American Handgunner March/April 1977

a^$-'9, *'1 THE AH1ERIt:AKMARCH /APRIL 1977 $1.50HANDGUNJ^EX-% 67V7 TM644 HANDGUH PROFILE IN DEPTH.b - BROWNING'S BRAWNY HI-POWERINSIDE JEFF COOPER'SÂ AMERICAN PISTOL INSTITUTELC"7 ill! RANGE HANDGUNSFOR BIG MAGNUMSest Reports: F.l.'s 380- BROW

The barrel sighting rib andejector rod housing are arug ed Integral unit madeof heat-treated stainiess orchrome molybdenum steels.The spring-loaded firin Pin The rear sight provided onis enclosed in the frame. Security-Six models is ad-Note: With the trigger re- justable for windage and eieleasedand transfer-bar with- "ation.drawn below the firing pin,the hammer nose rests directlyon the frame and can-FIELD STRIPPED VIEWThese are the revolvers created by Ruger engineers whostarted with a fresh sheet of paper and an unlimitedbudget! There is nothing in the design of these Rugerdouble action revolvers which is there simply because"it has always been done that way"; nothing which reflectsa commitment to outmoded production methodsor obsolescent factory facilities. Representing a significantimprovement in design, these revolvers incorporatecreative Ruger engineering, sophisticated manufacturingtechniques, and superior materials.The Ruger design philosophy of strength, simplicity,and ease of maintenance has been applied throughoutthe design of these revolvers. Composed of a series ofintegrated subassemblies, the Ruger double action revolvercan be field stripped to its basic components inseconds, without the use of tools. The entire lock mechanismis installed through the bottom of the grip frameas a unit, permitting the use of solid frame side-wallswhich contribute to the great strength of these revolvers.The complex milled-out frames and delicately fitted sideplatesof other double action revolvers, and the difficultiesof maintenance and weaknesses inherent in olderdesigns are eliminated entirely.The finest materials are used in Ruger double actionrevolvers. Music wire or stainless steel coil springs areused throughout and frames, cranes, cylinders, and barrelsare of heat-treated stainless or chrome molybdenumsteels. Most of the small internal parts of all models ofRuger double action revolvers are made of stainless steel.In addition to traditional Ruger quality and dependableperformance, the shooter enjoys the advantages of thedurable stainless steel mechanism parts, even in standardblued models.Ruger Security-Six Revolver in357 Magnum caliber with rearsight adjustable for windageand elevation. Choice of 2%",volver in 357 Magnum, 38 Specialand 9 mm parabellum(blued model only) calibers withfixed sights. Choice of 2%'' or4" barrel in blued finish orRuger Speed-Six Revolver withF& ;c;pa;pun:m:;t ~ ~ 2 5 ; M;Kpara'bellum (blued model only)calibers with fixed sights.Choice of 2%" or +" barrel inblued finish or stainiess steel.-RUGER, Security-Six, Service-Six, and Speed-Six are registered U. S. trademarks- - FOR YOUR COPY OF A FREE ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF ALL RUGER FIREARMS, WRITE DEPT. AHSTURM, RUGER & Company, Inc.Southport, Connecticut 06400 U. S. A.ALL RUGER FIREARMS ARE DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN RUGER FACTORIES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

-BAGBUYRevised EditionBy Dean A. GrennellIf lawmen's weapons are yourspecial interest, we've got youcovered. LAW ENFORCEMENTHANDGUN DIGEST is your mostup-to-date guide to arms andequipment for law officers andhandgun enthusiasts. Nearly 50chapters span every type ofhandgun. Includes informativearticles on police shotguns,-BOOKS WITH

THE AMERICANMARCHIAPRIL, 1977George E. von RosenVO~. 2 NO. 2-4 PublisherCONTENTSFEATURESMAKING SCREWLESS GRIPS.. .................................. .Puss Gaertner 17SHOOTER & PISTOLSMITH-A DYNAMITE DUO ..................... .Byron Booth 20NO-FRILLS PRACTICAL PISTOL SHOOTING .......................... .Rick Miller 24LONG RANGE HANDGUNNING ................................... James Mason 28API'S NEW COMBAT RANGE-PART I ........................... .Mason Williams 32HANDGUN PROFILE BONUS SECTION:THE BROWNING HI-POWERORIGINS OF THE HI-POWER ........................................ Xlair Rees 38SHOOTING THE BROWNING 9MM ................................... Xlair Rees 42RELOADING FOR THE HI-POWER .............................. .George C. Nonte 46HANDGUNNER TEST REPORTSBROWNING CHALLENGER II ..................................... .Herbert Gates 52STOEGER RIMFIRE LUGERS.. ................................. .George C. Nonte 54FI'S MODEL D .380............................................George C. Nonte 57DEPARTMENTSINDUSTRY INSIDER.. .. Massad Ayoob 5 TAKING AIM .........Claud Hamilton 10THE PISTOLSMITH.. ......G. C. Nonte 6 THE COMBAT COURSE ...M. Williams 15GUNS & THE LAW.. ................. 8 HANDGUN LEATHER .....Jerry Ahern 60HANDGUN HUNTING.. ..Gee. Bredsten 9 HANDGUN MARKET ................ 69Jerome Rakusan ..................................................Herbert Gates .................... .Associate Editor Michele Somers ............Thomas Parrett ...................Associate Editor Joan Tortorici ..............Sydney Barker ......................... Art DirectorBenton Covert ..................... .Art ProductionAlbert Eskinazi ....................................................................Editor Bill Bauer .Advertising Sales.Advertising Promotion.Advertising ProductionJane Davidson ............ .Adv. Customer ServiceT. A. von Rosen .............. .Production Director.Subscription/CirculationSUBSCRIPTION OFFICE: D. Bennett, 8150 N. Central Park, Skokie, Ill. 60076 (312) 675-5611EDITORIAL OFFICES: Jerome Rakusan, 8150 N. Central Park, Skokie, Ill. 60076 (312) 675-5602NATIONAL ADV. OFFICES: 8150 N. Central Park Ave., Skokie, Ill. 60076 (312) 675-6010WEST COAST ADV. REP.: Jess M. Laughlln Co., 711 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, Ca. 90005(213) 383-7697.EAST COAST ADV. REPS.: BUCHMAYR ASSOCIATES, DARIEN, CONN. 06820 (203) 655-1639Copyright 1977 by Publisher's Development Corporation.THE AMERICAN HANDQUNNER Is published bi-monthly by Publishers' Development Corp. 8150 N. Central Park Avenue, Skokle, Illinois80076. Application to mall atsecond clas* rates Is pending at Skokie, Ul. 60076 and at additional entry office. SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year 6 issues) $7.50. Single monthly copies $1.50.CHANGE OF~%SSES: Four weeks' not108 required on all changes. Send old address as well as new. CONTRIBUTh submitting manuscripts. photographs ordrawingsdo soattheirown risk. Material cannot be returned unlessaccompenied by sufficient poata e. PAYMENTwIli bemadeat ratescurrent at timeof publicationand will cover reproduction In any or all AMERICAN HANDQUNNER Magazine editions. ADVERTISING RATES furnished on request. Reproduction or use of anyportion of this magazine In any manner, without written permission, Is prohibited. All rights reserved. Title to this publication passes to subscriberonly.ondelivery tohis address.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

~ .~GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS FROM MANUFACTURERSTings are in a state of flux at HIGHSTANDARD these days. Manage-ment is trying desperately to move out ofthe old plant in Hamden, Connecticut, becauseH-S has reduced the scope of itsgunmaking operations and the present facilitiesare too big for them.High Standard once filled out a lot oftheir profits by making "trade-name" riflesand shotguns for Sears Roebuck,Montgomery Ward, et. al., but that's alldone with.Also done with, regretfully, is HighStandard's line of shotguns and .22 rifles.The shotguns will be missed. The oldSupermatic, the first of the gas-operatedsoft-kick auto shotguns, was a jewel tohandle, even though a lot of peoplethought it was a trifle heavy, and lookedlike a pregnant Remington. Even more tobe missed will be the Flite-King pumpshotguns, with their super-slick slide actionsand excellent triggers. The only longgun that will remain in the line for thetime being will be the police riot gun versionsof the Flite-King, prized by cops fortheir quick handling, easy takedown, andlow maintenance requirements.This will leave High Standard where itwas years ago: a handgun manufacturer,pure and simple. No newies are comingout until next year, when the muchheraldedCrusader DA revolver makes itsdebut in .45 Long Colt and .44 Magnum.An early Bicentennial production run isplanned, however. . . .COLT has good news and bad news foryou. Bad news first: the excellent, classicline of Woodsman .22 auto pistols will bediscontinued as of the first of '77. Factoryspokesmen say it's so expensive to manufacturethat it's costing them money to sellit This seems to depend on who you talkto, and which balance sheet he's lookingat. In break-even perspectives,. oneanalysis shows that each Woodsman producedloses the company up to five percent per gun. But another insider at Colt'sBy MASSAD F. AYOOB -the profits could still be placed at 25%per Woodsman. But, be that as it may,Colt has made its decision. We haveheard, however, that an East Coast entrepreneurwho got wind of the Woodsman'simpending demise has offered to buy themachinery from Colt's and produce theWoodsman pistols for them at his ownplant. He figures his lower overhead willsave money all around. And don't forgetthat potent Colt employees' union that hascrippled the company more than once:they seem to be unahppy about theWoodsman phase-out . . .Also on the scratch-off list are the Scoutseries of 3/4 size single action .22s. Onlymarginally profitable, few shooters or Coltbosses will lament their passing. Theywere always only a shadow of the bigSingle Action Army. . .On to better news from the Big C. TheTHETEAM!off-again, on-again Single Action Army ison-again, to appear around the first of theyear in .357 Magnum and .45 Long Colt,and shortly thereafter in .44 Special. Coltconsidered chambering the venerable sixshooterfor .44 Magnum with moreseriousness than they had ever entertainedthat much-voiced idea in the past, butthumbs-downed it again. A companysource confides, "We'll be lucky if wedon't lose money on the SAA. We considerit our gift for 1977 to loyal Coltbuyers."Finally, there's a new Colt that hasn'tquite foaled off the drawing board yet It'sgonna be a mid-frame .357 D.A., andwhile the company won't say so, we'reconvinced that it's designed to replace theMark 111 series. The Mk. Ill guns were introduceda few years ago to challengeS&W's model 10 and 19 for police sales.and failed miserably, being less good andmore expensive. Colt execs seem to thinkthat the new gun will bring back the longgonedays when their fine Official Police.38s were carried by more than half ofAmerica's cops. ...INDIAN ARMS, producer of a stainless-steelcopy of the Walther PPK ,380has, temporarily at least, suspended production...- . - --calculates that considering variable costs,AMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCHIAPRIL 1977 5Performance proven Degunge andEngarde will clean, lubricate and protectyour firearms. Seventeen years of use byindustry assures you that Zip Aerosolquality is unsurpassed. Satisfactionguaranteed.8 oz. cans $2.00, 16 oz. cans $3.00 PPD. Atyour local dealer or write direct.An Air Force weapons specialist incharge of the Model 59 S&W evaluationsfor USAF, has found a way to accurize themodel 59 and 39 9mm. autos. This iswelcome news, since that kind of a revamphas stymied pistolsmiths for years,including those at the Springfield, Mass.factory. Special factory-turned barrels,that will probably be made available to therest of us by S&W someday, are part ofthe secret The rest is precision hardchromingof certain key parts to tightentolerances without sacrificing reliabilityZIP AEROSOL PRODUCTS, DEPT. H21320 DEERING COURT, CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA 91304

under the abusive conditions that militaryfpoliceguns are designed for. Lookfor an in-depth study in these pagessoon. . .HARRY SANFORD, of Auto-Magfame, has engineered an all-stainless-steel.45 auto. It comes with a Gold Cuplike"vent rib", and sights adjustable by Allenwrenches a' la' the Dan Wesson revolver.We'll be wringing that one out, too . . .In the meantime, if fall can't wait for a100% stainless 1911, you might be satisfiedby replacing all the springs in yourcurrent slabsider with non-tarnishingones. J. W. Kay of J. W. Gunsmith Services,1130 St. Christopher, Columbia MO.05201 offers the whole kit to replace all191 1 springs for $25. All are built to standardColt specs, save for the recoil spring,which is oversize to allow feverish handloadersto cut coils accordingly. He's alsogot a $3.00 recoil spring package forearlier Gold Cups, with their lighter slides,that he swears will act like a recoil bufferand prevent you from beating the gun todeath no matter how much hardball yourun through it. J. W. also does .45 CustomCombat conversions, and specializes inS&W wheelgun action jobs, one of whichwe plan to be testing before long . . .In an earlier column, we mentionedthat Lou Imperato of Iver Johnson isgoing to upgrade his revolver line beginningwith a new swing-out .38, to appearshortly. We've just got done playing with aprototype, and were surprised to find thatit really does have promise. The barrel resemblesthat of a Colt Diamondback, withramp and underslung barrel weight;length will range from 2'12 to 4". Call it asilk purse from a sow's ear, but they've gotthat Iver Johnson action slicked down decentin the prototypes, and quite controllable.It'll be a five-shooter with adjustablesights similar to those on theCharter, which is the gun I-J is going aftermarket-wise. They'll try to equal it in quality,and then undersell it in the low$loo+ range, retail. The production gunswill have "gunfighter" style grips, an easyto-seefront sight like the one on theIthaca 37 shotgun, and a modified actionthat doesn't leave anything hanging downinto the trigger guard except the trigger.Cylinder opening arrangement will resemblethe Charter Police Bulldog, exceptthat it will have a working front lug in thebarrel shroud . . .Last message from COLT: the .357Magnum Detective Special project hasbeen kiboshed. After 2,000 magnumrounds, prototype guns were stretching inthe frames and leaving the cylinders tooloose to headspace, with weak primer hitsand misfires resulting. The stress crackedat least one alloy Cobra frame, thoughthere were no blowups. Guys' in Colt'ssales end said they'd be happy with a gunthat'd last 2000 rounds, which the prototypeDS's did, but the guys in Engineeringand the ones who handle the product liabilityinsurance held out for 10,000 which6is going to be impossible in that size gun.Result: the Detective Special is still a thirty-eightafter all these years, and will remainso.NORTH AMERICAN ARMS isecstatic at the response to their .22 LRversion of their mini-revolver, hithertooffered in .22 Short only. It's 3'1s" overall,weighs 4'12 oz., and throws hi-speed LRHPs at 800 FPS. .22 Mag was considered,but the larger head would have required aredesign of the whole gun. 20,000 of thewee wheelguns were sold last year, and theTSPADELK version should be a lot more popular.Dave LaRue of North American tellsme the next item in their line will be a.454 Magnum single action. Though it'llfire .45 Long Colt as well, the .454 loadswill be the big news: a 230-gr. pill at 2000FPS, and a 300 grain at 1600. Cost is asimpressive as the ballistics, and we hopeyou read AMERICAN HANDGUNNERsitting down: the gun will go for $445, theammo (also from North Americana for$19. per boxof 50.A SKIN-SAVINGGRIP-SAFETY FOR 1911's AND COPIESe first .45 auto I picked up and fired,some 35 years ago, chewed the hellout of my gun hand between the thumband forefinger. I shot dozens-perhapsscores-of " euns like it for the next 30years, simply accepting a bloody and batteredhand at the beginning of each seasonuntil a typical "Colt callous" had builtup to help retain my vital body fluidswhere the hammer cinched the skin.Somewhere along the way, I had seen asimple, grip-safety extension which carriedback over the web between thumband trigger finger to prevent the hammerfrom biting the hand that fired it. Somehow,though, I never got around to supplyingmyself with any such device. However,in more recent years, I have become moreaddicted to creature comforts and decidedI didn't want to lose any more bloodthat way. You might feel the same wayabout it, and if so, for the relatively nominalinvestment of $7 to $10 you can purchasea "spade grip safety9'-usually on anexchange basis-from one or more pistolsmiths.Those guys take the stock gripsafety slot it and slightly reshape it at theupper tang, then silver-solder or weld in a'12" or so long extension, which is a bitwider than the body of the safety andwhich extends back over your hand, betweenit and the hammer spur. Then,when the slide drives the hammer back,there is no way at all that the tip of thespur can reach your tender skin.All this is fine, and such a gadget onyour .45 Colt or Llama is a good investment.On the other hand, if you're not terriblylazy and are reasonably handy withfiles and hacksaw, you can fit the same extensionto your own grip safety in an houror so some evening and thus employ yourtime far better and more economicallythan in watching the inevitably crude fareon the boob tube. Who knows, if your wifeor mistress sees you thus productively employedand saving money, she might evenquit griping about the time and moneyyou spend on guns.Begin by first holding the gun in yourhand and very carefully observing the relationshipof the grip-safety tang (where itsweeps back over your hand) and the tipof the hammer spur as the slide moves tothe rear. Remember that during firing, thehammer spur actually moves back anddown farther than you see it with the slideheld back; it does this of its own inertiabecause it is driven back so rapidly. Whileyou're doing this, have a helper measureback over your hand from the grip-safetytang to a point about '/is" or more past thepoint where the hammer spur would contactthe skin if allowed to do so. Next,from '/ie" to '/st' steel stock, cut a piece'Is" longer than the above dimension andabout sfst' wide; in fact, it seems a goodidea to make it the same width as the[RICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

pistol frame. This might look a little odd,but it will be relatively easy to narrow itdown a bit after the extension is fitted, ifyou like.There's probably three or four ways thisextension could be attached to the gripsafetytang, but if you're using '/8" thicksteel, the best I've found is to move in onthe underside of the tang '18" from the tipand file a notch therefrom the under-siddeep enough to accept the extensionand to hold the extension in a prolongationof the line of the underside ofthe tang. With the notch finished, carefullyfile the center portion of one edge ofthe extension to a close, even fit in thenotch.Epoxy or "hot stuff' the extension centrallyinto the notch and reassemble thegrip safety to the frame. Try it for feel. Ifyou've thick, pudgy hands, the extensionmight cramp you a bit, in which case youcan change the angle of the notch to rotateit upward a bit; on the other hand, ifyou've skinny hands, you might find itworthwhile to angle the extension downwarda bit more by the same means. Whileyou have the safety assembled to the gun,check to make certain that when the hammeris as far rearward as it can possiblygo, its spur does not stike the safety extension.If it does, the simplest way to curethe problem is to grind a small amountfrom the hammer spur to provide clearance.If you set the extension at much ofan upward angle, though, you may beforced to cut at least a little bit off thehammer spur.Once all those things are settled, removethe safety, and break the adhesivebond by heat. Scrape all adhesive residuefrom the joint surfaces and prepare forsoldering.Incidentally, if you envision problemsin holding the extension snugly in placewhile soldering, back up one step, andwhile the two parts are still epoxied together,drill a '/is" hole more or less verticallvfrom the underside through the ex-tension and into-but not thr&eh~the " Ioverhanging, upper portion of the safetytang. This will allow pinning the two partstogether for soldering, and the pin will actuallyadd a bit of strength to the joint.Anyway, with the parts thoroughlycleaned, spread a thin layer of fusionsilver-solder on all mating surfaces andposition the extension in its notch. IfAMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCHIAPRIL 1977Iyou've drilled a pin hole, now, tap in ashort length of '/is" wire or rod to hold thetwo snugly together. Thus, pinned, fire upyour propane toich, (two torches are betterand quicker) and apply heat until youcan see the solder liquify completely. Removeheat. If you're not using a pin,clamp the grip-safety tang uppermost inthe vise, and position the extension in itsnotch. From a convenient support off tothe side, lay a small-diameter bar or rod ofmetal across so that it rests upon the upperedge of the extension and thus holds itsnugly in place. Apply the torch until thesolder liquifies, remove heat, but do notremove the rod until you're certain thesolder has hardened.Now, wire-brush away the solderingresidue, then carefully scrape away anysurplus solder and/or heat scale thatformed. Radius or bevel all edges of theextension, and smooth it up a bitOnce the extension is firmly affixed tothe grip safety and cleaned up, the basicjob is done. However, for the sake of appearanceand, perhaps, comfort as well,you may want to do a good bit more filing.At this point, the only thing you can'tchange while still retaining the function ofthe extension is the length and widthnecessary to place at least the rear tip ofthe extension between the hammer spurand your hand. Aside from that, you maymake the extension round, oval, skinny,fat; any shape you want. You can evendrill a lightening hole through it, so longas that hole isn't big enough to allow thehammer and your skin to meet through it.Actually, the extension will also look betterif it's reduced a bit in thickness and taperedsmoothly toward the rear. Whenmade from '/a'' stock, I prefer to taper theupper edge downward so that the extensionis only about '/dl thick at its rearwardextremity. This makes a smooth,graceful shape, especially if the tapering iscurved a bit and the underside is gently radiusedto blend in. The one thing youmust not do is leave any sharp edges orcorners on the extension. If you do, sooneror later recoil will catch you wrong andthose edges will gouge a nice chunk fromyour hide. Wrap it all up by applying thefinish of your choice to the altered safety.Of course, it might be that your pet .45auto is one whose complete originalityand authenticity you wish to retain; a perfectlyjustifiable viewpoint. If that's thecase, don't cut into the original gripsafety. Instead, pick up another from oneof the vendors of surplus parts, and mod-ify it-keeping in mind that you want tomake the extension so you will not have totrim the hammer. Then, for shooting, installthe spare, modified grip safety andkeep the original for re-installation whenvou want to restore the gun.uIn any event, the use of a spade gripsafety, which you can make will makeshooting the .45 auto immeasurably morepleasant for a good many people. Withoutit, they bleed every timethey go to the range.THIS IS YOUR SPOTPistol shooters. These instant targetsmake a super aiming point. Sizes W, I",lWr, 2" 3" & 6". Hi-lites sights, fluorescentred circles. Also replacement centersfor 50' slow fire targets - all selfsticking.Other items too. See your dealeror write: Peterson's Labels, PO Box186RP, Redding Ridge, Conn. 06876.LARGE LISTING OF LUGERS 75c eachRALPH E. SHATTLJCK6661 CASTLE DRIVEBIRMINGHAM. MICHIGAN 4HOlO

SMITH & WESSON SPEAKS OUTThe following is a statement by Smith & Wesson proposing federalhandgun-owner licensing as a resolution to the gun control controversy.There are many who, upon reading this statement, will feel thatSmith & Wesson are selling us down the river; others may feel (assome have already told us) that this proposal could be the compromisethat will effectively stop any legislation that would completelyban the ownership of handguns.H would be foolhardy for us to think that we could comment on thisproposal (or all of our readers, therefore we would like your comments,pro and con. I'm sure that many will respond directly to Smith &Wesson, but we would like to hear from you, too.WHY DOES SMITH & WESSON FAVOR HANDGUN-OWNERLICENSING?One year ago in its 1975 Annual Reportour parent company, Bangor Punta Corporation,announced that we favor federallegislation which would authorize thescreening of every purchaser of a handgunso that law-abiding citizens couldcontinue to freely purchase, possess, anduse handguns for peaceful purposes andself protection and criminals could not.Since then we have fought against areferendum proposal to ban privateownership of handguns in the State ofMassachusetts - an issue which couldhave been on the November ballot in anyof the twenty-three states which permitreferendums initiated by voter petitions.In the Massachusetts campaign we alsopublicly expressed our views that crimescommittted with handguns could be reducedby a nationwide owner-licensingsystem that would sustain the right oflaw-abiding citizens to possess handgunswhile denying handguns to criminals andpotentially violent people.Few subjects arouse stronger emotionsin this country than the issue of gun control.The debate has become intense. Bothsides - those who firmly oppose anykind of legislation limiting the right toown firearms and those who believe weshould live in a society devoid of firearms- have honest legitimate concerns. Bothsides want something done about theproblem of violent crime in this country.Unfortunately the differences betweenthe two sides have polarized them. Some-8how a middle ground must be found thatrecognizes legitimate concerns and dealswith the problem of gun misuse withoutviolating the right of law-abiding citizensto own firearms.It may be that no one solution will satisfyeither the proponents or the opponentsin this emotional debate. Yet becauseof Smith & Wesson's long experiencein the firearms industry and its longassociation with law enforcement agencieswe believe that we can and shouldmake a contribution toward a constructiveresolution of the gun control controversyin a way consistent with the publicinterest.Our position on this issue is as follows:1) Handgun Owner LicensingWe support a federally mandatedbut locally administeredsystem of handgunowner licensing. Every responsiblecitizen would havea right to a license to purchase,possess and use handgunssubject to local laws on'carrying" loaded firearms.Those determined tobe irresponsible, such as convictedfelons and adjudgedmental incompetents, wouldbe denied a license. That determinationwould be madeby competent authoritieswith access to federal criminalrecords.Those possessing handgunswithout a license would besubject to a mandatoryprison sentence.2) Mandatory Sentences forCrimes with FirearmsWe believe that stricter enforcementof laws wouldhelp reduce crimes involvingfirearms. For this reason, wesupport federally mandatedsentences for crimes committedwith the aid of firearmsof any type, with noplea bargaining and noparole.3) Handgun Owner Licensingvs. Handgun RegistrationThere is a certain amount ofconfusion in the public mindover the difference betweenhandgun owner licensing andhandgun registration. We believehandgun owner licensingis an effective way ofkeeping handguns out of thehands of those who wouldmisuse them, while handgunregistration would simplycreate a cumbersome, expensivebureaucratic mechanismthat would contribute little tosolution of the problem ofmisuse.For this reason, we supporthandgun owner licensing,and oppose handgun registration.4) Handgun Owner Licensingvs. Prohibition of HandgunsAs for prohibition of privatepossession of handguns, webelieve it would be unconstitutional,unenforceable andtotally ineffective in crimereduction. We agree withthose hundreds of police organizationswhich feel such aban would, in fact, be a setbackfor law enforcement.Smith & Wesson is headquartered inMassachusetts, a state which requiresowner licensing and imposes mandatorysentences for possession of firearms withouta license. A study one year after mandatorysentencing went into effect foundthat use of firearms in aggravated assaultcases had decreased significantly in thetest areas while criminal assaults as awhole had increased. With the declininguse of firearms in criminal assaults, thenumber of fatalities also decreased.This indicates to us that there is a solutionto criminal misuse of handgunswhich would not be cumbersome or repugnantto responsible citizens andwould not infringe their civil rights. Thesolution is handgun owner licensing. Wesupport that approachon the national level.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

