American Handgunner July/August 1982

o II 

73595 67522

Reach the high~oints 

with im Q- 

You can do it everytime! 

Meet Joe Pascarella, 1981 .45 ACP national 

pistol champ at Camp Perry. He 

outpointed 845 other contestants with 

his AIMPOINT sight. And, he racked 

up his championship in a gusty wind! 

We'd also like you to know that 

Master Sergeant Bonnie Hannon finished 

six points behind Joe. You can 

guess what sight he has mounted on 

his handguns - AIMPOINT, of course! 

AIMPOINT electronic sights are 

catchingthe fancy ofboth serious competitive 

shooters and those sportsmen 

who do everything from plinking to 

hunting game. 

Why AIMPOINT? Because it will 

dramatically improve your aim. You 

don't need to center your eye in the 

middle of the sight. You don't need to 

have the sight a certain distance from 

your eye. Just put the red dot'where 

you want to hit and squeeze off a 

round. Bullseye! 

The red point adjusts to available 

light. It will never fade against a light 

background. No centering'or focusing. 

AIMPOINT is parallex free. 

Call or write for more information. 

Or, ask your dealer to show you what 

Joe Pascarella and Bonnie Hannon, 

champions, use on their guns. AIM 

POINT - for rifle, handgun or bow. 

You'llwonderwhyyou didn't have one 

before, 

AimpGint 

Aimpoint USA Inc. 

201 Elden Street, Suite 103 AH 

Herndon, VA 22070 USA 

(703) 471-6828

YOU'LL SEE OUR NEW ALUMINUM CASE 38s 

IN SMALL GROUPS EVERYWHERE. 

It seems about half the Good 01' Boys at CCI are plinkers. 

And the other half are paper punchers. But they all 

have one thing in common. They like the idea of shooting 

more and spending less. Which is exactly why they got 

together and developed the new. non-reloadable aluminum 

case Blazer 38. 

In fact. an independent lab compared Blazer with brass 

cartridge 3&, and found that Blazer performed as well as 

all other factory ammo. Yet they cost less than a normal 

round. 

So ifyou like plinking or paper punching. we think 

you'll like our new Blazer 3&. 

Especially when you see them perform in small groups. 

@1981 Clmark

AMERICA" 

JULY/AUGUST, 1982, Vol. 7, No. 35 

FEATURES 

MASTER TIPS, Jon Winokur 

Shooting tips to make you a winner 

saw L-FRAME REVOLVERS, Dave Reynolds 

Offers distinguished service 

HOME-BUILT .45 AUTO, Ken Hackathorn 

How it compares with factory/custom jobs 

NEW PRODUCT SHOWCASE 

Highlights holsters, handgun cases 

..30 

.....................34 

.........................36 

..39 

sEECAMP INTRODUCES UNIQUE .25 AUTO, Dave Reynolds .... .40 

Offers many new features 

SILHOUETTE PISTOL $TOCKs, Philip C. Briggs 

New, practical, exotic designs for XP-100 

COMBAT SHOOTING AUSTRALIAN STYLE, John Robinson 

Down under handgunners are progressive 

IS THE PARABELLUM PRACTICAL?, Robert Shimek 

Defensive shooting with the Luger 

COPS TRY IPsC AT PPC MEET, Jim Petti grew Jr. 

Combat shooting provides. survival training 

INDOOR PIN SHOOTING, William R. Langman 

Sharpens shooting skills outdoors· 

sPEEDLOADING, Massad Ayoob 

Techniques require practice 

THE .45 COLT, Claud S. Hamilton 

Is it really obsolete? 

....................42 

.46 

...50 

... 52 

••••••••••• d ••••••• • 55 

..................................56 

MATCH-WINNING .45 AUTO BARRELS, Dave Arnold 

Made of stainless steel, by Bar-Sto 

TIC CONTENDER GETS FACE-LIFT, Dave Reynolds 

New Mach IV has many new features 

IGNITION AIN'T ENOUGH, Massad Ayoob 

Good shooting involves lots of factors 

RUGER OFFERS TRANSFER BAR KIT, AH Staff 

Will convert "Old Model," at no charge 

DEPARTMENTS 

.....58 

...59 

................65 

.......................70 

...................83 

INDUSTRY INSIDER J. Rakusan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

PlsTOLsMITHING, John G. Lawson 8 

COP TALK, Massad Ayoob . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 

sILUETAs, Philip C. Briggs 12 

SIGHT SETTINGS, Lucy Chambliss 16 

HANDGUN HUNTING, J.D. Jones ".'... . 22 

SPEAK OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .24 

HANDGUN RELOADING, Dan Cotterman . 74 

WHAT'S NEW . . 78 

HANDGUN MARKET . .92 

4 

COVER, Master craftsmen develop practical, 

exotic stacks for XP-100. Photo by Nick Karras. 

STAFF 

GEORGE E. VON ROSEN, Publisher 

JEROME RAKUSAN, Editorial Director 

LEN DAVIS, Editor 

SYDNEY BARKER, Art Director 

JOE ROSS, Art Assistant 

RICHARD DOWDY, Art Assistant 

TOM HOLLANDER, Circulation Director 

STEVE LIPSKY, Advertising Sales 

BOB CUSICK, Advertising Sales 

NATIONAL ADV. OFFICE: Bob Cusick, Steve 

Lipsky, 591 Camino de la Reina, Suite 200, San 

Diego, CA 92108 (714) 297-8520 

WEST COAST REPS.: Media Sales Associates, . 

Bill Hague, Rick Ayer, 26944 Camino de 

Estrella, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624 (7'-14) 

661-2423 

EAST COAST ADV. REPS: Buchmayr Associates, 

980 Post Rd .. Darien, CT 06820 (203) 

655-1639 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER (ISN 0145-4250) is 

published bi-monthly by PUblishers Development Corp., 

591 Camino de la Reina. San Diego, CA 92108. second 

class postage paid at San Diego, CA 92108, and at additionai 

mailing oftices. Subscripfions: One year (6 issues) 

$11.95. Single monthly copies $2.00. Change of Address: 

Four weeks' nofice required on all changes, Send 

old address as well as new. Contributors submitting manuscripts, 

photographsor drawingsdosoattheir own risk. 

Material cannot be returned unless accompanied by sufficient 

postage. Payment will be made at rates current at 

time of publication and will cover reproduction in any or 

all AMERICAN HANDGUNNER Magazine editions, Advertising 

rates furnished on request. Reproduction oruse 

of any porlion of fhis magazine in any manner, withouf 

written permission, is prohibited. All righfs reserved. Title 

to this publication passestosubscriberonlyon deliveryto 

his address. SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS: For immediate 

