July/August 1978 - American Handgunner

" I THE AMERICANAUNOFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OUTSTANDING AMERICAN HANDGUNNER AWARDS FOUNDATION67522 T&ESPECIAL:SMITH'S 9mmAUTO PISTOLS0 Evolution ofModern Pistolcraft .- :Shot Loads for The.44 BulldogCooper's Comments:THE COMSTOCKCOUNTCUSTOMIZING THE BIG STAR AUTOS

T E AMERICANJULYIAUGUST, 1978VOL 3 NO. 4-1 2, , George E. von Rosen, . Publishert -- '-'> .

INDUSTRY INSIDERBy MASSAD F. AYOOBÂ¥N BULLET JIGGLE - Cartridgesalign perfectly with revolvercylinder.*RELEASES CARTRIDGES 2 WAYS -Push loader straight into revolverand "WHAM-O!", you're loaded -in one easy motion - or turn theknob to release the cartridges!*NO SPILL ACTION - If dropped, ourreloader will NOT spill ammo asmany others do.DEPENDABLE.. . FAST.. .SAFEThis amazing reloader is an entirelynew concept in speed loading.Insert the cartridges into the reloaderand a simple turn of the knob on toplocks them in. It gives a secure grip,with fast out-of-case-and-into-revolveiaction. Trouble free operation, withNO JAMS. has made our reloadersLeather Cases available in Plain Basket or ClannoAVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL GUN DEALEDEALERS ONLY PLEASE:Call TOLL FREE 1-800-354-981for DealershipIOrderingInformation.H.K.S.'FAILSAFE' PRODUCT!132 FIFTH ST. DAYTON. KY.41074HE big news for '78 in handgunning isT going to be ammo rather than firearms,it seems. There has been some evolutionarychange in hardware here andthere, but little really earth-shatteringwith the exception of a stainless 9 mmauto. Where change is really evident isin cartridges.This column has long been calling forRemington to introduce a .380 Auto load inthe same jacketed hollowpoint format thathas been so successful in their 115-grainweight with the 9 mm Parabellum and intheir 185-gr. with the .45 ACP. At longlast, our hopes and predictions have beenanswered. Remington has announced an88-gr. JHP .380 with a stated muzzle velocityof 990 feet per second and 191 ft-lbmuzzle energy.But mathematical figures tend to be irrelevantwhen you analyze high performancein this cartridge. Bullet design iseverything. What has made Remington'saforementioned 9 mm and .45 hollowpointsthe standard for comparison amongpolice is the tapered bullet shape coupledwith jacketing that goes over the tip of thehollow cavity. This does two things: itmakes the rounds feed as smooth ashardball even in most unaltered guns, andit gives fine expansion in anti-personnel orhunting applications without sacrificingthe ability to punch through car doors.Where lead-tipped hollowpoints expandprematurely, the Remington designpunches through sheet steel like a cookiecutter and opens up only when it hits thefleshy target-.Whether the .380 will perform as superblyas the 115-gr. 9 mm and the 185-gr..45 remains to be seen, but informedhandgunners consider it a round to watch.Just a few short years ago, the Plus-Pconcept of hot .38 Special loads electrifiedthe police community. Startled gunmakerswere cautious about endorsing the newloads. Colt, who make amply strong .38snubbies, chose not to recommend theirD-Frame guns for the hot loads; this inturn unnerved some of their good policecustomers, and the firm quickly turnedaround and endorsed the Plus-P for alltheir .38s, which were "endorsable" tobegin with anyway.Then came the much-discussed"Treasury Load" by Winchester, a 110-gr.JHP .38 Special loaded still closer to .357Magnum capability. Designated a "Q"load (or special limited-distribution product)by W-W, the Treasury load capturedthe imagination of police across the country,not to mention performance-orientedcivilian gun buffs. Federal recently put asimilar load on the special-order market.Rumbles in the industry are that a newdesignation may be in the offing. Winchestermay call their version the "Plus-P-Plus," and Federal's is likely to benamed "Super-Plus-P." We're talkingabout 24,000 psi pressure compared to20,000 for the "old" Plus-P round.In pressure test barrels, that works outto about 1235 foot-seconds for the oldPlus-P .38, and 1360 fps for the new one.That compares to roughly 1700 for the .357Magnum with the same weight bullet andthe same test barrel.Super-Plus-P pressures don't comenear what .357 Magnum revolvers arerated for, but they do worry some makersof .38 Specials. Blowups aren't anticipated;rather, their concern is acceleratedwear. At the most, you're probably talkingabout stretched frames that will affectreliability, as opposed to any real dangerof injury from a gun mishap, unless youhave an old, poor quality, or defectivegun.This is why such loads will be sold onlyon special order to governmental agencieswho understand exactly what they'regetting, and can balance increasedwear-and-tear on their weapons againstthe greater stopping power that will beafforded the officer carrying it. Theammo makers themselves are charyabout selling it to agencies that issuealuminum frame guns.The fact that this ultra .38 Specialammo won't be available to the public islittle cause for concern. If John Q. Citizenwants to upgrade his firepower, hecan simply buy a .357 or .45 and load itAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

with factory ammo, which will outperformeven Plus-P-Plus .38 caliber by asignificant margin. But it's a big factor inpolice sales, because so many departmentsare restricted, or restrict themselves,to the .38 Special cartridge.Though the ACLU media blitz againstMagnums-and hollowpoints has prettymuch blown over, it has left a lot of policeadministrators running scared of anythingthat sounds like Magnum Force.Speaking of Magnum Force, there's aninteresting anecdote that accompaniesFederal Cartridge's single handgunammo entry this year. Their new 180-grain JHP .44 Magnum steps out of afour-inch S&W Model 29 revolver at animpressive 1610 foot seconds, which acceleratesto 1800-plus from the 8%" versionof the same sporting handgun. WhenFederal exec Mike Bussard reviewed theproofs of the 1978 company catalog, henoted that the cartridge hadn't beenlisted under rifle rounds (the .44 Magbeing popular as a deer carbine in manyparts of the country). He contacted hiscounterpart in the ballistics research sectionof the company and asked why thenew .44 load hadn't been measured forcarbine performance. "It was," the ballistician,told him. "It clocks over 2100feet per second." "That's incredible!"Bussard exclaimed. "Why didn't you getthat figure into the catalog?" The engineersighed and answered, "Who wouldhave believed it?" Thus, though the roundisn't listed as such in the catalog, it is aworthwhile choice to those of you withRuger and Marlin .44 Magnum carbines.If you're still waiting for that stainless,high-capacity, double action 9 mm autofrom COLT'S, you've been holding yourbreath for ten years now and probablyaren't around to read this column anyway.It's still in the engineering departmentlimbo. Nor are you likely to see astainless steel Smith & Wesson 9 mmanytime soon. But why wait? From anunlikely corner of the industry comes theanswer to your desires: muzzleloadermogul Val Forgett of Navy Arms is importingthe Mamba pistol from South Africa."Guns & Ammo" tested a prototypea while back, and production guns werescheduled to hit these shores for the firsttime about when our deadline hit for thisissue. Initial shipments were to be in 9mm Parabellum 14-shot configurationpossibly with ambidextrous safeties,while .45 ACP is slated for late '78availability. These rustless double actionautos, I predict, will have a greater impacton the domestic handgun marketthan any foreign entry since the Star PD,so long as the import flow doesn't getbottlenecked. Look for a detailed test ofone of the first production guns in thesepages soon.No super big news at COLT'S, exceptthat yours truly almost wound up on thecover of this month's issue, being tram-- pled by a giant Rampant Colt. The kidL-No extractor - blow back actiononlypistol withant breech cleaningdoublesafety features.he Beretta .25 cal Jetfire and the .22 Short Minx can bewithout pulling back the slide-or right through the pop-upfor single shot shooting. After the first fired shot, each shellown out of the barrel by the blow-back system. There are twoafeties-the external hammer safety and the external thumbafety. Both pistols can be field stripped in secondon slide receiver grips, push button magazine and ofcourse the meticulous craftsmanship that has been the BerettaHallmark for over 300 years. To retail at $100.00Minx M2-Cal. 22 short. Overall Length 4W, Length of barrel 2W ...Weight 10 om.. .8 shots.. .Thumb safety.. .Half cock safety25.. . Overall Length 4% . . . Length of barrel 2%" . . . WeightJetfire-Cal.8 ozs.. .8 shots.. .Thumb safety.. .Half cock safety