By GEORGE BREDSTENFACTS ABOUT THEAMERICAN BIG GAME HANDGUNNER'S ASSOCIATIONwhen queried as to the usefulness ofhandguns, most responsible personsare likely to view handguns suitablefor competitive target shooting, SAFEplinking, some types of small gamelvarminthunting, and under certain circumstancesdefensive combat shooting. Argumentsensue whenever someone claimsthe handgun to be an effective primaryhunting arm for taking big game. Evenamong the more vociferous proponents ofbig game hunting with a handgun there isa difference of opinion as to how large abig game animal should be hunted withthe handgun. Opponents contend thatthere isn't any handgudcartridge combi-nation adequate for taking - big -- game. Objectionsare usually expressed in the formof allegations that handpnlcartridgecombinations lack power, are intrinsicallyinaccurate, and due to high projectile trajectorycan only be used at very closerange. An objection made in conjunctionwith and to bolster the foregoing is thatthe "average" person can not develop therequisite degree of handgun marksmanshipto be effective afield.Even though it is often determined thatopponents lack any big game handgunhunting experience or are members of theanti-gudhunting element, the above objectionsappear plausible to the non-handgunhunter and are often accepted WITH-OUT QUESTION as being true. It shouldbe remembered that some of these nonhandgunhunters are in positions wheretheir decisions can and do determine whatthe handgun hunter can or can not hunt ina given area. As an example, consider thepersons who establish State hunting regulations/rules.Many of these persons areactive hunters using a rifle and/or shotgun,but very few are experienced orknowledgeable big game handgun hunters.The result is obvious-disparity betweenthe handgun hunting regulations/rules of the fifty States. When this wasAMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCHIAPRIwritten, twenty-one States did not permitbig game hunting with a handgun; twentyeightStates did permit some type of biggame hunting with a handgun, and oneState permits those persons having butone arrnlhand to hunt big game with ahandgun-yet prohibits those personshaving normal anatomical configurationfrom using a handgun to hunt big game!When persons who should be, ethically ifnot legally, but are NOT cognizant of thefield performance of handguns, what thencan be expected of the general public?Usually not very much-either completeignorance or a prejudiced misconceptionof ANY handgun's usefulness.Consequently, big game handgunnersof Mag-na-port Arms, Inc.have had limited success in promotingtheir sport to the general public. Also, untilfairly recent, big game handgunners remainedunacknowledged as a viable segmentof the sport hunting fraternity. Toimprove the status of big game handgunhunting requires its devotees to activelypromote and support the sport. Whilesome good can be done on an individualto individual basis, it was and is believedthat an organization of big game handgunnerswould prove more effective. Withthis in mind, a small cadre of dedicatedbig game handgun hunters got togetherand early in 1975 organized The AmericanBig Game Handgunner's Association(ABGHA). The purpose of ABGHA beingto increase the interest and participationof those individuals who do and/or wouldhunt big game with a handgun, and to promotethe acceptance of big game handgunhunting by the general public as a truelysporting endeavor.If big game handgun hunting is to berecognized and accepted by the generalpublic as a sporting activity free of criticism,it is mandatory that each handgunhunter accept and then individually liveby a code of standards-relative to biggame hunting with a handgun-that reflectresponsible behavior. It is suggestedthat ABGHA's "Handgun Hunter's Codeof Standards" be used as a guide.THE HANDGUN HUNTER'SCODE OF STANDARDS1. Know, before you shoot, what it isyou intend to shoot.2. Limit the shot to that distancewhere a vital hit is almost certain.3. Do NOT attempt a shot at big gamewhere its vitals are screened by anGUN CON!rROL- -MEANS: REDUCED RECOIL REDUCED MUZZLE JUMPMAG-NA-PORT a Patent Precision Muzzle Venting Processenjoyed and tested by Thousands of Shooters.With less recoil and muzzle jump the results are Greater Controland Improved Accuracy of the firearm. The patent processwill not harm firearm or change the ballistics.For further information write:Mag-na-port Arms, Inc.30016 South River Rd. Mt. Clemens, Mich. 48043(31 3) 469-6727HANDGUNS-RIFLES & SHOTGUNS

intervening medium.4. Attempt no shot at moving game,unless or until prior practice onmoving inanimate targets results inthe skill needed to hit vitals.5. Use a handgunlcartridge combinationsuitable for the species hunted.a. The bullet MUST penetrate intothe vitals regardless of the angleor position of the game to theshooter, or do NOT shoot.b. The bullet MUSTproduce a sufficientlysevere wound channel tocause a relatively quick kill.c. Do NOT shoot at any big gamespecies NOT appropriately takenwith the handgunlcartridge combinationthen being used.6. Obey all applicable hunting laws,regulations, and rules.7. Respect the landowner and what ishis.Abiding by this code will help developa better relationship between handgunhunters and non-hunters, as it results insafe gun handling, correct behaviorafield, a respect for the other person, anda minimum of lost game.Another way big game handgunnerscan help promote their sport is by participatingin an ABGHA project. This projectconcerns the analysis of handgunned biggame reports, and will be used to providefactual data on the actual and relative performanceof handgun cartridges (loads)used to take big game. If you have legallytaken big game with a handgun (beginingwith 1975 seasons), please write ABGHA(P.O. Box 1735-Wrangell, Alaska99929) and request a copy of the ABGHAForm: BGR 611975. To have statisticalsignificance, a datum base of at least 1500reports will be used and ABGHA wouldprefer to have twice that amount. It is believedthat the results of this ABGHAproject will prove useful as additional supportfor those who will try to have biggame handgun hunting made legal whereit is currently illegal. However, to becomea reality will require the participation ofall handgun hunters who have taken biggame.The results of this project should proveinteresting and might even resolve a fewof the current questions regarding the efficiencyof handgun cartridges (loads) usedin taking big game. New questions will undoubtedlyarise, but all-in-all it is believedthat big game handgunning will ultimatelybenefit from the findings of this project. Itis expected that future issues of this columnor else separate articles in THEAMERICAN HANDGUNNER will presenta detailed account of the aboveABGHA project.It is the intent of this author that thiscolumn should be informative and/or in-teresting-relative to handgun hunting ingeneral and big game handgun hunting inparticular. Although it will be difficult toalways reply to letters, readerresponse will be appreciated.10t's a little after six in the morning, and aI bone tired police officer on his wayhome after night duty, pulls in and parksat an all night drug store. He knows theplace well; it's on his way home and he hasbeen stopping here for a paper everymorning, now, for months.Climbing out of his old Mustang, fatigueseems to run from his shouldersright down to his toes. Oh, well ... just afew more minutes 'ti1 sack time. He's almostat the entrance, but something's notright here. There's Dave, the night manager,in conversation with a customer withhis back turned to the entrance. Hesenses, can almost read, the fear in thenight manager's face. As he opens thedoor the customer turns. The man has agun in his hand. In what seems an eternity,he watches the gun come up toward himas he draws his own revolver. Only onegun goes off; the holdup man crumples tothe floor.This happened to a young friend ofmine-who considers himself one of theluckiest police officers alive today. Therobber's gun misfired. When examinedlater, it was found to have a broken firingpin-it could not have fired! The holdupman did not die as a result of the shootingand later confessed to robbing nearly adozen service stations and small stores inthe vicinity during the last six months. Henever knew that his revolver was defective,had never cleaned it nor tried topractice with it. Makes you wonder,doesn't it?Handgun reliability is a matter of vitalconcern to law officers. Unfortunately, inHANDGUN RELIABILITYPart [-Ammunition Testssome of our larger cities some of them arecalled upon almost daily to depend upontheir service guns to function right, thefirst time, and every time.Most officers are keenly aware of this,but the approaches taken to assure reliablefunctioning are as varied as the personalitiesinvolved. I know one keenlyknowledgeable young officer who refusesabsolutely to depend upon one gun. He alwayscarries two to double his chances!Others I know carry onlysone gun butlavish care and maintenance upon thatgun to make certain it is always in tip topshape. On the other hand, there are office?not much interested in guns orshooting who prefer to put their trust infate, hoping first that they'll never needtheir guns, but, that if they ever do, thatthose guns will somehow come through.Finally, there are even some who throughwell-intentioned but misguided modificationsto their weapons reduce their effectiveness,make them slow to reload, orlimit their use to one hand. I know of oneinstance in which a detective, attemptingto correct a loose grip, inserted a washerunder the grip and made his two inch revolverinoperable!Dependable handguns are not the exclusiveworry of the lawman. Businessmenand home owners who must depend uponhandguns for defense until the police canarrive have an equal interest. Usually,though, they tend to feel less exposed thanthe police officer and are more oftenguilty of carelessness, ignorance or neglectwhere their guns are concerned.Strong criticism, I know, but the atti-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

tudes described are understandable. Forone thing there are few knowledgeablegun lovers among either police officers orother citizens. For another, we Americanshave for many years enjoyed the benefitsof a magnificent firearms manufacturingindustry which has given us some of thefinest handguns the World has ever seen.Our faith in these guns is not misplaced.But, even the finest tools don't alwayswork as they were meant to, and handgunsare fine, complex tools which require careand more than a little understanding.Because reliability in handguns is a matterof such concern to so many of us, orought to be, it seems a good idea to take ahard look at the matter from the layman'spoint of view. Probably the easiest way toapproach such a look see is to considerthe various elements of the "handgun system"which, if you leave out the gunnerhimself, include: ammunition, gun andsupporting equipment. First let's look atammunition reliability.Ammunition TestsWhat are some of the more obviousthings which attack ammunition reliability?If one leaves out consideration ofthings which might happen during manufactureor dealer storage-and which arebeyond your control-a number of thingscome to mind:-There's age;-There are the thingswhich come in contact with guns and am-munition in the course of care, cleaning -and use.-And there are environmentalelements which would seem to depeirJupon where you live in some degree, bprobably more upon how you use yourgun. The traffic officer required to be outin all weather is a prime example; his gunand ammunition can really take a beating.I don't believe that age has much to dowith ammunition reliability these days. Inthe early days of metallic cartridges a lotof time and effort went into developmentof the components we have today whichhave if not overcome at least greatly lessenedthe effects of age. I regularly shootammunition over twenty years old thesedays and have yet to have my first malfunctionwith any of it.No, I think the real problem lies withthe things which get into guns and ontoammunition plus the exposure and physicalabuse to which it may be subjected. Sofar no real revelations. The things I decidedto look at were the effects of gun oil,gun grease, powder solvent, water, andsome of the new, penetrating siliconecleaners. Also, of course, the effects ofweather, heat and cold needed considerationalong with the rough handling ammunitionsometimes receives, particularlyin an officer's belt. I had a pretty goodidea that each of these poses a danger toreliability but what I did not know was just 1how much of a threat each might be.To see what I could discover about t..-relative danger of these substances and 1AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 197-conditions I decided to expose someselected new factory ammunition to them.Nine situations occurred to me to lookinto:-One week of concentrated exposureto one of the new silicone cleaners/rustpreventive compounds, in this case, WD40.-One week of exposure to gungrease.-One week of exposure to gunoil.-One week submerged in water.-One week of exposure to powder solvent,in this case, Hoppe's Number 9.-Oneweek of exposure to a cleaning solvent, inthis case Gun Scrubber.-Oneweek ofstorage at below freezing temperatures.-One week of exposure to the weather,heat, cold, wet, whatever it might bring.-Finally, one week of rough handling in acartridge belt.I wish that I had been able to exposeammunition to heat for a prolongedperiod, such as might be encountered in alocked police car in summer in the Southwest.. . but I could not devise a means todo this that seemed safe. I believe thatdefinite deterioration would have takenplace in the components but, of course, Ican't prove this.For the purposes of the test, I used fiverounds, each, of two brands of 9 mmParabellum, .38 Special and .45 AutoColt Pistol ammunition, per test. Thespecific brands and loads I used are notNew Bianchi- Belt, MetalRia for .45 Auto. Brownina 9mm~ir~ower 5" barrels.~~ecialmolded sight-channelprotects your sights. "Clip-Grip," adjustable tension,quick-draw mag. holderand fully contoured - .2V2" non-slip, fancystitched suede linedbelt complete thisÃfantastic rig. Price:$89.95 Complete.At franchised dealerseverywhere or order direc.. ,Send cash, check or moneyorder (sorry no COD'S). Add$1 for postage and handling.Calif. Res. add 6% sales tax. Stat.black or tan, right or left hand. 7Immediate delivery.k --important; the small number of roundsused makes comparisons of this kindmeaningless. "Since one week of exposure doesn't correspondto much of a test I resolved tomake each test somewhat exaggerated tocompensate. In all but the rough handlingand cold temperature tests, ammunitionwas heavily exposed to the test substancethen sealed up in a plastic bag. The coldtest ammunition was bagged then placedin a freezer, but not otherwise exposed.For the rough handling test, revolver cartridgeswere placed in the loops of a cartridgebelt and in a leather dump pouch.Pistol cartridges were loaded into magazinesthen attached to the belt in leathermagazine pouches. The belt was wornconstantly, rubbed on chair backs, intoand out of cars and, each time I went upor down the two flights of stairs at my office,the belt was thrown roughly up ordown ahead of me! That may seem likegoing a bit far but I don't think so. Officersoften get involved in scuffles whenmaking an arrest which result in equalabuse to their equipment.Before beginning the test week I inspectedall of the test ammunition carefullyfor physical damage so as to be surethat nothing discovered after the testwould be in doubt as to cause. It's a goodthing that I did. I found one round of .45-- .Send $1today forgiant Bianchicolor catalogiuu Lane uorrez, uept. AH-3 lemecula, California 92390Exclusive new"Auto Flex" gunretainer of moldedsurgical rubber forpositive safety.11

ACP ammunition on which the mouth ofthe case had been damaged in factoryloading. I rejected the round although Ibelieve that the damage would not havecaused a malfunction. This was an unusualoccurrence; I cannot rememberfinding a defective cartridge previously ina new factory box. I also looked for burrs,deformations to cartridge rims and extractorgrooves, and loose or damagedbullets. I found none.After the test week had passed I openedthe ammunition and again inspected it foroutward signs of damage. The ammunitionexposed to gun grease, gun oil, GunScrubber, WD 40, water and cold showedlittle if any external change. The ammunitionin the rough handling test variedquite a bit. The revolver cartridges in thebelt loops showed abrasions and most ofthe bullets were loosened in the cases sothat they could be rotated easily with thefingers. The revolver cartridges in thedump pouch and the pistol cartridges inthe magazines were undamaged. The ammunitionexposed to the weather was badlydiscolored on both bullets and casesand the exposed lead on soft point roundswas grey from oxidation. The cartridgesexposed to Hoppe's Number 9 bore cleanerwere covered with a dark, blue-greengrease evidently the result of a chemicalreaction between copper and the solvent.All the test ammunition was carefullycleaned by hand to remove lubricant, solventor oxidation and insure no damage tothe guns used or danger to the shooters.The shooting test gave the results shownin the table.Keep in mind that the validity of a testlike this is questionable at best. Very. smallsamples of ammunition were used, andthe exposure was pretty severe, muchworse than any ammunition would ever belikely to be exposed to in your gun. Somevery interesting things do seem to emergefrom the test, however-Example: the excellentperformance of the .45 ammunition.By contrast the equally poor showingof the .38 Special revolver cartridges Ifind easier to understand. Revolver cartridgeswith a crimp don't seem to be asdurable or as resistant to outside agents asdo pistol cartridges designed to stand upunder the shock of semiautomatic actions.During the test I unexpectedly encounteredtwo jams with 9 mm Parabellumcartridges in the magazine of the P-38used in the test. In both cases, cartridgecases had become sufficiently roughenedand enlarged to catch on the inside of themagazine body preventing the spring andfollower from presenting cartridges forloading. The damage was not enough toprevent hand feeding into the chamberand subsequent firing.Ammunition from the cold temperaturetest had returned to normal temperaturebefore the test was done. Had it beenfired right out of the freezer the resultsmight have been interesting at the target.12Test:Ammunition calibers and lots fired:.45-1 -45-2 .38-1 .38-2 9 mm P- 1 9 mm P-2Cold All ok All ok All ok All ok All ok All okGun All ok All ok All ok All ok All ok All okScrubber-- --Gun All ok All ok No 4 round a No's 2 and 4Grease hangfire after hangfires; offhammer fell; target. No 5off target. bullet lodgedone inch intobarrel. Muchsoot, dampunburnedpowder.No 1 blewback in shooter'sface slowburningpowder. Bulletdid leavebarrel; weak,off target.No's 3,4 thesame.No 1 blewback unburnedpowder;weak, offtarget.Weather All ok All ok All ok All ok All ok No 1 weak,off target, didnot open slideNo 3 lammedmagazine dueto corrosion.Gun Oil No5 All ok No 2 weak, No 2 misfired. No's 1,2 All okseemed like cork pop, No 2 hang- weak; off tarweak;off bullet out of fire. No's 3, 4 get, did nottarget, did barrel but off weak, off tar- open slide.not eject. target No's 4, get. No's 3,5 mis-5 some. fired.Hoppe's All ok All ok No's 1,4 mis- No 1 misfired. No's 1,2,3,4 No 2 jammedNumber 9fired. No 3 No 2 squib, misfires. No 5 in magazine;squib; bullet bullet lodged weak, bullet had to belodged Just one inch from off target. cleared withinto barrel. muzzle. No 4 screwdriver.lodged Jacketat gap, coregot out. No 5hangfire.WD40 All ak All ok All ok All ok All ok All okWater All ok All ok No's 1,2,3 All rounds All rounds No 4 misfired.misfires. No 4 misfires. misfires. No 5 weak,weak, off tar-off target.get.Rough Allok All ok All ok All ok All ok All okHandlingTapping out bullets that lodged in barrel.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

Cold powder gives low pressure and velocitythough whether or not the resultswould be detectable in handguns I do notknow. Heat has the opposite effect, andborderline high pressure handloads couldbe dangerous after exposure to the sun orin a hot car.On the day following the shoot I pulledthe bullets of all the misfires. The powderin the rounds exposed to gun oil lookednormal but showed signs of wetness whenmoved about with a matchstick. Powderfrom the batch exposed to Hoppe's Number9 bore cleaner was obviously wet anddark in color, and caked when movedabout. The powder from the weather misfireslooked normal. That from the watermisfires was all dark and obviously wet.Keeping it segregated, I reloaded thepowder from the misfires in freshlyprimed .45 ACP cases covering each witha wax plug. In no case would the large CCIprimers I used ignite the powder. I againremoved the powder and attempted toburn it by exposure to a lighted match.This time it all burned, though slowly andincompletely.If the test results are to be believed itseems that the old admonition to "KeepYour Powder Dry!" still applies. Waterdid the greatest damage, with Hoppe'sNumber 9, oil and grease following closebehind. I was surprised to note no damagewhatever from exposure to WD 40 but notso much so in the case of Gun Scrubber,which is highly volatile and had prettymuch evaporated before I managed tobag its batch of cartridges. Mostly, I thinkthis test reaffirmed what I already knewthatammunition reliability depends uponprotecting it from exposure to the elements,cleaning and preservative substancesand physical abuse.One final word on ammunition. It isn'tenough that you take proper care of it togain all it can give in reliability. It is alsovital that the handgun owner select theright ammunition in the first place. Manyfine, older pistols such as the P-38 I usedin this test will not feed well with the new,soft point bullets. My gun is not unique inthis regard, and the new ammunitionavailable in recent years should bechecked out carefully in your pistol beforeyou bet your life on it. Revolvers are notimmune to problems and require properlycrimped rounds or bullets may jar forwardand jam rotation of the cylinder. This hashappened to me with factory ammunitionon occasion when very powerful loadswere being used. It goes without sayingalso that you need to know where the ammunitionyou select shoots in your gun.With the broad spread of bullet weightsand types available today this has becomea real problem for most all calibers. If wekeep these things in mind, I believe thatwe'll "have a handle" on the ammunitionaspect of handgunreliability!- -Ern Handgun AmmomLm protectionHuntersOfficersLaw EnforcementTarget ShootersCASE-GARD 18 Ammo Wallet4Holds 18 rounds, 9mm - 44 Mag. .$1.95CASE-GARD 50 Ammo BOXHolds 50 rounds, 9mm - 44 Mag. .$1.25Durable; light-weight; rain, dust, and rattle-proof . . .and Guaranteed for 3 years!=See your filEfilDealer, or send for Free Catalog today.. PRESIDENTIALSPORTSTHE MTM MOLDED PRODUCTS COMPANY5680 Webster Street- Dayton, Ohio 45414 ICan you qualify for PresidentialSports Awards intrap, skeet, rifle or air gunshooting? For details, writethe National ShootingSports Foundation, 1075 Post Road,Riverside, Ct. 06878.Part II-Gun TestsAMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCHIAPRIL 1977

IMPORT-

any normal partition? The depth of thebullet travel is known as the Danger Zone.Think about this for a moment. It is notpossible to put down a felon and have nodanger zone-UNLESS you do not miss.If you carefully place your shots youshould have no danger zone.The .44 special has a relatively smalldanger zone. Obviously, much dependsupon the construction of the building.There is no pat answer. The .45 Long Colthas a deeper danger zone. The .45 ACP inits GI 230 grain full metal jacket loadingcan have a deep danger zone, however,this cartridge can be purchased loadedwith a high velocity, relatively frangible185 grain, hollow point bullet that has afar smaller danger zone than the GI load-A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR HOME DEFENSEing. The man who handloads can casthollow point lead bullets for both the .44By MASON WILLIAMSand .45 Long Colt that will deliver smashingstoppingpower at very low velocitiesusing bullet weight to stop the felon ratherhe subtitle could easily be How to .44 Magnum that will drive through walls, than velocity. We are not interested hereT Force the Felon to Cease and Desist. down hallways or smash up TV'S and fur- in ballistics or loading data. What we areSome readers will instantly associate this niture two rooms away. There is no reason concerned with here is what handgun tothinking with combat shooting. I have no to endanger other ~eople in the house. choose, in what caliber and then how tointention of discussing combat shooting.The average civilian has no use for thisThere is nothing logical about sending use it! We are interested in the safe and efprojectilesscreaming out through the ficient use of the handgun. In otherknowledge. Further, combat shooting, in neighborhood.words-training.its true sense, pits a man against What do we need? At distances of ten Let's take each handgun and briefly gonumerous targets that are out to kill him feet the primary requirement is stopping through basics with them. Remember wethus placing him in a position of having to power. A man comes barging through the are not interested in reloading, nomenclafireat each and every target that confronts bedroom door at night or swings up onto ture, stripping, cleaning. None of thesehim. Combat shooting is tough, aggres- the living room porch during the day to details have any bearing uoon the ultimatesive, forceful, driving. All I want to do is smash the glass doors as you enter to see use of the handgun in the hands of the stukeepyou, your wife, your children and what is going on. Ten feet is a short dis- dent whether the student is a girl, man,possibly your mother-in-law alive. That's tance. When he comes through that door grandmother, wife, etc. The only thing weall. If you commence charging out into you must be able to put him down in are concerned with is the safe and effithenight, guns blazing, you become legal about four feet, thus giving you a six foot cient handling of the handgun in time ofgame for your neighbors and for any law leeway. So what cartridge and handgun danger and stress. So we must strip awayenforcement officer that comes barging will do this best? In my opinion, there are all of our conventional thinking and getaround the comer to see what gives! three commercially produced cartridges down to the important factors right fromSo here you are surroundedby crime, and handguns that will basically do a good the start. I am not bucking the youngstersfelons and criminals on bail. You want job. Remember now, nothing is fool or the adults who wish to learn to targetsome means of defending yourself, your proof. Anything can go wrong and any- shoot or hunt with a handgun. That is anfamily and your home. Anyone who thing I say can be disproved and contra- entirely different phase of the shootingbreaks and enters should be stopped in his dieted, however, these three cartridges game. Training for match shooting ortracks. Anyone who attacks should be have proven themselves for a good many long range big bore handgun has nothingstopped in his tracks. How can you best do years as close range man stoppers. The to do with forcing a felon to cease and dethis?How can you do this short of spray- first is the Colt Government Model .45 sist!ing the house, hallway and vicinity with ACP pistol and cartridge. The second is The Colt .45 automatic pistol should bebullets?the Colt Single Action revolver firing the kept in a convenient place with the cham-Despite our brief heritage as a nation .45 Long Colt cartridge. And third is the ber loaded, six cartridges in the magazineupon this earth, we Americans have be- superb little Charter Arms .44 special and the hammer down. Safety obviouslycome so influenced by tradition, by TV, by Bulldog. Of the three, I sincerely believemovies, by the news media as a whole that that for most defensive purposes in urbanCOIN DETECTORSit is difficult to sit down and empirically and suburban areas, the Charter .44 is theevaluate a situation that involves handguns,shooting and killing. Rather than attemptto ask the local cop on the beatbest choice. It is light in weight. It is relativelyinexpensive and ammunition isavailable anywhere.what handgun he carries and then rush The danger zone of the .44 special fac-Mesquite. TX 75149out and buy one, let's take a bit of time tory load is relatively short. By this I refer1 1and go back and attempt to realistically to what the bullet can do on a miss. If youevaluate your situation.don't believe vou can miss sittine " in bed.First off, no one can rape your wife, hunkered up and waiting, under stress ' STATE PISTOL LAWSmug you, beat your children, set- fire to when a felon slowly opens the door and 1Ji111klct ilcscrlliing luteat pimi regulations peryourhouse or injure you unless they come stares at you, knife in hand. give it a bit ha!pBitg &''21'~2teaCa~~~2 ""' Durc'1a8ing Orclose. We are discussing distances underten feet. Isn't this true? Stop and thinkabout it. We do not require a long rangehunting cartridge. We do not need a supermore thought. Where doe. the bullet gowhen you miss? Can it smash on throughpartitions to possibly injure someone inthe next room? Or will it basically stop inAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977 15