action write to AMERICAN HANDGUNNER, 

Attention Christi McCombs-591 Camino de la Reina, 

~~~~?gh~i~U ~~~~~ ~~1~~n:'~';;:11~~~~"l297-8524. 

11 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY IAUGUST 1982

Bianchi'sontheWagonl 

The #1 Selling Holster in the World Today is BIANCHI, and He's Headin' for your Local Dealer with 

a Wagon Load of the Best Quality Belts, Holsters and Shooting Accessories Money can Buy. 

More than One Million Police Officers, the Military, and Shooters like you will buy BIANCHI 

in 1982. Dealers inquire! 

Get the whole Bianchi 

Gunleather® story today by 

sending $1.00 fgr a 64 page, full 

color 1982 pocket edition or 

$3.00 for the large standard size 

catalog. Then buy the best - 

BIANCHI! 

"The world standard by which all gunleather isjudged." 

100 Calle Cortez • Dept. AH-782 • Temecula, CA 92390

INDUSrRY INSIDER 

JERRY RAKUSAN 

ARMY DROPS 9mm AUTO SEARCH; 

STICKS WITH THE COLT .45 M·1911 

On Friday, February 19, the Pentagon 

announced that its plans to replace 

the 045 Colt auto with a new 9mm double 

action have been canceled. A spokesman 

was quoted as saying:. "It was not possible 

to make an award, because the submitted 

weapon samples of all offerers have substantially 

failed to meet the essential requirements 

contained in the procurement 

solicitation." One concern, he said, "was 

the ability to operate in mud and sand." 

This announcement will bring cheers 

from the hard-core supporters of M-1911, 

and dismay from the manufacturers of 

9mm D.A. pistols who were banking on 

military acceptance of the 9mril to bolster 

sales ofguns of that caliber on the civilian 

market. 

There are questions that still remain, 

such as: Is there still a possibility that the 

military will consider conversion of the 

present stock of A5s is to 9mm and double 

action? Will this move bolster the efforts of 

those who are proposing the 040 caliber, or 

IOmm cartridge, as a replacement for the 

A5? Just how will the civilian market react 

to the bursting of the 9mm bubble? 

We hear that several gunsmiths have offered 

unsolicited proposals to the military 

to convert existing .45s to 9mm at costs 

running from about $9. to $12 per gun. Interesting, 

but that would leave the U.S. 

with a 9mm auto that does not have some 

of the requirements the military 

requested-double action, ambidextrous 

safety, large-capacity magazine, etc. What 

price NATO compatibility? 

S&W"No" 

Several people called saying that they 

heard that S&W has a .40 caliber auto in 

the works. This came from a recent police 

equipment show in Los Angeles. A S&W 

spokesman said that what these reporters 

heard was the question, but not the answer. 

He tells American Handgunner that "No, 

S&W does not have such a gun in the 

works." . 

Look Alikes 

Ever wonder why the Taurus revolvers 

look so much like S&W's? Simple, they are 

built in what once was the S&W plant in 

Brazil. Ever wonder why the Taurus PT-92 

auto pistol looks so much like the Beretta? 

Simple, they are made in what was the 

Beretta plant in Brazil. 

Ban the Bad .Bullets 

A recent issue of"Gun Week" reported 

seeing a copy of a Justice Department 

draft ofa bill which would amend the U.S. 

Penal Code to establish sanctions for the 

manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, 

possession or use of armor-piercing handgun 

ammo. The "Gun Week" article concludes; 

"As has become standard with 

such bills, the person drafting them doesn't 

know what he/she is talking about and is 

unable to define (handgun or bullet-proof 

vest, in this instance). So he leaves that up 

to the secretary or the attorney general in 

this case. Which means that since he 

doesn't know either, it will be left up to 

some bureaucrat ofthe future. The final 

result could be to legislate every pistol 

or revolver out of existence ... via some 

distorted and improper 'armor-piercing' 

reasoning." 

So What Else is New? 

The story on the TV news was that a 

classy shop on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles 

was offering "designer guns:' While they 

did not show the actual gun being offered, 

they did say that it had gold decorations 

and exotic leather grips. How about that? 

The American Handgunner has been showing 

"designer guns" for the last five years, 

and some of them would, I am sure, put 

those offered by the posh boutique to 

shame. I don't think, however, that we will 

change from our practice of calling them 

custom guns, executed not by Jordache or 

Calvin Klein, but by some of the finest 

custom pistolsmiths in the world. 

Nyclad Lives 

When Smith & Wesson announced that 

they were going out ofthe ammo business, 

the most asked question was: ~'What will 

become of the Nyclad ammo?" Many felt 

that these handgun rounds were just 

reaching a high plateau ofacceptance, and 

that their demise at this time would be 

unfortunate. 

Well, worry not. On March 3, Federal 

Cartridge Corp. announced that they had 

purchased the exclusive rights to manufacture 

the Nyclad line of handgun 

ammo. So watch for the Nyclad rounds 

bearing Federal headstamps in ~ 

the near future. -, 

I 6 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982

firstwe bro\J&btYQ11the 

"~IIowJacket" 22. NoW 

there's another Remington 

rimflre round thatgoes beyond 

highvelocity. And beyond your 

expectations. . 

Meetthe hypervelocity 

"Viper.' It's the first 

22 ever made with a solid. coneshaped 

bullet 

Itcomes on strong to give ¥ou 

near-magnum muzzle energy and 

higher retained velocity downrange~At 

longer ranges. 

You11 find the new "Viper" 22 

has all the accuracy and perfor- 

... mance you need for 

great small-game 

hunting. Orsuper 

plinking. 

Our "Viper" 22 features 

a standard Long Rifle case and 

exclusive "Copper-Lokt" lubricated 

bullet coating. Together. 

they give you sure, easy chambering 

in your 22 rifle or pistol. 

Perhaps the best news ofall 

Is that for all this game-getting, 

target-hitting performance, our new 

"Viper" 22s cost 

less than other 

high-performance 22s. Yet give you 

more.They even sound more powerful. 

Get ready for some startling 

hyperformance. see your full-service 

Remington dealerand ask for the 

"Viper" 22. our newest . 

"firstIn the Field:' ~ 

'Compared wi(h "Hie'" Velocity" 225 Remington & Yellow tackel are trademarks registered in the U.s Patcnt [,. Trademark Off.; Viper. Copper-LokI [,. High Velocity are trademarks of Remlfliton Arms Company, Inc. Bridgeport. (1 oo1‎סס

FIELD TESTING A NEWLY-ACCURIZED 

.45 IS UP TO SHOOTER, NOT 'SMITH 

BIG GAME-Whether it's acrafty bull elk or 

distant pronghorn buck, here's ammunition 

that will knock their socks off with its power 

and accuracy! Compare PMC factory ammo 

with Winchester, Federal or Remington and 

you'll discover why more and more hunters 

are switching to PMC. 

2. 

TARGET DR VARMINTS-Silhouette or paper, 

woodchuck, or coyote, PMC gives you the 

advantage marksmen seek... factory loads 

with the precision accuracy of custom loads. 

3. 

MILITARY BALL AMMD-The PMC Arsenal 

line of modern military rifle and pistol ball 

ammuni.tion is the most complete line available 

commercially. Police or military buff, here's 

ammunition made to U.S. Military specifications. 

Available in cartons, cases or cans. 

Dealers Inquire. 

Mail Coupon for Free catalog! 

6 East 45th St., New York, N.Y. 10017 

Gentlemen: Please send me your FREE catalog. 

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Address: 

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I 

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~.:::.o~~~ 

Field testing a newly-accurized pistol is 

up to you, because most gunsmiths do 

not have the proper facilities to perform a 

critical200-round field test, without which 

accuracy, functionability and reliability 

are question marks. 

Before firing any pistol, field strip it 

carefully and remove grease or other preservative 

compound and visually check for 

readiness to fire. Before removing the recoil 

spring plug, press the slide back Y2" 

and use a properly-fitting bushing wrench, 

if it is required. It is important not to 

"wring" the closely fitted end of the barrel 

and bushing together where they normally 

A'tering spring tension will reduce 'ong 

trigger inertia/ hammer follow-down. 

come to rest in battery. Most barrels are 

slightly relieved to allow easier bushing removal, 

but this may not be apparent. 

Always unscrew a solid rod follower, 

should your pistol be fitted with one, to allow 

bushing removal in the position \12" to 

the rear of the critical fitted area. Never 

forget this simple precaution, because a 

single wringing together of barrel and 

bushing could destroy your accuracy potential, 

or at least lower it considerably. 

Brace your wrist on a sandbag rest, depressing 

the bag so that you are supported 

in a natural firing position with free 

upward movement. D'o not brace any part 

ofthe pistol on the bag: Pistol rests, such as 

the Lee and Ransom, are valuable for testing 

handloads and small batches offactory 

ammo; but they will not give you the pre- 

. cise, actual firing conditions that a sandbag 

will. 

After firing 200 rounds of your match 

loads yo will have put yourself on familiar 

terms with your new accuracy job. Any 

problems that are going to show up will 

float to the surface in this session. Better 

now than during a critical match. 

First, check your sights. Front and rear 

should be solid and impact should not 

have drifted during the firing of 200 

rounds, after initial sight-in. If the front 

blade has worked loose, it was improperly 

installed and should be replaced with a. 

new sight. Never attempt to re-tighten a 

loosened front blade without proper tools. 

Loc-Tite alone will not retain a blade; it 

must be swaged in place. Ifthe rear mount 

is loose, it is either improperly anchored, 

or it needs an adhesive on the screw 

threads. On low-mounted BoMar sights, a 

screw may be too long, causing interference 

with the striker spring. Grind it off 

and re-set. 

If grip screws are loose, you can tighten 

them with a properly-fitting screw driver. 

Should the grip screw bushings or the 

frame be stripped, preventing proper 

tightening, you will have to obtain new 

screws and bushings. Set the bushings with 

LocTite or Epoxe, especially in alloy frame 

weapons. Do not reef on the screw driver 

as a substitute. Grip screws are put in dry 

after the adhesive has set in the bushings. 

If the pistol does not feed, try some 

other magazines. The usual feed problem 

with a new accuracy job is failure to lock 

up all the way into battery. This becomes 

S'ide must draw bushing clear of fitted 

portion of barre' at tip of wrench. 

apparent when you apply some 35 pounds 

of trigger pull and nothing happens. Click 

the slide forward into battery, then extract 

the loaded round. Check the forward por- '" 

tion of the extraction cannelure for extractor 

marks. If present, the extractor needs a 

very light stoning to remove the rough 

spot, usually the bottom edge ofthe extractor 

hook and possibly a ridge on the side 

corresponding to the rim. Do not remove 

appreciable metal and use only the finest 

Arkansas knife stone. (Stoning also solves 

most ejection problems.) 

If the pistol grates when being cocked, 

cycling the slide, check the recoil spring 

Continued on page 28 

8 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982

The 

PERFECT 

TENI~--- 

coprAUC 

MASSAD AYOOB 

EX-BORDER PATROLMAN BILL TONEY 

GETS CREDIT FOR PPC DISCIPLINE 

On a 

Scale of 

1 to 10, 

Taurus 

Is the 

Combat 

Pistol 

That Scores a to. 

Compare three top combat pistolsthe 

Colt Government Model, 

Beretta 928 and Taurus PT-92/PT-99. 

You'd want all of them on your 

side. Big, tough, they pump out the 

rounds during the most 

miserable field conditions But 

Taurus is the only one that's 

a perfect 10-a slim margin over the 

nearly-identical Beretta, but 

,a perfect 10 makes the difference. 

Che«k these 10 important points. 

Taurus Beretta Colt 

Large-Frame X X X 

Semi-Automatic 

Used by the Military X X X 

World Wide 

9MM Parabellum X X X 

Cartridge 

Plastic or Wood X X X 

(extra) Grips 

Double Action X X 

Lanyard-Style Hammer X X 

15-Round Magazine X X 

Capacity 

Chamber-Load X X 

Indicator 

Combat Trigger Guard X 

Rear Sights 

X 

Adjustable for 

Windage/Elevation 

You can bet your life on the 

performance of your Taurus pistol, 

and it costs substantially less. 

Two models-PT-92 (fixed sights, 

thermo plastic resin grips) and PT-99 

(walnut grips, adjustable rear sight). 

For 

further 

information 

contact: 

International 

Distributors 

hie. P. O. Box 557566 

Miami, Florida 33155 PhOne: (305) 264-9321 

.j:able: Inldist. 

I 

n the February, 1960 issue of GUNS 

Magazine the cover story featured the 

national police combat pistol championships. 

Back then, it was a 50-shot FBI 

course, sponsored by the police science 

program at the University ofIndiana at 

Bloomington, and financially supported 

by 'Colt. 

Bill Toney, an ace Border Patrol handgunner 

and one ofthe top combat revolver 

shots of the period, wrote the article. Rereading 

it now, 20 years later, is more than 

just a trip down memory lane. 

It's the fashion today to mock PPC 

("Practical Police Course"') shooting as irrelevant. 

You have to read that copy of 

G.UNS to understand how far the game 

has come in two decades. 

panied the 1960 article, most cops shot 

their service guns. They were limited to 6" 

maximum barrel length, .38 caliber minimum. 

The big winners shot S&W model 

14's, then known as the K-38 Masterpiece, 

with some also using the now-obsolete 

Colt equivalent, the Officer's Model. A few 

Pythons were on the scene, too. 

Toney, writing of the event (in which he 

placed a creditable fifth), made some telling 

points. He didn't care for the fact that 

at seven yards, officers were required to 

shoot from the hip. As he put it, "pointing 

from shoulder level without use ofsights is 

more accurate, and requires only a fraction 

of a second more time. Also, the firing 

position, "from the hip:' is difficult to define 

for competition. Instead of arbitrarily 

It's the fashion today to mock 

PPC shooting as irrelevant 

The course was fired on the Colt FBI target, 

the silhouette with the bowling pinshaped 

kill zone, in which any hit counted 

as a full five points. I was amazed to read 

that only 2 ofthe 300 shooters who participated 

scored a full 250 points (they were 

firing 50 shots in 5-shot sequences). It 

dawned on me that ifl had been born early 

enough, I could have been national champion; 

the last time I fired PPC on the Colt 

silhouette, Iwas using a stock Colt Python 

service revolver, and I scored 300 out of 

300 with 56 ofthe 60 shots in the tie-breaking 

X-ring. . 

Am I that good? Hell, no! Thousands of 

cops routinely shoot that well. Out of the 

thousand or so cops who show. up for the 

Nationals every year at Jackson, I figure 

850 could have won the 1960 championships, 

if they had been there then, with the 

skills they have now. 

Double action revolver shooting was a 

very young science in 1960. By 1980, the 

techniques developed by the sort of police 

pioneers who shot that Indiana match had 

been refined, and had been trained into 

even the basic recruits. Never mind 

the Douglas barrelled BoMar ribbed 

PPC guns of today. I'm talking about ability 

with an out-of-the-box double action 

revolver. 

Judging by the pictures that accom- 

imposing a position, which mayor may not 

be wise and which is difficult to enforce, a 

shorter time limit for drawing and firing is 

suggested. Let the competitor choose the 

. most effective position." 

Some of Toney's advice took hold. It 

wasn't long before they went to pointshoulder 

at seven yards in police combat 

competition, and soon, they were using the 

sights. When speedloaders were permitted, 

that stage became an automatic twelve-inthe-same-hole 

for qnybody who was into 

the course. Street confrontations have 

proven the wisdom ofToney's advice. The 

cops who survive close-range gunfights are 

usually the ones who point the gun with 

their eyes, instead offrom the hip. Why do 

they call that "instinct shooting?" There is 

no human instinct to point from the hip; 

what is instinctive is to point at eye level! 

At Bloomington in 1960, Toney clocked 

the shooters in the prone position stage. He 

found it took them an average of 9.3 seconds 

from the starting signal to get bellydown 

and fire the first shot. I've run a lot of 

PPC shoots, and today's competitor takes 

more like twelve seconds before he fires his 

first shot from the braced position at 50 

yards. In IPSC, by contrast, you figure on 

three to five seconds between the starting 

whistle and the first bang, when a shooter 


10 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982

The spring·loaded firing pin 

is "enclosed in the frame. 

Note: With the trigger reo 

leased and transfer-bar withdrawn 

below the firing pin, 

the hammer nose rests di· 

rectly on the frame and cannot 

contact the firing pin. 

The barrel, sighting rib, and 

ejector rod housing are a 

rugged, integral unit, made 

of" heat·treated stainless or 

chrome molybdenum steels.' 

The rear sight proVided on 

Security·SiX' models is ad· 

justable for windage and eie· 

vation. '" 

Music wire or stainless steel 

coil springs are used throughout 

the Ruger double action 

revolvers. 

The transfer-bar ignition system 

provides that the hammer 

blow can be transmitted 

to the firing pin only when 

the trigger is pulled all the 

way to the rear, This is a 

positive internal safety fea· 

ture designed to prevent firirig 

if the revplver is dropped 

accidentally, or if the ham· 

mer spur receives a sharp 

blow, 

RUGER 

These are the revolvers created by Ruger engineers who 

started with a fresh sheet of paper arid an unlimited 

budget! There is nothing in the (jesign of these Ruger 

double action revolvers' which is there simply because 

"it has always been done that way"; nothing which reflects 

a commitmen~ to outmoded production methods 

or obsolescent factory facilities. Representing a significant 

improvement in design, these revolvers incorporate 

creative Ruger engineering, sophisticated manufacturing 

techniques, and superior materials. 

The Ruger design philosophy of strength, simplicity, 

and ease of maintenance has been applied throughout 

the design of these revolvers. Composed of a series of 

integrated subassemblies, the Ruger double action revolver 

can be field stripped to its basic components in 

seconds, without the use of tools. The entire lock mechanism 

is installed through the bottom of the grip frame 

as a unit, permitting the use of solid frame side-walls 

which contribute to the great strength of these revolvers. 

'The complex milled-out frames and delicately fitted sideplates 

of other double action revolvers, and the difficulties 

of maintenance and weaknesses inherent in older 

designs are eliminated entirely. 

The finest materials are used in Ruger double action 

revolvers. Music wire or stainless steel coil springs are 

used'throughout and frames, cranes, cylinders, and barrels 

are of heat-treated stainless or chrome molybdenum 

steels. Most of the small internal parts of all models of 

Ruger double action revolvers are" made of stainless steel. 

The cylinder interlock' feature 

ensures' that the hammer can· 

not be cocked when the cylinder 

is open, nor can the 

cylinder be swung out of the 

frame. 'when the hammer, is 

coc~ed, 

FIELD STRIPP.ED VIEW 

Double Action 

IJ,evolvers 

In addition to traditional Ruger quality and dependable 

performance, the shooter enj9Ys the advantages of the 

durable stainless steel m~ch2.nism parts; even in standard 

blued models. " 

Ruger SecuritY'Six Revolver in 

357 Magnum caliber with rear 

sight· adjustabie for windage 

and elevation. Choice of 23/4", 

4", or 6" barrel in blued finish 

or stainless steel. 

Ruger Speed·Six Revolver with 

compact round butt in 357 Magnum, 

38 Special, and 9 mm 

parabellum (blued model only) 

calibers WIth fixed sights. 

Choice of 23/4" or 4:' barrel in 

blued finish or stainless steel. 

RUGER, Security-Six, Service-Six, and Speed-SiX are registered U. S: tradema~ks 

FOR YOUR COPY OF A FREE ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF ALL RUGER FIREARMS, WRITE DEPT.AH 

STURM~ RUGER &.: Company~ 

Ine. 

Southport~f:;onneetieut 06490 U.S.A. ,. . 

ALL RUGER FIREARMS ARE DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN RUGER FACTORIES IN THE UNITED STATES?F AMERICA

511UErAS 

PHILIP C. BRIGGS 

THE .357 MAGNUM MAKES COMEBACK 

TO ,LONG-RANGE SHOOTING MATCHES 

Big winners of 

the smallbore, 

RWS Rimfire Cartriqges have 

been winning Olympic Medals, 

European Championships, and 

setting records for nearly half a 

century. 

If smallbore is your game, RWS 

Rimfire Cartridges allow you the 

select opportunity of choosing between 

four long rifle match cartridges, 

an'd a short rapid-fire 

match pistol cartridge. All RWS 

Rimfire Cartridges feature optimum 

bullet qesigns for their intended 

uses, special bullet lubricants, 

and nickle-plated cases. 

All RWS Rimfire Cartridges are 

packaged in unique protective 

trays, ensuring that bullet lubricants 

remain free from contamination. 

RWS Flobert Cartridges. 

The small shots that 

perform bigger than'life. 

RWS Flobert CB, BB, and Blank 

Cartridges have achieved worldwide 

recognition for consistent 

high performance. 

Intended primarily as indoor target 

cartridges, RWS 22 Flobert 

Ammunition (small shots), are also 

useful for eliminating small pests 

at limited ranges. 

RWS .22 Blank Cartrid.ges their 

performance is bigger than life itself, 

ideal for starter pistols. 

~.~ 

Dqnamil Nobel 

DYNAMIT NOBEL OF AMERICA INC. 

105 STONEHURST COURT NORTHVALE, N. J. 07647 

201-767-1660 

12 

The handgun silhouette game started 

with magnum revolvers, but it wasn't 

long before the smallest magnum, the .357, 

fell from favor for the long-range game. 

Nowadays, the smallest mag revolver is 

outnumbered at least IO-to-I by the biggest, 

the .44. 

The .357 mag has many advantages on 

the silhouette 'range. It's chambered in 

some high-quality revolvers, recoil is 

manageable (minimal for a magnum) and 

it's cheaper to feed, having a reduced appetite 

for powder and lead. But it's not reliable 

on the rams, losing from 10 to 40% of 

the targets hit, depending on the range and 

the condition of the rams and the stands. 

No matter what your class or ~core, losing 

a well-hit target rankles. So, most have 

Bullet 

146gr Speer HP 

150gr Speer FMJ 

158gr Hornady FP 

160gr Hornady FMJ 

180gr Speer FN 

180gr Speer FN 

182gr SSK FN 

200gr SSK FN 

200gr RCBS FN 

200gr RCBS FN 

LOAD DATA 

.357 Magnum Contender 

Powder 

Type Charge 

(grains) 

296 

CCI 

Frontier 

296 

296 

296 

680 

680 

296 

296 

16.6 

Factory 

Factory 

16.6 

13.7 

16.0 

17.1 

In 

12.5 

13.5 

Early on in the Production wars, when 

the single shots began to dominate, .30 

Herrett Contenders came in out of the 

field, and were the hot setup. Then, in 

1980, Thompson/Center adopted a nicely 

balanced cartridge, a 7mm wildcat on the 

.223 Remington case, christened it the 

7mm TCU, and overwhelmed Production. 

This pistol!cartridge combo is now far 

more common on the line than ventilated 

pants cuffs; it's everywhere. 

The 7mm bore has always fascinated 

riflemen, as bullets in this diameter offer 

perhaps the best balance of wl::ight and 

efficiency. Yet, if you look at the downrange 

performance ofa similar weight bul- , 

let in .30 caliber, launched from the old 

champ, the .30 Herrett, you'll find there's 

Velocity' 

Average Spread 

(fps) (fps) 

1616 55 

1736 57 

1323 43 

1570 46 

1337 120 

1545 20 

1479 33 

1482 22 

1314 36 

1420 37 

Average Group Size 

25 yards 100 yards 

(Inches) (Inches) 

1.01 

1.42 5.36 

.96 4.33 

1.07 ' 3.21 

1.43 

1.63 

1.23 

.74 

Velocities are instrumental, for one five-shot string, measured ten feet from the 

muzzle with on Oehler Model 33 Chronotach and skyscreeris. Group size data are the 

average of three five-shot groups fired frqm a sandbag rest from a ten-inch bull barreled 

Contender with a Thompson/Center 3X RP scope. The indicated weights for 

the SSK bullets are the manufacturer's designations. In the alloys used, they weigh 

closer to 200 and 220 grains. The RCBS weighs close to 200 grains. 

given up on the .357 mag and gone on to 

bigger magnum revolvers. 

.." But the .357 mag is returning to the long 

range game, and in what seems an unusual 

category-Production. 

IHMSA'sProduction class originally 

lumped revolvers and single shots together 

and it wasn't long before the single shots 

dominated the category. NRA's Conventional 

category still forces the two to shoot 

together, but the IHMSA recognized the 

inequities, and Iqst year separated the two, 

creating a separate Revolver cqtegory. 

3.77 

not that much difference at handgun 

silhouette ranges. 

Comparing Speer bullets of similar 

weight (145-gr

THE GERMAN SNIPER 1914-1945 

by Peter R. Senich 

The first truly definitive &tory of a most significant era in modern small arms development. No 

other book on German military sniping can match the quality of Peter Senich's The German 

Sniper 1914-1945. Beginning with the Great War, Senich traces the evolution of the Mauser 

98's initial adaptation to long-range sniping mode, plus special accurization measures and the 

early developmental optical sights that were keystones to these adaptations. Senich then 

explores the adaptations of the venerable Mauser 98 through WWII to the new advanced 

optical sights which provided the German Army with a decided edge. Over 600 exceptional 

photographs detail every facet of these weapons systems, and the men who used them. 

Covers other noteworthy aspects of Nazi sniping history-the experimental "Selbstladegewehr" 

41 and 43 selective fire assault rifles, and interviews with WWII Germany's top three 

master snipers. Serious German historians and weapons experts simply must have this 

book! 8'12 x 11, clothbound, 660 photos, 468 pages Special Collector's Edition! $49.95 

UP YOURS! 

George Hayduke's Guide to 

Advanced Revenge Techniques 

It's 1982 and getting even is a 

whole new ball game. Grand master 

of revenge George Hayduke 

has sunk to new lows with this 

latest collection of original dirty 

tricks and creative scams. Here are 

the meanest. nastiest pranks for all 

those who've done you dirty. 5'h x 

81,7, hardcover. 175 pp. $12.95 

UNARMED AGAINST THE KNIFE 

by Oscar Difz-Cobo 

Nota rehash on general knife fighting, 

Un.rmed Ag.lnlt the Knife 

combines street savvy with closecombat 

martial arts to give you 

practical knife-fighting and disarming 

techniques. Includes illustrated 

methods for gaining 

physical and psychological advantage 

over your attacker. 51,7 x 81,7, 

sof~cover, photos. 88 pp. $8.00 

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF TAEKWON DO FORMS 

by Keith Yates 

Here's karate with a difference-Taekwon Do, the 

powerful Korean style of marttal art and self-defense 

Author Keith Yates, a 5th degreEfblack belt, covers each 

training pattern with photos, foot position diagrams. and 

dramatizations of actual applications. After discussing 

white belt fundamentals, Yates analyzes all thirteen 

forms, the cornerstones of the Taekwon 00 art. Must 

reading for students and instructors, novices and hardcore 

pros alike. 8r.- x 11, hardcover. illus.. over 

500 photos. 168 pp. $24.95 

URBAN ALERT! 

Emergency Survival for City Dwellers 

by Mary Ellen Clayton 

with Bruce D. Clayron, Ph.D. 

Earthquakes. floods. tornadoes, 

riots, nuclear accidents. and fires 

can spell chaos for the unpre· 

pared. With a minimum of tlme and 

money, you can prepare. Gives 

vital tips on emergency food, 

water, lighting, cooking. heating, 

medical supplies and more. 5'12 x 

8 1 h, hardcover, photos. 192 pp. 

. $12.95 

THE PERFECT CRIME 

i1nd How to Commit It 

by Dr. P. Jekel 

The title says it all! The Perfect Crime and How to Commit It 

reveals tales of unsolved crimes and dispels the myth that 

crime doesn't pay. Arsonists, shoplifters, jewel thieves, 

murderers, ace detectives and top criminalists contributed 

to this startling expose of crime and criminals. Dr. 

Jekel dissects a'nd analyzes perfect and near-perfect 

crimes of theft, fraud, forgery, arson, shoplifting, and of 

course-murder. Sure to thrill crime fans and mystery 

lovers. 5'h x 8%. hardcover, 208 pp. $14.95 

HOT CARS! 

An Inside look at the 

Auto Theft Industry 

by Marcus Wayne Ratledge 

A look at the methods of profes 

SIonal car thieves. Former car thief 

Ratledge reveals what thieves 

know-and don't know about 

faking papers and serial numbers 

on stoten cars, trucks, motorcycles. 

boats, and planes. Learn 

how to avoid being taken for a ride 

by thieves 51,7 x 8/i. softcover. 

photos. 136 pp $5.95 

IN SEARCH OF GOLD 

by Stephen M. Voynick 

The all-new, how-ta-guide to profit and adventure in the 

gold business. Stephen Voynick draws from his goldgetting 

experience to reveat the realities and legalities of 

rock mining. gold panning, treasure salvaging. and coin 

beachcombing. He also covers new equipment within 

the budget of any gold seeker. Eight exciting pages of 

full-color show on-the-spot shots of recent gold recoveries. 

For weekend prospectors or full-time treasure salvagers. 

gold makes the venture worth the investment. 

6 x 9, hardcover, maps, 216 pp. $15,95 

THE DEATH DEALER'S MANUAL 

by Bradley Steiner 

Tells the true story of how professional 

killers go about their business. 

Of special Interest is a complete 

Dim Mak anatomy chart with 

time reference guide, published 

here in English for the first time. 

Contents include: vital points. 

edged weapons. handguns, and 

unarmed ·killing techniques. For 

informational purposes only! 5'17 x 

8'/2. softcover. ill us., 112 pp.$10.00 

THE AR-7 EXOTIC WEAPONS SYSTEM 

A comprehensive home workshop guide for the gun buff 

and hobbyist machinist. Over fifty working machinist's 

drawings, photos, and full-scale templates show exactly 

how to convert the AR-7 ,22 survival rifle into a full-auto 

silenced machine pistol or rifle. Step-by-step instructions 

detail how to modify the weapon'soriginal receiver. 

fabricate new sear and safety, as well as make a simple, 

efficient silencer group assembly. 9'h x 12. softcover. 

machinist's drawings. photos. full-scale templates, 

72 pp. $12.00 

LIVE OFF THE LAND 

IN THE CITY AND COUNTRY 

by Ragnar Benson 

An all-new, practical guide written 

especially for survivalists and 

retreaters. Containing twenty 

chapters with over 100 photos and 

diagrams, Live Off the Land reveals 

old Indian secrets and advice 

on survival medicine. firearms, 

preserving food. diesel generation 

and"much more. 5'h x 8'h. hardcover. 

i1lus., 260 pp. $16.95 

OTHER FASCINATING TITLES 

Combat Survival $1495 Automatic & Concealable 

Care & Feeding of Tenants $ 6.95 Firearms II $12.00 

Don't Become the Victim $ 600 Special Forces Combat 

Home Workshop Silencer 5 $120u Firing Techniques $17.95 

Get Even . $11.95 Home Workshop Guns l' The 

Everyman's Guide To Better Submachine Gun .. $10.00 

Home Security, ....... $ 7.95 Home Workshop Guns 11 

Consumer Revenge . $13.95 The Handgun. . .$1000 

How To Kill I . .$ 8.00 Slash hrust. .$ 8.00 

How To Kill II .. $ 800 The Revenge Book. $ BOO 

How To K,ll til . . $ 8.00 Kill Or Ge! Killed. .SI9.95 

How To K,lllV .. $ 800 SWAT Team Manual .$1200 

HowToKlIIV. ... $ 8.00 Complete Book of 

(No Volume In the How To Kill Senes Karate Weapons 524.95 

available 10 Canada) 

Spec'al Forces Operational 

Deal The First Deadly Blow, . $12.95 Techniques ... $14.95 

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED 

.----------------~----------Ii!'IIII!- 

SPECIAL FORCES RECONNAISSANCE HANDBOOK 

Successful reconnaissance depends on the motivation 

and training of the recon team, This new Paladin reprint 

details proven U.S, Army reconnaissance techniques, 

and patrolling methods that help bring your men back 

alive from the bush-where anything can happen. 

Scouting tactics. insertion and communication techniques. 

team organization, composition, equipment. and 

patrol planning are covered in depth, Special attention is 

devoted to air infiltration and exfiltration, tracking, and 

use of human senses to obtain combat intelligence, A 

must for the beginner. A refresher for the old-timer. 8'h x 

11. soltcover, charts. 122 pp. $12.00 

p------------------ 

Send Sl for lalesl 

PALADIN PRESS 

PALADIN 

PO BOX 1307- BAHD 

CATALOG. 

RHODESIAN S.A.S, COMBAT MANUAL 

Obtained from a member of the Rhodesian S,A.S. Squadron, 

this scarce combat manual is now available to 

Paladin readers. This is the principal guide used to conduct 

the enormously successful operations-counterguerrilla 

ops, air ops, ambushing, and notable attacks on 

terrorist base camps-during the Rhodesian antiterrorist· 

war. Contents include: Standard Security Terminology, 

Communication, Rural Ops. Ambushing of Insurgents. 

Movement by Road. Land/Air Ops, and First Aid. 81,7 x 11, 

softcover, diagrams. charts. 110 pp. $12.00 

itBOULDER, CO 80306 ~~ Catalog free 

Phone (303) 443·7250 

__~ with order. 

I Call TOLL FREE for credit card orders: 1-800-B24-7888; Ask for Operator #249• 

in California, 1-~852-7777;Alaska & Hawaii, 1-800-824-7919. 

1 

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AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY/AUGUST 1982 13

Buy OneID81IBOOk, Get One Free! 

. Buy OBI Books Locally - Or Order By Mail 

PISTOLS OF 

THE WORLD 

By Ian V. Hogg & John Weeks 

~~, e~\ri\o(\ 

~ .t;,e~ 

~e~ . . 

This fully revised, single volume 

encyclopedia begins in 1870 and 

follows the development of the handheld 

firearm into the tlighly sophisticated 

weapon we know today. Never ~ 

before has the spectrum of repeating ~ 

h.andguns been presented with such 1 

authority and in such detail. 2000 

handguns are described and over 600 . 

illustrated, providing a comparative, !( 

visual history of the appearance and K 

workings of every model worthy of 

note; appendices give basic data for 

the pistols and their ammo. In addition, 

a cross-index facilitates ready location 

of any individual pistol. 304 

8V2 "x 11" pages. 

#PW8226 

GUN DIGEST 

~\t~' 

BO OK OF KNIVES 2nd Edition 

By Jack Lewis and Roger Combs 

Covers the complete spectrum of the 

fascinating world of knives, examining 

their history from early European stone 

and flint knives thru those of the 20th 

century; the handmade knife movement 

and the knifemakers guild; new 

and old factory manufacturers/importers; 

engravers/scrimshanders. 

Blades - shapes and styles, sharpening 

techniques, heattreating, renovation 

of old blades. Handmade knivesprofiles 

of pioneers, some of today's 

top custom makers, and some of the 

highly skilled new faces. Step-by-step 

instruction with photos for making 

knives from kits, fixed·bladeand folding, 

easy and difficult. 288 8%"x 11 " pages. 

METALLIC CARTRIDGE~ 

RELOADING ~\t ~--- 

, 

Edited by 

RobertS. L.Anderson 

A wealth of invaluable technical 

data by Ed Matunas, Ken Howell and 

other outstanding reloading experts. 

Covers components, propellants, 

pressure, safety, buliet casting, 

troubleshooting, benchrest loading, 

reloading for accuracy and a Q&A 

section on reloading problems. 256 

easy-to-use load tables for over 70 

rifle and pistol calibers. Included for 

each cartridge are its complete history, 

applications, and an illustration showing 

all pertinent technical data. 

Emphasis is on modern rifle and 

handgun cartridges as well as selected 

obsolete ones. 320 8% x 11" pages. 

BLACK POWDER 

GU" DIGEST 

3rd Edition. 

Edited by Jack Lewis 

. Get a load of the all-new articles in 

this great 3rd edition! Causes and 

cures of round ball deformity. Comparison 

of the Whitworth rifle with its 

replic\3, part by part, and shooting 

capabilities of each. Investigation of 

how barrel twist reacts upon load 

configuration. Black powder shotgunning 

and shotgun loads. Tips and tricks 

to improve shooting performance. 

Learn to m\3ke a powder horn, a rifle 

cover, even a customized black powder " 

rifle. These and much more, expressly 

written for the black powder gun buff. 

256 8W'x 11" pages. 

I 

~! 

#MC2706 

810 95 

.FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIOUE AMERICAN FIREARMS 

. . . And Their Values· 2nd Edition 

but much more. A reference, but much 

deeper. A manual, but much more 

encompassing. No facet of antique 

American arms collecting is shortchanged; 

how to identify, how to 

Flayderman's Guide is a directory, 

#FG5426 ... 

815 95 evaluate, how to build a viable, 

significant collection are all given 

due and proper emphasis. For the 

serious collector determined to pursue 

the subject in all its depth, each 

chapter or sub-group within a chapter 

offers a bibliography of additional 

books available on that subject, along 

with the author's comments 

regarding each. 

In addition to·its practical value 

for the pragmatic gun collector, 

Flayderman's Guide, 2nd Edition, is a 

fascinating historical odyssey of arms. 

From the rifles that won the revolution 

to the Colts that won the West, it 

narrates the nation's early history 

through the strict vernacular of 

its weapons. 

Flayderman's first edition of this 

masterwork was deservedly a best 

seller. Without exception, reviewers 

marveled that one man could command 

such a wealth of knowledge and 

perspective on so wide-ranging and 

complex a subject. With this second 

edition, Flayderman reconfirms his 

position as the leading scholar and 

authority on antique American firearms. 

608 8W'x 11" pages. 

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Gun Digest Book of IURT I'. AUTOMATIC pADT IV' CENTERF.IRE 

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DISASSEMBLY . PISTOLS RIFLES 

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1982 GUN DIGESt THE COMPLETE GUIDE KNIVES '82 

36th Edition TO GAME CARE Edited by Ken Warner 

Edited by Ken Warner AND COOKERY Hundreds of pllotos & des- 

All-new. Remington's 721- . By Sam Fadala criptions of new custom & 

722. The Bren Ten. Swivel Fadala's unique approach factory'knives. The State of 

guns of Indonesia. 12-page cov~rs everything fr~J? har- the Art today and the Trends 

Testfire repoi't~. More. 150- vestmg and prepllratlon to of tomorrow. The most compage 

catalog ofspecs, photos cooking and serving. 'Learn plete directory of the knife 

and ur-to-date retail prices to butcher, bone, can, smoke, world ever'assembled. 192 

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arms. 448 8W'x II" pages. 

288 8W'x 11" pages. 

l-----..:.::A.;;~;.::~:.:.~.::;.;:~::..;~;.;.~R,;,.;· ;"::S$::"'::"'I~':"E.:.:i·$~~T5=-"--~---::::~UG~NM;';:C~7~~~~~E::-:'~~~:,:.~~~:::::~~8_.;.;.9...;;5-':'_T_"W"O- - -0-7 ~K~~s~8!~.~ ~.~:.: !-~IC·-~~., 

9th Edition ' ~~"':::;;" DIGEST, 3rd Edition .'. ~. O. . FOR Pfl .'1; 

Edited br Ken Warner EditedbyJosephJ.Schroeder OF ONE! HERE"S HOW! 

Loaded with ai-new how-to Histories of the Japanese Buy one ofthese'DBI'bo'ok~anywhere and get 

articles on every aspect of Type 96 and rare HinDloading 

rifle,

SIGHrSEn'INGS 

LU.CY c:HAMBLiss 

• 

A low profile fixed rear sight for all Colt 

Government Model and Commander, G.!. 

issue 1911 and 1911-A1 and the Browning 

Hi-Power. Shrouds the rear of the slide 

affording a clean, combat sight pfcture. 

Adjusts for windage and requires some 

fitting. Comes with comnlete instructions 

for installation. 

The original patented Swenson Ambidextrous 

safety, for use on all Colt Government 

Models, Gold Cup, Ace, National Match, 

Mark IV Series, Commander and USA G.!. 

issue 1911 and 1911-A1, plus all copies of 

these firearms. Easily installed with some 

fitting required and converts t"e thumb 

safety to 'Iefthand operation. Comes with 

complete instructions for easy installation. 

RIGHT HANDERS 

For use on the 

above models and 

simply replaces 

the issue or factory 

thumb safety. 

Add $1.50 to all above prices to cover postage 

and handling. California residents add 

6% sales tax. Please remit money orders or 

cashiers checks only, NO C.O.D.s PLEASE. 

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\ . .for Hi·Standard Derringer 

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(CaM rcslClronts add 61lt luI 

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2049 Kerwood Ave. # 3. Los Angeles. CA 90025 

AIR PISTOLS "ODUCE CHAMPIONS; 

GREATLY REDUCE SHOOTING COSTS 

T 

he Daisy 777 Match Air Pistol.l77 caliber, 

is a disappointment to me, but 

then I had hoped for something more comparable 

iIi quality to a Feinwerkbau or 

Beemans M-900. 

I will admi! to prejudice, but consider 

that I have been shooting a top-quality air 

pistol made out ofgood steel for five years, 

a yearly average of 7,680 pellets; with no 

repairs required. Most important, no 

change in the e~cellent trigger pull or sight 

mechanism. 

I believe anyone interested in shooting 

should try an accurate air pistol. Consider 

the cheap "fodder" for it, and how convenient 

it is to practice;: in the hall, or back 

yard. There are no ventilation or firearms 

legality problems with these little pop 

guns. 

If you are a serious International handgunner, 

and by that· I mean you want to 

eventually shoot a Tryout and Phoenix, an 

air pi~tol is too big a part of both to be ignored. 

Open National Sectional Championships 

for air pistol are getting more 

numerous. Awards provided by t4e NRA 

are generous, and entry fees are reasonable, 

ranging from $4-$8 and only $4 a 

team. Awards are divided fairly for 

Juniors, Women and Open classes. The 60 

shot match is fired in 2 hours and 15 minutes; 

ranges that ~on't have target carriers 

are using the new four-bull targets 

If you .shoot bullseye or combat, an air 

pistol is an invaluable training aid for 

50-yard firing. The air pistol requires absolute 

adherence to each basic handgun 

marksman principle; Concentration, sight 

alignment, trigger control and the hardest 

for me, but so vital, follow-through. I have 

found follow-through has to be instinctive 

with the air pistol; it never was for me in 

any type handgun shooting. Friends told 

me I was practically jumping up and moving 

from prone before the last round'was 

out ofthe barrel at 50-yard combat. I knew 

in bullseye 50-yard slow fire, I followedthrough 

only when 1 remembered to; of 

course. those were the good shots. 

The ~ong sighting radius ofthe air pistol 

and the 40 or 60 shots, all slow fire, seems 

to require more concentration than other 

handguns; concentration on the sights, not 

the exaggerated wobble we see, and concentration 

on repetition of fundamentals, 

no matter how tiresome. I have also found 

I can't shoot the air pistol once a week and 

do well with it. Three to four practice 

matches a week, year-round, with postal or 

regular matches added when I can find 

them, are what it takes to make me shoot 

acceptable scores, something I have only 

started doing the last two years. Try some 

of the things I have suggested; I'm certainly 

not the best, but I've improved and, 

most important, I know what I must do to 

produce a 10. Now, the challeI).ge comes in 

doing it every time I reJease the trigger. 

. Basic Training . 

I recently received a rather elaborate 

folder on a Personal Safety Course, 4 days 

training for $335. Courses 1and 2 d

·CONTENDER 

THE HANDGUN 

THAT ·AlTE 

THE GAM 

When it comes to past history, Contender wasn't there. 

Built for sport alone, Contender didn't participate in the 

"Indian Wars" nor the "fight at the OK Corral". Unconcerned 

with the esthetics of yesterday, Contender has about as much 

in common with,a trontier revolver as a jet liner has with a 

covered wagon. 

Wha1 Contender does offer is downrange capability. Its superb 

accuracy and strong break open design - coupled with a unique 

inte~changeablebarrel system affords the kind of performance that 

was hitherto unheard of in the handgun world. Think about it! Before 

there was a Contender did you ever hear of a handgun firing varmint 

loads such as .222 and .223 Remington? Did you ever hear of a handgun 

that handled .30/30 Winchester, .35 Remington and a trio of fiesty wildcats 

(.30 & .357 Herrett plus the new 7 M/M T.C.U.)? Of course you didn't 

because a true hunting handgun did not exist before there was a Contender. 

By increasing the effective range of the handgun - offering workable terminal 

ballistics (heavy bullet weights accurately placed with sufficient remaining 

energy to do the job properly), Contender has made history In the hunting 

handgun field. The first "out of the box" production pistol to shoot a perfect score 

In Metallic Silhouette, Contender is racking up additional merits at every match, If 

you're serious about long range handgunning, shouldn't you be thinking in terms 

of performance? . 

W,ife Today! FOR OUR NEW 

NO.9 1982 CATALOG 

See how one single shot pistol with a full range of 

interchangeable barrels can handle the hottest of wildcats or the 

tamest of pussycats. A rugged handgun that is superbly 

accurate. A handgun that will smash out a varmint load such as 

the .222 Remington at 2,512 F.P.S. A handgun that can down a 

Whitetail buck in the morning and win a Silhouette match before 

suppertime. 

All Thompson/Center firearms are American Made and 

backed by a Lifetime Warranty. 

THOMPSON/CENTER ARMS 

Rochester, New Hampshire 03867 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982 17

Customize your own gun with the 

famous M-S Safari Arms components 

At M-S Safari Arms, we are constantly developing custom 

components for the average shooter/sportsman as well 

as the true professional. We developed the .45 caliber automatic 

Enforcer® and MatchMaster® pistols and now, those 

same custom features are individually available for your own 

handgun. These parts are designed and priced so that you can 

customize your Browning, S&W, or Colt automatic easily and 

inexpensively With the 'same professional features that were 

once only attainable through custom gun mechanics. 

All components are supplied in satin finished stainless 

steel or high luster blue ready for your-= ..... 

local gunsmith's installation. ® &:n~Urcer 

'" Fixed Rear Sight Set. No-nonsense front and rear sights 

designed for fast target acquisition. Provides the proper light 

gap between front and rear sight. Melted full radius style. Blue 

or stainless steel. Rear sight fits standard dove tail. $14.95 

'" Ambidextrous Combat Slide Release Set. 

Now full control of the .45 automatic with 

the left hand. $29.50 

~ The Enforcer (3.8" ba rrel ) 

or The MatchMaster (5" barrel 

Deadly accurate, .45 caliber 

combat pistols. Loaded with custom 

features. Available in 

Armaloy, blue, alloy, or stainless 

steel finishes. Send 1$2.00 for fully ~ 

illustrated catalog and ordering 

information. ' 

'" Ambidextrous Combat Safety Set. 

Full position control with right or left 

hand. Get the most from your automatic. 

A must for ·combat shooters, police 

officers, and all left handers. Browning 

High Power: $39.95 Colt: $34.95* 

Manufactured under pat. .#3492748 

24 HOUR TOLL FREE ORDER DESK 

Master Charge 

Visa 

~ Hammer. Stainless steel 

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Continuedfrom page J6 

nar, by mail, (Frank Green, 530 W. Grove 

Rd., Montrose, CA 81401- Price $28.50). It 

is two 60-minute tapes with a simple, but 

entirely adequate, flip chart instruction 

book. I think anyone-and I have in some 

20 years of teaching seen almost many 

types of training aids-could take Frank's 

tapes and book and fire a handgun safely 

and with practice, accurately, even if they 

had never seen one before. This course is 

the biggest value for $29 that you will find. 

The question of continuil1g liability of 

one who teaches self-defense with firearms 

courses, is ofcontinuing interest. With our 

courts handing down decisions, mostly in 

favor of criminals, and giving large settlements 

in cases ofcarelessness or stupidity, I 

don't teach firearms classes outside police 

departments any more. What protection 

can you get against the student who, negligently 

or justifiably, shoots someone, 

including himself, and the court decides it 

was your fault for teaching him, or not 

teaching him correctly self-defense type 

shooting? 

I think teaching skill with a handgun is 

great, and believe I 'could make some 

money doing it, but I'd be jeopardizing 

everything I own doing it. The NRA Insurance, 

and the Carpenter Insurance Agency 

in Washington, used by many clubs, are no 

help at all in such liability. I have gone into 

it thoroughly with them. My local insurance 

agent thinks.straight accident liability 

insurance during the teaching process 

could be obtained, even if you had to use 

Lloyds of London (which, as you may 

know, offer some ofthe most reasonable 

rates). But he is vague on what we do on 

the continuing liability question. Judging 

from calls, letters, and conversations I've 

had, particularly from police officers 

who'd like to teach, it is a problem. Many 

had not thought of it until I asked them 

how they are going to protect themselves. 

You just have to shut your eyes and take 

a chance; I have done it. The cause is excellent 

and firearms skill is a very marketable 

item now. Many Americans waited too 

long to learn to shoot. However, until our 

judicial system returns to verdicts that 

won't penalize the God-fearing, law abid- 

. ing American, count me out of teaching 

self-defense with firearms to civilians. 

I think you are reasonably safe teaching 

handgunning as a sport, particularly an International 

event. Finally, getting 

Women's pistol shooting in the Olympics 

adds lasting credibility to that sport. 

Teaching a recognized sport would have 

many angles for your defense in legal action. 

Again, I recommend Frank Green's 

course; his skill as an Olympic medalist 

comes out in every word. I had not gotten 

through the first tape before understanding 

several fundamentals in a way that 

made them very applicable to the demanding 

air pistol. Try both, an accurate 

air pistol and Frank's· IIIIl!IIIcourse. 

~ 

CROSSDRAWI 

IFHCIHlf AELOADIIINI

COP TALK 

Continuedfrom page 10 . 

goes to prone. "A lot can happen in that 

(much) time," Toney noted. "An officer 

choosing such a position swaps time for 

added accuracy and takes a calculated risk 

of being hit while getting into it." 

Without knowing it, Bill Tracy in 1960 

had articulated the manifesto of the Comstock 

Count developed years later, in 

which elapsed time is divided into score on. 

one's target, in IPSC free-style com bat 

shooting. 

Toney thought the barricade phases 

should be eliminated, since no cop on the 

street could ever count on having a wall to 

hide behind. This was sensible, though it 

was never translated into changes in the 

police combat format. The official 

rationale, which also makes sense, was that 

you run for cover and fire while doing so to 

keep the other guy's head down. They 

never put that into the National Police 

Championship match program. 

Toney also wanted to eliminate reloading 

under time, stating that this "would 

add to the safety of a tournament with no 

loss of practical value." He based this on 

the theory that if at 7 yar,ds you had emptied 

your gun and still had something dangerous 

and alive to shoot at, yo.u should either 

run away or engage in hand-to-hand 

combat. He predicated this on a IS-second 

reloading time, which was about par back 

then. With speedloaders, it takes a trained 

man two or three seconds to reload if he 

doesn't have the shakes. Speedloaders existed 

in 1960, but they weren't widely' 

known and probably wouldn't have been 

allowed in the match Toney wrote about. 

Toney wrote that double action vs. single 

action should be geared to distance. Today's 

PPC shooter fires double action 

throughout, to take advantage of the DAsystems 

quicker lock time, and the fact that 

the rolling double action pull gives you the 

best surprise trigger break you can ask for. 

Toney implied that the officer should be allowed 

to shoot all single action if he could 

make the time. Last year, I shot an FBIstyle 

police combat match in England, 

where state ofthe art is only a little ahead 

of what it was stateside in 1960, and the 

best-known British shooter used a S&W 

single-action K-38 at 7 yards. I annihilated 

him. I was using a Power Custom PPC gun, 

and was the only one of300 shooters firing 

double action at 50 yards. I took a gold 

medal out ofthat, and the British cops figured 

the gun had won it. They were wrong. 

The modern American technique took that 

medal. 

Toney didn't even mention it, but I ' 

doubt that anyone shot double action at 