-NIARLES C THOMAS-PUBLISHEI- I?r ?I--- --- -- .- --- OF --->HANDGUN: For the Novice by MasonWilliams, Firearms and Ballistic Consultant,Libby, Montana. '78, 240 pp.,106 il., cloth-$11.50, paper-$6.95BALLISTIC SCIENCE FOR THELAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER byCharles G. Wilber, Colorado StateUniv., Fort Collins. '77, 324 pp. (6314 x9 3/4), 86 il., 26 tables, $23.50AMERICAN POLICE HANDGUNTRAINING by Charles R. Skillen, YellowstoneCounty Sheriff's Dept., Billings,Montana, and Mason Williams,Firearms and Ballistic Consultant, Libby,Montana. '77, 216 pp., 77 il., $11.75COMBAT HANDGUN SHOOTINGby James D. Mason, Consultant, SanDiego County Sheriff's .Dept., SanDiego, California. Foreword by BillMcMillan. '76, 272 pp. (6 314 x 9 3/4),594 11. (26 in color), 8 tables, $24.75THE LAW ENFORCEMENT BOOKOF WEAPONS, AMMUNITION ANDTRAINING PROCEDURES: Handguns,Rifles and Shotguns by MasonWilliams, Firearms and Ballistic Consultant,Libby, Montana. '77, 544 pp. (6314 x 9 3/4), 506 il., 1 table, $32.50FIREARMS IDENTIFICATION: TheLaboratory Examination of SmallArms, Rifling Characteristics in HandGuns, and Notes on Automatic Pistols.Volume I (2nd Ptg.) by J. HowardMathews. Foreword by Julian S.Hatcher. '73, 416 pp. (8 518 x 11 114),644 il., $44.75FIREARMS IDENTIFICATION: OriginalPhotographs and Other Illustrationsof Hand Guns. Volume I1 (2ndPtg.) by J. Howard Mathews. '73, 500pp. (8 518 x 11 1/4), 3138 il., $44.75FIREARMS IDENTIFICATION: OriginalPhotographs and Other Illustratipnsof Harid Guns. Data on RiflingCharacteristics of Hand Guns and Rifles.Volume I11 by J. Howard Mathews.Editorial assistance from Allen E.Wilimovsky. '73, 744 pp. (8 518 x I11/4), 3701 il., 7 tables, $69.50THE SEARCH FOR AN EFFECTIVEPOLJCE HANDGUN by Allen P.Bristow, Californza State Univ., Los Angeles.'73, 256 pp., 11 il., $15.75MANUAL OF BASIC POLICE FIRE-ARMS INSTRUCTIONS AND SAFE'4 HANDLING PRACTICES by Roy3 Agosta, Macomb County Communzty*College, Warren, Michigan. Forewordby Jack Seitzinger. '74, 116 pp. (63/4 xQ 314)) 142 il., $6.95, paperhere spelled Firearms Division PresidentEd Warner's name as b6Werner" in therecent HANDGUNNER interview. Itturns out that while Warner got somegood-natured kidding from other captainsof the firearms industry, he also gotbeaucoup letters from consumers whoappreciated the fact that he didn't pullany punches when "HANDGUNNER"asked him tough questions, and who feltthat his straightforward answers had renewedtheir faith in the Colt ~roduct. Theerror wa$ entirely mine, for which Iapologize herewith. Fortunately, Warneris not only a very up-front, no-baloneyadministrator, but also a good-naturedindividual.What is new at Colt is the renaissanceof the Ace pistol, a .22 L.R. on the -45auto frame. Look for a "HANDGUN-NEW' test soon. The 6" Diamondback wepredicted a few columns back will be introducedthis year, in -22 caliber only. Itwill appear as a commemorative f~st, asa plain-finish "shootin' iron" later. Nobodyhas decided yet just what the firstlong-barrel twenty-two snake will commemorate,but we'd put our money on theanniversary of the Louisiana Purchase.Finally, the drive to produce a new Coltpolice service revolver by 1979 has beenput into neutral. The company for nowwill stay with the Mk I11 series of -38s and.357s.Smith & Wesson has their 6" CombatA new 357 magnum full metal jacketed silhouettepistol bullet from sierra.cdiber.357 Magnum(3565" d ' i )w170 grainsMateridGiii Metal Jacket3 % Lead core ~ ~Magnum stainless Model 66 out, just aswe promised but somewhat ahead oftime; ditto the K-38 version, the Model awith shrouded ejector rod. Slated for introductionaround July of this year is thcModel 63, a stainless-steel .22132 Kit gun,This long-awaited item will be availableonly in four-inch barrel, semi-square but1configuration, which is what thetrailsmen who were clamoring for a stainlessversion would probably have chosenanyway. Curiously, a stainless K-22 is notbeing seriously comtemplated.Meanwhile, there have been someexecutive changes at S&W. DickMcMahon, formerly head of Marketing, isnow in charge of International Sales,which account for about a quarter ofS&W production. He remains the officialcompany spokesman to the public. Replacinghim as V.P. of Marketing is BobHass, a,non-gun person late of SonylAmerica, and much praised for his marketinginsight and shrewdness. We spoketo him a short time after he took the post,and he made a point of referring all technicalquestions to the right places.Though some think only gun buffs can dojustice to a position like his, this writertalked to Smith insiders, and has a gutfeeling that Hass will be good for Smith &Wesson. New blood and new ideas arealways a healthy transfusion, especiallyin an industry noted for superconservativemanagement and marketing'&amid ndme wnt metmid nn annrnua/301-327 EAST LAWRENCESPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS 62717Sierra ~ilets, Dept. AH-f 10532 So. Painter Ave., Santa Fe Springs, Calif. 90670AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