would be off. Mechanically this is a safemethod of leaving the pistol. The firingpin is shorter than the distance betweenthe face of the hammer and the face of thebreech block. Held to the rear by itsspring, the firing pin remains forced to therear away from the primer in the head ofthe cartridge. Condition is thus SAFE!This is the point at which I start the student.The student is shown the pistol, hammerdown, magazine in. The pistol is unloaded.I have the student handle theweapon, look it over, and then I discuss apractical place to keep it. A night stand?In the living room? Whatever place ischosen should be convenient and instantlyaccessible. Usually the bedroom near thebed is the best choice. The bedroom ishome territory for the student.Next step is to have the student learnthe two handed hold. It is simple and fastto assume and, as shown here, provides asolid grip on the pistol. This hold placesthe thumbs of both hands close to thepistol hammer. Once the student hasgrasped the basic two handed hold andunderstands that such a hold provides apractical method of controlling the pistolduring firing I have the student stick outhis or her trigger finger. Stick it out flatalongside the receiver and tell them to actas if they were pointing at the target.Now I have them reach up with eitherthumb and cock the hammer. The triggerfinger remains flat along the receiverpointing at the target. Next, bring the triggerfinger inside the trigger guard andsmash off the hammer. The hammer falls.The student cocks the hammer again.Smash her off again and again and againuntil cocking the hammer, getting thethumb back down into the two handedgrip and smashing off the hammer becomean almost automatic series of movements.And then it is time to cock the hammerand, keeping the trigger finger flat alongthe receiver, shove up the safety. Somewherealong the line when all the dust hassettled and things have quieted down inthe bedroom with the felon on the floorand people coming into the room, the studentwill have to make SAFE the pistol.The simplest method is by flicking up themanual safety. The pistol may then beplaced on a bed or table top. The momentit is released the pistol has two safeties toprevent it from being fired-the manualsafety and the automatic grip safety.Once the student has learned thesebasics and the why's it is time to go outonto the range. Because there will be nobullseye shooting or shooting for fun I donot use bullseye targets or blank sheets ofpaper or cans or other plinking objects. Iuse felon targets put out by ATS in St.Paul, Minnesota. If the student has any.intelligence,said student can instantly relateto these targets. They represent the factsof life brought home NOW-not in somedark distant future. The student either16reacts correctly or we cancel out the wholeoperation. Because from this point on thetraining is identical whether a pistol,single action revolver or double actionrevolver is used, let's go back and checkout the single and double action handguns.The single action revolver is an anachronismin today's world that drips withtradition and nostalgia but which, strangelyenough, has seized the American imagination.There are so many around andso many chambered for the excellent .45Long Colt cartridge that we must discussthem. I consider the single action revolverto be an extremely dangerous handgun towork with. First of all the moment thehammer is cocked we are in a state ofRED ALERT! If all six shots are to befired or if the student has sense enough tostop firing and leave the hammer down,the situation can be acceptable but usuallythe student ends up with four shots firedand the hammer back and a "where do wego from here" expression on his face.Keep in mind that under stress the studentwill probably have no idea of howmany shots have been fired. Probably theaverage student will have no clear realizationthat the hammer remains back readyto fall upon a cartridge and here are thepolice, friends, relatives and such likestorming into the room. Now what? Usingthe two handed hold I merely instruct thestudent to place the thumb of the lefthand in front of the hammer and pull thetrigger. Far better to bugger up a thumbslightly than to wipe out the local constabulatoryor grandma! Next, and Ipound and pound this into the student'shead, get your cotton picking triggerfinger out of the trigger guard, then don'tdo anything. Let someone else carefullyget the single action .45 Long Colt out ofthe student's hand and put it down.Despite these problems, I sincerelybelieve that the .45 Long Colt cartridgejustifies spending the extra time to trainand train the student on the safe and efficienthandling of this handgun.As for the conventional double actionrevolver, we are right back to the simplicityinherent in the .45 ACP. No need todelve into reloading, swinging out the cylinderor other nonessentials. Here is therevolver. It is loaded. To fire, pull the trigger!Finally, To The RangeNow out to the range. 1 have discussedthe use of ATS targets. I put up three differentones trying, whenever possible, touse the ones that show a man with a brokenbottle, another with a knife and thethird showing a girl with a shotgun. Thisgives us three varying stages of DANGER.I explain this to the student. Obviously agal with a shotgun, smashing in a door is alot more dangerous at that moment than aman with a broken bottle staring down thehall. On the other hand a man with a knifeshould not be taken lightly.I start the student about three feet fromthe shotgudgal target, handgun in hand.The student then goes into the two handedhold and, firing from the hip, fires one singleshot only into the target aiming, hopefully,for the stomach. The bullet usuallygoes where it should. I treat this as a foregoneconclusion and move the studentback one full pace. Again, a single shot.Again a hit. This continues for five shotsor until the handgun is empty.I then take the handgun. reload it. handit back to the student and we repeat.Again reload, hand it back and start thestudent from about ten feet. The handgunis raised to about shoulder height and ispointed, not aimed at the center of the figures.Now the student fires first at theshotgun, then at the knife and then at thebottle. Usually these are good solid hits.Then repeat.At this point I commence challengingthe student to hit various parts of the figures.Perhaps the belt buckle. Or thechest. As we progress I throw in headshots. It is surprising how the student willcome along and react correctly. By thistime the situation is under control. Thestudent has confidence and is making hits.I then stop and we return to the house.Training SessionGoes To The HouseI take the student to the bedroom andexplain the various methods of firing froma fixed, chosen spot. I prefer to have thestudent sit on the bed, back to the wall,legs drawn up, handgun held with the twohanded hold and locked securely betweenthe knees aimed at the center of the door.This gives the student a solid firing platform.It gives the student a tremendousfeeling of security with back to wall, handgunsteady.Why the bedroom and bed? We are notattempting to produce an urban, freewheeling, close quarter combat shooterthat can roam a house and respond to attackand kill with the reflexes of a cat. Allwe are trying to do is teach a man, woman,youngster, grandparent how to protectthemselves from an attacker and housebreaker. "Make the person come to you.You have chosen your spot. Get to it, prepareand wait. You have every advantage.The moment you see the felon's weapon,point the handgun at the belt buckle andempty the handgun." 1 stress and stress"don't go looking for the felon. If there issomeone in the house, that person willeventually work their way to you."This entire training program takes lessthan two hours. About one hour of preparationand one hour of range firing. I liketo take the student and give refreshercourses a couple of times a year. In myopinion, there is no need to burden such acourse with noneessentials.Keep it simple!AMERICAN HANDGUNNER a MARCHIAPRIL 1977

HAVE SECUR ITYAND GOOD LOOK 8 WITHNo-ScrewGrf- -iBy RUSS GAERTNERrips can make or break your handgunning. A good pair of stocks dresses upG any gun, and custom grips fitted to the hand give the same solid hold shotafter shot, a key requirement for accuracy. Recoil control features may make thedifference between comfortable shooting and plain misery, especially with the bigmagnums.I have been making my own grips for revolvers and semi-autos for severalyears, in order to fit each to my hand and gun. The one undesirable feature ofthese homemade grips-as well as commercial stocks-was the grip screw.Most handgunners, I believe, consider grip screws a necessary evil. If you'veever tightened a loose one a bit too much, only to split a beautiful set of stocks,you understand the feeling. And why are the screws always placed so that they irritatethe palm of your hand or the fingertips? Finally, the screw mars the flow ofsubtle wood grains.Custom grip makers have experimented with systems to eliminate screws. ToThe heavy recoil of the S&W M-29is tamed by the author's fittedgrips with exclusive no-screwfastening do-it-yourself design.less grips provide extracomfort in firing heavyfull charge magnum loads.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

Roughly inletted grips for a Smith & WessonM-29 have been shaped with a router bit onan electric drill press prior to fitting.The loose inletting is tightened by epoxybedding to form a secure, split-proof fiton the hard-kicking Model 29 .44 magnum.my knowledge, only two methods have been successful and bothhave drawbacks. A solid blank can be inletted internally-a jobrequiring great skill-and attached with cement. Or a blank canbe sawed into halves, which are inletted as usual and glued backtogether over the frame to match the grain, then shaped, sandedand finished on the gun.Both methods are capable of fine results in the hands of experts,but the grips are permanent. Internal cleaning or a brokenmainspring means splitting them. Such grips are designed fordisplay, not shooting. Amateur wood butchers, such as myself,should not tackle either method.For a couple of years at this writing, I have been shooting withhandgun grips of a new type. They have no external hardware,and only a narrow slot under the butt is visible on the finished~ " D S .xThey can be removed instantly for cleaning or repairs on thegun, then replaced as quickly, or switched with another set. Itwould be simple to have two sets-say, all-out target stocks andcombat grips-for the same guri. No alteration of the gun isnecessary.Will these grips withstand heavy recoil? I have used sets ofthem on both a Colt's Official Police .38 and a Charter ArmsBulldog .44 Special with a lot of heavy loads, but the best exam-pie is the set on a Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnumwhich is still tight and rock-solid after over a year of rapid-firedouble-action work with handloads up to and including many offullhouse power. I also had occasion to fire a series of hotterthan-factoryhandloads; these were too stiff with the good factorytarget grips, but my screwless grips tamed them nicely.For magnums I strongly recommend the following beddingprocedure. Grips break because they fit slightly tighter in one ortwo areas, and these become pressure points to start a split alongthe grain of the wood. Bedding prevents that by providing a perfectfit and by strengthening the wood. If your inletting is playfreeand uniform, you need not bed them.Any revolver grip can be attached by this method. The revolvermust have room inside of the grip frame, at least a 5/s inchcircle which will not interfere with the spring or hammer ineither the cocked or fired position. Colt's and Rugers have alarge hole in the frame. Smiths have a space behind the leafspring which is usable.If you bed the inletting, follow the directions with your kit,coating the frame with release agent and allowing it to dry completely.I prefer Brownell's Accraglas, an epoxy, but others willwork.Bed one grip at a time. Apply epoxy mix sparingly to the inletting,clamp the grip firmly to the frame, and allow it to cureovernight. Tap it off of the frame and trim away the excess.Clean the frame and seat both grips on the frame to be certainthey meet in a hairline. If not, more trimming is needed.Before bedding the second grip, file a release slot into thebottom of one grip. The slot is 'I16 inch wide and 'A to 3/4 inchlong. It allows a screwdriver blade or coin to be inserted betweenthe two grips. Apply some of the epoxy mix to the slotsides to harden the wood.Reseat the first bedded grip on the frame and apply releaseagent to both frame and the inside surface of the first grip whereit will come into contact with the second erio. -, Allow it to drv.Next apply epoxy mix to the inletting of the second grip andbring it up from below the frame, seating it firmly; clamp thegrips up tightly together in this position and allow to cure completely.To release the first grip, insert a screwdriver blade into the releaseslot and twist to the second grip side. The newly beddedThe hardware used in assembling the author'sscrewless grips is inexpensive and quite easyto obtain from hardware and leather suppliers.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

Bedded grips have male and female snaphalves fitted in position. Note trimmedfiller-washer to clear frame and spring.Ready for final fitting, the assembled halvesare snapped together and epoxy has been liberallyapplied to the grip panel for final bond.grip should be easily tapped off of the frame. Trim again andclean off the release agent from both frame and inletting. Thegrips should now fit easily, with no more than a hairline betweenthem on the gun. Epoxy shrinks slightly on curing for an idealfit, perfect but easily removable. Some further trimming may berequired to get a perfect fit, but do not loosen the bedding, oryour work to this point will be wasted.The hardware is a set of large snaps of the type used on leatherholsters. Do not use small snaps designed for cloth. They willnot work and may ruin your grips. The correct type has a splitringwire spring inside of the female part. They can be purchasedfrom leather dealers or hobby shops. Tandy Companyshops sell a dozen pairs for about a dollar. Buy a rivet punch andanvil also.The idea is to cement a set of snaps inside of the grips, but itmust be done precisely for both a tight fit and a smooth release.First determine the position for the snaps inside of the gripframe. Check that there is clearance in both the cocked andfired positions. You may have to file down the edges of the snapsin some guns, but do not alter the working areas of the snaps.Now measure the frame thickness of the gun. The Tandysnaps are only 3/0 inch thick, assembled with no filler andsnapped together. One or more '/is inch steel washers should beused as fillers to make the snaps '1s inch thicker, assembled andsnapped, than the grip frame. Wire mesh may be used in placeof, or in addition to, washers for secure cementing.Make up a set of snaps, grinding down the rivet stems untilabout '/ie inch protrudes from the inside hole, then set the rivetswith the punch and anvil. Make or purchase a spacing washer,'132 inch thick with a '12 inch hole to fit over the male snap. Thisprevents the snaps from closing completely during final cementing,so that snap tension holds the grips firmly. Roughen the bottomsof the snaps on a grinder or with sandpaper, for best cementbonding.Next, hollow out the inside surfaces of both grips until theycan befully.seated on the grip frame with-the closed assembledsnaps inside. The wood should be left rough. Brush out wooddust.You are now ready to cement one of the snap parts. Cleanthem to remove oil or grease. Either snap half can be cementedinto the hollowed area of either grip first, using epoxy beddingmix or epoxy cement, such as Duro Epoxy.With release agent on the frame,seat the grip firmly, placeepoxy mix in the hollow, twist the snap part into it, keeping thepart straight on the verticle, and let the cement cure completely.(Continued on page 64)An inside look at the finished product: screwlessgrips that are both secure and functional.Note close fitting, but not tight, inletting.Seen from the outside, the finished grips arecoated with a sweat-proof 2-part epoxy varnish.The handfitting contour allows a firm hold.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

odem peacetime combat activities, especially on a civi-M lized civilian level, consists of battle axes made by Smith& Wesson and Colt, to name two of the tops. But two Smiths, a.38 and a .45 Colt (converted from a .41 magnum), and a certifiedpublic accountant (number cruncher), are the subjects ofthis story.Frank Cress, 41, assistant finance director of Oroville(where's that?), California, began his interest in combat shootingafter co-founding the Oroville Rifle and Pistol Club. He'snow president and a Grand Master shooter of wheelguns.His first fistful1 was a 7.65 Luger back in 1958, which is a farcry from the .38 and .45 bull-barreled Charlie Clemens modifiedpieces he now sports to shooting matches. Clemens is aChico, California, based gunsmith (North Valley Gun Shop) andis a well-traveled Master shooter as "well.The evolution of the Cress pistols follows the evolution of theshooter who began in the Brea Rifle and Pistol Club of sout@ernCalifornia, where he became exposed to fine weaponry andBy BYRON BOOTSshooting expertise from '58 to '62. A few moves north with wife,Sharon, and four kids landed him in Oroville in '70.His first combat shooting match yielded 399 points out of apossible 420Ã‘whic started him off in the Expert class. Thathooked him on shooting the PPC short course.But it wasn't long before he found his Model 14 Smith &Wesson .38 lacking in the necessary barrel weight for consistencyin his 414-420 average (though his best was a warm418-420).Cress noted the 8-inch barrels with full-length ribs, the finelyadjustable sights, the semi- or full custom grips with reliefs forspeedloading ease, and that most GM pieces were Smiths. So hedecided to have some of his own ideas wrapped up in a package.Fellow shooters recommended Charlie C. for the smithing,and the pieces began to take shape.The first, of course, was the .38. Frank chose a Smith Model10.38 M&P because it was built on the K frame. That way theprice was right as well as the frame. The 5-inch barrel was to re-20AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * MARCH/APRIL 1977

-~tire unused.Then Charlie installed an 8'1s-inchsnout machined from a Douglas Premiumblank. The smith turned it down to an outsidediameter of '5/~6-inch, which was consideredthe largest that could be cosmeticallyfitted to the wheeler. The twist wasone-turn-in-18-inches so the piece couldbe possibly put to use as a hunter as wellas a paper cutter. The cylinder gap was setto .006-inch.Chas C. custom-made and fitted the forwardcylinder lock and crowned the barrel,then installed an 8-inch custom ribwith Eliason sights, the same as found onthe Colt Gold Cup pistols.Clemens also sandblasted the top of therib to cut down glare. The rib free-floatsover the top strap. A smooth-faced triggerand a target hammer were installed afterhe smoothed and stoned the critical pointsof friction in the entire action.Cress requested and got a stippledbackstrap, and the bottom of the cylinderrelease latch was milled off for speedloaderclearance. The chambers werechamfered to admit full wadcutters in ahurry.Hurry was also the reason the righthandfront side of the trigger guard wasthinned-to keep an errant fingernailfrom hanging up in a quick-draw situation.Clemens assembled and test-fired thewheeler while still in the white, then polishedher down and lovingly dressed herin a very deep satin blue. Her coming-outcostume was finished with a set of slightlymodified(left-hand stock relief for positivecartridge ejection) Herrett's ShootingStar Stocks.Frank attended three matches, takinghome a first Grand Master Individual, asecond GM aggregate, and a second GMI.He raised his personal all-time best scoreClemens thinned the trigger guardof Frank's .38 to eliminate thepossibility of snagging a fingernailon it during a quick draw.to 419-420 with 32X (of a possible 42X),and has fired several possibles in practice.But the indomitable mind didn't stop.Old West shooters always used a .45. Anda .45 cuts a larger hole than a .38. Besides,Frank always did like the .45 Colt cartridge.As you buffs know, there is no moderndouble action .45 Colt wheelgun available.So, it was back to Charlie C. Thistime with a Smith Model 58 M&P .41magnum, fixed sights and all.The Model 58 sports the N frame whichis also used in the .44 maggie Model 29and the .45 ACP Model 25 target wheelers., Charlie filled Frank's order again, butthis time the stats were slightly different: a6-inch custom, slab-sided ('12-inch milledflats each side), one-in-17, crowned barrelfrom Douglas Premium barrel stock witha .452 groove diameter to allow for theuse of modern .45 caliber bullets, and al5Iieths O.D.; a Bowmar K-frame combatrib specially modified to clear the largerN-frame top strap (which also had to beinlet for the elevation adjustments); thecylinders were rechambered to the largercaliber; along with the rest of the goodiessimilar to the first job.Clemens felt the wheel was ample totake the boring and larger ammo becausethe same cylinder was used in the .44magnum wrist-buster. (The minimumwall thickness at the cylinder notchesranged from .019 to .023-inch.)The new piece was then test-fired. To bespecific, 15 rounds at 15 yards in a ll/z-Frank's .38 wears a crowned DouglasPremium bull barrel. Notethe massive barrel walls as comparedto a standard M-10 barrel.inch group, 15X-two-handed, no support.The ammunition used is .45 Coltloaded with 5.5 grains of Bullseye behindZero brand outside lubed 185 grain semiwadsin new Remington cases, fired bystandard Remington large pistol primers.Frank found the Dade .44 mag speedloaderworked well for the .45 Colt ammo.He and Charlie are now testing lighterloads in the "superbly" (claims Frank) accurate~iece. (After this writer fired - both~ ...pieces, the description seemed an understatement.At 15 yards, one-handed, doubleaction, the dude in black was in aworld of hurt from the X out to the ninercircle. The mythical sidekick standingnext to him was also hurting after I pulledone out to the edge of the cardboard. ACress-Clemens adjustment on my headkept the rest in a "projected' 400 plusminusof 420 in the PPC short course. Iadd this only for two reasons: owner's talkcan be cheap but performance provedneither to be liars; and it was just plain fun~-.Frank Cress' Clemens-modified S& Wis rechambered for .45 Colt. Theobvious level of accuracy obtainedfrom the Douglas barrel is shown.

Frank Cress proves the accuracy of his Clemens-modified .45 Coltby blasting the heart out of a combat silhouette target.For those of you interested in getting intouch with the smith, his address isCharles Clemens, North Valley Gun Shop,789 Lorinda Lane, Chico, California,and sheer pleasure to drive a Maserati cases bottomed with CCI small pistol 95926. His Mother Bell rings by dialingafter too many crippled Bugs, allegorically primers to fire 2.5 grains of Bullseye, giv- 916-345-9364.speaking.) ing the hustle to the Zero outside lubed Clemen's 20-step jobs for Cress basical-The smaller wheelgun's ammo is .38 148-grain hollow base wadcutter. ly entailed: 1. Disassembly. 2. RemoveAMERICAN HANOGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

The raw materials for a Clemens Combat Conversion include a custom rib(shown in the white) and finely adjustable Elliason sights. Note thatCharlie has modified the Herrett's grips to ease speedloading the .38.Clemen's- fine stippling is shownto the as-issued S&W i-tern. ~h~ stippling allows a bettergrip for finer D.A. control,barrel. 3. Cut barrel blank '14-inch longerthan finished product. 4. Turn barrel tothe O.D. desired. 5. Use micrometer tomeasure through the front of the frame tothe cylinder face to determine the properbarrel extension length. 6. Turn andthread the barrel.extension. 7. Fit the barrelto the frame and cylinder with a gap of.006 between the barrel and cylinder. 8.Mark the bottom of the barrel for millingfor the bolt lock. 9. Remove barrel andmill for the bolt lock. 10. Crown the barrel.11. Fit a block to the milled slot. 12.Put barrel back in the frame. 13. Markthe block by putting a rod through theframe, cylinder and ejector rod. 14. Drillthe block. 15. Make the lock parts and fitthem. 16. Install the sight or rib andsights, as the case may be. 17. Silversolder the lock on the disassembled barrel.18. Do backstrap stippling, internaland other external work such as triggerguardthinning, -etc. 19. Test.20. Polish and blue.Gunner and gunsmith team up on the line for rapid fire practice.The cylinder mouths of the Clemens38 are chambered to ease speedloadinginsertion of wadcutter rounds.

By RICK MILLERas your handgun shooting gone a lit-H tle stale lately? Has the old enjoymentyou used to derive from paperpunching or plinkiing been missing recentlyfrom your favorite pastime? Or maybethe thought of new worlds to conquermight stimulate your interest. If so, maybethis article can provide some ideas on howto spice things up a bit.Practical pistol shooting has one veryserious goal; namely, that of developinglifesaving handgun skill for police, military,or civilian shooters. But in additionto that serious aspect, people who havetried it find that it is also great fun! Asidefrom developing an eminently useful skill,the sport of practical pistol shooting ismuch more stimulating than conventionaltarget shooting Formalized target shootingis a fine sport, and a very demandingone. But some people, myself included,find it a bit slow and unrelated to reality.If your shooting enjoyment or interesthas sagged a bit lately maybe you shouldtry firing a few of the so called "combat"courses to liven things up a little. Sincethese courses stress accuracy, power,speed, versatility, and more realistic conditions,they can never be described asdull. My hunch is that once you've triedthe sport of practical pistol shooting youwill be hooked for life!Assuming that you are new to the game,the first and most basic step is to assuresafe gun handling. One prominent aspectof practical pistol shooting is that all firingstarts with the gun bolstered. It thereforebehooves the individual to become proficientin drawing from the leather. Thismeans plenty of practice at home with anempty gun before you head for the range.Even if you have been shooting for quite along time, the dry practice is still necessaryif you are not familiar with this aspectof the sport. There is nothing more ludicrousor hair-raising than to watch someoneattempt a quick draw with a loadedpistol, and produce a fumble instead!A properly executed quick draw is quitesafe, so long as the individual has practicedthe act thoroughly, and never losessight of the fact that speed without accuracyis just a waste of time. The beginningpistolero should forget about speed andstrive for smoothness, consistency, and accuracy.After he has attained these threeimportant qualities, the speed will graduallycome without forcing it.While an individual is perfecting asmooth drawing technique he may as wellgo ahead and incorporate the. WeaverShooting Stance into the exercise. Thistechnique has been proven superior formost defensive shooting situations, andshould be practiced from the very beginning.Placing two hands on the weaponAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977improves accuracy under all shooting conditionsthat call for speed, and recoveryfrom recoil for follow up shots or shiftingpoint of aim is quicker and subject to bettercontrol.The chief argument of the unenlightenedagainst the Weaver Stance is thatthey think it is slow. Nothing could be furtherfrom the truth. The two handedspeed shooting technique is fully as quickas a one hand point, and accuracy andcontrol with two hands is vastly superior.Even if one hand point shooting might bequicker up close, the advantage of accuracywould still lie with the two hand eyelevel position. Hits are what count, andvery few people are able or willing to devotethe time and effort needed for developmentof accurate unsighted shooting.This leads us up to the whole point ofpractical pistol shooting to find out whatsystems work best under simulated combatconditions, and to stimulate enoughinterest on the part of the individual to insurethat he will become as proficient aspossible in these potentially lifesavingskills. Here is where the importance of thecombat match comes into the picture.The Weaver Stance only started to dominatethe picture when Jack Weaverproved in open competition that one handpoint shooting could not measure up tohis new technique. Without the stimulationof competition this method of shootingwould probably not have been developed,and without shoulder to shouldercontests its superiority could not easilyhave been demonstrated.There are an endless variety of coursesopen to the practical pistol shooter topractice and experiment with. There areSolid two-hand hold, with fingers ofleft hand overlapping fingers of theright hand; left thumb over the right.Left arm pulls back against the right.Practical pistol shooting helps todevelop efficient and functionalequipment. Author's rig is a forwardrake, thumb break duty holster madeby Bianchi for the .45 Colt Auto.several reasons for this. The situationspossible in a gunf* are quite varied, andtherefore each course should pose a varietyof different problems. This will help theshooter expand and grow while keepinghim from stagnating or over-specializingto meet only one set of limited challenges.Perhaps if we describe a few of the variedchallenges encountered in some of thestandard courses of fire you'll get a betteridea of what I mean. I won't go into minutedetail with each course, but will giveenough information to show the essenceof practical pistol shooting. As you read,

