Part 5: Slides and Sights
© 2000 by John L. Marshall

The Glock slide provides for lockup of the barrel’s chamber area into the ejection port, which is cut low on the starboard side. The pivoting extractor is massive and is powered by a coil spring bearing on a plunger to its rear. Since the Glock design is hammerless, the rear of the slide holds the spring-driven firing pin and the firing pin safety plunger. This plunger assures that the pistol will not fire until the trigger is fully to the rear. The slide is finished with Glock’s Tenifer™ process, which assures a diamond-hard surface. The finish looks a lot like parkerizing, but is nearly impossible to scratch. The firing pin is rectangular in cross-section, so it’s always easy to spot brass which has been fired in a Glock. The factory sights are 3-dot plastic of the classic Patridge design. Optional, and present on this particular pistol, are metal tritium night sights. This slide is the widest of the four pistols, a tie with the H&K. However, it seems clunkier than the H&K slide, which is scalloped along its forward area and beveled along the top edges.

The H&K slide is so similar in dimensions to the Glock that the Glock and H&K barrels will slip into either slide interchangeably. Of course each needs to be mated with the proper barrel, spring and frame to work. The substantial extractor is pivoted around a roll pin, and spring-loaded. It’s longer than that of the Glock, and has its top surface painted red to serve as a loaded-round indicator. The factory sights are metal, 3-dot, and give a good Patridge sight picture. This pistol was retrofitted with tritium sights for night work, but the sight picture is basically identical. The graceful scallops along the forward half of the slide give the illusion that the slide is slimmer than that of the Glock, and there is a certainly a weight savings to be gained. The slide contains the firing pin, firing pin retraction spring, and the firing pin safety mechanism. There is a recess at the rear of the slide for the pistol’s bobbed hammer. The finish is H&K’s all-weather tough and durable matte blue, similar to Glock’s Tenifer™ process. It equals or betters stainless steel in moisture resistance.

The Smith & Wesson slide is of blued steel, and features a slide-mounted decocker-safety lever on the left rear, which increases its width about 2/10 of an inch. Instead of the rounded top which characterizes more expensive S&W offerings, this slide utilizes two longitudinal flat bevels. It’s not unattractive, and certainly results in cost savings during manufacture. The long, massive extractor is pivoted, but does not serve as a loaded-chamber indicator. The sights as the pistol comes from the factory are plastic, with the rear being a close imitation of the Novak design. They were replaced on this pistol with Trijicon™ tritium night sights. The slide holds the firing pin, its spring, the rotating safety-decocker lever, a firing pin safety mechanism, and a magazine safety mechanism. This is the only pistol of the four to utilize a magazine safety. The bluing on the slide is with a matte finish, and is not nearly as durable as the finish found on the Glock and H&K pistols. It shows holster wear rather quickly. There is a recess at the rear for the bobbed hammer, which fits flush when the hammer is down.

The Springfield’s slide is the classic graceful 1911 design, in stainless steel. The grasping grooves are slanted forward in the modern manner, with 9 flat-bottomed cuts. The ejection port is lowered, almost radically so, and scalloped for better ejection of the expended brass. The two compensator vent ports at the top front of the slide measure about one and 1/10 inch long. This makes for a very light slide. The sights on this one are of the high Patridge design. More recent examples from Springfield feature a Novak rear sight. Originally the sights on this pistol had 3 white dots, but these have been preferentially blacked out by the owner. This slide is of the original (Series 70 type) design, and there is no firing pin safety. The extractor is pure 1911 in which the spring is the extractor itself. The slide also houses the firing pin, its spring, and the firing pin retaining plate. Interestingly, the Springfield .45s use 9mm-size firing pins which are of a lesser diameter than the usual 1911 .45 size. Tritium sights are not a practical option on this pistol, as the compensator’s exhaust ports will quickly blacken the front sight. There is, of course, a recess for the pistol’s commander-style hammer.

Previous: Barrels | Next: Frames

Part 4: Barrels
© 2000 by John L. Marshall

Barrels. The Glock and H&K barrels are the most similar. Each is the same length, about 3 ¾ inches, and each uses its chamber area to lock up into the ejection port. Each uses polygonal rifling, and this gives slightly increased velocity over conventional cut or impressed lands and grooves. The only downside to this type of rifling is that cast bullets will quickly lead the bore. Both Glock and H&K recommend the use of jacketed bullets only. Both barrels feature an integral ramp, which enhances reliability. However, the Glock’s ramp is cut more deeply into the chamber area, so hot reloads with weakened brass could conceivably cause a case blowout. Glock recommends that only factory ammunition be used, as do most firearms manufacturers. Using reloads voids the warranty; ditto with the other makers.

The H&K barrel, while not featuring a fully supported chamber, is pretty close to it. The barrel ramp is not cut very deeply into the chamber area. Here, you should be able to handle hot loads with less worry than with the Glock. Both H&K and Glock use a metal treatment which leaves the surface very hard. Both are quite weather-resistant, fully as much, if not more so, than stainless steel.

The Smith & Wesson barrel is the only one of the four which is made of stainless steel. Equal in length to the Glock and HK barrels, it measures out at about 3 ¾ inches. It also has an integral feed ramp, and this one has a fully supported chamber. There would be very little chance of a case blowout with heavy loads. The muzzle has a raised, rounded section at the muzzle. This fits closely into the bushingless slide, while allowing easy tilting for unlocking. All of these designs, by the way, allow the barrel muzzle to fit directly into the slide, dispensing with the barrel bushing as typified by the original 1911 configuration. The Smith barrel has one locking lug which mates into a corresponding groove in the slide. This is in addition to the chamber area, which also locks into the ejection port. This is a very strong lockup design. It features cut rifling, and so should be able to handle cast or jacketed bullets equally well. In the example I examined, however, the rifling was crudely executed with uneven diameter throughout. The rifling would probably even up as the barrel is “polished out” through firing, but it shows that the barrel was made in haste with no attempt to provide premium rifling. Likewise, the crown of the barrel was ragged. This required some simple polishing to correct. Maybe my sample was a “Monday barrel,” who knows? Smith & Wesson’s quality control department missed this one.

The Springfield barrel was the shortest of the four, at 3 ½ inches. As it also features compensation ports which vent propellant gases through the slotted slide, it should come as no surprise that you will not get as much velocity from this pistol as you will with the others. The barrel has a reverse taper, with the muzzle mating directly into the slide. All Springfield lightweight .45 pistols (which use aluminum frames) have a ramped barrel, and this one is fully supported. The ramp does not cut into the chamber area at all, lessening any worry about blown cases. The ramped barrel also eliminates any concern about rounds beating the aluminum frame during the chambering cycle. The traditional 1911’s two locking lugs which mate into matching recesses in the slide are present. The cut rifling is clean, sharp and uniform. Springfield uses a two-piece barrel, in which the forward part of the barrel is sleeved into the locking area. Some condemn such barrels as being weaker, but if properly done, there is no disadvantage. The barrel is made of tool steel, and is blued except for the chamber area, which is polished bright. I would not recommend using cast bullets in this barrel due to the extra cleaning chore that the vents would demand. Cleaning lead deposits out of 10 little holes is not something I would choose to do willingly. Of course there is no problem using lead bullets except for the cleaning nuisance.

Previous: Magazines | Next: Slides and Sights

Part 3: Magazines

© 2000 by John L. Marshall

Magazines. Each pistol uses a different type of magazine. The Springfield and Smith & Wesson offerings are similar in that they both use single-stack 7-round magazines. The Smith & Wesson mag, however, is equipped with a flared, extended base plate which gives a better purchase on the pistol. The grip area of the S&W is not as long as that of the Springfield, and would leave the pinky finger to curl under the pistol were the magazine not extended a bit with the base plate. Thus, the S&W mag is about a quarter of an inch longer than its Springfield/Wilson cousin. This difference in grip depth, by the way, is caused by a fairly deep frame area on the Smith to accommodate its

particular double-action design. The result is a bit higher line of recoil. More about that later. The Glock magazine is unique in that it uses a staggered-column mag which is polymer, surrounding a steel interior frame. While it’s the widest magazine used in these four pistols, it does give an overwhelming firepower advantage – 10 rounds in the mag versus 8 for the H&K and 7 each for the Springfield and S&W designs. The Glock’s polymer frame allows for a thin grip area (there are no add-on grips), and so Glock can get away with a double-column magazine. The result is that the Glock grip is only 1/10 of an inch wider than the H&K, 2/10 of an inch wider than the S&W, and matches the width of the Springfield. The H&K magazine is a bit of a compromise, using a semi-staggered design to cram 8 rounds into the height of a normal 7-round magazine. The downside is only a 1/10 of an inch increase in width over the slimmest grip of the four, the Smith & Wesson. While the H&K has a polymer frame like the Glock, it is noticeably slimmer and less “clunky” in the hand than the Glock. The company simply chose increased slimness over increased magazine capacity. One could make a good argument that using a .45 obviates the need for high magazine capacity, and this is the argument that H&K apparently bought into, as did Smith and Springfield to an even greater degree.

Previous: Recoil Springs | Next: Barrels

Part 2: Recoil Springs and Recoil Control
© 2000 by John L. Marshall

Recoil Springs and Recoil Control. The kick of a lightweight compact .45 pistol is admittedly more punishing on both you and the pistol than that of a service-size pistol. The engineers at these manufacturers each took a slightly different approach to recoil control. Check the illustration to see the differences. The Springfield V10 uses an ordinary recoil spring and an ordinary recoil spring guide. There’s nothing fancy here, because recoil is partially controlled by the ported barrel. The V10 barrel, per its name, has two rows of five ports in the forward portion of the barrel, arranged in a “V” if envisioned from the front or rear. These exhaust ports vent the propellant gases up, forcing the pistol down, countering recoil. The standard recoil spring has 22 lbs. of force, but many folks will want to use a 24-lb. spring to make it easier on the pistol.

The Heckler and Koch pistol uses a slightly different approach to control recoil and lessen the pounding on the pistol. Their captive recoil spring uses a strong, flat spring to pack more recoil absorption into the small space available. This spring is surrounded by a polymer buffer which helps to absorb the pounding of the slide. H&K says this little buffer should be replaced when it gets beat up badly, and replacement spring and buffer assemblies are easily obtained. Still, you should get many thousands of rounds fired before the buffer begins to get pounded out of shape; probably more than you would fire in a lifetime.

Glock uses a two-stage captive recoil spring assembly to tame recoil in its Model 30. It utilizes two springs, one of which collapses within the other through a guide tube. This gives progressive control of the recoiling slide and allows easier slide retraction. It is quite effective in reducing perceived recoil, as well.

The Smith & Wesson 457 uses two counter-wound springs, one within the other, to achieve recoil absorption. This is similar to the factory Colt Officer’s ACP system, and is found in other S&W compact pistols, as well. It functions well to keep the aluminum frame from being battered by the steel slide.

Each of these systems works admirably to help dampen the recoil generated by a lightweight pistol firing a heavy cartridge.

Previous Page: Introduction | Next Page: Magazines

A Comparison Of Four Popular
Lightweight Compact .45 Semiautos

© 2000 by John L. Marshall

All right, I confess. I love .45 ACP handguns. From my first exposure to the 1911A1 pistol in high school ROTC, I was hooked. I remember the buzz around the room as my fellow cadets repeated the legends: “One hit from this baby, and you’re a goner.” “The .45 will knock you right off your feet.” “Man, it really kicks when you shoot it.” And of course, “No one can hit anything with it except close up.” Gee, this must be some pistol to inspire such awe and controversy, I thought. Well, not all of the legends are true; it really doesn’t really knock a man down, one hit doesn’t always do it, the kick isn’t really that bad once you learn to shoot it, and the old .45 was probably more accurate, on the average, than most people can hold. But still, the big pistol had a fascination born of those legends, and not too many years later, I had to purchase one for my very own. It was my personal handgun through my days as an Army officer, and later I even packed it when I served in the National Guard. That well-worn Ithaca “lend lease” 1911A1 wasn’t a thing of beauty, but I learned to shoot it well. I later morphed it into a passable excuse for a target pistol, complete with an accuracy job, rebluing and adjustable sights. It was the first of many .45s for me, and the love affair still isn’t over!

Today, the stopping power of modern hollow-point .45 ACP ammo, combined with the new concealed-carry laws enacted in most states have made compact .45 ACP pistols all the rage. The politically correct ban on magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds has made the .45 king again. If you are restricted to no more than 11 rounds, you might as well make them .45s! Firearms manufacturers have fallen all over themselves in the rush to produce compact .45s to meet the market demand.

There are a lot of pistols out there that look like attractive bets for the concealed-carry permit holder who wants to have a good compact .45. Out of all of these, I decided to pick four of the more popular pistols for a critical examination of technical features, dimensions, handling characteristics, concealability, and shooting impressions. I wish I could have included them all, but I thought that these four would be representative of the genre, and fun to shoot, as well. They are, in alphabetical order: the Glock Model 30, the Heckler and Koch USP Compact, the Smith & Wesson Model 457, and the Springfield Armory V10 Ultra Compact.