long range in the 1960 Nationals. DA 

wheelgunning was a new science back 

then, one that was developed in the mid 

70s to its utmost for PPC shooting, although 

in the early 60s Paul'Weston wrote 

the police combat shooting manual that remains 

the ultimate guide to double action 

combat shooting for the street cop. 

Toney recommended to Colt and I.U. 

that the course be stretched to 150 shots, to 

be more representative of skill over luck. 

Under tlie N RA, a ISO-shot format was 

adopted, although not with the sequences 

the Border Patrolman had suggested. He 

would have had the cops shooting fast and 

furious: five seconds to empty the gun at 7 

yards, the same again on multiple targets. 

Although IPSC went that way, and 

beyond, PPC never did. 

. PPC has come a long way since Bill 

Toney critiqued that first big match. Some 

of the changes have been positive, some 

less so. The speedloaders and the specialized 

guns have made it more "game" 

oriented (even NRA doesn't call it "combat" 

shooting anymore, using the designation 

"police revolver" instead). Nonetheless, 

the skill in double action shooting that 

PPC. has fostered has filtered into training 

programs even at the recruit level, giving 

the average policeman a degree ofsurvival 

skill that hejust didn't have in the old days. 

If yo~ hear me, Bill Toney, thanks for a 

"blast from the past" that made me feel 

better about the state of PPC shooting today. 

Thanks, too, for the positive changes 

in the discipline that you helped to bring 

about. 

I only wish they had listened even 

more closely to your good .... 

advice. , 

on- target 

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A re antelope realistic big game animals 

.l'"\.. to hunt with handguns? After reading 

of the trials and tribulations of most rifle 

hunters in pursuit of antelope, one gets 

several impressions about them. One is 

that they are never, never shot at under 400 

yards and always running. Their eyesight 

is super good-I've read at least 8X 

magnification many times. Antelope are 

very, very wary-always ready to run at the 

sight of a man at 2000 yards. 

Wyoming literally had an explosion of 

the antelope population over the last few 

years due to mild winters and the resultant 

very light winter kill. 

In most heavily populated antelope 

areas last year, hunters were legally able to 

harvest one buck and two does. Well, that 

sounds great for riflemen, but how about 

handgunners? 

First off, a good antelope buck is one of 

the finest trophies in the world. He is usually 

hard to find and like good whitetail 

bucks probably a little harder to get than 

the average. Everyone looks for the good 

bucks and shoots them when possible. This 

makes it more difficult for a good buck to 

live long enough to grow exceptional horns 

and there is a resultant kill of the bucks 

whose genes would produce other exceptional 

bucks. I'm told that a hunter should 

be satisfied with 13-inch horns and 15 

inches are really good. Over 15 inch horns 

are quite rare in most areas. 

The antelope is a small, thin skinned animal 

whose vitals are easily penetrated. He 

is an animal that is easily killed with a well 

placed shot. He will go for miles gutshot 

with a high powered rifle. As in any game 

shooting, shot placement is of paramount 

importance. 

Frankly, I think a 4X scoped TIC or XP 

is the most practical way to hunt antelope 

with a handgun. Any good flat shooting 

caliber from .30 Herrett on up through the 

powerful wildcats will kill 'em dead at unbelievable 

ranges with a good shooter on 

the handle. 

Revolver shooters mayor may not have 

good luck. Iflimited to a 100-150 yard maximum 

range with a revolver, a hunter 

would be greatly lessening his chances of 

scoring. A revolver shooter would be bet~ 

ter off in most places to hunt over a waterhole, 

or sit near some other well traveled 

area and let the antelope come to him. A 

.30 carbine, .357 magnum or any larger 

caliber would probably do well in this typ~ 

hunting. The hunter would have to be patient 

and have plenty of time. 

Last fall, while hunting in the foothills 

of the Story Mountains, I could have gotten 

my buck and two does on the first day 

of the hunt with a .357 wheelgun with no 

sweat, but I didn't have another antelope 

inside revolver range in the next several 

days. 

Yes, the antelope is a prime trophy for a 

handgunner. Even though easily downed, I 

feel the handgun caliber should be .30 or 

This antelope buck (l5")was taken with 

this .358 JDJISSK barrel at 190 paces. 

larger, but if the 7BR or 7TCU have any 

use at all in the field for anything larger 

than varmints, antelope would be the animal 

to try them on. Obviously, with heart 

or lung shots they will kill. 

I hunted with a group using a variety of 

calibers from .30-40 Krag to All JDJ last 

fall and all ofthem performed well. I made 

the closest shot on a lucky-to-find IS-inch 

buck at 199 steps with a .358 JDJ TIC by 

SSK Industries. 

The longest'shot was with a .30- 40 

Ackley 1mproved TIC using a 165 grain 

Hornady BTSP bullet. The shooter, Gary 

Geraud, paced it at 748 steps on a flat, 

rocky ground. His steps are a little shorter 

than mine. Just call it around 700 ofmine. 

I was on the spotting scope and the animal 

dropped with one through the chest and an 

insurance shot placed about 4 inches from 

the first. The bullets penetrated completely 

but the wounds looked as ifthere was some 

expansion. Gary sights in at 400, lives in 

the area, knows his distances, proper holdover 

and most importantly-knows how to 

shoot. 

The antelope is a" fine handgun trophy 

and well within the capability of a decent 

hunter, good shot and patient man. 

I had mine ground imd made ...... 

into salami and it's delicious. ~ 

22 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982

, 

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For double added safety, Llama engineered an eccentric cam-hammer system that makes 

accidental discharge virtually impossible, and incorporated the "old reliable" triple lock crane 

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And to satisfy those shooters who prefer a lighter, more compact gun, Llama engineers designed 

a second all-new .357, built on a medium weight frame, which also features the eccentric camhammer 

system. 

Now, Llama offers two of the most mechanically advanced .357's available. Both models include 

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Ifyou've had your eye on progressive 

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out of your range-the Good OI'Boys 

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sights on. The new GreenMachine 

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Now, you can tum out upwards 

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production of reliable, accurate 

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more shooters. 

The Green Machine comes all 

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you can convert it to .357 Magnum 

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Head down to your RCBS 

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check out its new tubeless 

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As to Mike Venturino and his story. 

"Learning Loads." in the July-August 

issue of The American Handgunner 

last year. his experience with .44 and 

.38 Specials in magnum guns and 

relative Inaccuracy from their use: I 

believe the phenomenon is related to 

overall cartridge length and resultant 

. bullet jump when using .44 Special 

cases in .44 Magnum cylinders; 

same for 357 Magnum and .38 

Special loads. 

If he would try seating the bullet to 

the same overall length. that would 

increase the accuracy of the shorter 

hulls. 

Since with ALOX lube and low 

velocites only one lube ring is usually 

necessary to prevent leading. he 

won't even get greasy! 

Thanks for the best type magazine 

on the market. 

Paul C Charbonneau. D.D.S. 

Laurel. Miss. 

"I shoot better with one 

hand than two" 

I read with interest Mr. Ayoob's 

column in the March issue. and 

enjoyed it very much. with one 

exception. 

I am the proud owner of a brand 

new Government Model. in .45 

caliber. and am enjoying it more than 

I anticipated. It is the first firearm I 

have ever owned. and the first pistol 

I've ever fired. It's great. As you 

imply in your column. there is a 

savage joy available in going i~to a 

range where other folks are firing 

small- to medium-caliber weapons 

and busting their eardrums with 

something on the order of a magnum 

or a .45. 

I had been warned by a friend. an 

owner of a .357 magnum. that the 

.45 would kick. Well. the only 

explanation I can think of is that. 

when my friend last shot a .45. he 

was twenty years younger and about 

forty pounds lighter; I don't find the 

recoil bad. at all. 

In fact. John Browning's best is 

such a pussycat. that I found one 

thing exceptionable in your column: 

the use of two hands. I've tried both 

grips. and have come to the 

conclusion that. had God intended 

for man to shoot two-handed. He 

wouldn't have invented pistols. I 

shoot much better with one hand. 

than with two. 

This conclusion. by the way. can't 

be influenced much by my size. 

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24 

© 1982 Omark Industries 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982

either: I'm only 5'8", and about 180 

pounds; further, the only exercise I 

get which might develop my hand 

and wrist muscles IS hammering the 

keyboard on a computer terminal. 

Keep up the good work. I enJoy 

reading your magazine. I've Just 

. subscribed to The American 

Handgunner, and look forward to 

reading future issues. 

Eric C Sanders 

Belleville, MI 

Wheel weights get 

boost from reader 

Reference Joh n G. Lawson's 

Pistolsmithing column in your March 

April issue. 

I must take great exception to his 

statement regarding the use of 

present day wheel weights as being 

worthless for bullets. 

During the last two years I have 

cast over 31,000 45ACP bullets for 

my own use All were from pure 

wheel weights. During this same 

period I fired over 17,000 of these 

bullets. 

When new, one 45ACP set up by 

Hogue of California would group 

under 3 inches at 50 yards 

(bench rest) using these bullets and 

72 grains of Unique. The weapon 

now has over 18,000 rou nds . 

through it and group size has opened 

up to around >'I- inches. 

A second 45 by Dave Walters of 

Dallas with over 9,000 rounds 

through it will still give 3V2 inch 

groups using the same bullet and 6 

grains of 231, 4 3 of Bulleye will 

give under 3 inches, but being a 

'''dink'' load it's not of much use 

except to the target shooter 

In this part of the country, these 

above groups are considered pretty 

fair accuracy, especially for practical 

type shooting. 

If any of your readers have a 

supply of weights they are hesitant to 

use because of the article and reside 

within a couple hundred miles of 

Victoria, Texas, please let 'me know 

Our club will be most happy.to take 

them off their hands. 

Jack Bryant 

Victoria, TX 

Fairbairn said to 

advocate 1-hand only 

I write with reference to Massad 

Ayoob's remarks concerning Lt. Col. 

WE Fairbairn, as published in the 

March-April 1982 issue of your 

magazine. 

Someone has badly misled Mr 

Ayoob, who states that Lt. Col 

Fairbairn" .. concluded that (his 

men) would win more shootouts if 

they took th~ir 45 automatics in 


AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982 25

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SILUETAS 

Continuedfrom page 22 

trajectories, (5.0 inches, 5.2 inches), drift in 

a 10mph crosswind (5.2 inches, 6.2 inches) 

and time of flight (.34 sec, .35 sec) are also 

substantially the same for the 7mm and .30 

caliber, respectively. 

Then why is the 7mm TCU so popular? 

Inherent accuracy is a possibility, but I expect 

it's because everybody else has one, 

and most of all, because the cases are 

• easier to form. 

Overlooked by all but a few is a cartridge 

with renowned inherent accuracy, 

that uses less powder and cheaper bullets 

(and better yet works well with even 

cheaper cast bullets) and, with the right 

loads, hits the rams just as hard. The 

cartridge? Our subject, the .357 magnum. 

This underpowered revolver cartridge, in 

the Contender or the Merrill, becomes 

downright respectable. 

Let's look at the numbers. I've included 

a table of load data for a lO-inch Contender 

for your reference. The first half of 

the table is to get you oriented, to show you 

how much extra muscle the cartridge gains 

in the longer, gapless barrel; while that's 

okay on the front three, it's not enough to 

make much difference at 200 yards with 

these stubby pistol bullets. That's what the 

last halfofthe table is for. Using heavier or 

heavier and more efficient bullets, the little 

magnum becomes a real ram-slammer. 

For example:The top load with the 180 

grain Speer FN comes from their manual. 

It's pleasant enough to shoot, and provides 

200 yard values as follows: momentum 

.90 p s; midrange trajectory-9.3 inches; 

drift-12,4 inches; time of flight-,46 sees.; 

check back-the knockdown is not much 

different than our hot dogs, and the rest 

isn't too important over known rangesunless 

you live in Kansas. Although it's not 

in the table, you can easily toss the 200 

grain Hornady SP at 1400 fps, which at 200 

yards provides: momentum-.99 p s; midrange 

trajectory-lO.6 inches; drift-lO.O 

LtoR: 158 gr. cast RN; 160 gr. Hornaday, 

FMJ; 180 gr. Speer; 200 gr. RCBS/FN. 

inches; time of flight-,48 sec. 

Now these bigjacketed bullets cost more 

than 7mm or .30 caliber pills-50% or so 

more. But you only need ten-per-round. 

The best of both worlds are the big cast 

bullets. Cast yourself, they're inexpensive, 

and .35 caliber bullets are easier to cast 

and shoot than 7mm or .30 caliber. We're 

talking real cast bullet applications here, 

big and slow. Should you decide to give 

this approach a try, be sure to stick with 

RN or FN designs in 200- to 250-grains 

with gas checks, and experiment with sizing 

diameters to get the best accuracy. Seat 

them out to lightly engrave on closing, and 

use a hard (wheel weights are marginal) 

alloy. 

The 200-grain RCBS FN (gas check) 

load shown groups well, with no development 

to tailor it to the test gun. Out at the 

ram line it should grQup within eight 

inches (the ram's body is twelve inches 

deep) and provide: momentum-.92 p s; 

midrange trajectory-II.O inches; drift 

16-5 inches; time of flight-,49 sec. 

This bullet, designed for rifles, has done 

well in the variety of pistol/cartridges 

we've tried, including .35 IHMSA XP and 

a .358JDJ T/e. Jim Betush, Phoenix area 

cast bullet aficionado, fine-tuned a load 

using this bullet for a IQ3,.\t-inch .357 mag 

Merrill to where, from a Ransom rest, he 

was averaging five-inch, five-shot groups 

at 200 meters. Accuracy with this bullet 

was better in this pistol than with the 200 

grain Hornady. 

That load was 17.0 grains 296 (this is on 

the warm side, so start low and work up 

slow if you try it); muzzle velocity is a 

healthy 1600 fps. That pumps the 200-yard 

momentum up a bit to .96 P s. 

Jim and I have just started to work with 

a couple of SSK Industries heavy bullets. 

Nominal weights are 182- and 220-grains. 

Our's, however, tipped the beam closer to 

200- and 220-grains in the alloy used. The 

heavier one looks good so far; it's a gas 

check, with a long multiple grease groove 

body, and a stubby truncated-cone nose. 

(It would load up short enough for a revolver.) 

I've not tailored the indicated load 

to the pistol either, nor shot it beyond 50 

yards, but it looks good so far. 

Walk the firing line, and you'll see a few 

.357 Magnum single-shots, either in the 

hands ofa beginner or an expert. I noticed 

Jim Rock, and the rest ofthe Rock/Merrill 

bunch, shoot .357 mags, even in their 

longer tubed guns. I think they know 

something most people don't. 

Ifyou were considering obtaining a Production 

gun, and after sorting through the 

array of available cartridges, from the 

dazzlers to the duds, you found one thathad 

minimal recoil, used readily available 

brass, had a modest appetite for powder 

and lead, was widely regarded fot its inherent 

accuracy, worked well with easily 

cast bullets, had ample knockdown with 

appropriate bullets-would you buy it, 

even if it was a .357 ...... 

Magnum?' 


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Reduces trigger pull up to 45% & increases slide 

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power 15% 

KIT #12 Fits all Dan Wesson centerfire revolvers. 

Reduces trigger pull up to 45% 

KIT # 14 Fits Ruger Redhawk. Three different 

weight main springs lets you adjust trigger pull 

up to 50% reduction 

KIT #15 Fits Star 9mm and P.D. Reduce 

trigger pull up to 40% 

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Increase cycle rate by 20% ... increase hammer 

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AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY/AUGUST 1982 27

PISTOLSMITHING 


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follower for rough spots. You can polish. 

the follower with crocus cloth or a rag buff 

until the spring slides into its fully compressed 

position without friction. 

Check the rearmost movement of the 

slide with the spring removed and again 

with the recoil spring in place. The slide 

must come to rest at the same point or the 

spring is packing and will probably have a 

short, violent life. Grind a part of a coil 

from the spring until it is the proper length. 

Failure to fire can be caused by a too 

tight overtravel screw. Back it off until the 

pistol fires every time. Not all triggers are 

fitted with an overtravel screw, so it could 

be that the hump on the grip safety needs 

careful stoning to allow slightly more rearward 

movement. 

Jar-off, or double firing, is a sleight-ofhand 

act usually caused by too casual a 

grip on the pistol. Lighter trigger pulls and 

lack ofovertravel can allow the pistol to recoil 

into the soft flesh and muscle and be 

rebounded into the trigger finger, causing a 

second shot to be discharged. Use a proper, 

firm grip when sandbag testing and firing 

normally. 

Follow-down, a condition where the 

hammer follows the slide down without 

firing, is caused by inertia of the trigger 

bumping into the sear and releasing it to 

allow hammer follow. This makes an effective 

single action pistol, but it is easily corrected 

to proper function again by merely 

flexing the middle leafofthe sear spring to 

give more spring tension against the sear: 

Mainspring tension and angle/fit of the 

sear and hammer usually do not enter into 

the cure for follow-down, provided that 

the trigger job has been properly accomplished. 

If a long "target" style trigger has 

been installed, you may have to drill two or 

three lightening holes in it to lessen the inertial 

bump on the sear. 

After firing, properly clean your pistol. 

The only really acceptable solvent for removing 

metallic fouling, from jacketed 

bullets, is an ammonia preparation. G.I. 

bore cleaner is as good as any. Always use a 

bronze brush to scrub in the solvent, follow 

with dry patches and swab the bore with 

Rig or a similar specially prepared gun 

grease. Do not use oil, since it will oxidize 

or run off and leave the surface dry. Follow 

with a dry patch. More good barrels are 

ruined by use of improper solvents than 

any other cause. Most solvents will do the 

job with hard lead alloy bullets, but it takes 

ammonia or an abrasive paste preparation 

to remove metallic fouling. 

Lube the top of the barrel with light oil 

with you put your pistol to- ~ 

gether, and it will be ready to go. ~ 


Collected by Jon Winokur 

Speed 

Reloading 

Low-cur. rension-odjusroble 

mogozine corrier is worn on 

poinr of lefr hip wirh mogozines 

poinring forward. [jumper pods 

ore essenriol for proper seoring 

of mogazine. 

Afrer lasr shor. safery is lefr off 

and pisrol is rwisred in hand. 

allowing rhumb ro depress 

magazine release burron. 

Index finger of weal~ hand is 

posirioned along forword edge 

of magazine. jusr below rip of 

buller. 

A qUicl~. 

smoorh reload reduces 

our-of-aerion rime. allowing 

more rime for shor mal~ing. 

Here's my rechnique: 

Empry magazine is released 

while weal~ hand simulraneously 

sweeps roward magazine 

carrier. 

Pisrol is held or eye level while 

fresh magazine is placed heelfirsr 

inro magazine well. 

30 

© Jon Winol,ur 1982 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULYIAUGUST 1982

MICKEY FOWLER, Combat Moster, 1979 

. IPSC Notional Champion, 1980 and '81 

l3ianchi Cup Champion, 1979 and '81 

Southwest Pistol League Champion, 

co-founder of Internorional Shootists, inc. 

Heel of magazine indexes on 

front of mainspring housing. 

4. 

Fresh magazine is thrust home in 

one solid motion with polm and 

heel ofweal~ hand. Pistol is held 

high to allow magazine to be 

"Iool~ed into" magazine well. 

and enables a qUicl~ return to 

firing grip and stance. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982- 

31

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Cylinder is shortened to function with 38 spc. 

H.BW.C. only 

PPC, ISPC, DUTY, TARGET, • Reduced Leading 

SILHOUETTE, AND SPORT • No bullet jUrlIP Fred Schmidt 

•Reduced recoil Tet (004) 74692119 

X-Ring Accuracy 

5004 Signal Hill Rd. 

Each gun individually built 

Mechanicsville, Va Z3111 

CUSTOM 'SMITH PROfiLE. 

g BEAUTIFUL CONTROL ~ 

~ [For Coli .45. Oetonics. Smith & Wesson Models 39 & 59.1 ~ 

U 

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J You will solve the problems of slippage and inconsistant hold by simply installing a pair 01 g 

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~ ioOt~~I:~~~~sin~~I~ ~~i~;i~~e o~~~~,:aet~~~~ e~~et~i~lr~nJ~;i~~o~:~i~ \~r~ure proper hand placement and ~ 

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U woods. like the exhibilion grade Bocote illustrated above. Ouality engineered, linely finished. your I 

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~ Retail Prices Coli Oetonics S&W 39 & 59 ~ 

~ Walnut....... . 824.95 S24.95 833.00 ~ 

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o For more information and complete list of exotic woods, send S.A.S.E. ~ ~ 

~ Dealers write for discount information an all Bullshooters' products. ~ 

8~ BULLSHOOTERS'SUPPLY 

~ VISA Dept. AH/1241 East Prince Road/P.O.. Box 13446 .' . g 

:: ~ Tucson, Arizona 85732/602-298-6924 . ~ 

~ Bullshooters' Supply is adivision of the B.E.W.B. Corp. ~ 

I Copyright, 1981, SEWS CO~P. I 

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S.W. Pistol League 

has new classification 

T· 

he Southwest Pistol League has announced 

a new classification system 

for its Combat Master status. 

To help maintain its leadership role in 

IPSC shooting, the league's board ofdirectors 

has developed the following criteria: 

(I) The individual must have earned 

Combat Master status under 

1977 criteria; and 

(2) Must have gained at least four 

points since 1977, in any combination, 

by the following steps: 

(a) Finish in top five in IPSC 

National Championships: two 

points. 

(b) Finish in top ten in IPSC World 

Championships: two points. 

(c) Finish in top ten in IPSC National 

Championships: one 

point. 

(d) Win IPSC World Championship: 

four points. 

(3) The individual must have contributed 

to the development of 

the sport through activities such 

as teaching, writing or administrative 

service, and must have 

developed a high level of commitment, 

skill and sportsmanship. 

Fifteen women, representing ten 

states, have banded together to 

form the Women's Practical Shooting 

Association, according to Beverly 

Chapman, director. 

All matches are heldbymail and patterned 

along the lines of IPSe 

regulations. . 

Ea£h mont!:), WPSA members receive 

II newsletter describing that 

month's match. Each member shoots 

the match within a specified time period 

and returns her results to the 

WPSA office (POB 7035, Columbia, 

MO 65205). 

WPSA has special IPSC affiliation. 

Goals ofthe association include special 

women's events at IPSC regional and 

state meets. 

Chapman said WPSA plans to field a 

team to the.next IPSC World Shoot in 

1983. 

Eight won1en shooters participated 

in the association's first match, the 

Bianch-PracticaLThe highest score, out 

of a possible 400, was 371, followed by 

348 and 312. 

Ifyou would like to be a partofwhat 

promises to be a strong force in the 

women'spractical shooting realm, send 

$20 for annual membership fee to the 

above address in Columbia. 

32 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY ! AUGUST 1982

THE COLT .45 PEACEMAKER 

An original wall display finished in fine American pewter, 

bringing the beauty of a legendary firearm to your office or favorite room. 

Available exclusively from 

The Franklin Mint. 

Please enter your order by 

May 31, 1982. 

commanding place on the wall of your 

office or den. 

Fully authenticated, 

an impressive display 

A work of exceptional detail and 

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maker is available only by direct order 

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The Colt .45 wasmore than a weapon. It 

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And when a Westerner admired a 

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gift-a symbol of the West's timeless because this famous weapon is so 

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closely connected with the history of 

Now, the Colt .45 Peacemaker- the West, each owner will also receive 

legendary weapon of the American an engrossing background commenfrontier-has 

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Franklin Mint. With painstaking care, Power. Dignity. Authenticity. The 

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Furthermore, this powerfully mas- or to present as a very special gift. 

culine workwill be 'presented' muchas Take note, however, that the attached 

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collectors of fine firearms-set against 1982. To acquire this outstanding work, 

a plush background in a handsome be sure to mail this form to The Frankwood 

frame. Thus, as soon as it arrives, lin Mint, Franklin Center, Pennsylva- 

The Peacemaker will be ready to take a nia 19091, on or before that date. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982 

'©1982FM 

r------- ---ORDER FORM----------1 

I 

THE COLT .45 PEACEMAKER : 

I 

I 

Please mail by May 31, 1982. 

The Franklin Mint 

Franklin Center, Pennsylvania 19091 

I Please enter my order for The Colt .45 

Peacemaker wall display; finished in fine 

American pewter, at $150.* plus $3. for 

shipping and handling. 

I need send no money now. I will be billed 

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~Plus my state sales tax. 

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ORDERS ARE SUBJECT TO ACCEPTANCE. 

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The name Colt is a trademark of the Firearms Division 

of Colt Industries Corporation, used by permission. 

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33 

I 

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Patridge sights on these revolvers provide excellent sight pictures. Shown here, top to boHom, are Models N, Land K. 

S&Ws 

"L"F . rame 

.357Magnum 

Bigger than a "K" but smaller than an "N" this 

new.Smith offers Distinguished Service 

By·Dave Reynolds 

"\"1 Then Smith & Wesson announced the 

VV production of the L frame .357 Magnum 

revolver, I wondered what all the 

whooping and hollering was about. All it 

needed to do was make more guns; i 

couldn't see how adding another model 

was going to help. The new gun was a 

strange looking beast by previous S&W 

standards, but some of what they said 

. about it seemed to make sense. 

Rationale for the L frame design is 

based on the belief that the N frame is 

larger than needed for the cartridge, and 

that the K frame is too light for a steady 

diet offull house .357s. This is particularly 

true since the advent of light bullet, high 

velocity loadings. These have lower felt recoil 

and are popular with shooters, but 

they cause extra problems for the gun, especially 

in the barrel throat area. Consequently, 

the L design offers a beefier barrel 

and heavier cylinder than K, to handle 

these stresses. 

The gun provided by Smith & Wesson 

for this report was a Model 586, 6-inch 

blue. At first, I wasn't much impressed. Its 

double action pull was heavy and rough. 

01' weak fingers, here, is more accustomed 

to a couple of gentlemanly .357s, Nand K 

frame revolvers of 1935 and '55 vintages, 

respectively. The new kid's single action 


pull, though, was excellent-an ounce over 

three pounds, with the barest perceptible 

trigger movement after sear release. 

In the interest of fairness, it must be 

stated that no new gun will ever be as 

smooth as one that has been cycled a few 

thousand times. A characteristic of S&W 

actions is that they get smoother with use, 

and mine are well used. Most certainly, 

they're more civilized now than when they 

were new. 

Since the L frame is visibly smaller than 

the N, I was surprised at how heavy it felt. 

A consultation with Mr. Fairbanks-MoJ:se 

quickly revealed that, at 46 ounces, the 6 

inch L is 2 ounces heavier than my 5-inch 

N model, and weighs 9 ounces more than 

ger is smooth and wider than the regular 

S&W trigger, but not as wide as the extra 

cost target or combat models. It is also 

thick and chunky looking, as if they took a 

wide trigger blank and just tapped it with 

the forging hammer so it didn't get mashed 

as much as it should have been. The trigger 

works fine, it just doesn't have the classic 

S&W look. 

The hammer's unusual appearance 

stems·from the fact that the cocking spur is 

placed low. This makes the nose proportionately 

longer than on K or N. But the 

low spur is there for a reason. L's grip 

frame is exactly the same as K's. This exactness 

is carried to the location of the 

hammer spur and even the thumb latch, 

ing. This gives a due as to what the Smith 

& Wesson folks had in mind for the new 

frame size. More on this subject later. 

The final departure from previous practice 

was noted in the serial numbering system. 

The test gun's number is AAB0024. A 

call to S& W gave me the key to the new 

procedure. The first L frame gun produced 

was No. AAAOOOI. Gun No. 10,000 was 

AABOOOO. Thus, the test gun was the 

1O,024th L frame gun built. 

While taking the gun apart for detailed 

comparison photos, I gently touched a few 

spots on the L's action parts with a hard 

Arkansas stone to hurry the aging process. 

After the photo session, when the L was reassembled, 

its DA mechanism was better. 

- 

These S&W cylinders fit, from left to right, Models K, L, N. 

Triggers I hands: ~ (longest), L, K (shortest). 

Hammers, Models N,L,K (left to right), are slightly diHerent. 

L barrel' has nearly tVl(ice metal thickness' at throat. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982 

the 4-inch 19, which tips the scales at a 

mere 37. The extra weight, of course, is in 

'the barrel, which gives the gun a distinct 

muzzle-heavy balance. 

Except for the full barrel length underlug, 

the L looks almost like any other 

Smith & Wesson, but there are differences. 

Though the cylinder is larger in diameter 

than K's, it is shorter, because case heads 

are not recessed. This reduces weight and 

cost, but the wide gap between cylinder 

and breech face is a departure from normal 

S&W practice. 

The L's hammer and trigger, too, look 

"different." The trigger is a new one, first 

offered on L guns but usable on any K or 

N frame. In fact, it may become the standard 

trigger on K and larger guns. The 

other day I saw a Model 13 that came from 

the factory with this trigger. The new trigwhich 

is also set slightly lower than the 

usual position. These deviations from the" 

norm were made for the express purpose 

ofduplicating the feel of the K frame grip. 

Many folks believe that the K grip is ideally 

sized for most people, that larger or 

smaller won't do. 

The L's frame is a little taller than K's, 

but the same length. The window, or cylinder 

opening, is necessarily larger, to accommodate 

the greater diameter cylinder. 

""At the front, the L frame is wider than the 

K, to handle the thicker barrel. 

For the first time that I can recall, the instruction 

sheet with an S&W revolver 

includes sighting information. Instructions 

for Models 586 and 686, carbon and stainless 

steel versions of Distinguished Combat 

Magnum revolvers, list sight settings 

for Practical Police Pistol Combat shoot- 

The first tIme at the range the 586 didn't 

give a "Distinguished" performance. Fired 

single action from the bench while sighting 

in, it performed okay. But the DA mechanism 

was still a little stiff for good rapid fire 

work. The extra ounces out at the end of 

the barrel didn't seem to help or hinder in 

any manner. I decided that the action 

would have to be smoothed some more before 

the gun could reach its full potential. 

Another couple hours of shop time and 

the L began to blossom. McGivern always 

preferred the N frame for his "Fast and 

Fancy" double action shooting exhibitions, 

because the big gun would run faster 

than the K. The L has the same fast-flicking 

roll; the cylinder seems to develop a 

momentum ofits own that adds power and 

rhythm to the shooter's efforts. 

. Continued on page 73 

3S

Cana parts-built.45 

cOlDpete ~itha 

factoryor, 

" ,. . 

cust~~ job?' 

By Ken /{ackathorn 

How feasible is ii to assemble a.45 auto 

pistol from the current available 

supply of parts, A casual examination of 

this magazine will show any number of 

firms selling parts for the 1911 pattern .45 

pistol. Here are my experiences injust such 

a project. " 

Since the frame is the serial numbered 

part, it must be pu'tchased from a dealer 

and requires' the sa!lle pape.r work as if 

buying the complete pistoL After careful 

consideration I decided to assemble a 

pistol on one of the commercial frames 

and use a variety ofspare parts commonly 

available. Going one step further, I de~ 

cided to make the final product as functional 

and fancy as any custom combat .45 

used by the practical shooters of the' day. 

This project requires more than general 

knowledge of the 1911 pistol. The Colt 1911 

auto pistol seems to invite home 

gunsmithing; and the number of pistols 

butchered and mutilated by well meaning 

owners is astrorlOmical. If your skills in 

gunsmithing are minimal,' I strongly suggest 

your pistol work be left to a qualified 

technician. Since my project would require 

hand fitting of the pistol, some basic 

gumsmithing skills would be necessary. 

Fortunately, I have as a friend an extremely 

skilled armorer, who often takes 

pity upon my pet projects and gives me the 

guidance necess~ry to turn out acceptable 

results. 

The key to my project was the fact that 

like most devotees ofthe 1911 pistol, I had a 

!lumber of spare .45' parts already in my 

possession. A World War II vintage Colt 

slide as well as slightly used barrel have 

been sitting on a corner ofmy gun cabinet 

for years. A c,!reful search for other parts 

turned up just the items I needed to complete 

my "parts .45 auto." 

The first and most critical part needed 

was a frame. I chose the Safari Arms 

'Enforcer' frame. While more expensive 

than the other frames on the market, it 

offers distinct advantages. The Safari 

Arms frame is stainless, comes with a 

squared trigger guard, finger-groove front 

strap plus checkering, and has a beveled 

magazine well. The optional Safari Arms 

grip safety was also used since it is mated 

to the 'Enforcer' frame. The frame supplied 

to me was of fine quality all(~ re- 

Top, author'shows IO-shot group at 15 ~eters with homemade' .45. Above.left, 

the final product-Colt and GI parts assembled on an M-S Safari frame'-shows 

careful fitting. Above left, Swenson ~afety, Natchez extended slide'stop and 

M-S Safari beavertail grip safety all were reshaped. Stocks are by Bianchi. ' 

quired very little modification. Most ofthe 

other major parts assembled on the Safari 

Arms frame were made of stainless,' such 

as the mainspring housing, Swenson Ambidextrous 

Safety, slide stop, grip safety, 

and grip screws. Sear, disconnector, 

springs, pins, and other minor parts were 

of normal carbon steel. A long National 

Match style trigger was fitted to, the frame 

with only a small amount ofstoning necessary. 

A stainless commander style burr 

hammer was also used, but the sear 

notches were out of place and required 

very careful recutting and adjustment. I 

mated the Swenson ambidextrous safety to 

the related parts and carefully rounded the 

corners tq prevent any sharp edges from 

becoming a problem. With the stainless 

parts, any change ofprofile or changing of 

angles posed little difficulty. The spur of 

the grip safety was shortened to reduce the 

overhang. With the use of various grits o~ 

abrasive paper, starting at 120 and going to 

320, then 400, all the rough surfaces were 

carefully polished to a smooth appearance. 

With the aid ofSimichrome Polish, a shiny 

finish was applied to the stainless parts. 

When attempting to build a .45 pistol 

out of parts, one rule should be understood. 

As long as Colt or G.l. parts are 

used, fitting will be very minor. But, if ap.y 

parts other than the original Colt or GJ. 

parts are used, the ,!mount offitting will be 

extreme. Critical parts such as sear, hammer, 

disconnector, safety, barrel and bushing, 

must be chosen with care. Oniy those 

parts with a top reputation should be 

considered in such a project. 

Slide to frame fit was very close and only 

a small amount of lapping compound was 

used to get the slide to frame fit suitable for 

a reliable combat gun. After lapping, a 

little sideways and up and do}Vn movement 

could be felt. I would eliminate much 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY IAUGUST 1982 37

of this in the 'hard fit of the barrel. 

Starting with my G.!. barrel, the hood 

over the rear of the chamber was extended 

by silver soldering a piece of steel strapping 

material onto the existing barrel 

hood. This was then carefully filed down 

and contoured to match a,ll of the original 

dimensions except the length. This dverlength 

barrel hood was stoned and then 

lapped to match the fit between the barrel 

hood and breech face. A close fitting barrel 

bushing was selected and mated to the 

slide and barrel. The last step in the barrel 

lowered the bottom edge to clear the ejection 

of the fired cases so that they do not 

have the dent in the side after firing. Slow 

accurate use of a Dremel tool was necessary 

for this application. Next I took the 

slide to my local gunsmith for a Vs" slot to 

be milled for my front sight installation. 

Using a piece ofcold rolled Vs" steel plate, 

I cut· out a front sight blank and silver 

soldered it into place. For a rear sight I 

chose the new high fixed sight by Armand 

Swenson. 

Once the sights were installe4, the gun 

much more funnel-like area. With a 20 

line-per-inch checkering file, the mainspring 

housing was cross checkered to give 

added grip security. After all the final 

polish and mating of parts, the trigger was 

adjusted to a crisp 4 pounds. I had a local 

gunsmith reblue the slide. Other parts of 

stainless were hand polished with .Simichrome. 

A pair of the new Bianchi .45 stocks 

were modified so that the front panel was 

cut off. With just the side panels of the 

Bianchi stocks in place, the front strap 

Left, barre' hood, after silver so'dering of strapping materia's, is fi'ed and 

shaped to ~rigina'configuration. Above, lO-shot group fired at 25 yards with 

Federa' 230-grain hardball ammo is tight and in the b'ack. Obvious'y the 

home-crafted handgun is (J) a testimony to skill and (2) an accurate shooter. 

Pos.itioner's fit shows increased contact 

area on the back 'ocking recess. 

fit was to soft solder a piece of shim stock 

into the rear locking recess of the barrel. 

This shim was then filed and carefullY-4" 

mated to the slide as the pistol is hand 

cycled so the barrel is forced down solid 

against the slide stop each time the pistol 

goes into battery. This is a slow and deliberate 

process. Impression blue is used to 

insure good contact between slide/barrell 

slide stop. 

I carefully relieved t/:1e ejection port and 

Disassemb'ed, the "from-scratch" .45 

disp'ays exquisite finish an~ detail. 

was taken to the range and test fired. A 

small bit ofadjustment was necessary. The 

rear sight is easily drifted for windage, and 

the front sight was filed down for a proper 

2-5 yard zero. I prefer that my pistols be 

sighted in for a six o'clock hold and 25 

yards. This way the pistol will be right on 

for a dead on hold at fifty·yards. 

A great deal of time was lavished on the 

final fit and finish. The magazine well was 

already beveled, but I enlarged it to a 

finger groove standard on the Safari Arms 

frame provided a secure gripping surface. 

Using one of Bill Wilson's rp.odified Laka 

magazines, the pistol was 'tested with a 

number of bullet shapes and loads. The 

barrel and feed ramp were carefully 

throated as part of the handy work, and 

my "parts .45" works like a champ. 

I now have a .45 auto that equals many 

ofthe expensive combat pistols used by the 

practical shooters of the day. 

It shoulq be noted however, that this 

work may be well over the head of most 

gun buffs. Unless you have above normal 

working skills, it may be wise. to use a 

competent gunsmith for many of the difficult 

fitting operations. . 

It is possible to assemble a pretty fair .45 

out ofcomponents, especially ifyou have a 

supply of spare 1911 pistol parts. Cost will, 

of course, depend upon the amount of 

spare parts you have to purchase. If all the 

parts must be purchased from the various 

parts and surplus dealers, the final price 

tag can be very close to·tpat .... 

of a new Coil. ~ 

38 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY I AUGUST 1982

UIIIDNIEI HAIDGUIIEI HANIIDNIER 

Custom gun cases 

are built to specs 

Plumbuilt Products builds solid wood presentation 

cases designed to gun owners' specifications. 

For $1.98, the company sends its Spec 

Kit, which includes handgun and accessories 

templates. Follow simple instructions and 

return tracings to the factory; your guns or 

equipment never leave your hands. The cases, 

covered in heavy, durable, leather-textured 

vinyl (top grade~, are lined in either royal blue 

or ruby red velvet. Each bears a brass nameplate. 

The price of the Spec Kit is deducted 

from the price of the case ($100). Shipping 

charges are included. For more information, 

write the company at POB 303-0, Chalfont, PA 

18914. 

In-pants holster 

is worn on both sides 

Roy's Custom Leather Goods offers a new 

right-left, in-pants holster (Model 123). It features 

a slot for the belt clip on each side, which 

allows the holster to be worn on both sides of 

the body. It comes in black, plain and suedelined 

and fits a 1%-inch belt. For more information, 

write the company at POB G, Magnolia, 

AR71753. 

Alco introduces 

aluminum pistol case 

Alco Carrying Cases, Inc. announces the introduction 

of an aluminum handgun case 

designed for the target shooter. The strong, 

18x14x8-inch case features a three-point, nowobble 

scope mounting system that elimiA'lltes 

the need to carry a separate scope stand. It 

holds up to five handguns and has a weathertight 

gasket and full-length piano hinge. Locking 

closures are heavy-duty. The cases comply 

with Federal Aviation regulations as baggage 

on commercial airlines. For more information, 

write the company at 601 W. 26th Street, New 

York, NY 10001. 

AMERICAN HANOGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982 

7 

} 

Tauris Holsters offers 

cut-down-front model 

Tauris Holsters make a cut-down-front model 

that reduces the height of the draw by more 

than two inches, yet is designed to protect the 

rear sight. Handmade and wet-molded, it features 

a fast, positive thumb break; has a 

molded front sight channel, is double-stitched, 

has an open bottom and is made from heavy, 

top-grade cowhide. Trigger and hammer are 

c;overed. The belt loop is P.4-inch wet-molded 

and is FBI tilt-designed. It is available for both 

revolvers and autos; price: $39.50. For more 

information, write Michael P. Taurisano. Tauris 

Holster Co., 163 Oxford Road, New Hartford, 

NY 13413. 

New holster fits 

101fz "-inch Ruger 

. American Sales & Manufacturing Co. has 

designed a new holster (Model K-88) to fit the 

Ruger Super Blackhawk with 10Y2-inch barrel. 

Made of choice saddle leather, it features 

double-chrome buckles, full-felt construction 

and leg-and-hammer tiedowns. For more information, 

write the company at POB 677, 

Laredo, TX 78040. 

Bianchi offers new 

shoulder holster 

Bianchi offers the auto shooter its model 

X-2000 "Phantom," a highly refined shoulder 

holster in the popular vertical carry design. The 

gun is held securely by a carbon wire spring of 

special design and draws quickly through the 

front. Made of premium quality leather and 

workmanship, its full silicone lining protects 

the guns' finish. A sight cutout provides rear 

'sight clearance. Its flat shape hugs the body 

and conceals well. An adjustable harness distributes 

weight on both shoulders; no straps 

show across chest. Suggested retail price: 

$66.50. For more information on this model 

and the Bianchi line, write Bianchi Gunleather, 

100 Calle Cortez, Temecula, CA 92390. 

New handgun case 

\: holds up to 8" barrels 

Schulz Leather Co., Inc. has introduced its 

"Range Case" model for handguns with 

8-inch barrels or less. The case comes in both 

brown, expanded vinyl and sueded leather. 

Both cases have imitation fleece lining. Cases 

have storage pockets on each side for cleaning 

gear, ammo, extra magazines-even an extra 

gun. All cases are double-stitched around the 

trim and feature tough luggage handles. For 

more information, write the company at 16247 

Minnesota, Paramount, C~ 90723. 

39

STURDY, FEW PARTS: 

SEECAMP INTRODUCES 

UNIQUE .isAUTO 

Features include double action, simple operation, stainless steel 

finish, ultra- compactness, foolproof safety and no-snag hammer. 

By Dave Reynolds 

I 

've learned from my ranching days that the pistol to near .380 size. (The rights to 

.25 cal. pocket pistols aren't the best this conversion have been sold to ODI in 

guns to shoot rattlesnakes from horseback, New Jersey.) 

although they do have considerable practi- People who know Seecamp well are 

cal value. 

generally surprised to learn that he se- 

When Larry Seecamp sent me one ofhis leeted a lowly .25 auto pistol for his debut 

first production guns from the L. W. into manufacturing, because he has a 

Seecamp custom shop-turned factory, I number oflarger, more exciting designs on 

was pleased at having the opportunity to hand. Wh¥ would Louis want to build 

look it over and do some test-firing. grass huts when he is capable of building 

Louis Seecamp, Larry's dad, has been a skyscrapers? Well, there's a lot more need 

custom pistolsmith for many years, pro- for grass huts. That's why. 

ducing some highly innovative weapons. Our "grass hut" is a straight trigger 

Louis' most widely known modification is cocking, double action only, stainless steel 

a double action conversion on the Colt .45 automatic. With its inertia firing pin, it is 

auto, combined with a chop job to reduce perfectly safe with a round in the chamber. 

Seecamp .25 Auto showing doub'e-action trigger and stain'ess stee' magazine. 

It has the absolute simplicity of operation 

of a double action revolver, for every shot. 

Ifyou pull the trigger, it fires; ifyou don't, 

it won't. 

The Seecamp .25 has only one safety 

device. When the magazine is removed, 

the trigger is blocked and the slide will 

only retract about a half-inch, not enough 

to eject or load a round. The block becomes 

effective when the magazine is 

pulled out about 3/8:' The only way to 

load the chamber is from the magazine. To 

carry a full load ofeight rounds, put one in 

the magazine, charge the chamber, then 

remove the magazine and load seven 

rounds. . 

40 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY I AUGUST 1982

Screwdriver points to trigger block. Note hammer is flush 

with slide and frame. There are no sights on this auto. 

Unloading the chamber is a little tricky. 

Depress the magazine release button and 

the clip will drop about 118;' enough to 

prevent another round from chambering, 

but not enough to block the slide. Operating 

the slide will empty the chamber. 

The beauty of the little gun is its simplicity 

of operation and lack of gadgets. 

But one gadget that I think it should have 

is a loaded chamber indicator, so you can 

check to be sure it is ready, in case the 

situation starts getting sticky. A slight 

change in extractor design would let it give 

a tiny, but comforting bulge when a round 

is in the chamber. I mentioned this to 

Larry and he said they were already considering 

such a change, but new tooling 

takes time, so it probably won't show up 

for a while. 

Barrel and frame are cast as a single 

unit, so there's no quick barrel change, but 

it won't shoot loose, either. The magazine 

sits high in the frame for almost straight 

line feeding. The slide is open all across the 

top to facilitate ejection. The gun has a 

minimum number of parts. The magazine 

catch serves the second function of being 

the base anchor for the mainspring. The 

mainspring, in turn, provides spring tension 

for the magazine catch. The entire 

design is simple and sturdy. 

The hammer lies in a well at the back of 

frame; its surface is contoured to match 

those offrame and slide. You couldn't snag 

it if you tried. Removal and replacement 

ofslide is difficult; I haven't tried it yet, but 

it isn't necessary for cleaning. Action is 

easily exposed by removing left grip panel 

and action cover plate. You can run the 

action and watch it work; the parts don't 

flyaway. 

Seecamp designed his pocket pistol as ~ 

an easy-to-carry, safe, and quick-to-use 

personal defense weapon. The gun has no 

sights; for most purposes, it doesn't need 

them. I think I'd prefer some kind ofsights 

on the gun, maybe just a bead front and a 

mark at the back of slide. 

In spite ofits small size, the Seecamp .25 

handles nicely. It has a smooth and easy 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY!AUGUST 1982 

When slide is dropped about 'Ya inch, trigger block engages 

trigger. Note that hammer moves back only a~out Va inch. 

double-action pull. First firing was into a 

pile ofphone books the day the gun arived. 

It went through a full clip with no problems. 

The DA pull was so nice I started 

thinking about trying some aerial target 

work with it. 

A couple ofdays later we set up shop out 

in the pasture. Five rounds fired into a .25 

yard pistol target at a distance of seven 

yards produced a nice tight group that was 

about 6" above and a little to the right of 

aim point. At 15 yards, the group was 

larger, still high and right. All shots were 

on the paper. Without sights, it isn't possible 

to determine the gun's absolute accuracy, 

but a look at the seven-yard target 

should convince anyone that it's good 

enough. 

With fundamentals out ofthe way, I was 

ready for some fun. 

The plan was to begin aerial target 

shooting at gallon plastic milk jugs, but the 

wind was so strong it blew them out of the 

safe zone before I could shoot. I switched 

to coffee cans with slightly better results. 

But about a dozen shots resulted in only 

one hit, and that was just on the edge ofthe 

can. On a more favorable day, I'll try this 

again and expect better results. 

Point shooting at stacked coffee cans at 

distances from 10 to 15 feet produced a 

satisfactory number of hits. In fact, I was 

so impressed with Seecamp's .25 that I 

suggested to Larry that they consider scaling 

it up to handle larger cartridges. Using 

a variety of Winchester, Remington, and 

Federal ammo, I put about a hundred 

rounds through the gun with only two 

malfunctions. In both cases, the last round 

failed to feed. The problem was caused by 

a twisted magazine spring, which was 

easily corrected. 

Initial marketing is handled by Sile Distributors, 

7 Centre Market Place, New 

York, NY 10013. Dealers may inquire as to 

availability. Sile has established a suggested 

retail price of $199.95. For more 

information, contact Sile or L. W. Seecamp 

Co. Inc., P.O. Box 255; ..... 

New Haven, CT 06502. ~ 

41

fW 

IlH 

UHlf 

By Philip C. Briggs 

The booming popularity of the handgun 

