Forend"0"Ring 25 Sear Spring 73 Safety Spring Interlock 45 Grip 56 Sear Plunger 10 Barrel Assembly Complete 47 Grip Cap (Metal) 5 Sight, Front (Specify Caliber) 9176 Internal Chokelube .357 Cat 42 Grip Cap Screws (2) 77 Sight, Rear Blade (Specify Caliber) Assy . 9177 Internal Choke Tube .44 Cal 35 Gripscrew 82 Sight, Rear Elevating Spring 9178 External Hot Shot Choke Tube .44 & .45 Cal 34 Grip Screw Washer 81 Sight, Rear Elevation Adjusting Screw 9179 External Hot Shot Choke Tube .357 Cal 19 GuardPin 79 Sight, Rear Housing 9180 Choke Wrench .357 38 Guard Stop Screw 9181 Choke Wrench .44 & .45 I'd like to see TIC make a really fine target sight optional on this pistol, as Colt did on the Python with the Elliason, and as Dan Wesson is thinking about doing with Austin Behlert's fine sight. What else could enhance an already fine pistol? I've wondered for years why T/C didn't make it with a set trigger like the one on their Patriot muzzle-loader. I finally got around to asking Warren Cen- ter, and was pleasantly surprised: this is one of a number of design refinements he's been working on during his convales- cence from the car crash that almost took his life a few months ago. It may be a cou- ple years before it will come out, and I don't know whether or not it will take the form of a kit that adapts to existing Con- tenders, but coupled with the new bull barrels (and an improved factory sight), it will give the Contender the ability to rule in production class of silhouette competi- tion. I also predict TIC will follow Dan Wesson into the burgeoning metallic sil- houette arena with barrels in the vicinity of 15", though again, nothing is scheduled. There are a few people who'll really J. D. Jones, American Handgunner contributor, with the first Corsican change your Contender's perspectives. Ram taken with the .30 Herrett cartridge; shot at Y-0 Ranch in Texas. Only a handful of gunsmiths do major custom alterations of it, and not all of them are endorsed by the factory. One guy of this article for more info on Texas Con- If you've got one of these good guns terrifies the TIC people; he's allegedly tender, the gun and the club. and want to make it better, here are the blown up at least one gun, which parted at The Contender pistol is a modem clas- addresses of the people the receiver with no injuries but still left sic, one that performs superbly out of the who can help. some ruffled feathers. Seems this fella box and even better with the attention of uses strange cartridges with triplex loads. elite experts like those mentioned in this Brad Marshall (triggers), Marshall Fire- Bob Gustafson of TIC heartily endorses article. The gun isn't flawless, but neither arms, 1154 N. Main St. Penacook, NH Texas Contender, Frank Kendrick's outfit is anything eke. . . and when you have top 03301. which does fine work converting Conten- people working to eradicate those few Steve Herrett, Herrett's Stocks, Box 741, ders with carbine-length barrels and rifle flaws, the result is a total concept that Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 stocks (don't use one without the other). comes sneaking right up on that elusive Pachmayr Grips, 1220 S. Grand Ave., He also has some other goodies that you quarry, Perfection. Once you learn to con- Los Angeles, Cal. 90015 might want to talk to him about. Perhaps tend with the idiosyncrasies of the Con- Bud Richards (grips), Richards Gun Re- more important, he runs Texas Contender tender, you'll find it a gun you truly can finishing, Barnstead, NH Gun Club, a group of TIC pistol enthusi- contend with, a gun that within its single- Texas Contender Gun Club and Custom- asts and collectors that has just gone na- shot limitation, takes a back seat to izing: R F. Kendrick, 4127 Weslow, tional. Write him at the address at the end nuthin'. Houston, Texas 77078

T TS unusual for people to start collecting 1 variations of a gun that has only been in production for ten years, but the Thompson/Center Contender is an unusu- al gun. Only a few people out there are getting in on the ground floor, so there's ample time if you start now. There are four eminently collectible variations of the Contender. They are: The flat-side. The original Contender made with no photoengraving or etch- it, and n " us thought it more anneal in the guns that

MBEH 1977 Rare Contender with Eagle etching (left) shown with the current Puma etch- ing. This Eagle is even more collectible with its no longer made 45/410 bbl. quickly followed it. The engraving got started within three months or less after the first gun rolled off the line, and this is the period where the guns weren'tsreally flooding off on a production line basis. There's damn few of them around, and if you can find one, for heaven's sake, rat- hole it away somewhere. The market hasn't hit anywhere near what it's going to for these rare guns. A flatside in a Mag- num chambering should be especially precious. The factory says it can't pinpont exactly how many flatsides are out there, but at most there are a thousand. The Eagle Contender. Somewhere around serial 1638, a handful of Con- tender pistols were made with an experi- mental engraving pattern that replaced the second puma on the right side of the frame with a defiant-looking eagle. Up un- tury mark, gunmakers across the country Contenders were completed. All had spe- tirthen, the only critter on the Contender vied for the honor of producing the of- cial serial numbers with an "X" prefix. was the puma, the same animal they ficial NRA Centennial Commemorative The gun shown in the accompanying named their first scope after. According Handguns. Daisy got it for BB guns, and photos bears the serial number X.3. Like to Warren Center, only four to six eagle- Colt got there first for real shootin' irons. the Eagle Contender #I638 seen here, it sided Contenders were produced. A col- You don't need me to tell you what an is part of the Brad Marshall Collection. lector, however, assures us that it's closer NRA Commemorative Colt is worth now, The .45/410. The innocent folks at to twenty-five. If you have one, check with with six investment-fattening years in be- TIC brought this out for sportsmen in a the factory on what caliber barrel was on it tween. classically sportsman-only gun, only to when it left the factory. This latter is some- In any case, Thompson-Center got into find that maybe-just-maybe it was in viola- thing that budding Contender collectors the race, and ran a small series of specially tion of the Federal Firearms Act and will want to pay note to, since twenty years engraved and gold-inlaid NRA Com- could be theoretically considered a sawed hence, it will enhance the value of the gun memorative guns. There was a production off shotgun. The ATF people, who despite if you can prove it's got the same barrel, holdup, however, and Warren Center told what you may have heard have a number or at least the same caliber barrel, as when me sadly that by the time he got one ready of consummate gun experts in their ranks, it left the factory. for NRA to look at, they had already given realized that anybody who wanted a The NRA Contender. In 1971, when the honor to Colt. sawed-off .410 wasn't going to buy a $145 the National Rifle Association hit its cen- Four or five NRA Commemorative Contender; he was going to buy a second- hand $30 shotgun and chop it . . . and while he was at it, he was probably going to move up to 12 gauge and steal the basic gun anyway. Nevertheless, an agreement was made (without any undue pressure by ATF) and production of the .45 Long Colt/.410 barrel option was halted. It was replaced with the Hotshot birdshot car- tridge and a series of choke attachments that were designed to straighten out the shot payload after it left the rifling. There has been no official ruling on the .45/.410, again because ATF is a prag- matic group with a lot of experts in it, and they know it's not a threat, especially be- cause the things are becoming collector's items, are totally unsuited to criminal use, and are more likely to repose in a safe de- posit box where nobody's gonna get at 'em. If worse came to worse and some martinet got into ATF and made a nega- tive ruling on it, the collector value would

Right side of super-rare NRA model; left side, showing the NRA emblem, is pictured on top of following page. be worth the special $200 license to keep producing subsmallbore barrels, it's it anyway. doubtful that they'll be made again. of the How many of them are out? "A number five .17 calibers TIC chambered for, the of them," says Warren. Center, and that's Mach IV, a .223 case necked down, ap- all you'll get from TIC. If you have one, pears to be the rarest. . keep it. There are other minor changes, most notable the switch from the elaborate Other Collectibles. That's about it fleur-de-lis engraving pattern to a simpler for extra value right now, but look for the and less finely etched one. Guns with the rarer production variations to get valuable former pattern might be worth another in the next ten or twenty years. If I had an five bucks now, but in twenty years, could early Contender with the skinny trigger well make the transition from your and long, arabesque trigger guard, I'd al- "recreation" ledger into the one marked most put it in a safe deposit box because 'investments.'' it's gonna be worth a decent piece of Contenders are just starting to bloom as change some day. collectors' pieces. Start now, catch 'em in The .17 Wildcat Contenders are also. the bud, and you might just have the full- worth hanging onto. Not that many were blossom centerpiece of a fine made, and because of complications in collection in the next few years.

Average Contender owner has 2.5 bbls. Some, like Brad Marshall, have 40 or more. , . >' .,*'? , , .

It's Not Exactly a Scope or - an Iron Sight, but it is an Amazing New Sighti . , ?b .,? ,- That's Quick and Accurate . ,. :Â¥* . + -1

. 7 Mounting the Insta-Sight on the ?is:;^ Contender is a simple 5-minute .$A''. .I job and it's not bad looking.