First, let’s compare some vital statistics on these guns, and then we’ll examine their features in more detail.

A few notes are in order on the statistics above. The H&K compact was measured with its flat base plate magazine, which is best for concealed carry. As an option, you can use the magazine with the finger rest magazine base plate. In fact, the pistol comes with one of each. The finger rest magazine gives you a little more room for your pinky finger, but tends to show through clothing a bit more prominently when the pistol is carried concealed. It would add a couple of tenths of an inch to the H&K’s height measurement.

The Glock 30 was measured with its standard 10-round magazine in place. If the optional 9-round magazine were used, you could subtract a couple of tenths of an inch from its height measurement. The Glock comes with the factory with two 10-round magazines; you will have to purchase the 9-rounder on your own if you want one. However, the 9-round magazine leaves your pinky finger dangling and you must curl it under the grip as a result. I think Glock made the right decision – most folks will prefer the 10-round magazine for better handling and the extra capacity. As you can see, the Glock is still the shortest of these four pistols, even with the larger magazine.

The Springfield V10 Ultra Compact was measured with a Wilson Combat 7-round magazine in place. If you were to use the 6-round magazine provided by Springfield, or the Colt magazine of either 6 or 7 round capacity designed for their Officer’s ACP, it would reduce the height dimension by about 2 tenths of an inch. The Wilson mag does have an extended base plate, which is fine with me – it helps prevent pinching when you slam a new mag home during a reload. Most serious 1911-style pistoleros will opt for extended base plates on their mags for this reason, and the Wilson is one of the more popular brands. This configuration is almost standard for compact 1911-style pistols, and doesn’t make for lessened concealability.

Next: Recoil Springs

The new Steyr M series pistols have excellent state of the art features, some of which cannot be appreciated until you actually test fire one. Read on if you want to find out more about this new millennium pistol series.

A Short Steyr History

Wilhelm Bubits is the mastermind of the Steyr pistol. He’s a hobby shooter who at one time worked for Glock, and was also a uniformed officer and later a plainclothes officer.

Basically, Bubits was always critiquing pistols and finally decided to become a designer, so he could build what he envisioned. He actually offered his patents to Glock and was told that his designs did not follow their “philosophy” of design.

So, Bubits ended up with Steyr Mannlicher, another Austrian arms maker, in 1997. A key player to bring Bubits’ dream into reality was Steyr’s engineer, Fridrich Aigner. After two years of research and development, the pistol has been christened.

Steyr Mannlicher has been making quality firearms since 1864. Ayoob sums up Steyr’s history well when he said that Steyr is a daring company that boldly goes where no gun manufacturer has gone before, and has been successful doing it.

For example: The Steyr Professional with it Cycolac stock was introduced 25 years ago and has changed the face of riflery, proving the superiority of the synthetic stock. And the Steyr AUG was the first extremely successful tactical rifle. Instead of just a custom-make of Jeff Cooper’s Scout Rifle, Steyr dared to actually manufacture it. And everyone who shot it, has marveled at its execution.

So, with Steyr’s two years of expensive development of the M series pistol line, I’m expecting to see an excellent new product that will not have to bow down to the competition.

The Steyr M (Medium) Series

My Steyr Owner’s Manual lists three M models: the M40, M9, and the M357. I was told by Steyr’s exclusive US importer, GSI, that the M357 will be out in 2000. The M40 has been out since Nov ’99 and the M9 came out a month later. The M357 is scheduled to hit the market in June ’00. You can contact GSI at www.GSIfirearms.com or call 205 655-8299. The Steyr M series pistol has been Americanized with a stamping on the side of the frame, “GSI, T’VILLE, AL” (that’s Trussville, Alabama).

There are plans to also expand the line into the “S” Small series, and this series might possibly see daylight in 2000.

Rumors from the Jan. 2000 Shot Show: I was told some interesting information from someone who attended the show and had spoken with Bubits. Besides the “S” series, Bubits talked about a Steyr .45. He mentioned that the .45 would use regular 1911 style 8-round magazines. This model may be shown in the 2001 Shot Show.

Unsupported Versus Supported Chambers

The Glock was born as a 9mm and then modified into the now famous Glock 22 and 23 .40 S&W models. The Steyr M40 was born as a .40 S&W pistol and then the 9mm version was developed. That’s why the Steyr M40 is exceptionally beefed up with a very strong lock-up system, and why it has a “well supported chamber”.

Some manufacturers of 9mm pistols simply rebarrelled, modified the breechface and put in a stiffer recoil spring to develop their initial .40 S&W pistols. Since the .40/10mm bullet is bigger than a 9mm, the only way to get the .40 to feed reliably was to create an intrusive feed ramp, and possibly an oversized chamber to match. Thus the .40 S&W “Unsupported Chamber” was born. This was a quick and dirty fix by some manufacturers to get to market fast.

Other manufacturers either started from scratch or went through the added expense to redesign their 9’s to safely handle the .40 with a well-supported chamber that still feeds reliably. These types of .40 pistols are therefore safer to use, whether you shoot factory ammo or reloaded ammo.

If you want to find out if your .40 has a well supported chamber, then do this: Measure the diameter of the lower, most expanded part of some fired brass. After the first measurement, rotate the brass slightly and measure it again because the brass sometimes measures greater from a certain angle because of the 6-o’clock chamber opening affect. If your brass measures .431 or greater, then your chamber is entering into unsupported territory. Also, put a round into the barrel and look at the 6-o’clock position of the chamber opening. If the thin part of the brass wall is exposed, or too much brass is exposed, you have an unsupported chamber. “Both” of these measurements are important to determine if your chamber is well supported or not. The greatest

brass expansion occurs when shooting full power loads.

In the six-o’clock chamber opening of the Steyr M40, you see virtually “no” exposed brass and the chamber is not oversized either. I kid you not! This is truly amazing, especially since the rounds feed perfectly. A Steyr barrel does not over expand and bulge the brass like an unsupported chamber would.

The diameter of the Steyr fired brass measures around .428 -.430 for full power loads. The Glock .40 and even a SW99 I tested can expand brass as much as .431 .433, which is a huge difference. In other words, the Steyr M40 is friendly for using in sports, reloading, and in agencies. It should give a little extra confidence to anyone who carries a .40 caliber pistol.

Generally speaking, ammo and gun companies don’t care about reloading safety and case life. Some of the newer reloading manuals have strong warnings about reloading for pistols with unsupported chambers, especially concerning high-pressure cartridges.

One positive side effect of Glock’s famous unsupported chamber and their marketing omnipresence, is that some ammo companies have beefed up their .40 S&W brass so it has a better chance of surviving when fired in a Glock chamber.

The Barrel

Conventional rifling is used in the barrel, for those that choose to use lead. Bubits has stated that for the cost of being able to use lead and be “handload compatible”, there is no more than a 3 percent to 4 percent loss in velocity.

The Steyr M series employs the Browning cam-operated tilting barrel system to lock the action during firing.

For Lead Bullet Fans

I performed a little test just for you. I don’t normally shoot lead because I find it a little too messy. I bought 100 Oregon Trail Laser-Cast 170 grain Semi Wad Cutters (SWC).

Now, I’ve never been able to get SWC rounds to feed consistently in any of my Glock .45’s. I’ve had some luck shooting SWC’s in Glock .40’s as long as the right combination of magazine spring tension, magazine follower type, etc are stumbled upon.

I’m glad to report that my Steyr M40 fed all 100 SWC rounds “perfectly”. This is great news for sports shooters since a semi wad cutter cuts a larger, cleaner hole in the paper. That’s because a SWC is not only a flat point, but it has a 360 degree cutting shoulder that maximizes the size of the hole. Now I just have to find some good bulk plated/jacketed SWC bullets.

The Trigger

The Steyr, like the Glock, has a safety on the trigger. If the trigger gets bumped from various angles, the trigger will not release. You need to put a positive finger pressure on the front of the trigger for the gun to fire. This is an important safety feature that some people just don’t get.

After shooting a few hundred rounds, I took the slide off to clean the M40. I put a little high tech Tetra lube on the inner trigger workings with a q-tip and then lightly removed any excess lube with the dry end of the q-tip. Oh, and I applied a little tetra to the long trigger bar as well. After reassembling the Steyr, the trigger action is silky smooth. Early triggers had about an 8 lb. pull. After August, 2000, the standard trigger pull became 5 lbs.

The trigger guard is angled 10 degrees downward, leaving room for a manual safety. This trigger angle allows for a very natural, higher finger placement.

The Steyr trigger is true double-action since the trigger continues to cock the striker throughout the stroke until it is released. The Steyr trigger does not feel like a typical double-action trigger at all. It has a short stroke action (aprox. 1/8″) with a very short reset, for very accurate rapid fire.

Like the Glock, the Steyr striker mechanism is under partial tension (partially cocked) when the trigger is fully forward. After the trigger is pulled, the striker is fully at rest until the trigger is reset. The three passive safeties keep the Steyr pistol safe to operate. You just have to remember to engage your primary manual safety, the one between your ears, and NOT put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire; this rule is actually true for ALL guns.

In my opinion, the short, clean, stroke of the Steyr trigger feels better than the longer, mushier Glock trigger. I even grabbed a Glock armorer at my shooting range so he could test fire the Steyr. He agreed that the Steyr trigger felt better and the perceived recoil was less. But he told me not to tell anyone

The new SW99 pistol has some different trigger modes as well. But I find its trigger pull way too long for my preference, although some people seem to like it. Maybe, if a pistol does not have a manual safety, the longer pull is considered safer, although proper training is the real answer. For example, the classic 1911 style single action pistol is perfectly safe as long as one is properly trained and practiced at thumbing the safety off and on during the firing and holstering sequence. Each trigger style apparently has its aficionados

Since the M40 has a short trigger pull, it might be more appropriate to compare it to a single action trigger. Of course the M40 trigger cannot match a finely tuned single action trigger. But, for a short stroke DA trigger with 3 passive safeties, “requiring” no manual safety, unlike a single action pistol, it comes darn close. I’d say that single action fans could adjust to the new Steyr M series pistol pretty easily. Don’t forget! You can use the Steyr manual safety if you want to. The safety features are covered in depth a little farther down in this review.

Trigger Guard

The front of the large trigger guard is textured so those that like to grip the front of the trigger guard will have a non-slip surface.

Take-Down Lever

Step 1: To disassemble the Steyr, you must first check to make sure the pistol is empty with no cartridge in the chamber and no magazine inserted. Then you have to pull the trigger, like the Glock, in order to release tension to the striker mechanism, pointing in a safe direction of course.

Step 2: The take-down lever is quite easy to use — somewhat similar to a classic SIG. You simply press in the integrated lock button slightly, which is next to the take-down lever, and then the take down lever can be swung down easily so the slide can be removed. When the slide is reinserted onto the frame, the take-down lever automatically pops into place. Very clean.

A person unaccustomed to a Steyr may very well think the take-down lever is the manual safety, especially with the bold “S” and “F” markings adjacent to it. This could give the owner just enough time to take control of the situation during an emergency. With the manual safety on, this situation could get downright confusing for a perpetrator.

While a detailed disassembly is the job of a Steyr trained armorer, I can give you a rough idea of how to do it. Behind the take-down lever is a diagonal disassembly mark. You line up the take-down lever with this mark. After removing the manual safety, and depressing the integrated lock button, the entire modular steel housing can be lifted out of the frame. This entire process can be accomplished within seconds.

Grip

The grip has one finger groove that should fit almost all hand sizes, large and small. The upper rear of the grip frame is dished out, somewhat similar to the Beretta guns. This allows the web of the hand to get in a little tighter and also makes reaching the trigger easier.

Actually, some people who are used to oversized, large grips may at first complain that the Steyr grip is too small. I’m sure that grip socks will be made available for the Steyr to satisfy the needs of some owners. I’m 6′ 1″ and have long fingers, And I find the Steyr quite pleasant to shoot.

The grip angle is 111 degrees. Basically, this means when you aim the Steyr, you don’t have to cock your wrist up or down since it is a natural point shooting pistol. The bore axis is so low (lower than a Glock) that it’s almost like pointing your finger. A nice side effect is less felt recoil as well.

The textured pattern on the grip is adequate to obtain a nonslip grip. I personally like the more radical HK USP grip texture that almost feels like sandpaper — but some people think that’s a little too much. At any rate, the grip shape, along with the textured pattern, fits my hand perfectly.

Magazine Release

The magazine release is well placed on the left side of the frame so it’s easy to reach for a right or left handed person. When the pistol is laying on it’s side, the magazine release button is out of the way so it won’t release accidentally. The magazine release does not have sharp edges like the Glock does.

Magazines

Steyr magazines are steel and drop-free. Since the double-column magazine is tapered, it fits easily into the beveled magazine well. The bottom of the magazine well has room to pull out a magazine should that ever be necessary.