practices.We reported on this page a year agothat S&W hoped to boost its productionof the coveted (and often black-marketpriced)Model 29, .44 Magnum, by 80% tohelp eliminate the dealer price piratingthat has hurt their image so badly amongshooters. Final word for fiscal '77: theydidn't make the 80% increase, but theycame close enough to prove they wereseriously trying. The effect is visible insome Darts of the countrv if not all: Model29 bootleg prices are steadily going down.Smith insists that they'll up 29 output stillfurther in 1978. For this reason, don'tlook for the Model 25 in -45 Long Coltcaliber in a plain-finish, "just for shooters"model as soon as we previously predicted.Our sources at the Springfieldplant hadn't reckoned with the fact thatModel 29 production really would be acceleratedyet again this year, and frankly,demand for a .45 LC still doesn't begin toapproach the volume of the market'sscreams for more .44 Magnums. Still,we're sure that a stock 25 (or whateverthey'll call it) in the Long Colt chamberingis only a matter of time, now that thetooling is already there after the phenomenalacceptance of the AnniversaryModel commemoratives."Now It Can Be Told Department:" Ayear and a half ago, this writer was showna prototype of S&W Leather's "Pop-up"holster, and sworn to secrecy because thepatents had not yet been approved. Therig will be out this year, though, and isworth looking at. It resembles the oldMMGR elastic bellyband holster, the besthideout rig ever devised for the snub 38revolver or -380 auto, but with a difference.It carries the 2" Chief or whateverdown the front of the pants, slung off awaist-encircling strap, in perhaps the lastarea a frisker will grope to find it. Afinger-flip from the left hand in the fronttrouser pocket pushes it up to where youcan reach it right-hand crossdrawthrough the shirtfront. Good for narcs andsuch. I'm gonna get one, if that tells youanything. Also new from that Smith divisionwill be a new thumb-break series ofholsters for both cops and sportsmen: thedifference is a new angle on the releaselatch, which is between the gun and theholster body instead of in toward the edgeof the holster as usual. We'll test that onebefore we comment.Scuttlebutt this year hints at a significantchange in new-gun-product announcements.Formerly, the NationalSporting Goods Association show in Februarywas the place to unveil new firearmsgoodies. It still is, but more makersthan ever are holding their surprises forthe NRA show in Salt Lake City. We'll bethere with bells on . . . if we can't squeakout any ''proprietary information"ahead of time for you. 7Experts claim that a good grip is the most functional part ofany handgun. Proper size, shape and construction help increaseaccuracy, shooting speed and comfort.Monte Carlo grips are efficiently designed to do all this andmore. They dress-up a handgun with the beauty of carefullyched, handsomely grained exotic Philippine bolong wood, oil11111shed and rubbed to a fine glow. In fact the graining on each setis different, and they cost so very little.You'll find Monte Carlo grips in the proper stock-to-palm fitfor just about every type of shooting; special shapes for target,[*nmh? and semi-automatic models.et a grip on your handgun with a set of Monte Carlo grips.Q5 ct rw,ma ".," ".., WU,,.. -lew York, N Y 10007!Square Butt -31 -34-36-37-51 BJTS 21 00 BJCS 21 00SquareButt-10-12-13-14-15--.WH & 16- 17 - 18 - I g - 53 - 64 - 65 - 66 - 67-. ICOLT22,00 22.00Round Butt-10- 12-19 BKTR 2200 BKCR 22 00Square Butt-25-27-28-29-57-581 Automatic Plain Panels - 1 1Detective Special - Cobra -Aoent- Diamond BackPython-Officers Model-Commando-BJCR-SPEC $22.BJCS-SPEC 22,BKC-SPEC 24BKCR-SPEC 24BNT : BNC 23.00 BNC-SPEC 25Ace (Panels) No. 10 $15.00 No. 10B 20.00IUGER 1 Securlty SIX- Square Bun 1 RSS3 22.00 1 RSSI 22 00IINo. 4 22No. 5 24No. 6, -"

-'.. : ,,. . .{b-.$, \:..', -.,.IOOPER'S :;,. .- +:,d.*.-..&7>?;$'.'r.*.,$;':.$.jp*., . ;,.< **:

had to compensate for it. This was called"machine-gunning," and it meant simplyflooding the target with sloppily controlledfire. Usually it did not work, but itcould, and this had to be avoided. So wedid this-we penalized double for a completemiss. On the standard I.P.S.C.target, for example, a major caliber usuallyscores 5,4,2. Usually two shots pertarget are indicated. Two center hits willthus get you ten points. But if you throwtwo hysterical quickies at that paperyou'd better be lucky, for you may wellwind up with minus twenty. (Maximumvalue of one shot is five. Double for acomplete miss is minus ten. Minus tentwice is minus twenty.) If you get a centerhit, and a miss, you come up with minusfive. Sooner is still better, but only $YOU hit.So the Comstock Count is now acceptedas "total numerical score, minusdouble the maximum possible value of ahit for each miss, divided by time."THE RIGHT TO BEAR-ARMS -7The right to bear arms has longpeen o privilege of all Americans.Weor this solid Brass Buckle Proud1$how where you stand on gun controlCast on the lost wax process whoch goves ~t almost unbehevable detadMoney back guarantee ''Frea Entwprlse EnterprlnsP.0. BOX 1613West Wnroe, b. 712011 ..'l'here are drawbacks. They by nomeans invalidate the system but theymust be anticipated.(1) The Comstock Count requires thateach shooter be timed individuallv foreacy string. If you've got a line of twentyshooters you need twenty stopwatches,plus people who use them uniformly.(2) The Comstock Count calls urgentlyfor hand calculators. You may know of alot of local friendly scorekeepers who canhandle a bushel basket full of long divisioneasily, quickly, and accurately, but Idon't. On the other hand, pocket calculatorsare pretty common now.(3) Comstock scores, in the raw state,cannot be integrated with other types ofscores. If you have three stages in amatch for instance, you should come upwith scores that equalize, or very nearlyequalize, the shooters' performance on allthree. If a man logs 455 x 500 on StageOne, 87 x 100 on Stage Two, and C 12.75on Stage Three, you can either (a) rankhim on each by placement (10 for first, 7for second, 5 for third, etcetera) or youcan (b) convert all three scores to a uniformbase-say 100 points.To do this with a Comstock score youneed to establish a "par" time, which isnecessarily arbitrary but need not beabandoned for that. Take "El Presidente9'-universallypracticed. You firetwelve shots, maximum value five pointseach. Experience has established par atten seconds. If you plant all twelve in thex-ring you score (5 x 12) sixty points. Ifyou hit par on the nose, at ten seconds,you get a raw score of six (6). To convert apar performance to a 100 base, therefore,you simply multiply the raw score (6) by afigure that will get 100 points. Thus 16213becomes the conversion factor by whichAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978 1.1