silhouette sport has created an 

ever-expanding market for products and 

firearms for which there previously had 

been only a limited demand, or which 

hadn't even existed. The list is long, but 

take the Remington XP-lOO for example; 

or more to the point, its stock. 

As the number of custom XP-lOO's 

chambered for ever bigger cartridges grew 

exponentially, the demand for stocks that 

would provide more shooter comfort and 

better acCuracy expanded accordingly. 

New materials and construction techniques 

were employed to inexpensively 

produce stocks that closely fit the complex 

shapes of the shooter's hand to better distribute 

recoil forces, and hence reduce felt 

recoil. These same materials also provided 

the added benefits of being more stable 

than wood, while providing equal or better 

accuracy with less weight. 

Fiberglass was the first option tried, 

often by the same firms that had been 

building fiberglass rifle stocks for 

benchrest, varmint or silhouette rifles. The 

first stocks were lighter than wood, 

although not always by much. Some I've 

seen weren't that much more comfortable 

to shoot than Remington's stock; reshaping 

them to fit the hand by filling adds 

weight, and removes strength. 

There's a second generation of replacement 

stocks coming out now made of new 

materials, with new designs to solve old 

problems. One, a new stock from H-S Precision 

(P.O. Box 512, Prescott, AZ 86302), 

uses a material new to pistol stock manufacturers. 

The stock is injection molded of polyurethane 

foam that is reinforced with 

chopped fiberglass fibers. Called 

"Fiberthane," the foam mix is one of a 

T 

he forward grip pistol on our 

. cover,_ a radical new departure in 

stlhouette pistols, is designed to be 

shot prone, and to effectively use that 

most efficient of iron sights, the peep. 

The unusual fiberglass stock was 

designed and built by stockmaker 

Gale McMillian (Box DY 72, Cave 

Creek Stage, Phoenix, AZ 85020). 

The finish, twelve coats of hand 

rubbed lacquer, starts with black 

pearl and is overlaid with several 

layers of tinted iridescent and clear 

lacquers. It w.as applied by Jim 

Gebhart (8045 N. 12th Street, Phoenix, 

AZ 85020). Metal work was done 

by Dan Carey (112 Condor Circle, 

Darlington, South Carolina 29532), 

who developed the design for the farforward 

trigger. The E.R. Shaw barrel 

(Thoms Run Road, Bridgeville, PA 

15017) is chambered in 7X47mm. 

The pistol shoots as good as it looks. 

It swept Sara, Briggs' wife, into triple 

A and it appears that her first 40 is not 

far off. 

42 AM~f'1ICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY/AUGUST 1982

family ofstructural foams commonly used 

to mold large, complex items, such as furniture 

or fake wood trim.The foam is light, 

but a lot denser than the foams that most 

of us' are used to seeing; cut ~ stock apart 

and you'll find the foam will dent slightly 

with a fingernail. The foam is the same 

density throughout, except for a hard, 

smooth skin that forms against the mold. 

This outside surface comes out nearly flawless, 

requiring only minor filling of an occasional 

gas bubble before painting. 

The primary advantage of the foam 

stock is light weight. The stock I've been 

testing, bedded, with trigger guard llnd 

paint, weighs II ounces,. the same as a factory 

nylon original. 

H-SP has been producing rifle stocks 

made wit!:). this material for about three 

years, and the pistol stock for about two. 

Complex shapes are easily formed with 

this process, and they've taken advantage 

of that property to incorporate finger 

grooves and a thumbrest on the pistol 

stock~ 

The fo~m is easily shaped with woodworking 

tools, so that carving clearance for 

a thumb knuckle takes but a few minutes 

with a rasp, and there's no need to worry 

about weakening the stock by cutting 

through the shell. Refinishmg the carved 

spot is easily done with epoxy or lacquer 

putty. Putty can also be used to add material 

where needed to get that custom fit 

necessary to comfO,rtably shoot the a,rmwrenchers. 

Duratite wood dough (by DAP 

Inc.) works well; it's light, ~nd will stick to 

the ~tock, (not your hand) while you mold 

the mess to fit. . . 

The ultimate strength of the foam stock 

is less than that ofa wood or fiberglass version. 

You could break it ifyou used it for a 

hammer, and I expect· you wouldn't have 

to strain'too hard to bust it in half with 

your bare hands. Still, it wasn't designed 

for that sort of abuse, but rather for the 

forces exerted by the 'recoiling action and 

the resisting hand. There's a piece of aluminum 

tubing in the grip for reinforcement, 

ap.d recent stocks incorporate a strip 

of fiberglass cloth around the recoil lug! 

trigger hole. 

I've heard of two early stocks that were 

broken in that area, the thinnest and hence 

weakest portion ofany stock. One was broken 

in the struggle to remove the action 

from the bedding compound; the other, on 

a friend's 7mm-08, failed while we were 

Master craftsmen 

develop practical, 

exotic designs 

for XP-l00 

chronographing some loads. ~owever, as 

the crack propagated from the top of the 

stock down I suspect it was damaged by 

prying the rear of the action out of the 

compound first, which forces the barrel 

down on the forend. 

Craftsman Tom Houston 

I took that stock back to H-SP owner 

Tom Houghton, and although his company 

probably 'wasn't responsible, he replaced 

it. That's nice, but more importantly 

for the rest of us, Tom decided on 

the spot to add some glass cloth to that 

area to eliminate the problem. 

I had my stock bedded to my 8mm 

IHMSA pistol by H-SP. They do nice 

work. I'm prone to clean out the excess 

bedding with a Dremel Moto-Tool and a 

chisel, but they set the stock up in a milling 

machine and milled out the excess material. 

Even though most customers wouldn't 

know the difference, Tom feels it's the best 

way to do it, and I guess that's what "Precision" 

means. 

I shot the stock for six months or so and 

my scores went up immediately, starting 

with a 59X60 in our state shoot. After 

about 500 rounds or so, neither the stock 

nor the bedding show any sign of distress, 

but the tail of the action began to float off 

of the bedding. 

I'm inclined to snug the action in extra 

firm, and as I had only an half-inch or so of 

the barrel bedded, I expect that with this 

limited support I've over-stressed the foam 

in this area. Either that, or it's warped due 

to our hot summers. You can't pillar-bed 

an XP because of the trigger bar, so I recommend 

that the bedding extend'down 

the ~arrel a couple of inches, and that the 

inletting be opened up, so that a lot of 

compound can be placed around the recoil 

lug to spread the clamping force over a 

larger area. That, and drilling and tapping 

the action for a rear action screw, should 

eliminate the problem of an over-zealous 

wrench or the relentless sun. 

More recently, Tom has added a new XP 

stock (FRP-IOOO, left or right hand available) 

to his line that eliminates the problems 

of total bedding, and has the added 

benefits of a more secure anchoring of the 

action to the stock and a better fit ofgrip to 

hand. 

The stock is molded around a precisionmachined 

aluminum V-bedding block. 

The block is drilled through for the XPs 

large front action screw, and tapped for insertion 

ofthe small rear action screw. New, 

high-strength hex-head capscrew replacements 

are provided for both action screws, 

as are an appropriately sized pair of hex 

wrenches. 

The stock is a one-size-fits-all type. Unbolt 

your 7mmBR from the plastic-fantastic 

brown-dirt original stock and bolt it 

into the new H-SP version and it's ready to 

shoot. That's it, and there's no reason why 

you can't swap it around among your other 

XP pistols-like your .221 stocker, or the 

.223 varmint getter, or the .308 deer slayer. 

This may well be the last XP stock you'll 

buy! 

Tom obviously had some input from top 

silhouette shooters on the stock's shape. 

The grip fits the hand well and offers good 

control of the pistol with heavily recoiling 

cartridges. These shooters must have been 

Creedmoor fans, as the left side ofthe butt 

(right-hand version) is cut away to allow 

your wrist and fingers to solidly contact 

your thigh and the forearm is chamfered to 

This .Binkley stock is eye-pleasing, has benchrest accuracy and eternal stability. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY/AUGUST 1982 43

The Brown Precision Stock when smootfJed up, drilled out and painted is ready to shoot. 

provide a flat surface to rest against your 

calf. (Those stocks that have fat or flared 

butts, such as the nylon number, perch OJ;l 

that high point, and require you to cock 

the pistol to get your fingers to touch the 

thigh, and the normally-found rounded 

forearm shape provides little contact surface 

on the sloping calf and slides down.) 

Subtle touches, but useful aids to shooting 

top scores. 

The stock shoots as good as it looks. I 

slipped my 8mm IHMSA into the one I got 

to test, and with the aid of my Siebertmodified 

6X Leupold pistol scope 

(converted from an 12XAO) I shot several 

three-quarter to one:inch groups with my 

hunting load while getting ready for a Wyoming 

antelope hunt. 

Chet Brown's Mid-Grip 

The problem of fitting the stock to the 

shooter's hand has been addressed in a direct 

fashion with a new stock from Brown 

Precision Company (P.O. Box 270W, Los 

Molinos, CA 96055). Chet Brown was one 

of the first to build fiberglass stocks and 

was also probably one of the first to hear 

complaints that his stock didn't fit the 

shooter's hand. Hands, as you might expect, 

vary in size and shape and satisfying 

everyone with one handle is an impossible 

task. What you'd have to do is mold the 

handle to fit each hand, and that's what 

Chet has done. 

Chet now offers a version of his regular 

mid-grip stock with an undersized peg for 

a handle that comes with a bottle ofepoxy 

resin and a bag oflightweight filler. The intention 

is that the shooterI gunsmith bed 

the pistol's action in the stock in the usual 

fashion, and then bed the pistol to the 

shooter's hand. 

The catalysed resin and filler are mixed 

together into as stiff compound as possible 

and then the goo is spread over the peg. 

The shooter, with a generous coating ofrelease 

agent on the appropriate hand, grips 

the goo and assumes the favored shooting 

position. Depending upon the temperature 

and drops of catalyst added, in ten to 

fifteen minutes the shape of the hand has 

been permanently committed to epoxy 

44 

and hopefully, has solidified in the 

required position and angle on the pistol. 

When me memorialized my hand we 

added too much resin and the goo was 

fluid enough that, even though I tried to 

hold the correct position, I shifted my wrist 

angle enough so that when I shot the 

smoothed up stock I found that it bitjust as 

bad as the factory version. 0 big deal I 

figured, I'll just mold some more. 

Eventually, I got the stock to a very comfortable 

level using Duratite wood dough. 

A lightweight epoxy putty would be better 

than the goo; it wouldn't be so apt to shift, 

but I don't know of any such. 

Unfortunately, the wood dough overgrossed 

the stock, and even after a liberal 

drilling and a change to an aluminum 

cocking piece of the action, the complete 

pistol was an ounce over weight. Barrel's 

too heavy, I guess. 

Still, the stock fits so well. It'll be my 

hunting stock for my 8mm IHMSA pistol, 

and with my custom converted 6X Leupold 

long-eye-relief scope, will be useful 

on the prairie and on the rifle silhouette 

range (those 220 grain Sierra at 2000 fps do 

generate some recoil) when we set out to 

show the rifle shooters who's the best. 

McMillan Prototype 

A new approach to shooting that elusive 

straight has been taken in an experimentaf 

stock built by Gale McMillian. (Box DY 

72, Cave Creek Stage, Phoenix, AZ 85020.) 

Gale has been building fiberglass-reinforced 

epoxy-resin rifle stocks for 

benchrest shooters and other riflemen interested 

in the benefits of synthetic stocks 

for sometime. This past last year, he's had 

time to turn his talents to pistol stocks for 

XP-IOO based unlimited guns. He's currently 

molding conventional mid-grip 

stocks, using either graphite or fiberglass 

fi.eer reinforcement, but at the request of a 

shooting friend built a front-grip stock. 

The stock is ambidextrous, and utilizes 

some exotic fibers to provide the necessary 

strength between grip and action while 

maintaining the thin shell construction 

necessary to produce a lightweight stock. 

Gale's intention was to save as much 

weight as possible in the stock, so the extra 

weight could be put to better use in the 

barrel to provide increased rigidity and 

safety. 

Today's unlimited pistols are assembled 

with the care and quality of a lightweight 

benchrest and are capable ofa straight any 

day, but the targets are still tiny and the 

shooter must cope with iron sights, a less 

than solid hold and variations in point of 

impact induced by changes in grip pressure. 

What Gale has done is to recognize the 

human factor in the process of sending a 

bullet down range. Accomplishing this requires 

developing a different kind ofpistol 

stock, one that is designed as a complimentary 

part of the shooter/pistol/ammo 

system. 

The primary discriminator between 

those who shoot 40s every match and the 

rest of us is eyesight. The limitations posed 

by open, iron sights were soon noticed by 

the early competitors and the solution 

many turned to was to install the iron sight 

rifleman had long ago developed to eliininate 

these problems: the peep sight. Unfortunately, 

they overlooked the human 

factor. The peep sight just doesn't work at 

an arms length from the eye. Fired from a 

supine position, the self-centering action 

of an aperture close to the eye is lost and 

the rear sight is reduced to being a circular, 

open notch that must "be consciously 

aligned with the front sight. Fired prone, 

the eye-to-sight distance is reduced, but 

not enough to change things ifthe conventional 

rear or mid-grip pistol is kept a safe 

distance from the face. 

The design solution to the eyesight 

problem is the same one everybody else 

has tried, the peep sight, but the approach 

selected moves the peep to the proper 

distance from the eye, so that the aperture 

is effective. This is accomplished by moving 

the sight rearward in relation to the 

grip and by having the shooter fire prone. 

Control of the pistol in recoil, even with a 

full length .308, can be achieved by using a 

locked elbow hold with the shooting arm. 

Use ofa cartridge of modest recoil, such as 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY/AUGUST 1982

the 7X47mm wildcat we used in our test 

gun, further facilitates control efforts and 

allows a long armed shooter to bend the 

elbows \to achieve proper sight-eye 

separation-both before and after pulling 

the trigger. 

The stock also allows the shooter to take 

an exceptionally solid hold, which becomes 

critical when locked into a shootoff 

on 200 meter chickens. The specified hold 

puts the shooting hand on the mat, with a 

little finger curled under the grip to maintain 

a legal separation between the mat 

and the pistol; the other hand cups the rear 

ofthe stock in the web between thumb and 

forefinger and is adjusted to achieve the 

desired vertical sight alignment. Loosely 

held, the pistol wobbles much like a conventionally 

stocked, unlimited supported 

gun held over a leg or by a gloved fist. 

However, exerting a moderate push at the 

rear, and a counterbalancing pull on the 

grip, dampens the wobble down to unnoticeable 

levels. A 'few two-handed 

stocks, designed to provide a solid hold, 

were seen early on in the game, but BATF 

opinions on their legitl status as a pistol 

eliminated them from the sport. The new 

stock meets the BATF'test. ' 

Finally, the seiected design effectively 

eliminates vertical stringing of hits o"n the 

target due to variations in grip pressure, 

thereby relieving the shooter ofthe chance 

of a miss due' to relaxing at the wrong 

mOment. The forward location of the grip 

also allows it to be placed closer to the bore 

centerline thal1 a mid- or rear-grip location, 

which tends to reduce rotation of the 

pistol about the grip. More importantly, 

the forward grip placement provides a 

downward force due to the weight of the 

shooter's hand an~ arm, which counteracts 

the lifting of the muzzle during recoil. 

Muzzle jump is reduced to a barely perceptible 

amount, even though the 

7X47mm 'generates recoil energies up to 

.41 Magnum level in the test pistol. Further 

benefits of this reduction are the ability of 

a competitor to shoot bullets of different 

H-S' Precision's' new stock (above) reatur:es a cast-in-p/ace aluminum v-bedding block 

for one-size-fits-all convenience, plus accuracy of an individually bedded stock. Lo!)king 

in!o Binkley stock at V-f?/ock (below) for locating and bedding' action; 

weight (of substanti~lly the samr;: trajectory) 

without making sight corrections and 

the pistol's seeming indifference to who 

shoots it; the same holds and sight settings 

seem to work well for a wide variety of 

shooters. 

Russ Binkley: Wood-Metal 

The last stock tested is the most unusual 

and is in many ways the most appealing. 

Russ Binkley (ISW, 166 E. Cairo, Tempe, 

AZ 85282) is one of those custom craftsmen 

who serve the needs of a small, specialized 

segment of the shooting fraternity. 

Russ makes stocks for benchrest shooters 

out of-aluminum. Not cast, or extruded 

shapes, but rifle-like stocks machined from 

a solid plank of the shiny stuff. The action 

sets in a V-block, with the recoil lug precisely 

positioned against the front surface 

of the block' and the rest of the stock is 

designed to interface with the shooter and 

the rest. The resulting stock is a stable as 

the 'bench itself, and no doubt if bolted 

down, would serve as an"adequate ma-' 

chine rest. 

Russ was approached by local shooter 

Rod Moyer about the possibilities ofcarving 

out a pistol stock for the XP. Russ felt it 

was worth trying and his first effort (model 

RM) is a gorgeous tour de force sculpture 

of wood and metal. The fit of wood to 

metal on the mahogany grip panels, and 

the detailing, such as the specially made 

escutcheon, are exquisite. 

The exterior shape of the first effort was 

selected with looks in mind and ended up 

eight ounces too heavy for silhouette competition. 

Russ has developed a competition 

version to meet the weight limit by 

leaving off the forend and providing a flat 

bar that's adjustable for angle for those 

who like to rest the pistol on or along their 

leg. The RM-C version weighs about 10 

ounces, an ounce or so less than the factory 

nylon stock. ' , 

Continued olipage 76 

H-S Precision's newest handgun ~tock is the FRP-JOO. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982 45

ISIIITIII 

. . 

By John Robinson 

Organized pistol shooters in Australia 

now represent one of the strongest 

and most respected shooting groups, with 

14,000 members. 

American influence on the Australian 

shooting scene has always been significant, 

especially with equipment and more recently 

with the development of other 

forms of shooting of a more practical nature 

than the form'al matches previously 

sanctioned here. 

I have·)(allowed the growth of all the 

handgun t'~Jated matches in the USA for 

several Yfars and PPC, IPSC, IHSMA and 

Second Chance activities all seem to be 

gaining ground, while the NRA courses 

don't get much publicity or have reached a 

static stage of development. 

One thing that bothers me is the attitude 

of gentlemen like Jeff Cooper, who 

continually emphasize how "relevant" 

IPSC shooting is and how all other pistol 

matches are not. 

There are only two kinds ofpislOI shooting. 

One is done by police, military and 

paramilitary personnel to gain competence 

in gun handling. The other is competition, 

where handgunners gather to see 

who is best at that particular discipline. 

No matter what the match is called, 

whether IPSC or ISU Free Pistol, the top 

shooters will be those having the best 

equipment and an aggressive drive to excel, 

not those who have to do it for a living. 

People will shoot whatever turns them 

on. All matches are relevant to whoever 

shoots them. Comparing one with another 

is pointless. 

Our local Service Match bears some 

similarity to the PPC but is somewhat 

more difficult and is a 90-shot course. 

I believe that in any match "possibles" 

should be impossible. This is not the case 

with ppe. 

Our best shooters are firing scores in the 

Service Match in the 870s out of900. They 

46 

Downunder handgunners are progressive 

and greatly influenced by American 

technology and procedures. 

Brien Towler ofAustralia reports excellentaccuracy witfl full-iacketed militaryammo in 

tflis CX75 9 mm combat pistol witfl its fine sil;lgle- and double-action trigger sy~tem. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982

are also shooting highly specialized handguns, 

all autoloaders. 

The original Service Match rules were 

written to permit any ISU center fire pistol 

to be used in the match. 

These specifications set the caliber at 

7.62mm (.30) to .38 (9.35mm), establish 

minimum trigger pull of three pounds 

(1360 gm) and require a maximum weight 

of the pistol at 3.1 pounds (1400 gm). 

For the Service Match, caliber range 

was increased to include .45, allowing .45 

autos to be used for the match, and more 

importantly making it legal for shooters to 

own a big-caliber handgun, which they do 

in considerable numbers. 

AUSTRALIA'S SERVICE MATCH COURSE OF FIRE 

Target: International Rapid Fire Silhouette 

50 yards 24 shots in 2 min., 45 sees. 

6 shots prone 

6 shots sitting 

6 shots right-hand/barricade 

6 shots left-hand/barricade 

25 yards 6 shots, right-hand, barricade, 15 sees. 

6 shots, left-hand, barricade, 15 sees. 

12 shots (6 right, 6 left, barricade), 35 sees. 

6 shots, 2 targets, 6 sees. 

6 shots, 3 targets, 6 sees. 

10 yards 6 shots, one target, 4 sees. 

3 shots left·hand, 3 shots right-hand, one 

target, 8 sees. 

6 shots, two targets, 4 sees. 

7 yard 12 shots from crouch position, 2 targets, 

15 sees. 

Total rounds fired: 114 

Australima shootets report tftat tftis 9 nvn SIG P2JO is one of ffte few autos capable of'-tdling 

full loads out of tfte factory box witfl exceptional accuracy. High cost and inferior 

handling, compared to the .32 target autos, are factors limiting its popularity. 

GUN AND LOAD 

Colt New Service 

Speer 200gr JHP, 6.4 grains 

Bullseye powder 

Hornaday 230gr FMJ, 15.2 

grains 630 ball powder 

Sierra 240gr JHP, 8.1 grains 

Unique powder 

Hornaday 250gr JHP, 16 grains 

2400 powder 

Remington-Peters factory, 

255gr LRN, powder unknown 

Colt Govt. models 

.45ACP, all loads 

AVERAGE OF 4 

GROUPS 

1.89 inches 

3.15 inches 

1.70 inches 

2.02 inches 

2.35 inches 

2.22 inches 

(overall av.) 

Listing for more tftan $J,ooo, tfIis P240 in ..32 S&W Long iustifies its price tag as one of ffte 

most competitive pistols for combat shooting in Australia. It fires wadcutfer mnmo only. 

Those who like winning matches went 

for the most competitive equipment. This 

has proved to be the SIG-Hammerli P240 

in the .32 S&W Long (the same pistol 

comes in .38 Spec.), or the Walther .32 

S&W Long and the Sako .32 S&W Long 

autos. 

The .32 autos, shooting wadcutter-only 

ammo, are very accurate and have low recoil. 

They can be reloaded quickly in those 

series that require it, and control of these 

pistols in the 6 and 4 second series is considerably 

easier than with the larger 

calibers. 

Every loophole has been explored and 

one shooter developed his Service Match 

pistol on a Walther.32 GSP using the char- 


ThisnewSako.32 autoisa bIowbodcaction design madhasperfonnedwellincombatcompetition 

in Australia. S'andardortf1opecIic grips have to be altered for Service Match competition. 


IS THE 

PARABELLUM 

PRACTICAL? 

By Robert Shimek 

- 

("\ 

~\ 

..---- '\ 

0'-' \ \.) .J 

\,: 

'r" 

c- 

r" 

o 

• ';.j 

Where does this Old World design fit into 

today's defensive shooting picture? 

I 

f, in freestyle combat shooting, experi 

'menting with what is new can be revealing, 

then revisiting what is old, to 

check and verify what we think we know, 

can be absolutely devastating, Take the 

"Luger" pistol, for example-or, better yet, 

the Mauser Parabellum 06170, since this is 

as close as we can come to Luger's original 

design without dealing with an antique. 

Popular wisdom holds this weapon to be 

little more than an unreliable semi-curio, 

useless for any practical purpose,.horrendously 

overpriced, a decided bottom 

choice as a defensive sidearm. Indeed, 

many say that when, several years ago, 

Mauser Werke A.G, ceased production of 

this probably final Luger variant, the event 

made no impact whatsoever on the world 

of practical shooting. 

50 

Maybe it should have. Lugers are troublesome, 

and there is little point in denying 

the 70 plus years of experiencethat 

tells us so. And the 9mm cartridge will 

never approximate a .45 ACP (White Laboratories 

notwithstanding). Furthermore, 

the pistol will always remain too dirt-sensitive 

to constitute an optimum choice for 

military and police service. 

But useless? Unreliable? A last choict? 

No, most emphatically a good 

Parabellum-and there are such guns-is 

not that! I know because I own one and 

have shot it in everything from local IPSCstyle 

matches to Siluetas Metallicas, all 

with a degree of reliability that has put 

some customized Colt autos to shame, Indeed, 

in a recent club championship, my 4 

inc,h 9mm m~rrily gobbled its way through 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982

a full 120 rounds with never a bobble; perhaps 

some 20% of the 1911s in attendance 

didn't. To what degree do I trust the pistol? 

To a point where I, a police officer whose 

department limits him to ".38 Special factory 

non-expanders only," would prefer to 

carry the Pafa, were that alternative 

available! And this comes not from "sour 

grapes" or from atotal lack of DA firing 

ability: I shoot Police Distinguished and 

usually place in club revolver events; only 

rarely do I place in auto events against the 

Colt. Still, when I Compare Comstock 

counts, in events where reloading is not a 

'factor, scores with the Mauser are roughly 

equal to scor~s shot with my'tuned and' 

,honed 6-inch K-38-and this without a 

touch of c~stom work on the German 

pistol. A good Parabellum is on~ of the 

better 9mm auto-loading pistols available! 

You may argue, "My Mauser is the classic 

jam-prone stereotype of Luger legend. 

What can I do?" Perhaps plenty. While not 

all Parabellums can be adjusted to achi~ve 

satisfactory reliability, many of them can, 

without resorting to custom gunsmithing. 

Ind,eed, t,yith most Mausers, '100% feeding 

reliability is attainable; not with reloads 

in fired casings-the Mauser's extractor 

claw is very sensitive to burrs-nor with 

today's popular stubby defense loadscartridge 

over length must be at or near 

1.169 inches-but with some factory FMJ 

and defense loadings, the pistol is one you 

can entrust with your life. W-W and Remington 

FMJ function the action flawlessly 

and are ideal staples for competitive use; 

Remington's 115 HfP works equally well 

and is optimum as a defensive load. For 

practice, Speer's 158 grain .358 swaged 

RN L bulle~, intended for .38 Special revolvers, 

can be loaded ahead of 4.2 grains 

Unique for 4-inch accuracy at 50 meters 

and perhaps 95% reliability. 

In attempting to ensure reliability in a 

Parabellum, hear in mind the following. (I) 

The magazine's powerful follower spring 

actually scrapes bullet noses agai'rlst the 

feed ramp as cartridges move upward in 

the magazine-with a resulting rapid 

accumulation of lead, lube, and crud on 

the magazine's feeq ramp and on the face 

ofthe follower. Magazine cleanliness is 

thus a critical matter. (2) Forget the old 

"Lugers must be loaded super-hot" balderdash. 

Most Paras function beautifully 

with ammo loaded to SAAMI specs-if 

that rigid cartridge OAL requirement is 

met. If you find your pistol simply must 

have warmer fodder, increase charges very 

carefully. An overloaded Mauser often 

acts like one being underloaded-failing to 

lock open occasionally, catching the sec 

0nd cartridge somewhere along the case 

body, etc. Misreading these signs can lead 

to disaster. 

Assuming functional reliability can be 

attained, the Parabellum itself presents 

few other problems. Nothing in my 

Mauser has broken or gone awry over the 

course ofseveral thousand rounds, and the 

pistol shows little wear. One headache that 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY I AUGUST 1982 

the practical shooter _does soon encounter, 

however, is that of leather: to my knowledge, 

no manufacturer builds a true combat 

holster for this gun. The original 

Wehrmacht issue flap holster is suitable for 

nothing other than carry under abominable 

weather conditions. Safariland's creation 

is modernistic and appropriate for 

duty wear but it is cursed with a safety 

strap (which IPSC insists MUST be fastened 

for each draw). The custom holster 

makers may undertake the project, but 

only after they have stopped laughing and 

then at a price one might be reluctant to 

pay. The solution to this problem was un 

.covered in the back of my shooting cabinet, 

where I stored the soft leather 

Bucheimer-Clark clip-on holster which 

had once carried a .380 HsC. You guessed 

it: a near perfect fit which, when worn in 


Right: High profile thumb safety as 

crafted by the author from rubber 

tubing and held on by instant glue. 

I 

An altered Bucheimer clip-on rig is a good fit for 

the Parabellum and a practical carrying holster. 

51

Combat shooting provides survival 

training for these law enforcement shooters 

COPS TRY IPSC IT PPC IEET 

By Jim Pettigrew Jr. 

A PART FROM THE SERIOUS reason~ 

r\.. behind the August 1981 NRA Regional 

at Glynco Georgia's Federal Law 

Enforcement Training Center, a T-shirt 

logo spotted on an attending cop pretty 

much summed up the event's mood: "Feel 

Safe Tonight. Sleep With A Deputy." The 

two-day competitions were held on the 

spartan but functional FLETC ranges, 

presently the only facility of its type in the 

U.S. and where all federal law officers except 

FBI and CIA are trained. 

We saw a lot of excellent shooting, several 

national records tied, and more than a 

little companionship in a relaxed, hasslefree 

setting. Over 100 contestants showed 

up from all over the Southeast, representing 

law enforcement agencies as disparate 

as rural county SO's, the Secret Service, 

U.S. Customs, the IRS Criminal Investigation 

Division, the Border Patrol, and U.S. 

Park Police. For some of the Police Pistol 

Combat (PPC) entrants the affair also represented 

an introduction to the International 

Practical Shooting Confederation 

(lPSC)'style ofcompetition, which stresses 

officer survival and safety in combat. 

During the Regional, co-sponsored by 

FLETC's Recreation Association and the 

Georgia Police Combat League, a total of 

nine PPC matches were held, including six 

aggregate individual events, two team 

matches, and an N RA Police Distinguished 

Match. Individual aggregate 

entries were divided into NRA's High 

Master, Master, Expert, Sharpshooter, and 

Marksman slots, with a New Shooter class 

for those who had never competed in a 

PPC ("in-house" matches and department 

qualifications didn't count). 

Saturday's relays opened at 9:00 A.M. 

under overcast skies and muggy, sticky 

conditions. Throughout the morning and 

early afternoon the action was kept at a 

steady, quick pace by Chief Range Officer 

Charles Nester and continued straight 

through intermittent wind and briefshowers, 

because as one entrant observed, 

"Street gun battles don't stop simply because 

it's raining." Line discipline and 

strict NRA safety precautions caused one 

older wit to mutter under his breath, 

"Y'know, felons don't shout at you, 'Is the 

line clear? The line is clear. Offic'ers, load 

and ready to fire!' They throw you down 

and try to blow your head off ..." 

Through the various matches a variety 

of distances, positions, and attacks were 

utilized: crouch position, DA, 12 shots at 

seven yards unsupported, 25 seconds including 

reloading time, and 50 yards, SA 

or DA, six shots each-sitting, standing left 

hand behind barricade, and standing 

right hand behind barricade, with a twominute, 

45-second limit, reloading inclusive. 

Legal ammunition for the event was 

either handloaded or factory, roundnose 

or wadcutter, with no high-speed or magnum 

ammo allowed. The matches were 

limited to revolvers only, .32 and larger, 

with NRA-Iegal modifications allowed in 

all but the Police Distinguished. That 

match was limited to "department-issue" 

weapons with SA capability, trigger pull of 

21/2 pounds, and taking 158-grain .38 Special 

service rounds, which were issued by 

officials after inspections. 

The predictable milieu of hardware was 

on hand, with custom-built S&W .38s 

being the most visible, notably by Strahan 

am! Jim Tatum. Winchester-Western and 

Star Master-Match ammo were noted 

among certain of the major winners. As 

opening day shooting wound up, Jim 

Cirillo, an outspoken FLETC firearms instructor 

and IPSC advocate, had several 

comments. "In PPC shooting, the fellas 

have learned little tricks to help them get 

th'eir score higher," he said, disdainfully 

looking at one of his day's targets, where 

one lonely shot had strayed to the left of 

his intended group. "They'~elearned to 

hold for the head, using that as a reference 

point, instead of shooting at the whole 

. body. It gives them a much tighter, more 

definite pattern. Now, in IPSC shooting, 

what happens if all you see is a shoulder? 

You've already switched your sights for a 

head-hold, so you're thinking, 'Well, I've 

Many of the shooters, who were familiar with PPC, had their first try at IPSC-style courses-and they liked it! 

52 Photos by Bobby Haven AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982

gotta hold about five, six inches above that 

shoulder?' They will never do it. Guys can 

practice this with PPC, because they know 

in advance what sort oftarget and distance 

to expect. In IPSC-style, you don'/ know 

what to expect. So, it's kind ofgotten out of 

hand:' 

Sam Yarosh, a member of the Secret 

Service Uniform Division, dominated the 

meet, taking the Open Winner with a score 

of 1497-12lx, and also nailing matches two, 

three, five, the Police Distinguished (593 

36x). He also shot in both team events, 

each of which was won by the USSS. 

For his troubles, the quiet SS agent 

toted away a Ruger Redhawk, a Rogers 

holster, Ambermaster glasses, and a 

Bianchi holster, and promptly split to resume 

fishing. A very proud Kate Broyles, 

of DeKalb County, Georgia PD, took the 

High Woman slot with a l418-52x, winning 

a CVA Black Powder piece. New Shooter 

honors were captured by Gerald Kavanaugh, 

an officer at the Atlanta Federal 

Pen, with a 1397-42x. 

Four entries tied national records during 

the events: J.R. Fiveash, Waycross, Georgia, 

PD; Larry Householder, USSS; and 

Myles Knight, U.S. Customs, Savannahall 

with 240-24x in match one; and Yarosh, 

who popped a 180-18x in match two. 

Sunday's PPC competition was concluded 

by early afternoon and Chief Stat 

Officer Margaret DeFino was able to put 

away the carefully compiled reams ofscore 

data. Afterwards, several officers dropped 

by the range hosting the IPSC shooting to 

try a hand at its mysteries, swap anecdotes, 

and compare weapons. With a background 

of pistol fire for emphasis, Cirillo, 

who's also a NYPD Stake-Out Unit veteran, 

gave his views on the considerably 

tougher course. "To us, the IPSC-style 

shooting more closely resembles actual situations, 

and I personally consider this vital 

in officer survival training, especially after 

a rookie has mastered the basics in ppc. 

"Here," he went on, "the shooters don't 

know what is going to be required ofthem, 

and the starts are all different, hands at 

surrender, hands behind back, and several 

others." Behind him, several entries tried 

the "Vice-Presidente," 12 shots at seven 

yards in ten seconds, including reloadingat 

three different targets, from a surprise 

start. FLETC instructor Kent Williams 

was the IPSC Open Winner. 

Winding down the event in his office a 

little after 1:00 P.M., FLETC instructor and 

top Georgia shooter Doug Young echoed 

Cirillo. "We think the introduction of 

IPSC-style was very successful this weekend," 

he noted, looking over the 109 

person entry list for the PPC matches, 

"and we consider it quite valuable in survival 

training." 

Back at the IPSC range during one of 

the last relays, an official remarked with 

typical federal law officer humor, "I don't 

know why they call for so many starts from 

the hands-at-surrender position- ~ 

we never surrender." ~ 

JIM CIRllll: I SHIITER'S SHIITER 

James Cirillo spends a lot of time 

thinking about law officer survival. 

One ofthe reasons he does so is because 

he knows first-hand ofthe deadly situations 

a cop can find himself drawn 

into-in the blink of an eyelash. 

Known as "Jim" to his friends, the 

50-year-old Cirillo is ndw a firearms instructor 

at the Federal Law Enforcement 

Training Center (FLETC) in 

Glynco, Georgia. 

"One of the many reas9ns I came 

here," Cirillo says with a wiflk in his office 

while showing off the mighty .44 

"Dan," a revolver that incorporates 

some of his design suggestions, "is that 

they use only the best, and they do 

things right. The people here at 

FLETC, and this is very important to 

me, are willing to listen." 

The road to becoming an instructor 

at the elite federal academy was not an 

easy one for Jim. As a youngster of 

Greek descent growing up on New 

York's east side, Cirillo was appalled by 

the injustices he saw daily on the city 

streets. Hejoined the NYPD in 1954 

and stayed with the force for 22 years. 

Quickly overcoming an early fear of 

firearms, the young officer's fascination-and 

subsequent proficiency-with 

handguns began td grow. After he'd 

been an YPD weapons instructor for 

some time, an economic austerity program 

in the late sixties closed all the firing 

ranges in New York a'nd put instructors 

like Cirillo back on the street. At 

the same time, certain subversive 

groups in New York were advocating 

the robbing and killing of helpless victims. 

With all those weapons experts 

now on the street, city hall reasoned, we 

should use them to counter this ghastly 

MAJOR WINNERS, 1981 

Open Winner 

. Sam Yarosh 

U.S. Secret Service, 

Washington, DC 1497-121x 

High Woman 

Kate Broyles 

DeKalb City, GA. PD l4I8-52x 

1st High Master 

Reed Knight 

Vero Beach, FL. PD 149I-90x 

1st Master 

Paul Henry 

FLETC, Glynco, GA. l486-93x 

1st Expert 

Don Kaderbek 

DeKalb City, GA. PD 1478-88x 

1st Sharpshooter 

Keith Bragg 

Brunswick, GA. PD 1432-48x 

robbery-murder trend, and thus the no- . 

torious NYPD Stakeout Unit was 

formed. Cirillo was talked into joining 

the paramount grou p by his partner 

and suddenly gunfights became a way 

oflife for him. During his first confrontation, 

which happened on his very first 

night on stakeout duty, the merits ofpolice 

competition shooting became immediately 

clear. The control accuracy, 

and "shoot-under-stress" experience of 

PPC shooting paid off, and he got out 

alive. 

"I knew it was a hit right away;' he 

remembers, "and suddenly it felt lik(: 

my entire body turned to water. My 

conscious mind was gone, and I started 

cursing myself-you candyass! But, my 

su bconscious took over. I could hear 

the gun going off bingbingbing and feel 

Contintted on page 60 

Southeastern PPC Championship 

Match #1 

Larry Householder 

Secret Service 240-24x 

Match #2 

Sam Yarosh 

Secret Service 

180-l8x 

March #3 

Sam Yarosh 


Match #4 

Craig Lazzaro 

Broward City, FL. SO 240-19x 

Match #5 

Sam. Yarosh 


4-Man Team 

U.S. Secret Service 2374-71x 

2-Man Match 

U.S. Secret Service 1185-70x 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY!AUGUST 1982 

S3

The 

.4S·Colt- ? 

1~1t~()~·· 

By Claud S. Hamilton 

Por many years, experts have claimed 

. the 107-year-old 045 Colt cartridge is 

inaccurate and obsolete. ' 

After World War II, Colt discontinued 

both of its ~evolvers chambered for .45 

Colt: the Single Action'Army and the New 

Service. Yet now we see a sudden resurgence 

of interest in the .45 Colt, so 

much so that both Ruger and Thompson 

Center have chambereq massive guns to 

handle high pressure versions ofit, a number 

of the imported copies of the Single 

Action Army are. chambered for it, and 

Smith & Wesson has: come out with a new 

version of the Model 25 (.45 ACP) in 

.45 Colt. 

Perhaps the reason for all this renewed 

interest can be traced to a reawakening 

awareness of our past. No other handgun" 

cartridge made today conjurs up so much 

nostalgia .as the .45 Colt. It and the Single' 

Action Army Revolver together undoubtedly 

"won the West." . . 

The A5 Colt was the standard U.S. 

Army handgun cartridge from 1873 to 

1886. Many officers and enlisted men continued 

to use it throughout ourturn-ofthe-century 

flirtation with the .38 Long 

Colt in Cuba and the Philippines. 

In 1870, ~he metallic cartridge had made 

possible the development of revolvers 

.which, unlike the cap and ball, could actually 

be reloaded on horseback. The Army 

in the West was engaged in a "Cavalry 

War;' and the revolver was fully as important 

to the trooper a~ was his carbine; no 

longer was the saber the main weapon for 

close, mounted combat. 

Is the .45 Colt obsolete and inaccurate? 

It depends on how you answer two' 

questions: 

Is there a legitimate niche for it today? ,., 

• How does it perform in terms of basic 

efficiency and accuracy? 

There is little doubt that the .45 Colt is·a 

viable alternative to the .44 Special and .45 

Auto for personal defense, and law enforcement 

for those who favor the big, 

heavy bullets over the small, faster one.s. 

One thing that it is not is a new magnum. 

54 

Basic nostalgia and technological deyelopments 

have created new interest in the old caliber. 

(The very heavy load~ you will find in 

some loading manuals are intended only 

.for use in themassive Ruger Blackhawk 

revolver and the Thompson Center Contender 

single shot.) The .45 Colt cartridge 

case, even the modern versions, are just 

not up to magnum pressures. The older 

rolled head or balloon head cartridges are 

extremely weak. 

Whenit comes to basic efficiency, the .45 

Colt takes a back seat. It is half again as 

buiky to carry as the .45 ACp, and weighs 

25 percent more in most loadings. With its 

large case capacity, the old Colt requires 

about 2 full grains more of most powders 

to push a bullet to the same velocity as the 

.45 ACP, using identical projectiles. 

On the plus side, the .45 Colt can handle 

any .45 caliber bullet from the light 

185-grain JHPs to the big 250-grain versions 

with equal ease and over a wide 

range of velocities. The .45 ACP pistol requires 

lighter bullets in the 230 grain 

range, and needs a set level of pressure to 

function reliably. 

I tested a fine old New Service Colt off 

the Ransom Rest and compared results 

with the average group sizes I have obtained 

from guns of comparable caliber 

over the last year. I have kept all my test 

targets. 

One problem with the .45 Colt is that 

there is very little good factory 'ammuni- . 

tion made for it, so that any fair test would 

have to include a number of handloads. 

Here are the loads I used and the results 

achieved: 

GUN AND LOAD 

Colt New Service 

Speer 200gr. JHp, 6.4 

grains 

Bullseye powder 

Hornaday 230gr. FMJ, 15.2 

grains 630 ball powder 

Sierra 240gr. JHP, '8.1 

grains 

Unique powder 

AVERAGE OF 4 

GROUPS 

1.89 inches 

3.15 inches 

1.70 inches 

Hornaday 250gr. JHP, 16 

grains 

2400 powder 

Remington-Peters factory, 

255gr. LRN, powder 

unknown 

Colt govt. models 

.45ACp, all loads 

2.02 inches 

2.35 inches 

2.22 inches 

(over'ali av.) 

The overall average of all the groups 

fired on the test stand, for all calibers and 

types ofload, was 2.3 inches. The old New 

Service held up well, not only with gun~ of 

comparable caliber, but across the board. 

I used grits to serve as a filler and help 

hold the powder in place. Test loads were 

light (my New Service is 63 years old and I 

don't like to "strain" the old fellow). 

There certainly is a role the .45 Colt can 

playas a heavy caliber defense handgun in 

the medium power range. It is not a mag. 

num and thus not much ofa hunting handgun. 

There is, quite literally, nothing it can 

do that the .44 and .41 Magnums cannot do 

better. 

The old lead round nose .45 Colt bullet 

is not very accurate, nor very effective for 

all its size and weight. This can be easily 

improved by hollow pointing the old soft 

lead bullets. They travel at just about the 

velocity where lead hollow points outperform 

most of the modern bullets in 

flesh and bone targets. If one loads his 

own, this disadvantage disappears fpr all 

the bullets available in .45 can be used to 

produce some very nice loads. 

As to basic efficiency, the .45 Colt is a 

loser. It's too big and too heavy for the job 

it does, and uses too much brass and 

powder. But I cannot agree with those who 

say the .45 Colt is not an accurate cartridge, 

when properly loaded. 

In summary, I'd have to rate the .45 Colt 

as "obsolete:' I would not go out and buy 

one, but if I had a good .45 Colt I would 

certainly hang on to it and shoot it for [u'n, 

and view it as a valuable link with a particularly 

colorful time in ~ 

. our nation's history. ~ 


Marvine Exline, a triple "A" class silhouette shooter, tries his hand at the 

bowling pins on the "Shooting Match" range in Terre Haute, Ind. 

INDOOR 

PIN 

SHOOTING 

Advantages outweigh disadvantages. And it'll sharpen 

shooting skills outdoors at longer ranges. 

Most people think of bowling pin 

shoots as outdoor affairs. I did, 

until this past year, when I learned that pin 

.shoots were held at an indoor, commercial 

range in Indianapolis. Then a new range 

opened in Terre Haute, called the "Shooting 

Match." I visited that one. 

Starting from a cleared lot, Byron Lorey 

and his son, Mark, built and opened the 

"Shooting Match" as a family business. 

New from the ground up, it has twelve 

firing points, with individually controlled 

electric target carriers. Each point is partitioned 

from the next. The range proper is 

partitioned from the lobby by large, double 

paned windows, which give good spectator 

viewing. In the lobby is the range 

counter with its store area. 

The "Shooting Match" has a 50-foot 

range, which is twice the distance from 

shooter to bowling pins, so there is plenty 

By William R. Langman 

of room. 

There are advantages to shooting on an 

indoor range. The weather is always the 

same-never inclement. And the light 

doesn't change from one competitor to the 

next. 

Another advantage is the ease offinding 

your brass, unless the range has the rule, 

"brass on the floor belongs to the store." 

Lorey has no such rule at his facility. 

Other advantages are spectator comfort 

(no ear protectors needed) and ease of 

policing the range; a broom and shovel 

"'work fine. 

Some disadvantages are apparent. Firing 

line space is limited. At the "Shooting 

Match" they run only one table. They 

could run another, but one is sufficient 

with the present number of competitors 

they've had so far. 

Another disadvantage is splatter and 

ricochet. I found a spent .45 slugjust ahead 

of the firing line while collecting my brass. 

Of course, if it's going to bounce back at 

you inside, it would have done so outside. 

You just notice it more inside. 

A new twist at the pin game I saw at the 

"Shooting Match" is a .22 shoot. For this 

shoot the pins were placed along the rear 

edge ofthe table. Any hit solid enough and 

high enough to rock the pin back usually 

dropped it off the table. If a pin rocks 

forward onto the table, it's difficult to drive 

it off with .22 ammo. Since it is mostly a 

matter ofjust hitting the targets, the actual 

shooting time at these small bore matches 

is shorter than the big bore matches on the 

same range. 

Try shooting bowling pins indoor. It's 

fun and will help sharpen your shooting 

skills when you take to the -.. . 

outdoors at longer ranges. , 


Whether pistols or revolvers ... 

SPEEDLOADIN6 

By Massad Ayoob 

"""1 T hether you're using your handgun 

VV in' the game fields or packing it in a 

Sam Browne belt, the odds are that when 

the situation you brought the gun for occurs, 

you won't have to reload it until 

everything's all over, Of course, it's a good 

idea to hedge your bet in case the odds are 

against you, by knowing how to make your 

empty gun full again, quickly. And if you 

shoot in any kind of combat pistol match, 

quick reloading is an essential skill. 

Let's start with the double-action revolver. 

The first thing to do is dump the 

empties, then position the piece so you can 

fill the chambers one or two at a time, or 

six at once with a speedloader. 

The technique taught at most police 

academies, and used by most police revolver 

competitors, is to press the cylinder 

latch with the right thumb and let the fingertips 

of the left hand come up on the 

right side ofthe cylinder and push it open. 

The left hand is now ideally positioned for 

the fingers to wrap inside the cylinder cutout 

(see photo), and the right hand is now 

free to dart toward the belt for the fresh 

loads. Meanwhile, the left thumb is ready 

to punch the ejector rod. As the right hand 

comes up with the ammo, the left pulls the 

gun snug against the front of the body, for 

Techniques are varied and require practice 

a.more solid and dextrous operation. The 

left thumb is now alongside the cylinder, 

ready to swing it shut and back into action 

once it's loaded again. 

This system works great in a Prc match, 

but I see a couple of potential problems 

with it under stress. One is that the thumb 

doesn't have enough leverage to clear the 

rounds if they're stuck from dirt, an overload, 

or a bad case or rough chamber. This 

screws up your whole reloading cycle, and 

can possibly screw up your whole life if 

some latter-day Dillinger is out there in the 

shadows waiting to run up and snuff you 

while you're reloading. The second thing 

that most shooters do is hold the gun 

loosely in the left hand, so the thumb can 

more easily turn the cylinder to accept 

each fresh round. That can lead to the gun 

being knocked out of your hand if, for instance, 

your hand bumps a car fender 

while ducking for cover, or ifyou stumble 

while reloading on the run. 

For this reason, I came up with my own 

system. It doesn't look as smooth and it 

may take a fraction ofa second longer, but 

it is a more positive technique. The left 

hand flips the cylinder open, but the right 

hand maintains a solid hold on the stock. 

The gun is turned muzzle up (to make 

gravity work for you and prevent empties 

catching inside the ejector star), and the 

left palm then slaps the tip of the ejector 

rod once, smartly, straight down. This will 

clear all but the stubbornest tight cases. 

Try it, and you'll see what I mean. 

As seen in photo, the fingers of the left 

hand form a "V," with three extended 

tightly together and the index finger 

extended outward. Into this "V" goes the 

ejector rod, right where it meets the crane. 

The fingertips lock inside the frame, and 

either the ball or the tip of the thumb can 

turn the cylinder as you feed your ammo. 

SEE 

"MASTERTIPS" IN 

THIS ISSUE FOR 

MICKEY FOWLER'S 

AUTO PISTOL 

SPEED LOADING 

TECHNIQUES 

Left hand forms a "v" into which goes ejector rod (left); fingers of left hand wrap 

around cylinder, freeing right hand for loading. Note index finger support. 

You can hold on for dear life, and it'll 

still work great. Once you've practiced it a 

little, it's a lot more fum ble-proof, no matter 

what you're reloading from (pouches, 

loops or quickloaders). Another happy 

bonus is that the palm is automatically 

cupped under the cylinder to catch any 

loose rounds that may drop. In the standard 

PPC reload position, loads are likely 

to slip through to the ground, unless 

you've taken the precaution of pulling the 

web of your hand right up to the ejector 

rod; even then, there's less space to catch 

dropped rounds, 

What sort of speedloaders to carry, 

whether you should use speedloaders instead 

of loops or drop-pouches, and what 

kinds to use, are all to'pics enough to warrant 