','**v -.. ' . '"V .. *' .., "i , y'.-< HE Insta-Sight is a compact, non- .,. X--> ;p%c.y tA%-$ .<;Â ' T magnifying optical sighting system for , TS^$ handguns. The sight is not a scope-there ,.;*;is no limit to the field of view and the sight

- 7 gives optimum performance when used with both eyes open. There is no obstruc- 2' -. - +ion of the natural field of view of the eyes * , and a green tapered translucent cross-hair ' with an open center appears to be super- 3;;, imposed on the target. The shooters accu-

- + - racy is correspondingly increased and the >-* , % . sight is fast and easy to use. I know that -?*: ' ' sounds like a hell of an endorsement of :.: , the sight, and it's meant to be. The sight *,:

+ . ' provides excellent performance and its : '- , ' -. . . ease of use compared to conventional iron a*f , sights is outstanding. The sight does have - ,- ' , . some disadvantages and they will be ex- 8, . plored later. F., . . Thompson/Center is not a manufactur- . er of optical equipment. The sight is Èl* , . manufactured by Precision Tool and Ma- chine Company of New Bremen, Ohio. , The sight was invented by Dr. G. E. Rick- Mounted on a revolver, the Insta-Sight amazed the author -, ert, a Huntington, Indiana optometrist with its double action capabilities. "Better than iron." who is an avid pistol shooter. After consid- ' . . erable development the RSP-106 design proved sturdy, reliable and economical to manufacture. ThompsonICenter and Pre- say it won't shake the reticle out of the agun to run out of eye relief on this gad- - cision Tool entered an agreement where- sight under recoil it either won't come get-its eye relief is 36 inches compared , by TIC is the exclusive distributor of the loose or they will either fix or replace it at ' .< to a maximum eye relief of 18-24 inches .< sight. List price is $73; bases cost $6.50. no cost to the customer. The problems as- for most handgun scopes. The sight itself employs interacting op- sociated with mounting scopes on heavy The problem of parallax is seldom dis- tical systems which have their elements recoiling handguns are effectively elimi- cussed regarding pistol scopes-but it is a j, mounted in two horizontal tubes. The \nated with this sight. It has a base which definite problem. A scope having parallax . , . ' - , tubes are arranged in a side by side con- securely attaches to the gun and the sight "walks" the cross hair across the target if . figuration which results in a practical . ': ' securely clamps to the base against an the scope is held steady and the shooters compact system (2'14" long x 1'/4" high). "anchor post" at the front of the base. Its head moved slightly. Parallax may be de- - The sight is of steel construction with a - .. , weight is only five ounces which gives it a fined as the apparent displacement of an -,r k ' reticle system they say will not shake loose terrific advantage in mounting versus the object as seen from two different points. It under recoil. I have not as yet mounted much heavier scopes. The sight is nitro- is impossible to have a scope or other op- the Insta-Sight on a hard-kicker, but TICS gen filled as are most of the better scopes. tical instrument absolutely parallax free at warranty ranks with the best, and if they It would really take a long armed sonof- more than one distance. Most pistol AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERKECEMBER 1977 53 .+ . ;;- *;' s:: :> .; scopes having magnification are parallax For normal usage this extends to 100-125 face of a high wall at about 50 yards. free at 100 vards. The Insta-Sieht is oaral- yards. For example, an ordinary tin can, Didn't get much ammo testing done the lax free at 50 yards. It does have a slight depending on its color, light conditions first day out as I made the mistake of tak- degree of parallax at 100 yards and fairly and surroundings may be impossible to ing 250 rounds of wadcutters along and easily detectable parallax at 200 yards. Be- distinguish clearly, at least for me, at just had so much fun playing with the In- ing a non magnifying handgun sight, I somewhere between 50 and 125 yards. sta-Sight on the K-38 I shot them all at don't consider this a particular disadvan- With the Insta-Sight~assumingyou, your rocks, tin cans, anything else that looked tage and have no quarrel with the manu- gun and ammo combination are capable like a decent target. I wasn't at all sur- facturers adjustment to provide freedom of the required accuracy-you can hit that prised at the single action speed and accu- from parallax at 50 yards. Eye to tube lati- can just about as far as you can see it. The racy but was frankly amazed at the double tude of alignment is much greater than Insta-Sight is, of course, useful for casual action capability of the sight. It's the best )that of any other optical sight I know. long range plinking. double action sight I've ever used; simply The sight itself can be mounted on just With the general range capabilities of put those green cross hairs on the target, about any handgun. Bases are available the sight in mind I first mounted it on a pull and hesitate when the cross hairs for the TIC Contender and virtually all TIC .22 Magnum. Both the .22 Magnum move off the target and pull again when popular revolvers. To the best of my and 5MM Remington TIC barrels deliver they are on and you have a'hit. The reticle knowledge, mounts are not yet available excellent performance on varmints to of the Insta-Siht allows you much more for any auto pistols but it would be a sim- somewhat over 100 yards with a slight control than iron sights simply because ple job to modify existing revolver bases edge going to the 5MM round. After play- you can see everything happening better. to fit almost any automatic. ing with the .22 MagnumIInsta-Sight com- It's not much of a trick at all with a little Mounting the base of the TIC Contend- bination for a couple hundred rounds with practice to keep a tin can hopping double er consists of simply removing the rear excellent results I switched the Insta-Sight action a lot farther than you can with iron sight and replacing it with the Insta-Sight to an old, well worn K-38. By some odd sights. The trajectory of .38 wadcutter base-a simple 3-5 minute job. The chance I just happened to have quite a bit loads at around 100 yards reminds me of screws should have Loc-Tite applied be- of .38 stuff laying around that needed test- the trajectory of a pig jumping a fence. fore they are installed. ing. Sighting in was no problem, simply Accordingly a lot of hold over is needed to Installing the base on any of the popular used a sheet of paper to rough it in at 15 hit at long wadcutter ranges. It's necessary revolvers having adjustable sights re- feet and finished the job on rocks in the to use the cross hairs like those of a scope for holdover but without the aid of mag- nification, somewhat more difficult. Sighted in dead on at 25 yards, some of the wadcutter loads will print 3-4 feet low at 100 yards and group very tightly. I found three outstanding wadcutter loads for the K-38. The Norma factory 148 grain, the Zero remanufactured wad- cutter load (selecting by headstamp) and a handload consisting of Federal small pis- tol primers, 2.5 grains of Norma R-1 pow- der behind the 148 grain LRS hollow base wadcutter lightly crimped with an R.C.B.S. taper crimp die. These three loads would consistently print six shot groups of less than one inch extreme spread at 25 yards from sandbag res! Sev- eral groups hovered close to the one half inch mark but none made it. An experi- mental 158 grain Hornady semi-wadcut- ter propelled by 3.5 grains of Norma R-1 is a full charge .38 Special load and it

Above: Here's what you see when looking through the sight. Below: A look at the Insta-Sight's simple optical system. r DICHROIC BEAM-SPLITTER quires removing the rear sight and drilling . , and tapping two holes through the top :a-, ,.--..< . strap. TIC includes the screws with the TARGET IMAGE ifcy-!.*Â¥ c,$ 7:;. base. I threw them away and used high +----- ,' 2.G :<: strength industrial 6-32 hex head socket screws. I've never been very favorably im- pressed with the generally weak, soft and weird size gun screws and never use them TARGET AREA

COLLIMATING grouped fairly consistently around three- it. Two guys said they were going to have justment is somewhat on the marginal fourths of an inch. The Norma R-1 pow- one on their muzzle loaders by next deer side and may require filing of an angle on der has practically the same applications season. the base to change elevation requirements as Bullseye but seems to burn cleaner and Disadvantages? Sure. Put an Insta- in some gun-caliber combinations. It's not drop a bit more uniformly from the mea- Sight on a revolver and you have holster at all unusual to find adjustable iron sights sure. I've obtained outstanding uniformity problems. The reticle is etched in glass- that do not have enough adjustment to and accuracy from it in several calibers. the image magnifies the reticle many take care of that problem, too. Perhaps Like Bullseye, it can't be pushed too far or times and the edges could be sharper. The that is an unfair criticism of the sight and pressures rise dramatically. manufacturer is working on that. The the real fault lies with the gun manufactur- The sight created quite a bit of interest sight is powered by existing light-no im- ers. I've seen at least five revolvers in the at the range and anyone who showed any age when the light is gone. It therefore past year that did not have enough adjust- interest at all-and many of them weren't isn't suitable for police usage. ment in their sights to allow them to be handgunners-were invited to try a cou- The elevation-windage adjustments are sighted in properly. One was a rather ex- ple of cylinders full. Everyone who tried it calibrated to change 1 inch per increment pensive imported .44 Magnum single ac- was quite enthusiastic about the sight, pri- for a maximum adjustment of plus or tion that shot at least 5 feet high at 100 marily because they were able to hit with minus 21 inchesat 50 yards. This max ad- yards with 240 grain factory loads after : < the sight ran out of adjustment. Frankly, I wasn't too impressed with the Insta-Sight the first time I saw it. I recog- nized many of its advantages and disad- vantages immediately. I wasn't really im- pressed with the test sight when it arrived, and remained unimpressed until I started shooting with it. Anything that improves my "hitability" gets me enthusiastic. The Insta-Sight does just that-it enables me to see the target better, concentrate on trigger squeeze and hit a lot better than I cai-with iron sights.

prepared!? If you believe that civilization may be on a short fuse which 1' could easily be ignited by: Terrorism. Monetary Collapse. Food Shortages. Nuclear Attack or Blackmail and Thermonuclear 1 Accidents,'' you should read SURVIVAL GUNS I by Mel Tappan - the only book devoted entirely

TAKES THEM ALL! There is really no contest! As soon as you mention "hunting handgun" you are left with the only sports pistol which was designed strictly for hunting. Pick your range and target (100 yards or better - varmints or big game). Contender offers a cartridge/barrel/gun/scope combination that will out perform the best of them. Contender offers 23 different interchange- able barrels for such cartridges as .22 More than 200 Photographs and Hornet, .222 Item., .256 Win., .357 Mag., Illustrations. 458 5%" x 8'14" Pages I .30/30 Win. It even offers the "top two Partial Contents: Choosing defense and Hunting Handguns. 1 I I wildcats", .30 and ,357 Herrett, which' Shotguns & Rifles Modifications and Maintenance Special are not about to be beaten by standard Purpose Weapons Accessories Learning Practical Shoot- I THOMPSONICENTER ARMS 1 factory fodder. Write for literature! ing * Ammunition * Handloading and More. I I Farrnington Road DeWTAH I SPECIAL BONUS: Personal Survival Batteries of Brad I Rochester, New Hampshire 03867 Angler, Jeff Cooper, Col. Burl Miller I 1 Name 1 Please send me -copy(ies) @ $7.95 plus 6% (per book) for postage and hndling. Send to: I 1 street I GUNS~~~~~inik,steuç,~cr I I RUM THOMPSONICENTER ARMS IMaa Farmington Road CHà Rochester, New Hampshire 03867 .