dost or me stanaard combat course do not require any elaborateequipment. This string of targets for the Mexican Defense Coursewere set up with cardboard targets and an improvised holder. Thetargets are set low to get the most out of the sand bank backstop.just remember that the list of contests andvariations is only as limited as your imaginationand your physical limits.One other point I'd like to make beforewe get into our description is that youdon't need an elaborate setup for most ofthese combat courses. As some of thephotos show, all you need is a little ingenuityto set things up in a perfectly satisfactorymanner. All that is needed is anarea where shooting may be conductedwith safety for the shooters and withoutdisturbance to the general public.The Mexican Defense Course is a goodone to start with. It requires pivoting,drawing, rapid fire on single and multipletargets, and movement on the part of theshooter while firing. All this at a range ofeight to ten yards. As varied as this mayseem, it was not good enough for JeffCooper. Back in the late 50's he addedtwo additional stages to compliment theoriginal four. These last two stages of theModified Mex. require running laterally adistance of sixteen feet across the front ofthe targets while firing. All strings must befired in five seconds or less. The last twostages really separate the pistoleros fromthe ordinary pistol shooters!Another example of a standard coursethat has been modified for practical pistolshooting is the International Rapid FireCourse. As originally designed, this one isa very stylized and restricted combatcourse for target shooters that is shot with.22 Short autoloading pistols. Shooting iscommenced with pistol in hand and ready.Time limits range from eight seconds, tosix, to four, with one shot being fired ateach of five targets within the allottedtime limit at twenty-five meters range.In contrast, the modified course is firedwith service sidearms and full power ammunition.Each string is started with pistolbolstered, hands clear, and four secondtime limits. The standard combat silhouettereplaces its stylized Internationalcounterpart with its many small scoringrings. Fired in this modified guise, the InternationalRapid Fire Course makes astimulating and challenging, if somewhatlimited, combat contest.The Assault Course is another outstandingexample of a standard combat match.Probably the best feature of this one is thevariety that can be worked into it No twoAssault Courses are ever exactly the same,because the targets may be relocated,placed at varying distances, be partiallyconcealed from the shooter's view, andthe terrain over which the course is runmay be changed completely.In this one the shooter moves along aUnrestricted competition lets youuse diverse equipment. Here therevolver is pitted against an autopistol on the rapid fire course.designated trail endeavoring to spot alltargets, hit them quickly as he movesalong, and get to the finish line as fast aspossible. Reloading along the way is required,and a sharp eye is needed to spotall the targets as the shooter moves along.The Assault Course is always a favorite,because of the action and variety.The simplest form of man-against-mancontest is the Leatherslap. In this type ofmatch two contestants are pitted againsteach other shoulder to shoulder at a rangeof seven yards. The targets are inflatedballoons, and the only object is to breakyours ahead of your opponent. Two out ofthree, or three out of five wins constituteone bout. Good reflexes, smooth tech-nique, and coarse short range - . accuracyare the prerequisites here. Steady nervesalso help, because the man against mancontests always generate excitement.This short review of several standardcourses is only meant to give you an ideaof the principles involved, the skills required,and the diversity of challenges encounteredin this type of shooting. Thereare many more standard courses thatcould be mentioned. Beyond that, surpriseshoots and improvised bouts bringendless possibilities into the picture.Speaking of variety, that is certainlywhat you will find when looking at theequipment used by individual shooters.The pistols, holsters, and other related accessoriesare all subject to the personaltastes and whims of the gent using them.Furthermore, some contests will call formore specialized equipment than others.For example, the equipment used in amatch stressing concealability will besomewhat different than that found in acontest calling for all out speed. This dissimilarityof equipment is a good thing,because, as mentioned before, onlythrough comparing various ideas in competitionwith one another can we find outwhich of them works best.For all around use in this sort of shootinga well built duty outfit or competitionspeed rig is hard to beat. This usually consistsof a heavy gun belt and holster wornon the shooter's strong side with butt tothe rear for a conventional draw. Someshooters prefer the pistol butt tilted forwardin the traditional manner and othersprefer it tipped back about eighteen degreesin what is called the "speed rake"position. For practical purposes either positionwill do, but the speed rake offers theadvantage of slightly greater speed andbetter control of the weapon throughoutthe drawing sequence.Some duty style competition rigs haveno retaining device, while others have afriction set screw you simply draw the pistolagainst. Nowadays, the most commonand probably most practical are thethumb break safety straps, which are findinggreat favor among police officersaround the country.Holsters for undercover wear reallyshow diversity and ingenuity. Some areIAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

Shooter assumes shoulder-high readyposition while buddy checks his timeon stage six of the Mexican course.Below: Firing stage six of the Mexcourse with a single action, as thejudge watches both hits and timing.made to carry the standard duty weapon,and others are designed for smaller bellyguns.They range in concept from themore or less standard FBI style waistbandholster, through inside the waistbandmodels, cross draw holsters, belt slides,and shoulder holsters.Other important accessories includespeed loaders and carriers for DA revolverusers, and fast grab magazine pouchesfor the auto pistol shooter. The quick reloadis an essential element in the doctrineof modern pistolcraft, and these deviceshave been developed over the years by ingeniuspistolmen to simplify the task.Since we are on the subject of efficiency,we may as well go ahead and mentionthe autoloading pistol before weclose. Revolvers may be used in this sportof course, but they don't stand up verywell against a properly handled selfloadingpistol. The big service pistols such asthe Colt .45 Auto or Browning's P-35 aremuch easier to manipulate quickly and accuratelythan any single or double actionrevolver. For equal amounts of practicethe average shooter will achieve better resultswith the selfloading pistol than withany DA revolver. The single action wheelgunis so far behind the other two that itshould only be considered for defensewhen nothing else is available.Notwithstanding the proven superiorityof the autoloading pistol, if you are a policeofficer who is required by regulationto carry a DA revolver, then by all meansuse it in ~ractice! It may not be the mostefficient weapon in the world, but it willbe the only one of importance to youwhen the chips are down. The degree ofskill you develop may make all the differenceif the unfortunate day comes whenyou may have to use it.Among my shooting friends the singleaction autoloader (specifically the Colt.45 Auto) has just about reigned supremeon all combat courses of fire. The onlytimes a revolver shooter even stood a remotechance of winning against the 1911auto occurred in those contests calling forone draw and one shot at a time. On multipletargets or in rapid reloading the revolverjust cannot match the selfloader forefficiency. A really good shooter can moreor less offset the revolver's disadvantagesif he works hard enough. The point is, ifhe has a choice, why should he? I shouldthink the obvious solution would be to goto the more efficient handgun.Regardless of what type of equipmentyou personally advocate, the real point ofpractical pistol practice is to find out howwell you perform on realistic courses setup to simulate possible combat situations.After you try a few courses of fire, chancesare you will find there is plenty of roomfor improvement. But don't let that discourageyou, most of us found out veryquickly that we were not as hot as wethought we were. Once you find this outyou can experience the twofold pleasureof sharpening a potentially lifesaving skillwhile engaging in a very stimulatingand exciting sport.

SOME STRAIGHT TALK, WITHOUT TALL TALES,ABOUT A MOST MISUNDERSTOOD ASPECTOF HANDGUN SHOOTING-ByJAMES D. MASONandgunning generally has been con-H sidered a short-range proposition.Surely, its main applications are well insideof fifty yards, twenty-five yards beingconsidered loosely the threshold for longrangepistol marksmanship. Attempts topublicize the long-range capabilities of thehandgun have been greeted with reactionsranging from tongue-in-cheek to convulsiveguffaws as readers were helped backinto their chairs, tears streaming downtheir faces. Everything from Jeff Cooper'sthree-inch, one hundred-yard groups toElmer Keith's outhouse marksmanshipand six hundred-yard elk has been lampoonedto a point where "gun-shy" authorsknow better than to utter murmurson this subject, in public.So, with this introduction, I intend tosurmount the insurmo.untable. The intenthere is not to broadcast individual claimsor to debunk past writing; instead, thispiece will deal with limitations and performanceswithin observed experiences.The realities of this arcane skill need furtherexploring as handgunning rises in statuteas a popular sport. Above all, I hopeto challenge and encourage other shootersto test the limits of the handgun at longrange; it is only in this way that developmentin a sport becomes meaningful.First, what is meant by "long-rangehandgunning"? In general, anything beyondtwenty-five yards; I prefer to establishfifty yards as the opener, since manyorganized pistol ranges provide this formal,measured distance. Beyond thatrange, we are dealing with the limitationsof guns, loads, and human skills. All ofthese factors are variable, and so we haveChampion pistolero Bill Mc-Millan completes a long yardagestring with the favoredSmith & Wesson Model 29.

the basis for developing and systematizinga technology, a kind of "science," of longrangepistolry.Aside from the technical challenge ofsuch a "science," growing use of handgunsin the game field makes developmentof effective long-range skills a necessityfor the polished handgun hunter.What is needed, then, to accomplish smallgroups and consistent hits with the "shortgun" at extended ranges?Prerequisite to long-range performanceis a handgun capable of delivering thegoods. In revolvers, inherent accuracy isdemanded, since not a lot can be done tocorrect a really sour-shooting wheelgun.Expert pistolsmithing can correct manydifficulties in lock timing and cylinder-toborealignment if a revolver is a mediocreshooter or just plain sloppy in fit. The gunand loads should shoot consistently insideof two and a half inches at fifty yards toperform credibly well at longer distances.Naturally, the smallest groups possible aremost desirable. Understand that this kindof testing is done on a machine rest or by askilled shooter supported on a bench; thisway human factors are eliminated or absolutelyminimized.Single action shooting is called for exceptwhere specialized combat shootingstances are demanded. In the SA mode,trigger should break cleanly with minimalbacklash and overtravel. Short lock timefrom a small hammer arc and full mainspringis mandated. An ideal long-rangegun may not produce the very best combatDA pull in a revolver. Single shothandguns, such as the ThompsodCenterContender, are ideal for deliberate slowfireshooting.The question of appropriate barrellength and weight rises amid debates as tooverall effectiveness of a long-range handgun.Theoretically, long barrels ~rovide amore favorable sight base length to minimizesighting errors. However, long sightbases also magnify normal barrel movements,causing many shooters to overcompensateand "shake" more than theywould using shorter barrels.Middle-aged eyes have a hard time acquiringand maintaining critical sightpictures with longer barrels. While velocitiesare maximized for any givenloads in a longer barrel, the gain in absolutevelocity may not be critical. Longerbarrels mean more weight and a morefavorable recoil moment, especiallywhen using heavy loads. Short barrelscarry and handle more conveniently inthe field, however.For long-range shooting, I prefer long,heavy barrels, largely because of balance;the 7%- to 8'1s-inch tubes are bestfrom this standpoint. Otherwise, 4 to 5-inch barrels may be preferfed to 6-inchlengths, which always take some adaptationto shoot well for me. Tastes andpreferences differ, and what suits theshooter best is the barrel length toTop PPC competitor Eldon Carl shot this magnificent 100 yard groupback in 1961 using a hot-loaded .44 Magnum. This kind of shootingwins competitions and is a goal that every shooter with visions ofbeing a long-range pistolero should aspire to. Note 6V2" Model 29.choose. While I like long tubes, one ofthe most reliable long-range revolvers inmv battery is a 2%-inch Model 19 thatregisters two-inch groups consistently atfifty yards with lead bullet handloads. IfI do my part, the little gun delivers,which is a complete opposite to what"should" be expected from a snub-nosecombat revolver.Long-range shooting of autopistols requiresthe Browning system, preferablythe Colt Government Model. which canbe given a full-house accuracy treatmentto deliver 1'12-inch groups at fif yards.Done by a qualified pistolsmith,'7the accuracycan be obtained while minimizingthe possibilities of functional failure.Sights are an integral part of considerationsfor long-range shooting. Deepnotch, wide 'Is-inch target type sights arepreferred. When possible, obtain fineadjustable target micrometer rear sightssuch as the Bo-Mar or Colt Eliason models.Despite preferences to the contrary,a good smoked-black sight gives the bestdefinition over most all light conditionsand target colors. Red, blue, or yellowfront sight blades have distinct advantagesunder certain known light condi-An almost unbelievable "/16"group of three shots at 100 yds.was fired by Eldon Carl intothe side of a corrugated carton.tions. White-outlined rear sights canproduce glare in hard sunlight.Mounting scopes on handguns givesseveral advantages at long range. Wherethe distance exceeds the eyes' resolvingpower, optical sights give the magnificationand resolution to see the target precisely.For middle-aged eyes, accommodationalproblems are eliminated bybringing reticle and target image intothe same optical plane. Small movementsof the gun are magnified so ameasure of shooting control can be seenAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977 29

This experimental hour-glasstarget may help long-rangehandgunners wring an extrabit of precision from theirshootingin the scope sight image. This may upsetuntrained scope users, however, andcause them tohave "purpose tremors,"that is, overcompensation for gun movementthat would not be perceived exceptfor the scope magnification. Scopes onhandguns are cumbersome, and the longeye relief of pistol optics reduces thefield of view of a sight considerably. Targetsare harder to acquire and track witha pistol scope, and hunting handgunnerscannot always count on game's standingin one place. Scopes on the big, hard recoilingmagnums are subject to damageand must be mounted rigidly to givesatisfactory service. Many owners ofheavy caliber handguns epoxy sightmounts to the frame of the pistol.Loads for long-range shooting mustbe prepared or selected from commercialammunition that performs well in agiven pistol. For the hunting handgun,this calls for jacketed ammunition ofrelatively full capacity loadings. Calibermust be chosen for the job at hand, althoughany of the "big three" magnums(.357, .41, or .44) fill the bill for generalpurpose long-range shooting.Most experienced shooters go for thebig-frame S&W Model 29 in .44 Magnum.Its power is undisputed, and it hasoutstanding accuracy with broad-scaledloading performance. Single actionbuffs will find renewed ballistic potentialfrom an old, perennial favorite, the .45Long Colt. Ruger's chambering of thisvenerable veteran on the big Blackhawkframe allows for magnum performancefrom this big-bore cartridge. Carefulloading in the rugged Ruger single actionrevolver yields safe performancenever dreamed of with the Peacemaker/-SAA style Colts.The large variety of fine bullets availablein .357 makes that magnum a natural,especially for shooters who do notwant to handle the heavier big bores. Killingpower for use on game will vary withthe species and firing range. Based onsheer popularity, the .357 Magnum iseasily the most recommended cartridgeusable for handgunning afield.The author's favorite all-purpose fieldcartridge is the .41 Magnum. This roundcan be loaded efficiently to any energy levelwithin its potential. It does not have thevariety of bullets that are available for the.357 or .44 bores, but the designs that aremarketed currently are of high quality. Inthe hail of "macho" .44 Magnum publicity,the virtues of the .41 have been grosslyplayed down.Most commentators have written offthis companion big-bore as being merelyfifteen percent inferior in power to the.44. But at longer ranges with comparablebullet weights to .44 caliber rounds, the.41 retains energy to deliver equivalentterminal results at longer ranges. Penetrationwith the smaller diameter bullet isalso superior on game animals when thesame bullet weight is used. The .41 case22 gr 2968311"6'12"22 gr H-1108318"6'12"18 gr 6308V8"6'12''15.5 gr Blue Dot8'/8"6 '12"13 gr Herco8318'6'12''16 gr AL-883/n"6'12"16 gr N20208311'6'12"11 gr Unique8311"6 '12''15 gr AL-78318"6'12''22 gr 42278318'6'12''13 gr HS-68318'6'12''.44 MAGNUM HANDLOADSMV Variance(f PSI (fp*)size-to-bore relationship is ideal for a widevariety of propellants, and this cartridgegroups inherently well. Power can be adjustedfrom .357 mid-range levels up topractical .44 Magnum loadings. This latterclaim is possible, since with comparablebullet sectional densities and load levels,recoil moments are more manageablein the .41 Magnum.Quality reloads, carefully assembledand tailored to the gun, will exploit the fullpotential of a fine handgun. Knowledge ofload velocities and impact points and ofwindrift downrange will aid in getting themost accurate performance and registeredhits from a long-range handgun.Poor quality ammunition is responsiblefor much inaccuracy downrange, whichtends to limit the handgun to performancesinside of twenty-five yards inthe mind of the average shooter. Carefulweighing of bullets, proper sizing and lubrication,hardness of the lead alloy materialfor cast bullets, weighing of all powdercharges, consistent seating and crimping,selection and seating of primers, must all'All loads used H&G 230-grain bevel-base SWC cast wheelweight lead bullets, W-W cam and primers. S&W Revolverswere shot off of a sandbag rest af 50 yards. Data taken fromOehler 1161 chronograph, average of 3 rounds per group.Nominal Groups(inches c. to c.)AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

eceive detailed attention.Magnum cartridges are recommended,since their power potential will produceflatter trajectories compared to othermore standard cartridges (e.g., .38 Special,.44 Special). This fact is especiallytrue when the big cases are loaded downslightly for most consistent accuracy. Thisdoes not rule out standard cases that demandsomewhat better range judgment tocompensate for rainbow trajectories. Theultimate in pistol performance can be obtainedfrom the XP-100 in .221 Fireball,which performs like a little rifle. There isno real comparison here, since theXP-100 and similar handguns are hybridto a point that demands a special discussion.Our concern here is with conventionalpistols and ammunition configurations.Furthermore, because of practicallimitations in exterior ballistics of handguncartridges (muzzle velocities and relatedpoor ballistic coefficients of projectiles)and the resolving power of rathercoarse patridge sighting equipment (orlow-powered scope sights) (not to mentionmarginal human capacities), we find 100to 150 yards as the extreme formal shootingranges for pistols. (Again, with scopedand conditioned XP-100 pistols, theseranges can go to 225 yards for varmints).The amount of suitable game found withinthese limited ranges is great wherehunting or field conditions favor the useof the handgun. Extreme ranges out to500 yards provide entertainment and recreation,but should be confined to shootinggames and experiments rather thanserious hunting afield.This H&G bevel base semi-wadcuttershoots consistently well in nearlyall .44 sixguns. Cast hard, sized.001 over groove diameter andproperly lubed, this one is a winner.The big. N-frame S&W Model 29handles most requirements forlong range handgunning. Ussteadying weight and good handlingmake it a top choice.Within these limitations, very satisfyingresults are possible after developing effectivelong-range pistol techniques. A socalled"sixth sense" evolves with savvyhandgunners; strong motivations andsenses develop where the "feel" of the gungives a feedback that registers smallergroups. While seemingly this borders onthe occult, it is entirely possible for an ex-perienced shooter to "think" smallergroups. Elden Carl (one of the top gradePPC shooters) registered an astoundingsighting group that measured "Imths-inchesat one hundred yards. While thiskind of accuracy exceeds the potential ofthe gun, it is an example of the human extensionthat can develop when the shooterand the gun function as one unit.Sighting for most long-range hits is bestdone on area targets rather than regularbullseyes. Formal, round shapes tend todistract shooters, making them overlyself-conscious during the sighting phase ofthe shot. The best concentration for goodlong-range hits is to perceive the center ofthe target area and to hold consistently forthat mark.Since many long-range pistol shooterswill be using the .44 Magnum, a survey ofloads using the H.& G 230-grain bevelbasedbullet was run in both 8'1s-inch and6'12-inch Model 29 S&W revolvers. Theaccompanying data tables show the resultson fifty yard targets fired from a sandbagrest. From out of this data, a single loadwas chosen and fired in the 6'12-inch gun.The most consistent performing loadsof the series used H-110 powder, althoughcomparable results were produced byAL-8 and Herco. The H-110 10ad~wasstandardized for further testing. The Winchester-Westernlarge pistol primersseemed to provide ample ignition for thishard-to-bum spherical powder; no unburnedgranules were observed in the barrel,and low velocity variances indicateduniform ignition. Past experience indicatesmagnum primers reduce accuracyslightly.Data in Table I should be used as aguide, since results will vary from gun togun and even from day to day with manyloads. While a given powder did not producethe most acceptable results in thetest gun, that particular combination maybe just the ticket in another revolver.Small variations in powder weight, of aslittle as one or two tenths grain weight, canhave beneficial results in specific handguns.Conversely, a good test gun loadingmay be mediocre in another arm.All loads are designed to deliver a workingmaximum energy for the Model 29S&W. Hotter loads are possible, but theydo not provide optimum performance.What is gained in energy is lost in handgunlongevity and accuracy. These loadswill fatigue an experienced handgunnerinside of twenty rounds; after that time,group sizes will increase noticeably. Ataround 1300 feet per second, a .44 caliber2301240-grain bullet is doing about whatit was designed to do. I shall never puthotter loads in my prized .44 for a steadydiet.No leading was observed in either testgun, a factor indicating load efficiencyand' reflecting the effects of bevel-basedbullet design. The beginning of leading isa good rule of thumb for judging effectiveload levels. In order to appreciate sensible,serviceable load developments, oneneeds only to see a fine revolver after theravages of several hundred super-zapper"space age" reloads, with open headspace,timing problems, and loose barreljournals.It is interesting to observe the relativelysmall velocity differences from the longbarrel in the Model 29. Usually, the biggerthe bore, the less velocity gain from barrelsover six inches. Gun balance andmore favorable recoil moments are themost rational reasons to go to the longtube.The absence of 2400 from the powderlist will be noted by some aficionados of(Continued on page 63)AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

By MASON WILLIAMShen we read The Indian FightingWA rmy, Crazy Horse and Custer, TheKing Ranch by Tom Lea and otherbasically correct histories of the Americanwest, one single fact emerges. The menwho won the west were not very goodshots. It is true that their weapons at thebeginning lacked reliability. Black powderand caps often proved frustratinglycapricious. But later on during the 1870'sand 1900's firearms had become quitereliable. One is constantly reminded that30 or 40 or even more antagonists couldspend an afternoon and night pottingaway at each other with the result that, ifevenly matched, one man might bewounded and perhaps a horse or two wasJeff Cooper: filling the need forqualified combat pistol instruction.AMERICAN HANOGUNNER a MARCH/APRIL 1977

shot. All this with an expenditure ofhundreds of rounds of ammunition. Nowherein any of the myriads of books Ihave read have I ever come across anyreference to firearms training.Men in those days learned to handlefirearms by trial and error. If they livedthrough the first few years they could beassumed to be good gun handlers. Trainingwas virtually unheard of. Very fewmen wanted to learn gun handling badlyenough to spend time and money shootingand shooting until they became relativelyefficient in the use of handguns. Theshotgun has long been a basic defensiveweapon. Captain King of the King Ranchseldom carried a handgun during theyears of fighting off bandits, criminals andMexicans. He carried a shotgun-a mostefficient weapon whose use he hadlearned over a period of years. Like mostpeople in those days he depended uponexperience as a teacher. :-:*: ..:.. .,$,. . ... .Students receive expert tutelageunder the watchful eye of Jeffand his small, but expert staff.