full-length articles of their own. In 

fact, I'm finishing up a two-part column 

for GUNS magazine on where to carry 

your spare handgun ammo. 

Suffice to say here that the weak hand 

should hold the gun, while the right hand 

stuffs in the ammo. In theory, and sometimes 

in training, it is possible to save an 

instant by keeping the gun in firing position.and 

using the left hand to eject and, re- 


ANDGUNS TAKES SKILL 

load. Under stress, however, that goes 

against all human instinct and will screw 

you up, royally. Nature made you strong 

handed on one side so that mitt could take 

care ofdextrous tasks, such as stuffing tiny 

cartridges into revolver chambers. Take 

advantage of it. Your reloading will be 

smoother and quicker in the long run. 

Single action revolvers? If you even 

remotely think you might have to reload 

quickly, you've got the wrong gun. It's a 

trick to fire 12 shots in 25 seconds out of a 

Peacemaker. Although you can crack 30 

with a bit of practice. Believe it or not, it 

seems to go quicker and smoother if you 

eject six and load s'ix, rather than try to 

eject-load, eject-load cycle. 

When you plan on a high volume offast 

shooting you will inevitably be attracted to 

auto pistols, which were designed for 'that 

sort of thing. The technique is completely 

different than what you'd use for a 

wheelgun. . 

For starters, you keep the gun in your 

shooting hand and let the weak paw grope 

for the spare magazine. In IPSC freestyle 

combat shooting, students learn to always 

keep one round in the chamber, to (a) have 

a round ready to go ifyou're jumped while 

reloading, and (b) to eliminate the added 

movement ofthumbing the release latch to 

drop an empty pistol's locked-back slide. 

This is a really great theory, but doesn't 

seem to work out in real-life, high volume 

firefights, where no one ever remembers to 

count their shots. 

For a match, by all means practice 

counting your shots and reloading with a 

live one in the chamber. Ifyou are working 

to develop street combat skills, however, 

you'd be wise to do at least half your reload 

training with the slide locked back 

empty. There is another divergence between 

match practice and street practice; 

that we will cover later in this column. 

It is to be hoped that you won't have to 

unsnap your magazine pouch. There are 

many excellent designs that hold the clips 

friction-tight, with enough ofthe magazine 

exposed for a quick and instant grasp. 

Even law officers, who have to maintain a 

low-key uniform look, can often get awa . 

with Bianchi's fine Clip-Grip carrier. 

The'magazine should be carried with 

bullet noses toward the front. Whether the 

magazine is vertical or horizontal, you 

want your hand to come down on it so that 

the extending lip of the mag's floorplate is 

right in the palm ofyour hand. This makes 

it natural for your extended index finger to 

lie parallel with the front of the magazine, 

the fingernail just below the top round in 

the clip. 

This extended index finger is a 

wondrous guide that helps bring the magazine 

more smoothly and unerringly toward 

the pistol's magazine well. As the clip goes 

in, the finger folds clear by itself, and the 

palm is in position to slap the clip in for a 

positive lock, indeed, it has been ready for 

this since your hand touched the magazine. 

As the clip locks in, the hand continues 

its upward mov~ment, sliding over 

the fingers of the shooting hand to take its' 

position for the rock-solid interlocking 

two-hand hold. An extension of rubber or 

leather on the floorplate will make quick 

reloading much more positive; on most.45 

autos, the clip has to go in a little deeper 

than just "flush with the bottom" to make 

sure it engages. The magazine extension, 

commonly thought by amateurs to be 

some sort of cushion that keeps the clip 

from getting hurt when it is dumped, actually 

was developed almost exclusively for 

surer clip seating. 

Of course, the new magazine must have 

a place to go, which means that the spent 

one has to leave the gun first. When I was a 

young puppy, I would press the mag release 

on my .45 with my left thumb as it 

came off the two-hand hold, on the theory 

that it would save me having to break my 

strong-hand hold on the pistol. JeffCooper 

broke me of that habit years ago, at the fa- 

COlltillued 011 page 68 

Top view, proper speed loading. Note 

fingers around c:ylinder, index finger. 

This is the proper position of hands in loading the magazine in a semi-automatic: 

pistol. Turn right hand slightly outward; keep eyes glued on point of entry. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY IAUGUST 1982 . 57

WHAT'S 

NEW 

-John 

Shaw of 

Memphis 

wonthelPSC 

Championship 

in 1980 & 

1981 using one of these models. 

Dealer inquiries invited. 

WRITE OR CALL 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

James C.Clark 

PISTOlSMITH 

Rt. 2 Box 22A 

Keithville. Louisiana 71047 

(318) 925-0836 

Nite-Site 

The Reference Point Day / Night 

Combat Sight was developed to 

provide the instinctive shooter With a 

visual aid in any low level light 

Situation that requires immediate 

response. The sight. made by Nite 

Site. Inc. contains self-luminous 

material which needs no dayling 

CJM ARMS 

025 Rincon Valley HG7 

Vail, Arizona 85641 

Cavalry Sabre 

$19.50 pPd 

2 Sabres for $37.00 ppd. AZ. Res. Add tax 

COD $2.00 extra 

-·--- __39" Overall Length...30" engraved Steel Blade 

- Basket Hilt... Rigid Sheath 

30 day guarantee 

Pistolsmithing 

r==~--------------------- 

1 

I11 

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Catalog $1.00 

Every detail of the pistolsmithing craft is 

thoroughly covered by one of Guns' top writers, 

Maj. George C. Nonte. Everything from basics 

to the most complicated problem is included. 

$15.95 + $1.50 Postage 

activation For more information 

contact Nite-Site. Inc. P.O Box O. 

Dept AH. Rosemount. MN 55068. 

telephone (612) 423-3736 

Holster 

The Don Hume H735 Holster is 

designed for Ruger and Colt mediumframe 

handguns and Smith & Wesson 

large and medium frames. The 

holster's overall length is 8Y2-lnches. 

allowing for car seat clearance The 

21f4-lnch belt loop. which IS reenforced 

With 18-gauge galvanized sheet metal. 

is offset from the body for a jacket 

slot The thumb-break holster is fully 

lined with top grain cowhide and 

treated to resist dust and moisture. 

MAIL TO: 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER BOOKS 

591 Camino de la Reina, San Diego, Ca. 92108 

DEPT.30H7 

NAME 

_ 

ADDRESS 

_ 

CITY 

STATE ZIP -::-::_,-- _ 

Ca. residents add 6% sales tax 

L ~ J 

The suggested retail prices are plain. 

$2995; basketweave. $34; and 

clarino. $36 Additional information is 

available from Don Hume 

Leathergoods. PO. Box 351. Dept. 

AH. Miami. OK 74354;telephone 

.(918) 542-6604. 

58 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY I AUGUST 1982

I~V STONE PRODUCES 

mAIIN-Wlnnlnli 

.45 AUlD BARRELS 

Made of stainless steel by Bar-Sto, 

they last longer and are easy to fit 

The range of different sights, grips, 

springs, safeties and other components 

that are available for the Colt .45 Auto is 

mind-boggling. 

There is also an ever-increasing number 

of pistolsmiths who specialize in chopping 

and extensively modifying the old war 

horse to make it more suitable for the types 

of competition in which the big Colt 

excels. 

Near the top of the accessory list you 

will always find the name of Bar-Sto, who 

for a decade has produced precision-made 

stainless steel barrels for the M 1911. 

The man behind Bar-Sto barrels is Irv 

Sto~e, a master machinist who got into the 

gun business just after the end of World 

War II. Irv, or Stoney as he is known to his 

friends, was then living in Detroit and 

making highly accurate custom rifles for 

sportsmen and hunters. The rifles were 

sl.Jccessful, guaranteed to shoot one-inch 

groups at 100 yards; but there was not 

enough demand to make the business 

worthwhile. So after a short time, Irv returned 

to the tool-making trade and eventually 

moved to California where he 

opened a machin~ shop in Burbank. 

In 1971, the bottom fell out ofthe aircraft 

industry and Irv's machine shop was seriously 

affected. With business slack and 

time on his hands he decided to embark on 

a venture he had wanted to do for many 

-years-build a stainless steel copy of the 

Colt Government .45. Irv had long been an 

admirer of the pistol ever since he was introduced 

to it before the war when serving 

with the military. 

After obtaining a supply of stainless 

steel, Irv started work on his pistol. While 

the frame was beginning to take shape, Irv 

managed to obtain an inexpensive broaching 

uible with which to rifle his barrels. 

The stainless steel .45 was never finished. 

After several barrels had been made, Irv 

found that many .45 enthusiasts were interested 

in buying them. 

Word about his barrels quiCkly got 

around 'and the demand was so great that 

the little machine spop was soon back in 

business. The interest in the sport of Practical 

Pistol Shooting had much to do with 

By Dave Arnold 

'rv Stone is shown firing a .45 auto 

fitted with one of his barre's. 

the success ofBar-Sto barrels. Although 

accuracy initially was not a major factor in 

the sport, it became increasingly important 

as the competition got tougher. When 

scoring rings appeared on the targets, the 

ability to print tight groups often could 

make the difference between winning or 

losing a match. The fitting of a Bar-Sto 

barrel to a stock A5.will noticeably improve 

its accuracy. When this word got 

around, everyone had to have one. 

The popularity of Bar-Sto barrels is not 

confined to the sport of Practical Pistol 

Shooting. Considerable interest has also 

been shown by law enforcement personnel. 

Since their introduction, the variety of 

barrels has been increased. Today, Bar-Sto 

04' barrels include one for the standard Government 

model in both .45 and .38 Super, a 

six-inch version and a shorter length for 

the Colt Commander, and the 9mm 

Browning Hi-Power. Coming up is one for 

9mm S&W double action automatics. 

The barrels, complete with bushings, 

can be fitted to the gUll without special 

tools, although having a bushing wrench 

Barre's, top to bottom, are six-inch, 

Continued on page 63 ..Govt. mod., Commander, Browning HP. 


CIRILLO 

Continued from page 53 

60 

it buchng in my hand, but my conscious 

self was asking, 'Who's firing 

that pistol?' It was like there were .two 

parts offmy brain up there, but my subconscious 

kept control and all my shots 

were accurate. I had to shoot three 

men." 

During Cirillo's stint with the 

Stakeout Unit, tl1ey took part in over 

250 gunfights, so when he offers an 

opinion on armed confrontations, he 

knows what he's talking about. After 

retiring from NYPD service with several 

commendations, Cirillo worked for 

U.S. Customs as a firearms instructor 

and then joined FLETC in early '81. 

Over the years, this man, who is also a 

weaponry inventor with several patents 

to his credit besides being a published 

gun writer, developed a distaste for police 

training methods that he considered 

inadequate or obsolete. He is also 

an advocate ofcivilian combat training. 

"The greater amount of police training 

today;' he advises, "is not adequate 

to pull an officer out of the woods. 

They're going on the wrong premise. 

They don't realize that more than half 

the time, you only get a quarter ofa target. 

The time allotments are much too 

liberal. They say 'Well, it's only training,' 

but they don't realize the conditioned 

reflex syndrome. If they don't 

shoot fast, quick, and properly, they're 

gonna be in trouble." . 

"My ideal training course," Cirillo 

muse's at home, while demonstrating 

one of his favorite guns, a Devel Model 

59 autoloader, in front of his trophyladen 

case, "would be so diversified 

that I couldn't explain it in one day. I'd 

have people shooting from almost 

every conceivable position, at almost 

every conceivable target, and I would 

decrease the time allotments-teach the 

police officer to shoot more instinctively, 

and quickly. And at the same 

time show him the various positions 

that would give him the most security 

and the best concealment. I would also 

stress tactics-don't rush up into a 

scene, don't expose yourself, take whatever 

available cover you have, and this 

allows you time to decide who's the enemy. 

A lot of law enforcement training 

teaches that anyone with a gun in his 

hands is the enemy. That may not be 

so." 

Cirillo then demonstrates another of 

his position innovations. It is unlike 

FBI-style, wherein when firing around 

a left-hand barricade, the shooter 

places his gun in the weak hand to gain 

better geometric stance. Cirillo recommends 

keeping the gu·n in the right 

,hand (or vice versa for lefties) and tilt- 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULYIAUGUST 1982

ing it about 90 degrees to port. Thus the 

weapon remains in the familiar hand, 

and photo studies even show that less of 

the shooter's body is then visible behind 

the barricade. "Training is a 

helluva good investment," he says. 

"There's no half-way with guns. If you 

don't devote a lot of time to training, 

then you're better off taking the guns 

away. Too many people don't realize 

the finality involved. Ifyou make a mistake 

typing, you can use whiteout. 

There\ no eraser on the end of a gun 

muzzle." 

ONLY 1,000 M51s 

FOR SALE IN u.s. 

The "World of Lugers" has adcied 

the Helwan M-51 pistol to its line of 

firearms. 

The M-51 is the official sidearm of 

the armed forces and poli.ce of the 

United Arab Republic. It is an 8-shot 

9mm.. . 

Manufactured at the Helwan Arms 

plant in Egypt, under direct license 

from Beretta, the '~World of L!lgers" 

has made available a limited number 

{IOO) for sale in the United States. 

With serial num bers from 1 to 100. 

the M-51 is priced as follows: 

No. 1-25 $450. 

No. 26-50: $400. 

No. 51-100: $350. 

Cutaway model: $600. 

PYTHON BBLS: 8"-$94 6"-$82 

S & W and COLT WARRANTY STATION 

Wl)e £1 ~Ull QEo 11 Ucr stOll 

S & W and COLT PARTS DISTRIBUTOR 

8" Python Bbl. fitted to N frame S&W 

6" Python Bbl. fitted to K frame S& W 

K frame S&W converted to 25-20, 32, etc. 

S&W Model 25-2 converted to 45LC 

S&W N-frame converted to K Round Butt 

Ruger SA 357 converted to 44/40, 44sp, 45LC, etc 

Ruger SA fitted with 10" barrel, any caliber 

Cylinders rechambered-Barrels relined 

PPC guns built-Bull barrels fitted-Actions tuned 

Electroless Nickel-Parkerizing-Reblueing 

S&W rear sight with our front sight fitted 

to Colt slide & other Combat Modifications! 

1053 CAULKS HilL ROAD 

HARVESTER, MISSOURI 63303 

(314) 441·4500 (314) 447-4501 

An additional $3.50 is charged' for 

shipping and insurance. 

Each gun is individually boxed and 

.comes with a spare magazine, cleaning 

rod and instruction booklet written in 

both English and Egyptian. 

An official Egyptian government certificate 

accompanies each gun, vouching 

for its quality and workmanship, 

and is numbered to each pistol. 

The trigger pull is greatly improved 

over the old M-51s made in Italy, according 

to Ralph E. Shattuck of the 

"World of Lugers." 

U. S. distributors are: 

Sam Costanzo 

5840 Mayfield Road 

Mayfield Heights, OH 44124 

Ralph Shattuck 

6661 Castle Drive 

Birmingham, MI 48010. 

K2C 

R4C 

For all S&W K-Frame .38/ 

.357 plus' some Dan Wesson 

.38/.357. 

For Double Action Augers of 

.38 and .357 calibre. 

For Colt Python, O.M.M. & old 

P3C . . .. model Trooper and O.P. 

T6C 

L8C 

D9C 

For Colt Trooper MKIII, Lawman 

MKIII and other MKIII 

.38/.357's. 

For S&W's "L" Frame revol 

. vers Models 586 and 686. 

For Colt De!. Sp., Cobra, 

Agent, P.P., Diamond Back 

. and other "D" Frames. 

The smoothest and fastest one-motion loader available. New features 

include larger knob, easier charging with sheils, & hooded top. 

Time does count. See for yourself! CA Res add 6% sales tax. Add 

10% for shipping. Call Toll Free (except CA, Alaska, Hawaii) 

Available at all Authorized Safariland Dealers. 

800-423-7148 

Master Charge· Visa 

E;~'I=~'I;:III_~'I'II:J 

1941 S. Walker· Dept.-'-AH • ~onrovia • California· 91016 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982 

61

EXPLORER SII 

Charter's Explorer SII is a fun-to-shoot 

pistol with a style all its own. This clip-fed 

.22 LR semi-automatic has a NEW anti-corrosion 

finish that makes it even easier to care for. 

A perfect "first gun" for target shooting, plinking, 

or varmints, the Explorer SII is simple to operate yet 

surprisingly accurate. Just insert the 8-round magazine, cock 

and fire. Great to take along backpacking or carhpingjust 

by removing the barrel, it travels compact, safe, and lighta 

mere 20 ounces! 

Optional barrels and other accessories are available for the 

Explorer SII. Write Charter Arms for more details and information 

on our entire line of fine American firearms ...a dependable product 

at an affordable price. Send $2.00 and get the Charter jacket insignia. 

ij.MS . ARMS 

e·O1ARTER 

• Dept. 2L-AH7, 430 Snmens La., St'allo"" CT 06497 

.NEW CUSTOM QUALITY PARTS 

JB FIXED SIGHT 

'29.95 

JB TRIGGER 

'24.9'5 

JQ RECOIL SPRING 

"," '2.95 

FOR COLT AUTOS 

rfYVV'.'WVVWMAMAft}., 

High Il.isibility fixed rear sight. Competition designed with one of the most 

popular sight pictures that are used by top combat shooters. Installed into 

,he original Colt Dovetails made after 1970. 

Competition long trigger made of super lightweight material and can be 

adjusted to 2 ' /2 lb. trigger pull with no over travel. They are available in 

serrated or smooth for the Colt Government Model, Combat Commander 

and the Gold Cup. Please specify model. 

18 Ibs. square wire spring. For Colt Government Model, Gold Cup and 

Combat Commander. This spring will help prevent slide to frame damage, 

less felt recoil, quicker sight recovery, spring is tempered for long lasting 

use. Please specify model. 

JB BUMPER PADS To assure positive magazine lockup - help prevent pinching when speed 

,::g~ '2.98 loading. 

All Parts Designed by Jim Boland and are Competition Proven 

(0) J. ~o~"~~~~ ~~'~;;~S 

PIiONE (213) 892-5255 

9525V, VAN NUYS BLVD., DEPT C, PANORAMA CITY, CA 91402 

BRITISH .22 AUTO 

INTRODUCED HERE 

A new .22 target pistol for the com 

.t"\. petitor and collector has been'introduced 

to the U. S. market. 

It's the Britarms 2000 Mark 2, said to 

be the ultimate for either NRA-type or 

International standard pistol competition. 

Exclusive U. S. importer is Action 

Arms Ltd. (POB9573, Philadelphia. PA 

19124). 

The choice of champions in international 

competition for several years, the 

2000 Mark 2 has been manufactured in 

England since 1977. 

Each pistol is completely handassembled 

from start to finish by a single 

master gunsmith, and is fired over a 

complete course of competition by an 

expert marksman before being released 

by the factory. 

Ifthe slightest problem is encountered, 

the pistol is returned to the original 

assem bIer for correction. 

A centerfire version, chambered for 

the .32 S&W Long cartridge, is in 

production and is expected to be available 

shortly. 

Sales of the 2000 Mark 2 will be promoted 

in nationwide advertising by Action 

Arms, which will sell to dealers 

.through its authorized list of independent 

distributors. . 

Action Arms will also maintain a 

complete parts and service department. 

NEW POWDBl SCALE 

The Blue Ribbon Metric Scale now 

is available from Bonanza Sports 

Manufacturing Company. The scale 

has a total capacity of 36.1 grams, 

35 grams on the middle poise with 

graduations in lOths on the right, lOOths 

•/ 

on the left. Suggested retail price is 

$46.95. For more information contact 

Bonanza Sports, Manufacturing Co., 

412 Western Ave., Dept. AH. Faribault, 

MN 55021. 


BAR-STO 


helps. In the past, buyers had the option of 

either ordering their barrel with a standard 

bushing, or the collet type like that fitted to 

the Mark VI Series 70 Colt Automatics. In 

the future only the standard bushing will 

be sold with Bar-Sto barrels. 

The Bar-Sto product line has also 

broadened in other areas. There is now a • 

complete set of stainless steel springs for 

the Colt Auto, as well as a recoil buffer. 

Most M 1911 shooters are familiar with the 

latter item, which consists of a springloaded 

plunger fitted to the recoil spring 

guide and plug, all manufactured in stainless 

steel. As the slide moves back after 

firing, the spring-loaded plunger helps 

cushion the recoil, reducing wear and tear 

to the slide and frame. 

At present, Bar-Sto products are manufactured 

in Irv's old shop on Victory Boulevard 

in Burbank. 

The barrels start off as blanks of 410 

stainless steel barstock. They are first cut to 

the correct length and then have two ofthe 

four sides machined flat. After this, a 

rough profile ofthe barrel outline is cut on 

a bandsaw. 

The next stage is turning down the outside 

of the barrel to its rough dimensions. 

Once this has beeri done, the barrel is sent 

out to be heat-treated. This has the effect 

of making the steel much harder which, 

while difficult to machine, produces a superior 

finish. 

On its return to the shop, the bore is 

drilled out and final finishing machine cuts 

are made on lathes and milling machines. 

The last operation is the cutting of the rifling 

on the broaching table. Once this is 

done, the barrel receives a complete 

quality check to make sure that its dimensions 

are within the rigid tolerances set by 

lrv. If it passes, it is then ready for packing 

and shipping to the customer. 

The production of the Browning Hipower 

barrels follows basically the same 

procedure, although there are a few significant 

differences because ofthe design. One 

of the most striking features of the whole 

operation is that everything is hand-machined 

by a small staff ofexpert craftsmen 

closely supervised by Irv. In spite of the 

total absence of computerized machines, 

the little shop is able to turn out a surprisingly 

large num ber of barrels and 

other items each month. Being handmachined 

is the prime reason why the barrels 

and other products are of such superb 

quality. 

Perhaps the best sales feature of Bar-Sto 

barrels is their accuracy. Out of the box, 

the Colt AS will shoot groups close enough 

for practical purposes, but it is not designed 

to shoot out the X-ring of an NRA 

target. 

One way to tighten groups is to fit a 

Bar-Sto barrel and bushing. The job requires 

no special skills and you have the 

added advantages oflonger barrel life and 

ease of cleaning. 

To prove the truth ofthis claim, I met Irv 

one Saturday at Wes Thompson's range-in 

Canyon Country, north of Los Angeles. 

We took a standard AS Mark IV Series 

Model 70 and replaced its barrel with a 

Bar-Sto picked at random from a box. 

Firing reloads at 25 yards from a makeshift 

bench-rest position, I took careful 

aim and shot five rounds at the target. The 

result was a clover-shaped group clustered 

together with most ofthe holes cutting one 

another. 

This pin-hole accuracy can be improved 

even further by sending your AS to Irv and 

having him fit one ofhis barrels to the gun. 

When Irv first started making his barrels 

he anticipated that the demand would last 

for only a few years. After all, he reasoned, 

it will only be a matter of time before 

everyone has one. The demand has grown 

to such an extent that he is now in the process 

of moving his entire operation to a 

larger shop (73377 Sullivan Rd., Twentynine 

Palms, CA 92277). 

Much ofthe success of Bar-Sto barrels is 

due to the workmanship that goes into 

their manufacture. This, almost certainly, 

is because Irv Stone is a stickler for perfection 

and it has more than paid off. The way 

things are going it will be a long time before 

he finishes his stainless IIIIIIMsteel 

Auto. ~ 

THE FACTS 

REVEAL A 

CONCEALING 

STORY 

Smith & Wesson 

understands the 

way a shooter feels 

about leather. You 

can see it in the 

attention to detail, 

the perfect combination 

of function, 

comfort and rugged 

good looks of each 

holster. Just check 

the facts on these 

outstanding 

models. J:lIiB 

You'll hardly know 

you're wearing 

our new Slimline 

(Model29L and 29). 

The Slimline stays 

snug, tight and 

out-of-sight, thanks 

to its rugged construction 

and wide 

concealed belt 

loops. Meticulously 

stitched and precisely 

molded to 

fit the gun, the 

Slimline rides 

high in the 

"FBI" tilt for 

maximum 

comfort and 

a smooth, fast 

draw. Model 

29L is lined 

with suede, 

Model 29 is 

unlined. 

Bothaccom 

modate2" 

t04" small 

and medium 

frame revolvers. 

J:lIiB A unique 

and adjustable 

strap on our new 

ankle holster 

~ Smith&Wesson 

@ a BANGOR PUNTA Company 

(Model 28) keeps a 

back-up or undercover 

gun tight and 

secure even while 

the wearer is running. 

Which means 

there's no need for 

a hammer strap on 

revolver models. 

That makes for a 

fast, easy draw. 

The Model 28 is all 

synthetic and has a 

high padded lining 

to protect the leg 

from chafing. And 

it fits all 2" small 

frame revolvers 

(induding S&W 

Model 36 Chiefs 

Special, Model 38 

Bodyguard® and 

automatics.) J:lIiB 

Shooters who prefer 

a shoulder holster 

will appreciate 

the maximum concealment 

and comfort 

of Smith & 

Wesson's Model 43. 

It's a fast draw, 

breakout spring 

tension design. 

With a soft, glove 

leather shoulder 

strap and an 

adjustable, elasticized 

nylon harness. 

An offset belt 

strap pulls the gun 

and holster tight 

against the body. 

There's a removable 

belt strap on the 

opposite side and a 

removable hammer 

strap. This holster 

is available fully 

lined as Model 45. 

Both handle 

small, medium 

and large frame 

revolvers with 

barrels to 61/2" 

and large 

frame 

automatics. 

J:lIiBEach 

S&Wholster, 

belt 

and accessory 

is 

crafted in 

our own 

leather 

factory to 

provide 

unmatche 

quality, 

performan 

and value. 

Smith & Wesson, 

Springfield, 

Massachusetts 01101.

Prom The ®®®rn ®l1F ®illl1~ 

At CrowD Cit, Arms ... 

Qualit, Accessories 

" Parts For Your .45 Auto 

P.O. Box 1126, Dept. AH 

Cortland, N.Y. 13045 

Information: (607) 753-8238 

Orders Only (24-Hours a Day): 

Toll Free (800)847-6703 

MUZZLE BRAKE;' 

SUPRESSOR 

Muzzle Bralc.e2'· GM 

Flash S'.Jpressor 1%" GM 

Flash Supressor 1 \10" 

Camm. 

125 $18.50 

126 $ 9.95 lew' 

127 9.95 iD'82 

SIGHTS 

Bingham Battle Combat 

Bingham Combat White 

Outline 

(Il1usrratedl 

Millen MK I Fixed 

Sights 

Millet 1911 Adjustable 

Sights 

1333 

1334 

18335 

$ 9.95 1",_ 

12.50 liI'lZ 

HAMMER 

fJ 

EXTENDEDI ~ 

AMBIOEXTERDUS 

SAFETY 

Extended Steel 

1372. &12.95 

Extended Stainless 1373 14.95 

Colt AmbidelCterous Safety 1375 32.50 

Extended AmbidelCterous 

Safety Steel 

Extended AmbidelCteroos 

1376 37.50 

Safety Stainless 

39.96 

COLT ~ 

BARREL& .... ~

SINGLE-SHOT PISTOL DEVELOpMENT: 

TIC COnTEnDER DETB FACE-LIFT 

New Mach IV features tighter lockup, redesigned action, easier 

barrel release, newly-shaped trigger; old barrels now fit better. 

By Dave Reynolds 

Thompson/Center has just introduced 

the latest variation ofits popular Contender 

pistol. Called Mach IV, this is the 

fourth version of the Contender frame, 

and incorporates the most radical change 

in action design since the gun's inception. 

The main reasons for the change were to 

make the action easier to open, and to reduce 

problems in fitting old barrels. 

When the Contender was introduced in 

the late 1960s it got off to a fairly slow start. 

Like many other shooters, I thought that a 

single-shot pistol was a giant step backward. 

But about ten' years ago at a gun 

show, I came face-to-face with a Contender 

in a presentation case with an extra 

barrel. A sign on the box indicated it ~ame 

in .357 Magnum and .22 Jet calibers. A 

couple of my favorite revolvers (a S&W 

MI9 and a S&W M53) fire these cartridges. 

The idea of having a long-range gun as a 

companion piece was intriguing. I bought 

the Contender and I've been hooked on it 

ever since. 

The Contender's original grip didn't do 

much (or maybe it did too much) for 

shooters who were brave enough to fire the 

model with a .44 Magnum barrel. The 

original clip-on forearm was left hanging 

loose in the air, while gun and shooter recoiled 

violently. 

The second model Contender had a 

screw-on forearm, a different grip style, 

and internal lock work changes. The only 

visible differences in the action were a trigger 

stop screw in rear surface of trigger 

guard, and a small change in the etched 

pattern of the cougar that decorates the 

frame. Also at a bou t this time, the rear 

sight design was changed. The most significant 

effect of the action redesign was that 

many early production barrels wouldn't 

. work. Some wouldn't lock up; ~thers 

would lock and not unlock. Thompson/ 

Center fixed all that were sent back to its 

factory. 

Next came the bull barrels in 10" and 

Continued!!n page 87 

The first model Contender (top) has a sna~ foreonn; the second model (bottom) 

has a screw-on foreann, a different grip and intemallock work changes. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER ·-JULY IAUGUST 1982 . 

Third model, left-hand grips (left); standard 

grips (right); Mach IV (bottom). 

6S

66 

M 

MODERN PRACTICAL and 

DEFENSIVE SHOOTING 

is being taught at the CHAPMAN 

ACADEMY OF PRACTICAL SHOOTING. 

Courses are now available for pistol, 

rifle and shotgun. The courses have 

been attended and praised by world 

class competitive shooters as well as 

law enforcement personnel. For information 

-write: 

CHAPMAN ACADEMY 

P.O. BOX 7035 - Columbia, MO 65205 

(314) 696-5544 

~tNG'~, ,,~~~! 

Micro, Bomar front sights 18.50 

B. King's Bushing Wrench. . .. . . . . . . . .. 3.00 

C. King's White Outline Blade will fit Ruger, Colt, 

Micro sights. . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 5.50 

D. King's Recoil Buffer & Heavy Duty Plug Set for 

Colt 45 Auto; 416 stainless steel, RC 30-35 

(specify Government or Commander) ... 25.00 

E. Magazine Base Pad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.95 

F. King's Wide Combat Grip Safety - no alteration 

to frame (specify Gov't or Commander). 22.50 

G. King's Recoil Spring Guides; 416 stainless steel, 

ground, heat treated finish (specify Government 

or Commander) 24.00 

H. King's Trigger Boot for Colt 45 Auto, acts as 

stop, Gold Cup Width. .. 12.00 

I. King's Target Bushing (blued), 45, 38, 9mm.8.50 

J. King's N.M. Bushing; 416 stainless steel 

RC30-35; 45, 38, 9mm 15.00 

K. King-Tappan Combat Sight, the famous original 

for Colt 45 Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Set 29.00 

L. King Hard Ball Sight Set 18.00 

King's Hard Ball wlWhite Outline. Set 21.00 

M. King's Combat Speed Safety 18.00 

N. King's Extended Slide Stop 30.00 

O. King's Recoil Compensator - with National 

Match Bushing, machined from one piece .416 

stainless RC30-35 for 45 Autos. 

Must be fitted . . . . . . . .. 32.00 

P. King's Ramp Kit - specify color: Red, Orange, 

Yellow or White: 

Standard, one color, V4 oz. material, will do 25 

KING 

E 

sights, standard accessories.. ... 9.95 

Deluxe, one color, 'h oz. material, will do 50 

sights, del uxe accessories. . . . . . . . . . .. 20.00 

Q. King's Custom Narrow Slot Grips Screws 

.416 stainless. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1.25 

(Also available in blue linish) 

Gunsmiths inquire about quantity prices 

Gun.mlthlng al It. flne.11 Have your Colt Auto or 

ours customized as only King's can do it! We've been 

satisfying our customers nationwide for over 30 

years! Inquire for prices. 

o 

NEWl 

For Inquiries, send self-addressed stamped envelope to: 

'S GUN WORKS 1837 W. Glenoaks Blvd.- Glendale, 

CA 91201 - (213) 956-6010 

COD (Cash Only), MASTER CARD, VISA ACCEPTED. 

*CA. RESIDENTS ADD 6%. SHIPPING & HANDLING 1.50. 

Please give street address for shipping as we prefer 

to ship UPS although we will ship by U.S. Postal 

Service if necessary. 

A cashier's check or money order will speed up 

o 

your order as personal cnecl

create groups somewhat larger than those I 

get with my more muzzle heavy K-38. Still, 

the pistol performs quite nicely, even with 

a quick, combat style press, 2Yz-2 3 ,4-inch 

five-shot groups being commonplace at 25 

meters despite the rapid trigger manipulation. 

More deli berate fire has yielded 4 

inch groups at 50 meters, though the effort, 

with that horrendous rear sight, makes the 

eyes water. Recoil, which is nothing significant 

in a 9mm, is even less in a Parabellum; 

that toggle action absorbs what little 

kick there is splendidly. M uzzle lift is 

consequently minimal, despite the total 

lack of weight "up front," making very 

rapid controlled fire possible. 

The stereotype Luger trigger which can 

run 20 pounds or more in classic Lugers 

and is most difficult to reduce, seems to 

have been avoided in the Mauser Parabellum 

production. Take up remains long 

and gritty, but pull weights are reasonable, 

not exceeding eight pounds in any example 

I have seen or read of; mine breaks at a 

feather-light 3 pounds (which has actually 

improved since the pistol was new) and release 

is crisp and free from backlash. In 

purchasing any Luger-style pistol for 

shooting, however, check the trigger action. 

The Mauser does offer several design 

advantages to be found in no other pistol. 

It utilizes the strongest action ever produced 

in a semi-automatic handgun; and 

yet such strength is in no way purchased at 

the cost of beauty or compactness. Similarly 

pointability. is a unique advantage of 

the Luger design, at least for most persons. 

True, the skilled practical shooter finds no 

need for it, but there are many, many more 

duffers than accomplished practitioners in 

all endeavors. Concealment is excellent, so 

much so that I find that I can hide the piece 

under a buttoned sport coat with ease. The 

Bucheimer-Clark is clipped on behind the 

hip bone; the toggle rides exactly at belt 

level while the sharply raked butt rests 

snugly against the rib cage. The slender 

barrel similarly poses no concealment 

headaches-in marked contrast to the fulllength 

slides of Browning designs. Indeed, 

the Mauser represents the only full size 

service automatic I can conceal. 

This, then, is Mauser's Parabellum-in 

good examples, anything but a lemon. In- 

. deed, worse guns ride daily in police holsters 

everywhere, as anemic and dirt-sensitive 

as any Luger pattern pistol, and don't 

offer nine shots, one second reloading, an 

accurate SA first round, excellent concealment, 

pointability second only to one's 

forefinger, and a safety system almost 

guaranteed to frustrate a gun grabber's 

evil designs. Incredible and tragic: the 

German infantry Lieutenant of 1914 may 

have been better armed than the American 

metropolitan police officer of the 1980s. 

But, then again, how about the U.S. frontie 

r Ia w man o' f the I 8 70s, wit h 

his big-bore revolver and ever-available 

lever-action rifle? He just may have 

been better armed than both ..... 

ofthem.' 


Cut from top grain 

cowhide, fully lined 

with Kirkpatrick's 

special glove lining 

for handgun 

protection. 

Contains full welt 

construction, safety 

straps and quick 

adjusting harness. 

Gl90 for 2" 

revolvers $30.00 

Gl91 for 2W' 


Gl92 for 4" 


Gl96 for 6" 


Gl98 for 8" 


Gl93 for .25 

autos $30.00 

Gl94 for .32-380 

autos $30.00 

Gl95 for 45 autos 

& 9mm $32.00 

Send cashier's 

check or money 

order only. Color 

catalog: $2.00. 

When ordering give 

weight, height, 

shirt size, gun 

make and BBl 

length. Texas 

residents add sales 

lax. 

Dealer Inquiries 

Welcome. 

CLASSIC 

BERETTABILITY 

NEWMODEL 

92S8 9MM 

MRABELWM. 

Meticulous Beretta engineering 

in one highly reliable, 

superior firepower doubleaction 

pistol. • Straight blowback 

action. 15-round staggered 

magazine. Barrel 

length: 4.92" • Weight: 341/2 

oz. (magazine empty) • New 

checkered walnut or plastic 

grips. Extractor with chamber 

loaded indicator. Ambidextrous 

safety with inertia 

firing pin block. New. improved 

sights. Improved 

magazine catch/release 

reversible for left-handed 

operation. 

MODEL92S8 

eMmCT. 

Smaller, lighter sister to 

92SB's reliable design.• Same 

straight blow-back action and 

features as 92SB • 13-round 

staggered magazine. Weight: 

31 oz.• Barrel length: 4.29." 

At your sporting arms dealer. 

or call our toll-free number. 

800-638-1301 (in Maryland, 

301-283-2191). Monday 

through Friday, 8 A.M. to 8 P.M .. 

Eastern Time. for the dealer in 

your area. 

67

SMITH & WESSON and RUGER 

MOST MODELS 

IN STOCK 

we have Bushnell & weaver scopes at tremendous 

discounts. we also offermany specials on Ruger. Colt. 

Remington. S&W. SAKO, TIC. Winchester, Armalite, 

Hardballer, Back-Up, Leupold, weaver, Bushnell. Etc. 

Please send us $1.00 in stamps or change to cover 

shipping and handling on our large illustrated list. Your' 

dollar is refundable on first order over $100.00. 

MAXIMUM RESULTS 

Made 

in 

USA 

FITS-COLT-AMT-VEGA-ETC 

ALL MODELS-ALL CALIBERS 

ORDERING INF:>RMATION 

440-AH Miller Valley Road 

Prescott. Arizona 86301 

Telephone: 1-602-445-9650 

CASE-GARO® 

Ammo Protection for Handgunners 

By rntrn 

• Dirt and moistlire resistant 

• Virtually indestrucible 

• Guaranteed for 3 years 

MAC'S .45 SHOP 

Quality Service Since 1972 

-MATCH TESTED. PROVEN- 

COMBAT "ACCU-GUIDE"TM SYSTEM 

Patents 

Pending 

-NO MODIFICATIONS-DO IT YOURSELF INSTALLATION- 

MINIMUM COST 

My Combat "Accu-Gulde" System properly aligns the slide assembly with the frame. Thus giving 

you these immediate and exceptional results: 

- Immediate "felt" smoother operation due to elimination of all distortion during movement. 

- Improves accuracy because barrel locks up in same position everytime. 

- Reduces felt recoil and torque greatly improving control and reliability. 

- Greatly reduced parts wear due to proper alignment. 

All parts are: Precision Machined-Heat Treated-Centerless Ground & each unit comes 

complete with spring. 

IIINO STRINGS LIFETIME WARRANTYIII 

If for any reason my system fails, just return complete unit & I will send you a new one "ABSOLUTELY FREE", 

no questions asked. 

M.O. or CERT. check will ship immediately. All others must clear. 

C.OD.'s ok for "CASH ONLY". 

STD. or COMM. model: LIST $18.50 

6" or 7" LONG SLIDE model: LIST $28.50 

Specify exact model-add $1.50 for H.I.S .. 

Calif. res. add 6% tax. 

68 

HIGH QUALITY MERCHANDISE AT 

REASONABLE MARKET PRICES. 

(A) The NEW Mag-100 , , $3.19 

(B) The ORIGINAL Case-Gard 50's $1.61 

(C) The GENUINE Ammo Wallet (TM) .. $2.69 to $3.23 

(0) The UNIQUE Magazine Wallet (TM) $3.99 

For complete information see your MTM Dealer. or send 1.00 for our 12 page, Full 

rn -rn® Color 1982 Catalog. If ordering direct from company, add $1.75 for handling and 

postage. 

.. P.O. 8011438. DaytOIl, Ohio 45414 

I • I MTM Molded Products Company••••••••" 

Send to: MAC'S .45 SHOP 

P.O. Box 2028 

Seal Beach, Calif. 

ZIP: 90740-1028 

PH: (213) 438-5056 

DEALER-DISTRIBUTOR INQUIRY INVITED 

COMPLETE ACCURIZING & PARTS SERVICE-send Ige. SASE for catalog. 

SPEEDLOADING 


cility that was to become the famous Gunsite, 

in Arizona. 

On most combat pistols-any full-size 

Colt, the Browning and S&W Parabellums-the 

clip release is a button 

behind the trigger on the left, ideally located 

for a right-handed man's thumb. 

The gunhand can drop its own magazine 

while the weak hand is journeying back to 

the belt to make a short-term ammo run. 

Cooper teaches pivoting the pistol in 

your hand, so you can more surely reach 

the release button. You'll have to do that if 

you've got short, stubby fingers. My own 

digits are long and slim, and I can stretch 

the thumb to hit that button solidly without 

shifting the rest of my grip. This I like, 

because that twisted magazine-drop position 

is a weak hold, and will slow you down 

if you do ever need that chambered round 

in a hurry. 

An alternative is a built-up magazine release 

button, but this won't work for everybody. 

It can make a magazine drop too 

easily, if your support hand catches the 

gun wrong in a quickly taken two-fisted 

grip; or ifyou've just got chunky mitts, you 

can accidentally eject a full magazine. 

All good combat pistolsmiths bell out 

the sides of the magazine well to create a 

funnel effect for smoother reloading. Surprisingly, 

some fail to funnel it out in (rant, 

and that's where you need it. One British 

pistolsmith even welds on an extended 

guiding lip at that location. 

There is sound thinking behind this. You 

can't always count on the magazine going 

in straight. If it comes up so the back part 

of the loaded clip hits the frame first, the 

topmost cartridge can be pushed forward, 

tying up the gun. The more cutaway the 

front part of the magazine well is, the less 

likely that particular screw-up will occur. 

Since we've mentioned the SA revolver, 

we can touch briefly on some other 

oddities ofhandgun design. One is the topbreak 

DA revolver, which handgun buffs 

still often insist is a more practical system 

than the solid-frame, swingout cylinder 

design, even though no one in the world 

has produced it in a practical caliber for 

many years. The London Metropolitan 

Police taught me how to reload a Webley 

quickly: Keep the muzzle level with the 

target, wrap your left fist around the barrel 

as you thumb the release latch, and slam 

the handle forward and down. The automatic 

ejector usually throws all brass clear. 

Using my Mk.ll Enfield .38 with HKS 

speedloaders sized for the Ruger Security 

Six, I found that reloading time was indeed 

remarkable with this technique. 

Some otherwise excellent combat 

automatics-the SIG and the Heckler and 

Koch-have magazines that release by a 

butt-latch. This is painfully slow, since you 

,have to pull the spent mag out by hand and 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY!AUGUST 1982

then reach- for the spare clip. IPSC ace 

Jerry Usher has worked out a quick reload 

for the H&K, but it involves a bit of 

sleight-of-hand; sort oflike watching Tom 

Campbell shoot a quick match, grabbing 

his magazine with his left hand as he draws 

his pistol with his right, holding them together 

in a two-hand grip, and then shifting 

magazines without having to reach for 

his belt. It's a nice trick ifyou can do it, but 

not the most practical thing in the world. 

The last thing to remember with an automatic 

is a serious difference between 

match and street shooting: When do you 

drop the partially depleted magazine? In a 

tournament where you have six shots per 

string, you should load your .45 with eight, 

and count shots. That way, you have one in 

the chamber as a time saver, and one still in 

the clip adding weight for a smooth dropout. 

On the street, when you've just fired 

five rounds in the initial stage of an 

encounter and are now behind cover, one 

ofthe first things you'll want to do is make 

your pistol full of ammo again. 

In a match, you'll hit the drop button as 

soon as your weak hand starts toward the 

spare clip, to save time. On the street, 

though, a fast-breaking .change in the situation 

could interrupt you with your hand 

halfway to your clip pouch. Better you 

should have kept the partially empty magazine 

(which now becomes partially full) 

in the gun until the spare magazine was already 

waiting by the gun butt. 

In revolver speedloading, too, there are 

such distinctions. A certain group ofnationally 

recognized police pistol instructors 

insists that speedloaders are useless for 

cops, because you have to empty the whole 

cylinder before you put in the six fresh 

ones. With loops or a pouch, they say, you 

can leave your two or three unfired rounds 

in the cylinder and only replace the fired 

ones. This is a really terrific theory, but I 

defy them to do it at night under stress. By 

the time they've found the empty cases by 

feel and started to pick them out ofthe cylinder 

one at a time, I've already thrown 

out the baby with the bathwater by dumping 

the whole cylinder, and my fully reloaded 

gun will be up on target before 

they've even started to reach for their fresh 

cartridges, and probably before my discarded, 

empty speedloader has stopped 

rolling across the pavement. 

Rapid reloading is one of the more important 

aspects in the repertoire of skills 

that distinguishes the guy who carries, or 

wants, a Combat Master card. Plinkers 

don't need to bother. But if you ever have 

something riding on it-such as your pride 

in a tournament, or your life in an alleyit's 

worth taking the time to familiarize 

yourself with the advanced techniques 

of combat reloading. 

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38 SPECIAL 

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38 SPECIAL 

148 grain hollow base swaged 

38/357 

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41 MAGNUM 

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Police Combat Revolvers 

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• 

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Pistolsmith 

c/o MARYLAND GUN WORKS, LTD. 

SPECIALIZING IN RUGER, 

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All above work on most Call, S&W and Ruger Revolvers: 

Round 1-1/16" Barrel (Blue) $245.00 

Square Barrel w/ejeclor rod shroud $295.00 

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·Prices include taking original sights and barrel in trade. 

DEALERS IN HOGUE AND ROGERS CUSTOM GRIPS 

CHARTER MEMBER AMERICAN PISTOLSMITHS GUILD/M.D. FIELD REP PMA 

For more Information write: Lou Clamlllo - Gunsmith 

clo Maryland Gun Works, LTD. I 26200 Frederick Road I Hyattstown, Maryland 20734 

(301) 831-8456 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982 

69

-----By MassadAyoob------------------------- 

V 

ou don't need to be a master gunsmith 

.l to know that ifyour hammer fall is too 

light to reliably bust caps, you're gonna 

have problems. What a lot of people don't 

realize, though, is that just because your 

light-actioned gun isn't getting misfires 

doesn't mean it's giving you ignition that 

really does the job. 

The shooter who wants a light action 

wants it for a reason: usually, that means 

more hits in the tie-breaking center X ring. 

If his gun has a super light double action 

pull, and goes off every time, he often 

figures he's golden. If he finds himself. 

getting sloppy groups, he often figures, 

"Heck, that's just 'cause I'm not used to 

this great action yet!" 

There's probably another reason. Go 

too light on your mainspring with a double 

action revolver and you may compromise 

the uniformity of ignition. And if that 

gaseous fireball doesn't form the same way 

behind each bullet that zooms out of your 

barrel, then each of them is going to be 

travelling at radically different velocities. 

Which means that even if your hold 

doesn't vary, each projectile will land at a 

distinctly different point of impact. 

This has long been known to' professional 

ballisticians. The first target shooter 

to spread the word on it was, to my knowledge, 

New York PPC ace Jim Cirillo. Jim 

had always been one ofthose police wheel- 

gunners who figured "The lighter the trigger, 

the better the control." Experimenting 

toward that end, he found a point of 

diminishing returns that wasn't related to 

the way a shooter handled a light-triggered 

DA sixgun. He discovered the ignition 

factor and spread the word to his fellow 

PPC shooters. 

Gunners who've gotten the word have 

reacted in different ways. Bill House, a 

Distinguished Police Combat shooter from 

the Colonie P.D. and considered the top. 

shooting cop in upstate New York, didn't 

buy Jim's theory until he chunked a couple 

of light-action guns into a Ransom Rest 

and observed the vertical stringing effect 

for himself. Today, Bill shoots what's probably 

the hardest-action gun you'll find on 

the line at the National PPC Championships 

in Jackson: a full-house M/64 by Joe 

Kassay that would make its maker cringe if 

he pulled the trigger. House has a mainspring 

in there that's gotta give a 13 lb. 

trigger pull. Happily for him, he found 

that the heavier pull made him lock his 

hold tighter and his scores have gone up 

since. He isn't sure how much is the enforced 

hard-hold, and how much is the 

elimination ofstringing since he made sure 

of uniform ignition. 

There are ways to have your cake and 

eat it too, but it takes a savvy gunsmith to 

build you a wheelgun with a light and easy 

trigger, and still promise you uniform ignition. 

What you need is a solid and uniform 

firing pin strike on every primer, and it 

doesn't necessarily take a factory mainspring 

screwed all the way down via the 

strain screw to achieve that. 

Firing pin momentum is the key. Though 

it had long been believed that grinding the 

spur off the hammer reduced its weight 

and lightened the impact-and that, 

conversely, a wide target hammer's extra 

weight gave a more solid hit-recent 

sophisticated research has shown this to be 

a half-truth at best. 

Master Python fitter Jerry Moran (2275 

E. Farrand Rd., Clio, Michigan) was the 

first to realize that properly trimmed, a dehorned 

hammer would actually zap the 

primer harder, all other things being equal. 

"Being lighter;' he told me a few years ago, 

"it falls faster than a standard, heavier 

hammer when propelled by the same 

spring. This speed gives it more momentum. 

I can always get a lighter, 100 percent 

uniform ignition out of a de-horned hammer 

than a standard one." 

Moran's counterpart among S&W 

aficionadoes, Ron Power (PO Box 1604, 

Independence, MO), came to the same 

conclusion after even more scientific tests. 

He told us, "We at Power Custom developed 

a method to gauge and determine 

positive ignition with certain ammunition. 

You pull the double action through very 

slowly, and when the hammer reaches its 

maximum travel before dropping off the 

double action sear, mark the frame at that 

point with a small scribe. 

"We then take a pull gage graduated in 

ounces, put the wire end through the hole 

in the hammer nose pivot, and hold the 

trigger all the way to the rear. With the 

gage straight in line with the bore, we pull 

back until reaching the point where the 

frame is marked for length of hammer 

travel. This determines how many ounces 

ofhammer pressure you have for your DA 

pull. We don't worry about single action, 

since virtually all revolver misfires are in 

double action mode, due to the shorter 

hammer fall." 

Power found that on a K-frame Smith & 

. Wesson, 46 ounces was about minimum 

hammer pressure to ensure positive, uniform 

ignition. Supporting 'Moran's contention, 

he found that while 46 ounces was 

70 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY/AUGUST 1982

essential with the heavy S&W Target, 

hammer, 44 ounces was as reliable with the 

lighter standard hammer ... and when the 

spur was ground off, 42 oun'ces of mainspring 

strain brought the hammer forward 

with sufficient oomph for uniformly positive 

cap-busting. 

N-frame Smiths need more tension. Figure 

on 52 ounces for a big-frame S&W 

with a target hammer, Power advises. 

The very unpredictability of marginal 

firing pin hits makes it almost impossible 

to say how much velocity you ·can lose 

when you fail to achieve posit,ive ignition, 

shot to shot. It's going to vary wildly, as are 

your hits on the target. The only thing you 

can generally count on is that less than 

positive ignition means less than full velocity. 

Figure a light hit that still makes the 

round go will give you, say, 740 feet per 

second when good ignition gives you 820, 

with the same powder charge and primer 

under the same 148-grain wadcutter, and 

you get an idea how far from point of aim 

yoti'll be wandering. 

Ransom Rest tests, as conducted by Bill 

House and Ron Power (and many others) 

independently, indicate that vertical 

stringing will be the big problem. If you 

have a questionable gun, you should check 

it both ou a machine rest and in your hands 

off solid sandbags. This is because the 

varying ignition factors can affect recoil, 

and gun movement shot-to-shot, something 

that won't show up when the test gun 

is embraced by lmyielding steel. 

Says Cirillo, "A Smith & Wesson official 

told me they conducted tests in which they 

backed off the strain screw of a K-frame 

revolver by increments of one-eighth of a 

turn. Groups eventually went from a bit 

over two inches to seven and eight inches. 

Interestingly, it was a concentric group, not 

just vertical stringing. I can believe that. 

The lighter velocity affects the torque 

also." 

Cirillo's hypothesis makes sense. A 

slower-moving bullet dwells longer in the 