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977 THE MAUSER MILITARY PISTOLS when all these stocked Mausers may be legal and collectible. They are all too rare (Continued from page 31) and expensive and in the case of the 7.63 mm, too hard to find ammo for, to be used by a criminal. The 9 mm Luger cali terlocking parts. This statement has been were few gun books, I had seen the cut in ber Mausers are all well over the fifty. yea]. made so often that some people have Bannerman's catalog showing a Mauser old criteria. come to believe it. The earliest Mausers Military attached to its stock. The picture One final word to add to mine about the had a pin assembling the trigger into its had these exciting words of explanation: Mauser Military. These were written dur housing, and if equipped with a tangent "This is the Mauser automatic pistol, ing the Sudan campaign in 1899. sight, they also had a pin holding the leaf with detachable shoulder stock which "Among the more recent improve- into the barrel extension. Both these pins forms a holster for the piece when ments in firearms none should attract were eliminated in later production. not in use, the rear end being hinged more attention than the invention of There was always one screw holding the forming an opening for the insertion the magazine pistol. Several kinds - grip pieces to the frame. There is really of the arm-" are already in the market, and all pos- nothing wrong with pins or screws as long So when I saw my first Mauser Military in sess in varying degrees the same ad- as they remain in place. On the other a pawnshop in Tucson, Arizona, in 1937, vantages. Perhaps the best and the hand, the Colt Single Action revolver, with its stock/holster, I therefore knew best-known is the Mauser pattern. I loved by one and all, has been plagued, lo what I was seeing. But before I could raise write as almost the only British offi- these many years by nine or so screws that the required thirty-five dollars, the police cer who has used this weapon in ac- walk out during shooting. made the broker get rid of the stock thus tual war. Its superiority to the re- reducing my interest; in those days thirty- volver is plain. It fires ten rounds, CONCLUSION five dollars was a lot of money. Today, the whereas the revolver fires but six. It is What is so great about the Mauser original cone hammered,Mausers accom- sighted to 1000 yards, and shoots ef- then? To my mind it lies in theintricate panied by an original stock/holster are fectively to 800. The revolver is nev- machinery-the use of hardened steel considered legal because they were made er of any use beyond fifty yards, parts to avoid wear, and the superb finish- before 1898, also the large ring ham- although its bullet carries much far- ing of all metal parts. I also think that the mered pistols with an original stock/hol- ther. The pistol is self-loading, self- illegal stock/holster added a great deal to ster have been found to be "curios and cocking, self-ejecting. Its rate of fire the Mauser's appeal. I remember long relics" by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco is as fast as the trigger can be pulled. before I had ever seen a Mauser Military, and Firearms. This enlightened decision Its muzzle velocity is almost double in the pre-World War I1 days when there opens the way for, we can hope, a day that of the older weapon. It can be re- charged with ten rounds on a clip al- most as quickly as a single cartridge can be loaded into a revolver. By a cunning arrangement the recoil is uti- lized to eject, cock, and re-load; so that the hand remains steady while successive shots are fired. It is cheap- er and lighter. Finally, it is furnished with a case of light wood instead of leather, and this fits into the pistol- butt, making a handy and accurate carbine. In spite of all these compli- cations, the weapon did not get out of order in a country where the desert sand affects all machinery." So spoke young Lieutenant Winston Churchill with a great deal of insight into the future of the automatic pistol and spe- cifically to the quality of the Mauser Mili- tary. This obsolete eighty year old pistol is still carried today in the back waters of the world. The Mauser Military represents one of the early attempts to design a self- loading pistol. In the Mauser case, how- ever, the attempt was right in 1896 and so eighty years later it still can be enjoyed and even fired. It is this success that sepa- rates the Double M from all of its contemporaries.

IN NOVEMBER GUNS

James Mason tests the

new Detonics .45 auto

ON NEWSSTANDS OCT. 10th

, AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977 APPLICATION FOR MEMBI HIP IN TI AMERICAN PISTOL & REVOLVER ASSCX

ASSOCIATE $5, INDIVIDUAL $10, FAMILY $15, PATRON $25, LIFE $125, SPONSOR $250, ENDOWMENT $! (Associate is a non-voting membership, it includes nowcitizens and juniors over 12 yean of age, Individual members have full voting Patrons mav convert their memberships to a Life Membership. Sponsor and Endowment Memberships are also lifetime membershios)

Please enroll me (us) as a(n1 MEMBER of the AMERICAN PISTOL ana REVOLVER ASSOCIATION. I declare that I am a law abidinq citizen, over eiqhteen (twelve for Assoe iate) years of age, of sound mind, and I subscribe to the PRINCIPLES, PLATFORM and OBJECTIVES of the American Pistol and Revolver Association and to the Constitution of the United States of America.

MAME (S) DATE

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OCCUPATION COMPANY

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, I 1 MAIL TO DAY!^ 512 EAST WILSON AVENUE,Suite301 GLENDALE,CALIFORNIA 91206

A Pictorial History -7 NEW! of the- - 18%---- , 4 PRECISE REPRODUCTIONS OF . . Self-loading Pistol - Model I8M. FABULOUS OLD MANUALS by Breathed and Schroeder Still . . . the truly comprehensive book on the famous RGMANN: 16 pages with two large fo~douts, in "Broomhandle" Mauser. Over 400 photos- and English ...... $4.00 illustrations of more than IOOvariations. Also included: major competitors' copies as well as many Mauser ex- 1898 SCHWARZLOSE: 20 pages, profusely illustrated, in perimental~not on the 1896 pattern. 274 pages, heavy English...... S4.00 duty library binding. Only $15.00 postpaid U.S. Funds PLEASE SEND ME C.O.D. m LUGERS AT RANDOM &-.- N .copies of SYSTEM MAUSER ...... ea. $15.00 by Charles Kenyon à .copies of LUGERS AT RANDOM ...... ea. $17.50 s .copies of 18% BERGMANN manual...... ea. $4.00 BIGGER PAGES - BIGGER PHOTOS - -M .copies of 1898 SCHWARZLOSE manual...... ea. $4.00 0 Over 400 of them! 11" wide Total over 500! Most models e - 8%" high.. pictured full size. - 1 BIGGER COVERAGE - Includes. . . 1898/99 Transition, 1900 Bulgarian, Prototype Carbines, 0 Address hhot "GL," plus many, many more previously unreported variations. 3u City State Zip. Only $17.50 postpaid U.S. Funds. - zu NOTE: Enclose your check or money order and we ship prepaid, saving you 5832 S. Green St. A postage and C.O.D. charges. SEND TO: HANDGUN PRESS 5832 S. GREEN ST., FROM HANDGUN PRESS CHICAGO, ILL 60621. NEW!

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FIRST CLABB PERMIT NO. 170 aSKOKIE, ILL. BUSINESS REPLY MAIL I BSAR STATES

THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAGAZINE 8150 NORTH CENTRAL PARK - SKOKIE, ILLINOIS 60076 - on m

Sixty years ago, you could hear the patter of little feet here as Wesson family have a lot in common. children from around the countryside came to learn their ABC's at the school house on Main Street in Monson, Massachusetts. Those Both have been around here for a long time. And both date back to children have since grown up - - as have their children and the days when people took pride in craftsmanship. grandchildren - - but the schoolhouse has remained, a reminder of the days when things were built to last. Back before the turn of the century Dan Wesson's father (and before that his grandfather and great-grandfather) was hanufactur- Today, the schoolhouse is the home of Dan Wesson Arms, Inc., ing guns with care and pride. manufacturers of the most accurate, the most versatile, the most dependable 381.357 magnum double-action revolvers on the Today, with modern precision machiningtechniques, Dan carries market - - bar none. on that proud tradition of fine craftsmanship by producing unique revolvers unmatched for accuracy, versatility and dependability. ,'!