Out of curiosity, I loaded a .40S&W magazine with 10 357 SIG rounds. They seemed to fit very well. I’m hoping that the magazines will be interchangeable like the excellent Sigarms magazines are with either caliber.

New Steyr magazines are a heck of a lot easier to work with than a new Glock magazine. I typically can only get 8 cartridges in a Glock magazine for the first week or so until the magazine spring starts slowly breaking in.

Magazine Catch

The magazine catch is made out of metal, not polymer. So the high-quality steel Mec-Gar magazine directly contacts a metal magazine catch. You will therefore not have a problem of the magazine catch wearing out.

I’m only aware of two torture tests so far. One is discussed in detail later in this review, in which Bubits pumped 10,000 rounds through one M40 within a two-day period. GSI also shot over 13,000 rounds through several M40’s. The pistol parts are holding up very well as of this writing.

Accessory Mount

The Steyr accessory mount on the frame, for light mounts, etc, has two rectangular cut outs on each side of the frame, instead of the typical rail. These recessed slots allow the mount to have a positive attachment, with no movement whatsoever, and it gives a very distinctive look to the Steyr pistol.

Slide

The slide is super hardened with a tennifer finish, similar to the Glocks, and then a dull blackened finish is applied. The grasping grooves are well spaced, giving the shooter a comfortable contact when operating the slide. When you rack the slide, it is quite smooth.

The Steyr slide is only 18 ml high compared to the Glock’s 22 ml.

Slide Stop

The slide stop has a generous 30 degree angle making it very easy to manipulate. The owner’s manual states that the strong slide stop can be used to release the slide, if you prefer not to rack the slide.

Slide Rails

The slide rails are not molded into the polymer frame like a Glock and other polymer brands. The Steyr is essentially a steel pistol, wrapped in polymer. The mechanical parts function on a steel sub-assembly, and the lock bridge is very “strong”.

It’s interesting to note that the rails are cut at a 45 degree angle. This allows the slide and barrel to ride about 1/8″ lower than existing pistols with rails cut at 90 degrees. The Steyr bore axis is about 5mm lower than a Glock. As a result, there is less muzzle flip, less felt recoil, and the low bore axis helps to center the round coming out of the magazine into the barrel chamber.

I shot the Steyr M40 side-by-side with a Glock 23 and the M40 did have less felt recoil.

Sights

The standard Steyr comes with fast acquisition, triangular-trapezoid sights. They can easily be swapped for traditional sights or night sights. Trijicon has mentioned they will support the new Steyr pistols by late 2000.

I personally believe these standard stock sights are the best I’ve had on a pistol. It’s so easy and fast to find the large, triangular front sight during speed shooting — wonderful. For accuracy shooting, use the tip of the front triangle for superb accuracy.

These standard front and rear sights are steel, unlike the Glock, which uses plastic sights (the front Glock sight is especially fragile).

The Steyr has a sight radius of 6.22″, compared to a comparable sized Glock 23/19/32 with 6.02″.

Loaded chamber Indicator

There is a loaded chamber indicator in the back of the slide that can be seen or felt.

Inside the M40

When I looked inside of the Steyr, I was pleased to see how strong and beefed up all the parts are. This is one tough gun that is excellently engineered to last a long time.

5-Point Safety System

The Steyr pistol has a manual safety for those that are concerned about retention issues. You can use it or not. The Steyr manual safety is very similar to several popular rifles that use a similar safety. More on that below.

The Steyr has three passive reset action safeties so it can be carried safely without using the manual safety, if desired. Along with the 3 reset action safeties and the manual safety, there is an integrated lock (for storage purposes), giving the Steyr an impressive total of 5 safeties!

The integrated lock is next to the take-down lever, located on the side of the frame, and comes with two keys. The police version uses a handcuff key. The civilian version uses a two pronged key. When it’s locked, you cannot pull the trigger or take the pistol apart, but you can load and unload the pistol.

The integrated lock is not meant to be used in speed drills. You carefully insert the key and push the lock in then then rotate counter-clockwise to lock the pistol. You then push the lock in and turn the key clockwise to unlock the pistol. During the unlock phase, it’s best to keep turning the key clockwise until you feel pressure as you pull the key out so the lock pops out into position easily. It’s a snug fit. You can also pull the slide back a little or lightly press the trigger to help pop the lock out into position, although these two latter methods are non-standard and should not be necessary. The manual safety can be on/active during the use of the integrated lock for extra safety.

I have actually started using the integrated lock when I do not have direct control of the pistol since it is so convenient. Obviously, during concealed carry, you do not want to use the integrated lock! As a side note, the integrated lock is a very inexpensive part and very easy to replace.

Of course all locks can be picked with the right tool, even the generic handcuff lock. Overall, the integrated lock is an excellent feature, and it sure beats misplacing an external lock or forgetting one during transit.

I really like the Steyr manual safety because you don’t have to worry about toggling it on and off accidentally. And it’s basically invisible if you choose not to use it.

During a scuffle, or an operator slide rack error, or if the pistol skids across the floor, a typical manual safety on the side of a slide or frame can sometimes be toggled unknowingly. A Steyr manual safety system is less likely to be affected by these same scenarios.

For pistol owners in general, the Steyr manual safety is a bit different from what they are used to. On the other hand, there are a number of rifles with the safety in the same general location as the Steyr pistols: M-1 Garand, the M-14 or Springfield Armory M-1A rifle, or the Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-30. And the new Vector pistol from South Africa employs a similarly placed manual safety.

To activate the manual safety, you pull down on a small lever on each side of the frame. Interestingly, these two levers are in the same basic position as the Glock take-down levers and they are protected by a slightly recessed polymer molding. This action lowers a small safety bar from the “top” of the trigger guard. Note: If the trigger is in the fully back position, you cannot activate the manual safety since the trigger is already deactivated.

You would normally activate the safety with your supporting hand. If you cannot or choose not to use your supporting hand, you can simply move your thumb to the other side of the frame, and slightly shift your grip with the lower three fingers and the thumb to maintain control of the pistol. Then, you can pull the levers down “easily” with your trigger finger and your thumb. It’s a lot easier to do than to explain. At any rate, most combat/defensive type shooting has both hands on the gun most of the time anyway, so this is not a big deal. And remember, the Steyr is safe even without having the manual safety activated, as long as the trigger is not pulled.

When the manual safety is on, you can still rack the slide to load and unload the pistol. In fact the Owner’s Manual recommends having the safety on during the loading & unloading stage.

To release the safety, you simply press “up” against the safety bar with your trigger finger, which is a distinctively different action than pulling the trigger finger backward to fire the pistol. Once you are trained with releasing the Steyr manual safety to fire mode, it’s just as “easy and fast” as toggling the more traditional manual safety with your thumb.

Out Of Battery

Firing out of battery should not be an issue with the Steyr series. It has a very strong positive lockup. As soon as the slide begins to go back, the firing pin tension is also reduced so the firing pin should not have the momentum to set off a primer.

I always check all of my spent brass before reloading. I have yet to find a primer strike that is not in the center.

My Steyr pistol passes the 12 o’clock recoil spring test with flying colors. This is a good test to check the recoil spring strength. Make sure the gun chamber is empty. Point the muzzle straight up. Pull the trigger. Keep the muzzle pointing straight up while you rack the slide and then very gently let it forward until it stops on its own accord. My Steyr pistol completely resets in the 12 o’clock position. On the other hand, my new Glocks, 22 & 23 had to be lowered to the 9 – 10 o’clock position to completely reset. Having a strong reset and lessoning slide battering is a high priority of mine.

Lubrication

Besides the directions in the owner’s manual, I’d recommend using a high Tech lubrication like Tetra or some equivalent. While regular gun oil works fine, Tetra actually penetrates the metal surface. Even if you wipe the metal dry afterwards, it’s still lubricated. Tetra is especially good to use in areas like the firing pin recess, where you want to very lightly dab a touch of Tetra, but not to the point of having oil oozing in the area; it should almost appear dry after lubing. I’ve found Tetra works well on any moving part, even plastic, such as the inside trigger mechanism.

Petroleum based lubes have a tendency to collect dirt and grime.

Lubing is one area where the Glock shines. It can work almost dry, with low-tech lube, and with high tech lube.

Accuracy

There is no other out-of-the-box, service-grade, compact pistol that will out shoot the Steyr M40. The slide to frame fit is tight, and built specifically to increase accuracy. After all, who cares what caliber you’re using if you can’t hit what you’re aiming at.

Torture testing

In June ’99, Bubits tested an early M40 “prototype” by firing 10,000 rounds through it within two days. He lubricated it once at the beginning of the session. Then he sprayed the pistol with an air hose after every 500 rounds but otherwise did not clean it thereafter. He had 5 malfunctions, one of which was a dead primer. He tweaked the extractor to fine-tune the gun for reliability.

Will the Steyr pass the torture tests of being frozen, burned, buried, dropped from helicopters, run over, etc? I don’t know. It’s a nice marketing ploy, but as long as my Steyr can handle “reasonable” torture testing, such as the flying frisbee test, etc, that’s good enough for me and any kind of shooting I’ll be doing.

I’ll be using my M40 in IPSC & IDPA shooting as well as for a defensive weapon. That means I’ll be firing it in cold, hot, dusty, & wet conditions. And I need to be able to reliably pump at least 200 – 300 rounds through it at any given match. Right now I’m feeling good that the Steyr M40 will do just fine. Once again, I really like the well supported chamber for this kind of shooting; And as a result, I feel more confident when carrying the M40 for defensive purposes as well.

I examined my M40 after shooting 1000 rounds through it during the first two weeks of ownership. There were no wear marks anywhere. The slide-to-frame fit is superbly engineered. I did find a little black paint that had rubbed off on top of the slide stop lever. This examination increases my confidence in the M40 substantially.

Steyr Service

Since the M series is new, Steyr obviously does not have an extensive armorer/repair program throughout the U.S. yet. That is changing now that Steyr has someone actively in charge of this arena. For now, you must send your pistol to GSI for repair, although their turnaround time is just a week or two.

Holsters

Steyr has selected Galco and Safariland to make holsters. Blade-Tech has ramped up to support Steyr as well. There are probably others that I’m not aware of.

Owner’s Manual

Steyr did a great job on the M Series Owner’s Manual. The manual provides all the necessary safety and pistol information, as well as some excellent pictures. There is an attachment which quotes some important Federal Laws.

Any Steyr M Series Issues?

Some of the early Steyr pistols dinged up the top of the slide a lot from ejected brass. Steyr did come out with an ecjector port tapering fix. The top, front of the ejector port edge is now tapered at about 45 degrees instead of 90 degrees. And at the top, back, right of the ejector port, it is now angled at approximately 45 degrees instead of a 90 degree corner.

I picked up a second Steyr M40 to test. There was some scoring on top of the slide, right at the rear edge by the ejection port. I doubt if most people would notice or be concerned about it.

Another Steyr customer degreased his Steyr M40 and then began having severe trigger problems. GSI told him that they would either fix it or replace it. Some people have had problems because of not cleaning and lubricating their pistols properly. A few of my Glock buddies were appalled that a pistol can actually require more than 3 1/2 drops of lubrication

I heard about one M40 that shot fantastic for about 50 rounds. Then the firing pin stopped denting the primer. The owner sent it in to GSI for repair.

One of my two M40’s did have trouble resetting at times, for no obvious reason. This problem was later fixed by using precision drilled holes in the metal sub-assembly.

In late May, 2000, I bought a 3rd M40 with a serial number in the 10,000 series. And all the above bugs have been worked out. Steyr made a few internal changes and manufacturing improvements to fine-tune the Steyr M pistols. The recoil spring seems to be slightly stronger, so the slide reset is very solid.

In late August, 2000, I sent my 10,000 series pistol to GSI for the new generation trigger upgrade. My pistol was back in three days. GSI paid the return shipping cost and gave me a $35 gift certificate. Folks, that’s excellent service.

Before the upgrade, my trigger was around 7.5 lbs or so. After the upgrade, it is 5 lbs. The really big improvement is that no matter where you place the trigger finger — high, medium, or low on the trigger — the trigger is “smooth, crisp, & consistent”!

So, the bottom line for the new Aug, 2000 trigger upgrade is, “Wow”!

I now consider the new Steyr pistols production ready and some agencies are interested in taking a look at them seriously. Steyr and GSI are ramping up training classes and law enforcement engagements, etc. Note: A lot of the early models continue to work fine, although, if you have any issues, be sure to contact GSI so they can upgrade your pistol.

Since the Steyr M (Medium) & S (Small) series pistols are new, the manufacturer could take advantage of the latest advances in ergonomics and safety. Therefore, the Steyr pistols can easily meet the most strict “common sense” State firearms safety laws.

