An Amos Grundy Story:

Amos lifted his welding helmet after working on a gouged side plate on a S&W revolver. Scout was always interested when Amos was TIG welding and although he wasn’t quite sure what that was all about — he had a sneaky feeling Scout may know more than she let on. Amos had set her up with her own welding goggles and she’d sit watching for as long as Amos was at work. He liked the company, and always got a kick out of seeing Scout in her goggles — although Amelie seemed to feel guarding the front door was a better idea.

Maybe she was right.

Carefully checking the welds, Amos decided to shut down for the day, looking forward to relaxing with the pooches at home. As Amos flicked of the workroom lights, the front door jingled and he heard something he didn’t often hear — Amelie made a sort of soft yelp.

“Hey, somebody here? Call your dog off!” an agitated voice called.

Amos hurried to the front counter and watched a stranger walk toward him as Amelie — and now Scout — watched the visitor intently. “What’s up with the dog with the goggles?” the stranger said.

“Oh, don’t mind her, she watches me welding,” Amos said. He was still wondering what this was all about, as both dogs were intent on this unexpected customer.
“Well, I don’t like dogs so keep ’em away,” the stranger said. “I’ve got this gun and it won’t shoot,” he added, laying something wrapped in a rag on the counter with a soft thud.

Amos didn’t like this at all — the man, the timing, or the pooches’ reactions. Amos reached down, sliding the goggles off of Scout’s eyes as he thought things over. Scout’s attention never wavered on the stranger. Amelie was sitting with her back against the far wall — also watching.

As he straightened, Amos smiled as he slid his right hand into his front pocket where his Ruger LCPII resided. “What’s this all about then?”

“My gun, um … well, it won’t shoot,” said the man. “I tried shooting it today and it didn’t fire,” he said unwrapping a new looking Kimber 1911. “I want you to fix it.”

“Won’t shoot?” said Amos. “What’s that mean exactly?”

“I put ammo in it, and when I pulled the trigger, it just clicked. No bang. Like I said.”

“Is it a gun you’ve had for a while and it’s suddenly acting-up now?” said Amos.

“Uh, no … I um, just got it. First time I tried to fire it,” said the stranger.

“Okay, but you’ll need to leave it with me. I’m closing right now, and I’ll look at it tomorrow. Here,” said Amos, sliding a form across the counter, “fill this out with your info. I’ll give you a call.”

“Um, uh … I don’t got a cell, so just tell me when to come back.”

“Oh, in that case, how about Friday, around two?” said Amos.

“Uh, yeah, sure, around two. I’ll be here. Get it done, eh?”

“You bet,” said Amos. The stranger left after filling out the form with his name and an address. Amos locked the front door, added the serial number of the 1911 to the form, logged it into his FFL books and stowed the gun in the safe. The girls stayed close by his side while he locked up. A long day — with a strange ending.

Scout’s Nose

The next morning, Amos pulled the 1911 out of the safe. There was a peculiar rounded look to the firing pin protrusion, stirring a memory for Amos but he couldn’t quite recall it. When he slipped the slide off and took out the firing pin stop there was a sort of whispery “zing” sound and something zipped past him, lost in the shop. “What the heck?” he said.

Amos didn’t find a firing pin, or a spring in the gun. He thought they might have made a great escape. Looking around, he spotted Scout laying down, peering under a workbench across the shop, intently looking at something. Amos assumed the “gunsmith’s prayer” stance — on his hands and knees — and reached in. At Scout’s nose there was a steel BB — and a long, thin spring laying nearby.

Then Amos remembered. Some dealers and manufacturers use a steel BB and a spring in place of a firing pin in 1911s for gun and trade shows. It makes a display safe. Amos scratched Scout’s nose, grinning. “Girl, I think you just caught a crook.”

Calling his old friend Kurt Galloway, a sergeant on the local PD, Amos said, “I had a strange character drop off a Kimber 1911 he said wasn’t firing. I just found out it had a sort of display set-up and not a real firing pin. Are you aware of any guns stolen from a trade or gun show around?”

“Amos, I should hire you!” laughed Kurt. “Is he there now?”

“Nope,” said Amos. “I told him to come back tomorrow at 2 o’clock.”

“Perfect,” said Kurt. “I’ll stop by with a team. And yes, we had a series of guns stolen from a gun show last weekend. One was a Kimber 1911. I’m betting you have the gun there. We’ve got ’em on video too.”

Closing In

A couple of hours before the suspect was due, Kurt and a team showed up. Checking the Kimber, Kurt verified the serial number. It was the stolen gun. Officers staked-out the parking lot and the nearby roads. Three plainclothes detectives were posing as “customers” when the suspect showed. Scout and Amelie alerted on him and stood watching.

“Well, did you fix it?” he said, obviously hurried and anxious as he strode to the counter.

“You bet,” said Amos, “I fixed it alright, and everything will be just fine now. Won’t even cost you a dime!”

As the suspect raised his eyebrows as if to say, “How’s that?” the three detectives moved in, securing the suspect’s arms and cuffing him. “Hey, what’s this?” the suspect said looking anxious.

Kurt came in from the back. “Yup, that’s him Amos. Matches the video perfectly. We sure appreciate you doing what you did.” The detectives walked the suspect outside.
“My pleasure, Kurt. But honestly? It was the girls who spotted him for who he was. They made it clear — he wasn’t welcome! I just followed their lead!”