And, like the old schoolhouse, they're built to last.

the features that make Dan Wesson revolvers unique

Unique, exclusive QUICK- Exclusive interchangeable A white outline on the rear Unique placement of the cyl- SHIfTintarchangeable barrel QUICKSWFTfront tight light h standard equipment inder latch d-to ttx bar- oasemblieÃare available in blades with red irwara are on all target models, offering rel-cylinder gap (tabitee* the 2%", 4",6" and 8" lengths standard on target mod&, shooters a finer tight picture. cylinder In UsÂ¥llgnmento as wall as new 10,12" and offering the Â¥nooteeven the barrel, tiding bcwrscy. 15" lengthsand, for target re- greater oooortunltvforin- volvers, in 4 styles of bad created &curacy. (yellow shrouds (regular, regular with and white ere ateo available.) ventilated rib, hsavy, heavy with ventilated rib). To begin, choose an 8 Dan Wesson revolver in the Series of your choice. Then add three more interchangeable QUICKSWFTbarrelassemblies (2%",

Beautifully gnkied walnut ', four additional colored front sight And now, to accommodate long range and zabrewood grips am in- handgun hunting and matalk sllhou- ette Â¥hootin enthusiasts, Dan We~on .?2z blem. Place them in a handsome carry- from four (tyiw: Overeize tar- introduces 10" 12" and 16" inter- eat smooth or chackomd changeable barrel a~ambllÃfor all tar- walnut or zebrawood), Corn- ^get md^s. bat booth walnut), or Sac- ranwrtolsmoothvinut). Model 15-2VH8 Ateo available, a walnut blank Intoned to fit the gun, for those who wbh to carve their Patent Pending own grip. For more information write Dept. 16-W Am'& lnC. 293 Moti Street, Monson, MA 01057 (413) 267-4081 Five year warranty on every revolver

. . . . . j.. . ; -2 ;;-J-.tSA^a^^i : ¥AtI' m^&f-yK '?' THE AMERICAN HAMMxUNNER ^^> 8150 North Central Park Ave., Skokie, Illinois 60076

Dear Readers :

The AMERICAN HANDGUNNER is now over a year old, and I thought it the right time to let you know how we are doing. In a word, GREAT! The response to the magazine has been most gratifying. Sure, we did some things wrong, and we'll freely admit to them. We printed too few copies of our early issues and were unable to fill orders of those who wanted a complete set. We also bobbled a few of the early subscriptions until we sat down and had a long talk with our computer.

Evidently we did do some things right. We now have more than 100,000 readers (subscription and newsstand combined) and we're still growing.

To keep growing we need the continued support of our readers. This means a continuation of the letters with comments, criticisms and sug- gestions; support by our readers of the firms who advertise in the maga- zine and, most important, as many new readers as we can get. You can help by telling your handgunner friends about the magazine and urging them to subscribe.

With this issue, you'll notice some things we have done to enlarge the scope and interest of the magazine. We welcome a new name to the masthead, Jeff Cooper. If you need an introduction to this man, you haven't been following the handgun scene lately. In addition to his magazine writing and books, Cooper is a founder of the International Practical Shooting Confederation and acting President; he is also the head of the American Pistol Institute with facilities at "Gunsite" in Paulden, Arizona.

The AMERICAN HANDGUNNER has recently been named the official magazine of the Outstanding American Handgunner Awards Foundation. We welcome all of those readers who will be receiving the magazine as part of their membership. The Foundation has been reorganized, with Larry Kelly of Mag-Na-Port as Chairman, and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the vitality of the programs planned for the future. Check the Foundation's page in this issue and join the ranks of those dedicated handgunners who are working to perpetuate the sport of handgun shooting.

My sincerest thanks to all of our readers. Stay with us - - we've dedi- cated ourselves to giving you the kind of magazine you want and deserve. HARLON CARTER: 1977 OUTSTANDING AMERICAN HANDGUNNER

incinnati was the place and the spe- Richardson, Charter Arms, Custom Gun c cific location was the Hall of Mirrors Shop, and Interarms. In addition, in the Netherland Hilton Hotel. There we numerous other manufacturers donated saw over 200 paying guests-the largest door prizes and raffle prizes of belts,'hol- crowd ever-swarm in to participate in stem, buckles, knives, books, magazine the Fifth Annual Outstanding American subscriptions, and the like. Most note- Handgunner Award. worthy of this group was Remington Knowledgeable folks know that this which supplied a M700 BDL rifle. award program originated with Lee Jurras Bill Jordan did his usual great job as who got it off the ground in 1973. Jurras Master of Ceremonies, and the Rev. Russ no longer has anything to do with the pro- Meek presided as Chaplain. The Rev. gram; it's now under the direction of Lar- Meek is a badge-carrying preacher who ry Kelly (president of Mag-Na-Port) and a believes in the Second Amendment and board of directors. From that first affair in individual rights. The ~rincinaladdress Shelbyville, Ind., it has grown until now was delivered by Rock Rohlfihg, director the ceremonies are conducted in conjunc- of the National Shooting Sports Founda- tion with the NRA Annual Members' tion. Meeting. All things considered, the 1977 Out- Harlan Carter, now executive VP of the standing American Handgunner Award NRA, was chosen this year to receive the ceremony was an unqualified success, the prestigous award, a beautifully-done biggest and best ever. Harlon Carter bronze statuette of a handgunner in a typi- joined past recipients Elmer Keith ('73), cal field shooting stance. Foremost in the Col. Charles Adkiins ('74), Bill Ruger reasons for Carter's selection was certain- ('75), and Bill Jordan ('76) as the elite ly his tireless effort in organizing and di- group whose contributions to the sport recting the NRA's Institute for Legislative Wesson, Blankenship, and Benner were have been recognized above all others. Action (1LA)to fight anti-gun (especially present to accept personally. Presentation In closing it should be noted that anti-handgun) legislation. In an incredibly guns for the absent candidates, were ac- the Outstanding American Handgunner short time, Carter took ILA from a bare cepted by stand-ins, probably the most Award Foundation is a more healthy, via- concept to a dynamic and effective organ- impressive of the lot being Jack Lewis, ble, and forward-looking organization ization which has been beating down the publisher of "Gun World" magazine, who than ever before. The board of directors anti-gunners. He has also been known for accepted for John Wayne. has been pared down to increase flexibility years as a pistolero of considerable note, All of these men have contributed and a consultant has been engaged to han- and is a skilled author as well. mightily in dozens of ways to handgun dle both public relations and a myriad of Congratulations, Harlan; well done and promotion, though not necessarily by administrative details that are so difficult well earned. shooting. Shooting is just one of a great to coordinate amongst volunteer help Carter was by no means the sole partici- many waysin which the public image of thousands of miles apart. Perhaps even pant. The balance of the ten (the "Top handgunning may be enhanced. more important is the arrangement Ten") candidates for the award consisted Lee E. Jurras, who originated the award whereby "The American Handgunner," of: Joe Benner, (National Pistol Cham- in 1973 after years of planning, was this magazine, will function as the official pion six times and winner of five Pan honored with a special award. This was a organ of the OAHGAF. Along with this, American Games Gold Medals); Bill modified and customized Ruger Super each new member will receive American Blankenship, (six times National Pistol Black Hawk .44 Magnum revolver pre- Handgunner regularly along with his Champion); Warren Center (Thomp- pared and presented by Len Trapper. membership. sodcenter Arms); Steve Herrett, who Industry participation was greater this More changes are in the mill for makes Herretts Stocks; Senator James year than ever before, with presentation OAHFAF, all intended to make it more McClure of Idaho, a pro-gun legislator, guns supplied by ThompsodCenter, Colt, viable and more responsive to handgun George C. Nonte, prolific author, ex-law- Sturm Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Navy enthusiasts throughout the man and author Skeeter Skelton; the ubi- Arms, Dan Wesson Arms, Harrington & nation. This we like. quitous John Wayne, forever smoking up the TV and movie screen with SA Colt in hand; and Dan Wesson, founder of Wes- son Arms and great-grandson of D. B. Wesson, one of the founders of Smith & Wesson. Only five of the ten candidates were able to attend the ceremony, the others were kept away by assorted and unfortu- nate reasons. Those present of course, were called forward by Master of Cere- monies, Bill Jordan, to be presented with a special handgun by one of the partici- pating manufacturers. Carter, Nonte, Harlon Carter (center) with, L-R; Jordon, Askins, Keith and Bill Ruger. AMERICAN H GUNNER h The Author Takes a Look at Some of the New Holsters Designed For Winning the Competitive Combat Matches

By RICK MILLER

subject of holsters is, without doubt, one of the most THEfascinating areas of special interest to every serious hand- gunner. Perhaps this undying attention of the shooter stems from the fact that most handgun leather is designed to fulfill only one specific task. It is true that some gun rigs may be suc- cessfully put to more uses than originally intended, but by and large, most are designed with one fairly narrow purpose in mind. This necessitates a collection of different holsters with vary- ing features and qualities to suit an individual's tastes and needs. As can be imagined, this variety can lead to some lively discussion when proponents of differing designs get together! One of the most interesting types to be developed over the past fifteen years or so, is the competition speed holster. The primary mission of this equipment is simply to allow as quick and effortless a draw as is possible. Some of the early speed rigs were rather simple and imprac- tical affairs that gave no consideration to any important char- . acteristics aside from the quick draw. The past few years have seen some correction of this trend, however, and more recent examples of what we shall call the "speed rig" are quite practi- cal in some situations, apart from competition shooting. This evolving improvement is due largely to the original concepts of the sport of practical pistol shooting, one element of which is diversity. By posing different problems to the shooter through the simple expedient of using a wide variety of courses, the evolution of more practical equipment has been encouraged. If an idea works out in competition, you can rest assured that it will soon be emulated or possibly refined even further. Likewise, if an innovation proves to be uncompetitive or unsound, it will soon be dropped. The idea after all, is to win. and only the eaui~ment.ideas, and techniaues that work outbest in unrestricted freestyle c&npetiti of true practical value.