Specifications:

Length/slide 7.05″
Height: 5.03″
Width: 1.18″
Sight radius: 6.22″
Weight: 28 oz.
Finish: Black Oxide Tenifer
Barrel length: 4.00″
Barrel rifling: RH, 6 groove
Length of twist: M40 M9 M357
15.98″ 9.85″ 16″
Trigger system: Reset Action System
Trigger pull: 5 LB’s (as of new trigger upgrade 08/00; adjustable at the factory)
Trigger travel: 1/8″
5 safeties:
3 reset action safeties: Trigger, Drop, and Firing Pin Safeties
1 Manual Safety
1 Integrated lock with two keys
1 Loaded chamber indicator
caliber M40 M9 M357
magazine capacity 10 10 10
Law Enforcement 12 14 12
Weight (without mag.) 23.87 23.17 24.45
Weight of empty mag. 2.97 2.97 2.97
Steyr M40 retail price: $669
Commercial pricing: $500 aprox. As of 10/01/00

Steyr S (Small) Series Specs:

Length/slide 6.53″
Height: 4.6″
Width: 1.18″
Weight: 22.5oz.
Barrel length: 3.58″
Magazines: 10 rounds in 9mm, .40, and 357 Sig

Chronograph Data for the Steyr M9 (from Handguns, Oct ’99)

Group	Size	Velocity
Cor-Bon 90 gr jhp +P	2.0	1515
Black Hills 115 gr jhp	2.4	1201
Federal 115 gr jhp	2.3	1147
Hornady 115 gr jhp	1.6	1122
Remington 115 gr jhp +P	1.8	1222
Federal 124 gr nyclad ball	2.3	1116
Federal 124 gr jhp hydra-shok	1.8	1103
Hornady 124 gr jhp xtp	1.6	1058
Norma 124 gr jhp moly-coated +P	1.2	1185
Cor-Bon 125 gr jhp +P	1.4	1226

*Average is the average of five five-shot groups rounded to the nearest 1/10″.

Chronograph & Accuracy Data for the Steyr M40 (from Handguns, Aug 00)

Cartridge	Group Size Smallest	Group Size Largest	*Average	Average Velocity	Standard Deviation
Cor-Bon 135 grain JHP	2 1/4	4 5/8	3 3/8	1278	46
Norma Black Diamond 155 gr JHP	2.0	3.0	2 3/8	1271	08
Hornady 155 grain XTP	1 1/2	3 1/2	2 5/16
Winchester 155 gr Silvertip HP	2.0	4 3/8	2 3/8

Note: 5-shot groups fired in the Petersen Ranch Ballistic Tunnel from a Ransom Rest.
*”Average” is the average of five five-shot groups.

In Summary

The Steyr M40 is an ergonomic, well thought out pistol that’s about the same size as a Glock 19, 23, 32. All the edges of the Steyr have been rounded. It’s very comfortable to hold and shoot. Just looking at and handling a Steyr pistol in a store is not good enough. Shoot it several times and that’s what will really sell you on this pistol, along with its excellent features. I believe the Steyr has the best all-around features in a pistol today.

Regarding felt recoil, some people have claimed that the Steyr M9 (9mm version) feels more like a pellet gun than a 9mm pistol. I’m really looking forward to the M357 model as well.

Obviously, the Steyr M series is a new kid on the block and has to continue proving itself to agencies. From what I’ve seen with my own Steyr M40, this will be a moot point.

One amazing thing about the Glock design, besides its market share, is that it only has 35 listed parts, compared to 53 Steyr pistol listed parts. Although, Glock uses a few little tricks by combining some parts. I would say the Glocks really have at least 42 parts or so. Of course, the Steyr has more functionality built into it, and Steyr even lists the Pistol Box and lock keys as parts; Obviously, Steyr is not trying for a ‘Least Parts’ record :) From what I’ve seen, the Steyr M Series is made to last.

The Steyr pistols have a well supported chamber. On the other hand, as long as you use known, tested “factory” ammo in a well-maintained “Glock”, their unsupported .40S&W chamber will serve you well. But a lot of people shoot remanufactured ammo and reloads and even lead through their Glocks all the time, exacerbating this problem, not to mention bad lots of factory ammo occasionally.

Some kB (kaBoom!) information can be found at the Calibers Web site, www.greent.com/40Page. I also wrote a related article called, “You Say kB! and I say Case Failure”, located at www.glockmeister.com and www.recguns/XN.html. Another good site is John Leveron’s Glock Page at http://glock.missouri.edu/glock.shtml. And lastly, Dean Speir’s kB! Faq has some excellent pictures and is located at: http://communities.prodigy.net/sportsrec/glock-kb.html.

I personally believe that any .40 pistol with an unsupported chamber and possibly a thinner chamber wall, would most likely kB before other major pistol brands if using the same “bad factory” or “bad reloaded” ammo. And I also have a theory that the combination of polygonal rifling which seals the bullet tighter in the barrel, combined with an unsupported Glock chamber is a bad combination. But, bad ammo and bad gun maintenance aside, a Glock can hold its own very well. However, I personally prefer to use a good Bar-Sto or KKM .40 barrel in a Glock because these barrels are far kinder to the brass than a Glock barrel, and they appear to feed reliably as well — apparently Glock Inc. disagrees with me J

Since the Steyr M40 has a well supported chamber, it is safer to shoot in a wider range of shooting disciplines than a standard barreled Glock .40 S&W pistol. And the Steyr M feeds at least as reliably as a Glock, due to some great engineering.

In the Steyr Safety condition 1, with its trigger safety, drop safety, and firing pin safety, it is just as safe to carry as a Glock. The Steyr is also “easy to use” just like a Glock.

The Steyr Safety condition 2 is activated when using the manual safety. For those that want a retention safeguard of some kind, this is an important consideration. The manual safety is completely invisible if you choose not to use it, and it cannot accidentally be toggled on. The safety location is a proven design on several popular rifles and the Vector pistol, although it may at first appear strange to some traditional pistoleros.

The Steyr Safety condition 3 (integrated, limited access lock) is an excellent feature. For those with families and/or storage needs, this is an important consideration. The gun cannot be taken apart or fired when this mode is activated. The integrated lock is basically unnoticeable since it blends into the pistol so nicely.

The Steyr has a loaded chamber indicator in the back of the slide that can be seen or felt, which is really a 6th visual/tactile safety feature.

The Steyr can easily and safely shoot SWC (semi wad cutter) bullets and lead bullets — not recommended if using the polygonal rifling of a standard Glock barrel.

There are dovetails at the front and rear of the Steyr slide for the standard all-steel sights.

The large triangular front sight is excellent for fast aiming during speed shooting. And the tip of the front triangular sight helps zero you in for excellent accuracy.

The Steyr pistol has an even lower bore axis than the Glock.

The Steyr pistol has less felt recoil than a similar sized Glock 23.

The Steyr M40 has a shorter, crisper trigger pull than the standard Glock.

People with small or large hands can easily adjust to the Steyr grip.

The side of the Steyr pistol only has a simple slide lock lever and that’s it — very simple to operate.

As of June, 2000, the street price of the Steyr pistols is around $500.

When the subcompact Steyr S (small) series pistols come out in the latter half of 2000, it will be a perfect complement to the compact Steyr M series that is now available.

The slide rails are integrated into the main steel housing of the Steyr, which is a “steel pistol” that happens to be wrapped in a very strong “polymer”. This makes it a beefy design. A Glock, H&K, and Walther P99 are conversely “polymer pistols” that mold the metal slide rails directly into the “polymer”.

If I could take the liberty to compare pistols to cars, I would say that the new Steyr pistol is the “manual shift” smart gun of the 21 century, while the “automatic” electronic smart guns may or may not ever be street worthy, based on current reports.

Note: As of Oct, 2000, all Steyr pistol articles have been written based on early prototype or very early production pistols. The up-to-date pistols are taking full advantage of the fine tuned Steyr manufacturing plant and new trigger update.

I just can’t help but end my Steyr M info review with a quote from Massad Ayoob, regarding the new Steyr M Series pistols, who quoted William Shakespeare, “Something wicked cool this way comes”.

References

Guns & Weapons For Law Enforcement; “New Steyr M-Series M9mm/.40” by Wiley Clapp

Handguns; Aug 2000; “Steyr M-40 Packs A Punch” by David W Arnold

Combat Handguns; Dec ’99; “New Steyr M9/M40” by Paul Johnson.

Combat 2000 Annual; Display until April 30, 2000; “The Steyr M: Wicked Cool” by Massad Ayoob.

Guns; Oct ’99; “Steyr M9” by Massad Ayoob.

Handguns; Oct ’99; “Road Testing the new Steyr M9” by Kerby C. Smith & David W. Arnold.

Gun World; Jan 2000; “M is for Modern: Steyr’s New M-Series Pistols” by Gary Paul Johnston.

GSI INC; www.GSIfirearms.com ; Home web page of the exclusive U.S. importer of Steyr Mannlicher; 205-655-8299;

Steyr Mannlicher; www.smg.steyr.com; (+43 7252) 896 – 0

Steyr Pistol Owner’s Manual; buy a Steyr pistol to get one :)

Laser-Cast Reloading Manual, by Oregon Trail Bullet Company; 800-811-0548; www.laser-cast.com

Version 10/08/00 from Pete’s Pistol Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~petej55

The Springfield XD-9 Tactical Review by Syd

That I, a long-time and highly visible champion of John Browning’s masterpiece, the M1911, would even consider a piece of combat Tupperware is all but unthinkable, but here I am doing just that. So what’s going on here? Have I lost my mind, sold my soul to the drooling demon of “New and Improved!”? Well, despite my obvious Luddite tendencies, I’m not as allergic to new and different ideas as first glance might suggest. As I have stated publicly and often, I hate Glocks. I think they’re ugly and dangerous. I don’t like the way they feel, sound or shoot. I tried a couple of them when they first came out and was completely under-whelmed. That opinion hasn’t changed despite the plethora of passionate defenses of the gun that I have read. (And please spare me the inflamed “Glocks are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and my buddy the S.E.A.L. says so…” e-mails. If I had to swim for a living, I might prefer Glocks too, but I don’t so I don’t.) Nevertheless, I have been curious about the obvious allure of polymer-framed pistols. Being put-off by my distaste for the Glock’s aesthetics and lack of a meaningful external safety, I had resigned myself to being stuck with the handgun technology of the First World War.

Did I mention that I hate Glocks? Good. So moving right along, Springfield Armory brought out the XD line of pistols in 2000, the XD-9 (9mm) and the XD40 (.40 S&W) in four-inch barrel models. They got good reviews right away. Herein lies a lesson in marketing. The XD’s began life as a Croatian offering called the HS2000. As a product, they really didn’t catch on until they teamed with the formidable Springfield marketing machine, re-branded the pistols as “XD” (for “extreme duty”), and began to sell the guns under the Springfield aegis. The gun is still built in Croatia and is substantially the same firearm as the HS2000. Today, the pistol is available in tactical (5”), duty (4”), and subcompact (3”) pistols chambered in .9mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, .45 Glock Auto Pistol (G.A.P.) and .45 ACP.

Suppose, just for the sake of discussion, that Lord Vader is whispering in your ear, “Come over to the dark side, Luke. Small bullets, bottomless magazines, low recoil, long sight radius, better match scores. It’s more fun over here.” Yoda says, “The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side.” And you say, “Go away you little troll. I’m tired of being at the bottom of the score sheet.” Suppose also, just for the sake of discussion, that you have been suffering from persistent back pain, some arthritis, or carpal tunnel syndrome, and the hard recoiling .45’s have been leaving you feeling battered and sore. Suddenly you see the XD-9 Tactical in a whole new light. You have strayed from the straight and narrow path of the Cooperites. You have been seduced by the Dark Side.

Into the Heart of Darkness
At first glance, one would be tempted to say that the XD is a Glock knock-off. It’s a polymer-framed high-capacity autoloader and it has the little trigger safety flange thingy made famous by the Glocken. But there the similarity ends. The forged and milled slide looks more like a SIG, as do the spare controls. The grip angle is that of a 1911 while the grip shape is reminiscent of the Browning Hi-Power. (Actually, when I squint my eyes, I see the ghost of the Hi-Power in the overall shape of the XD-9 Tactical.) The take-down lever and the slide release look SIG-ish. And, it has a grip safety, like the 1911. The finish of the slide is called “Bruniral” and is said to be “proprietary” and the formula is not released to the public. It looks like something between bluing and parkerization. It is said to be not as tough as the Tenifer finish of the Glocks. A coat of protecting oil is advised for new guns. The finish seems OK to me, but I’m not one of these guys who likes to run over my handguns with trucks.

The XD series of pistols are classified as single action, not double action or “safe action.” When the slide cycles, the striker is fully cocked, not partially in the way the Glock is. The XD may look like a double action pistol but it isn’t, and it doesn’t shoot like one. I was particularly pleased with the long shots that I made with the XD. They were as good or better than with my beloved 1911’s at that range. I give credit for this to the 5 lb. trigger of the XD. It doesn’t “break like a glass rod” but it’s quite clean for this kind of pistol. There is about a quarter inch of take-up, then a bit of creep, and then it breaks. During the “creeping” part, the trigger is lifting the striker block which serves to prevent the pistol from being fired in the event that it is dropped. This trigger is clean enough to make good shots without being so light as to make you nervous that it doesn’t have more external safeties.