barrel, giving the gun more time to move 

iq response to the cartridge going off before 

the projectile has been able to clear 

the muzzle. Cirillo's observations on the 

range indicate that less than positive ignition 

throws the bullet high left, which is in 

keeping with the rest of the hypothesis, 

since that's the direction the muzzle climbs 

in from recoil· in a right-handed hold. 

(Logic would seem to indicate that lighter 

recoil would cause the bullet to go low, 

since heavy recoil throws you high. But if 

the faster bullet is already gone when most 

of the recoil hits your hand ...) 

Still, vertical stringing will be the most 

noticeable when your firing pin isn't hit-"" 

ting hard enough. The same symptoms 

may appear when your gun is out of time, 

and the hammer isn't hitting the primer 

dead center. If it misses a direct hit on the 

anvil, you are again going to get less than 

positive and uniform ignition. Ifthis is due 

to poor timing, the resultingly bad cylinder 

alignment probably means your bullets 

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IMPROVES BULLET PERFORMANCE 2 WAYS 

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Attention! 

{C{(»M]I~Al 

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Wolff 18'12lb. recoil spring 4.50 

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Micro adjustable sights 31.50 

Wichita adjustable sights 49.95 

King-Tappan fixed sights 29.00 

MMC Bar Cross fixed sights 26.00 

Mellett fixed sights 26.00 

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will shave going into the forcing cone and 

ruin accuracy anyway. 

How do you avoid this problem? There 

are a number ofways. It is often caused, in 

a Smith & Wesson, by the mainspring 

strain screw in the front of the grip being 

t60 loose. This can be due to an uninformed 

person backing it out to lighten the 

trigger pull, or it may have worked loose 

from recoil buffeting. It's a good idea to 

Loctite that sucker in place once you've got 

it adjusted properly. 

Try Power's pull gage test of hammer. 

pressure. If a light double action is a must 

for you, consider a revolver with a floating 

firing pin in the frame instead of a hammer-mounted 

one. This is why Model 53 

S&W revolvers in .22 Jet caliber, 

collectors' items in their own right, are so 

mu

L-FRAME 

Continuedfrom page35 

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To one who has every line, contour, and 

characteristic of the classic Smith & 

Wesson guns etched indelibly in his brain, 

first contact with the L is a shock. Many of 

the new gun's features aren't "right." But 

after working on and with it for a while 

I've decided that it earns a place on its own 

merits. 

Back in the thirties when the .357 cartridge 

was developed, S&W's large frame 

revolver was the only logical choice among 

existing designs, and they weren't about to 

tool up for a whoie new gun then. The first 

move toward a smaller frame .357 came in 

1955 when th·ey introduced the K frame 

Combat Magnum, Model 19..But, during 

the past 25 years, a lot of changes have 

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.357 is the most popular revolver chambering. 

Obviously, this is the time to offer a 

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At present, nine variations of the L 

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Perhaps the first change that will be offered 

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The L frame would 

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Will L frame guns ever be offered in 

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------------- 

I 

HAND10ADING 

DAN ConERMAN 

READERS REVEA" SOME HOr r,ps 

ON POWDER, CR'M~ BU....Er PU.... 

T 

here may not be any major change in 

the way hand-loading columns are 

conducted, but it's a sure thing that asking 

readers to chip in with ideas and experi' 

mental findings is paying off for everyone 

concerned. Letters are raining in from all 

across the United States, Canada, and, on 

occasion, Europe. 

The upshot ofall this much-appreciated 

response is successful establishment of a 

forum within which a considerable 

amount of truly valuable information can 

be exchanged. . 

There have been numerous requests for 

data on use of shotshell powders in handgun 

cartridges. Therefore, here's some useful 

input from Derk von Huls, Waffen Munition, 

Frankfurter St., 8, 6110, Dieburg, 

Germany. Derk states that, loading for the 

.45 ACP, he bought a Star production 

loader and wound up supplying his entire 

club with ammo stoked with a favorite 

shotshell powder. "My slog&n;' he writes, 

"became 'the cheaper, the better.' " 

However, like the rest of us, this handloader 

demands accuracy. He casts 

Hensley & Gibbs bullets from pure 

Linotype metal and, for powder, he has 

settled on what he calls "a cheap and welfmetering 

powder that is never mentioned 

in any article: it is W-W 452AA." And 

Derk adds, "It works so well that I hope 

never to be forced to change to another 

powder." 

He continues: "For the .45 ACp' I load 

5.6 grains. This gives a velocity ofjust under 

1000 fps (992 was the last average I got 

out of ten rounds, clocked with no more 

than 23 fps of extreme spread.) With purt; 

Linotype metal the H&G 68 weighs some 

189 grains. This load makes major on anybody's 

pendulum, gives good penetration, 

extreme accuracy (ten rounds in I inch 

from Max Wiegand's P9S), and is extremely 

mild to shoot ... recoil is less than 

from Federal's 185-grain wadcutters. I use 

standard-grade primers. 

"Taper-crimping is B.S. in my opinion. 

In a normal Colt, as it comes from the factory, 

we have a built-in headspace problem 

and most loads are headspaced by the extilactor, 

anyway. I just use a very light roll 

crimp to tuck any sharp edge away, but I 

seat the bullet out to be almost in full contact 

with the forcing cone. This practice 

has a very positive effect on accuracy. 

"My load has been used in an enormous 

variety of pistols and the only problem is 

that I cannot turn out enough ofthe stuff to 

satisfy the demand. This load has won a 

European championship, three German 

championships, and some two dozen international 

matches. 

"For loading the 9mm Parabellum, I use 

W-W 452AA as well. The 9mm is a nasty 

round to reload with lead bullets, ifone desires 

power and accuracy at the same time. 

Leading usually is severe. I have solved it 

by using a bullet that is today dubbed the 

H&G 275 and looks alarmingly like a 

drawing I sent these people about three 

years ago. Cast ofpure Linotype metal and 

sized to .358-inch! it is the best. Loaded 

with 4.8 grains of452AA, it makes a minor 

with good accuray. Velocity is 1080 fps. The 

key for success with this load is sizing the 

bullet to the proper groove diameter! All 

9mm Parabellum barrels I have measured, 

except Irv Stothe's tubes, are well over 

.357-inch. The CZ M75 usually is somewhere 

around .359-inch!" 

This German correspondent goes on to 

say that he has worked up good loads for 

the .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and .44 

Magnum, using W-W shotgun powders. 

Meanwhile, Stan Floroski, 123 W. Seaview 

Ave., Norfolk, VA 23503, points to 

interesting discoveries associated with 

seating inverted hollow-based wadcutters . 

in .38 Special cases. 

"When loading HBWC bullets reversed 

in military cases (others as well), the thin 

skirt deforms and shaves lead when f1ushseated 

and also bulges the cases. Seating 

the bullet out and roll-crimping in the bottom 

knurled groove does not bulge cases. 

But the skirt deforms, so the shell chambers 

hard, if at all." 

Floroski's solution to the problem is as 

follows: "Run the loaded shell up into an 

RCBS .45 ACP seating die with' an SWC 

insert. This tapers the skirt, which now 

chambers easily, especially out of a speedloader. 

It does not affect the expansion 

ratio atall. 

"I use a load of 3.5 grains of Bullseye 

with a CCI 500 primer and HBWC by Precision 

Products Company. It hits to point 

of aim at 25 yardS out of my S&W M60 

and Charter Arms Undercover. I can keep 

them in the black at 25 yards, offhand, 

with no key-holing, tipping, and so on. 

Loaded normally and taper-crimped into 

the top knurled groove ahead of 2.5 grains 

of Bullseye with the CCI 500 primer, it is 

extremely accurate and cases last forever." 

Speaking of bullet pull in the .45 ACP, 

Richard Savino, Irasburg, VT 05845, ob- . 

serves: "It has to be tight: The trouble is 

th.at manufacturers' brass varies widely in 


I 

its apparent or effective wall thickness, es~ 

pecially at the neck ... 

"The best approach I've found is to 

check new brass, either with a micrometer 

or calipers. If feasible, one should try running 

a case into a regular sizing die: usually, 

it can take some sizing even when 

brand new, and this will help bullet pull. 

"If lubed lead bullets are used, great 

care should be taken that the lube is in the 

grooves and not sloppily applied: I've 

found that cast bullets in one-groove design 

don't shoot a whole lot worse than 

multilube-grooved slugs, and the excess in 

the ACP isn't really needed. Using 

minimal-and one should stress that word, 

minimal-ease-mouth bell, seat your bullet 

with as much bearing surface inside the 

case as possible. I have never had problems 

with a slight amount of taper crimp 

applied to .45 ACP rounds; but again, the 

particular brand and lot of brass makes 

variation a thing to watch for. Slightly long 

cases can get collapsed, if the die is set for 

crimping a different, and shorter, brand. 

"The problem with bullet pull is that a 

lot ofcombat shooters are using hyped-up 

loads, like 200-grain SWC-Ls, moving 

around 950 to 1000 fps. to accommodate 

them and decrease gun wear, they use a 

heavy-recoil spring set. It seems that the 

heaver springs give the bullet of a feeding 

cartridge a harder whack on the way into 

the chamber, with the depressing result of 

a jam, if the pull is on the light side:' 

In concluding, S~vino stresses the importance 

of pre-cleaning all brass, with 

special attention to the extraction cannelures. 

Along this same line, he also advises 

to keep the shell holder clean so that a 

• 

-( 

WILSON COMBAT 

No. 1 Competition Match 

Trigger (long-adjustable) 

$15.95 

No. 4 Combat Stainless 

Magazine with base pad. 

7 rd. $15.95 

WILSON COMBAT 

No. 3 High Visibility 

Combat Sights $25.00. 

No. 3D with 3 dot sighting 

system $32.00. We will 

install within 3 wks. for a 

$20.00 labor charge. 

FINE CUSTOM COMBAT HANDGUNS and 

ACCESSORIES for the DISCRIMINATING 

SHOOTER. 

No. 2B SHOK-BUFFTM Replacement bullers (pkg. of 

6) $5.50 

No.6 Extended Combat Safety (blue or 

stainless) ..........................•...... $19.50 

No. 7 Extended Combat Slide Release (blue or 

stainless) $21.50 

No. 10 Heavy Duty Recoil spring (govl. or comm.)$2.50 

No. 11 Heavy Duty Recoil Spring Kit (govl. or 

comm.) $4.50 

No.5 Magazine base pads $1.50 

No. 34 WILSON COMBAT Extended Combat Ejector 

(100% positive ejection) $14.95 

No. 13 Pachmayr GM-45C Combat Grips $17.50 

No. 14 Pachmayr Mainspring Housing (B or C) $10.50 

No. 23 Break-Free CLP (90 gm.) $3.45 

No. 16 Rogers E·Z Loader Magazine Well $9.95 

No. 15 Rogers PPS Combat Grips (black) $14.95 

No. 18 Rogers World Holster. black (gcvl.·G.C.. comm. 

or longslide) $34.95 

No. 22 Bbl. Bushing Wrench $3.00 

No. 31 Extended Magazine Release $21.95 

No. 21 Combat Blue Magazine with base pad. $11.95 

No. 32 Wilchita Adjustable Combat Rear Sights$49.95 

No. 44 Hallock's .45 Auto Handbook: ..... , .. $11.95 

~ 

o 

WILSON COMBAT 

SHOK-BUFFTM Shock 

Absorber kit (gOYI. G.C. 

or comm.) $5.50 

WILSON COMBAT 

No. 9 Commander Style 

Ham mer 4140 steel 

$16.95 

WILSON COMBAT 

No. 12 DWYER" Group 

Gripper"TM Kit (gOYI., 

G.C.) $22.95. No. 12C 

commander model $27.95. 

Add $2.50 postage and handling par order, COo's welcome. NO Credit Card orders pleBse. Ark. residen1s add 

3% sales tax. 

All M.O. Cert. check and COD orders processad wilhin 5 business days. Send SASE for price sheet OR $2.00 

for 1982 picture Brochure of Custom Combat Modifications and Accessories. 

BROWNING HI·POWER 

We offer all popular combat 

modifications for the 

Browning Hi·Power. 

build-up ofcrud won't cause cases to tip as 

they are fed into resizing and seating dies. 

This is particularly critical with progressive 

loading rigs. 

. There's much more in the way of new 

loads and successful loading techniques, 

all of which will be exposed ..... 

here in future issues. ~ 

• Bo·Mar, S&W,or Micro sights installed 

• Polish barrel rampfor improved feeding 

• Complete accurizing 

• Trigger jobs 

• Cylinder&Slide's own wide trigger, 

extended slide release, and 

~ extended mag. release . 

• Your choice of finishes 

-Browning 

-Remington 

~ Colt 

- weatherby 

Authorized warranty repair 

- Colt parts distributor 

I~":'::':=:: 

'r:=J III RO. BOX 937 

FREMONT, NEBR. 68025 

'"=" Ph: (402)721,4277 

PLEASE! nocallsatter12:00noonC.S! 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULYIAUGUST 1982 75

.45 AUTOMATIC PISTOL PARTS 

Hammer Strut $1.25 

Hammer Strut Pin .20 

Barrel Link .75 

No. 13 Barrel Link 

(For Matching Guns) 12.6x19.4 

Barrel Link Pin 

Firing Pin 

.85 

.35 

1.25 

Firing Pin Stop 

Plunger Tube 

Ejector 

Grip Screw 

Recoil Spring 

Magazine Catch Spring 

Firing Pin Spring 

Main Spring 

Plunger Tube Spring 

. 1.50 

1.95 

1.95 

.30 

.45 

.30 

.30 

.30 

.30 

Recoil Spring Plug 

Grip Screw Bushing 

Main Spring Cap 

Main Spring Cap Pin 

Main Spring Retainer 

Slide Stop Plunger 

Safety Plunger 

Grip Safety (Long) 

Hammer Pin 

Sear Pin 

Ejector Pin 

. 1.50 

.55 

.30 

.30 

.30 

.30 

.30 

7.95 

.30 

.30 

.25 

Main Spring Housing Retainer Pin 

Mainspring Housing (Flat) 

.30 

7.95 

Mainspring Housing 

(Gold Cup Style) .. 

Recoil Spring Guide . 

Disconnector 

Trigger (Long) 

Trigger (Short) 

Trigger (Adjustable Match, 

Aluminum) 

76 

8.95 

2.25 

5.95 

6.95 

5.95 

8.95 

Trigger (Adjustable Match, 

Blue Steel) .. 10.95 

Sear Spring .95 

Hammer (1911 A1) 8.95 

Barrel Bushing 5.95 

Sear . . . . . . . . . 6.95 

Magazine Catch Lock. 1.25 

Magazine Catch 5.50 

Grips (GI.) 3.95 

Magazine 5.95 

Slide .. 65.00 

Rear Sight 1.50 

Front Sight 1.50 

Extractor 4.75 

Thumb Safety 6.95 

Slide Stop. . . . . . 6.95 

Barrel 35.00 

Pin Set 1.50 

Spring Set. 2.50 

Please include postage. Texas residents 

please include 4% sales tax. COD and 

Visa and Master Charge orders accepted. 

Write or call to get our monthly mailing 

of bargain priced gun parts and 

. accessories. 

TEXAS 

ARMAMENT CO. 

P.O. Box 135 AH7, Brownwood, TX 76.B01 

915/646-5827 

XP-l00 


The prototype pistol was chambered in 

the full length .308, and I spent a morning 

shooting a relatively mild load (150 grain 

Speer, 35.0 grains 3031) at the iron animals. 

Turkeys, the toughest target on the course, 

fell with disgusting regularity once I got 

the sight settings down pat. I expect it 

would do it every Sunday for the rest of 

'your life. And it's so good looking! 

The grip follows the pattern of a Colt 

.45ACP and was comfortable at modest 

recoil levels. Full snort .308 loads might be 

another story; but I never got a chance to 

try them. 

There are many more new XP stocks out 

there than what I tested. Most are mid-grip 

epoxy and fiber molded variants on the 

same theme. To be satisfactory, they 

should fit the hand that feeds, be light 

enough to allow putting the weight where 

it counts-in the barrel-and be stable in 

both winter and summer. The'se stocks pass 

both tests. 

Does yours? ., 

AUSTRALIAN 


acteristics of the blowback action of the 

Walther to the limit by lengthening the 

bolt and using 85-grain wadcutter loads 

that function with only I grain of powder. 

Because a lot of shooters find it difficult 

to reconcile a .32 caliber, wadcutter-only 

pistol having the recoil of a rimfire, with a 

Service pistol event, some moves are now 

underway here to introduce a true Service 

pistol division to the match that will make 

certain pistols of adequate power and performance 

are used. 

In my club, most shooters use revolvers 

(K38s, Pythons, M19s) or .45 autos. A few 

use 9mm Brownings or S&W M39s; DA 

revolvers (such as Rugers and Dan Wessons) 

are in the minority. 

The move to establish some type of 

power rating in at least one section of the 

match has met with considerable support 

at the grassroots level. 

The rationale is that the match was conceived 

as a practical style competition that 

would allow all levels of civilian and military 

shooters to fire service pistols, as well 

as conventional center fire target pistols. 

Many civilian shooters, firing the course 

with the .45 ACP (and full power 9mm 

loads) for the first time, have found it to be 

a C"hallenging and interesting exerCise 

using realistic loads, rather than emasculated 

wadcutter-only target ammo. 

My Walther .32 auto can produce scores 

of around 850; my K38 (3 pound trigger 

pull SA, 8 pound, DA) has shot an 830, 

while my fine-tuned Colt MkIV has managed 

to shoot around 800. I fire Master's 

grade in ISU Centerfire matches, using the 

GUNFIGH11NC 

AT HOME 

, I 

AND 

RELATED 

SUBJECTS 

A TEXTBOOK BY E. ~. FENJOHN 

ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF A 

HAND GUN TO DEFEND A HOME 

AND ITS OCCUPANTS 

HARDCOVER 

ILLUSTRATED 

SEND 

$4.95 PLUS 77¢ POSTAGE 

TO: 

GOLD STAR PUB. CO. 

DEPT. AU-7, 90 CRICKET AVE. 

ARDMORE, PA 19003 

IPSC-45 AUTOS-COMBAT 

Full Range 01 Combal Modificafions 

CUSTOM SIGHTS-ACCURIZING 

TRIGGER WORK 

50-Round Test Fire & Ransom Target on Accuracy Work 

Improved Reliability . 

BROWN CUSTOM, INC. 

8810 Rocky Ridge Road Long SASE 

Indlanaootis IN 46::>17 For Rrnr:hlJre & Prices 

Designed to shield you from the 

damaging sounds associated 

with the shooti ng sports. 

For Free Brochure Contact: .,_.. 

Safety Direct, Inc. 

23 Snider Way 

Sparks, NV 89431 lilenall 

ADYAHCID HUR.H"ltIloTiCToaS 

T"; 

Literature $1.00 

. High Quality Contemporary 

Styled Inline Action Muzzle 

loading Rifles & Pistols 

~ 1~4~ :I~~::' L~~;a::~~~:;e:a?7~;32 

~ 1-512494-3063 

• equipment for all calibers 

• special presses & dies 

• lead wire, jackets 

• books, accessories 

.end $3 for Handbook/ Cat.,og 

FIve book library • ••••••••••• $30 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULY/AUGUST 1982

Send $1.00 lor .ew BrochurBrelundable 

on first purchase. 

....WESTERN GUNSTOCK MFG. CO. 

550 Valencia School Road. 

Dept. AH. Aptos. California 95003 

Phone: 408·688·5884 

$16.95 POSTPAID IN 48. 

_ 

~ 

~"tz; 

(Z) 

"PRIME-LABEL" 

Reload Marker 

':;0 _0'0 ROGCHILD, INC. BOX 1336 

CLARKSBURG, WV 26301 

Dllle.YEA all 

IllLOADlllNIG 

....•.....................•.......... 

DR~~~~B~~GHT .~ 

Conversions of S&W 27-28 Ruger 357 : 

T.C. Contender-Marlin 1894 : 

BAIN & DAVIS : 

559 W. Las Tunas, San Gabriel, Ca. : . 

•.................................... 

HAVE A GUN THAT SHOOTS THE. 

WAY YOU WANT IT TO! 

Real hand fit actions, every part matched 

and polished for beautifully smooth crisp 

feel. S&W -Colt - Ruger revolvers only. 

Write for information. 

P.o. Box 23028 

ACTION WORKS Richfield, MN 55423 

WE NEED MORE 

HANDGUN 

ENTHUSIASTS 

ON OUR 

SIDE! 

YOUR 

COPY OF 

HANDGUNNER 

MAGAZINE 

WITH A FRIEND 

Maybe they'll get their own 

copy, by using the enclosed 

subscription card. 

If you own a 

Ruger 9mm Revolver 

HRANCH PRODUCTS now has a 1/3 moon 

clip for it with tha sama faaturas that has 

mada our .45 acp clip such a succass. 

. Thasa clips ara rausabla and storabla in 

standard bans or ammo baits; try to do 

that with Rugar clips. If you want to try 

tham, sand your nama and addra.. on a 

stampad an.elope and spacily 9mm or .45 

acp. Wa also offar a Iina of scopa mounts 

for M-l's and Mini-14's. 

Clip pric••: 25 for U.95; 50 for s'.95 ppd. 

RANCH PRODUCTS 

P.O. Box 145. MALINTA. OHIO 43535 

Walther .32 (580-600 in a sanctioned 

match); the .45 auto demands an extra degree 

of skill to produce the higher scores 

that presently elude me. 

With the Service Match we have an opportunity 

to develop a program that will 

appeal to the majority oflocal shooters, 

and allow as many people as possible to 

join in. 

I have proposed that four divisions be 

shot: 

D'iv. A: As existing with pistols 

specified as per ISU Centerfire. 

Div. B: Revolvers using 9mm and 

larger ammo equivalent to standard 

service loads. 

Div. C: Autoloaders using 9mm and 

larger ammo equivalent to standard 

service loads. 

Div. D: Rimfire division open to 

woman and junior (under 18) 

shooters, who can also shoot in 

any of the above divisions, if 

they desire. 

Whether this proposal will be accepted 

remains to be seen, 'but moves already 

have been, made to establish a "high 

power" division. 

My proposal is that shooters take 95 

rOOnds to the line. The range officer takes 

five rounds at random from the shooter's 

ammo allocation, and this sample is 

marked with the shooter's name and 

sealed in an envelope. 

The shooters who place in the event 

have their ammo tested on a chronograph, 

or ballistic pendulum. If it fails to meet 

specifications, they are disqualified. 

This method puts the onus on the shooter 

to make sure that his ammo meets the 

power requirements and makes it virtually 

impossible to "beat the system." And it 

minimizes administrative hassles in testing 

the loads of all competitors. . 

Australia's pistol licensing laws make it 

obligatory that all matches be shot only on 

pOlice-approved ranges that have been 

constructed to rigid safety standards. 

This may cause some problems for IPSC 

activities, because of the mobile nature of 

the course of fire and spectator safety. 

Our Service Match fits in to the existing 

ran~e facilities that are abundantly available 

throughout the country. . 

While somewhat more rigid in its course 

of fire than IPSC, it is an advance on PPC 

as a practical exercise when full-power 

pistols are used over the more difficult 

courses making up the match. 

Getting off six shots in six seconds at the 

ISU Silhouette bullseye at 25 yards with a 

.45 auto calls for a high degree of control. 

So does getting off six shots in four seconds 

~ver the lO-yard course. 

It is an excellent course of fire and is an 

increasingly popular one here in Australia. 

. I'll be happy to send a copy ofour basic 

rules to any USA clubs or individuals 

interested in trying the match. It can 

be shot on any 50-yard range and any 

PPC facility will be ..... 

equally suitable. ~ 

SWAGED LEAD 

PISTOL BULLETS 

The Alberts 

offering 

consists of 

TWENTY designs from 

.32'to .45 PLUS a pair of belted 

conicals for black powder 

shooters. The depth of the 

Alberts line demonstrates our 

genuine interest in providing 

exactly the bullet you want. Pre· 

lubed for fast, clean reloading, 

and constantly checked against 

stringent manufacturing stand· 

ards, you can be confident when 

buying Alberts. 

Swaged lead bullets are our only 

product - they have to excel. 

Cost? Absolutely competitive - 

and 

Alberts prices have remained constant 

since 1979! 

Send 50¢ for 4 page brochure, and 4 

pages of Loading Data. 

THE ALBERTSCORPORArION 

12-B Commerce Road. Fairfield, NJ 07006 

Auto Pistol Manuals 

f·. 

The Colt .45 Auto Pistol 

Covers nearly every facet of. the legendary 

Colt Government Model from mechanics to 

marksmanship to complete detailed inspection, 

disassembly & repair. Plus drawings 

on construction of repair tools & fixtures. 

Over 100 pages loaded with photos. 

A must for gunsmiths & .45 owners. 

Book No. 128 . . . . . . . .. $4.95 

The Browning Hi·Pow·er Pistols 

Explores every aspect of the v·arious military 

& commercial models of the Free World's 

most widely issued sidearm. Instructions 

on taking it down to the last pin for inspection 

& repair, how to zero it, etc. 5 1 1zx 

8 1 /z, softcover, 46 pp. 

Book No. 125 ... $3.95 

Walther P-38 Pistol 

By Major George Nonte 

A complete volume on the P-38 by one of 

America's greatest gun writers. All facets 

are covered from its history & development 

to practical field use, maintenance & repair. 

Plus a special update on recent double 

action autoloaders. 85 pp., softcover. . 

Book No. 127 $4.95 

Order direct from: 

Cr. DESERT PUBL~CATIONS 

:Ai Dept. AH;-Cornville, AZ 86325 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· JULYIAUGUST 1982 

77

p·········111 

:ifi!m~: 

• HOLSTERS. 

• Lawrence Holster # 14 • 

• for revolvers and auto· 

matics is a fllp·type 

• 

• 

that offers better gun 

protection than Iny 

• 

other belt·style holster. • 

• 

Available at leading 

dealers or bv mlil. • 

• 

14 Plain 

• 

14B Basket 

Weave 

• 

• 

(as Illustrated) .- 

14F Flower 

• • 

SEND FOR FREE CATALOG featuring custom- • 

• made shooting equipment, plus over 100 hoi· 

ster slyles. 

• THE GEORGE LAWRENCE CO•• 

I:;'~~.p;a; ;&.9~0i.l 

From MMC 

Front Sight 

Staking Tool 

For Model M/1911 Pistols 

For Gunsmiths & Serious Tinkerers 

Swages 

Tenon of 

Front Sight 

Shear, Adaptor 

Also Avsllable 

Write or Call for Brochure & Price Llsta. 

Dealers Please Inquire. 

No CoileOr Calls. Please! 

Miniature Machine Company 

210 E. Poplar 

Deming, New Mexico 88030 

505-546-2151 

WHAI"S 

NEW 

Dillon announces new 

volume reloading tool 

Dillon Precision Products has introduced 

its Rapid Load 450 Progressive Loader, 

which evolved from the Dillon RL 300. 

The company said the new loader is 

faster, stronger, better looking and easier 

to operate' than the RL 300. It utilizes a 

four-position rotary shell plate to carry 

the shells through various die positions. 

As with all'Dillon presses, the RL 450 

loads a completed round with each 

stroke of the tool handle, loads both rifle 

and pistol calibers and uses standard 

}Is X 14 dies. 

Cost for a caliber change is about $45 

and the change can be accomplished in 

about 15 minutes. . 

The new loader has a cyclic rate of 450 

rounds an hour. 

It is priced at $365, complete with 

powder measure and both large and 

small primer feed. . 

Information is available from Dillon 

Precision Products, Inc., 7755 E. Gelding 

Drive (Suite 106), Scottsdale, AZ 85260. 

Armament Systems has 

new groin-type rig 

Armament Systems Products, Unltd. 

has come out with a unique holster, its. 

"Weeping Eye" model, which is 

suspended in the groin area from the 

belt by a harness that is said to be 

comfortable in most attitudes. 

Due to the cut of men's trousers, it is 

not practical for left-handed shooters. 

The "Weeping Eye" is designed for the 

new Seecamp .25 auto, the Walther TPH, 

the AMT Backup an~ the High Standard 

Derringer. It is made in black and brown 

leather and is priced at $50. 

Information is available from 

Armament Systems Products, Unltd., 

POB 18595, Dept. AH, Atlanta, GA 

30326. 

Vibra-Tek 

Brass Polishers and Cleaners 

Ten times faster than the 

tumbler method without damaging"cases, 

cleans inner and 

outer surfaces, even primer 

pockets. Leaves no residue. No 

moving parts to repair or re 

1iL,;;':""':=- place. LIFETIME WARRAN- 

TY! Load always visible while operating. Complete 

with media and extra tub for cleaning with solvents. 

REGULAR VIBRA·TEK 4 1/2 lb. load capacity, 2 lb. 

media 569.95. MAGNUM VlBRA·TEK with 12 1/2 lb. 

load capacity with 5 lb. media Sl38.00, extra 5 lb. 

media Sl3.75. All Pre·paid. 

HAYDEN·HOLMES COMPANY, INC. 

IS44 Arroya Rd., Colorado Springs. Colorado S0906 

hJJl$ CMf.1la$_~ 

a ne}V 3" ~utla()~.44Spec. to 

~t1fletJq.Uiiementsand~alprererenees 

llDique to law CJ)fon:ement and 

security pers

FLUORESCENT COlORS! 

BULLSHOOTERS·'· new FLUORESCENT 

Sight Insert Kit ... An acrylic resin with 

5 fluorescent colors: red. yellow, orange, 

blue, green, and opaque white. A liqUid 

that hardens in 10 minutes. without heat. 

Inserts won't fall out, withstand hot 

bluing. Our Fluorescent kit includes sideforms, 

mixing bowl. and complete, illustrated 

instructions on front and rear sight . 

inserts. Immediate shipment, satisfaction guaranteed·. 

20 INSERT, I-COLOR KIT (YOUR CHOiCE) . . . $ 8.95 

20 INSERT FLUORESCENT 6 COLOR KIT . $16.95 

150 INSERT FLUORESCENT 7 COLOR KIT . $38.50 I 

300 iNSERT FLUORESCENT 7 COLOR KIT $59.00 

BULlSHOOTER'S SUPPLYTM 

Dept. .AH/1241 East Prince Road/P.O. Box 13446/Plastics Division 

Tucson. Arizona 85732/602-298-6924 

CAll TOLL·FREE 1·800·528·1142 

Butlshooters' Supply is a division of the B.E.W.B. Corp. 

See Your Dealer Copyright 1981 

Prairie Design has 

new handgun rac~s 

Prairie Design Company announces a 

new line of locking handgun racks, 

ranging in price between $90 (4-gun) and 

$100 (8-gun). There is an additional 

charge for felted and finished models. 

Made of top quality hardrock maple, 

the racks bolt to wall studs. An exclusive 

V-block mounting system provides a firm 

custom fit for virtualIy all model pistols 

and revolvers. 

A deeply channeled base prevents gun 

moyement while locking and unlocking 

the racks. 

Information is available from Prairie 

Design Company, Dept. HG, 113 

Glenview Drive, Lawrence, KA 66044. 

SHARPEN YOUR 

INSTINCTS FOR 

SURVIVAL ON 

THE. STREETS .•• 

and improve your shooting skills. Plus. increa?e 

yourtechnical knowledge as national training experts 

and champion shooters such as John Price. L.A.PD. 

Firearms Instructor and Nationai Municipal Champion 

Shooter, Dale Vannatter. Chief Firearms 

Instructor. IN Law Enforcement Training Academy, 

teach youl 

Join the 15.000 member strong - POLICE 

MARKSMAN ASSOCIATION. in it's sixth year. PMA 

is dedicated to officer sUNival through innovative 

and continuous training and knowledge of the 

law. 

The game is SURVIVAL on the streets. That'swhy 

we adhere to the principle that STREET SURVIVAL 

doesn't stop with departmental training - it'sjust 

the beginning. It's your life that is on the line every 

day on the streets - and it is your responsibility to 

stay in shape. 

GET THESE GREAT MEMBER BENEFITS 

POUCE MARKSMAN MAGAZINE - Withyour 

PMA membershipyou receive ayear's subscription 

to POLICE MARKSMAN MagaZine - our official 

association publication. The exciting in·depth articles 

covering equipment. legal aspects. combat shooting. 

departmental training programs. will teach you to 

gain more confidence. improve your ability to react. 

and help you stay alivel 

. Join by July 16 

" , , and receive an HKS 

Speed Loader absolutely Free* 

TYLER'S "T" GRIP 

BETTER SHOOTING 

with fhis improved 

cast Ah,Jminum Grip 

ADAPTOR, For Colt, 

S & Wand Ruger D.A. 

Revolvers. DURABLE, PRAC· 

TICAL-EASY TO INSTALl. 

THREE ATTRACTIVE FINISH COLORS. 

POLISHED or BLACK $5.00: GOLD $5.25 

TYLER'S TRIGGER SHOE-.-- 

Durable light weight cost aluminum far Colt, S & W 

(lncl Inany ulher moclE:rn pistols, rifles and shotguns 

POLISHED or BLACK $3.75: GOLD FINISH $4.00 

ORDER DIRECT OR AT YOUR FAVORITE DEALER. Send 

make & mouel of gun. No e.O.D.'s please. Add $1.00 

for Shipping Charges. Fully Guaranteed. Genuine 

StClg-Wood & Synthetic Gun Grips. Lee LOClders 

Bullet Molds - Gun Accessories. Buck Knives - HClndmClde 

Holsters & Belts. leather & Clarino. 

_ Deoler Inquiries Welcome - Add $1.00 postage.· 

MELVIN TYLER MFG. AND DIST. 

1326 W. Britton Rd.• OklClhomo City, Oklo. 73114 

Cell toll free 800-654-8415 Outside Oklohome 

"STAINLESS STEEL" FINISH 

Accomplished with hard chrome plating. 

Looks like stainless-wears like stainless-hard as stainless. 

Revolvers $65; Pistols $74; 

Long guns $81 and up. 

PARKERIZING-BlUiNG-NICKEl-GOlD 118KI 

SPECIAUZING IN .45 ACCURIlING. 

SIGHT ALTERATIONS. TRIGGER ADJUSTMENTS 

GENERAL GUN SMITHING 

Send .ell-ecld...Hd• 

• tamped enyelope lor prlc. !;at, 

"ACCURATE" PLATING & WEAPONRY 

1937 Calumet St. No. 22 

Clearwater, Florida 33515 

Wholesale-{B13) 733-Q923-Retail 

MTM offers combo 

restI walking stick 

MTM Molded Products Company is now 

offering a combination shooting rest and 

walking stick, which provides the huntershooter 

with a strong, stable support and 

assistance in traversing difficult terrain. 

The ratchet-type gun hook adjusts to 

M~OO CHRONOGRAPH 30 different heights, has a pointed tip 

which is pushed into the ground and 

-~6~~cl~~L(j:gJ .([;J"~'- .,..... weighs only one pound. . 

~ 

. Made of strong plastic, it is priced at 

.FROM $79 i··. •. ::et.:' $9.85. 

-WRITE FOR FREED 11' .. ,. • Information is available from MTM 

TEST REPORT: II... Molded Products Company, 5680 

Cus!. Chr. Co. Box 1061 Brewster WA 98812 Webster St., Dayton, OH 45414. 


"With your prepaid membership dues 

Plus ••• you'll receive these extra member 

benefitsI 

• PMA Membership Card 

• Special Buying Servtce 

• Eligibility for PMA Competition Awards 

• PMADecal 

• FREE Renewal Gear 

Don'twalt,Jolnyourfrfends. Fill Inthecoupon 

below and mall It along wlth your annual 

dues to Police Marksman. 305 SOUth Lawrence 

Street, MontgomelY. AL 36104 

24 Hour Ordering Servtce: 1·205·262·5761 

~-----------------------~ 

POLICE MARKSMAN ASSOCIAliON : 

AH-JA 305 South Lawrence Street. 

I 

Montgomery, AL 36104 

I 

D Yesl Enroll me as a member of P.M.A. as : 

indicated below. If I am not completely 

satisfied I will notify you and you will 

refund the unused portion of my dues. 

D Full-Fledged Member. I yr. - SIS 

Eligible for all PMA Benefits (open only to 

recognized law enforcement personnel). 

S10 is applied to PMA Magazine. 

D 2 yr. - S28.50 D 3 yr. - S42.50 

D 10 yr. - S139.50 D Life - S275.00 

D Associate Member. I yr. - S10 (THE 

POLICE MARKSMAN Magazine only). 

Open to interested shooters. 

Dues Enclosed D Bill Me 

D Charge my MC No. 

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( 

Home Telephone Number 

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D New Member D Renewing 

Gun Make & Model 

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IL State Zip _ ~ 

79

COMBAT AND IPSC SHOOTERS 

Extended Magazine Release 

Button for Colt. AMT and 

Crown'City Autos. Completely 

replaces the existing release. 

No drilling or tapping 

necessary. Instructions 

included. $19.95 postpaid. 

N.Y. res. add 7% tax. WE pay 

ALL Shipping Charges. 

Satisfaction or your money 

back. 

M-S Ambi. Safety (B/SS) 32.75 

M-S Ext. Safety (B/SS) .. .. : 17.50 

M-S Ext. Slide Release (B/SS) . .. 17.50 

M-S Grip Safety-Beavertail (B/SS) .. . 14.50 

Cott Drop-in Beavertail Grip Safety (Gov't./Comm.) 24.00 

King-Tappan Combat Sights .28.50 

Bianchi Chapman #50 Holster 36.00 

Bianchi Askins #4 Holster... . 33.00 

Bianchi B-9 Belt (state size) .. . 22.50 

Davis Security Holster #455 ...........•.........22.00 

Davis Liberty Holster #453 . . 29.00 

Alessi Double Mag. Pouch.. . . 13.00 

Wolff Spring Kit (state needs) . . 4.80 

Wilson Shok-Buff Kit. .. 5.50 

Wilson Shok-Buff washers. .. . 1.25 

Checkered Magazine Pads 1.00 

Deluxe Long Adj. Trigger 11.95 

Rogers E-Z Loader. . . . . .6.95 

JIM'S FLYE SHOPPE. Dept. AHG. Rd. #1. 9518 Rt. 60. 

Fredonia, N.Y. 14063 

SSK 

HAND 

CANNONS 

.45·70..375 JDJ..n Remington and 34 

other CUSTOM CONTENDER Barrels 

CUSTOM CONTENDERS - CUSTOM 

SCOPE MOUNTS for HANDGUNS that 

will stay on. CUSTOM RIBS - HEAVY 

BUllET MOLDS in .357. .41 and .44 

Caliber - Spring Kits - White Outline 

Sight Blades - Hard Chrome Plating 

Rechambering - Custom XP 100 

Conve;sions. 

Stamp For Information. 

S S K INDUSTRIES 

. Rt. 1, Della Drive 

Bloomingdale, OH 43910 

614-264-0176 

SUPPORT HANDGUN HUNTERS 

INTERNATIONAl 

CHOOSE A WINNER 

Hand crafted, fUlly 

lined. leg & hammer 

tie downs, 24 loops. 

Prompt Shipment, 

Specify waist 

$59,95 p.p. Cashier's 

size Gun make, 

check or money orbbl. 

length & der. Please add $2.00 

caliber. 

extra for 7%" bbl. 

'Send $1.00 for complete catalog. 

Dealers, please inquire. 

AMERICAN SALES & MFG. 

BOX 677 AH LAREDO, TX 78040 

DISCOURAGE BURGLARS 

PROTECT FAMILY & HOME 

SHOW 'EM WHERE YOU STAND 

'Place these large 3" x 4V/' two color vinyl 

stickers on your home, car, camper, etc. 

4 for $5.00 

10 for $10.00 WARNING 

THIS PROPERTY IS PROTECTEO BY 

ARMED RESIDENT 

CRIMINALS WHO PROCEED BEYOND 

THIS POINT Will BE SHOT 

North American Tech. 

Dept. 104 

P. O. Box 2710 

Mesa, AZ 85204 

New, 'or collectors: 

.451 Detonics Magnum 

Detonics .45 Associates announces the 

availability of its .451 Detonics Magnum 

1982 presentation series pistols. 

The company said it will produce 1,000 I 

pistols (cased) this year. Each pistol will 

be engraved l-of-l,OOO, 2-of-l,000, etc. for 

collectors' purposes. 

The new pistol comes in an aluminum 

carrying case with a .45ACP barrel for 

caliber versatility, two stainless steel 

magazines, 50 rounds of .451 Detonics 

Magnum brass by Winchester, a Forster 

reamer to convert .303/.30-06 brass to 

.451, a Kleen Bore pistol cleaning kit, 

hearing protectors and handloading 

instructions. 

The .451 Detonics Magnum has an . 

average muzzle velocity of 1240 fps. 

Price: $1,220. 

Information is available from Detonics 

.45 Associates, 2500 Seattle Tower, 

Seattle, WA 98101. 

Tu'oil gun-coat makes 

gun a 'slick shooter' 

Tufoil gun-coat is a new lubricant that is 

said to make conventional gun oils 

obsolete.' 

Made by Fluoramics, Inc., it contains 

Teflon and Fluon and helps reduce 

friction and wear, doesn't coagulate, 

inhibits rust, virtually eliminates 

jamming in semi-automatic pistols, keeps 

guns operating freely at temperatures as 

low at 60 degrees F. and reduces barrel 

temperature as much as 25%, according 

to the company. 

The new lubricant is available in . 

. 2-ounce containers. 

Information is available from 

Fluoramics, Inc., 103 Pleasant Ave., 

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 

BRASS 

9mm & .38 Super 

NEW .357 MAG. 

AND OTHERS 

Call For Quantity Prices 

(512) 858-4441 

THE BRASS WORKS 

p.o. Box 315H 

Dripping Springs, TX 78620 

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INTEREST IN 

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them the enclosed 

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card. 

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80 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982

SPEAKOUT 

Contin1!edfrom p~ge25 

both hands a.nd shoved them straight 

out in front of their eyes ." This is 

quite simply untrue. Colonel Fairbairn 

consistently advocated a one-hand 

nold for the one-hand gu'n, a point of 

fact brought forward in all his 

wntings, published or unpublished. 

For those who prefer the primary 

source, I recommend Shootmg To 

Live by Messrs. Fairbairn and Sykes, 

to be read in company with the 

recently republished Shanghai 

Municipal Police Pistol Manual. The 

former is available from Paladin 

Press, the latter from Interservice 

Publishing Company Both will serve 

as an accurate introduction to 

Fairbairn's thinking on the subject of 

close-quarter combat use of the selfloading 

pistol. 

WL. Cassidy 

Oakland,. CA 

.38 Super to 9mm Mag.? 

The 38 Super is a more powerful 

cartridge than the 9 mm, but not as 

popular Why doesn't someone do 

what Remington did on the .244 

Remington ahd the 280 Remington! 

The 38 Super could be renamed 

g mm Magnum. I bet the'y would sell 

like hotcakes. 

Clinton W. Green 

Smackover, Ark 

Prize "more exquisite 

th~n cover photo" 

I have today received the Maryland 

Gun Works Custom Ruger per your 

Nov.-Dec Amencan Handgunner 

Giveaway 

To say that I alTI "pleased" with 

the custom Ruger Blackhawk would 

be a gross understatement. I am 

indeed ecstatic; moreover, may I say 

incredulous at my great good fortune 

in winning this altogether fantastic 

"AH l-of-l " At first-hand, the piece 

seems even more exquisite than your 

cover photo, if such is possible. 

As a shooter. hobbyist. and handloader 

of long standing I can 

appreciate such touches as the 

Douglas barrel, as well as the total 

artistry and execution by Messrs. 

Ciamillo and Shackleford 

I have owned an assortment of 

Rugers, Colts, etc. Among these is 

the Bill Davis custom "Couger" as 

featured In GUNS, Dec 1979. I see 

now that I shall face something of a 

temptation to work up some of the 

Keith-type loads in .44 Special, 

despite a certain reluctance to fire 


GUN 

PARTS 

'1aYo~ON 

.. W.catalOg 

The most 

comprehensive 

guide of its type! 

... I can vouch for it really working. Just one or 

two swipes of the cloth andJeading around barrel 

disappears.... ~ 

-Jerome Rakusan (Editor) 

American Handgunner 

Magazine 

W .... For removing leading & carbon build-up 

WIPE AWAY is the best that I have worked 

with to date. " 

-BobZwirz 

Eastern Editorial Director 

Gun World And Annuals. 

1. Removing lead from the forcing cone, barrel and cylinders 

is no longer a task. Simply cut a 1/2"x1f2" 

patch and wrap it around an old brush of the same caliber. 

A litlle scrubbing and the lead is gone. Follow this 

with a clean gun patch and th~t part is done. 

2. To clean the face of the cylinders simply wipe the 

lead away. . 

3. lightly wipe the exterior with the WIPE AWAY 

followed by a clean cloth and the job is finished. 

With the WIPE AWAY, it;s no longer a messy and time 

consuming job to clean a handgun. 

LEAD BUILD-UP 

*WIPE AWAyTM 

GUN CLEANING CLOTH .KIT 

JUST WIPE AWAY LEAD, BURN RINGS, & CARBON BUILD·UP 

ON HANDGUNS, RiflES & SHOTGUNS 

THIS AMAZING CLOTH KIT CLEANS, LEAVES A SPARKLING FINISH, 

. IS INEXPENSIVE & LONG·LASTING 

Look for it at your Local Dealer, or send $4,95 & 1,00 P & H to: 

Belltown. Ltd,-33 BeUtown Road, Stamford, CT, 06905 (203)348-0911 

World's largesl 

suPPlier 01 

gun paris. 

NUMRICH ARMS, the world's 

largest supplier of gun parts 

offers new Catalog No. 10 

covering a 150 million parts 

inventory with information 

never before in print. 

U.S. PRICE $2.95 

FOREIGN $3.95 

Custom 

Pistols 

J. MICHAEL PLAXCO 

Highest quality workmanship by a champion 

competitor: 

• Member World Champion USA IPSC "Gold" 

Pistol Team, 1982 

• Twice Winner Mid-Winter Targetworld 

Championship, 1980 and 1982. 

• Third J:>lace in USA IPSC Nationals, 1981 

Developer of the Plaxco Compensator System 

For more information and gun specifications: 

J. Michael Plaxco, Rt. I ~o,x 203 . 

Roland, Arkansas 72135 501-868-9787 

Red Cross. 

+ 

TheGood Neighbo& 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY I AUGUST 1982 8\

Ro"'rlA.~ 

has new hOlster . 

TOM'S GUN BLUING SHOP. 

1818 Crestview Drive, Carroll, Iowa 51401 

(712) 792-4238 

Specializing in Douglas barrel target conversions on 

Rugers and High Standard 22's. PPC, Hunting and 

Silhouette Conversions on Smith; Colt and Ruger. 

In-Shop bluing, satin nickel and gold-plating. 

Write or call after 4:30 p.m. Central Standard time 

for details. . 

PERFECTION IS OUR STANDARD 

BUEHLER 

MOUNT 

If you want 

to see how accurate the Smith & 

Wesson Model 41 is, install a 

BUEHLER pistol mount. 

Installation is easy. Just ~move barrel 

assembly, drill and tap for screws. Rear 

sight stays in place. Quality and 

dependable pistol mounts available for 

.22's to .44 Mag. 

Send for free catalog 37H 

• • 

COMPETITION PROVEN 

"fI/~ ~~alnl SHOK-BUFF 

Used & recommended by the tollowing top! PSC competitors- 

Raul Walters, MO Ken Hackathorn, OH Mike Dalton, CA 

John Shaw, TN Ross Seyfried, CO Ray Neal, CA 

Bill Wilson. AR 

Ray Chapman, MO 

.AAAA~ 

o 

Proven to withstand the test of competition & drastically reduce the 

battering of slide & frame on .45 autos. 

No.2 Ki! (2 buffers & 1 HD recoil spg.l gOY!. or comm. $5.50 

No. 2B Buffers only (pkg. of 6) $5.50 

No. 2T Target Kif (2 buffers & 1 reduced power recoil spg.) gOyt. or GC $5.50 

No. 2D Deluxe Kit (5 buffers. 2 HD recoil springs & 1 EP firing pin spg.) gOyt. or comm: $12.95 

Order direct·Check, Money Order or COD accepted. Add $2.50 per order postage & handling. 

DEMPSEY CUSTOM GUN 

19715 Bolton Bridge· Humble, Texas 77338· 713-446-7842 

WHAT ROBERT A. Strong Co, Inc.:. 

calls the First Chance Holster is bemg 

added to the firm's line of leather 

goods. 

This compact highride concealable 

thumb break holster, which is made of 

full grain leather, is custom fitted for 

small-, medium- and large-frame revolvers 

and autbmatics up to 6 inches 

in length. The holster is doublestitch'ed 

on inseams and stress points 

, for durability. and the thumb break is 

recessed to reduce metal contact. The 

three slots give the wearer the choice 

of a conventiona or crossdraw position; 

the holster can also be worn with 

,R'obertA. Strong's unique shoulder 

harness. 

The First Chance Holster. which can 

be ordered with a fine suede lining. is 

available in bl~ck and antique cordovan 

color, plain. scalloped edge and 

basketweave. 

. 

First Chance HolstfJr 

The company's Leg&nd Holsttfr. a 

ighride single action holster. has a 

multi-width belt system that maintains 

proper holster angle On a 13,11- -or 21f.linch 

belt. The trigger cover. rear sight 

pdcket. metal reinforcement welt and 

an optional snap provide safety alld 

protection in the field. ' 

The Legend, which is made for small 

and large frame single action handguns 

with barr~ lengths of 5 to 7* 

inches. is available in black or antiqlJe' 

cordovan and in plain or hand tooled 

basketweave. . 

The Preventor Holster has many of 

the Legend',g features but is designed 

for handguns with barrel lengths of 

from 4 to 6 inch(;ls. 

, 

PPC REVOLVERS 

IPSC 45 AUTOS 

CONVERSIONS 

Legend Holster 

82 

Silhouette Rifles 

Silhouette Pistols 

\ 

\ 

'\ 

I 

For more information contact 

Robert A. Strong Co., Inc., 105 

Maplewood Avenue, Dept. SI. 

Gloucester, MA 01930. 

to..--.-...----------' 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1982

Ruger Single Action Kit 

Company will convert its "Old Model" 

single-actions at no charge 

Modernizing "Old Model" Ruger 

single-action revolvers-at no 

charge-is the latest contribution to the 

world ofhandgunners by Sturm, Ruger 

& Company. • 

The company has announced a new 

invention for the owners of "Old 

Model" Ruger single-action Single Six, 

Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk revolvers. 

Itis the Ruger Single-Action 

Conversion Kit, described by Ruger as 

"a major breakthrough in the technology 

of the single-action revolver." 

The parts of the kit constitute a new 

mechanism which can be fitted at the 

factory with no permanent alterations 

to the revolver's frame, and without 

changing its outward appearance in 

any way. 

Bill Ruger, president ofthe company, 

emphasized that installation of the kit 

will not affect the collector value of 

"Old Model" Ruger revolvers. 

The kit has been designed to provide 

owners of "Old Model" Ruger singleaction 

revolvers with the advantages of 

a modern "transfer-bar" type mechanism 

by the replacement of a few key 

parts in the revolver. 

The seven new parts which comprise 

the kit are the hammer, pawl, transferbar, 

trigger, cylinder latch, cylinder 

latch spring and cylinder base pin. 

The "transfer-bar" type mechanism 

of the kit prevents the kind of accidental 

discharge which can occur if the 

hammer receives a heavy blow while 

resting over a loaded chamber. 

With the trigger fully forward, the 

hammer rests directly on the frame and 

cannot contact the firing pin. The new 

transfer-bar is positioned between the 

hammer and firing pin to transmit the 

hammer blow to the firing pin only 

when the trigger is pulled and held all 

the way to the rear.' 

Even though the "Old Model" Ruger 

single-action revolvers have always 

been safe to shoot when properly handled, 

the company has been plagued 

with lawsuits fill~d by people who managed 

to accidentally shoot themselves 

by keeping a live round under the hammer 

of Old-Model SA's. 

The test case, in Alaska, weilt against 

Ruger with a seven-figure judgment. 

Subsequently, anyone who shot himself 

accidentally with an "Old-Model" SA 

Ruger immediately retained the services 

of a lawyer and filed a civil liability 

suit against the company. 

There were only a few such suits 

prior to Ruger's intr'odue'lion of its 

"New Model" in 1973. Some lawyers 

apparently took the existence of the 

New Model as some sort of proof that 

the guns had been made negligently in 

the past. 

Ruger told The American Handgunner 

that accidental discharges took 


Here are the seven new replacement parts, left to right, hammer, pawl, transfer 

bar, trigger, cylinder latch and spring; and cylinder base pin (bottom). 

Most ofthe seven new parts are shown in position, all set to make "Old Model" Ruger 

single-action revolvers safe to shoot, w:ithout changing outward appearance. 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY/ AUGUST 1982 83

THE procedure preferred by 

knowledgable shooters to Reduce 

Muzzle Lift and Recoil. 

RIFLE 

PISTOL 

Mag-Na-Port Arms has 20 years experience 

with EDM technology, and 10's of 

1000's of satisfied customers will attest to 

our expertise. 

There's only one, genuine Mag-Na-Port 

process, and it's available only from the 

Mag-Na-Port locations listed below. 

Mag-na-Port (313) 469-6727 

Mag-na-Port of Canada (204)633-7018 

Send for FREE literature today. 

~e~e 

AlMI.I.~. USA AIMI.I.~.CANADA 

:Dl16 South River Road 

Mt. Clemens. Michigan 4OO4S 

I have enclosed $ 

Address 

By J. David McFarland 

___copy(s) of: 

1861 Burrows Avenue 

Winnipeg. Manitoba R2X 2V6 

How To 

Make Practical 

Pistol Leather 

Any style holster, for any handgun, right 

.or left-handed, is instantly available and 

affordable - if you make it yourself. Step 

by step instructions reveal all the secrets of 

successful hqlstermaking: leather selection, 

tools needed, designing holster patterns, 

how to select the holster type that best fits 

your needs, wet fT)olding the holster to the 

gun, and more. Special pUll-out section in 

center has full size holster patterns for Colt 

.45 ACP, S&W M19, Ruger Blackhawk, 

Beretta Jaguar, Colt Diamondback, etc. 

Large 8 1/2xll format, profusely illustrated 

with photos & line drawings. 

Book No. 150 $6.95 

----- 

e!~ 

DESERT PUBLICATIONS 

:a: Dept. AH-Cornville, AZ 86325 

" Please rush me 

How To Make Practical Pistol Leather 

(Arizona residents please add 4% state sales tax) 

Name 

_ 

City State __ Zip _ 

_ 


such a pristine collector's item I 

Again my sincere thanks for an 

outstanding gem and your fine 

accommodations, including the most 

welcome extra copies of NOv.-Dec. 

1981 issues. 

Fred W Hendee 

International Falls, MN 

NRA Director Greif 

criticizes Chambliss 

In Lucy Chambliss' column (The 

American Handgunner Nov-Dec 

1981), she lamented the failure of 

Harry Reeves, Michael Santanello 

and other "old" directors to regain 

their seats on the NRA Board of 

Directors. 

Lucy is a victim of mental myopia 

when she says, "legislative power 

and a large membership are fine, but 

let's not have tunnel vision and funds 

for these two activities only" 

I am shocked that she equates the 

critical defense of our right to keep 

and bear arms as an "activityl" If we 

hadn't built that legislative power, we 

might not have our handguns today! 

Building membership doesn't cost 

money, it makes it. giving us political 

leverage and greater acceptance by 

the non-shooter. 

Lucy infers that the NRA is not 

giving the competitive shooters a fair 

shake. While she was on the Board I 

heard no complaints from her. I have 

a feeling she wasn't paying attention 

In 1980, the NRA spent a total of 

$1,031.400 on competition In 

1981, we spent $1,175,000. 

Competitive shooters compnse only 

about five' or six percent of the NRA's 

membership, but proportionally 

receive more funding than other, 

larger groups. The association's 

1,880,000 members have some 

needs, too. The NRA has spent. as of 

the end of September 1981, 

$324,800 on range construction 

loans, in addition to large amounts 

spent on the Whittington Range and 

the recent appropriations to the 

Olympic games 

We have launched a massive 

public relations program wherein 

much of the money will be used 

promoting shooting among women 

and the youth of America. 

On the complaint that we're 

~endlng too much defending our 

rights, if anyone is under the 

impression that we have no serious 

problems, take a look at Morton 

Grove's attempt to ban the 

possession of handguns and the antigun 

stance taken by the President's 

anti-Crime Task Force We are 

confronted with the most dangerous 

threats to take away our rights we 

have ever seen 

Lucy said,' 'It will be interesting to 

One let conll... at .. animal•. 

1/5 scale N.R.A. Small Bore rifle silhouettes. 

1 set.. .$9.91 

3'8 scole IHMSA .22 pistol silhouettes. 1 set. ..$.11.80 

SWMS manufactures standard or custom scaled 

silhouettes for your ronge. 'or more Information, 

send 25' and 0 self-addressed envelope to: 

Southw••t Metallic Silhouett•• 

P.O. -.0. 476 Uvalde, T••al 71801 

Or CaU: (512) 271-5454 or (512) 271-3217 

Full scole long losting Jolloy 360 long range pistol and 

high powered rifle silhouettes. .$.269.99 

Fine 

Metallic Silhouettes 

~ ~(, 

()~\.(, 