SNUBmNOSEDREVOLVER1 FREE: Targets and 50 reuseable pellets 1This hard hitting target pistol looks and feelslike the famous snub nosed revolver in useby most detectives. The cylinder swings OutHonor House Dmt. 527DR77. Lvnbmk N.Y. 115631~ I V YOUR E FIREARMSCOMPLETE CARE1rE GUN 1a TREATMENTcleans-removes all tracesof rust and leading.Lubricates - modern lubricantsinsure perfect- firingat all temmratures. Won't1 6ee;e. oxidize,-cii evaporate.Protects- leaves invisiblefilm over all metal parts.Cat. #I055 5 OZ. $2.50 pp.Cat. #1055P 15 OZ. $3.96Patorson,1 ~t you belleve that cwlluatlon may be on a short fuse wh~ch 1could easdy be ~gn~ted by Terrorism Monetary Colapse FoodShonages Muclear Attack or 8lackma1t and Thermonuclear 1 Accidents you should read SURVIVAL GUNS 1Iall raw scores are multip~iecin this case.Whatever your raw score (i.e. 8 x 5,3 x 4,1 x 2, total % points, divided by, let usstipulate, a respectable time of 8.8 seconds,to get you a figure of 6.l3M6+) youmultiply it by 162i3. In the example giventhis would produce 102 113 points-just ahair better than par. If you placed lessthan four hits on any of the three targetsyou would lose 10 points each, before applyingthe conversion factor, which wouldbring you well down below 100, as isproper.(4) Last and most important, the ComstockCount is not properly applicable tolong strings involving more movementthan shooting. It works fine on "El Presidente,"on a short assault course, or onthe PPC(!) But when firing points arespaced too far apart it tends to rewardrunning more than shooting. Running,crawling, hurdling and such are all part ofpractical shooting, but they are intendedto stress the contestant rather than to testhim. Where shooters are required to runlong distances, surmount high obstacles,crawl long tunnels, or jump a series ofwide ditches, the contest becomes moreof a track meet than a shooting match.This is not to decry track meets, but onlyto maintain a perspective. Applied to thewrong course of Fie, the Comstock Countcan equate ten points with one second,and that is not as it should be. This onlyemphasizes the importance of experiencein those who design practical coursesof fire.When we first announced Walt's systemit was enthusiastically adopted allover the world. (There is a "ComstockClub" in South Africa.) If we were stillawarding the order of Combat Master itcould serve well as Walt's "Masterpiece."Due probably to lack of detailedinstructions about the double penalty andthe correct establishment of conversionfactors, it ran into a bit of trouble hereand there. In some areas that doublepenalty produced a number of "totalminus" scores, which upset people. It issomewhat discouraging to enter a contestwith high hopes and find that your totalscore at the day's end is "minus 73." Butthis only serves to point out-again-thatpractical shooting contests are not reallya good place for duffers.We are always a bit surprised at thenotion that anybody is qualified to enterany shooting match. We don't see that inother sports. No one seems to feel thatjust anybody can enter a rodeo, or a chesstournament, or varsity football, or Indianapolis,and be competitive just becausehe is warm. All these things take abit of doing, and without a sound backgroundin the activity the aspirant maywell make a complete fool of himself, orworse. Still we find shooters who seem tothink that they can take on any sort ofchallenge without any sort of introduction,training, or practice. We may admiretheir chutzpah, but we need notcommiserate much if they wind up with anegative tally. The double penalty is necessary,as has been proven by trial anderror. I fear that personal embarrassmentis just one of the facts of life and shouldbe accepted as such.The Comstock Count is not the onlyway to equate speed with accuracy, but itis a great forward step, if employed intelligently.Naturally it does not work insteel or clay pigeon matches, which aFepreferably scored by time only (low towin). Nor should it be used with slow-firetargets with meaningless small rings.And, as aforesaid, it is not at its best intrack meets. Nevertheless it is bound tobe more and more frequently encounteredin major competition, and it shouldbe well understood by bothorganizers and contestants.hmal Contents Chom~ng Defense and Huntmg HandgunsShotguns & Rdles Mod~l~cat~ons and Mamte~anm Specla1Purpose Weapons Accessor!es Learnmg Pract~cal Shootmg* Ammun~tm * Handloadmg andMoreSFWAL BONUS Personal Su~wal Batteries ol BradAa@ier, M Cmper, bl Burl MillerReas send me - copy(1es) @ $7 95 plus 6% (per h k ) tww e an& bndl~ug Sad toWNsBaakDapt.,~200Sal Cmhm dm In Rain& &n Dbgo, CA e2108YOU ASKED FOR ITHERE IT IS FROM:MILT SPARKSMEL TAPPAN SAYS, "The 'MIRAW Is the moat concealableholster for Auto Pistols I have e* uaed andof the FASTEST."Why riak ycur life on the less effective small boreswhen you can carry a full size .45, Commander, or PDwith equal comfort and cmealment even under aspoli ahirt.The "MIRAQE" can be uaed either right or lee handed(not x-draw) inside or cutside the belt and it hob thegtm ti t against the body, yet It offers a proper holdcm in& hanecontaot.Pleaae state belt wldth and color when ordering.$18.00 plus $1.00 poatage and handling. Matchingbelt, unlined41 2.00, lined-$20.00MILT SPARKSBox 7, Idaho City, Idaho 83631(208) 392-06961 HI-COMPRESSION1 22 CAL- PELLET FIRINGNo Permit RequiredPurchaser must be over 21 WFREE: 50 rounds of Reusable 22 CalAmmo and a Supply of TargetsThis high compression air pistol slams eighthard-hitting 22 cat. pellets into its target Witho~~treloading. Just snap back the kit, turn thecylinder and you're ready for the next round. Amolded hand grip, long barrel, and ring sightprovide unusual accuracy and cumfort. On1$9.95 plus 7% for postage and handling - if CO&send $2.00 god will deposit and postman thebalance plus WD charges. FEE ammo andtargets included. State age when ordering. Notsold in N.Y.C.Hmmr Houso, Dopl. WAP77, Lynbmok, N.Y. 11563N.Y. Res. add appropriate Wes taxAVERCAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