As years passed and this country moved into the 20th centuryand the west settled down after the First World War, we discoverthat match target shooting grew in leaps and bounds. Theromance of the west was incorporated into formal target shooting.The Army was limited to garrison duty and it opened itsranges and facilities to the civilians so that a great age of civilianshooting prospered, backed by the Army and the Director ofCivilian Marksmanship. Match target shooting became a nationalsport with factory representatives attending all majormatches. Medals and trophies found their way into a large percentageof American homes.Instruction in match target shooting could be obtained fromNRA instructors and from the many top shooters in local clubs.Nearly every community had its shooting club. And yet duringthose halcyon days of the early 1900's up through the advent ofthe Second World War I cannot recall hearing of any practicaltraining schools. True, Ed McGivern ran a school that coveredsuch things as fast draw, aerial shooting, long range firing butfew people knew of it and he drew his students from a small sepment of the shooting game. Unfortunately, far too manyshooters believed that a fine match shooter could handle allshooting problems. This thinking has held its advocates up to todaywith a rationale that upsets the professional. These peopleappear to believe that shooting is shooting. This is not true.There are many phases to the shooting game that include plinking,hunting, match shooting, international match shooting,combat shooting, the PPCITRC, and finally selective defensiveshooting. The latter is still largely misunderstood today. It is as ifa fine small bore, five position urban rifle shooter were to suddenlybe transported to the western mountains, be handed a.300 Winchester Magnum and told to climb a 7,000 foot mountainand cruise the top at five in the morning to seek out, trackand kill an elk. Such absurdity is typical of people who claimthat shooting is shooting. And yet there has been almost no attemptto uncover those people who understand the empiricalprinciples of shooting and ask them to set up and design trainingprograms that deal in realities. Here and there some person hastried to change the course of events but in far too many in-

stances he has lacked sufficient in-depth experience or the facilitieswith which to train personnel.California spawned the Southwest Combat League after theSecond World War. The League included a large number ofhandgun shooters who wanted to know what could be done witha handgun and then they set up guide lines to judge the individualcapabilities of each shooter. A man came, shot, watched,listened, asked questions and profitted thereby. Within theSouthwest Pistol League were men like Ron Lerch, Ray Chapman,Jeff Cooper and others who were intensely interested indiscovering what could be done with a handgun. Over the yearscourses of fire developed that taxed a man's ability to handle ahandgun. Then came the change from the revolver to the pistol.But still no school.In the meantime, an insidious evil had flung crime at thecitizen, an evil that proved to be unreasoning in the attacks, killings,mutilations and problems that arose to plague the decentAmerican. People turned to attack dogs, Kung Fu, Karate,(Continued on page 6 7)The Cooper course concentrates onthe effective use of handguns underconditions of strain and physicalexertion. Speed, accuracyand judgment are stressed. Thestudent must respond quickly anddecisively to a wide range of combatemergency conditions yet havethe cool to hold his fire in a surprise'no shoot' situation.f7Ã‡PrescottAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

HANDGUN PROFILEBROWNING'S BRAWNYThree Feature Length Articles Explorez Browningk Pioneering DesignsHandgunning with the HfPOWERHandloading for the Big Browning 9 mm

y many as also being his finest. No other handgun hasbeen as widely adopted among the free world's policeand military organizations, and few have been noted thatare as deiendable and trouble free. In the followingpages, the history and development, practical handlingand uses and specialized reloading aspects of the Hi-Power will be closely examined. We trust that our readerswill find the information useful and entertaining handgunreading. -The EditorsCOLOR PHOTO BY JOHN HANUSIN

THEBROi7NING HI-POWERHow it all began... .ohn Moses Browning completed his first prototype ul a11 But it wasn't until 1905 that Browning invented the ahtuliber pistol that was to help set the stage for the worldwide acceptanceand of semi-automatic handguns for military use, and indirectlycreate the demand for Browning's last-and probably finestpistolwas never commer~ially pro- pistol design: the 9mm Brdwning Hi-Power.se Browning's prolific genius produced The gun invented in 1905 was adopted by the United Statesng the blow-back principle b~fore the Government in 1911, and became the famous Government .45Browning completed three (~dditior~~d Caliber Automatic Model 1911 still in use today (in somewhatPatent Firearms Company finally modified form) by US. military forces. Nearly a half millionto become the first commt:rcially pro- model 1911's were produ(:ed during World War I.n America. This design was submitted Before the end of that war, other countries were also usingd was introduced to the buying public various auto pistols of Browning design. A few governmentswere favorably impressed with the apparent qerinrity selflnad-. Browning pistoh courtesy of Bill Barton k Sports Center, Niles, Illinois.John Hanusin photo.

ing pistols demonstrated over the revolvers then in use, and in1923, the French Ministry of War let it be known that it was interestedin the development of an automatic pistol chamberingthe 9mm Parabellum cartridge.Browning went to work, and had two new models ready fortesting within a few short months. The first utilized a blow-backdesign, and was never patented or produced. The second was ashort-recoil type-aUS. patent application was filed for thiidesign on June 28, 1923, and the gun was first marketed in1935. It was to be Browning's last pistol design-the patent wasissued in February, 1927, three months after his death.Although French military forces never officially adopted thenew sidearm, other countries were quick to recognize the superiorityof its design. Over the years the Browning Hi-Power (alsoknown as the Browning Model 1935) has been used as a servicepistol by Belgium, Denmark, Canada, the United Kingdom,Lithuania, Rumania, the Netherlands, Nationaliit China andother nations. While Germany occupied Belgium during WorldWar 11, many of these guns were manufactured for use by Germanforces. The French government did purchase some of theFN-made Brownings at the time the gun was introduced, butthese guns saw only limited use by French Colonial Troops.The original catalog for the 9mm Browning High Power,printed in March 1935, cmtained a lengthy introduction toutingautoloading pistols, and the new Browning design in particular.It began by pointing out that "The Great War of 1914-1918 hasdefinitely proved the necessity for the adoption of the automaticsystem for small arms. . ." and repeatedly downgraded competingrevolvers with statements like, "Some Powers had no automaticpistol in their Armaments, yet as soon as circumstancesa change, they ceased using revolvers as service weapons. . ." and ''This kind of weapon (revolvers) is now obsoletebecause its defects have been unanimously recognized . . ,"The catalog then listed the condition an ideal service handgunshould fulfilk "Its weight must not be above 1 kilog.; it shouldbe compact and not bulky it must be well shaped to the handand take a great number of cartridges . . . Its stopping powermust be suficient to kill a man at 50 m. . . ." Other conditionsmentioned included items like, "The pistol should preferably beof the bolted type so as to prevent any possible danger from theexistence of a still high pressure of powder gas when the bulletleaves the barrel and the breech opens. . . a cocking indicator isgenerally required . . . the weapon must remain open when thelast cartridge in the magazine has been fued . . . dismantling andreassembling should be simple and easy without the-aid oftools," along with several other attributes,The introduction concludes with the following bit of publicrelations puffery, which would have undoubtedly embarrassedthe typically modest inventor, had he still been alive:At the request of the Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre,the famous inventor John Browning, who may be called "theFather of Automatic Pistols" because it was really he whoconceived the fmt simple and perfectly reliable models,crowned the incomparable series of his creations, not longbefore his death at Herstal, with a 9 d m. pistol holding 13cartridges, which meets all the requirements of the most severespecifications, as may be seen on examining the characteristicsgiven on the following pages.Actually, the original design of the High Power featured a 15-round magazine, giving the gun a capacity of 16 rounds if theThis developmental model carries John Browning's# 79 serial number. This prototype isbased on the blowback principle and was supercededby the short recoil design whicheventually became known as the 'Hi-Power'.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977A portrait of John Moses Browning.

The first factory model of the Hi-Powercarries serial number 81. This gun wasproduced in the F.N. Model Shop and wasone of the actual models tested by theFrench Government which did not adoptthe then new Browning short recoil gun.This Canadian-made lnglis Militarymodel features tangent rearsight regulated to 500 meters.The backstrap is milled to acceptthe holster/shoulder stock. Below,the High-Power holstered in the ,wooden shoulder stock option.chamber was loaded separately. Before the gun went into production,however, its magazine capacity was reduced by tworounds to make for a lighter, slightly more compact weapon.An external hammer was also added, and this final versionwas manufactured by Fabrique Nationale beginning in early1935. While FN has been the primary manufacturer and supplier of this popular pistol, it is interesting to note that morethan 200,000 were produced by the John Inglis Company inCanada during World War I1 for Canadian and Chinese Nationalisttroops.The Canadian government has adopted the Browning HLPower as the official sidearm for its military forces, and this versionis still manufactured in Canada. After WW 11, tests wereconducted among a number of handgun designs before Canadamade the decision to stick with the Browning, and the Browningwon out. Included in the tests was a lightweight version of theBr~wning~design, featuring weighpsaving cuts on both sides ofthe slide. However, it was decided that the standard modelwould be adopted, as the small saving in weight would requirecostly retooling and would make already available stocks obsoWhen the Hi-Power was introduced in 1935, it was madeavailable in two distinct forms: a fmed sight 660rdinary Model,"and an bbAdjustable Rear Sight Model" with sights graduated toa full 500 meters. Thii latter model also featured a slotted gripto allow the use of a wooden shoulder stock. This acceskorystock was attached to a leather holster.The early Brownings made for Canadian use also could beused with a detachable shoulder stock, but the stocks furnishedwith these guns were combination affairs that doubled as holsters.Two different versions of this particular gun were made,known as the bbl'iitol, Browning, FN, 9mm, HP, No. 1 Mark 1,"and "Pistol, Browning, FN, 9mm, HP, No. 1 Mark l*." TheAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARWAPRIL 1977

The elaborately engraved Renaissancegrade Hi-Power is a fine combination. of beauty and controlled deadlines.LAThe Fabrique Nationals plant as it appeared whenthe first Hi-Powers came off the assembly lines.asterisk designates a version with a higher ejector, and a modifiedextractor. A "No. 2 Mark 1" version was also made-thisissue had fixed sights, and was not machined to accommodate ashoulder stock.Some Hi-Powers made in Belgium during the German occupationwere without magazine safeties, and I've seenextension magazines capable of holding up to 30 rounds thatwere carried by some German officers.While 9mm Browning Hi-Powers were an immediate successin Europe, Browning didn't begin importing this model for salein the United States until 1954. The gun was available with fixedsights only until 1972, when a" version with fully adjustabletarget-type sights was also offered. For fine gun fanciers, a highlyengraved "Renaissance" version can also be had. Prices for thefixed-sight "standard" Hi-Power are $272.95, while the fullyengraved Renaissance number sells for nine hundred dollarsThe Browning. Hi-Power, designed more than a half centuryago, is still regarded as an excellent, up-to-date autoloadinghandgun. Its barrel locking system is a real improvement overearlier designs, as it eliminates the swinging link and pin used inthe 1911 model. Instead, it incorporates a cam to unlock thebarrel from the slide-this makes for a more rigid barrel supportsystem that still retains basic rib-and-groove Browninglocking principle. The Hi-Power also uses a simplified recoilspring arrangement.The slide is also an improvement over earlier Browningdesigns~except for a single opening to accommodate the barrel,the front of the slide is solid, and no barrel bushing isneeded.John Moses Browning's last handgun design is, by all accounts,still one of thevery finest available.AMERICAN HANOGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

The HI-Power represents a good compromiseof power, size. dependabilityand more than adequate firepower.Right, a field-s-tripped view; farright, a tangent sighted Hi-Poweris shown during a firing sequence.POWERBy CLAIR REESchambered for the 9mm Luger or Parabellum cartridge,adopted almost universally by countries other than theUnited States for serious social use, the Browning Hi-Power isthe official military sidearm of most NATO nations. Britain, Belgium,Nationalist China, Denmark, Holland and Canada haveall made the Browning standard issue among their peace-keepingforces, and the gun sees wide usage in many other countries.Many American cops also favor the big Browning, carrying iteither on or off duty, depending on what their own departmentalregulations allow.One of its big attractions is its cavernous 14-round capacity(13 in the magazine, plus one up the spout). Of the 9mm modelscurrently available, only the 15-shot Smith & Wesson M-59 offersgreater firepower. The ability to fire fourteen times withoutreloading can be a real plus in a combat situation, and this hasundoubtedly served to endear the Browning Hi-Power to manywho must pack a pistol as part of their daily business routine.Another big plus is the fact that the Browning 9mm can becarried safely until it's ready for use. Although it lacks the gripsafety incorporated by Browning in the .45-caliber 1911 governmentalmodel, the Browning Hi-Power remains one of the safestselfloaders you can tote. (As a matter of improved self-preservation,many 1911 devotees pin the grip safeties on their guns torender this device inoperable. Few knowledgeable gunnersmourn the lack of this additional "safety" on the Browning.)Actually, the Browning Hi-Power features several safety devices.The primary safety is a manually operated thumb lever locatedon the left side of the frame, at the upper rear of the leftAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

grip panel. When engaged, this positively blocks the sear andprevents the gun from firing.This safety is "on" in its upmost position, and is disengagedby moving downward with the right thumb as the gun is raised tofiring position. The first few times I used one of these 9mm's, Ithought the safety lever's surface area was critically small, andthat the whole mechanism was placed too far to the rear. However,I soon learned to roll the joint of my thumb across the 13/3zinch-widelever, and in a fast-draw situation I hit the safety evenfarther back along the digit. In actual practice, the Browning'ssafety turns out to fast and easy to operate.The gun also features a magazine safety, which makes it impossibleto fire a round in the chamber unless the magazine is inplace. This is a spring-loaded device fitted to the rear of the triggerassembly-when the magazine is removed from its well in- w' I .the butt, the device springs backward into the resulting cavity,and pushes the trigger lever away from the sear. Opinions aremixed as to the desirability of having a magazine safety on acombat weapon. Such a safety feature can prevent accidentaldischarge of a "forgotton" round, but it also renders the gun inoperativewhile changing magazines. Too, if you should loseyour only magazine, you would be unable to fire the gun.'The Browning Hi-Power has an exposed hammer that can becocked manually by thumb pressure, or by racking the slide. Asthe gun features a rebounding firing pin that does not pressagainst the cartridge primer when the hammer is fully forward,you can safely carry the gun uncocked with a shell ready to go inthe chamber. Even a hard blow on the back of the hammer can'tcause the gun to fire unless it has been cocked first. If you opt toIAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

carry your Browning in this state of readiness, You'llleave the manual safety on the "off safe" position (asa matter of fact you cannot engage this safety whenthe hammer is down), and thumb cock the piecewhen it is drawn.This procedure is slower and more awkward thansimply thumbing the safety off from a "condition 1"readiness, but some shooters simply don't like to carrytheir guns cocked and locked.If you fall into this category, you'll be pleased tonote that the Browning has yet another safety deviceincorporated into its mechanism. A halfcock notchon the hammer should prevent an accidental dischargeif your thumb should slip while cocking theweapon. I might add that this halfcock position is designedfor that eventuality alone, as the gun shouldnot be carried with a live round in the chamber andthe hammer on "halfcock."Likewise. the eun will not fire unless the breech isfully closed, andthe trigger must be fully released aftereach shot before the next round can be fired.The Browning Hi-Power is a locked breech, shortrecoildesign well suited to the 9mm Parabellumcartridge. When the gun is fired, barrel and breechblocktravel rearward together until the bullet has exitedthe barrel. Then the rear of the barrel camsdownward, freeing the slide and breechblock, whichcontinue to move rearward under the forces of recoil.As the slide moves back,-it rides over the hammerto cock it The expended cartridge case is held to thebreechblock by the extractor claw until its edge isstruck against a protruding ejector, causing it to bethrown clear of the gun through the ejection port.When the lower part of the slide hits the forward portionof the receiver, recoil action is halted and the recoilspring starts the slide forward into battery again.As a handgun designed primarily for military use,the Browning Hi-Power can be quickly field strippedwithout tools. To disassemble, first remove the magazineand lock the slide open with the safety lever.Then apply pressure to the large pin protruding fromflees tries a rapid fire burstfrom the kneeling position.

Remington's potent 115 grain JHP loads produced fine combat accuracy In the P-35.the right side of the frame above the trigger while simultaneouslyraising the slide stop lever on the left side. When the pin(which is actually the end of the slide stop pivot pin) is flush withthe frame, pull outward on the slide stop lever to remove the assemblycompletely.Hold the slide firmly with the left hand while you use the rightthumb to lower the safety, and ease the slide forward off the receiver.Note how the recoil spring guide is positioned against its stopin the slide (otherwise, you might possibly reassemble the weaponwith the guide upside down), and then compress the springand lift both the spring and its guide from the slide. Finally, removethe barrel. This is as far as you should go in disassemblingthe Browning unless you are a qualified gunsmith. No furtherdisassembly is required for normal maintenance. Reassemble inreverse order.Since 1972, Browning Hi-Powers have been available with adjustabletarget-type sights. Adjustable sights add $16 to the priceof the gun, and in my opinion that represents a real bargain nohandgunner should pass up. With movable sights, the Hi-Powerretails for $288.95, while the fixed-sight versions sell for$272.95.The optional sights, incidentally, are screw adjustable for bothwindage and elevation, and you won't need an extremely finebladedscrewdriver to do the job. As a matter of fact, the twinwindage adjustment screws are slotted large enough to acceptthe edge of a dime-or even a penny!You can get an excellent, clearly defined sight picture, withsufficient light visible on both sides of the 'la-inch wide frontblade for good definition. Sight radius is an adequate 6-Va inches..At 33 ounces (empty), the 9mm Browning is neither tooheavy to carry on the belt all day, nor too light to be easily controllable.With a full load of 13 rounds staggered in its doublecolumn clip, the Browning makes a conforting handful, some5-5/a inches in diameter at its widest point. The grip panels are ofcheckered walnut to give a good, no-slip surface.The trigger on the Browning I've been using recently takes 6pounds pressure to drop the hammer-about what you wouldexpect for a sidearm designed for military and police use. However,the letoff was much sharper and crisper than I've experiencedon most other autoloading handguns~and this undoubtedlycontributed to the gun's fine accuracy.(Continued on page 62)AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1 977

obably somewhere around 1900 theP engineers at DWM, (Deutsche WaffenundmunitionFabrik) began toyingwith the idea of opening up the bottleneck7.65mm Parabellum (.30 Lugerhere) case to make a neat 9mm auto-pisto1round. At that time D W M had begunmaking the M1900 Parabellum (Luger)pistol in 7.65mm as a result of GeorgeLuger's redesign of the ungainly, Amencan-bornBorchardt mechanism.It may not have happened quite thatway, but logically it should have. After all,the 7.65mm P. was a smallbore number,and there were plenty of larger-bulletpistol cartridges around to convince,DWM the startling new design deservedone. Fortunately, the rimless 7.65mmcase head was of such a diameter thatstraightening out the bottle-neck wouldaccommodate a 9mm bullet-and, betteryet, just the right amount of body taperwas left to provide unusually good feedingand extraction. This probably wasn'trealized at the time, but three-quarters ofa century, millions of guns, and billions ofcartridges have proven it to be true.Just one fly in the Parabellum ointment:when a 9mm bullet of reasonableweight and proper shape for feeding wasHi-PowerBy GEORGE C. NONTE-eated in the opened-up 7.65mm case, theresulting cartridge was too long for themagazine and recoil stroke of Luger'sprodigy. With characteristic teutonicdirectness, the case was lopped off to alength of 0.754-inch, producing apartridge length of 1.169 inch.VOILA! The new number, being givenDWM cartridge indentification number480, clattered perfectly through the Lugerpistol altered only by opening up the boreto 9mm and chambering to fit the9xl9mm case. Even the original magazineneeded no alteration to feed the newround. The 1902 Parabellum was the firstto be offered in the new caliber.Thus was born the cartridge known theWorld over ever since as "9mm Luger".Of course, dozens of synonyms have been(and still are) applied to it, but none are aswell known as those two.Of course, the above is mainly conjecture.The development of the cartridgewas probably much more formal, withreams of drawings, dozens of lengthy conferences,and a ferocious clacking of sliderules for benefit of high-level DWMexecutives, but I'll wager the pick andshovel work was done just as conjectured,exactly as gun-nut wildcatters do yet to-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

day.In any event, the result was a potent9mm auto-pistol cartridge, driving a 124-grain full-metal-jacketed bullet as 1150fps, producing 363 fp of energy at themuzzle. Not bad for 1902, and superior tothe contemporary .38 Colt Auto (ACP).In the opening years of the 20th Centurythe Imperial German Navy needed anew sidearm, as did the ground forces.The clumsy, black-powder revolversthey'd used for a quarter-century had becomean anachronism. Not interested inthe "tiny" .30 caliber bullet of the7.65mm Parabellum, the Navy adoptedthe new "9mm Parabellum" cartridge in1904; and, of course, the existing Parabellurn/Lugerpistol, as well.The 9mm cartridge was 'made'. In1908 the German ground forces adopted it (simultaneously withthe much-improved 1908 version of the Parabellum pistol, designated"P.08") and a legend was born. Since then, the 9mmParabellurn/Luger cartridge has probably been more widelyproduced and used than any other pistol round in the world. Todayit is the standard pistol and submachine gun cartridge ofpractically every western hemisphere nation, except the U.S.A.All this isn't to say that equally good (or better) cartridges ofthe same bullet diameter didn't exist-as, for example, the .38ACP introduced commercially in 1900-but the German DWMproduct had luck and timing and promotion in its favor. It wonout, and all the other 9mm auto-pistol rounds have been left farbehind in its dust or have disappeared completely.Virtually every full-size, military & police type pistol of todayThe 9mm parabellurn is theson of the smaller 7.65mmLuger round of 1902 vintage.(excepting in the Soviet bloc) is chamberedfirst for the 9mm Luger. Even thevenerable U.S. M1911A1 .45 in commercialform has been adapted to this cartridge.The Parabellum pistol and the 9mmcartridge became widely distributedthrough both civil and military channels,probably due more to aggressive Germanpromotion efforts than the admitted excellenceof the products themselves.Among the dozens of pistols subsequentlyadapted to the 9mm P., 1935 sawthe introduction of what we now know asthe Browning High-Power. It has alsobeen known as P.35, G.P., and a host ofother synonyms. Designed by Americanarms genius John M. Browning before hisdeath in 1926, the H.P. was developedand manufactured by the great Fabrique Nationale at ~i&e,Belgium. The H.P. has been made almost exclusively in 9mm P.caliber, and no one knows how many have come off the linesince 1935. During German occupation of Belgium in WWII,hundreds of thousands of units were made for the Wehrmachtalone.The H.P. oistol and the 9mm P. cartridge reoresent one~of~these uniquely perfect marriages of different elements- mar-riage as uncommon among things mechanical as among people.We really don't know who to thank for the cartridges, but thedean of American arms designers, J. M. Browning gave us thepistol, albeit from his grave.When the cartridge (early in its life) came to be loaded here, itwas logically (if incorrectly) designated "9mm Luger". MoreWHIMLoaded rounds must nbt exceed 1.1 69inches in overall length to avoidthe possibility of magazine jamming.

important, though, the case was redesigned for use with the standardU.S. small pistol primer of Boxer type, containing its ownanvil. For all but the past few years the cartridge was made elsewherewith Berdan type primers which are a curse upon handloaders.The Boxer case, with its single, central flash hole about-080-inch in diameter makes reloading a breeze. And, it's handloading(reloading, if you prefer) this cartridge we want to discuss,after this lengthy, rambling preamble.The 9mm P. was originally loaded with a 124-grain full-jacketedbullet, of" truncated-cone form at a nominal velocity(100mm barrel) of 1150 fps. Since then there have been manyvariations of the so-called "Service" or "Ball" load. Bulletsrange from 100 grains to 125 grains and velocities from 1150fps to about 1400 fps. This excludes the several WWII Germanlight-bullet variations made necessary by shortages of lead andcopper.Thus, one class of load to be duplicated is the service or ballround.Typical U.S., Boxer primed case in section.A second load all will want is a cheaper version of the serviceload. It must have comparable ballistics, but with a low-cost,cast, lead bullet.Then, the lads & gals concerned with blast and recoil, perhapsalso with gun life, will want a lighter load with lead bullets.Generally, the load wanted is the lightest which will function thegun mechanism with 100-percent reliability.Some shooters will want an even lighter load, for short-rangework. This is quite possible, but only by accepting manual operationof the gun, or single-loading. The availability of a garage orbasement range makes such a load desirable because of its verylow report and limited penetration.Last, but not least, is the class of load demanded for combatpurposes, and to a lesser extent by the handgun hunter. Suchloads must produce maximum live-target lethality and totallyreliable functioning; often other characteristics will be tradedoffto achieve those effects. Jacketed, expanding bullets (JSP,JHP) are necessary for such loads, of lighter than usual weight,and driven it the highest safe and practical velocity.With our loading goals outlined-keeping in mind that theyare intended primarily for use in the fine Browning H.P. pistollet'slook into the components, methods, and techniques of assemblingreally good ammunition.It all begins with selection and preparation of cases, whethernew, once-fired, or fired and of unknown history. First, unlessyou intend going to great lengths to use them, weed out all Berdan-primedcases. This can usually be done by glancing at theheadstamp, but looking down the mouth to the inside of thehead is more certain. One or more (usually two) small-diameterflashholes located off-center indicate a Berdan case. A relativelylarge, central hole indicates a Boxer case. All cases bearing U.S.markings are Boxer; including those made for military use andforeign countries.Tumbling in ground nut-hulls is the best way to clean cases. Ifavor the tumblers and rouge-impregnated medium offered byJ & G Rifle Ranch (Turner, Mont.). Tumbling in this mediumcleans cases inside and out, leaving the exterior bright so thatdefects may be easily seen Lacking a tumbler, wash casesthoroughly in hot water and detergent, rinse in boiling water,then allow to air-dry completely.Inspect cases and reject any showing one or more of the followingdefects: primer leaks; loose or missing primers; head distortion;excessive bulge ahead of extractor grooves; splits orcreaks at any location; deep pits caused by corrosion; heavilydented or crushed mouths; sharp-edged mouths resulting fromprevious, over-zealous deburring.Beware of cases not of 9mm P. caliber; it's surprising thenumber of .380 and .38 cases one finds, especially in purchasedfired cases.While inspecting for defects, segregate chs by make orheadstamp. You'll be able to use them all, but for best resultsdifferent makes shouldn't be mixed.Resizing and decapping comes next. I prefer the type of diethat decaps simultaneously with resizing, but leaves mouth expansionfor later. The reason will be obvious as we go along. Ordinaryhardened steel resizing dies of best quality are quite satisfactory-buta full-length tungsten-carbide die is almost imperviousto wear and to the inadvertent damage that can so easilyruin an ordinary die. Blow the extra bucks for the best T-C die,and you'll not regret it.For sizing in a steel die, lubricate cases lightly by rubbingthem in a towel moistened with case-sizing lube, STP, oranhydrous lanolin With a T-C die no lubrication is required, butit will do no harm.If cases were lubricated, after sizing and decapping, tumble toclean primer pockets and remove lubricant. Washing is an acceptablesubstitute, but won't remove primer residue from thepockets.If you are hard to please and are especially concerned with accuracy,check cases for length at this time. Separate them into"short", "medium" and "long" groups. The "long" cases will