To summarize, the XD has three safety mechanisms: the trigger flange safety, the grip safety, and the striker block. OK, I have to do it: is the XD safer than a cocked and locked 1911? Personally, I don’t think so. I can still envision a scenario in which while holstering an XD, the grip safety could be depressed, the trigger could catch on the holster in some way, and an accidental discharge could occur. The XD is simple, like a Glock or a revolver. All you have to do to fire it is to pick it up and pull the trigger. With the 1911, you have to sweep off the thumb safety before the trigger will work. This, to me, provides an additional level of safety.

Feeling Your Way in the Dark
The tactile presence of this gun is very good. It feels good in your hand. It also has two features which will allow you to know exactly the condition of the gun by touch: a loaded chamber indicator and a cock indicator. On the top of the slide, just behind the ejection port, is a small lever that rises slightly when a round is loaded in the chamber. You can feel it when it is loaded. Also, on the rear of the slide, a small pin protrudes from the slide when the pistol is cocked. Again, you can feel it when the gun is cocked. Visual inspection is not required to know the condition of the pistol. For an extra measure of safety, always visually inspect the chamber to be absolutely sure the gun is unloaded. These tactile condition indicators could be extremely helpful in low-light situations.

When you grasp the pistol, you will notice shallow grooves toward the top of the grips on each side in the position where the thumb and trigger finger naturally grip the pistol. It makes for a very comfortable and positive grip. The grip has coarse checkering on the front and back straps, and stippling on the side panels.

The XD is nearly ambidextrous. Only the slide release shows a clear right-hand bias. It is located only on the left side of the pistol. The magazine release is fully ambidextrous, and southpaws will find the XD significantly more accommodating than traditionally styled pistols which have the controls only on the left side.

“The XD series is the lifeblood of the Croatian factory and as such, is treated with the respect due. They are relying upon this marriage of efforts to keep the wheels turning on the home-front, so no expense or effort is spared in quality control and attention to detail. There is a reason it’s called “old world craftsmanship” and you can see it when you handle the XD. There’s a subtle blend of Eastern European minimalist design and functionality, diluted with a Teutonic flair for what pleases the eye. It works – and it looks good doing it.” – Roy Huntington, March-April 2003 issue of American Handgunner

Whistling in the Dark: The Inevitable Glock Comparison
Did I mention that I hate Glocks? Good. You can’t get through a review of the XD without making the comparison with Glock, so here goes. Both have polymer frames, are square and blocky, and have the little trigger flange safety thing. The sights and trigger on the Glock are plastic; they are steel on the XD. I think the trigger and grip on the XD is better. The XD has a grip safety like the 1911; the Glock does not. The XD pistols tend to be a bit heavier than their Glock counterparts. The grip angle of the XD is similar to the 1911, and for 1911 shooters, the XD points more naturally. The rifling of XD barrels is traditional, making them a tad more friendly to reloads and lead bullets than the polygonal rifling of the Glock. The chamber in the XD is fully supported in contrast to the partially unsupported chamber design of the Glock. While both pistols are striker fired, the XD is fully cocked by the recoil of the slide, making it a single action pistol. The Glock is partially cocked by recoil, and then the cocking is finished by the trigger pull. Opinion time: I feel that the better trigger and grip, the supported chamber, traditional rifling, grip safety and steel sights make the XD an improvement over the Glock.

Light out of Darkness: Other Features I like about the XD-9 Tactical
Of course, I like the 16-round magazines (“…a gun you can load on Sunday and shoot all week.”). Unlike the Glock, the trigger and sights are made of steel rather than plastic. It is quick and easy to field strip the pistol and it requires no special tools. The XD line of pistols has the now ubiquitous Picatinny accessory rail for lights and/or laser sights. ( …if you like that sort of thing. I like laser sights, but to me, a light on a pistol can be a “show me where to shoot” indicator. Perhaps, if I was on a SWAT team, I would feel differently about lights mounted on guns, but…) Regardless of your opinion of tactical headlights, it’s nice to have the option.

A Shot in the Dark
All of the cool 21st Century features are useless if the gun doesn’t shoot well. I found the accuracy of the XD-9 Tactical to be rewarding. Essentially, the gun is capable of whatever accuracy that I’m willing to settle down and shoot. If I put the sights where I want the bullet to go and use adequate trigger control, the bullet goes there. The single action trigger really helps in this regard. In range testing, I got some fliers that I couldn’t explain, but after carefully bracing myself and shooting ragged holes, I tend to blame the fliers on myself rather than the gun. The gun points very naturally for me. The grip angle is substantially the same as the M1911A1, and it points intuitively for one accustomed to an M1911. (The target at the left is 16 rounds.)

I did notice that I have a tendency to shoot high with this pistol. The manual says that the XD-9 is designed to use the “6 o’clock” sighting position at 25 yards, meaning that one should put the sights at the 6 o’clock position of the point you wish the bullet to impact. The manual should be taken seriously on this. The gun isn’t sighted for “point of aim.” shooting. Once I adjusted to this characteristic of the gun, I quit shooting high. With the 5″ barrel, the trajectory of the 9mm at 25 yards is pretty much flat. I found myself shooting very well at 25 yards, a range at which I generally do poorly. I would dare say that I shoot the XD-9 Tactical better at 25 yards than I do with the 1911. The one area where I thought the 1911 was clearly superior was in hammers, fast pairs of shots fired as quickly as you can pull the trigger. (I consider the “double tap” to be a different technique than the “hammer” The double tap is a pair of quick sighted shots. Hammers are pairs of fast shots fired from one initial sight picture.) The 1911, with its very short trigger reset, is quicker at hammers than the XD.

Range Testing
I took the XD to a match/training session, with emphasis on defensive pistolcraft training. The XD was a pleasure to shoot. I never did shoot to slide lock, not even once, but the stages were fairly revolver friendly and we did a significant number of reload drills, so I got plenty of practice on reloads. I think the 1911 is quicker on the trigger. That’s the one place where I think the 1911 is clearly superior to a gun like this. We did one speed drill called the “5-5-5,” five shots in five seconds at five yards into a five-inch square, starting with sights on the target. Shots outside the square deducted one second. My best time on that one was 1.6 seconds. That’s fairly quick. I could have shot it faster with the 1911 but I’m not sure I could have kept the shots within the target square at that speed. This is a terrific pistol for gun games. Alex shot about 25 photos of me shooting and never once caught me with the muzzle up in the air. I did have trouble with the motion of re-holstering without putting the safety on. That bothered me. I guess I could get used to it, but old habits die hard. Jim Wilson has an interesting observation on holstering the XD:

“One problem with other striker-fired pistols is the danger of taking the slide out of battery during the act of holstering the pistol. When it comes time to fire that all-important first defensive shot, these pistols will not fire if the slide is not all the way forward. Springfield’s XD pistols solve that with their grip safety. When the shooter is holstering his XD pistol, he simply does not depress the grip safety, and therefore it cannot come out of battery.” – Sheriff Jim Wilson in Shooting Times magazine

Reliability has been excellent. The pistol has experienced no malfunctions in our testing so far. I will say that most of our shooting has been done with 115g FMJ ammo rather than hollowpoints. Again, from the sheriff:

“I found the XD family of pistols to be very reliable. And in shooting a variety of ammunition through the guns, there was not a single malfunction. All controls were easy to access and manipulate. I purposely didn’t spend any time cleaning the guns between testing sessions because I wanted to see how the XD pistols handled when they were full of dust and powder residue. The results were extremely good and qualify the design for service use.” – Sheriff Jim Wilson in Shooting Times magazine

Chaim Stein did a 20,000 round torture test on a service model XD which included subjecting the pistol to neglect, immersion in every kind of mud, dirt and sand he could think of, plus other random and sundry abuse. His conclusion?

“Damned impressive… I completed this test with a great deal of admiration for this handgun. So much so, in fact, that it is now my nightstand gun. More than 20,000 rounds later, with no failures to feed or fire and hardly any wear to the gun’s finish, I have no trouble whatsoever betting my safety on its performance.”

– Chaim Stein in Handguns magazine

With several range and class sessions under my belt with the XD-9, the best description I can think of my attitude toward it is that I have completely quit thinking about it. The bullets go where I put them and there simply are no reliability issues with it. Strong hand, weak hand, weird positions, whatever, the gun just runs. I have gone several sessions without a cleaning and the gun just runs. It just runs, and runs very well.

Carry?
You could, but you probably wouldn’t. The XD-9 Tactical is as large as a Government Model .45, thicker than a Government Model, but a bit lighter. You could carry this gun but it would be large and heavy. Some people like to carry big guns and don’t have trouble in either packing or concealing them. For myself, I prefer something a bit more compact and lighter in weight. I do think that the Service Model (4” barrel) or the Sub-Compact (3”) would make excellent concealed carry options (with all the normal caveats about them being blocky, square, and a tad thick). However, with a good holster and firm belt, you can carry this gun. I have been carrying it just to test it, and with the right leather, it actually carries pretty well. It’s definitely lighter than a Government Model.

In the dark on “Tactical”
“Tactical” is such a cool word. It is an adjective that refers to some aspect of tactics. Tactics are actions and strategies, not things. But, today, we have tactical boots, tactical shirts, tactical lights, tactical… It’s as if the gun and accessory makers don’t believe they can sell something unless it is called “tactical.” If present trends continue, we will have tactical cat food and armchairs before very long. Perhaps some enterprising soul could come up with a line of tactical lingerie for the ladies, featuring lots of ballistic nylon, Kevlar, and Velcro. Is the XD-9 Tactical “tactical”? Well, it has the now obligatory accessory rail for lights and laser sights, but even the sub-compact XD has that. The XD-9 Tactical is black, but so is my mouse. Black is the official color of “tactical.” Perhaps, I have a “tactical” mouse. The XD-9 has high-capacity magazines, but so does every other autoloader sold since the AWB went the way of the dodo. The characteristic which defines the “Tactical” model for Springfield is that the barrel is 5” long. It is true that some SF, SWAT and MEU types prefer 5” barreled pistols for their increased muzzle velocity and perceived reliability. Does a five inch barrel make a pistol “tactical”? I don’t know, but the pistol definitely has the look.

A Stroke of Marketing Genius
Springfield Armory made the decision to sell the XD in a “kit” which includes kydex holster, magazine pouch, magazine loader, and some other odds and ends like a bore brush. You have to hand it to them; it’s a slick and attractive package. A new shooter could buy the kit and have all the gear necessary to shoot a match, short of eyes, ears and ammo. These add-ons are solidly constructed and handy – not necessarily optimal, but they will do. The magazine loader is especially useful because the magazine springs are very stiff and it’s hard to get the magazines topped off by hand. I’m not particularly fond of the holster. It’s a “one size fits all” quick slide type of holster. It has an accessory rail for storing your light or laser sight (as does the magazine pouch). The holster seemed to allow too much movement along the belt. At the match, the muzzle of the gun had a way of finding its way into the hip pocket of my jeans, and I didn’t like that. In my opinion, the holster allows the gun to rock in and out too much on the belt. I would want to replace this holster.

Dark Star: Conclusion & Summary
I like this pistol. It is solidly constructed and well thought-out. While it may appear to be a knock-off, it is actually a unique design that draws upon some of the best features of earlier designs, particularly the Glock, the SIG, and the 1911. The XD-9 Tactical is particularly well suited to IDPA-type match shooting and classes. The gun is solid enough for serous duty. It has the reliability, ruggedness and precision required by military and law enforcement applications. I would also speculate that it would do better than the M9 in sandy environments like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Will I get rid of my 1911 and adopt the XD-9 as my be-all, end-all, “answer to all questions” pistol? Probably not. Would I shoot a bunch of matches and classes with the XD-9? You bet.

“I think the XD-9 has all the traits necessary to become a legendary pistol and at the very least represents the first quantum leap in handgun technology since the Glock first appeared in the mid-1980s. I agree with those who’ve said that it must withstand the test of time before unequivocal endorsement of it can be made, but add that it certainly shows all the signs of being a big-time winner! It’s without a doubt a true 21st century pistol and from what I’ve seen so far, a good one, at that. Check out the XD-9. Like me, I think you’ll find it to be a heck of a handgun.” – Chuck Taylor, http://www.chucktaylorasaa.com/SpringfieldXD-9.html

 

“Stretch” Snubby is a Solid Performer

By Syd

The gun under consideration here is the Smith & Wesson Model 60 “J-frame” with the 3″ barrel in .357 Magnum, a.k.a., the “60-15.” The Model 60 is not a new design. Introduced in 1965, it occupies its own special niche in handgun history. It was the first regular production all-stainless steel revolver, and it was an immediate success. The original Model 60 was a .38 Special. Today’s Model 60 is a .357 Magnum. It is available in 2 1/8” barrel, 3” barrel, and 5” barrel versions. Like all J-frames, it chambers 5 rounds. With its longer barrel and grip, it is as if the traditional short barreled snub-nose has been stretched for better performance.