~~~ Model 

~~ BM-1 $24.95 

....,. Model 2B2 kit 

~~ 29.99 Add $1.50 for 

~~ shipping and Ohio resi 

~ dents add tax. . I 

ALIGNS THE STONE WITH THE EDGE 

EASY TO USE - 

LORAY 

2·82 K;, SHARPENERS 

16740 INDIAN HOLLOW Ito. 

GItAFTON,.OHIO 44044 

SHARPENS ANY BLADE 

GREAT GIFT FOR SPORTSMEN 

CI

see which of the "new" directors 

spends that much time working for 

pistol shooting (as Harry Reeves 

does)." Without denegratlng Harry's 

fine contribution, the question IS 

Irrelevant. A Director has a 

responsibility to work for all members 

of the NRA, not only that small 

portion of competitors who are pistol 

shooters As a member of that group 

that Lucy calls" new" directors, I put 

In 25 to 35 hours a ~eek for the 

shooter, and I'm not re'tired. We have 

been vocal supporters of the • 

competitors and their need for proper 

funding and inclusion In the declslonmaking 

process 

In the area of competitions, I have 

concern and a goal; to save some of 

the popular new shooting sports from 

destruction by our competition 

committees and the "hot shots." 

For decades, Mexican silhouette 

shooters kept their sport Simple. It 

was a hunter's game, where he 

competed with his hunting rifle and 

had a chance of winning 

Significantly, their rules easily fitted 

on a single sheet of paperl When 

silhouette traveled north, we wound 

up with rules that distorted the 

original purpose and allowed the use 

of rifles having little resemblance to 

hunting rifles Pistol silhouette 

shooting is- another example of 

equipment that a hunter does not 

use in the field. . 

The result has been to turn away 

the vast body of hunters who might 

have come Into the game, who are 

not NRA members and who don't 

compete In our standard shoots 

Then there's combat shooting 

Many of the "old" directors shied 

away from having the NRA involved 

In civilian combat shooting because 

of what our enemies might say, 

resulting In another group being 10.51, 

when the vacuum was filled by 

several new organizations We must 

popularize pistol and rifle shooting 

with competitions that are fun, have 

spe'ctator appeal and won't cost a 

fortune to partiCipate in 

It is simple theatrics to say that 

Reeves and Santanello are lost to 

pistol competitors. They are on the 

same committees and still serve as 

match officials. Indeed, at ItS 

October meeting, the Board 

appointed Mr Reeves to serve out 

the term of a deceased director, over 

several candidates who had receive~ 

more votes than he in the last 

election 

Being on the Boa rd IS not a 

sinlcure or a reward. It is a position 

wh'erein one serves the members and 

the sport. It IS proper that directors 

be nominated and elected by the 

members 'In a free democratic 

election, which we have had since 

i*/*!$?! LEATHER POUCHES 

DON'T WORK 

TRY OUR 

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BELT CLIP 

THE ORICINAL 

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SPECI Y SMALL FOR All OTHERS 

CLIPS ANYWHERE 

$3.95 EA. 

BLACK ANODIZED 

ADD $I PER ORDER P&H 

COLDWATER ARMORY CO. 

P. O. BOX 494, MESA, ARIZ. IS~OI 

~ GUN BLUING ~ 

NICKEL PLATING 

We Guarantee Satisfaction! 

3 Week Service or LESS. We do QUALITY WORK. 

We DON'T GRIND them UP' SEND FOR PRICE LIST. 

REBEL GUN REFINISHING, INC. 

1620 No. Magnolia Ave.• Dept. A· Ocala. Florida 32670 

PHONE (904) 629-5465 _ 

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED-SEND EEL. 

A gun to count on when 

you need it. A lifetime 

warranty says it all. 

Available in the compact 

Enforcer or standard Match 

Master. Stainless or any 

standard finish. One price. 

Send $2 for color brochure to: 

(2A;\~ Safari Arms 

"J ' : P.O. Box 23370 

. Phoenix, Arizona 85063 

(602) 269-7283 


JOHN SHAW 

DO NOT 

MISS 

MID-SOUTH INSTITUTE 

of 

SELF DEFENSE SHOOTING 

Cincinnati. The only pity is that the 

NRA does not give Its members any 

information about the Board and its 

actions. 

I would like to note that the 

majority of the Board members are 

still "old" directors, some of whose 

re-electlons have been supported by 

me and other "new" directors I 

think that our members will reelect 

directors perhaps In part for their 

competitive activities, but mainly for 

their contributions In the battle to 

keep handguns In the hands of Lucy 

and you and me. 

William R. Greif 

New York, N.Y. 

r 

IILITEI 

NEW. 

rra.lelanli;) 

SHELLHAMMER SPECIAL 

• 6 Bullet Loops - Velcro Grip Cov,r 

• Pull-Thru Snap Release for 

speed and security 

• Cusfom molded for 

individual gun 

• Double bonded nylon 

cord stitching 

• Molded sight track 

Learn Ihe LA TEST techniques in practical 

PISTOL and SHOTGUN Iraining from: 

• Two Time National Champion 

• CaiJiain U.s. World Team 

• Triple Gold Medal Winner 

• Law Enforcement Training Instructor 

• Finest Private Shooting FacUlty In the Country 

For information CALL or WRITE: 

MISS 

503 Stonewall 

Memphis, Tennessee 38112 

(901)725-1450 

NOW AVAILABLE 

BY POPULAR DEMAND 

MEL TAPPAN 

':..the survivalisf,voice 

ofreason... 

-l,luu. Cunningham. Thl' Nt.-w York Times 

TAPPAN 

·ON 

SURVIVAL 

JERRY POURNELLE 

Mel Tappan's Guns & Ammo and 

Soldier of Fortune columns 

under one cover for 

the first time. 

The articles that sparked the survival 

movement. A superb introduction to the 

subject of long-term survival. Tappan on 

the economy, retreating, firearms, food. 

communications, etc. 320 pages. $7.95 + 

$1.00 postage and handling, VISA and 

Master Charge accepted. 

8 .(be 

I '. '. P.O. Box 578, AH 

. Rogue River, Oregon 97537 

. (503) 582-1520 

aOrllJS pr:zess 

Books paid for with money orders or cashier's 

checks shipped within 24 hours. Personal checks 

must clear. (Include street address for UPS 

shipment.) 

MCItJ-na-port offers 

mini-.44 MGlg. . 

M 

ag-na-port is now offering a 

mini-.44 Magnum conversion 

designed to meet the police officer's 

needs for a superior back-up weapon. 

Done on the S&W M-29, 6-29, 25 or 

57, the conversion p.rovides concealability, 

reliability and knock-down 

power. 

Although not intended as a sporting 

arm, the mini-.44 Magnum will be popular 

with those sportsmen who prefer to 

carry a light-weight, hard-hitting handgun 

in the field, according to Larry 

Kelly, Mag-na-port president. 

Kelly said the barrel is cut back to 2Jh 

inches, recrowned and Mag-na-ported. 

Then the rear sight is rounded and 

smoothed to prevent snagging. The 

Baughman-type front sight is replaced 

and fitted with either a red oryellow insert. 

The g ip frame is modified to 

K-frame round butt dimensions. A 

combat trigger conversion is installed 

and the action is fine-tuned. A fIOnt 

locking device is installed. It is 

refinished in either deluxe blue or 5.S. 

Metalife. 

, For further information, write 

Mag-na-port Arms, lnc., Special Services 

Div., 30016 S. River Rd., Mt. Clemens, 

Mich. 48045. 

USED WORLD-WIDE 

BY LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNel ~__===-..J 

State make, model, BBl and whether right or leN-handed. 

Add 53.00 per holster for handling and shipping. New York 

reSidents add appropriate sales tax. Foreign orders - add 

15% shlppmg, U.S. funds only. Send money Qrder or certified 

check. MasterCard & Visa-give expiration date-accepted. 