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERDECEMBER 1977 At the recent Columbia International Bianchi's Model 56 features tne Combat Pistol Conference the forty-five thumb break retainer and is quite delegates in attendance voted unanimous- popular with DA revolver shooters. ly to keep holster rules to a bare mini- 1 mum, so that progress already made in . this area will not be stifled When the by- laws were outlined at Columbia for the newly formed International Practical Some models were so impractical in fact, ' Shooting Confederation it was carefully that if the shooter sat down in a chair his I stipulated that the shooter should be al- pistol was in danger of winding up on the lowed to meet each problem with his om floor! I ingenuity and equipment The IPSC was This sort of insecure foolishness is now formed to regulate the increasingly popu- pretty much a thing of the past. lar sport of practical pistol shooting on a The first really successful attempt at de- world wide basis, and these rules should a secure speed rig for revolvers help to keep the sport from becoming musts*infv2 credited to Berns-Martin. This overly restricted. gun rig predates the days of combat com- The result of all this sifting and refining petition shooting, but is none the less

I-Itta H Rigs

of ideas has naturally had an important practical and worthy of mention. Their impact on the speed rig as we know it to- breakfront holster was so constructed (hat day. The equipment we work with now is the revolver was firmly held in place *bya far superior in terms of practicality to that strong leather covered spring gripping which was in use only a few short years around the cylinder from the bac of the ago. This does not mean that the original holster. concept of all out speed has been compro- All die shooter had to do when drawing ' mised in any way. Indeed, the rigs in use from a Bems-Martin rig was to simply now are every bit as quick into action as shove the wea on straight forward anything that has gone before. through the split & ont of the holster. One While we are on the subject of speed, quick forward tbrost of the gun hand did we should re-emphasize that these mod- the job. At all other times the revolver was em rigs do serve some very useful and securely held in place by spring tension. practical purposes. The outfits now in use The first really practical retaining de- are very fast, but they do not sacrifice oth- vice for auto pistol holsters was the Carl fly off a/trsf~,or "pop off keeper", as it was sometimes called. Combat Master Elden Carl dm-igned this unique keeper in the early 1960's as a better alternative to the conventional snap down retaining strop. ' The conventional "safely" strap does à good job of keeping the weapon in the- holster where it belongs, but when A bit later we will take a closer look at snapped in place over the pistol it makes the speed rig's possible practical applica- any kind of quick draw almost impossible. tion, but first 1think it would prove inter- While this method of securing the pistol is eating if we delve into the physical charac- still widely used and accepted, it is a rath- teristics of this piece of equipment. er oor system at 'best. Probably the most important feature of Cari's off strap corn* of a loop f current design falls within the area of im- which passeswer the hammer and tang of proved security. Most early outfits made the pistdl and is attached under tension by no provision for keeping the pistol safely one snap to the outride of the holster. To Milt sparks' #I20 rig features in the leather while the wearer was en- shooter disengage, the simply brings' his metal lines shank, a tension screw ed in itmy type of strenuous activity. thumb up under the long tab low the for security ai slide rails. Old Bianch Cooper rig has the Design by Bruce Nelson is a good The Snick is a black plastic break- Carl fly-off strap. When released, example of a modern forward rake front design. It is fast, durable, strap leaves both holster and gun. duty rig for big bore autoloaders. and lightweight with minimum bulk.

snap. When released by the thumb the through the friction holding it in place. Bruce Nelson, who happens to be a police strap instantly pops away from both pistol Tension may be increased or decreased by officer as well as a top competition shoot- and holster, leaving nothing in the path of a simple turn of the screw to satisfy any in- er in,the Southwest Pistol League, has told the hand that might cause fumbling. dividual taste or need. me that he has regularly worn a forward Of recent years the thumb break retain- Holsters incorporating the friction rake rig while on duty. His reasoning is ing system has proven to be even more screw provide just about the best balance that if an officer ever needs his sidearm, practical and popular than the fly off of speed and security that is currently he will need it very quickly. Therefore, us- strap. This design brings the strap up over available. Tension holds the pistol posi- ing the best equipment available is only the pistol between firing pin and cocked tively against anything but the snitch, and good common sense. hammer. The snap and thumb tab are it is every bit as fast as a holster with no Another feature that helps provide a placed so that as the hand falls onto the keeper at all. Since no useful holster is ab- smooth draw is the metal lined shank butt the thumb releases the snap just be- solutely snitch proof, I think this arrange- found in most current speed rigs. This fore the weapon is drawn. This arrange- ment makes a very good compromise. metal re-enforcement stiffens the holster ment is neat, quick, secure, and relatively One feature that has very nearly be- and helps keep the leather from binding fumble free. As such, it has much practi- come a trademark of the speed rig is the when the pistol is drawn. In addition, this cal value in law enforcement work. The forward rake built into most models. In metal lining should extend up into the . thumb break's popularity with both re- this configuration, the butt of the pistol is loop and help to anchor the holster firmly volver and auto users is reflected in the usually raked back from the vertical about to the belt. A leg tie do- is completely I many different models currently available. eighteen or twenty degrees with the muz- unnecessary with this arrangement, and ! Perhaps the ultimate retention device is zle leading the breech. This positioning of this impractical and unsightly nuisance the friction set screw found on the custom the weapon allows more natural contact can just be forgotten. speed rigs of Andy Anderson and Milt between the hand and pistol butt, with less On Milt Sparks' #120 Combat Rig two Sparks. This arrangement holds the pistol bending of the wrist Since the forward brass screws pass through the metal in the securely in the leather for any strenuous rake puts the shooter in a less awkward loop from the back and anchor into the activity, yet permits an instantaneous draw position during the draw, both draw speed belt itself, positively looking both togeth- by simply pulling through the friction and control are enhanced. er. This provides ideal rigidity and keeps On the Anderson Thunderbolt rig the Some shooters tend to dismiss the for- the pistol in exactly the same position at screw is positioned on the side of the hol- ward rake speed rig as being a frivilous all times, an essential requirement for ster and when adjusted puts pressure on and impractical nuisance. In reality, a well quick draw work. This metal re-enforce- the side of the istol's slide. With the Milt designed rig with forward rake can be ment is carefully contoured for comfort, Sparks #120 fombat rig the screw is lo- comfortable, practical for police uniform and I've worn my Sparks' rig for seven or cated in the welt near the toe of the holster wear, and very effective when put into ac- eight hours with no discomfort. and puts pressure on the slide. tion. The reason that almost all top com- The gunbelt itself is usually two and a With both there are no straps, tabs, or petitors use this type of outfit is simple, it quarter to two and one half inches wide snaps to release or fumble with. The wins the matches in which speed counts. and made UD of a double thickness of shooter just draws the pistol straight As far as practicality is concerned, heavy leather. The whole outfit when new

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBE for most popular autopistols and some re- volver models. It is made of "spring" plas- tic and has a split front, in much the same fashion as the old Berns-Martin design. On drawing from the model the pistol is simply thrust straight forward through the front of the holster in one quick motion I've been playing with one for my .45 Commander for some time now, and once you get the hang of it, the Snick is surpris- ingly quick and effective. The thing that strikes me most is the simplicity of this lit- tle holster, it is a no nonsense, no frills, but very practical design. It is also one of -the few really quick outfits that is readily concealable, another plus. WHM Enterprises, (6535 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048) the com- pany that manufactures the Snick also markets an unobtrusive single magazine carrier of the same black plastic that fits horizontally on the belt. The magazine rides comfortably and unnoticed in this position. When drawing the spare maga- zine you pull it forward instead of up to free it from this holder. As can be gathered from all the forego- A slow back roll is one of the standard tests of the International ing, the evolution of the modem speed rig Practical Shooting Confederation to check holster security. The has been continuing and extensive. But pistol must stay in the holster before shooter is allowed on the line. the question still lingers, if this sort-of equipment has any practical application aside from the competition grind? I think the answer has to be a definite yes. As a uniform duty rig for civilian or military police this type of equipment has is quite stiff, but with a little use it limbers different makes of revolver speed loaders, a lot going for it. The gun rigs described in up a bit and soon fits comfortably. and most of them offer the potential of this article are comfortable, secure, quick One minimum bulk rig that qualifies as speed in reloading approaching that of a into action, sturdy, and adaptable to a a full race speed holster, and is also qu,ite well handled autoloader. The only rub is wide range of duty situations. As the re- practical for continuous wear is the that it will take very dilligent practice to volver is slowly and somewhat grudgingly "Hackathorn Special" as made by Milt realize this potential. being replaced by the more efficient auto- Sparks. This is a high ride forward rake Another nifty item that deserves men- loading pistol in US. police circles, so to, holster that is worn on a stiff waist belt in tion here really doesn't lookglike much at will the modem forward rake duty holster the appendix position. It also features first glance. The Snick holster is a homely gain popularity over the older Milt's friction screw and sight rails. little black clastic carrier that is now made styles of gun harness. Among the larger holster companies, both Safariland and Bianchi market ver- sions of the forward rake duty rig. They both utilize the thumb break retaining de- vice, and are good- sturdy outfits for the money. Another essential feature of any good speed rig is the fast grab magazine pouch This handy little device rides on the gun- belt at the shooter's left side and usually holds two magazines ready for a quick re- load. About one third of each magazine is exposed above the leather so that the shooter may easily grasp it with no fum- bling or lost motion. A leather tab passes between the two magazines and provides enough tension to keep them in place un- til thev are needed In this area the wheelgun shooter has not been neglected. Various types of pouches have been developed to hold the

Ken Hackathorn makes quick reload during a match. Anderson fast grab magazine pouch makes it a snap.