Besides the fact that it was an all-steel J-frame revolver chambered for .357 Magnum, the characteristic which initially appealed to me about this gun was the grip. It felt like it was built for my hand. It’s just a smidgeon longer than the “boot grip” used on the smaller snubbies and it fills my whole hand. This gun weighs 24 oz. and balances nicely, although it seems just a tad nose heavy. While I like the “boot grip” on the small snubbies for concealment, it has always been a problem for me in shooting because, like the baby Glocks, I can only get two of three fingers onto the grip and the little finger is left flapping in the breeze. The black rubber “Uncle Mike’s Combat Grip” on the Model 60 fills your hand and gives you much better support for firing hot ammunition.

The 3” Model 60 has real sights which are adjustable, the ribbed top rail between the sights, the tapped and screwed-in black rear sight and rail along the top of the frame, and all surfaces are serrated to cut the glare. The front sight leaf is black and is pinned to the barrel. I can actually see these sights. The frame notch sights on the classic snubby really aren’t much use to me, although I have proven that I can use them if I really slow down and get my glaring blurs lined up right. The 3” barrel of the Model 60-15 allows the gun to have a 5” sight radius.

This gun feels more like a 5-shot Model 66 than a lightweight snub-nose. It’s beefy. It has the semi-bull barrel with full length extractor shroud and sights of the S&W magnums. It is, nevertheless, absolutely a J-frame. And it has the slim ergonomic contours which are so appealing about the J-frames. Comparing the Model 60 with a Model 637, everything lines up exactly, down to the smallest contour and detail of the frame: the frame, hammer, trigger, trigger guard, cylinder, and cylinder release are all identical. Where it differs is in the longer grip, longer extractor rod, and the beefier barrel. The longer extractor rod makes it considerably easier to knock the empties clear of the cylinder during a reload.

The 3” barrel and longer grip gives you a gun that performs better than the classic snubby. It has a better sight radius, better muzzle velocity, more reliable spent case ejection, and less punishment to your hands. For these benefits, you lose pocket carry. The 60-15 doesn’t disappear into a pocket like the classic snubby. I would imagine that it would be awkward in a jacket pocket as well.

After a considerable amount of surfing on the web, I have noticed is that it is hard to find holsters for it. Everyone makes leather for 2 1/8″ snubbies but very few build them for 3″ versions. Kramer, DeSantis and El Paso all claim to build IWB’s for 3″ j-frames but I’ll bet you they couldn’t do overnight delivery on one. It works with my other snubby holsters that are open on the bottom, like the Galco Speedmaster, Galco Deep Cover, and High Noon Secret Ally. It doesn’t work with the Galco shoulder holster for the snubbies because of the difference in the shape of the grip. Thumb break type holsters which are designed for the snubby “boot grip” will not work with the Uncle Mike’s Combat Grip even though the actual frame of the gun is the same size. The thumb break strap does not reach around the back of the grips. I resolved to order an IWB holster, custom built by Rudy Lozano at Black Hills Leather. It is the subject of a full review found here, but for now I will say that I really like the holster and Rudy.

Aesthetics and Intangibles

I have been over this revolver with a magnifying glass, and like the other Smith & Wesson wheel guns I have known and loved, it is without flaw in fit or finish. It is good looking but not flashy, compact but very solid, simply good and right and the way it ought to be. Smith & Wesson has produced some “weird iron” handguns in recent years with exotic metals and day-glo plastic sights, but this isn’t one of them. This is a revolver that reflects 149 years of handgun-building experience. It’s not an experiment.

The first time I dropped cartridges into the cylinder, generic range ammunition I had never even heard of before, I knew it would fire. I bought some generic range stuff and a couple boxes of premium self defense feed – different bullet shapes, charges, even different case lengths – in .38 Special, .38 Special +p, and .357 Magnum, and it all fired without a single failure of any kind. I didn’t have to worry about bullet shapes or magazines that the gun didn’t like. There was no “break-in” period. No doubt, no concern, no need to run 200 rounds through the gun to make sure it worked… behold the beauty of the revolver.

There is something enormously tactile about the Smith & Wesson all-steel revolvers. They feel good and solid in your hand. With an aluminum-frame Airweight, there is always an expectation for it to fall apart in the back of my mind, and with no good reason. My Airweight has literally had thousands of rounds put through it, and some of it has been pretty hot stuff, and it keeps on ticking. It has had much more shooting than these guns are really supposed to have. Dick Metcalfe did a 5000 round torture test on a couple of Airweights using +p feed and neither gun suffered any damage or distortion of the frame. But I still have this thing about the aluminum frame that one day I’m going to overstress it. With the steel guns like the Model 60, you get the feeling that they will still be sending rounds downrange 200 years from now, and probably won’t need service.

Systems which have stood the test of time appeal to me. Smith & Wesson has been building double action revolvers since 1880 – a hundred and twenty years. The .38 Special cartridge has been around for a tad better than a hundred years. In that long sweep of time, Smith & Wesson’s double action .38 revolvers have served cops, soldiers, and citizens with distinction and an almost pedestrian reliability and effectiveness.

These guns still evoke the cowboy times. The cowboys carried six-shooters but often left the sixth chamber empty so they could put the hammer down without the fear of accidentally setting off a round. So why not build a five-round cylinder with a safe ignition system which would allow the gun to be slim and easier to conceal and carry? Its .357 Magnum chambering reflects the advances in ballistics of the 1930’s. The Model 60, being the first stainless steel revolver, carries the metallurgical advances of the last half of the Twentieth Century. With its key-operated safety lock, it carries the mark of the gun control battles of the late 90’s. Lots of history in these little guns.

History won’t save your life in a fight if it is history alone and nothing is learned. The Model 60-15 imparts a feeling that much has been learned, and when you have it in your hand, there is a sense of quiet confidence and competence. In particular, these revolvers are built much stronger than the early models so that they can digest a steady diet of hot ammunition for better hollowpoint performance. The design has been through the fire time and again, and come through. Other handguns will load more rounds, reload faster, and launch powerful rounds, but you know what the Model 60 will do. If you do your part, it will do its part, every time, time after time.

The short-barreled revolvers have one purpose and that is self-defense. They’re not hunting guns, target shooters, or assault weapons. They are completely dedicated. If you’re going to hunt grizzly bears, assault fortified positions, or kick down doors and arrest criminals, the J-Frame revolver is not the gun you would pick for a primary. If you want a highly compact, easily concealed yet powerful personal defense handgun, these revolvers are hard to beat. They are simple, fast, and effective. They remain one of the easiest of all handgun designs to conceal and carry.

Interesting lawyer-friendly stuff

The Model 60-15 has the integral locking mechanism with the little key-deal that fits in above the cylinder release. I guess this could be handy if my kids were still small. I know that many folks are offended by the imposition of these kinds of “reasonable safety” measures. They are seen as coerced concessions to states like California and Maryland who are increasingly demanding “safety” features be added to handguns. I resent being forced to do anything, especially by states that would really like to prohibit firearms altogether. On the other hand, I had small children at home once upon a time, and when they were still little doodles whose judgment I couldn’t completely trust, I used trigger locks on my pistols long before they were fashionable in some circles or mandated. I carried the key on my key ring so it would always be close by. The integral lock on the Model 60 could be useful in a number of situations, such as times when you might have to take the gun off and leave it in a locker or athletic bag.

There has been some discussion of these safety locks engaging when they shouldn’t. In the January 2005 issue of American Handgunner, Massad Ayoob published an article about three instances he knew of in which the internal locking device had failed and two of the failures caused the gun to lock up. All three cases were instances in which extremely hot ammunition, such as +p+ and .44 Magnum, were fired from ultra-light scandium and titanium revolvers. Ayoob’s analysis was, “This is not necessarily an indictment of Smith & Wesson, nor even of the integral lock system that company uses. It may be more of a lesson that extraordinarily light handguns firing extremely powerful ammunition can be damaged by the battering of constant, extreme recoil forces. Still, it gives us pause.” I have not been able to locate any anecdotes so far of the lock engaging during firing on a Model 60. Nevertheless, if this really worries you, it is relatively easy to disable the integral lock.

It also comes with a little sealed brown paper envelope which contains a single fired case. On the envelope is Smith’s FFL number, make, model, serial number, rifling characteristics, the tester’s name, signature, and date of test. Too bad this one won’t make it into New York’s database.

Range Report

The accuracy, weight, ammo versatility, good grip and good sights make this gun a sweet shooter. One of the charming characteristics of revolvers is their tremendous versatility of ammo. Your choices range from powder-puff .38 Special wadcutter all the way up to .357 Magnum. The longer sight radius and better sight picture had me immediately producing far better patterns than I do with traditional styled snub-noses. The additional weight makes it easy on the hands with excellent recoil recovery.

I can make 25-yard shots with a snubby with a hit average of about 3 out of 5 on a small Pepper popper, but if I have to make a 50-yard shot, I would prefer the 1911 or a Hi-Power. I could make a 50-yard shot with the Model 60 if I took my time and handled my trigger right. While I get much better hits with this gun than I do with a snubby, I am nowhere close to the kind of “ragged hole” patterns that I have achieved at times with the 1911. But this just gives me another excuse to go to the range.

I took the Model 60 to the indoor range and bought a box of Independence .38 Special 130g FMJ, Independence .357 Magnum 158g JSP, Remington Golden Saber +p .38 Special 125g, and a box of Federal .357 Magnum Premium HydraShok, 158g.

I was really pleased with the way the Model 60 shot. The most interesting revelation was that I shot it infinitely better double action than I did single action (still trying to figure out that one). Single action, I was really pitiful, all over the target; double action I started shooting nice grapefruit size patterns at 7 yards, rapid fire, without trying too hard. The tightest 5-shot string was with the Independence .357 – a tidy little horizontal string about four inches wide.

The .38 Special was smooth and cream-puffy, nice, and pleasant to shoot. The +p was crisp and authoritative, and I came away with the thought that the +p Golden Saber was the best all-around load, and is the stuff that should be in the speed loaders. The .357 is predictably brisk. After 15 rounds, I was getting some sting in my palm, but I wouldn’t call it “hurt.” It was very manageable, even in rapid fire (“rapid fire” meaning the rate that the beats fall in “Stars and Stripes Forever,” or just as quick as I could regain the sight picture). (And no, I’m no Jerry Miculek.)

The worst muzzle flash was from the Golden Saber, followed closely by the Federal, but I didn’t find either “blinding.”

It was a real delight to buy four boxes of weird-ass ammunition for it and know that all of them were going to work. They did. With a new auto, you really need to run at least 500 rounds through it to make sure it’s reliable and get it broken in. And even with that, you still know in the back of your mind that a bad magazine or an out-of-spec cartridge or poor support can cause it to jam. With several of my 1911’s, I have had to go through a period of working with them to get them to the point where I considered them 100% reliable. The Model 60 doesn’t have any of those issues. It just goes “Bang” every time. (And don’t give me a Glock pitch because they choke up and break parts just like any other gun. I have one shooting buddy who is on his fourth Glock because the previous three have broken.) I traded messages with a Special Forces type who was on his third tour in Afghanistan. His unit had rejected the M9 and adopted one of the Glocks. It broke out in the field and he couldn’t fix it. On his next leave, he bought a Ruger SP101 in .357 – said he felt better with it than any of the bottom feeders. Of course, it was a secondary for him, but that spoke chapters and verses to me.

.357 Magnum as a personal defense load

There is little dispute that the .357 Magnum works. After all, there aren’t many handgun cartridges that can claim to have brought down moose, elk and even grizzly bears. Most of the other handguns that can lay claim to felling large game are generally considered to be too large and have too much recoil for practical self defense applications. The .44 Magnum would be a good example. (Yes, I know the .41 Magnum has done it, but I have yet to run into a person packing a .41 for personal protection.) Yet, the .357 Magnum has done it while remaining manageable in a personal defense sized handgun. It’s a tail kicker, but it has its downside. The sound of a .357 going off is really tremendously loud, even when wearing ear protection. Setting off a .357 indoors without ear protection would most certainly do damage to one’s hearing which could be permanent. The muzzle flash is very bright in the dark. For those whose eyes adjust slowly to the dark, the flash could cause temporary vision impairment.

Controllability is a concern with the .357 Magnum. It was originally introduced for large-frame guns. In a smaller gun, the recoil is stiff. Follow-up shots could be difficult or at least slower as the shooter struggles to regain control of the gun after the recoil. If your hands and arms are very strong, you can control it, but I think that even for a strong person who is used to powerful handguns, shooting performance would be improved by using .38 +p, especially on follow-up shots.