This WW II vintage case shows an obvioussplit. Some are not so apparent. Carefulsorting of cases is always a must...Defective case combined with excess pressurecaused this blowout. Doubtful casesshould always be discarded to avoid this.give the most uniform ignition, thus accuracy, since the 9mm P.headspaces on the casemouth.At this point, I prefer to expand the case mouths, using an expanderplug with decapping pin which will pass through theflash hole to insure that no debris or tumbling medium is lodgedthere. Mouths should be expanded only to the depth to whichthe bullet will be seated; actually, about '/az-inch less than thisdepth is better. The shallow shoulder left by the edge of the expanderplug will provide a firm seat for the bullet later. The expandershould also flare the case, mouth very slightly-justenough to permit hand-starting a square-base lead bullet withoutshaving. More flare will reduce case life.Few factory-made expander plugs will do all the above untilthey have been altered. In fact, it may be desirable to usedifferent plugs for different bullets because of varying seatingdepths.Cases are not ready for repriming. I much prefer to do this asa separate operation on a bench-type priming tool. Currently weare using two, the RCBS semi-auto unit and the SSKI magazinefedunit. Both work well and are quite rapid. Several hundredcases per hour can be primed easily. Feel primers in so the anvilcontacts the bottom of the pocket This will insure no primersprotrude above the case head to cause a slam-fire, and also insuresmaximum consistency of primer ignition.With cases prepared to this point, the rest of the loading job isa snap. Just decide what bullet and powder charge you'll use,and have at it. Actually, I prefer to process all my fired cases tothis point as time and circumstances allow, then stow them awayuntil I need to load some of them. If you do this, make certainthey are sealed up to keep off dust, and that the storage area iscool and dry. Now to the actual loading.The best combination we've found for duplicating EuropeanFMJ-Ball loads is the 124-grain full-jacketed bullets offered byseveral makers, combined with 5.9-6.0 grains of HerculesUnique powder. Lighter FMJ bullets such as the 116-grain Normamay be substituted without any other change. Velocity withthe 124-grain bullet is nominally 1150fps, and this load willsurely function fully and reliably in any Browning that is not mechanicallydefective.FMJ 9mm bullets generally run .354-,355-inch diameter andare uncannelured. Make certain the resized case will grip thebullet tightly, this requires a case-mouth ID of no more than.351-inch, perhaps even less. With some lots of cases it may benecessary to polish the expander plug smaller to achieve this.Don't attempt to apply a roll-crimp on an uncannelured FMJbullet Instead, seat the bullet first to an overall cartridge lengthof 1.170-inches, then apply just enough taper crimp (as a sepa-rate operation) to remove all the case flare and close the casemouth tightly on the bullet.Unfortunately, factory FMJ bullets are quite expensive, so weneed a lead-bullet substitute. First, the bullet should be ofround-nose form, and cast of a hard alloy such as linotype metal.Lyman mold number 358242 in 121-grain weight, or number358269 (129 gr.) will do very nicely and should be sized to nomore than ,356-inch, unless measured barrel groove diameter isgreater. Some 9mm barrels have run as large as .360 inch andas small as .353 inch. Bullet diameter should not be more than.0015 inch over than groove diameter.With either bullet, use 5.4 grains of Unique, and seat thebullet to a depth where the case mouth just covers about half ofthe band ahead of the forward lubricating groove. A moderatetaper crimp, pressing the mouth slightly into the bullet, completesthe job. This load produces 1125 to 1150 fps, dependingon the specific bullet, and functions very reliably in almost anygood-condition 9mm P. pistol. However, don't let cartridgelength exceed 1.170 inches or magazine problems will be encountered.A lighter load for fun or target use is easily concocted, alsowith a cast lead bullet. My favorites are Lyman 358302, 112-grain (cast hard, remember) and sized to groove diameter, and#358345, 115 grains. As little as 4.0 grains of Unique or 3.4grains with Bullseye will produce 900-950 fps with either bullet,and will function a smooth gun reliably. Some guns will do well4.0New, unfired casehunting loads.re best for defense &AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977 49

The lightest to the heaviest lead bullets for the 9mm: .360 leadball, 95 grain RCBS; 121 grain Lyman, #356402 and Speer's 158 gr.with lighter powder charges, so don't hesitateto work down a bit '/lo-grain incrementsif your gun works well with theseloads. Bullets should be seated andcrimped as already described.Ultra-light loads which do not cycle thegun can almost be any lesser charge ofUnique or Bullseye, with the bullet justmentioned. Number 356404 (95-grains)does nicely with 2.7 grains of Bullseyewhen single-loaded. Any of the 90-100grain bullets intended for the .380 ACPwill do well.For the very lightest loads, perhaps tobe used in one's home on a very smallrange, a .360-inch round ball and as littleas 1.1 grains of Bullseye can be used. Thisload will not even unlock the breech ofmost pistols, but shoots with surprising accuracyat short ranges. The ~owder chargeis placed in the case, followed by a greasewad, then the ball is tapped lightly into theflared case mouth. The cartridge isdropped into the chamber and the slideclosed upon it. After firing, the slide mustbe retracted manually to extract the firedcase. Cases may be used many times forthis load without resizing. Such loads canbe a great deal of fun with a small bullettrap in your basement or garage.Loads requiring the most attention todetail are those intended for defense andThe various forms of nose cavity in JHP bullets currentlyavailable. The more exposed lead, the greater risk of jamming.Ihunting. Today the general characteristicsof the best 9mm P. defense load are wellestablished; a light, jacketed, expandingbullet at high velocity, with the capabilityof opening the largest wound cavity possiblein the target. For handloading purposesthese requirements are best met by a90-grain, thin-jacketed, soft-cored bulletof hollow-point form; said bullet driven atover 1400 fps.To insure absolute reliability and maximumvelocity such loads should be assembledin new cases which have been preparedas described earlier. It is especiallyneedful that the bullet be held quite tightlyin the case and be well supportedagainst feeding impact; thus a shouldershould be formed in the case for the bulletbase. Further, it may be necessary withsome lots of cases to use an undersize resizingdie and expander plug to obtain atight-enough bulletlcase assembly.My choice of bullets for this type of loadis currently the Sierra 90-grain JHC oftruncated-cone shape. This is a very shortbullet; when seated properly, cartridgelength is only 1.010-inch. This length willfeed well in the Browning and some otherguns but not at all well in the Luger/Parabellumor Walther P.38. Even in theBrowning, it may require some smoothingof the feed ramp and chamber mouth.Never simply assume a defense gun willhandle a articular load; such an assumptionmight be fatal.This 90-grain bullet can be safely drivenat 1400 fps from the Browning barrel byseveral powders, but my choice is 7.5grains of Unique, producing about 1450fps at safe pressure levels. About 1500 fpscan be obtained with 8.0 grain of Herco,but compression of the powder charge becomesa problem in assembling the load.All of these loads are maximum bySAAMI standards, producing chamber50AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

pressures in the 33,000 CUP range. By nomeans should they be exceeded, thoughthe Browning pistol has proven its abilityin H.P. White Laboratories tests to withstandsubstantially greater pressures.Such loads should be assembled in newcases with great care. Powder chargesshould be individually verified, and particularattention should be paid to startingthe short bullet straight in the case. Thecase mouth should be taper-crimpedtightly on the bullet, but not so much thatdiameter over the case mouth dropsbelow .370-.375-inch.The gun should be thoroughly testedwith this load to make certain that completelyreliable functioning is obtained.There is no room in a gunfight for malfunctions.In any event, the foregoing is a superbdefense load in the Browning pistol, equalin performance to the now-defunct Super-Vel, 90-grain, JHP factory load of a coupleyears back.The 90-grain defense load will servewell for some hunting purposes, but for adeer and the like, a somewhat heavier bulletwith deeper penetration is desirable.In the past, my favorite 9mm huntingbullet was the now-discontinued Super-Vel 112-grain JSP. No comparable bulletis available today, but the 115-grain SierraJHC and Speer 125-grain JSP will do thejob. Unique is the best powder, and 6.5grains of it will drive the 115-grain bulletat a hair over 1300 fps. The 125-grain bulletwill be given a bit over 1200 fps by 6.2Case mouths should be only slightlyflared for bullet seating.grains of the same powder. Both bulletswill expand well at those velocities, butwithout the explosive effect of the 90-grain bullet. Thus, they penetrate deeperon game.Assembly of these heavier-bullet huntingloads should be conducted with all thecare and attention lavished on defenseammunition. The same mechanical problemsexist and are solved in the samemanner.Of course, we could go on and on withloading dope for the 9mm Parabellurn/Luger. In fact, I've already used half againas much space as Ye Editor originally allowed.A few hundred additional loadswouldn't help a bit, reallyand, anywayyou can find them in several loading manuals.The few carefully-developed andtested loads we have listed in these pageswill enable your many-shot Browning tohandle any job within its capabilities, solet's leave itat that.No.12345678910The 90 grain and 115 grain .JHC bullets from Sierra exposeno lead at bullet nose.9mm PARABELLUM (LUGER) LOAD DATABullet,360 ballL#358242L#358242L#358242L#358345L#358345L#356402L#356402L#356402L#358242L#358242L#358480L#358416Weight,gr.70929292115115121121121121121133158Lead BulletsPowderBullseyeBullseyeBullseyeBullseyeUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueWeight,ar.1 .o3.04.05.34.55.84.25.36.04.25.55.04.8VelocityJacketed BulletsSierra JHCSierra JHCSierra JHCFMJFMJSierra JHCSierra JHCSierra JHCSierra JHCFMJFMJFMJJHPJSPJSPUniqueUniqueUnique230230UniqueUniqueUniqueUnique230UniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueUniqueLoads 8, 11, 19, 24, 27 Duplicate service loads. Loads 16, 21 excellent for defense.Loads 21, 26, 27 fine for defense and hunting.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 10775 1

PRECISE PLINKER WITHTARGET POTENTIAL . .Browning'sChallenger 11

By HERBERT GATESany handgun designs from the re-M doubtable John Browning havecome to be classics in the firearms field.Some, however, have fallen by the waysidedue to the expense of their manufacturein an increasingly cost-consciousworld, some have disappeared from theAmerican scene due to the sinistermachinations of our beloved legislators.All, though, have shared the common virtuesof desien - excellence and carefullvthought out detailing.In order to circumvent both the costand legalistic problems involved in bringingthe fine Belgium-made FN pistols intothe country, Browning has inaugurated aplan for a continuing line of Browningsidearms to be manufactured at a statesidefacility. The first fruit of this venturehas been dubbed the "Challeneeru11" andcalls to mind some of the fine rimfireautos from Browning's past. To the eye ofthe initiated, the Challenger 11, even ifstripped of all identifying markings, wouldstill be instantly identified as a Browningproduct. So good the finish, so splendidthe functioning and so graceful the stylingthat there can only be one guess as to theguns parentage.The sample Challenger I1 supplied tothe American Handgunner for evaluationcame sparkling out of its packing box at ahefty 39-ounces unloaded. The bulk ofthis weight is centered at the grip, givingthe new .22 just a touch of that ol' Parabellumfeel. The grip angle, however, coupledwith its shape and thickness is farmore reminiscent of the Hi-Power. Thedeep bluing, of the barrel and slide sideswas contrasted by matte finished blue onthe grip frame unit. Nicely figured stocksof laminated hardwood along with aThe Challenger ll's rear sWn' isscrew adjustable for elevation anddrift adjustable for windage . . . asimple, trouble-free sight unit!broad, gold-plated trigger provide an attractivebit of eye-relief. The overall visualimpression of the gun is an excellent one.Though internally similar to severalreceding models, this home-grown rimfirehas been designed to take advantageof the latest manufacturing processes.Many part units are good investment castingsand damned few are stampings. Thestraight blowback action is at once simpleyet sophisticated. Simple in its economy,sophisticated in its design ingenuity. Thetrigger linkage is notable for its clean,straightforward design. This paucity offrills and useless gewgaws contributes inno small measure to the excellent triggerletoff that our sample provides. My scalemeasured the Challenger II's trigger at asweet, even 3-pound with a slight amountof slack, but no overtravel at all. TheChallenger 11's lock time, while not theworld's fastest, is still superior to severaltarget-grade rimfires that I have encountered.The Browning Challenger 11 fieldstrips into convenient modular componentsfor easy cleaning and visualinspection for maintenance.Internal polishing is more than adequateby today's standards, and is certainlysufficient from the aesthetic standpoint.A functional nicety comes at the Challenger11's muzzle, in the form of a neatlysquared off crown which protects themuzzle inside a '/3d1 recess of solid barrelsteel. This thoughtful addition may precludedamage from careless muzzle-firstcleaning (shudder) or an unfortunate tumblefrom holster or bench.The Challenger 11's sighting equipmentis clean in line and of sufficient dimensionfor good sighting, the rear sight cut beingjust a tad shallow, though. The adjustmentfor elevation is in the form of a topsidemounted screw which raises the entireunit in a manner similar to that employedon J-frame Smith & Wesson revolvers.Windage adjustments, if needed are madeby dint of any soft, non-marring drift appliedheartily to the sight leaf. The shallowrear notch is nicely shadow-boxed by(Continued on page 62)AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

Stoeger's -These re-vamped toggle tops carry theLuger name, but feature newly designed innards!By GEORGE C. NONTEhalf-century ago the old A. F. StoegerA & Co. obtained the U.S. rights to thename "Luger". The company founder, A.(Alex) F. Stoeger (1866-1945) had arrangedfor exclusive distribution of Germany'sDWM-produced Parabellum(Luger) pistols in this country and wascoppering his bets in all directions.Though the pistols were known as Lugers(after George Luger, a DWM engineerwho streamlined the original Borchardtdesign) in this country, they were called'Parabellum' throughout the rest of theworld. Looking ahead, Stoeger wanted toprotect the name and the market. Theevents of the late 1960s proved his wisdom,when another company (Interarms)began selling new-production Parabellumsin this country.World War Two saw the end of cornmercialParabellum/Luger pistols, leavingStoeger (now Stoeger Industries) with exclusiveright to the Luger name, but nonew Lugers to sell. Eventually the StoegerCompany determined to capitalize on thepopularity and legendary mystique ofLuger pistols and put the name to use. Adesign team set about developing a Lugertypepistol in .22 LR caliber that wouldlook, feel, and (in general, if not in detail)function as did the original Parabellum.Inasmuch as the original design was of anotherera and devilishly costly to manufacture(borne out by the current $375 priceof new Mauser-production Parabellums),it was necessary to design from an entirelydifferent approach, using all the latesttechnolow."2The result was a pistol of the sameweight, balance, configuration, and appearanceas the old Parabellum-but in-corporating modem castings and stampingsand an entirely different internalmechanism. In an economic sense, the effortwas highly successful, for the new"Stoeger Luger" now sells (retail) forbarely more than one-quarter the price ofthe new Mauser Parabellum. This is arather interesting indication of whatmight have been done with the originaldesign had it been continually revisedrather than frozen forever in its definitive1908 form.In any event, the new "Stoeger .22Luger" was introduced in the 1969 (No.60) edition of the long-famous "(Stoeger)Shooter's Bible," a combination catalogand handbook highly recommended yet toall who have even the slightest interest inguns. Price at the time of introduction was$67.50 (retail) and only one version wasavailable. The latter situation has sincechanged.The Stoeeer .22 Luaer is not manufactureddirectly by ~toe&r Industries, but isproduced for Stoeger by an independentcompany. The marking "Manufactured inthe USA by Stoeger Arms Corporation"might seem to contradict that statement,but it does not under present-day law andlanguage. So much for history.This contemporary Luger utilizes thebasic Borchardt toggle-breech system, butmodified so that the barrel is stationaryupon the one-piece frame/receiver, and sothat the knee-joint toggle is never mechanicallylocked.The original design placed the threejoints of the breech toggle in a straightline, forming a rigid mechanical lockwhen the breech was closed; a mobile barreland extension was then used so that recoiltravel could "break" the toggle upwardby striking the center joint against anThe recessed screw in the target' The yellow horizontal bars of the upward cam on the frame.-model sight adjusts windage. Elevationadjustments are handledrear sight leaf provide the shooterwith a highly visible referenceStoeger placed the three toggle jointsslightly out of line; the center joint aboveby another screw on the bottom. point for dim light shooting. those on either end. Thus, even when theAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977-

The Target and Standard Stoeger Lugers featurethe traditional top-break toggle linkage. Note 'the large, adjustable target style sight unit.breech is fully closed, the toggle is already'broken' upward at the center. Being so, itrequires no outside influence for unlockingand it is possible to use a rigid assemblyof barrel and frame. Simple case projection(force applied to bolt face bychamber pressure, through the case head)forces the center joint upward so that thebolt proper can move rearward to extractthe fired case and feed a fresh cartridge.Though this might be considered a pureblowback action by some, the time and effortexpended in breaking the toggle fullyupward (at an angle of 90 degrees to bolttravel) does slow down breech openingand make possible the use of lighter partsmoving through a shorter distance. In thisrespect, the Stoeger breech may be betterdescribed as "delayed blowback."In achieving this modification of theoriginal system, Stoeger has succeeded inmaintaining the original appearance andmethod of operation, with the large togglejoint popping high above the frame,, intothe line of sight, the slamming back downwith each shot. Of course, this movementoccurs so rapidly that the toggle does notinterfere with sighting; in fact, it flashesAMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCH/APRIL 1977there so briefly one's eyes cannot perceiveit.The Stoeger toggle action utilizes aswinging concealed hammer and a springretractedfiring pin; a far cry from theParabellum striker system. It also dispenseswith the complex system of leversand exposed sear of the Parabellum. Morereadily visible, though, the two rear togglelinks are mere. simnle. . messed-steel shells, ,,where the originals were heavy, complex,machined forgings.Let's delve a bit into the specifics of thisunusual design. The frame is in one piece,with the barrel secured in its front, andcompletely open at the top from that pointrearward. Frame is a high-strength, aluminumalloy.A solid, steel, breech block about 1.85"long, sliding horizontally in the frame,meets the barrel breech. At 12 o'clock itcarries a simple hook extractor stampedfrom steel sheet. Near the left edge, centeredvertically, the recoil spring andguide run in a horizontal hole; when thebreech block recoils, the spring is compressedagainst a 'boltways block' at therear of the frame. A conventional, spring-retracted firing pin rides inside the breechblock.A stamped, steel toggle is pinned to thebreech block near its front, and is furtherpinned to a similar, second toggle whoserear is pinned to the boltways block. Therear toggle carries pinned-on knobs to resemblethe original Luger; these knobsalso serve as handles for manually openingthe breech. Except to provide a handleand to slightly slow breech opening, thetoggles and knob are far more cosmeticthan functional. A spring in the rear togglekeeps both of them snugly in position,serving no other purpose. Beneath all this,there is a separate "boltways" which takesthe form of a large insert fitting down intothe frame and pinned there. It carries thefiring mechanism and may be removed asa unit.55

Top: the complete breech mechanism removed as a unit from the frameBottom: the magazine is shown seated in the grip frame minus panel.firmly and depress takedown plunger inupper rear of frame; carefully ease entireunit upward, taking care that the springloadedtakedown plunger doesn't shootacross the room or hit you in the face as itclears the rear of the frame.At this point; the breech block face canbe scrubbed clean and the entire unitsloshed in solvent to remove dirt. No furtherdisassembly is recommended byStoeger and I second that motion emphatically.The myriad of small pins andsprings can be gotten apart easily enough--but putting them all back correctly is amind-blowing job unless special tools andfixtures are available, along with Job's patience.I detail stripped this unit once in afew minutes, then spent four frustratinghours coaxing it all back together again.Profit from my experience. Strip it if youmust, but don't call me for detailed assemblyinstructions afterward.Actually, there is no need whatever totear down the unit. Trigger pulls are normallyfairly good, so no work is necessarythere for any shooting suited to the gun; aquick slosh in solvent will accomplish allthe cleaning needed.Removal of the boltways unit leavesonly the trigger and magazine catch attachedto the frame. There is no needwhatever to remove them, though thesteps to do so are readily apparent.Replacing the boltways unit is quickand easy; just start it down into the frame,being careful when the takedown plungeris started so that it doesn't slip back upover the edge of the frame and fly out.Also, care must be taken to insure that thefront of the sear bar engages the trigger(Continued on page 66)A conventional, concealed hammer ispivoted to the rear of the boltways, drivenby a strut and coil mainspring seated inthe boltways' downward extension. An upside-downsear rides behind the hammer.Other small parts are also assembled tothe boltways. A sear bar, with its rear endU-ed to fit around and under the boltways'left wall rides on the left side, connectingto the trigger. A lug on its rear, inside theboltways, engages the sear so that pullingthe trigger releases the cocked hammer tofly forward and strike the firing pin.This entire unit is removed from theframe easily: open breech, safety on"fire", and remove magazine; removegrips by turning out their screws; turn outsear bar retaining screw on left above trigger;press out frame assembly pin about'13-way up from bottom of backstrap;close toggle by drawing knobs back slightly,then easing them down; grasp togglee st andard. fixed sight Luger-- the nredecessor of the cur-F ------ -rent target sighted versions.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCH/APRIL 1977

By GEORGE C. NONTEA SmoothF"rearms International, now a divisionof Garcia, has long been well knownfor its importation and distribution of topqualityfirearms. Over the year it has representedBeretta, Astra, Star, Rossi, Sako,and other respected names. Over nearlytwo decades I've come to have a high regardfor FI and its top-level people, as wellas its products.However, it is not well known that FIalso manufactures guns in this country.For quite a few years now FI has operateda production facility that has turned outseveral different guns near Washington,D.C. The most recent product of thatplant is the FI Model D .380 ACP pistol.The Model D pistol is unique in severalrespects: it is the smallest, exposed-hammer.380 available; it's essentially aforeign design manufactured here. Workmanshipis good, and external finish is actuallybetter than that of some old-line,major, domestic, handgun makers' products.Several features of the Model D will en-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * MARCH/APRILMODEL-DHandling Mini- Gun!dear it to other shooters as to me. It is oflocked-breech design; only Llama(Gabilondo/Stoeger) and Star (BonifacioEcheverridGarcia) make true, lockedbreechpistols in this caliber. It is of allsteelconstruction-no plastics, potmetal, or aluminum-with good, woodgrips. It has the most positive and troublefree,manual safety to be found on pocketsizeguns. It carries an auto/manual slidestop, which locks the slide rearward afterthe last round is fired; it is also useful forspeed-loading. It has the M1911 Browningmagazine catch which is, in my opinion,the best of all. It shares takedown(field-stripping) procedures and manyfunctional characteristics with the venerableColt/Browning .45 GovernmentModel.While it is not the only .380 auto withthose characteristics (the Star SM andLlama .380 have them), it is by far thesmallest and most compact pistol of reasonablepower to possess them. At present,the only other available .380 that ap-proaches it in size is the TDE "Back Up,"which lacks most of those features. TheModel D is nominally 6" long, 1.1" wide,and 4.3" high, with a barrel length of3.16". Weight is 19 ounces empty, 21ounces loaded with a round in the chamberand six in the magazine.The history of the FI Model D is intriguing.Back in the early 1960s, the SpanishStar company (Star, Bonifacio, Echeverria,CIA, Eibar) introduced a very smalland light, aluminum-frame version of itsModel SI, locked-breech .380 auto. DesignatedModel DK, it was sold here by FIas "Starfire" and proved to be durable, reliable,and popular. It was the smallestlocked-breech .380 made and, as such,was barred from importation into thiscountry with the enactment of GCA'68and its implementing regulations. Many atear was shed by .380 fanciers, but therewas no replacement for the Starfire.Those who preferred a locked-breech gunin that caliber were forced to buy thelarger and heavier Star S-series on LlamaMIII-A. Both, incidentally, are still availabletoday in improved form.No small pistols at all could be imported(still can't) and several domesticmakers tried to meet the demand previouslysatisfied best by the Starfire. Noneof those guns quite matched the versatilecombination of features found in the Star-57

A muzzle-on view of the Model Dshows the little .3801s obviousColt influence. The recoil springguide can be seen protruding fromthe muzzle's front bushing.fire.After a few years of this, Colt announcedit would soon offer a small, .380pistol. Colt fanciers at first hopped up anddown in glee, expecting a resurrection ofthe old 1908 Pocket Model. They weresoon suppressed when Colt displayed sampleguns and pictures that appeared to bealmost an exact copy of the Star DWStarfire.Grudgingly, Colt admitted that thisgun, designated "Colt Pony," would bemanufactured "by someone else in thiscountry for Colt, to Colt specifications."Two years passed, with no Colt Poniesdelivered, then Colt admitted the projecthad been dropped.Then, suddenly, a short time later, identicalguns bearing the marking "FI ModelD" and the serial prefix "CPA" (for "ColtPony Auto"?) innocently entered thepipeline. I saw my first examples at a Dallasgun show in mid-1974. Eventually thegun appeared in FIIGarcia catalogs as theFI Model D.Neither Colt nor FI appeared much interestedin answering questions about theorigin of this gun. In any event, it nowseems obvious that the FI Model D was intendedto be manufactured by FI for Colt,to be marked and sold as the Colt Pony.That is reasoned conjecture based on suchevidence as is available, including the gunitself and Colt pix and releases.In any event, the FI Model D is availablein quantity and is currently beingmade at the FI plant. It is selling well andseems destined to be even more favoredthan the old Starfire.Those pistoleros who are familiar withthe Starfire will immediately note thesimilarity of the Model D. How similar arethey? Well, when I switch barrevslidegroups between a new Model D and myold Starfire, both guns function normally;the Model D magazine works in the Starfire,but the Starfire magazine is preventedfrom seating in the D by its forward-reachingfloorplate. However, themagazine bodies interchange if the properfloorplates are installed. Incidentally, in apinch either the Model D or Starfire willfunction with a Star Model SI or SM magazine;being longer, it simply extends beyondthe butt.Aside from the improved sights of theModel D, its upper half (slide, barrel,bushing, recoil spring, firing pin, extractor)appear identical to the Starfire. Internalparts also appear to be generally thesame, but the frame is different.Externally, the frame spur at the upperrear is extended rearward about .30rf. Thisbetter protects the hand from the hammerspur and improves handling. The butt islengthened .25" in front of the magazine,about .425" behind it. In between thesetwo protrusions, the butt is the samelength as the Starfire. This allows use ofthe basic Starfire magazine box, but with a.175" thick floorplate to fill the gap. Thefloorplate does not extend beyond the boxat front and rear and is serrated on bothsides to provide a good grasping surface inthe event a magazine doesn't drop outfreely when released. The rear butt extensionis profiled and contains a transverse.I70 hole, which appears to be for attachmentof a lanyard if desired. Actually,I suspect the hole is put there just forlooks; lanyards are not popular in thiscountry, and have no place at all on apocket pistol.Along with the butt extensions, thecurve and sweep of the backstrap differs abit from the Starfire. Front and backstraps are smooth, but the swell at the bottom-frontedge aids control nearly as wellas would checkering or serration.The frame differs in another very importantway from that of the Starfire: it isan investment casting, rather than a machinedforging. Of course, there is finishmachining on the casting. The frame hastherefore been redesigned for casting. Allfunctions and part locations remain thesame, but internal, non-functional shapesand profiles are designed to simplify efficientcasting.The Model D's adjustable rear sight is small and relativelysnag-free. The manual safety lever is largeand easy to engage and disengage with a thumb flick.