There's alot moreto CharterArmsTarget Bulldog 357Mag, 4" barrel--Bulldog ,357 Mag,6" barrelWhen there's talk about Charter Arms, it's generallytalk about our Undercover .38 Spl., the smashingsnubbie that burst on the handgun scene back in 1968.And, the Undercover deserved all the praise it earnedcombining the cherished basics of design found in allfine handguns with several daring and innovative newideas. As time went on, those ideas matured and weutilized these proven and tested techniques and conceptsas we expanded into other calibers.Today all the qualities which bestowed leadership onthe Undercover .38 Spl. can now be found in afull familyof fine handguns, not only in a variety of calibers butbarrel lengths, finishes and grips.When you walk into your dealer to buy a handgun,look them all over. If he doesn't have a Charter Arms toshow you, ask him to contact his local distributor. Don'tbuy some other handgun without looking at whatCharter Arms has to offer. You deserve the chance tomake a comparison and we have every confidence inyour decision.Want to know more? Write for our full color illustratedbrochure and price list.Charter Arms Corporation331 Sniffens Lane, Stratford, Connecticut 06497203 377-8080

PA DISSENTING VIEW ON MAGAZINE SAFETIESolice departments that issue theSmith & Wesson model 39 or 599 mm semiautomatic often cite the magazinedisconnector safety as one reasonfor their choice of pistol. Gun expertsinvariably denounce this feature as compromisingone of the theoretically greatadvantages of the police auto over therevolver: if there is a round in the chamber,and you're jumped while changingclips in the heat of a gunfight, you've gota shot ready to fire.It is safe to say that virtually every gunwriter would be in agreement on the tacticalundesirability of magazine disconnectorsafeties. (To new readers, thefunction of such a device is to make itimpossible for the auto pistol to fire, evenif there is a live round in the chamber,once the magazine has been removed.The concept came about decades ago,when the gunmakers realized that a lot ofaccidental shootings with automaticsoccurred with novices who thought thegun was safe once they removed themagazine.)Indeed, for years I felt thatway. WhenI explained to police students or brotherofficers why I carried a Colt .45 auto onthe job, the ability to fire the chamberedround while reloading was a point I alwaysbrought up. In fact, I wrote in onearticle on the Smith 9 mm that the officercarrying one should remove the disconnectorand have it fashioned into a tieclip, so it would at least perform somekind of a useful function.There are many apparently solid argumentsagainst - the magazine - disconnectorsfound in guns like the Smith 9's orthe Browning Hi-Power auto. If you loseyour clip, and only have loose rounds tofeed it one at a time, you won't be able tocontinue firing. And of course, you loseBy MASSAD F. AYOOBthe ability to shoot if youget pounced onduring the reloading process. There isanother very real danger with this type ofsafety; some police departments thathave ado~ted the Smith auto teach theirmen to remove the magazine and check itin at the booking desk, keeping the nowdeactivatedgun in the holster, whereaswith a sixgun, they'd simply check thewhole weapon before they went down intothe jail area.This latter practice is extremely shortsightedand dangerous for severalreasons. First, few or none of these departmentsmake the officer check hisspare clips too, and checking two or threemagazines is more tedious than handingthe clerk a single firearm. Second, theyassume that none of the officers haveread the gun magazines, and removed themagazine disconnector safety from thepistol.Let's assume that such an officerchecks his magazine at the desk, and escortsthe prisoner into the cell area withhis model 39 or 59 still in the holster.There is a scuffle. As armed brother officersrush toward the noise, the prisoneremerges, holding the downed officer'sauto pistol. The cops have seen themagazine being checked in at the bookingdesk and assume that the gun can't befired. Instead of taking cover from thegun pointed at them, they go for their ownhandguns, or approach confidently totake the supposedly useless gun from thesuspect, barehanded.BANG: Or maybe, BANG BANGBANG.The suspect may have reloaded with amagazine torn from the officer's belt, orperhaps there will be only one BANG, thesingle round in the chamber that wasturned loose because the officer carryingthat particular gun had modified it theway we gun writers had told him. One"bang" is one too many.As to the other advantages of autos thatdon't have magazine safeties, I can onlysay that I have yet to find a case on recordwhere being able to fire the single roundin the chamber while he was reloadingwould have saved a policeman's life. Oh,the auto pistol buffs cite the four CaliforniaHighway Patrolmen gunned down enmasse in 1970 while trying to reload theirrevolvers from drop pouches. That argumentdoesn't translate, though; thesemen had emptied their guns without hittinganything and it is safe to assume thathad they been carrying automatics, theywould have emptied those too, and notsaved the round in the chamber.As far as feeding cartridges one at atime, any police officer with an autoloadingservice pistol would be carryinghis spare ammo in magazines anyway.Should he by some chance have only oneclip in the gun and a pocketful of looserounds, he could simply leave the emptymagazine in place (thus bypassing themagazine disconnector safety) and dropthe shells into the chamber one at a time,then hit the slide release and fire at will,round by round.But I reiterate: I've never heard of anysuch incident. What I do have on recordis at least five officers saved by the designof their S&W 9 mm autos, and two ofthese "saves" were directly attributableto the magazine disconnector safety.The first occurred a few years ago inSalt Lake City, one of the first largemetropolitan police agencies to adopt anautomatic pistol. A lone officer in theCanyon district was jumped by a coupleof thugs, who beat him senseless andsnatched his model 39 from its holster.Through a semiconscious haze, that lucklesspoliceman watched in horror as hisassailants tried to kill him with his owngun.The thug who had taken the pistolaimed it at his chest and pulled the trigger.If it had been a revolver, (like themodel 64 S&W .38's Salt Lake City isnow turning to) he would have died in thatinstant, but it was a Smith auto with thethumb safety engaged, and the triggerjust shlubbed harmlessly back and forth.The would-be cop-killer knew therewas a safety to disengage somewhere. Hereached awkwardly for the biggest"switch" on the gun. It was the slide release.He pressed it, nothing happened,and he again tried fruitlessly to pull thetrigger."If at first you don't succeed . . ." thefelon reached for the second most conspicuousprotrusion on the sleek automatic;it was a button behind the triggeron the left. He pressed it. The magazinefell out and bounced off his foot. Furiously,the punk groped for the third anclast lever on the model 39, the flat andinconspicuous safety switch, and flipped14 AMERIC AN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