Another issue with the .357 is its penetration (no they won’t really go through the block of a ’49 Buick unless you are firing steel core ammunition, but they did make such a beast once upon a time). A normal 158g .357 hollow-point can penetrate about a yard in ballistic gelatin. This means it’s going to slice like a hot knife in butter through walls and siding. It can also shoot through large animals and emerge on the other side with enough velocity to hurt someone else. These are serious considerations which should be weighed before adopting the .357 Magnum as a carry load. For most situations, and especially in an urban setting, a solid .38 Special +p would be a better choice for personal defense. It’s more controllable for follow-up shots, less prone to over-penetration, and less damaging to the sensory organs.

If, on the other hand, your primary area of operation is rural and wilderness, places where you are more likely to come across a mean pig or a hungry bear than you are the human variety of predators, and be outside during the encounter, the .357 Magnum with its greater power and penetration would be highly desirable. Another of the .357’s great strengths, its range, is wasted, and may even be a liability in the urban environment. The .357 is a very flat-shooting cartridge that retains better terminal ballistics at 150 yards than most other personal defense handgun cartridges. The mid-range trajectory of the .357 Magnum at 100 yards is only 3.5.” At 50 yards it is only .8”. At 100 yards, the 158g JHP .357 retains about 67% of the energy it had when leaving the muzzle (this means 360 foot-pounds of energy with a velocity of 1015 feet per second!). It’s easy to see why the range and ballistics of the .357 would be an asset in the country and a liability in the city.

Carry?

Would you use this gun as a carry piece? As a police officer or soldier, no, unless it was a secondary to something with considerably more firepower. As a civilian who tends to mind his own business and not get into shootouts with armed gangs, sure. If you happen to be one of those folks who just prefer revolvers to autos for personal defense, you couldn’t do much better than this. It’s not too terribly heavy, but it’s heavy enough that you can get in some good practice with it without tearing up your hands. If you have a bit of arthritis in your hands or arms and just can’t stand the pounding of .45’s and .40’s, you can load this gun with standard .38 Special and have a soft shooting, but effective personal defense handgun. The extra barrel length will provide for somewhat better muzzle velocity and hollowpoint performance than a 2” snub-nose, usually 50-100 feet per second faster, depending on the load. The muzzle flip and recoil dynamics are not near as violent as with a 2” snub-nose, especially if you like to use +p or .357 loads. I really like to carry the Airweight snubbies but I hate practicing with them because they’re hard on my hands, and yet we know that we must practice with the guns we carry. The Model 60 can provide a vehicle to practice for snubby carry – same reload, same ammo, same trigger, same leather – without all of the abuse to hands and joints. And also, if you want to carry .357 Magnum in a compact package, the Model 60 in this configuration will handle it without inflicting pain.

With a 5-shot J-frame, the issue of firepower always comes up, and if you want to carry these guns, you have to deal with it. When the balloon goes up, five rounds is not a lot. Five rounds placed well will probably address most of the issues that a civilian will face, but you can’t count on that. This means that you have to master the reload with a speed loader. I really like the Safariland Comp I speed loaders. They are spring loaded and kind of “shoot” the cartridges into the chamber. Another approach is to carry two J-frames, the proverbial “New York Reload.” When one gun runs dry, you simply draw the other. The “New York Reload” has some other tactical advantages: if someone manages to get your primary away from you, you have another weapon. Also, you can hand off a second gun to an ally in a situation in which you may be dealing with multiple assailants or have another person with you who you need to protect. Better yet, carry two J-frames and speed loaders. Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them. In this era of auto-loaders, is it possible that there are tactical advantages to revolvers? Read Preacherman’s thoughts here.

Training with the Model 60

I took the Model 60, two speedloader pouches, and all seven of my speedloaders to Jim Higginbotham’s match and actually shot the first half of the session with the 5-banger. I only quit when I ran out of ammo and switched to the Commander for the remaining exercises. I got there early so I could talk to him. I opened the conversation with, “I’m going to annoy you today.” “Oh, really? How?” “I’m going to shoot my revolver.” He pulled back the left side of his vest to reveal a huge nickel-plated Model 29 .44 Magnum and said, “I’ve probably got more revolvers on me today than autos.” Another shooter was packing an Airweight as his BUG as well. I felt a little better.

The stages were more revolver friendly than I expected. Most were 3-5 round exercises, sometimes with reloads planned into them, but I didn’t actually have to reload at any time that others didn’t have to. My reloads were, of course, still criminally slow, but getting better. I would do a reload after every string just to practice it and get it smoother. By the end of 50 rounds, I was getting quicker. We did mostly variations on Mozambique and El Presidente with movement and reloads interspersed. I was very pleased with my hits. I only had to endure one, “Those of you who are deploying antique weapons systems are probably running low on ammo now,” after a 5-round stage.

Reloads are a major tactical issue regardless of what gun you use, but they are especially important with revolvers. While five rounds are usually enough for civilian self-defense situations, you have to plan for the instance where it won’t be. This means working out a way to carry a reload, and learning to perform the reload in an emergency. Generally, this means using speedloaders. There are currently two speed-loaders available for J-frame revolvers, the Safariland Comp 1 and the HKS 36A. Both of these speed-loaders have features that commend them. The Safariland Comp 1 has a spring mechanism that releases and launches the cartridges into the cylinder when you push it against the ejector star. The HKS offering has a large knob which must be turned slightly to the right to release the cartridges which fall by gravity into the cylinder. I think the Comp 1 has the edge in speed of reloading, but the HKS is easier to grasp quickly on release knob.

On balances, I came away feeling much better about the wheel gun as a self defense option. The next step is to determine if the skill enhancements with the Model 60 transfer to the Airweight. In terms of reloads, I think it will, but I’m not so sure about marksmanship. The 60 is a whole lot easier to get good hits with than its short barreled cousins.

Summary

The Model 60-15 is a versatile and accurate revolver. It is somewhat larger and heavier than the classic snubby, but its size and weight enable it to be a pleasant practice gun without being too large for discrete concealed carry. Its longer barrel produces better performance in .38 Special ammunition, and its greater weight allows it handle full charge .357 Magnum without causing pain. The Model 60-15 is a solid performer which is a pleasure to shoot. For wheel gun fans, this is one that I would heartily recommend.

---

 

Other Interesting Links

The Snubnose Files

A “Short” Look at Snubs

Why Carry a Revolver?

Smith & Wesson Model 60 .357 Magnum Five Inch Kit Gun

Smith & Wesson’s J-Frames

Pocket Full of Dynamite
Self-Defense loads

Making the J-Frame .38 Snub Work

.38 Special Terminal Ballistics

.357 Magnum Terminal Ballistics

Smith & Wesson Firearms

Taurus Firearms

Charter Firearms

By Syd

I have often asked myself why, after years of using autoloaders, I found myself drawn to the Smith & Wesson Airweight Chief’s Special revolver. There are some things about this that aren’t the most scientific reasons for selecting a handgun. I guess I’ve been fascinated by snub-noses since the first times I saw Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Cagney waving them around in old gangster movies. It was the snub-nose which always appeared out of nowhere and changed the situation. The snub-nose has a mystique about it just as surely as the Luger, The Single Action Army Colt, the M1911A1, the PPK…you know the list — the guns which have become icons. Actually, I’d like to own each of these someday, but some lack the utilitarian value to me of the snub-nose. So, while someday, I may own the Lone Ranger’s six-shooter, I picked up a Model 637 Chief’s Special Airweight in .38 caliber.

The Model 637 is the 5-shot J-frame built with a stainless steel barrel and cylinder and an aluminum alloy frame with an exposed hammer. It has black rubber Uncle Mike’s Boot Grips. The two greatest strengths of this gun are its excellent accuracy and 13.5 ounce weight. Other strengths I would list are the rounded contours of the gun, ease of concealment, its simplicity of operation, and high production values in finish and fit. This particular model is the 637-1, the “-1” indicating that it is rated to handle +p ammunition. When I selected the 637 I really struggled with the choice between the 637 and the 642, the Airweight Centennial which is double action only. I settled on the 637 because its exposed hammer allows me to cock it for single action fire which makes for greater accuracy. The 642 is “snag free” and would be the better choice for pocket carry.

The snub-nose .38 Special is a study in trade-offs. The .38 Special is an excellent cartridge coming out of a 4″ barrel. Launched from a 2″ barrel, it can suffer velocity and expansion problems. On the other hand, a .38 with a 4″ barrel won’t fit in your pocket. A snub-nose .38 can launch a bigger bullet than any other pistol of its size and weight, a 158 grain slug, but it can only launch five of them before you have to reload. Its small size and weight make it a dream to carry, but a pain to shoot. Modern .38 Special +p ammunition from Federal, Remington, and Winchester has addressed the velocity and expansion issues fairly well, but the recoil of +p in an Airweight is brisk indeed.

Shooting the snubby: I have medium large hands and the small grip and fast muzzle flip makes the snubby uncomfortable for me to shoot. One time I ran 150 rounds through it in a single session and came away with a blister on the bottom of my trigger finger from the trigger guard snapping up and hitting it. The trigger pull on the snubby is relatively heavy which doesn’t make for pinpoint accuracy, but provides a margin of safety for a gun that gets carried in pockets, purses, fanny packs and all sorts of holsters. Since the barrel is so short, the sight radius does not lend itself to tack-driving accuracy either. However, if you do take the time to get a good sight picture and have good trigger control, the inherent accuracy of the little wheel gun will surprise you.

“Of all handguns probably none of them are harder to master than the belly model. To begin with, it is short and it is light. This coupled with a walloping big caliber spells a punishing recoil. Only a plentitude of firing will accustom the user to the buck and rear of the sawed-off.

A hard-kicking gun can be controlled in only one way: it must he gripped with a powerful hand pressure. Practice a grip on the belly gun that will crush granite. Such a heavy hand will bring the weapon under control and keep it there. Practice on man targets and do not fire at them more than 30 feet. Do not fire single shots, trigger off bursts of 2 or 3. Extend the arm full length in the beginning and simply look over the barrel. Later on commence to break the elbow and hold the gun below eye level. Shots come faster. Accuracy is just as good from this lower position – it is just a matter of practice.” – Col. Charles Askins, GUNS MAGAZINE, May, 1955 [Editor’s note: I don’t necessarily subscribe to this style of shooting, but Col. Askins was one of the most experienced and successful gunfighters of all time and his methods are worth considering.]

The snub-nose .38 Special competes against guns like the Beretta Tomcat .32, the KelTec P-32, the SIG 230 .380 and the “baby Glocks”. Each of these have attributes which commend them, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use any of them (well, except maybe for the Glocks – sorry, I just don’t like them.). The case for the snub-nose includes cheap ammo, big bullets, simplicity of operation, and excellent reliability.

A while back, I had the opportunity to test one of the S&W titanium 337’s which weighs in at a mere 11.9 oz. In my opinion, the weight difference between the 637 and the 337 is not significant enough to justify the $150 price difference between the two guns (or the $250 difference you pay for the scandium versions). The stainless and aluminum alloy versions seem to be much better values to me. I also think the stainless steel of the 637 is better looking than the flat gun metal gray of the titanium parts of the 337. The two guns shoot about the same with brisk recoil and muzzle flip.

My favorite loads for the snubby include the 125g +p Remington Golden Saber, the 135g +p Speer Gold Dot, the 110g HydraShok which is a very soft-shooting load, and the 129g +p HydraShok. Favorite holsters include the Galco Concealable, Galco Pocket Holster, Galco Ankle Glove, and Galco Classic Lite Shoulder Holster.

Conceptual Issues With The Little Wheel Gun

Criticisms

It’s always entertaining to me to read the noise that gets passed off as gun wisdom on the Internet, and no subject seems to collect more ill-considered pseudo-truths than the snub-nose revolver. With the disclaimer that if I were forced to choose one pistol for my life, it wouldn’t be a snub-nose .38 Special, I want to address some of the issues and criticisms often leveled at the snub-nose. The big one, of course, is that it only holds five rounds, and I admit that this is my biggest negative with the gun. But think about it a minute – unless you are a soldier or a guy who kicks down doors for a living, how often have you actually been in a situation (outside of an IDPA match) in which there was a high likelihood of needing to fire 16-30 rounds? I have read the gun news almost every day for years and the instances in which an armed civilian has been called upon to shoot it out with a gang of heavily armed adversaries are exceedingly rare. And further, the sad fact is that if you have to go up against a half dozen armed people your odds of winning aren’t very good even with a gun that holds 15 rounds. Generally, violent crime is a matter of 1, 2 or 3 against 1 according to Justice Department statistics. The overwhelming majority of people who commit violent crimes against strangers are trying to steal something or commit a sexual assault. These people are looking for a score, not a gunfight. A .38 Special revolver with five or six rounds is quite adequate to dissuade, or if need be, stop this kind of predator, assuming of course that you can put the rounds somewhere that they will incapacitate the attacker. Also, with practice, a revolver can be reloaded as fast, or nearly so, as an auto using speed loaders.