Adjustable for windage only, the Model D's rear sight unit is of thetraditional patridge configuration and is not shadow-boxed. Opposingscrews must be loosened and tightened to move the sight leaf laterallyThough simple in concept, the arrangement works remarkably well.The greater length and height producedby the frame changes do not appear tomake the D any less concealable than theStarfire. At the same time, they improvehandling and pointability. The old Starfire'shammer will chew up the web betweenthumb and forefinger (so will theStar SM), but the D frame spur eliminatesthe blood-letting. I fired 13 rounds rapidfrom the D with no skin damage at all; thenext 13 shots were from the Starfire andleft blood oozing from a badly-chewed 'A"spot of skin.So, when all is said and done, the FIModel D is simply a domestically produced,slightly-modified copy of the verydesirable Star DWStarfire. As such, withthe beneficial changes, it is even moredesirable and effective as a pocket-sizeauto than the Starfire. It's better.As the photos show, the D uses thesame locking and barrel support setup asthe Colt GM; ribs and grooves in barreland slide for locking surfaces; verticaland reciprocating barrel movementthrough a swinging link attached to theframe by the slide-stop pin; a removeablebarrel bushing. Slide shape, support, andfunction are the same as on the GM. Asmall notch in the barrel tang allows oneto see the head of the cartridge if one ischambered.Internally, the rear of the slide is different,typically Star. The inertia-type firingpin is spring-retracted and held in placeby a vertical pin through the slide. Thispin fools many a pistolero, who doesn'tknow where to look. It is covered by therear sight; drifting the sight leftward uncoversthe pin, which can then be drifteddown to free the firing pin and spring.The extractor is a simple, springloaded,pivoted claw riding in an open slotin the right side of the slide, behind theejection oort. The slot does not break intothe port, thus avoiding a weak spot there.The extractor pin is readily visible; driftingit downward about 3/~1' frees the extractor.The rear sight is screw-adjusted for windage;there are no clicks or graduations,nor is there any provision for elevation adjustment.Both sights are wider and higherthan on the Starfire and appear identicalto those of the Star SM. The rounded,front element could be improved by flatteningand serrating its rear face.The lockwork is distinctively Star, datingback to Echeverria's first, lockedbreechdesign of 1919. The conventionalhammer and sear are pinned in the rear ofthe frame; a nearly-vertical coil mainsorinedrives the hammer from its hole inthe integral backstrap. A leaf sear springis pinned into the rear of the magazinewell. The trigger is pivoted to the frameand spring-loaded to a single, offset, searbar, running in a cut in the right side ofthe frame. A notch at the rear of the barengages a lug on the foot of the sear whenthe slide is in battery and the trigger is forward.A T-section disconnector rides verticallyin a slot above the bar, its upperend in a notch in the underside of theslide. When the slide moves rearward, itcams the disconnector downward, press-(Continued on page 65)2 7 - myw- -7-^B.,,.Ã‡.-.- *The Model D's grip frame is relievedto allow the grooved fingerslots of the magazine to beeasily gripped during reloading.IThe linkage and locking of theModel D show a distinct influencefrom older Colt designs..>~ f - t t f Note the captive recoil spring.

By JERRY AHERNPART IV-WRAP-UPAMERICAN SALES 81 MFG.(Box 677, Larado, Tex. 78040Next comes American Sales and Manufacturingwith distinctive designs blendingsimplicity and ruggedness. American selectedtwo holsters for this survey, the firstbeing the P-45M, a High Ride forward tiltspeed holster cut from top grain leather. Itfeatures an optional, hand-creased, contouredhammer strap and has a heavy,double machine stitched welt for durability.Available in plain or basket weave, it ismade for the large frame automatics suchas the .45, S&W Model 39 and the BrowningP-35 High Power. The second holsterfrom American, made for both semi-autosand revolvers, is the P-90195. Designedand manufactured to eliminate bulk,using leather throughout, these holstersfeature a fast adjusting lock stabilizingslide to prevent shifting position duringwearer's use. A safety strap is standard onboth models. Finish is plain black. Theholster can be locked to the belt with abuckled strap.BRAUER BROS.(817 N. 17th, St. Louis, Mo. 63106)Next on the list is Brauer Brothers ManufacturingCompany, makers of holstersand leather products since 1898. Makersof about 35 different styles of holsters,they selected three to mee our criteria.The first is their 0 Series holster, a wellbuiltholster with steel support at hip tomaintain position. A hammer safety strapinsures a snug fit as well as fluid, smoothdraw, no separate action being necessary.The holster is constructed of top graincowhide, available only in black. It ishand-molded with welted seams and plugbottom. A police duty rig, it features asnap-off belt attachment and is made forrevolvers and semi-autos.For top protection, Brauer Brothersrecommends the FH series holster, providingsecurity from gun snatching and60protection from foul weather or rough terrain.Also hand molded with weltedseams, the FH is made of top grain cowhideand available in black only. It featuresa snap-off belt loop, this sometimesreferred to as the Mexican style holster;made for revolvers or semi-autos with fullflap.For concealment, Brauer recommendstheir K series shoulder holster, a traditionalmodel with the gun carried butt up.Made of russet top grain cowhide with aspring to hold the gun in the holster, theharness straps are so constructed as topress the butt towards the body to avoidbulge and enhance concealment. It featuresa snap off belt retaining loop tomake it easy on, easy off and is availablefor revolvers or autos.JACKASS LEATHER(920 Waukegan Rd., Glenvkw, Ill. 60025)Next on the list of manufacturers isJackass Leather, makers of one of themost increasingly popular shoulder rigson the market. The Jackass ShoulderSystem is a totally different concept andcan be treated as almost a different type.Made of premium saddle leather startingout as eight-ounce then dry split toseven, the holsters are double lockmachine stitched with seven cord linenthread. Wet molded on the actual guns,they are hand fitted for detail, 23 separatesteps go into each shoulder holster's production.All leather is cut with the grainfor longest life, hand edged and handsanded.The Jackass rig is completely balanced,distributing weight evenly for wearer comfortand concealment. The harness is ofsuede, both harness halves connected byan expandable coupler, approximatelythree inches in length. The harness halvesare infinitely adjustable by means of flatheaded screws which, when perfectly adjusted,are best anchored with Lok-tite orThe Jackass Systemsome similar compound to prevent loss.On the off shoulder side, two magazinepouches or dump boxes are positionedand, below these, an optional thumbsnapcuff case.Balanced in weight, the wearer can bein any position and never experience bindingor discomfort. The gun itself ridesdiagonally, butt down, secured by a sturdybut fast thumb snap. The Jackass shoulderrig is available for all size DA revolversand medium and large frameautos. To be appreciated, it must be experienced,worn. Also from Rick Gallagherat Jackass comes a fine line of belt slidestyle holsters, made of seven and one-halfounceleather, wet molded and sewn with106 pound drop tested nylon thread.These latter are available in black andbrown.The Jackass shoulder rig can now behad in three other models, all of the samedesign but of different materials. The firstof these is the Latigo model in black andother popular colors. Next is the gloveleather model and last the suede model,this for those handgunners preferring thesoftest leather possible in a shoulderholster. Gallagher does custom designingwhen needed and discussed several innovationsin various stages of developmentUNIVERSAL CONCEALMENT(Drawer S, Tulsa, Okla. 74115)One of the most innovative manufacturerson the scene is Universal Concealment,makers of what can only be describedas perhaps the most versatile rigon the market. It is a combination rigbased on a thumb snap holster made ofbull llama leather which has a distinctiveand attractive grain and is exceedinglydurable. All holsters are lined with vegetabletanned garment suede, free of acidwhich could damage blueing. The holstersare lock stitched with bonded nylon hightension cord. Under normal use, allUniversal Concealment products areguaranteed for life.Now here's where the Universal Concealmentline gets interesting. The holsteris secured to the belt with a triangularleather patch locked to the holster withblued one-way paratrooper snaps, impossibleto be ripped open and amazinglyrugged. Remove the triangular patch, po-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCI-VAPRIL 1977

Universal Concealementsition the holster on the available shoulderharness and lock on the patch. The sameholster is now a shoulder rig. The harness,black leather of bull llama construction,positions the gun diagonally. The crossoverstrap is top quality rugged elastic andcan be utilized in three different ways. Atthe end of the elastic is a fireman's suspenderalligator clip. This can be attachedin three different positions. First, it can betaken diagonally across the back and clippedto the trouser band or belt just infront on the side opposite the holster.When concealment is not a primary concern,the elastic can be adjusted and thestrap brought around the body across thechest and clipped to the shoulder harnessnear the holster. Thirdly, the strap can beincreased still further in size and hookedunder the armoit and around to where themore conventional vest type off shoulderstrap is simulated. Or, under a welltailored coat, the cross over strap can bedone away with completely and only theactual harness worn.Finally, for the sneaky gun carriers inthe crowd, the leather triangle can be unsnappedand the holster removed fromthe shoulder harness and secured to theUniversal ankle rig, suede lined with acushion of synthetic lambs wool to guardagainst skin irritation and ventilationholes to minimize perspiration. Theholster is held secure with extra strengthvelcro and a security bar and slot system.SMITH & WESSON(2100 Roosevelt Rd., Springfield, Mass.01101)Next on the list of full-line manufacturerswas Smith & Wesson-that's right,the people who make the guns. For severalyears now, in addition to handguns,Smith & Wesson has been offering shotguns,knives, airguns, ammo and a qualityline of leather.In the speed category, S&W selectedthe Model B31, a non swivel unformholster made for most medium and largeframe revolvers~not, of course, just theirown. Barrel length restriction on thismodel is 4". It features a thumb releasewith a reinforcing metal plate, 2%-inchsewn belt loop and sight protector. Finishis restricted to plain black.In the protection category, the ModelB28 was chosen, a unique Clam Shell designfor S&W Medium frame revolverswith 4" or 6" barrels. Custom features includeoptional draw, either conventionalor breakaway front, fast forward actionwith exposed trigger guard, fully protectedhammer spur by flap type thumb snap,heavy duty 8 to 9-ounce top grain leatherand full lining for added protection, availablein plain black finish only.For concealment, the S&W choice wasmost unique. To my knowledge, it is theonly such production holster made, theModel 39 Hide-A-Holster. Designed forultimate concealment of small frame 2"barreled revolvers, the Model 39 is concealedunder the shirt. Made of softleather with a rubber backing for comfort,S&W Model 8-28it features a nylon webbing harness withbuilt in stretch so as not to hinder breathing.The harness is fastened with Velcro asis the safety strap for the holster. Innatural plain finish only, it is uniquethroughout the industry. The gun is positionedunder the left breast and, whenworn under a loose fitting shirt, is virtuallyundetectable.J. M. BUCHEIMER(Airport Rd., Frederick, Md. 21701)Last on our list, and by no means least,to use the cliche, is Bucheimer-Clark, oneof the oldest and most respected holstermaking outfits in the nation. Bucheimer-Clark submitted three of their latest designsand three of their best. First on thelist is their new Concealer. A flat styleholster constructed of seven-ounceleather, the Concealer, as Earl Clark toldme, is hand-molded, hand-edged, handsandedand burnished at the outer edges.Russet colored models are hand-oiled andpolished. Saddle lock stitched, waxedlinen thread is used throughout. The Concealergoes on the belt with looped cutouts,making the rig sufficiently flexiblebut at the same time pulling it closer tothe body than the usual slot The high rid-. ing concealer uses a thumb break with asteel stiffener. The recessed countersunksocket snap guards against cylinder dragand damage to blueing or nickel plating.Next on the list, still a concealment rig,is the Model 155 Paddle Holster, constructedof Premium 7'/munce leatherwith a suede leather paddle using an aluminumstiffener to allow sufficient rigiditywithout sacrificing conformation to bodycontours. The important feature of theBucheimer-Clark Model 155 Paddle isthe cutting of the leather to maximize onholster design. The holster is cut lengthrather than width-wise. It bends over fromthe bottom, not the side, as is the usualmethod in holster construction. Thisunique method forms a natural cup tohold the muzzle but not touch it. As withthe Concealer, the snap in the thumbbreak, reinforced with a blue steel stiffener,is counter-sunk. Also, like the Conceal-er and the new shoulder holster, it is handedged,sanded and burnished on the outeredges, as well as hand oiled and polished.It is available in black or russet, plain orbasket weave.The shoulder rig itself is a radical one,traditional in appearance but innovativein design. The holster is made of 8-W/aouncepremium leather, sewn with waxedlinen thread. The gun is kept in the holsterby means of a hardened spring steel retainerand a snap locked safety strap. Theharness and adjustment lacings are madeof Elk. The fully adjustable crossoverstrap is of nylon. This latest of theBucheimer-Clark shoulder holsters isavailable to fit most standard revolvers orautos of any barrel length. For protectionand security and a good measure of concealment,it makes for an excellentchoice.Now, the question must be hanging inthe back of your mind about which holstermaker or type I favor. I'll only say that myholsters come from several differentmakers and I have several types ofholsters for each handgun I own. Withthat cop-out in mind, I'll shove my pistolin my britches and be onmy way.- TYLER'S "T" GRIP 1BETTER sHooTl~~with this improvedcast Aluminum GripADAPTORCOLT and S & WMODERN Revolvers DURABLE.PRACTICAL-EASY TO INSTALLTHREE ATTRACTIVE FINISH COLORSPrtMMd or Black WÃˆ5 QoM $4.25TYLER'S TRIGGER SHOEDurable light weight cast aluminum for Colt. S & Wand man other modern pistols rifles and shot unsPOLISHED $2.95. BLACK $2.95, GOLD $3.25AT YOUR FAVORITE DEALER or SEND DEALER'SMELVIN TYLER MFG.' AND DIST.1320 W. BrHton Rd., Oktahoma City, Okh. 73114AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCWAPRIL 1977 61

100TING THEBROWNING HI-POWER(Continued from page 45)... get what you're afterPistol BulletsWe believe you'll like the way Hornady PistolBullets perform in your handgun. But that'ssomething you should prove for yourself.Load a box and try them under your ownshooting conditions. See if they don'tmeasure up to your standards of accuracy,expansion, stopping power, dependability,economy-or whatever you look for whenyou choose a bullet for reloading. We'remaking a bigger choice of calibers andweights than ever-because more handgunnersthan ever are loading them. Maybe youshould, too.Gas Checks, Too. Crimp on toimprove lead bullet performance.Available in 15 calibers.ornadyBulletsHORNADYMANUFACTURINGCOMPANYDept. AH- 3 Box 1848, Grand Island. Nebr. 68801148 gr. HBWC158 gr. SWC210 gr. HP41 c240 r SWC(lead '45 cal.185 gr. HPACP250 gr. HPLong Colt200 gr SWC(lead)Shooting from a sandbagged rest at 25yards, I was able to group five rounds in atight I5/ie inch, using 115-grain Remingtonhollowpoints. This ammo, plus some militaryball and S&W softpoints, all fed withouta hitch, and I had no functioning failuresin the 200-odd rounds I ran througha new, fresh-from-the-package test samnie.Other writers have renorted somejamming when blunt, lead-tipped bulletswere used in their Brownings, but polishingthe feed ramp proved to be the cure inthese guns.The Hi-Power is the last handgun JohnM. Browning designed, and it representssome improvement over the earlierBrowning design so widely used in 9mmand .45 caliber auto pistols favored bymany American gunners today. For instance.the front end of the Hi-Power issolid, providing firm support for better accuracyand eliminating the need for a separatebarrel bushing. The Hi-Power alsouses a forging integral with the barrel toreplace the swinging link and pin used inthe earlier design.With its wide, hand-filling grip, the bigBrowning is a very comfortable gun toshoot, and it points and handles naturally.The gun has proven its high degree of dependabilityin practically every countryover the years, and its wide current use is ameasure of its time-tested excellence. Thismade-in-Belgium Browning is aity beauty you candepend on.BROWING'S PLINKERTHE CHALLENGER I1(Continued from page 53)shoulders projecting to the rear from meleaf proper. The high, undercut front sightis abundantly wide and resides atop a mattedramp. The sights show up very boldand black in a variety of lighting and backgroundconditions. The only improvementI could wish for would be a deeperrear sight notch.As is, belying the plinker quality sightingequipment, the Challenger I1 has an enormousamount of inherent accuracy. Fiveshot groups fired indoors at 50-feet fromthe offhand position ran an average of1'A-inches. Two-handed, rested shootingproduced groups small enough to be coveredby a Kennedy half-dollar. The onlyammo on hand was Federal's Hi-Powerhollow point loading. If the Challenger IIcan plunk groups this small onto the targetwith high-velocity fodder, I can't waitAMERICAN HANDGUNNER a MARCHIAPRIL 1977

MAKE YOUR OWNNO-SCREW GRIPS(Continued from page 19)lap the grip oft, and trim, it necessary.epoxy mix in the hollow, twist the snappart into it, keeping the part straight onthe verticle, and let the cement cure completely.Tap the grip off, and trim, ifnecessary.Apply release agent (the last time!) tothe other side of the frame, reseat the gripwith the cemented part, and let the agentdry. Place the spacing washer over themale part and snap the two parts together.1NowfecijeniwierNow apply epoxy mix in the hollow of theother grip (just enough to cover the base).Do not get cement on the working parts ofthe snaps. Bring the grip up from belowthe frame and clamp it tightly in this position.Allow the cement to cure at least twodays. I keep a sample of each mix, testingit with a sharp point until it is hard beforereleasing the grip. Epoxy requires severaldays to reach full strength. Release thegrips, clean out all release agent from theinletting and frame, and the job is done.The snaps should hold securely, and releaseeasily. If one of the snaps should pullloose from the grip during release, probablythe wood or the snap base was notroughened or cleaned properly. Grind offthe cement, roughen the surfaces, clean,and try again. Avoid using too much ce-Get a Grip on YourThompson-ContenderOrder the New Replacement Stock - Today$19.50Less Recoil - Designed for Large CalibersPerfect Fit for Two-Hand ShootingAvailable in Left or Ri ht Hand - Please SpecifyGenuine Walnut - Oil FinishSend Check or M.O.Bankamericard or Master ChargePlease give exp. date and number on bank cards.fechier mier BOX 704 - AHTwin Falls. Idaho 83301New.22 Caliber 5-ShotSmall in size.. . . 4big on power!Accurate! Not Ãa toy.. .this is thereal McCoy! A qualityfirearm, designedalong the classic lines ofa 19th Century house pistol, it'smade entirely in the U.S.A.Easy takedown. Easy to load.Stainless steel construction.2 modelsi.22 Short and .22Long Rifle. See one at ynearest dealer now!Dealers Inquire. Sendfor FREE colorliterature!North Ame1 .cans "'.Dept.~ Freedom, Wyoming 83120available in4 .22 Short and .22 L.R.ment or getting it inside of the snaps.Measure your epoxy proportions accordingto directions for rapid curing and highstrength. Properly mixed and cured epoxyis stronger than any wood and the bond tometal is also very strong. It is a good ideato coat the unprotected inside wood surfaceswith epoxy also to keep out waterand oil.This method sounds more complicatedthan it is. Once you have properly fittinggrips, the whole snap installation shouldtake only a couple of hours, plus curingtime. Do not get the epoxy on unfinishedwood, because stains or finishes will bekept from penetrating. I bed and installsnaps on grip blanks or on finished grips.Incidentally, the best and most perspiration-resistantfinish I know of is a two-partnarine epoxy varnish which is mixed just)efore applying and cures hard andmooth. I prefer smooth grips, becauseÂ¥har checkering is painful when firingnagnums. Besides, checkering is uniecessarywhen the grips fit your handsorrectly.The snaps will pull grips back into posiion,even if they are pried apart slightly. A.et of snaps should last indefinitely sinceyips are not removed nearly as often as alolster strap.In the hope of enlisting a grip maker inhis project, possibly to offer screwless;rips as an option, I contacted several ofhe better known makers. Unfortunately,hese companies have shown no interestind seem content to sell their grips withicrews. For the time being, then, it seemshat this will have to remain a do-it-yourielfproject.For attractiveness and functional perection,I consider these my finest grips,veil worth the effort of making and fittinghem. Try installing a set on your favorite*evolver. I predict that you will neverigain be satisfied withrdinary grips.m-SHOULDERHOLSTER #5ÂaÂÂÂTrim, neat fitting under- revolvers. Available at deal- rncover shoulder holster that ers or by mail.carries the gun butt down. WriteforFreeCatalog for ÂHas smooth glazed leather all details on completeexteriorwithsoftEnglish kip L~~~~~~~ line of over 100leather lining. holster styles and otherOnly for 2" Chief and Agent shooting accessories.THE GEORGE LAWRENCE CO. rnPortland. Oregon 9720464 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

STOEGER'SLUGER PISTOLSFOR COLLECTORS(Continued from page 56)#A-1 3 NAMBU MINIATURE1 :2.5 scale MECHANICAL FUNC-TIONING model of METAL CON-STRUCTION. Detachable clip,dampened barrel action, fires specialcup-shaped caps. Pull bolt backand close to cock; pull trigger tofire. Button in grip releases clip toload.The $A-13 is part of a 19-pieceseries of exact-scale miniature gunswhich all function mechanically. Wehave most models in stock for irnmediatedelivery. When grouped to-qether, they create an impressivedisolav. , , We also have many otherminiature arms available for the collector,from inexpensive pieces tohand-made models of museum auality.rSend $1.00 FOR OUR LATEST CATA-LOG; UNUSUAL ARMS RELATED COL-LECTIBLES. SURVIVAL KNIVESEOUIP-MENT AND OTHER HARD TO FINDITEMS65$WANTEDAlways interested in purchasing miniatureguns and miniature edged weapons of all types,including very small toy and novelty types, aswell as high-quality pieces. ALSO, full size survival/militaryfighting knives. survival equipment,and unusual arms related collectibles.Buy - Sell - Trade: "Miniature Arms and Unusual Arms CollectiblesSurvival Knives and Equipment"WINFIELD, ILL. 60190TOM MALIA "K" BOX NO. 6u.s.~.A4" REV.properly. If after assembly the triggerdoesn't return smartly, you probably havethe sear bar retaining screw too light;back it out a hair and try again.This modern Luger possesses an unusual,manual safety. In appearance andlocation, it resembles the original, otherwise,there is considerable difference. Upand forward is "fire", down and back is"safe". It is ambidextrous in that the gunmay be ordered with a left-hand safety, orthe LH unit may be obtained and easily installedon the right side at any time. "S'and "F" markings are placed on bothsides of the frame at manufacture, so noproblems there. There is no magazinesafety, for which I am thankful. There is apositive disconnector to prevent firing outof battery.The Stoeger .22 Luger handles well. It'sa fun gun, not intended for serious competition.But, it's durable, reliable, and accurateenough for all sorts of informal targetwork, plain plinking, and huntingsmall game. The fit and finish won'tshame a S&W Kit Gun or a Colt MTWoodsman, but the Luger doesn't costnear as much as either of them.Though the surface finish is clean and28 s ~iWe at Safariland never offer a product until we havefirst tested, re-tested and field tested it to our completesatisfaction. Our low-silhouette holster is functionallydesigned for efficient gun concealment. Featuresreinforced thumb break, rugged stitching and, as arecommended option, suede lining. As usual our /-customary skill and workmanship stand behind it. This9 ALL NEW FROMholster, like all other Safariland products, can bepurchased through your local dealer or from Safarilanddirect.AFAR I LAIM IDMODEL LS-282" - Revolvers . . . $15.95 Lined .... $21.95MED.2%" Revolvers. ....... $1 6.95 Lined .... $22.954" Revolvers ........ $16.95 Lined .... $22.956" - 6%" Revolvers .... $17.95 Lined .... $23.95Medium Automatics .... $15.95 Lined .... $21.95Large Automatics ..... $16.95 Lined .... $22.95ADD $1.00 AND WE WILL SEND YOU OUR ALL NEWREVISED COLOR ILLUSTRATED 1976 CATALOG.Master Charge and BankAmericard accepted.Add 10% for postage and handling.California residents add 6% sales tax.SAFARILAMID1941 S. WALKER AVENUE,MONROVIA, CA 91016(213) 357-7902AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MARCHIAPRIL 1977

sharp, it doesn't shine much. It's not atrue matte finish, but neither is it a glossfinish. I rather like it, since glossy finishesdon't turn me on all that much.The newest model of the Stoeger .22Luger is fitted with a target-type, fullyadjustablerear sight, and is the real occasionfor this dissertation. The first modelpossessed a simple, fixed, square-notchrear sight integral with the boltways block.It works as well as any fixed sight, and betterthan some because of its height. However,targeting can be a problem with thebest of the type.The new target-type, rear sight is affixedto the rear of the frame behind the boltwaysblock. The block is made without thefixed sight, so that the line of sight neednot change. Placing the target sight thuslyalso avoids a higher line of sight, keepingit down close to the bore line where itshould be.The sight body is a large, steel blockheld by lugs and vertical roll pins to theframe. The elevation slide runs verticallyin aT-slot in the body, and elevation adjustmentis by a large, click-detented, slotted-headscrew accessible from the bottomof the sight body; unusual, but effective.A similar windage adjustment screwis reached through a deep hole in the upperright side of the body, It would bemore convenient if the screw head wasn't'A-inch or more below the surface. Alarge, square-notch, sight leaf overlaps theupper third of the rear of the body. Neatlymade, it has unusual, yellow panels on eitherside of the notch, and they do aidquick alignment in poor light.Since the sight body lays over the takedownplunger, a hole is drilled to provideaccess to it. Takedown remains the same,since the sight does not interfere with removalof the boltways unit. The front sightof the target model appears identical tothe other, made possible by the lowness ofthe new rear sight.Shooting experience to date covers fourguns: a very early, fixed sight model, oneof the first, short-barrel models, and nowone each of current-production, fixedand target-sighted models. Each has pro,duced good functional reliability over severa1 hundred rounds of both standardand high-velocity, .22 LR cartridges. Trigger pulls on all have been a bit spongy, buismooth, and easily controlled. Accuracyhas been quite acceptable, considering thcgun's price. With the earliest gun, I killecseveral varmints and edible small gamcout to 75 yards when I did my part. Thcgun's size and heft make it steadier tharmany .22 autoloaders for those long, upon-your-hind-legs shots so often necessaqin the field.Among comparable, domestic, .22 autoloaders, only the Ruger Standard Modeis priced lower. The fixed-sight Luger goesfor $99.95, the target-sighted version foi$129.95. In my book, that's a good bu)these days, , .even if you aren't hankeringfor a "genuineLuger."SPECIFICATIONSManufacturer .....Model ............Type .............Operation ........Caliber .................Overall length ....9%"Height ...........5%"WidthWeight, empty ...Safety ..........Sights ............Stoeger IndustriesSioeger .22 LugerToggle-joint autoloadingpistolDelayed blowback.22 LRBarrel length 4'/iV', 5i/1"(at widest point) 1.53".30 oz.Weight, loaded ....311/a oz..ManualFixed or Fully adjustabletargetSight radius ...... 9'/e1' (5I/a1' bbl.)Rifling ........... Checkered woodStocks ............ 11, plus I in chamberCartridge capacity . Black anodized frame,rest blueFinish ........... .Standard and TargetsightedVariations ........ 4'/1" 6 5%'' bbls.Distributor ........ Stoeger IndustriesPrice ............. Standard, $99.95;Target $129.95Remarks .........Specially designed toduplicate appearance,feel, size and weigh* oforigin01 Luger pistols.ACCURIZEYOUR OWN .45 AUTO, COMMANDEROR BROWNING HI-POWERNew stainless steel barrel & accuracybushing to match National Match qualityGuaranteed ................ S52.50PP.New Stainless Sieel Brownin HI-Powerbarrel Match qualltv %&OO PP.BAR-STO PRECISION MACHINEI k S Victory Blvd AH Burbank, Calif 9150M500 CHRONOGRAPHI VELOCITY TEST YOUR RELOADS 1IÂ¥printed/ligh complete systemsscreens availableFOR LITERATURE WRITE:CUSTOM CHRONOGRAPH CO.3518-A 1st Awe. NW, Seattle, Wa. 98107ION SALE MARCH 10th.. .Don't Miss It!1 -1977 SURPLUS-IArmy, Navy store. 64 Page illustratedcatalog. Send $1 .OO to3037 North Clark St., Dept. 3-HIAMERICAN PISTOL INSTITUTEHANDGUN TRAINING FACILITIES IN ARIZONAJudo and other hand to hand martial artsbut the tide of crime swelled with youthgangs and individuals who killed andmaimed without reason. Again and againthe decent citizen tried to locate schoolswhere he could learn to handle handguns.By this time there were many "schools"but they all lacked facilities or knowledgeableinstructors who knew that conventionaltraining methods or Army training(Continued from page 34)AMERICAN HANDGUNNER a MARCHIAPRIL 1977methods would not work. Police, politiciansand liberals urged the decent citizento turn away from firearms and to give upattempting to defend himself. If he gavein to attack he would not be harmed.Statistics bluntly refute this thinking.Sales of rifles, handguns and shotgunsskyrocketed because people were afraid towalk the streets or travel unarmed. Accidentsoccurred and were seized upon byanti-gun people who cited these accidentsas a good reason to disarm Americans.The idea that accidents happened becauseof lack of firearms training has never beenvoiced. Simple, short, instructive and constructivetraining courses could haveaverted and prevented most of these accidents.About 1967 the situation commencedto change as a result of the pressures ofcrime upon both law enforcement personneland the citizen. People wanted andneeded a training program based uponmodern techniques. People wanted to carryand use the handgun efficiently andsafely. Many of these people approachedJeff Cooper. He responded with short,personal training courses and, like somany professional shooters, he still didnot realize the depth of involvement that67