AMERICAN HANOGUNNER NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1977 THE

-. oak- tanned leather. Rich ord do- van finish. Hand polished. Full top grain leather oermanentlv molded and form fit for your gun. Plain and flowered mod- SHOULD WE CHANGE THE PPC?-PART II els, for sin Ie and double action auto- matics an] revolvers - natural or hi- gloss blacks. By MASSAD F. AYOOB HUNTER OFFERS HIGH QUALITYILOW PRICES,  in Holsters for Automatics and Revol- AST ISSUE, we looked at some of the the Douglas Premium barrel, the BoMar vers. Cartridge Belts, Rifle Scabbards L reasons it's fashionable to criticize rib, and the speedloader. and Cases, Shell Bags and Carriers, Clip the Practical Police Course as a meaning- The Douglas tube, usually an inch in di- Holders, Cartridge Boxes, Slings, Police Holsters, Sam Browne Belts. less game~andat some arguments in fa- ameter or a little more, works for the See your dealer today. vor of the PPC as a training and practice same reasons such a barrel increases THE HUNTER COMPANY tool. This month, we'll look at The Guns sporting rifle accuracy: the weight makes 3300 West 71st Ave. Westminster. Colo. 80030 of the PPC Shooters, and see how they've balance, hold, and "hang" all far steadier, evolved, and whether, for various reasons, the superb quality of the custom tube and they've gone too tar. its rifling often exceeds that of the gun When I started in '72, PPC hadn't manufacturers; and the rifling can be ad- evolved a whole hell of a lot more than the justed for a particular load, in this case, a days in the early sixties when Colt's and 148-grain hollowbase wadcutter driven by the University of Indiana started the whole 2.3 to 3.0 grains of Bullseye. Douglas' thing. Guns that won were six-inch Py- 1:lO" to 1:14" twist throws a wadcutter thons or K-385, usually with the main- truer than the 1:18.75 twist of a standard springs lightened and the actions slicked, S&W barrel designed for round-nose but otherwise, pretty stock. The same service loads. T.C. Mount genre of gun is seen today in the Distin- The BoMar rib added still more steady- guished match, in which a strictly "facto- ing weight, plus a sheer, flat, easy-to-see other caliber*. Under 2.502.-~- ~erianed- and ry" revolver is supposed to be all that's al- sight surface. Perhaps most important, it tÑfdtoÇt on. lowed. was precision-adjustable to a much finer SENDFrn OURNEW FREE CATALOG w But in the seventies. PPC was becoming" degree than standard adjustable sights of 1 IB] SQUARE CO. K$%B2;:%a sophisticated science, and three things factory revolvers, and these adjustments --"-" "-" .---.-" --- . happened to change the face of the sport: and the height of the tall, undercut front

PROBLEMS??? ~>Dos£OIL

SOLUTIONS!!!

At your local dealer or write us: ZIP AEROSOL PRODUCTS 21320 Deering Court, Dept. AH-11 THE THE THE THE THE THE Canoga Park, Calif. 91304 SUPER LUBRICATING DRY LEATHER WOOD GLARE DECREASE? PROTECTOR LUBRICATOR GUARD GUARD . STOPPER I @ Mitann Inc. 1977

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1977 post allowed you to crank the rear sight down enough that you could "6 o'clock" the head or neck and drop your bullets into the diaphragm-area X-ring of the sil- houette. This gave a precise aiming point at fifty yards, instead of vague area-aiming at the center chest; at that distance, the target rings aren't readily visible to the naked eye. Finally, speedloaders cut reloading time from ten seconds or so to five or six, less in experienced hands. That left time to hold and slowly squeeze. The pressure was gone. With these advents accepted into the rules, the game had become, as many critics pointed out, "Bullseye target shoot- ing, only double action and a little quicker for different positions." I'm not too thrilled about the rules that allow these guns. I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to put the many fine PPC- gun builders out of business. I own two su- perb PPC revolvers, a full-house Ron Power S&W .38 conversion with 1:14" twist Douglas barrel and BoMar sights, and a Moran-customized Python. I need those guns if I'm going to compete against others who are similarly equipped; a stock Military & Police .38 might give me a more "realistic" shooting experience, but it would also lose the match for me before ,-I stepped on the firing line. ^¥. ,:,I, Speedloaders? A lot of local match di- rectors ban them on the theory that they're not really practical or acceptable street police equipment This is some- Pistol Bullets bv thing I'd argue with, and though I was one of the strongest opponents of mechanical loading devices in my own local matches, [ eventually endorsed them as I saw more street cops going to them. In some parts The performance you've been looking for from your handgun is as of the South and Southwest, they're virtu close as your local Hornady dealer. Whether it's law enforcement, ally standard equipment for all sixgun. hunting, target or-general shooting purposes, there's a Homady packing lawmen. They are eminenti) handgun bullet that will meet or exceed your performance stan- practical, and it is no longer realistic to dards of accuracy, dependability, expansion and stopping power. ban them. Even if a cop's department uni Now you can select your favorite caliber and weight from 15 differ- form "regs" don't allow him to cam ent jacketed pistol bullets. Load a box and try them under your speed-loaders on duty, he can still buj own shooting conditions. You'll see why more and more handgun- them for less than $5 a piece for the ners are choosing Hornady for performance. matches; cost is not prohibitive. , Cost does get prohibitive when you talk custom PPC guns. Not counting the prict of the basic revolver, you're well ovei NEW! $100 and closer to two or more once yoi 9mm cal. 90 gr. HP 45 cal. get a complete barrel-and-rib job, plus cyl 185 gr. inder tightening, action slicking, etc. I'vt Target ACP had many cops come to our shoots as firs time competitors who would take ont look at the Douglas-barrel guns on the fir 45 cal. ing line, look pathetically down at thei 185 gr. HP four-inch M&P or Combat Mag that the' ACP . carried on duty, and turn on their heel an( Colt HP walk away. They couldn't compete agains 45 cal. that kind of hardware, and they knew it ;3$gr.FMJ 1 44 cal. 240 gr. HP We were losing the people we were run Hornady has 6 great ning the match to help. I swaged Lead Bullets, too. This is one reason I've always been ii 106 bullets for handloading. Write for information. favor of limiting PPC competition to four 1 inch barrel, stock revolvers, permittinj only light customizing. Lots of street cop - mady Bullets wear custom grips and have coloret -- P.O. Box 1848, Dept. AH-1 1 Grand Island, Nebr. 68801 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1 977 67 sights; those should be allowed. So should who competes in one of the few areas BROWNING BDA action slick-ups (really, there's no way you where the "you must shoot your duty gun" (Continued frornbpage27) could enforce a rule against them), and rule is applied. He got department permis- many cops do have custom actions in sion to carry on duty a Bill Davis-built their duty guns. But stuff that's clearly im- K-38 with 5" heavy barrel and Davis' own practical for duty-heavy barrels and ribs rib with Elliason sights. He packs it in a that raise weight to sixty ounces some- chanisms, then adapting them and com- Bianchi breakfront, and it is his duty gun bining them into a functional whole. times-these guns don't have the same officially, and it will outshoot almost any- We were a bit handicapped'in that when handling characteristics as what the cop thing any other cop in the county is al- packs on the street. The handle-shape and the sample BDA was received not much lowed to bring to an area match. variety in the way of 9mm Parabellurn action-feel may be roughly the same, but A similar rule was suggested in my there the resemblance ceases, and with it, ammunition was immediately available. state, and I was one of many who turned There were odds and ends of several the illusion that the cop is practicing to thumbs down on it. My department lets us defend his life with his duty weapon. This, makes and lots, but no great quantity of carry anything we want, and my partner anything except several hundred rounds after all, is the raison d'etre of PPC shoot- Dick Brown and I, the top two shots on ing. of just-received, Dynamit Nobel, service the force, wear highly customized and su- loads. This clattered through the BDA Some have argued, "The officer should per-accurate .45 autos. A much larger city without a single hitch. Recoil was moder- be required to shoot his duty weapon, and adjacent to us allows the officers to carry ate and functioning was ' flawless; and furnish proof at the match that the gun he nothing but the model 10 S&W, and they while no great stress was laid on accuracy, shoots is the one he carries on duty." A can't even put grip adapters on them. at 50 yards it hit where it looked. Small nice theory, but it doesn't work in prac- (Ruins the uniform appearance, you quantities of assorted other makes and tice. Last year, I shot in the Niles, Illinois know.) A match under those rules would loads were tried next, and attempts were $3,000 purse combat shoot, an extremely favor us enormously, and people are sur- made to shoot the tightest possible groups innovative and well-run match that had a prised that we oppose the change. But we with a small batch of Smith & Wessons' lot of fast and darkness shooting, and know that nobody is going to come out to 115-grain, FMJ, semi-wadcutter loads. which required you to shoot the gun you shoot against our .45s, and the whole con- From standing, shooting two-handed, this carried on duty. Out of 130 shooters, most cept of PPC competition as a training aid load grouped inside three inches (five using 4" .38s and .357s, three of the four for the,.spectym of police officers would shot groups) at 25 yards. An international, of us who finished tops were using non- go out the window. slow-fire shooter might not think much of standard guns. The winner, Stan Kubas, What we did manage to do was get per- that level of accuracy, but I have encount- used a target-sighted 5" 111127,his duty mission from NRA that in our State ered a great many military and police type gun; I used the BoMar sighted and accu- Championship PPC match, we could re- 9mm autoloaders that would not do near- rized National Match .45 auto I carry on strict the State Resident Champion titles, ly as well. Certainly accuracy of this order duty (and furnished a letter from my chief individual and team, to officers from with- is more than adequate for the uses to stating that this was my approved service in the state who fired 4" revolvers without which a pistol of this type will ordinarily be handgun); another man used his issue 6" heavy barrels or sight ribs. The turnout we put. Remember, in its current form it is a Combat Mag and department-approved got in response to that rule change was service pistol. HKS speedloaders. Guys with standard phenomenal. Dick Brown won the shoot Because of the great popularity of high- service revolvers and belt ammo pouches with a 467 out of 1500, posted with a velocity, expanding-bullet ammunition couldn't have hit the scores we tallied with WWII-surplus, fixed-sight Victory S&W. these days, several varieties were fired. our specialized but department-approved guns. And they didn't. The notable excep- Make the PPC mor;realistic?~ake it more inviting to the average cop in the tion was Don Evangelista of Chicago PD, who used a 4", fixed sight, stainless M&P street, the guy it was designed to help in 1 PRECISION to come in third. Don is a superb marks- the first place? I think it's a terrific idea, EUROPEAN man who, had he used hardware on the and I think the way to do it would be to limit the guns to factory format, four inch PELLET AIR same level as the other three of us, would RIFLES have quite likely finished first. barrels, custom grips and actions option- al; allow sight guards, colored sights, and PISTOLS A true master shooter can adjust to the precision adjustable low profile sights- AND RE change from custom PPC gun to 4" serv- Elliasons on a Colt and Behlert's on a ACCESS -....- ice weapon. Our Granite State shoots have Smith, but not BoMar or Davis ribs, or World'8 largut dealer Èervin the discriminating for years had "open revolver" categories Douglas barrels-and permit any kind of adult air gun market since 1963. Satisfaction gum. and "service revolver" categories, the lat- leather suitable for duty use. The relative- and. Informative catalog free; write today. ter for 4" stock pieces. A Jim Cirillo or ly small number of officers who carry 6" AIR RIFLE HEADQ,UAIITERS INC John DeChellis would shoot the same 588 revolvers, or auto pistols, could adapt to DEPT. #eO SrillbV 11Ç W. 26/47 out of 600 with the M&P as with the $400 this format more easily and cheaply than custom weapon, but the average shooter the vast majority of cops who carry 4" was often fifty points between guns. .38s or .357s, and don't have a salary con- What I'm saying is that the really top ducive to the several-hundred-dollar cus- people wouldn't be losing anything if the tom PPC guns now needed to win. rules were changed to 4" stock service I'd like to change the PPC. I'd like to guns, and the "little guys" would be get- make it faster, and I'd like to have more ting a hell of a lot. The average cop would one hand (especially weak hand) shooting now be able to enter a shoot with the gun in it, and I'd like to eliminate the really ex- he carries on duty and not be hardware- traneous things like the sitting position. handicapped. I'm also saying that making But I think that if we change the format of them shoot their officiat duty weapon is the weapons themselves, we'll be going a going to bias the scores again in favor of long way toward the universal practicality hardware, because some cops can carry of gunfight training that PPC shooting anything they want, and some can carry was supposed to be only a 4" fixed-sight .38. I know one cop in the first place. Ea 68 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1977 Reliability was very nearly as good as with only two criticisms to offer of the BDA. parts fabrication that modem tecnnoiogy the service load, and while firing of a First is the abominable location of the can give us. I have no doubt that a great larger quantity might have shown more magazine catch at the butt, where two many people will gladly pay $400 plus for malfunctions than were encountered with hands are essential to reloading; this sim- this gun, but I'm equally certain that a the service loads, I wouldn't have really ply takes too much time and introduces good many of them will mutter under expected it. too much error when the gun must be rap- their breath and grit their teeth as they do The only handloads available at the idly reloaded in a combat situation Our so. time utilized a 95-grain, round-nose, lead second criticism is simply the price. With Aside from all that, I personally feel bullet seated to an overall cartridge length state and local taxes thrown in, hardly any- that the BDA cum SIG-Sauer is a most ex- of 1.05 inches, and driven at a velocity of one will be able to walk out of his favorite cellent design, one upon which I would approximately 1300 fps. The gun func- gun shop with a BDA having spent less not hesitate in the least to stake my life in tioned properly with this load, so we than $400. Really, that is one hellava a shooting situation. I will, however, quali- would expect it to do the same with any bunch of money for even the most mod- fy that by stating that I would other, lead-bullet load whose bullet shape em service pistol which has been de- choose either the .38 Super or .45 AC was chosen to facilitate feeding. signed to take advantage of theeconomies version in preference to After all points are considered, we find offered by the latest developments in the 9mm Parebellum.