DeSantis manufactures a complete line of 

holsters creatively designed to fill the 

specific needs of gun enthusiasts and law 

enforcement personnel. Mail $2 for our 

complete 12~paQe..full color catalog. 

Dealer inqUiries inVited-cali or write. 

--.flJnt:s- 

Holster and leather Goods Co. 

Dept. AH 7 , 155 Jericho Turnpike 

Mineola, NY 11501 • (516)'742-7900 

DUNK - KIT 

A NEW CONCEPT IN 

GUN CLEANING 

-DUNK-KIT the fast easy way to clean and protect 

your guns is used and endorsed by gunsmiths, 

hunters, pistol. shooters and police. 

-DUNK-KIT cleans, oils and displaces moisture all in 

one easy operation, good for shotguns and rilles as 

well as handguns. 

-DUNK·KIT comes in a large 'I. gallon pail, is reo 

useable and should clean almost· 100 guns. 

-DUNK·KIT is also ideal for cleaning and protecting 

tools, parts, fishing reels, cycle chains. etc. 

Only $15.95 Postpaid within fhe U.S.A. 

Please write for a quotation on 

foreign shipments or for larger sizes. 

LARSON INOUSTRIE~, 

Box 393 

FREMONT. NEBRASKA 611025 

INC. 

larger sizes available for clubs, gunsmiths and 

industry. Please no C.O.O.'s. Send street address tor 

U.P.S. delivery. Dealer inquiries invited. 

86 


... 

.~. 

• • • 

STOP 

MlSSlNG-----' 

AND 

SIIRT 

SCORING 

1OU'VEGOT 

THE ANSWER IN THE 

PALM OF..HAND. 

Write today for your free color brochure. 

" ~R~r~e~~e~~~!~oland. CA 92380 

NEW 

CONCEPT IN 

GUN LOCKS 

The Gunloc pistol 

guard requires no key or 

combination. Nothing to lose or 

jumble with, or make your gun 

inaccessible in the dark. Yet it is 

designed to prevent children from 

removing it. The Gunloc works on 

the tension principle. Adults can 

quickly remove the Gunloc simply 

by depressing the tension release 

button. Children, having weaker 

hands, remain protected. Tension 

of release mechanism is adjustable. 

Designed for all DA revolvers. As 

always, this product comes with 04: 

our money back guarantee that it 

will perform e~actly as you expect 

it to. $10.00 ppd. 

GENTRY BROS. & CO. 

P.O. Box 18062, H3 

Dallas, TX 75218 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . ~ULY / AUGUST 1982 

CONTENDER 


14" lengths and the magnum grips, which 

were offered as standard equipment on 14" 

pistols. Shortly thereafter, Contenders began 

arriving with hammer safeties. There 

were other internal changes in the action 

and modification to the locking lugs at bottom 

of barrels. Bull barrels came out at 

about the time handgun silhouette shooting 

became popular. The combination of 

the gun and ·the game boosted consumer 

and dealer interest to new highs. For a 

while it seemed that everyone in the whole 

world wanted a Contender, and no one 

had any of them. 

Gradually, the production pipeline got 

filled and things began to return to normal. 

Some of the folks who had climbed onto 

the bandwagon only to follow the fad began 

to drop off, ano things got better for us 

true believers. T /C brought out the current 

style grips and forearms a little more than 

. a year ago, and last summer, while I was 

visiting their plant in Rochester, N.H., I 

saw a toolroom model of the Mach IV 

frank 

This newest version of the Contender 

frame differs in two respects from previous 

models. The pivot point for the trigger 

guard/action lever is moved from the front 

of frame to a position above the center of 

the trigger. This change enhances its mechanical 

advantage, so that even weak fingers 

can open the gun without using both 

hands. Internal changes permit tighter 

lockup and easier release on all T /C 

barrels. 

The first thing I did was try my entire assortment 

of barrels, and they all functioned 

smoothly. 

Another worthwhile change was to 

move the sear adjustment screw from inside 

the frame to the front edge ofthe trigger, 

so that adjustments can be made with 

the gun assembled. The Mach IV frame 

can be easily identified by the newly 

shaped trigger and the pivot pin positioned 

directly above the trigger. 

I'm not sure, but I believe the only 

change needed in the frame to install the 

new action parts is to drill a hole for the 

relocated pivot pin, which appears to be 

the same diameter as the original one. 

When I quizzed the folks at T /C about 

converting older model gl!ns to Mach IV 

innards, they were a bit hazy about 

whether they would offer the service. 

The Mach IV frame brings us back 

to the smooth operation that was present 

when Contender began, but with 

several improvements, and vastly different 

accessory equipment. 'Originally, barrel 

lengths were 6",8'12", and 10", all 

octagon. Now they are available in 10" and 

14", with a few calibers offered in 10" 

octagon. Most current sales are bull barrels. 

All the barr-els, grips, forearms, 

scopes, and holsters for the older model 

Contenders can be used with ~ 

the new Mach IV. ~ 

I ::\.\\1\ . 

ii\\I, 

:,hl 

'I\'\\~ 

II II 

n\ ( 

dl' \ ~ 

~\\I\ ~~ , 

FURY .45 AUTO 

SHOULDER RIGS 

MODEL 5-4 for all large frame autos 

similar to Colts Govt. Mod. 45, also 

AMT45, Crown City, Brownings 9mm 

Hi Power, Star & S&W Mod. 39 & 52. 

MODEL 5-4XL for extra large frame 

autos Brownings BOA 45, Beretta 

Mod. 92 SandS&WMod.59.lndicate 

make and model when ordering. 

All rigs are jet black and individually 

hand tooled in basketweave design 

on 8 oz. top grain cowhide. 

To order send $34.95 (Certified check 

or Money OrderONLY). Handling, Ins. 

& shipping included. 10 to 14 days 

delivery. left hand models available. 

Dealer inquiries should include two first 

class postage stamps & FFL copy. 

FURY LEATHER-AH 

2204 NIAGARA STREET 

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. 14303 

( - YeS,-;nd YOur'7REECATALOG- "\ 

~ 81213thAve. I 

Dept. 802-207 

. Sidney,NE 69162 I 

NAME 

I 

ADDRESS 

I I 

I CITY 

~ STATE---=-Z~ ) 

87

All the big shots read GUNS. It offers the 

best coverage of the firearms scene ever 

assembled. Whether you own a giantkiller 

or a plinker, you'll get a lot more 

enjoyment from it when you gain a 

thorough knowledge of all types of guns 

and their uses. 

If you're a sportsman who wants to 

know more about reloading, competition 

shooting, or even have black powder in 

your blood, you'll be able to pick the 

brains of some of the most 

knowledgeable experts in the world, 

right from the pages of GUNS magazine. 

Twelve big issues a year, chock-full of 

color stories and features, come your way 

when you become a regular subscriber to 

GUNS - and you save yourself a lot of 

money over the $2.00 single copy price, 

plus a trip to the newsstand. 

For a sUbscription to GUNS, use the 

attached postage-paid card or send your 

check or money order for the term you 

select: 3 years $33.45 (you save $38.55), 

2 years $24.85 (you save $23.15), 1year 

$14.95 (you save $9.05). FREE BONUS if 

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jacket or hat ... a $3.50 valuel 

Write to: GUNS Magazine, 

SUbscription Dept. 108,591 Camino de la 

Reina, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92108 

•

NEW MILITARY PISTOL-BY THE NUMBERS 

As mentioned in our Industry Insider column, the military 

has, at least temporarily, called off the program to 

change to the 9mm pistol. The samples tested, an Army 

spokesman said, did not meet certain criteria. Here are 

the standards the military requested, and which will 

undoubtedly be unchanged should the program be 

reinstituted. 

I. ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS 

a. Physical Characteristics: 

(I) Caliber: Designed to fire the standard Nato 9mm cartridge. 

(2) Weight: Maximum, 2.77 Ibs. with fully loaded magazine, 

without silencer. 

(3) Length: Maximum 8.7" without silencer. 

(4) Height: Maximum 5.8" with magazine inserted 

(5) Barrel: 

(a) Minimum length 4.0" 

(b) Bore and chamber shall be chromium plated. 

(c) Rifling twist, one turn in not more than 20 inches. 

(6) Safety: 

(a) Easily operated by shooting hand when holding weapon 

in firing position. 

(b) Operable by right or left hand shooter. 

(c) Shall 10'ck, block, interdict or render inoperable the 

firing pin when in safe position. 

(d) Shall operate quietly (inaudible at 5 meters). 

(e) Shall require at least 1.0 lb. to move the safety. 

(7) Trigger pull: 

(a) Single action-not more than 5 Ibs. and not less than 4 

lbs. 

(b) Double action-not more than 14 Ibs. and not less than 

8lbs. 

(c) Single action pull must be free of creep. 

(8) Magazine must: 

(a) Have a minimum capacity of 10 rds. 

(b) Be interchangeable between weapons. 

(c) Be designed to fall free when magazine catch is 

operated. If it does not fall free, it must be easily 

removed manually within three seconds. 

(d) Be' positively retained and capable of fast and easy 

insertion by non-shooting hand. 

(e) Have a removable floor plate for cleaning and 

maintenance. 

(9) Magazine Catch: Shall be operable by the shooting hand of 

either a right or left hand shooter; may be ambidextrous or 

convertible in the field. 

(10) Sights: 

(a) Front Sight: 

I. Appear"as Square post to shooter. 

2. Approximately Ys" wide. 

3. Approximately !Is" to ',4" high. 

(b) Rear Sight: 

I. Appear as square notch to shooter and must allow 

sufficient light (approx..032") on either side of 

front sight. 

2. A fixed sight is required which is adjustable for 

j 

NEW SWING 

OUT 4'5 

For the serious Plinker 

and Small Game Hunter 

A target grade 22 LR rim fire revolver 

now in the popular 4" barrel length. 

Especially designed for high performance 

- weighted. finely balanced and fitted 

with H&R's super. new "Wind Elv" fully 

adju.stable rear sight. solid rib and 

target front sight. The winning 

combination for bull's eye accuracy with 

every shot.. 

The Model 904 has our famous 

smooth blue satin finish and the Model 

905 the tough. durable. H&R Hard 

Guard electro-less nickel finish that 

helps shrug off abuse. These fine single 

Model 904 

also available 

with 6" target 

bull barrel in H&R 

Crown Lustre blue. 

and double action nine 

shot revolver's swing out cylinders 

have the quickest single stroke 

ejection you can imagine - 

and. every gun is furnished with 

smooth. comfortable walnut grips. 

For over a hundred years American 

sportsmen at H&R have been designing 

and building exceptional quality firearms 

at affordable prices for American 

sportsmen. We don't believe that it is 

possible to bUy a better revolver 

for the price. We ought to know - we 

wrote the book on rim fire revolversI 

"Swing out" to your dealer today. 

For complete. full 

color catalog on all 

H&R products and the 

famous orange and 

black H&R woven 

jacket patch. send $2 

to Dept. AH-12A 

from the No. 1 maker of rim fire revolvers ... 

Harrington 8r Richardson, Inc.. 

Industrial Rowe Gardner, MA 01440 

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY / AUGUST 1982 89

MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS 

deflection by drifting in a slot. 

3. Must be capable of withstanding impact with a hard 

surface without damage or affect sighting if dropped 

from a height of 4 feet. 

(II) Slide Stop: With a magazine in place, slide must stay open 

after last shot. Slide must remain open after magazine is 

removed. Release of slide stop must cause slide to chamber 

top cartridge in magazine. Slide stop release must be either 

automatic (when loaded magazine is inserted) or manual. If 

manual, it must be ambidextrous or convertible in the field. 

(12) Lanyard Loop: A rec~ssed, snag-proof lanyard loop or hole 

is required in the butt. 

(13) Grips/Gripping Area: Non-slip grips and gripping area of 

the frame are required. 

(14) Trigger Guard: Shall be large enough to permit firing while 

wearing heavy gloves or outer gloves and liners. 

(15) Parts: All parts must be interchangeable between weapons 

without hand or machine fitting and be replaceable without 

tools. . 

(16) Threaded Fasteners: All threaded fasteners used shall not 

loosen during prolonged firing (5,000 rounds) and shall not 

require the use of any type of adhesive. 

(17) External Shape: There shall be no shar.p edges or 

protrusions which could snag on body or clothes. 

(18) Field Stripping: Must be capable of being field stripped as 

quickly and easily as the M1911A I pistol without tools. 

(19) User Size: Must be capable of utilization by personnel 

within the 5th percentile female size to the 95 percentile 

male size. 

(20) Protective clothing: Must be capable of operation by 

personnel in the CB Protective Ensemble or cold weather 

clothing to the same or better degree as the M1911A I 

or .38 revolver. 

(21) Nuclear Survivability: Not required. 

(22) Trigger Pull Distance: Shall not be more than 2.75" in 

single action nor more than 3" in double action. 

(23) Headspace: Not less than .754" nor more than .761". 

(24) Final Protective Finish: 

(a) All external surfaces shall be of dark, non-reflective, 

corrosion-resistant nature. 

(b) All internal surfaces shall be of a corrosion-resistant 

nature. 

(c) Final finish of metal parts shall be chosen from: (steel) 

Manganese Phosphate; Chromium Plate; Black 

Chrome, (Aluminum) Hard Anodic. 

(d) Bearing surfaces with surface roughness of less than 32 

RMS may be left bright., 

(25) Firing Pin Energy: Firing pin shall deliver a minimum of 

22 inch ounces of energy to the primer. 

(26) High Pressure Resistance: Pistol shall withstand the firing 

of one high pressure test cartridge without evidence of 

defects. 

(27) Nonmetallic Materials: Shall not be adversely affected by 

standard government insect repellants or lubricants, 

preservatives or cleaners.

(28) Magazine Disconnector: Pistol shall not have a magazine 

disconnector. 

b. Operational Characteristics: Pistol shall be designed so·as to: 

(I) 

Under adverse conditions, be at least as reliable and 

require no more time to clear stoppages as the MI911AI. 

(2) Function reliably with standard 9mm ball round. 

(3) Function reliably using standard DOD lubricants (CLP). 

(4) Function reliably under climatic conditions from + 140 F 

to -60F. . 

(5) Be capable of extended use in the field with maintenance 

limited to user level. 

(6) Be capable of disassembly without damage or undue 

wear. 

(c) Have a safety action that can be checked both by sight 

and feel with the firi~g hand. 

(d) Be made so that it is capable of firing only one round 

per trigger pull. 

(9) Be capable of being fired with. one hand. 

(10) Be capable of being carried in a safe condition and then 

drawing and firing with one hand. 

• 

(II) Be capable of single or double action. 

(12) Accuracy: 

(a) Dispersion: Average mean radius for lO-round groups 

at 50 meters shall not be more than 1.4 inche.s greater 

than that for same ammunition fired from standard 

proof barrel. 

(7) Be corrosion n;sistant under field conditions. 

(8) Comply. with applicable safety health hazards and human 

engineering criteria. 

(a) Capable of loading or unloading without actuating the 

trigger. 

(b) Capable of lowering the hammer from a cocked 

position without actuating the trigger and, insuring 

that a chambered round will not fire. 

(b) Center of Impact: Average center of impact for 

IO-round groups fired at 50 meters shall not be more 

than 4 inches radially from the point of aim. 

(13) Performance Capabilities: Pistol must be equal to or 

better than the M19IIAI where hit probability is a 

function of time, against a standing man target at ranges 

to 50 meters. 

(14) Be rugged and capable of withstanding an impact with a 

MORE 

SWINGOUTS 

THE Match Maker 

Affordable Accuracy! 

If your long suit is metallic silhouette 

shooting or NRA rim fire competition. 

our 6" barrel 22 LR 9-shot swing outs 

are your best deal - they are ace high 

in anyone's hand. You can't beat the 

price either. You have to feel the built-in 

balance of our target weight flat sided 

barrel or target bull barrel. then you'll 

know the excitement of meeting your 

Match Maker. 

You are always in the black when you 

have the advantages of H&R's superb. 

new "Wind Elv" fUlly adjustable rear 

sight. solid rib and target front sight. 

Iron Turkey or to-X. you've got it. You 

get more. too - single and double 

action - quick. easy single stroke 

ejection - H&R Crown Lustre blue 

finish - and the most comfortable. 

smooth walnut grips you could ever 

want. Remember. 

we've been designing and 

building exceptional quality high 

performance firearms for over a 

century. When it come to competition. 

be it shootin' or sellin'. Model 903 Or 

904. you've got it made because we 

really don't know where you could get a 

better rim fire revolver for the price. 

Stop fiddlin' around. meet YOUR Match 

Maker - at your dealer today. 

For 

complete. 

detailed full color 

catalog on all H&R 

products and the famous orange and 

black H&R woven jacket patch. 

send $2 to Dept. AH-l 28 


Harrington Be Richardson, Inc. 



HANDGUN 

MARKET 

Classified ads 35¢ per word per insertion, including name and address. Minimum charge 

$4.90 per ad. Copy must be submitted with payment in advance. No cash or frequency 

discount allowed. All ads must be received with advance payment by not later than the 14th of 

the fourth month preceding date of issue. Example: Closing for July/August issue (on sare 

May 1) is March 14th. Ads received after closing date will appear in the following issue. Please 

type or print clearly. No proofs furnished. Include name, address, post office, zip code, city 

and state as counted words. Abbreviations count as one word each. Mail to AMERICAN 

HANDGUNNER Magazine, 591 Camino de la Reina, Suite 200, San Diego, Calif. 92108. 

ACCESSORIES 

Bulletproof Vests. Concealable, Lightweight, Itlexpensive. 

Stops.44 mag. Ballistic sample: $3.00, Info: $1.00. CWS, 898 

A Lanakila, Pearl City, HI 96782. 

DISCOUNT, RCBS RELOADING EQUIPMENT, 

KNIVES, BOOKS AND ACCESSORIES. $1.00 FOR DIS 

COUNT PRICE LIST. BLADE and BARREL, P.O. BOX 

2121 DEPT. H., OROVILLE, CA 95965. 

Gun Holsters: Authentic handmade construction. 400 Styles 

available. Catalog $1.00. Gibbs o(Texas, Rt. 2 Box 758, Big 

Sandy, TX 75755. Dealers wanted. 

LEATHER HOLSTERS, GUN BELTS! In stock or Custom 

leatherwork! Framed Wildlife scenes carved on Leather! 

Hbadke, 6664 N. 52, Milwaukee, WI 53223 

COATED CLEANING RODS. All sizes, all Cal. 50¢ for list 

of precision shooting access. J. Dewey Mfg. 186AH Skyview, 

Southbury, CT 06488 

Finest Combat Revolver Stocks Available for the Modern 

Rugers, Colts and Smiths. Grips sized to your hand. For free 

brochure, write: Fuzzy Farrant, Dept AH, 1235 West Vine, 

West Covina, CA 91790. 

BOOKS 

COLT'S SAA POST-WAR MODELS by Geo. Garton. All 

info verified by COLT! History, scarce or rare models, 

Buntline specials, flap-tops.. production figs, commemoratives 

+ MORE! $17.95 + $1.50 post. HANDGUNNER 

BOOKS/Dept-CA, 591 Camino Reina, San Diego, CA 

92108*** 

GUNSMITHING by Roy F. Dunlap. A volume that will be a 

constant source of info for many years to come. A complete 

one·book reference for the professional and amateur alike!! 

$24.95 + $1.50 post. HANDGUNNER BOOKS/Dept-CA, 

591 Camino Reina, San Diego, CA 92108** 

SURVIVAL GUNS by Tappan. A guide to the selection, 

modification and use of firearms and related devices for 

defense, food gathering, etc. $9.95 (softbound) + 75¢ post. 

HANDGUNNER BOOKS/Dept-CA, 591 Camino ·Reina, 

San Diego, CA 92108* * 

MAUSER BOLT RIFLES by Olson. Over 672 photos, drawings, 

exploded views and cutaways. Charts, spec tables, data 

tables and symbols. $24.95 + $1.50 post. HANDGUNNER 


92108**· 

U.S. CARTS & THEIR HANDGUNS by Suydam. Softback 

Only! Most info ever printed on the subject! $9.95 Softbound 

& $15.95 Hardbound + $1.50 post. HANDGUNNER 


92108** 

PISTOLS OF THE WORLD, Hogg & Weeks. THE 

ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY reference manual on the modern, 

unique, exotic, rare or otherwise handgun. $24.95 + $1.50 

post. HANDGUNNER BOOKS/Dept-CA, 591 Camino 

Reina, San Diego, CA 92108* * * 

PERSONAL DEFENSE by Collins & McLoughlin. A guide 

to personal safety with common sense do's & don'ts, defense 

against firearms and edg~d weapons, what to do after it's over 

and more. $9.95 + $1.50· post. HANDGUNNER BOOKS/ 

Dept-CA, 591 Camino Reiira, San Diego, CA 92108* * 

STATE PISTOL LAWS, latest pistol carrying, purchasing, 

etc., regulations for all states and FEDERAL GUN LAWS. 

Both booklets $4.00. POLICE EQUIPMENT CATALOG 

$2.00. Schlesinger, 415 East 52nd St., New York, NY 10022, 

Department E. 

GUERRILLA WARFARE/URBAN & RURAL 

SURVIVAL/ALTERNATE IDENTITIES. Book List $2 

(refundable). DEALERS WANTED! Discounts to 60%!! 

TECHNOLOGY GROUp, Box 3125, Pasadena, CA 91103. 

"SURVIVALIST'S" Book Catalog. lOO's of titles, weap~ns, 

defense. Don't delay Rush $1.00 today, to: Ken Hale (205), 

McDonald, OH 44437 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES 

FORMER SHAKLEE PRESIDENT STARTS NEW 

COMPANY! Need founding sponsors. Write: Enchance 

Marketing, Box 6372 (AH), SLC, UTAH 84106, 801-466-2474. 

• "LEARN GUNSMITHING". Yavapai College is a fully 

accredited community college with V.A. approval. Excellent 

facilities, experienced instructors, great mountain climate 

makes this the place to learn gunsmithing. Write to Yavapai 

College, Attn: GUNSMITHING INSTRUCTOR, 1100 E. 

Sheldon, Prescott, AZ 86301, 602-445-7300. 

JOBS OVERSEAS-Big money fast. $20,000 to $50,000 plus 

per year. Call 1-716-842-6000, Ext 202 

FIREWORKS 

BEER CAN MORTAR. Complete information and detailed 

instructions, no complicated machining, range ot 1000 yards. 

Information on bursting projectiles included. Send $4.00. 

Pioneer Industries, Box 36, 14A Hughey St., Na~hua, NH 

03061. 

FIREWORKS-Where to buy any type of fireworks ranging 

from ladyfingers to giant aerial shells shot at public displays. 

Products include firecrackers from $2.60 a brick, bottle 

rockets $1.75 a gross, M-80's, Blockbusters and hundreds of 

other class B fireworks. Send $3. for list of addresses, phone 

numbers, and sample product descriptions from 20 great 

companies which will sell these items through mail order. 

PYROTECHNICAL RESEARCH, Dept. F Box 230, 

RFD # I, Mystic, CT 06355. 

List of Chinese and Domestic Fireworks sources, supplies, 

plus formulas, instructions and sample safety fuse. Send 

$5.00. DALTON Box 2162, Williamsport, PA 17703 

Fireworks, Buy Direct Catalog. Send $2.00 to Falcon Fire~ 

works 8689 Lake Road, Seville, OH 44273 Dept D Refundable 

FOR SALE 

GREAT SPORTING POSTERS-24/set, full color. 

Collection of scenes from Remington, UMC, Lefever, Abercrombie 

& Fitch, Winchester, etc. Printed on heavy duty 

stock. $12.95 + $2.35 post. HANDGUNNER BOOKS/Dept 

CA, 591 Camino Reina, San Diego, CA 92108* * 

COLT .45 AUTO PISTOL. COMPLETE MANUAL. More 

than 100 pages, 80 photos and illustrations. Details on 

disassembly, repair, construction, and marksmanship. $6.50 

Catalog $2.00. MONEY ORDER or CREDIT CARD ONLY. 

SURVIVAL BOOKS, 11106 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, 

CA 91601. (213) 763-0804. 

CROSSBOWS-For hunting, target competition or just plain 

fun. Cat. send $2.00, RW Dist., P.O. Box 1817, Des Plaines, IL 

60018. 

INSTRUCTION 

REMEMBER THE OLD ASH CAN, M80, etc.? Complete 

detailed instructions on above and many others. Send $3.00 

to: Pioneer Ind., Box 36, 14A Hughey St., Nashua, NH 03061. 

THOMPSON SUB MACHINE GUN, now you can convert 

your 27A-l or 27A-5 Thompson to full auto. No parts to buy, 

no machining only minor changes done in minutes. Cyclic 

rate 650 or 1200. Send $24.95 for instructions to H. & H., P.O. 

Box 296, Pendleton, In. 46064. 

AMMUNITION 

SWAGGED LEAD BULLETS, !:lARD, HIGH QUALITY, 

DRY LUBRICATED 38/357, 158 GR SWC, RN- $42.60/ 

1000; 148 GR WC - $40.80/1000. DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE 

FOR LARGER QUANTITIES. KJM ENTERPRISES, PO 

BOX 757, SALEM, NH 03079 

MILITARY SURPLUS 

{E-E-P-S, C-A-R-S FROM $35.00!-700,000 ITEMS! 

GOYERNMENT SURPLUS MOST 

COMPREHENSIVE DIRECTORY AVAILABLE TELLS 

HOW, WHERE TO BUY - YOUR AREA - $3 

MONEYBACK GUARANTEE - "SURPLUS 

INFORMATION SERVICES," BOX 3070-UF2, SANTA 

BARBARA, CALIFORNIA 93105. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

SHORT-RUN CUSTOM BELT BUCKLES WITH YOUR 

LOGO MY SPECIALTY. SOLID SANDCAST SILICON 

BRONZE ALL HAND FINISHED. BUCKLES BY MIKE, 

1225 MANZANITA, DEPT. AH, LOS ANGELES, CA 90029. 

HANDCUFFS-Smith & Wesson $22.50 pair, two $38.00., Leg 

Irons $29.50 set. G. Noramaco, Box 30243-AH, St. Paul, 

Minn. 55175 

CHEMICALS OF ALL TYPES AVAILABLE WITH 

PLANS AND SUPPLIES CREATING YOUR OWN 4TH 

OF JULY DISPLAYS. SEND $1.00 FOR CATALOG TO 

PIONEER IND., BOX 36, DEPT. AH, 14A HUGHEY ST., 

NASHUA, NH 03061. 

Unique hunting, camping and survival equipment. Send 

$2.00 .for info. PO Box 4492, Davenport, IA 52808, All 

purchases confidentiaL 

FREE CATALOG! Embroidered Emblems, Minimum order 

5, Send Sketch. STADRIAH, 3760 Inverrary Drive, 

Lauderhill, Florida 33319 

UPDATED CATALOG FROM PALADIN PRESS. Wide 

selection of boo-ks on weaponry, self-defense, sniping, silen· 

cers, survival, and creative revenge. Send $1.00 to Paladin 

Press, PO Box 1307-AHC, Boulder, CO 80306 

"DEFEND THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION 

BUY A GUN!" New bumpersticker! $2.00 to: Defend #3-5, 

RRI box 58, Bonfield, IL 60913 

BUMPER STICKERS-(Illustrated)-"Insured by Smith & 

Wesson"-"Warning!! Long Barrel ... Short Temper!-"Will 

the last American Leaving Miami, Please Bring the Flag?" 

$2.00 each-INK SPOT, Dept G, PO Box 558333, Miami, FL 

33155 

PRINTED T-SHIRT "People are created Large and Small, 

Samual Colt made us Equal" State size S,M,L,XL, send 

check or money order for $6.95 + $1.00 S&H to: HEMCO, 

Dept JAHG, 1802 W. Riverview Dr. Belle, WV 25015 

THINKING WOMENS JOURNAL. Incisive articles; politics; 

philosophy; history, miscl. $5JJO/Four issues. Gloria 

Publishing Co. Box 371, Palo Alto, CA 

FIREARMS AND HOME DEFENSE. Booklet discusses 

legal issues, gun selection, safety precautions, gun tech· 

niques, security system planning, much more. $5.95 postpaid. 

Gemstone, 1619 Linden Ave., Lynchburg, VA 24503 

KG9 to Full Auto. Detailed instructions, send $2.00 and 

S.A.S.E. to: B & BEnt. PO Box 6162, Rockford, IL 61125 

JANE'S SOLID BRONZE CONFEDERATE PAPER 

WEIGHTS; Great Seal Forrest, Stonewall, Lee, Jeb. Also 

Great Seal Belt Buckles. $11.45 each postpaid, 3 or more, 

$9.95 each postpaid. Jane Baxendale, Sculptor, 4114 Sneed 

AH, Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 297-1975 

NINJA EQUIPMENT CATALOG-Nightsuits, handclaws, 

footspikes, calthrops, blowguns, shuriken, reference materials 

for the "shadow warrior." Send $1.00 to Ninja, Box 

28222/AHC, Atlanta, GA 30328 

ADVENTURERS-Procurement Index for security 

"consultants," agents, operatives, discerning individuals who 

take life seriously. Offering: Specialized leathergear; mini· 

aturized electronics; disguised self-defense devices; counter· 

measure specialties. Our illustrated catalog, $2.00 (refundable), 

ASp, PO Box 18595/AHC. Atlanta, GA 30326 

TICK-STOP carry in pocket, safely keeps ticks and jiggers 

off· your body. 2yr. life, only $3.00 prepaid, 6 for $15.00. 

Hayden-Holmes Co., 1844 Arroya, Colorado Springs, CO 

80906 

SURVIVAL KNIVES!! Swordcanes, daggers, hollowhandles, 

hideouts, commandos, throwers, hatchets, razors, 

icepicks, and more. lOO%-Satisfaction·Guaranteed, Quantity 

DISCOUNTS to 35%. Airmailed shipments, FREE itemized 

invoices, plus FREE "Surprise" GIFTS! Photographic (40 + 

page) Discount/Reference/Catalogue. $2.00/Airmailed. 

SELECTLINE (established 1977), Box 39IAHGM, P.C. 

Hawaii 96782-0391 

SURVIVAL 

SURVIVAL IS NO ACCIDENT!-Complete line of 

dehydrated foods, proteins, vitamins, water purifiers. Backpackers 

Pantry-two and four person meals. Selected 

survival products. Send one dollar to: Family Food Reserve 

Association, Dept 10, 304 Woodbridge Dr. Chesapeake, VA 

23320 

SURVIVALISTS! Learn how to increase your own 

intelligence and profoundly increase your insightfullness in a 

survival situation. Write to Applied Potentials, PO Box 

-741409, Houston, TX 77274 

92 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER ' JULY / AUGl!ST 1982

MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS 

hard surface if dropped from 4 feet and continue to 

function without accidentally discharging. 

(15) Have an expected service life greater than the 'M 1911AI 

(5,000 rds. minimum life; 10,000 rds. desired). 

(16) Be capable of being fired without a magazine. 

(c) Reliability, Availability, Maintainability 

(I) The minimum acceptable value over a minimum service 

life of 5,000 rounds (10,000 desired) is 645 mean rounds 

between operational mission failure. An operational 

mission failure is defined as any malfunction which 

results, or could result in anyone or a combination of the 

following: 

(a) Cessation in operation requiring corrective action. 

(b) Inability to commenceor cease a mode of operation. 

(c) A critical or catastrophic safety hazard. 

(2) The operational mean time to repair shall be no longer 

than 0.5 hours on an organizational level arid direct 

support level. 

(3) The operational maximum time to repair shall be no 

greater than 10 minutes at operator level for 95 per cent 

of all correctible maintenance actions. 

2. DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS-those deemed desirable 

and could enhance the effectiveness of the weapon if practical: 

(a) 15 round magazine 

(b) Corrosion resistance under marine environmental 

conditions. 

(c) Function without manual assistance in such conditions as 

sand and mud. 

(d) A method of indicating when magazine is full and when it 

contains five rounds or less. 

(e) Not used 

(f) A day/night tactile, loaded chamber indicator. 

(g) Recurved front trigger guard for support by non-firing hand. 

(h) A low light level sight capability. 

(i) 

(j) 

Effective range out to 100 meters. 

Function reliability with various U.S. commercial and 

foreign 9xl9 mm ball rounds. 

(k) Capable of using entire family of 9mm ammunition 

including: subsonic ball, tracer, shot, blank, dummy and 

match. 

(I) 

Magazine with double position feed and capable of using a 

stripper clip system for feeding. 

(m) A low cost front and rear night sight .option. 

(n) A front sight that is a separable component that can be 

replaced at depot. 

Editor's Note-The American Handgunner will be following 

the course ofthe military's searehfor areplacementfor the .45 

auto. As news develops, you'/l read about it here. 

NEW "800" 

SWINGOUTS 

We have YOUR 

Winning Number Here! 

Stop taking chances, you can't lose anymore. 

In response to appeals from sportsmen everywhere, 

we have your winning numbers 

- 826, 829, 830, 832 and 833. H&R's all 

new 3" bull barrel Models, that is. We made 

'em for you. They all pack the punch you demanded 

- and, they go anywhere, whether 

you're timberline back packing, running your 

trap line or just streamside fishing, an 

"800" belongs in your kit. H&R has the 

numbers you can always bet on.... 

The Model 826 - 22 WMRF (6-rounds) 

The Model 829 - 22 LR (9-rounds) 

The Model 830 - 22 LR in H&R Hard- 

Guard electro-less nickel finish 

The Model 832 - 32 saw Long (6-rounds) 

The Model 833 - 32 saw Long in H&R 

Hard-Guard electro-less nickel finish 

Plinking or casual 

target shooting - you always 

"score" with an "800" number. 

You can't lose either with H&R's 

new "Wind Elv" fUlly adjustable 

rear sight - rugged ramp and blade 

front sight - single or double action 

smooth walnut grips - and, a cho,ice of 

H&R's Crown Lustre blue finish or electroless 

nickle. 

We have been designing and building high 

performance firearms at H&R for American 

sportsmen for well over a hundred years 

exceptional quality at affordable prices. You 

know, we really don't believe that you can 

byya better rim fire revolver for the price. 

See your dealer today - he has THE winning 

numbers for YOU. 

For complete. detailed fUll 

color catalog on all H&R 

products and the famous 

orange and black H&R woven 

jacket patch. send $2 

to Dept. AH-12C 

• 


Harrington 8, Richardson, Inc. 


AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • JULY/ AUGUST 1982' 93

Survival Shooting 

By Tom Givens 

Written by a man who carries a gun for a 

living, "Survival Shooting" take a nononsense 

approach to the business of 

shooting for real. The author covers every 

aspect, from weapon selection & calibers 

to night firing, holsters & weapon modifications. 

Must reading whether your main 

interest is survival in the streets or winning 

combat matches. 5 1 1zx8 1 1z softcover, illustrated, 

184 pp. 

Book No. 431 $6.95 

SURVIVAL SHOOTING FOR 

WOMEN 

Written in the same no-nonsense manner 

as the above, but with special emphasis on 

the attitude & mental conditioning necessary 

_._.. 

to prepare the "gentler sex" to fire in 

self-defense. The perfect gift for your Wife, 

daughter, mother, sister, secretary or even 

mother-in-law. 5 liz X 8 liz , softcover, 106 pp. 

Book No. 438 $4.95 

e!~ DESERT PUBLICATIONS 

~ Dept. AH-Cornvilie, AZ 86325 

I have enclosed $ 

. Please rush me: 

copies of "Survival Shooting", No. 431 

=== COPI/~S of "SurvIVal Shooting Forwome~",No. 438 

(Arizona residents please add 4% state sales tax) 

Name 

Address 

City State __ Zip _ 

_ 

_ 

RUGER 


place because shooters of"Old-Model" 

single-action revolvers made by his 

company did not take the trouble to 

learn their mechanical charac.teristics. 

The company came to the conclusion 

that most of the accidents occurred because 

the shooter had allowed the hammer 

to rest in its full forward position, 

·with the firing pin contacting the 

primer of a live cartridge in the chamber 

aligned with the barrel. This was 

done in spite of specific instructions to 

the contrary, which were packed and 

shipped with all "Old-Model" Ruger 

single"action revolvers since production 

began in 1953. 

Given the facts that a cartridge 

primer detonates by percussion-or a 

sharp blow-and that the basic singleaction 

design dates back to 1873, and 

that it is possible to place the firing pin 

in contact with the primer of a live cartridge 

in many firearms, common sense 

should tell the shooter not to let the firing 

pin rest directly on a primer; even if 

he had not read the instructions packed 

with every "Old-Model" Ruger singleaction 

revolver. Nevertheless, some 

shooters still experience tragic accidents 

by ignoring these well-known 

principles. 

In 1973, Ruger was the first to build a 

Frontier-style revolver that couldn't fire 

if dropped on its hammer, or if someone 

hit the hammer a severe blow while 

a live cartridge was in the chamber. 

The New Model parts were not in the 

least bit interchangeable with those of 

the "Old Model:' It was a radical and 

complete redesign. 

With respect to the new conversion 

kit, not only will the new parts be factory-installed, 

but each revolver will be 

tuned and timed, a job that would normally 

cost approximately $80 if taken 

to a gunsmith. There is no charge for 

the work. 

In addition, the old parts will be returned 

to the owner ofthe Ruger handgun 

so that its collector value is not lost. 

Ruger insists that gunowners wanting 

their old single actions converted do 

not send them directly to the factory 

without first getting instructions on 

proper shipping. 

For these, write to Safety Conversion, 

Sturm, Ruger & Company, 

Lacey Place, Dept. OM, ..... 

S i.Jthport, CT 06490. ~ 

Dllle.VEAIII 

AElLOADlllNC 

• 

"'. 

~~~ 

SILHOUETTES 

NRA size painted flat black 

1/5th scale for .22 caliber 

Made of 1/4 inch steel plate 

Machine cut for accuracy 

Only $12 postpa.id 

L. W. Sales Co. 

P.O. Box 262. 

North Salt Lake, -=r- 

Utah 84054 - 

Send card number and expiration 

~h ruidenta add 5'" ..... tu. 

FIIEAlMS SAFETY 

IE'EIiIS III YIU 

"'~' 

8J*,. 

C4l\" 

._.~'. 

1'-,;, 

JOHN 

SPILBORGHS 

PO. BOX 40529 

SANTA BARBARA 

GA. 93/03-/529 

SPECIALIZING IN 

6".45 LONG SLIDE 

Never point a handgun 

at anything you 

don't intend to shoot. 

~ flAkE 110 

MISTAKE ABOUT IT! 

H1/3 MOON CLIPS 

Use .45 acp ammo in place of .45 auto rim. 

For Colt 17, 5&W 25 and S&W 55 revolvers. 

Allows storage in ammo belts & std. boxes. 

Reusable indefinitely..For a FREE sample. send 

a self·addressed. stamped envelope. C'Ne now 

, make Ruger 9mm clips.) 

Clip Prices: 25 tor 53.95: 50 for 56.95 ppd. 

RANCH PRODUCT5, PO. Box I~S, Malinta, OHIO ~3S35

American Handgunner July/August 1982

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