I don’t mean this as an admonition to play the averages. I don’t believe in averages and statistics when it comes to self defense. Murphy is alive and well, and it’s the thing you don’t plan for that sandbags you. At the same time, real life is not like IPDA stages in which a dozen assailants stand still and let you shoot them. Groups of people, armed or otherwise, don’t behave that way. They scatter, dive for cover, shoot back, or something, but they don’t stand still. This gives you, the tactically-minded survivor, an opportunity to run the other way or take cover and reload. And again, these situations are rare, although not unheard of. Also, if you frequently find yourself in the position of being alone in a gunfight trying to hold off a half dozen armed adversaries, it might be worthwhile to stay at home tomorrow night to reflect upon your life style and social skills. The point I’m trying to make is that the snub-nose is enough gun for most civilian self defense needs when it is deployed effectively. Nevertheless, if your threat assessment tells you that you may be facing multiple determined attackers, you should consider a higher capacity firearm. For more discussion on this, see “Why Carry a Revolver?”

(My personal choices of armament for a gunfight include a belt-fed M-60, a company of Marines at my back and close air support, but it’s kind of tedious to get all of that together for a trip to the grocery store. If it sounds like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth, it’s because I am. The snubby is an acceptable solution to the problem. It’s a whole lot better than throwing rocks, but it is not an optimal solution. A lightweight snubby is a trade-off of firepower for light weight, ease of carry, and conceal-ability.)

One pseudo-truth I hear a lot is that snub-nose j-frames are the best choice for women, beginners and people who don’t want to practice with their handguns. Why? Loading and firing a Kahr or Glock is not exactly rocket science. A 1911 is only slightly more complicated. Are women and newbies too stupid to learn to operate an autoloader? How do they manage to operate their cars and food processors? I would argue the other way: let the newbies get a nice medium size autoloader with a deep magazine and a full size grip so they can miss a lot and not destroy their hands learning to fire the gun. A larger revolver is also a good choice for a newbie. A snub-nose 5-banger actually requires more skill to use effectively. With only five rounds in the gun, there is a smaller margin for error – you can’t afford to miss. The heavy trigger and short sight radius require more skill rather than less to achieve accuracy. You have to practice with these guns. Actually, you have to practice with any handgun, but that’s another rant. Especially with the lightweight revolvers, practice can be unpleasant because of the brisk recoil and muzzle flip, so why saddle newbies with little pocket cannons that are going to discourage practice? The only rational reason to put a newbie into a revolver is that they like it better. There is a certain wonderful trustworthiness about a wheel gun. Autos are mysterious with a lot of strange parts and such. Revolvers are simple and obvious. If the newbie has confidence that the revolver is going to work for them when the chips are down, that’s the gun they should get. Then they should buy a case of ammo (and maybe some shooting gloves) and learn how to use it.

Another criticism of the snub-nose is that it’s underpowered – the short barrel doesn’t give the powder enough time to burn to develop adequate velocity. While the short barrel certainly costs you some muzzle velocity, I believe that this is a criticism based largely on yesterday’s ammo, and it should be revisited. With modern +p loads, the snub-nose can kick out a 125g bullet at 850 – 900 fps. It can spit out the 158g at around 800 – 850 fps. At 900 fps a 125g bullet can shoot clean through a normal sized human being. While the .38 Special lacks the terminal ballistics of the .45 ACP and the velocity of the 9mm, its “power to weight ratio” is actually pretty good with the right ammunition. It is capable of doing the job. The power factor of the .38 Special revolver is the main reason I prefer it to a small auto like a .32 or .380 (and yes, I’ve read the Marshall & Sanow stats and I don’t believe a word of it.). The snubby is still the only handgun I know of that weighs 13 ounces and can launch a 158g bullet.

The last of the frequent criticisms of the snub-nose is that it isn’t very accurate. This isn’t really true, but I know why people think it. The snub-nose is not a gun that is easy to shoot accurately, but it is capable of surprising accuracy. On an episode of American Shooter hosted by Jim Scoutten, I saw trick shooter Bob Munden (see http://www.bobmunden.com/ ) hit a balloon the size of a saucer at 150 yards with a snub-nose .38. I think he had to fire twice, once to get the range and then the second shot hit. I have proven it to myself by consistently knocking down the small 18” tall x 6” wide pepper poppers at 25 yards. Now, to do this, I have to really take my time, aim carefully and fire single action, but I have established to my own satisfaction that the snubby can actually hit things at “long range” when I do the things I should.

The Good Stuff

I’m an auto guy. With the exception of firing a few old .38’s when I was a kid, I cut my teeth on autoloaders – particularly the M1911 and various 9mm’s. For serious business and matches, I still prefer autoloaders. I like their speed in firing and reloading. I have never found a gun that I shoot better than the M1911. With that said, I’m not blind to the appeal of wheel guns. There is a certain solid dependability about a wheel gun. It is simple and intuitive, and in its own way, perfect. To my way of thinking, the auto is faster and has better firepower, but there’s no squirrelly jazz about a revolver. It’s pretty obvious that it’s loaded, and there’s no safety or de-cocking levers to worry about. There are no magazines to fail, no research project to find out which ammo runs reliably, no carefully tuned mechanism to transfer cartridges to the chamber from the magazine – in short, the revolver is a simple and dependable mechanism. While it is technically possible for a revolver to jam, it is a rare event usually brought about by a failure of ammunition to hold together under the recoil cycle of the gun or crud build-up under the ejector star. I have managed to jam almost every autoloader I own but I have never jammed a revolver. I have seen every variety of autoloader jam and fail in match and training settings. I can tell you particular models of autoloaders that have never failed on me, but the possibility of a jam or magazine failure is always in the back of my mind and we have to train for malfunction recovery. It’s just part of the course for training people on autos. With a wheel gun, we don’t worry so much about malfunctions. We worry about learning to reload fast enough to survive a fight. We worry about finding ammo that will achieve the necessary velocity and expansion, but malfunction recovery just isn’t high on the list of worries when it comes to wheel guns. A lot of people like these characteristics of revolvers.

Recently, I suffered a pair of painful back injuries – one was the result of moving a load of drywall, and then a serious exacerbation of the injury happened in a fall on a set of stairs. I could scarcely tighten my belt enough to keep my pants up, much less endure a two pound gun and spare magazines riding on my belt and pressing against my lower back. In this sad state of disrepair, I was suddenly seeing my Airweight 637 in a whole new light. At 13.5 ounces and endowed with a really simple manual of arms, the snub-nose was a viable solution. I ordered a Galco Classic Lite shoulder holster so I wouldn’t have to endure a chunk of metal in my belt, and I had a rig that I could wear without discomfort.

The small snub-noses have ergonomics that even the smallest auto of comparable caliber fail to achieve. I have talked to police officers who have actually traded their baby Glock backups for j-frame revolvers because the small Glocks just don’t conceal or carry as well. The snub-nose remains to me the most concealable of guns of significant caliber. The rounded grip and small front end allows the gun to blend itself into the natural curves of the human body, making it an extremely easy gun to make disappear. It is comfortable to wear because it lacks the corners and levers which can dig into your body, and it’s light.

Tying the Threads Together

The snub-nose .38 revolver is an under-appreciated and overly criticized personal defense handgun. I suspect that in our haste to justify our lust for the latest whiz-bang autoloader, the snubby has taken a critical pounding that would leave the casual observer with the impression that the gun couldn’t stop a rampaging grasshopper and is as slow to reload as a Brown Bess musket. Much of this is undeserved. Its days as a primary sidearm for law enforcement are surely over, but it remains very popular among peace officers in the backup and off-duty carry roles. A non-scientific survey of gun shop display cases revealed to me that that compact revolvers remain very popular with the public. Their prices have gone up in recent years, and few “deals” can be found on nice used specimens, especially on the lightweight +p rated models.

A lot of misinformation goes around about the snubbies, particularly that they are the ideal gun for beginners and “non-dedicated personnel” (meaning folks that don’t want to practice). I would argue that the snub-nose is not the best “first gun.” It is actually more demanding of the operator in the tactical context. The snub-nose is capable of significant accuracy and is possessed of adequate stopping power to perform the self defense role. For the person who adopts the .38 snub-nose as their personal self defense tool, extensive practice at rapid shot placement and reloading is encouraged in the strongest terms. Firepower (meaning the art of putting a lot of lead in the air quickly) is this gun’s weakness. One might even consider carrying a pair of snubbies so that an emergency reload is less likely.

Its days as the detective’s best friend may be over, but the snub-nose .38 Special remains a dependable, effective handgun, a delight to carry, and a classic realization of the fighting handgun. And besides, it’s the only handgun my girlfriend ever called “sexy.” (I still haven’t figured out what she meant by that, but far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth.)

Additional Reading:

Why Carry a Revolver?

The Snubnose Files

Making the J-Frame .38 Snub Work

The .38 Snub – Old Fashioned Or Old Faithful?

Self-Defense loads for the 2-inch .38 Special

Is A .38 Snub Enough

 

The Smith & Wesson Model 625
Mountain Gun in .45 Long Colt

By Big Jim Charles

Most of us think of the grand ole’ 1911 in .45 ACP when we think of fine fightin’ firearms in the forty five chambering.

However, from time to time it behooves us to take note of the many fine .45’s out there in different chamberings and of different makes.

Make no mistake, the grand ol’ 1911 a-1, the Legendary Slab Sided Battle Weapon to end all Fightin’ Implements is indeed an oldy and a goodie, but there are other designs we come across from time to time that are just as good in their own particular way. One such example is nestled in my inside coat pocket as I type this missive to Syd. A .45 “Long” Colt revolver of the S&W persuasion.

On a trip to my favorite firearms purveyor nestled in the mountains of Floyd County my brother Dave was eyeballing all the shiny, tricked out new Kimbers. But sitting there in the corner among all the Grand New Copies of the Government Model along with the various tactical tupperwear type ordnance was a beautifully understated and underestimated piece that harkened back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt and Elmer Keith, not the mean streets of the big cities and SWAT teams. It was a gleaming Smith and Wesson Mountain Revolver chambered in .45 Colt!

I took a look and was amazed at the price, a few hundred under what I have seen various N frame Smiths going for as of late. Seeing as how I was cash poor I asked the owner of the shop if he would be interested in a trade. Seeing as how I had more than my share of .44 Magnums and the big boomer is always a seller in my neck of the woods, the shop wizard agreed to my proposal and a few pesky federal forms later, me and my new “Hillbilly Gun” were on our way home, along with a box of Cowboy Action Shooting Ammo from Frontier.

The big gun was a good shooter. Often, when we are used to shooting semi-automatics, we tend to forget just how accurate a fixed barrel revolver with a smooth 3 pound let off can be. This was a prime example, with groups that would make me look like a liar, were I to type them in. I feel confident that those huge 255 grain lead wad cutters will be just as effective, if not more-so than the 230 grain hardball I have used to protect my hide, low these many years….

This particular Mountain Revolver was a little different. First up, it had been Magna-ported, and to be honest I don’t understand why. Unless you are shooting full-house .44 magnum loads in a four inch N-frame recoil is pretty much unnoticeable in these portable cannons. Actually the extra flash from the porting tended to throw my shooting off.

As it was an older Smith it also featured a few details I prefer to the newest N-frames. Gone is that new frame bolster that makes the good looking guns look clunky. The old grooving was carved deep into the back strap where we old timers expect it to be. Haven’t taken off the one-piece Hogue monogrips yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find a square but grip frame on this beauty, and best of all, low and behold and praise St. George, right there on the face of the hammer is the wicked, curved firing pin poised like a serpent’s tooth, right where it should be! One of the clerks told me that some of Smiths newest offerings are coming up with a small thumb safety installed, and I really can’t say I approve of it. In my honest opinion, if you want a thumb safety, buy a 1911!!!

Also, since the majority of Smith revolvers are chambered in high pressure magnum rounds, I wonder how long it will take these added on widgets to get battered out of alignment and cause the gun to not work when you need it most. Remember the FBI 10mm? I think Smith just needs to have the state of California change it’s laws instead of modifying the classic wheel gun of the 20th century for the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia.

But this will affect me and my nice Smith .45 not in the least.

I like to think of this as my “Hillbilly Gun” as when I was a boy, the big frame Smiths in .45 chamberings were very popular in my neck of the woods. Citified sissies may have relied primarily on .38’s back then, but here in the mountains Thunder rolls. With the skinny tapering barrel, this piece even resembles those old N-frames from long ago.

I can’t help but get the feeling when shooting this gun that it is the main one in my arsenal that my great-great grandpappy, George Dillon (an old time gun-fightin’ lawman in the Sid Hatfield tradition) would have approved of most.

The trigger is nice and smooth, cylinder locks up tight and the gun shoots as a good gun should. It has few of the homely modifications of the recent Smiths and the only real drawback to it’s overall look is that color case hardening on the hammer and trigger that looks so woefully out of place on a stainless wheel gun.