concerned but not so much with stopping power-or lack of it-of the .38 Special as they were with the inadequate firepow- er and clumsv loading characteristics of revolvers in general. he^, too, welcomed the new and improved bullets and some of the departments they controlled have gone to the Smith & Wesson Models 39 and 59 using the 9 mm Parabellum. Lastly, there was a third group who wanted not only a better manstopper than the .38 Special, they wanted more fire- power too. These fellows, unfortunately, had just one choice, and they had to take it: the .45 ACP. Not that it was all that bad, mind you . . . it wasn't . . . and isn't . . . and lawman interest in that fine old gun seems to be growing all the time these days. I know some very gun-wise young law officers who have explored all three of these answers and come away frustrated, WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS- - as have I. There is a feeling that some- By CLAUD HAMILTON thing is missing, that there must be some- thing better. I can't of course speak for prominent American politician once There are many lawmen and other them, but for me. A remarked to the Chief Clerk of the handgunners who, faced with a shooting The new bullets are a real improvement United States Senate that "What this situation will opt for a revolver every time but they still just don't quite "hack it". country needs is a good 5< cigar." His no matter what the statistics being quoted The .38s still pass through most human name was Thomas Riley Marshall, and about relative reliability. Bill Jordan I targets at usual engagement ranges, and what prompted his comment I'm sure I'll think is one, though he'admits that he still do not seem to stop them reliably. never know. But, were I in his position, might just stuff an auto in his hip pocket The .357 seems even worse, and a real and prompted to make such a remark to- as some extra insurance. I'm another and menace on city streets. And, the big frame . day, I thiinkj'd say that "What the lawmen would do exactly the same thing and for revolvers like the New Service and the of this country really need today is a good the same reasons. After thirty-three years "N" frame Smiths in .44Special, .45 ACP .40 caliber pistol!" of Army service and dealing with the .45, and Colt and, yes, the .41 Magnum, just As I leaf through each new issue of a I'd still go for a revolver because I was aren't for me. bbgunzine"these days I know in advance raised,on a fine one of my dad's, and they What I said about the "new" bullets in that I stand at least a 50-50 chance of find- have a certain "right" feeling in my hand! the .38 and .357 seems to go for the 9 mm ing at least one article or commentary on Well, over the years the revolver men P and the .38 Super in spades! "the inadequacy of the .38 Special as a po- cast about to find something better than The .45 ACP boys probably, in my lice service cartridge." There's a lot of the .38. They tried the .357 Magnum humble opinion at least, have the best of feeling about this, and it has been building when it came along, and few liked the .44 both worlds. I don't care what has been for a lot of years, I guess since soon after Special-though it was mighty slow-and written and said over the years about that the Korean War though I didn't become the .45 Colt. They welcomed with open old gun, no one's ever said it wasn't a aware of it until somewhat later on. And arms the new jacketed soft and hollow man-stopper and, when tuned and loaded yet, after all those years, Smith & Wesson point bullets loaded to "Plus P" velocities properly, it'll hold it's own for accuracy, Model 10s and comparable Colts still fill and pressures, and more than a few es- too. In spite of my revolver upbringing, I the holsters of 90% of American lawmen! poused the .41 Remington Magnum of have a gut feeling that for me the old .45 To understand why, I think it's well to Keith fame when it came on the scene. is quicker into action than any revolver look back at what's happened over about There was another school. of lawmen, . . . how's that for being ambivalent? I ad- the last two decades. too, and these gentlemen were fully as mit it But, on the other hand, the .45 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER NOVEMBERIDECEMBER 1977 69 ACP doesn't give you all that much added firepower, and it has a peculiar psycho- logical problem. Believe it or not, there are a lot of folks in the civilian community who just do not like to see an officer carry- ing a pistol that is obviously cocked in his duty holster. Foolish it may be; true it is. That's the way it was always meant to be carried but no amount of built in safeties and thumb straps seem to make any dif- ference. So, old revolver men, let's face it. It's time we joined the rest of America in the last half of the Twentieth Century-even if some of us have to be dragged kicking and screaming and leaving fingernail scratches on the door frame. This is the age of the double action semiauto pistol. The revolver is a beautiful, romantic, un- forgetable part of the American past . . . but today it is an anachronism. I don't crank a fliver to start it anymore. I haven't driven a car with a stick shift since 1950 . . . why do I seem to have such a time ac- cepting the modem double action pistol? Very simple: the calibers in which they're available. I know. For those of you who read the new loading manuals closely, it will come as no surprise that Herter has presently under development a rimless auto pistol version of their ".401 Herter Powermag" cartridge, and I have it on the best of au- thority that a pistol is being built or modi- fled to handle it. Hopefully, we may know.,, ,* more about that before this year is ou*.:$1 And, for those who are prolific readers; Guns & Ammo for February, 1977, re- ports upon their in house development of yet another "G & A" wildcat, this time known as the "G & A .40 Magnum", and modification of a Browning Hi Power pis- tol to handle it. This number comes in three, different loading ranges, thus going the .41 Magnum one better! Gentlemen, forgive me. What we and American law officers need today is not 4w another Magnum, and the whole idea of different cartridge loadings for "service" and "training" use is entirely wrong in my 'NO SECOND PLACE WINNER" humble opinion. I'm convinced that these Bill Jordan tells it like it is in ¥GUN two things: "magnumitis" and multiple his fascinating book about gun LOADS loadings did more to kill the chances of . a LEATHER the Smith & Wesson Model 58 to make it fighting, how to do it and what big than anything else. Many Army officer equipment to use. Informative COMBAT SHOOTING friends of mine, and I, tried out the Model and exciting reading. GUNFIGHTING 58 with an eye to carrying it to Viet Nam in the early 60s if it proved to be superior to the .45 ACP. In those days here near Sfrttia( g~ - All GUNS readers will receive a I Washington where I live the only ammu- I nition available was the full power mag- I personally autographed copy. Order yours today, and, 1 num load. Without exception, experience I order one for a friend! ! I I Please send me __ copy(ies) @I$6.50. plus 50à (per 1 I book) for postage and handling. I I ! i Name - I I New stainless steel barrel & accuracy Address bushing to match. National Match quali I Guaranteed ...... $60.00: New Stainless Steel Browning 'Hi-Power 1 City State ______Zip I barrel Matchaualitv...... tTB.OOPP. I - I I I GUNS MAGAZINE 8150 N. Central Pk., Skokie, Ill. 60076 L------J I AMERICAN .'> ...... : &th it soured us all and I knowof no one who bought a Model 58 or to&.one with him: It was just too' unpleasant to shoot, too like the .44 Magnum to tell.the differ- ence! If wi had had the police load avail- able, the story might have been Very dif- ferent. No, what, ~mericanhandgunners ad law officers in particular need is a short, light, compact and efficient double action pistol with more than usual magazine ca- pacity, which is accurate and neither noisi- er nor heavier in recoil &in the .45 ACP. 1 revolver? Preferably both should be less; this be- cause we need a pistol for all the law offi- cers, 16and small, to be comfortable with and have confidence in, and one that even the ladies who are entering more and more departments will find it easy to han- dle well And, with all this, it must still be . about as good a manstopper as the .45 ACP. Sound like a tall order? Not really I think. Yes, I know. I can see the executives at Smith & Wesaon and Remington throw- ing up their hands now and exclaiming "here comes another nut with an idea . . .!" But wait; I'm not talking about a new gun at all I'm simply suggesting that the tremendous void between -355 and .451 be filled by a new cartridge of a somewhat unusual type, and I believe that the Smith & Wesson Model 59 pistol is the ideal vehicle for the job. The key, of course, is the new cartridge, since the'gun already,meets all the criteria above. The cartridge I propose is the ".400 Smith & Wesson Police." It is not a magnum. It -is a true .400 which fires avery, very blunt nosed jacket-