Korth — Over The Top

Nighthawk Custom announced a Korth revolver now in .44 Magnum. It’s got about every feature you can imagine, including plenty of Picatinny rails for weights, sights and such. It’s a classic SA/DA revolver and builds on the history-making German Korth design, but modernized. At 3.05 lbs., it’s no lightweight, but it holds six, has great sights and is a sort of “ultimate” field and hunting revolver. MSRP is $5,299, so while it’s not for the faint of heart, it’s also about what a really nice custom 1911 runs, and this is essentially a custom revolver.

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Springfield Armory Ronin Operator

ARonin is a sort of “master-less” Samurai, a warrior who only works for the guy he wants to — no pushing him around — that sort of thing. Call him a freelancer. And I think it’s an appropriate name for this new forged steel 1911. Available in 9mm and .45 ACP, it’s chock full of solid features. The rear sight is one you can “rack” the slide with, a fiber optic front, beavertail, 20 LPI checkering on the mainspring housing, 8+1 mags, speed trigger, forged stainless frame and a forged carbon steel slide are among the features. It’s also got forward serrations for press-checking. In my experience with their 1911s I’m thinking this will shoot 1.5″ or better at 25 and run like the proverbial top. Only $849 at MSRP, this is a screaming deal for a high quality production — but beautifully made — 1911. We’ll have a test sample by the time you read this.

www.springfield-armory.com

Alison Bags A Deer

Reader Joe D. sent me this great pic of his wife, Alison, all-grins. “We were hunting the West River deer season in South Dakota,” said Joe. “Alison used a Savage Model 11 Lady Hunter in .243 to take this nice animal.” According to Joe this was also the first deer Alison skinned and cleaned herself. According to Joe, at the shot she said, “I hit him! I made a shot on a moving deer! Grab the cart, he’s down! Sorry I had to shoot a bigger deer than you did, Joe!” Ha! Good job Alison!

Ruger’s LCPII .22 LR!

what a delightful little pocket pistol this is. I’ve got one and it’s a little jewel. It’s run 100 percent with about an entire brick of ammo through it now. It’s exactly like the LCPII .380 but in .22 and with a nifty little safety on the left side. Hits on 8″ paper plates at 25 yards are a breeze. Ruger’s “Lite Rack System” includes refined slide serrations, pronounced cocking “ears” on the back of the slide and a light recoil spring, meaning virtually anyone can run this gun easily. It’s a 10+1 capacity, has a crisp trigger, a magazine safety (yeah, I know, I know …), and ships with a mag loader and a pocket holster. The slide even locks back when empty! MSRP is $349.

www.ruger.com

More C.O.R.E. Pistols From S&W

Our friends at the Performance Center have expanded their line of C.O.R.E. and ported M&P M2.0 pistols. Look for upgrades in sights, optic-ready options, actions, tuning and more. These guns are essentially competition-ready and there are models to meet your specific needs. Way too much to list here so check ’em out on the Smith & Wesson website.

www.smith-wesson.com

Ruger-57 Pistol

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Ruger’s outta’ control these days. The Ruger-57 breaks all-new ground for them. It’s a 20+1 capacity new design firing the hot 5.7×28 high velocity, lightweight cartridge. It’s flat shooting, holds lots of rounds and feels great in the hand. It’s got fully adjustable sights (fiber optic front) with a mounting plate available for an optic. It’s soft-shooting, weighs in at 24.5 oz. and ships with two 20-round magazines. We’ve got one and will be reporting on it soonest. MSRP: $799.

www.ruger.com

The New Guy

Ihave a rule about hiring people — hire slow. I first asked Tom McHale to come to work with us about four or five years ago. He smiled broadly, thanked me but said he was busy with other projects, although he really appreciated my asking. It meant a lot to him. I’ve nudged him a few more times over the years but was always met with a polite no-thank-you. After Mike Humphries recently left us, moving to Springfield Armory to run their media side of the house, I nosed around for help and sort of struck out. I’m particular. And in the “hire slow” tradition I wasn’t in a hurry. Sort of out of habit though, I asked Tom again, “So, how’d you like to help us build the best handgun magazine in the world?” I geared up for the no-thank-you and was caught off-guard when he said, “Sure, a great idea, I’d love to. Timing is perfect.”

Striking while the iron was hot, I made the arrangements, and it pleases me no end to say Tom McHale is not only an old friend, but now a fellow team member here. Tom cut his teeth in the tech industry, heavily into marketing especially, but left it entering our industry as an author and consultant. Tom’s written hundreds (thousands?) of articles for about every publication and significant digital platform you can think of. You can find his “Practical Guide” books (reloading, holsters and other topics) online and they’re a fun read. Tom will be the Executive Editor of American Handgunner, assist with our special editions, the various digital things we do like videos, podcasts, online articles and such, travel to shows and trade events and will be chatting with you directly too, just like I’ve always done.

You’ll find him personable, a good writer, a real gun-guy and quick to put his good humor to work. I’ll be around for some time yet, so don’t pound the table and stomp your feet celebrating His Editorship’s dictatorship being over. Not so fast, me-hardies! Tom helps to make our team stronger and you can look forward to even more fun here at your favorite gun magazine! Check out his first column at the front of this issue. Welcome aboard Tom — finally!

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