it into the "fire" position. Triumphantly,he aimed it at the helpless officer andpulled the trigger again.Nothing happened. Even though thegun was now in the "fire" mode with alive round in the chamber, the magazinedisconnector safety prevented it fromgoing off.Thoroughly frustrated, the would-becop-killer screamed an obscenity andthrew the gun down, bouncing it off theofficer's prostrate form. He and his companionfled, leaving a battered but alivepoliceman.The second incident on file involved anIllinois State Policeman; that departmentwas the first big agency to go to the auto,and remains the largest. The trooper hadpulled over a panel truck that was on hiswanted sheet, and cautiously approachedthe driver's door with his model 39 in hishand, the safety off and ready to fire. Ashe pulled the driver out, a second criminalslipped stealthily from the back ofthe truck, and jumped the trooper frombehind.The embattled officer was quicklyoverpowered. A couple of hands were alreadylocked on the gun, and he couldfeel it being pulled out of his fist. Rememberingthe lessons taught at theacademy, he pressed the magazine releasebutton as the gun was wrenchedloose from his hand.The officer was thrown to the ground,and the first suspect aimed the model 39at him and pulled the trigger severaltimes. Nothing happened. He pistolwhippedthe trooper unconscious with hisown gun and he and his partner fled.Other troopers caught up with themshortly thereafter. They still hadn't figuredout that the reason the gun wouldn'twork was that the trooper's button-pushhad dropped the magazine a fraction of aninch, activating the magazine disconnectorsafety even though the thumb safetywas already "off." They left the perplexingSmith & Wesson automatic behind intheir truck.That makes two live police officers,thanks to magazine disconnector safeties.If you doubt these reports, talk to HomerClark, head of Illinois State Police Ordnancein Springfield, or Lt. Col. Bryant atSalt Lake City Police Headquarters. Idon't give you "sea stories" or theories;these are documented police combat situations.Incidentally, the Illinois StatePolice have three other documented situationswhere a suspect got the 9 mmS&W away from a trooper but couldn'tfigure out how to get the safety "off."1f there's an actual incident where avolice officer lived because he had anauto pistol without a disconnector safety,and would have died if his gun had beenequipped with one, I, and the policemenwho read the law enforcement technicaljournals I write for, would very much liketo hear about it. Let me have the details,Meet the new. 44 MagnumNow there's a .44 Magnumcartridge loaded for handgunnersby handgun experts. Itsnew 240 grain jhp bullet hasbeen computer designed togive the serious hunter whathe needs-controlled expansionand high retention of originalweight. Take a look at theballistics chart below. And besure to ask your dealer forS&W ammunition. Write forthe new S&W ReloadingGuide, too. Smith & Wesson,Springfield, Massachusetts01101.BALLISTIC PERFORMANCE (S&W MODEL 29,8%" BARREL).44Magnum240 JHP1410MuzzleSmith&Vfcson1 A Bangor Punta CompanyFOR SHOOTERS!Rugged new lens gives you unparalleled clarity,yet is virtually unbreakable and won't scratch*!to the shooting optics industry, are %>the weight of glass, resist scratching,and are virtually unbreakable. Semirimlessconstruction eliminates glareand frame interference. High reliefdesign with adjustable bridge keepsglasses high. Plastic tipped earpieces-/ made, full field,distortion free classes.Available in six colors withhandsome reinforced carrying case.Dealers inquire.43 years of Sight Savingskeet or trap shooter, law enforce- 842 Broadway, Dept. AH-7ment officer or hunter, you'll shoot NewYork, Newin care of this magazine. 1 truer, safer, with these fine American- QCoovriaht 1978 ~ud-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978106025 YdsV E V E V E1332give comfortable, secure fit.\ , Spor tin9 Optics946Whether you're a target, benchrest, h. -SOYds1258 844Test BarrelV1475

The New PistolcraftAt Jeff Cooper'sAPI Training Center.rhe American Pistol Institute is now acceptingications for training of police, military anc8 lan students (with proper credentials) at theiew 120-acre training center. Basic courseeaches you to shoot carefully and quickly; to hi!multiple and moving targets; to move cwj3;y to maintain continuity of action; to re;pond properly to the une ected; and muctnore. Unique, proven teaching method quicwmoarts the decisive skills of modern defensiwiktolcraft.FOR 8-PAGE BROCHURE, SEND $1 to:The American Pistol InstituteBox 401 -E, Paulden, AZ 863341500 CHRONOCRAPVELOCITY TEST YOUR RELOADScomplete systemsWRITE FOR FREETEST REPORT:CUSTOM CHRONOGRAPH Co.MODERN - OBSOLETE - FOREIGIDOMESTIC - MILITARY - SPORTIN(WORLDS LAHGEST SUPPLIERm.",.mmI"l m .Box AH78, West Hurley, New York 12491Automitic -No FederalAC,m.In the meantime, I have to reverse myprevious position. The magazine disconnectorsafety is obviously good for somethingbesides an unusual tie tack. Thepresent score as far as I can determine isDisconnector Safeties 2, Non-Disconnector-Safeties0; and theory or notheory, I've got to go with what is happeningon the street.I've gone so far as to include it in thecurriculum of my Weapons and ChemicalAgents class at the state college whereI'm on the police science staff as an associateprofessor. Several of my students,all in-service full time police officers,carry automatics; I teach them that whenthey're caught up in what I call the OnionField Syndrome, and a street punk hasthem at gunpoint and demands theirweapon and they decide to comply, theyshould wrap their fingers around the butt,conspiciously avoiding the trigger, andsurreptitiously slip the tip of the little fingerunder the magazine.They can now easily hit the magazinerelease button. The little finger catchesthe magazine before it ejects, and makessure that it stays in the gun. If it came allthe way out, the obvious attempt to unloadthe piece might enrage and provokethe would-be cop killer holding the officerat gunpoint. This way, the clip comesdown just far enough to stay in the gun,and activate the Disconnector Safety.If the pistol is an unaltered Smith orBrowning HP, it won't go off at all. If it'sa Colt, the suspect is only going to get oneround off, which can still make some difference.Interestingly, there is a goodchance that a punk who is going to kill thecop after disarming him will use the cop'sown gun, partly as a gesture of contemptand partly to keep his own weapon"clean" evidence-wise,In a situation like that, the magazinedisconnector safety makes a whole lot ofsense. And we can't forget the novicesthis device was created for in the firstplace. In my state recently, a young manaccidentally killed himself while plinkingwith his newly purchased .45 auto. Hewasn't into guns. Some friends of his,equally unfamiliar with weapons, cameup to him while he was shooting. Theytold him the gun made them nervous, andasked him to empty it. He obliginglypulled out the magazine."Are you sure it's empty?" someoneasked."Sure I'm sure," he answered with thetragic confidence of the uninformed, andto demonstrate, he put the gun to hishead and pulled the trigger.After the police and the medical examinersremoved the body and scraped upthe last particles of brain matter, theylearned that the individual had justbought the gun and had not attempted toget any instruction with it. He apparentlythought that pulling the slide back justcocked the hammer. and that the null ofthe trigger somehow brought the roundup under the firing pin from themagazine. He wouldn't have accidentallyblown his brains out with a stock model39, no matter how careless he was with it,after taking the clip out. But the 1911 .45auto is a safe weapon only with a trainedand conscientious person, which is whythe Army doesn't permit soldiers to carryone with a round in the chamber.Since the average policeman may nothave had proper training with hissidearm, the magazine disconnectorsafety as on the Smith & Wesson 9 mm'smakes a lot of sense. It also has itspurpose with the expert officer who maybe overpowered and have his gun takenaway.I've reversed my position until I seesome different evidence. In fact, I wish Icould put a magazine disconnector safetyinto the Colt .45 auto I carry on duty.For years, I agreed with the rest of thegun writers on this, and the theoreticalarguments still hold true. I'm not challenginganyone personally, but there are acouple of field officers out there - oneinUtah, one in Illinois, and maybe otherswho have testimony that beats hell out ofall our collective technical expertise.They're alive, because they carriedSmith & Wesson police automatics thathad magazine disconnectorsafeties, and they'd be dead otherwise^, . .IMPROVE ACCURACYTested by H.P. White LaboratoriesUS. PatentMolded plasticand alsoHEM WOOD i6Engineered countours make your hand partof your gun.The best lor Lawmen, Combat, Field -Target.Also - Cartridge boxes, powder funnel,primer fbper.FTTZ P.O. Box 49687 L . A .. California 90049U. S. A.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER -, JULYIAUGUST 1978