. , lineof sinole act to action . "y

/  ' R6 INDUSTRIES HC. Name ' P.O.Box520862' I \ * Biscayne Annex - Miami, Fla. 33152 I  State Zip- b. . . COIN DETECTORS -200 models & 15 brands- zine a little deeper front to rear so that a National Treasure little more of the power potential of the Hunters League cartridge might be realized. An unusual feature of the cartridge I propose is the rebated rim and extractor WÃA Mesquite, TX 75149 groove. These are exactly the same size as ' -write for free catalog- the 9 mm P case. The advantage, of course, is obvious: no change need be made in -the breech face of the present Model 59 nor in its slide. (When I origi- nated this idea there were objections that the rebated rim might not extend high Send 500 and no. 10 SASE for price lists. enough on the top cartridge in the maga- CROWN CITY ARMS zine to insure reliable pick-up and feed. Corttand. NY 13048 I've done some careful measurement and am sure such would not be the case.. . I You've Tried The Rest think feeding would be normal.) NOW GET THE BEST Please don't overlook another special aspect of this cartridge: the blunt bullet If .400 Diameter l THE FINEST ALL you'll look closely you should be able to Blunt-nosed PURPOSE GUN see that the mouth of the jacket is serrated JHP LUBRICANT to facilitate mushrooming on impact I l SUPERIOR CORROSION chose this bullet shape because both the PROTECTION results of the recent LEAA study and my l HARMLESS TO WOOD own experiments with flesh and bone tar- gets lead me to the conviction that about their performance at handgun velocities. l RETARDS FOULING BUILD-UP the best you can expect from modern bul- So, it seemed wise to start with the wad- lets in the way of expansion in human tar- cutter shape and, perhaps, sacrifice the a SELF CLEANING gets at pistol/revolver velocities is the accuracy past 25 yards this imposes. Po- LUBRICATINGACTION wadcutter shape. This is true except for lice engagement ranges are usually much the case of the cup point and reversed hol- shorter than that TofHy OqmhUe Product*, Inc. low base wadcutters which seem unique in What needs to be done to adapt the r.a kx ma wm,M ism. Model 59 to this cartrid e? I'd be the last one to pretend to tell i3 mith & Wesson l/3 (TIOON CLIPS how to build a magnificent autoloader, I but the problem does seem simple. While Reulllr available .45 APC unino can be uwd in your U.S. 1917 Model and iwr I am sure many small adjustments would models of Auto Rim Type .45 CÇIlbe B*- wlver. This new CUD hold two cirtrldfa have to be made to handle the more pow- and has many advintages ovr thm half- moon clip. For a FRBB Ñnmle Ñn erful cartridge, these seem to be the main CUD Prices: atunped. ~If-Mlilreiwdenvelopç points: ?s 25 for $3.95: 50 for $6.95 DDd. First, the barrel would have to be bored to .400 and chambered appropriately. Tnud by H.P. White Ltboratociw IMPROVE ACCURACY U.S. Ptient The feed ramp would have to be re-engi- È380e94 neered for the blunt cartridge. r- Doubtless a stronger recoil spring WILL NOT CHANGE BALLISTICS would have to be installed, and a buffer ala Bar Sto would be a nice improvement ARMS, INC. mOM:m11U*Ç72 The present magazine lips would have to be opened and reshaped to handle the larger cartridge, and the follower might need some minor reshaping. The maga- MINIATURE GUNS zine, by my calculations, ought to handle .and between ten and eleven of the rounds I ARMS RELATED COLLECTIBLES propose. (The Guns and Ammo article cited previously would tend to confii this BUY - SELL - TRADE - SEND $1 .OO FOR CATALOG #A-i2, P-38 TOM MAUA "K", Box #6, WINFIELD, IL 60190 U.S.A. Js';o^. - estimate.) This eives an eleven or twelve J - 1 shot whichis a good manstopper. . . not a bad choice for a lawman at all. r So, Smith & Wesson and Remington, w come on vou euvs! Herter's effort and that

constnictioi, leg & hammer tie-downs, has , conservative in design and incorporating 24 bullat loops and Is fully lined. For 811 your standards of reliability and quality sing1e action revolver*with lengths . . Phan specify waist for both ammunition and gun. I know that , . ... ., ... of 4" to 6 1B". Â +. . c mywmment, things haven't always gone as gun make, barrel length Complete Catalog $1.00 and callbw when ordsriw Dealers Please Inquire Only $35.00~~ them to in the past, but here is your CASHIERS CHECK OR chance to team up just once more and ,. MONEY ORDER, PLEASE. AMERICAN SALES & MFG. CO. take the .38 revolvers out of the holsters . '. Box 677 Laredo, Texas 78040 DEPT. AH-1 1 time you'll have a real winner! INTELLIGENCE LETT ER-ESPIONAGE ASSASSINA- TION MERCENARIES KARATE. SAM~LE-$I.W OR $9/12 ISSUES. HORIZONN, BOX 67, ST. CHAR- I THE HANDGUN MARKET LES, MO 63301. Classified ads 20# per word insertion including name and address. Payable in advance. Min- imum ad 10 words.) Closing date March/April 1978 issue (on sale February 5) is November FOR SALE 15. Print carefully and mill to THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER Magazine, 8150 No. Central Park Blvd., Skokie, IL 60076. Two Wyomin Game Warden Browning sets-Set # 7 Complete: 3 guns, binoculars and knife- Set #25 with no Colt Python. Best offer. Pete ~uchmore, . -i Box 196. Medicine Bow. WY 82329. ^ TARGET AIR PISTOLS. World's most accurate Match Air Pistols and Rifles at lowest available prices. BOOKS Superb quality and accuracy. For indoor or outdoor J use. Largest selection: over 100 models and varia- NEW PALADIN CATALOG-Comprehensive list of tions. Complete catalog $2.00 (refundable). K. J. ,

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