THE BELT SLIDEThis hand crafted holster a favorite oflaw officers is now available to thepublic Your gun rides high and out of theway but there when you need it Wetshaping of leather insures a perfect titThe BELT SLIDE is designed to men whoinsist on maximum comfort and utilitySpecify pistol modelBLACK ONLY IS6 50 POSTPAIDSATISFACTION GUARANTEED.belt slide,inc.Depl AH-3 PO Bo115303 Austin Texas78761Dealers & Reps inquiries invitedPRECISION (-IEUROPEANPELLET AIRRIFLESPISTOLSAND RELATEDACCESSORIESWorld's largest dealer serving the discriminatingadult air gun market since 1963. Satisfaction guaranteed.Informative catalog free; write today.AIR RIFLE HEADQUARTERS INCDEW. Ãˆ6 Gnntwille, W'. 26/47DIXIE - -WORLD'S LARGESTMUZZLEL ADINGOUT1 TINEW ~+/,rhe Muzzleloading Enthusiast.rons of Parts, Accessories, Kits,ind Guns for the Dealer, Gunsmith,ZoIlector and Shooter.Send $2.00 (or $3.00 if you like-his book) and see what Muzzleoadinghas to offer you!Dl xIE GUN WORKS-Dept. 50UNION CITY, TENNESSEE 38261.ay before him. He did not realize the trenendousneed for practical firearms.raining by the American public.At this point it is reasonable to ask whyiidn't the public go to police departments,NRA instructors and classes andsimilar organizations. They did. Unfortunitely,like the small bore shooter who islumped onto a mountain side and told tohunt, there is very little relationship betweenmatch target shooting and defeniiveselective shooting. There is even less;ontact between traditional FBI andpolice training and the real thing. TheAmerican public and many law enforcementofficers wanted and needed practicalfirearms training based upon empiricalknowledge, not outdated traditionalknowledge.Gradually, over a period of two or threeyears, Jeff Cooper developed training programsas a result of the constantly increasingpressure brought to bear upon him forrealistic firearms training. He traveledand lectured and discussed firearms trainingand held special schools all over thecountry at which he taught his trainingconcepts. Predictably, police departmentsand traditionalists did not ask for help nordid they partake of his knowledge. At thattime, the cry for help came from the individual,not from groups or departments.I was present at many of his earlyschools and matches because I had longbeen an advocate of his basic conceptsthat tied in closely with my thinking. Ilistened to a steady stream of comments,such as "damn fool will get everyonekilled," "most dangerous training I haveever seen," "interesting but highly and utterlyimpractical," "if I wanted to getkilled I could have stayed at home." Iwatched federal personnel look, listen andleave with a knowing smile on theirfaces-they knew better than to pit theirconventional skills against his "new anduntried" training program.Finally, having determined that a largeand sincere need existed for an entirelynew type of training school, Jeff realizedthat nothing truly constructive could beaccomplished until he had the necessaryfacilities. He needed a coordinated andwell thought out training center. Onlythrough such a layout could he so instructan individual that the person could controla dangerous situation. Only by meansof such a training center could an individuallearn his capabilities. He had tohave a place where he could literallycreate such a facility unhampered by realestate developments, people, archaic lawsand other hindrances commonly foundnear urban centers. At that time he livedin Big Bear Lake, California but the arealacked the type of land required for such atraining center. Jeff moved far afield andtraveled and searched until about threeyears ago he found an area that appearedto be ideal.Climate was important. The schoolshould not shut down during wintermonths. There should not be too muchrain. The general weather could be warm,even hot, but must not be uncomfortable.Nights should be cool or cold. Jeff locatedjust such a spot outside of Paulden, Arizonawhich lies about 35 miles north ofPrescott. About 135 acres of land makeup the facility at an elevation of around5,000 feet. Four and one-half miles westof Highway 89 and two miles south ofPaulden, the Gunsite-Raven facility lieshigh on a rise in the desert approachedacross the desert by a still rather primitiveroad. This road is constantly being improvedand graded and surfaced but it willbe another year or two before one cancasually drive over it. The view is superbfrom any spot on the property but the highground where Jeff located the temporaryhouse, the barn, the windmill and windgenerator provides the guest with breathtakingvistas in all directions. There are nooutside power or telephone lines. Contactwith the outside world is carried on byradio telephone. Lights out at nine. Thediesel generator starts up at six in themorning.There are no facilities at Gunsite-Ravenfor students with the exception of thecamping area where I pitched my tent Itcan accommodate several trailers or tentsbut the area is restricted and all units mustbe completely self contained. Studentswill stay at motels in Paulden and ChinoValley but reservations must be made wellin advance. Lunches will be catered byGunsite-Raven. No other services are orwill be available. The Coopers will makereservations at the motels for students ifthey so request on their applications forattendance at the school.Six long years of searching for the rightplace have now jelled into what I considerto be the most modern training facility inthe country for handgun and rifle. Theshotgun facilities will be built early in1977 and should be ready for students bylate summer. I do not have the space noris this the place to dwell upon thehumorous, the sad, the frustrations andthe work that went into the creation ofGunsite-Raven.Why the name? Gunsite is rather obvious.Janelle, Jeffs remarkable wife,comes from a long line of Scandanaviansea faring people. One of her ancestors-way back when-used the sign of theRaven as a rallying point for the ships ofhis fleet carrying the huge black raven onthe mainsail of his ship. Similarly, the facilityuses this symbol as a guide that maybe seen far across the desert on both windmills.It serves as a focal point for thosepeople who wish to learn survival in today'sperilous world. It is the place wherea grandmother, a girl, a youngster, a doctor,a lawyer, a sportsman, a hunter, acombat competitor can learn the mostbasic lesson of all-a handgun can makeany citizen the equal of any felon. It provides~ersonal safety in this time of abnormalcrime.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCHIAPRIL 1977

I have repeatedly mentioned handguns.Cooper's training programs encompassnot only handguns but rifles and, by 1977,shotguns. Needless to say, his trainingconcepts for rifles and shotguns are as empiricallypractical as his handgun coursesof fire. Despite his reputation as an automaticpistol man, he shows no partialitytowards pistols during his training.The facility consists of The Square, TheFun House, The Rifle Range and The DryWash. I will deal in detail with each ofthese in subsequent features. Important asthey are, the most important basic of theentire Gunsite-Raven Training Facility isthe staff. It is the training people thatmake this school so important. The keymen are Bill Garland, Bruce Nelson andJim Swanson. They back up Jeff Cooper.A more practical group of men has neverbefore been brought together as instructorsfor the American civilian handgunand rifle shooter.Just as a pair of handmade shoes is expensiveor a special, personalized car orboat or pair of skis, one should not considerapplying to Gunsite-Raven for admissionto the school without realizingthat instruction and guidance and personalattention of this kind is expensive.Tuition fees commence at $100 for a twoday basic course. From there they run into$250 to $300 for more lengthy and advancedcourses. From that point on thesky is the limit. A student may wish to be apart of a 20 student class. Another may insistupon personal instruction from JeffCooper for a 10 day period and gladly paya $2,000 fee. Tuition varies also in rifle instruction.As soon as the shotgun facilitieshave been completed tuition fees will beset thus giving the American handgunner,the American rifleman and the Americanshotgunner an unprecedented training facilitythat has no equal in concept or in thequality and imagination of the teachingstaff.In the next issue I will discuss thehandgun training Drosram and the annli-THE HANDGUN MARKETClassified ads 20< per word insertion including name and address. Payable in advance. Minimumad 10 words. Closing date July/August 1977 issue (on sale May 5) is Mar. 15. Print care-Fully and mail to THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER Magazine, 8150 No. Central Park Blvd., Skokie,I1 60076.BOOKSBECOME PART-TIME GUN DEALER! "Obtainin Federa1 Firearms License" 1976 booklet, 7-pages-$1.00:''Gun-Dealer's Director of Wholesalers," Newl 60best, guaranteed-$1.d. "Concealed Weapons Permits,pistol carrying, owning and licensing tips-$1 00 All three $2 501 Free catalo I Mesa, Drawer9045-k, Steamboat'spgs., CO 8048.NEW PALADIN CATALOG-Comprehensive list ofU.S. and foreign books: guns, unusual wea onsknife fighting, guerrilla warfare, ex losives &no!lition. ordnance. self-defense, tecRnica~ manuals.field craft, survival. Many unusual, hard-to-findbooks Send $1 00 for fascinating catalo . PALADINPRESS, Box 1307~, Boulder, Colorado 80802.OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS ON GUNS SHOOTINGHUNTING. FREE LISTS. FREE SEARCH SERVICE:MELVIN MARCHER, 6204 N. VERMONT, OKLAHOMACITY, OK 731 12.RELOADING RECORD BOOK $1 00 HARROLDS 311035th. Ave.-H, Oakland, CA 94619 DEALERSWANTED.SOVIET ASSASSINATION WEAPONS. CIA and MilitaryIntelligence Documents. Includes descriptions,nomenclature, functionin etc. of Soviet AssassinationType Weapons. $4.00. M16A1 Lower ReceiverDrawings. Complete Forging Details and Machiningand Drilling Dimensions. ull-Scale. 17" x 22'.$5.00 per set. Thompson SMG MIA1 Machinist'sDrawings for Receiver and Trigger Housing. $2.00.Under The Apple Tree De t. H, 5115 South Campbell.Chicaao. Illinois ~0632.Order these fabulous books from our extensivebook clubl Art of Engraving b Meek. $19.95;The Book of Colt Engraving by wiTson1 $39.95; TheBook of Winchester Enaravina bv Wilson $39.95:Pistolsmithing b Monte* $14.95; 'No Second PlaceWinner by ~ordan $6.50; Gunsmith Kinks byBrownell, $9.95; The Book of the Rifle by Olson,$9.95. Allow 50cpostage and handling for eachbook, cash with or er A low 6 weeks for delivery.Order from American Handgunner Classified Books,8150 N. Central Park, Skokie, IL 60076.COLLECTORSNAZI WAR SOUVENIRS1 Illustrated catalog $5.00bill (refundable). Disco, Box 331-H, Cedarburg, Wl53012.EMBLEMSSILENCERS for PISTOLS and RIFLES. Professional, sim ly detailed, now available. Send $2.00.$3ent, d' ox 166J. Flatbush, Brooklvn. NY 11226.GUNSMITHINGHOT DIP GUNBLUING (Better than Factory) CustomStock Work & Minor Repair. Send S.A.S.E. for"FREE" Price List. Sherrick's Gun Shop, R.R. #2Box 220. Findlav. Ohio 45840.PROTECTION: GUN LUBE, World's Best-Endorsed byPolice Experts Shooters Hunters Years Sup ly$2.50 postpaid: Send deck-M.O.~NAMOCO, fox52, Spring Valley, NY 10977.FINEST PISTOLSMITHING AVAILABLE11 SEND 50cFOR OUR LITERATURE PICTURES & PRICES. THECUSTOM GUNSHOP, $25 LEHIGH AVE., UNION,NJ 07083.KNIVES & SWORDSBELT BUCKLE KNIFE UNIQUE DESIGN. OTHERHANDCRAFTED KN I VES. PISTOL CASES, ETC.STAMP BRINGS BROCHURE. GARTH COMPANYBOX 1892. TAMPA, FLORIDA 33601.SMILING COBRA SPORTSKNIFE 8" FASTOPENING, HUNTERS LOCKBLADE " KNIFE. SUPER-SHARP; FINEST STAINLESS STEEL. $4.55. KNIFECATALOG 25c. REFUNDABLE. LEN COMPANY,BOX LF 101, BROOKLYN, NY 11214.SAFARI KNIFE ocket hunting knife. Heavy dutystainless blade locks open. Over 7" long. SendONLY $9.00 to: Re ep Gift Club, 420 B TilburyRd. Birmingham, ~ichigan 48009.MISCELLANEOUSBEER CAN MORTAR. Complete information and detailedinstructions, no complicated machining, rangeto 1000 yards. Information on bursting projectilesincluded. Send $4.00. Pioneer Industries, Box 36,108 Monroe St., Nashua, NH 03060.BUTTON proclaiming: "Give Up My Gun?-Neverl"only $1.00 postpaid. H-G Enterprises, Clarklake, MIA923A.EARN EXTRA MONEY at home addressing and mail.ing. Beginners kit gets you started. Send $1.00 to:" & "EMBLEMS embroidered to vour design. Finest aual- H-G Enter~rises, Deot. AH, Clarklake, MI 49234.cationof The Square and The Fur "\he lowest cost. Pricelist and sample emblem$bO. S end sketch for quotation. Dragon Emblems, FIRECRACKER MATERIALS available, often locally.to this trainingLtd., Dept. AH, Clarklake, Michigan 49234.GUN CONTROL worthless;. Criminals can make gunsconcept.from pipe, matches, etc. Information $2.00. Sanford,EMBLEMS-SWISS EMBROIDERED TO YOUR DESIGN Box 41003-AH, Washington, DC 20014.AND COLORS. SEND US YOUR SKETCH OR SAM-PLE. FREE ESTIMATES. FAST SERVICE. WRITE: FOOL BURGLARS. They won't break in if theyW. F. DALEY, P.O. BOX 243, LANOKA HARBOR, think you have an alarm system. We have "Warn.N.J. 08734.ing-Electronic Alarms" labels for exterior doors.WILL KIT-includes 64 a e attorney's booklet,3 for $1.00. Satisfaction guaranteed. DON'S, Box"what E~~~~~~~ ~ h /,bout Wills" ~ and ~ 4 Custom ~ emblems $ exquisitely ~ embroidered- ~ lowest ~ 3637, ~ Charlotte, NC 28203.Will Forms, only $3.00. FREE: "Personal Assets Re- prices; Free ~mblem; Box 365, Monroe, NY 10950.cord" and "Executor's Duties." H-G Enterprises,Dept. AH, Clarklake, MI 49234.1800's SILVER DOLLARS: 5-$27; 10-$49; 20494;50-$227. Guaranteed. Wholesalers, B-13041, Tucson, GUNS & AMMUNITIONAZ 85732.HUNTERS, SHOOTERS, COLLECTORS. Buy firearms,Freel Police/Security Investigative schematic* andequipment listings. Quimtronix Box 3435, Midwayammo and reloading components for yourself, yourStation-Kent, Washington 98031.friends. Sell for profit. For complete instructionson how to ap ly for a Federal Firearms DealersCRIMEFIGHTERS. C-Bers. Fast Draw Clubs. GetLicense, send $2.00 to: Ken Bar Enterprises, Inc.,our new Bad Catalog $1 00 (refundable with ourP.O. Box 810, Racine, Wl 53403.--first order). TPEC, Dept. "AH, 9889 Alondra, Bellflower,CA 90706.LUGER OWNER'S! Fine tune your Lugerl Illustratedinstructions $1.00. A. Todaro, P.O. Box 87, DeerPark, NY 11729.REMEMBER THE OLD ASH CANS. MBo etc? completedetailed instructions on above and many Ruger .22 Automatic Pistol Owners: New safetyothers. Send $3.00 to: Pioneer Ind., Box 36, 108 feature1 Aluminum magazine follower holds actionMonroe St., Nashua, NH 03060.o en after last round is fired. Easily inserted inplace of present follower. Ideal for target shooters.SPORTING GOODS AND POLICE EQU I PMENT $2.25 each (2) for $4.00 postpaid. Send for pricesCATALOG-$4.95. FREE SPORTSMEN CO., BOX 156, on other ku er accessories. Ronald M. Persan, P.O.INDIANA, PA 15701.Box 292, ~ethel, CT 06801.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER 0 MARCHIAPRIL 1977Free! Police/Securitv Investigative schematics andequipment listings Box 3455-GG, Midway Station-Kent, Washingon 98031.INTELLIGENCE LETTER, INTERNATIONAL VIOLENCE,ESPIONAGE KARATE MERCENARIES BRAWLERSSAMPLE ONE DOLLAR. HORIZON, BOX 67, ST:CHARLES. MISSOURI 63301.NEED BUSINESS CAPITAL? FREE information, sendstamped envelope TO: OPPORTUNITIES, Box 1182,Fayetteville, AR 72701.100-CARD ADULT BIBLE GAME . . . I Entertaining!Educational! $1.00.Sylvania, OH 43560.Scriptgames, 5837-J Stewart,PYROTECHNICAL: NOW AT LAST, detail constructionprocedures and formulas on many pyrotechnical devicesfrom Blockbusters to Roman Candles. Partsand chemical service. For catalog send $1.00 toPioneer Ind., Box 36, 108 Monroe St., Nashua, N.H.03060.69

IVIMUI~UMSWEEPSTAKES 1Welcome to THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER'S MAGNUM SWEEP-STAKES. One of the Grand Prizes may be waiting for you. The GrandPrizes are a Llama deluxe .380 automatic and a .357 magnum C.O.P.There are also 13 top quality handgun prizes plus additional accessoryprizes. Enter immediately so you can claim your prize. Every prize isguaranteed to be given away.Here are the names and addresses of participating companies:BAUER FIREARMS34750 KleinFraser, MI 48026BUSHNELL2828 E. Foothill Blvd.Pasadena, CA 9 1 107COLT FIREARMS150 Huyshope Ave.Hartford, CT 061 10CROSMAN ARMS980 Turk Hill Rd.Fairport, NY 14450DAISY AIRGUNSBox 220Rogers, AR 72756FIREARMS IMPORT 81 EXPORTP.O. Box 520691Miami, FL 331524-ACE MFG. CO., INC.P.0. Box3820Brownsville, TX 78520H & K INC.933 N. KenmoreArlineton. VA 22201HIGH STANDARD1817 Dixwell Ave.Hamden, CT 06514INTERNATIONAL DISTRIB.7290 SW 42nd St.Miami, FL 33155LYMAN PRODUCTSRoute 147Middlefield, CT 06455M & N DISTRIBUTORS800 Carson, Blvd.Torrance, CA 90502MICHAELS OF OREGONP.O. Box 13010Portland, OR 972 13NAVY ARMS689 Bergen Blvd.Ridgefield, NJ 07657NORTH AMERICAN ARMSFreedom, WY 83 120RCBS OPERATIONSBox 1919Oroville, CA 95965STERLING ARMS4436 ProspectGasport, NY 14067STOEGER INDUSTRIES55 Ruta CourtSo. Hackensack, NJ 07606ZIP AEROSOL PRODUCTS21320 Deering CourtCanoga Park, CA 91304GUARANTEE . . . . . AII arizes will be awarded(Limit one entry per household)DO NOT USE ENVELOPE MAIL POST CARD TODAYCITY lP_. 1If I win,HANDGUNNER;II1a My favonle or nearest Dealer's name II 1Dealer's street addressII 1I City Stale ZIP ItÃ‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘--------------HOW TO ENTERTo receive your entry certificate, just mail a postcard withyour name and address to MAGNUM SWEEPSTAKES, 8150No. Central Park, Skokie, Ill. 60076 (no letters please). Yourrequest for an entry certificate must reach us by January 15,1977 and you will receive your official entry certificate onor before March 1, 1977. Your entry certificate must bepostmarked no later than July 4, 1977 and received in ouroffices by July 12, 1977. Entries returned will be comparedagainst winning numbers which have been preselected byan independent organization whose decisions are final. Thesweepstakes is open to residents of the United States exceptemployees and agents of the AMERICAN HANDGUNNERMagazine and their families. It is subject to all Federal,state, and local laws and is void where prohibited, taxed orotherwise restricted.

.:The protector's mtector theLlama deluxe .3b automaticin satin engraved finish withsimulated pearl grips. FromStoeger Mustries, 55 RutaCourt, South Hackensack, NJ. Â¥- .:. T . '...-i' '' 's'.,. ,"G..,-:.-. :.? BFA WINNER!13 OTHER MAJOR HANDGUN PRIZES

is the last$aace . onto compromiseon qmalit- mind whose productsall the otherA handgun of any caliber gun companiesshould be chosen with an eye toward started out tryingquality, of course. And when you're to imitate. Harplanning to pack a .357 Magnum Consider awallop, demanding the most solid premium gun. If the Magnuma deeper, more lus-Free information Â¡ thesafety and use of Colt can recommend all major - . .uous blue color handguns fromthe brm ids of ammunition. Unlike anynum~er one maw.than the typically writecon Firearms, competitive revolver, the Trooper'sDepartment 9 Jblackish blue found artf ford, ~~06102. accuracy is checked on Cob'smost competitive exclusive laser boresighting systemguns. Naturally, thethat consistently holds center-ofqualityof a fire-impact variability to within onearm's finish is sub-tenth of an inch.jective, but keep inworkmanshio vou can find becomes Lawman is a workhorse Colt. ther -Colt Trooper MKIII 357 Ma nurn 6" (shown or4" barrelAlso handles 38~pecia?~vailable in nickel finishWalnut target gnps, fully ad ustable rearsight ramp frontsight, shrouded ejector rodLightweight, but heavy duty.While the Colt Lawman's35ounces (with the four-inch barrel)make it quick and easy to use, itsrugged construction invites comparisonwith other makes. It has awider, all-steel frame, thicker cylinderwalls, an oversized cylinderratchet and a heavier duty latchlocking pin than most other revolversof its caliber. Ifthe ejector rod insome revolversbecomes damaged,Trooper MKIII is ait can render the gunthoroughbred. Hereuseless - not so withis a .357 Magnumthe Colt free floatingthat can genuinelyejector rod. So a Coltimprove any shootcantake abuse ander' s accuracy. Thestill perform. TheseTrooper has a wideare just a few exclu-target hammer andsive Colt features smooth target trig-Thumb latch pulls toward rear on aColt,that make the Law- precluding accidental cylinder release ger, cut checkeredman the perfectwalnut target grips,"workhorse" revolver for both on adjustable rear sight and a rampand off-duty service today.front sight. Many of these featuresNothing else looks like a Colt. are available on other guns only asWhile the Colt Royal Bluing Proc- extra-cost options. Some are notess remains a well kept secret, this available at all. Every Trooper isdistinctive metal finish is acclaimed proof-fired with high-pressureworldwide. Colt handguns possess ammo at the factory, which is whyColt Lawman MKIII 3 57Magi~~double action revolver. 4" shown- or 2"barrel Also\ires 38Special. Available innickelfinish.Cutcheckered AmericanWalnut grips. ,,.Jt .yThe choice is yours. Whenlooking for a .357 Magnum, at somepoint you'll, pick up a Colt. You'lllike its looks, you'll love its feel,you'll understand its price. Thenyou'll choose. If you decide youcan't afford less than the finest qualityin a .357 Magnum, you'll decideyou can't afford less than a Colt.Hand honing and fitting give aColt revolver its cham ieristic velvet smooth action(~LT- anAmerican, . heritage

American Handgunner March/April 1977

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