The look of a Colt.Colt finishes are famous. And rightly so. The nickel is brilliant and the blue is deep andlustrous. But that's not all. Each protects the gun's surface for years.Colt grips, made of American walnut, are hand-matched, hand-fitted, and checkered,not pressed. Giving you finer appearance, greater value, and the sure feel you've come toexpect from a Colt. And Colt grips are also contoured to fit a wide range of hand sizes.Colt service is unequalled, too. Hundreds of Colt dealers and Authorized Colt ServiceCenters across the country observe the Colt standards which guarantee you genuineColt parts, the quality of highly-skilled craftsmen, and the precision engineering thatmake a Colt unique. It's the widest service network of any handgun manufacturer in theUnited States.We've invested over 140 years in creating and refining the unequalled Colt look. Ownersknow that beneath that Colt finish is an engineering quality which is equally flawless.Important product and service literature accompany every Colt sale; be sure to ask for yours.

The Evolution ofModem PistolcraftBy RICK MILLERmany long centuries the handgunF OR was primarily the weapon of themounted soldier. Horsemen needed afirearm that could be manipulated andfired with one hand, and the pistol filledthis need admirably. It didn't take longfor the brighter individuals of the periodto see another possible use for the pistol.Since in its smaller versions it was short,handy, and light, the handgun could beworn upon the person against a time ofneed, whether that individual was lookingfor a fight or not. The handgun came intothis defensive role early on, and has beenclearly recognized in that light down tothe nresent time.One major problem down through theyears has been the overwhelming traditionof the horseman's one handed use ofthe weapon. This has been so deeply andromanticallv , ingrained " into the fabric ofpistolcraft that until just recently it wasconsidered somehow unmanly to do it anyother way!During the 19th century, technical advancesin small arms were nothing shortof incredible. With the development ofthe percussion cap and the introductionof Colt's first successful revolving pistolin 1836, through the development of thetrigger cocking action, metallic cartridges,smokeless powder, and up to the1890's and the first practical selfloadingpistols, a remarkable amount of researchand development took place. The introductionof the "Broomhandle" Mauser in1896 put the shooting world on thethreshold of the modern age of the defensivesidearm.The truly amazing thing about this seventy-oddyear period of feverish activityis that it did not engender a comparableadvance in the art of pistolcraft. To besure, certain innovations were tried, accepted,and improved upon by thinkingshooters of the period. The first holsterssuitable for wear upon the person wereintroduced, and as time went by thesewere slowly improved upon. Reserve capacityof the early repeating pistols didmore to change the theory of defensivepistolcraft than anything else. If theAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978shooter had not solved his problems withhis first shot, he was now capable of tryingagain four or five more times. This byitself was enough to shatter and realignthe concepts of defensive weaponcraft.Beyond the possible use of a holsterand his reserve firepower, our 19th centurypistolero used his improved equipmentpretty much as his forefathers hadused their single shot muzzle loaders.That is to say, they shot one handed,whether mounted or afoot, from eye level,with limp wrist, not very quickly, andwith only a sketchy sort of accuracy forthe most part.The above description of the old timegunman's technique might not squarewith that put out by Hollywood, but it isfairly close to reality. This holds truewhether he was a peace officer in NewMexico Territory, or a British officer incolonial India.Through the early years of the 20thcentury this situation gradually began toimprove, but the process was a slow andpainful one. With the spread of suchsporting journals as "Arms and the Man"and "Shooting and Fishing Magazine"around the turn of the century, plus asmattering of books on the subject, informationand ideas began to circulate abit more freely. This was all to the good,but progress still tended to be isolatedand of a haphazard nature.As an example of this laggardly andspasmodic development, let's take a lookat the acceptance of double action revolvers.The first workable DA revolversmade their appearance only a few shortyears after Colt had introduced his singleaction Paterson pistols in 1836. By thelate 1850's the concept of a trigger cockingmechanism in combat revolvers hadgained wide acceptance in Europe. Theshooting fraternity of England, in particular,seems to have embraced the ideawholeheartedly. Such arms makers asDeane, Adams, Beaumont, Tranter, andWebley all marketed sturdy and serviceabledouble action revolvers in the mid tolate 19th century.In the United States, on the otherhand, birthplace of the practical revolver,the DA concept found little favor or understanding.The single action revolverwas firmly entrenched, and the pistoleersof the day were not about to give it up.When DA wheelguns began to come onthe scene they were shot single action!Only a few people perceived the superiorityof the self-cocking mechanism. Thisamazing situation continaed right up toand through the 1950's. Police officersand military personnel, in most organizations,were supplied with good double actionrevolvers, and then were promptlytaught to shoot them single action only!Ed McGivern did work with various policedepartments during the 1930's, providingexpert instruction in fast doubleaction revolver shooting. His trainingprogram, which stressed close, quick DAwork on single and multiple targets,drawing from the leather, and shootingfrom various positions, was quite advancedfor its day.Under McGivern's direction, the FBIdeveloped what was called the PracticalPistol Course. This was the first seriousattempt to provide realistic practice andtraining for law enforcement officers.Today, forty-odd years later, the PPCis still considered by most police organizationsto be the standard medium fortraining and competition. This course,designed specifically for revolvers (autosare not allowed) is the basic reason whythe old wheelgun is still regarded sohighly in police circles today.Such well known handgunners as EdMcGivern, Elmer Keith, and J. H. Fitzgerald,among others, preached the DAconcept of weaponcraft through the1920's and 1930's, and while they madesome converts, very little widespread influenceof a lasting nature resulted.American shooters, whether police, military,or civilian, by and large, just continuedto ignore the DA capabilities oftheir favorite weapons.In contrast, the British embraced thedouble action combat revolver from themid-1850's. The mainstay of the Britishmilitary, the .455 Webley revolver, in its

