July/August 2008
Sammy Reese
5-Shot Bullsyes
Some people are born with talent, others with desire — a rare few both. John Ralston isn’t a well known name, yet. However, when the world gets a look and feel of his custom made holsters, he won’t have a moment of free time.
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Massad Ayoob
Beretta’s New Police Pistol Incentive
So, let’s say you’re in the gun store or the cop shop, ready to purchase a new off duty weapon. You’ve decided on a polymer frame .40 compact. You have it narrowed down to, in alphabetical order, a Beretta Px4-C, a Glock 23, a SIG-pro 2340, a Smith & Wesson Military & Police compact and a Springfield Armory XD.
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John Connor
The Next-To-Last Man Standing
I told you guys to knock it off, didn’t I? Go back an’ re-read the Jan-Feb 2008 issue — it’s right there: I don’t wanta be President! Seems like that was your cue to start crankin’ out petitions, slappin’ on bumper stickers, and jammin’ “Connor for President” signs in front yards — including mine!
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J.D. Jones
.50 B&M AK
I was 13 years old when I fired my first .50 BMG at Camp McCoy Wisconsin, courtesy of a friendly Lieutenant. I shot most of a belt and destroyed a large hunk of concrete. I can still shut my eyes and visualize the concrete chunks and dust flying.
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John Taffin
Size Matters
In my early sixgunnin’ years I religiously measured the groove diameter of sixgun barrels by tapping a pure lead slug down the barrel with a wooden dowel and then trying to measure the diameter of the bullet.
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Roy Huntington
Old School Gunology
With the explosion of polymer pistols and a general movement to a more synthetic life, I’ve still found many old-school sixgunner/revolver guys — like me — keep getting our hearts tugged back toward wood and steel. I understand the fact polymer is nice, light and gets the job done; but as often as I try, they just don’t tug at my emotions.
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Alex Hamilton
The Fabulous Model 41
There’s a lot of history under the bridge with S&W’s Model 41 .22 pistol. It was prototyped around 1947, with the first real factory models rolling out in late 1957. It is, in my opinion, the finest match-grade rimfire pistol on the market today. Selling for a retail price of just under $1,000, both the heavy barrel 51⁄2" model and the long barreled 7" are among the best values in the firearms industry.
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Clint Smith
Movie Nonsense
Most of the western movies of our childhood showed heroes and villains heeled with two handguns. Carrying two handguns could have been a good thing. Sixguns, then, required the prudent to load only five, making 10 at-hand. This 10-round concept could be a stunning shock to today’s polymer kids with their upwards of 20-odd round mag capacities.
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Mike “Duke” Venturino
Colt’s Cartridge Conversions That Weren’t
Among avid single action revolver shooters there is a sub-genre of handguns well respected but often misunderstood. Those are the Colt Conversions of cap & ball six-shooters. The interesting fact is Colt’s Conversions weren’t converted; at least not in the truest sense of the word.
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John Taffin
Ruger .22 Charger!
The .22 is our oldest cartridge, dating back to 1857 when the first cartridge firing revolver, the Smith & Wesson seven-shot, tip-up, Model #1 chambered in .22 Short was introduced. Over the past century and a half the .22 has also become our most popular cartridge. Why is this? It’s certainly not adequate for big game hunting, and while it is better than nothing, it can by no stretch of the imagination be considered a self-defense cartridge.
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Dave Anderson
S.H.O.T Show Goodies
Recently this column featured my best 1911, a custom by Richard Heinie. I mentioned that Heinie has long since stopped taking new orders. Not many full-house Heinie pistols were ever made, and very few owners will ever sell. The pistols tend to be family heirlooms.
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© 2008 Copyright by Publishers Development Corporation. All rights reserved.
American Handgunner is a registered Trademark of Publishers Development Corporation.
© 2008 Copyright by Publishers Development Corporation. All rights reserved.
American Handgunner is a registered Trademark of Publishers Development Corporation.