Above: Combat Master Leonard Knightfiring in the first IPSC U.S. National PracticalPistol Championships, June, 1977.When the smoke had cleared, Leonardhad taken second. Center: Here's BillNorth running the wild Surprise AssaultCourse. Notice his thumb on safety andhis trigger finger outside of the triggerguard. Pistolcraft can be exciting. Right:Jeff Cooper, IPSC President, bustingturning targets at a fast, 2 seconds each.various Marks, gave excellent servicethrough innumerable campaigns all overthe world. Right up through 1957, whenthe British finally switched to the BrowningP-35 self-loading pistol, they werenot about to give up their DA servicerevolvers.In similar fashion, it took the selfloadingpistol quite a while to catch on inthis country. One cannot help but beamazed at the endless condemnation ofthe autoloading pistol, both aloud and inprint, from 1900 right up to the presenttime. The situation is now improving, buta large segment of the American shootingfraternity still views any self-loading pistolwith dark suspicion.In the early days of the autoloader, sayfrom 1892 till 1900, this criticism is understandable.The early autopistols andtheir ammunition left a lot to be desired inthe way of reliability. But from 1900on, a continuing list of excellent weaponsand improved smokeless ammunitionrendered the ridicule of the revolver manpointless and outdated.In 1920 Captain Hugh B. C. Pollard, anEnglishman, in his excellent little booktitled "Automatic Pistols," made a very20good case for the superiority of the autoloadingpistol over the revolver as acombat arm. From a practical viewpoint,Pollard heavily stressed the idea that"quick work with a swift pistol" shouldbe the accepted goal. Again, he makesthe point several times, that the essentialnature of all pistols is that of "weaponsfor quick use at close quarters."Captain H. -W. McBride said much thesame thing in 1935 in his entertainingbook "A Rifleman Went to War." In thechapter "The Pistol in War," he outlinedsome advanced ideas on how the handgunshould be handled in a combat situation.McBridge emphasized the handiness ofthe pistol as a defensive tool, and its usefulnessin close-in, hand-to-hand fighting.The quick reloading capabilities of theautopistol were pointed out, as were theexcellent qualities of the Colt 1911, .45Auto. McBride also suggests that theproper way to recharge an autoloadingpistol in combat is to keep a live roundchambered while making the magazineswitch! That last point was very innovativefor 1935, and is quite familiar to allfreestyle practical shooters of today.Texts dealing with practical shooting,or at least partially dealing with it, seemto have been quite popular during the1930's. Ed McGivern's book, "Fast andFancy Revolver Shooting," was publishedin this period, as was J. H. Fitzgerald'sbook "Shooting." Both of theseworks dealt quite extensively with thesubject of double action revolver shootingas it related to the defensive use of theweapon.the 1930's, reaching its peak during theyears of World War 11, and fading again inthe late 40's. The next burst of progressdidn't occur until the early 1960's, butthat's getting ahead of the story.In 1942, the first classic text of themodern era on practical pistol shootingappeared on the scene. It was authoredjointly by Captain William E. Fairbairnand Captain Eric A. Sykes, both formerlyof the Shanghai Municipal Police, andwas titled "Shooting to Live." This littlegem of a book, only 96 pages from front toback, first set forth many of the principleswe now think of as "modern" in origin.Among other things, Fairbairn andSykes advocated use of the Colt 1911self-loader in .45 ACP for general policeand military service. They also taught twohand eye level shooting, firing two-shotbursts at all man targets, and emphasizedthe importance of stressing close rangespeed shooting on surprise targets. Manyof these concepts were so far ahead oftheir time that they have only been generallyaccepted comparatively recently.Both Fairbairn and Sykes were eminentlyqualified to write such a book onpistolcraft. During a 12% year periodwhen their training techniques were inuse,'the Shanghai Police engaged in 666armed encounters with criminals. That's4.4 shootings per month, with a net resultof 260 killed and 193 wounded crooks. Atthe same time, there were 42 killedand 100 wounded officers, quite a favorableratio.One verv innovative idea that has beenInterest in practical handgun shooting . revived today is the indoor surprise reacseemsto have gained momentum during tion range devised by Fairbairn andAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

Sykes back in the 1930's. This providedvery realistic conditions, with dim lighting,bobbing silhouettes, moving targets,and friend or foe situations, plus ahealthy measure of mental stress.During World War 11, Rex Applegateset up a very elaborate indoor reactionrange, very appropriately called "TheHouse of Horrors," for training U.S.Army personnel. This included bloodchilling sound effects and dramatic lifelikekill or be killed scenarios.Jeff Cooper has constructed a modernversion at his Gunsite Ranch which hecalls "The Fun House." His layout allowsfiring with full power loads, a 360 degreefield of fire, and quickly changeable setups for variety. The training provided onthis type of range is invaluable for thepolice officer or military man.Following close on the heels of "Shootingto Live" came another advanced textby then Captain Rex Applegate. His book"Kill or Get Killed," was published in1943, and included information on unarmedcombat, knife fighting, and closecombat use of shoulder weapons, as wellas much thought-provoking informationon practical pistol shooting. Applegatestudied under Fairbairn early in WorldWar 11, and many of his concepts canbe traced back to the methods used byFairbairn and Sykes in their trainingprograms.This is approximately where mattersstood for the next fifteen years. The late40's rolled by and then the early 50's. Bythis time the fast draw game, inspired bythe many TV westerns then in vogue, wassweeping the country. This activity,complete with SA revolvers, blanks, waxAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978bullets, boots, and ten gallon hats did notproduce any worthwhile innovations of apractical nature, but it got a man into theact who did.Jeff Cooper, a retired Marine CorpsLieutenant Colonel with combat experiencein the South Pacific during WorldWar 11, and the Korean War, enters thepicture around 1955. At about this timeCooper helped promote a number ofquick draw contests near Big Bear Lake,California, with an important difference.In these man against man matches, allweapon types, SA, DA, and auto, wereallowed to compete equally, not justsingle action revolvers. Additionally, fullpower service ammo was required, notblanks or wax bullets. These shoots werevery simple affairs, usually at sevenyards, and the targets were inflated toyballoons. All a competitor had to do wasdraw and burst his balloon ahead of hisopponent. The man shooting down allcomers walked away with the prizemoney.This was a stimulating game, but verylimited in scope. It wasn't long before themore adventuresome participants werebored with the routine and looking forsomething new. With that in mind, JeffCooper set out to oblige them.Soon Cooper was putting together contestsof a type and nature that had neverbeen dreamed of before. Some contestswere man against man, while othersmight be scored or timed, but all of themwere designed to simulate the realities ofclose range combat with the handgun.Another important and unheard of innovationwas an almost total lack of restrictionson the contestant. As long as heused a serviceable weapon of adequatepower, and approached the problem in asafe manner, he could solve that problemin any fashion he deemed best. Diversitywas the name of the game, and the shooterwith a good imagination was free to trysomething new in the name of greaterefficiency.Needless to say, this sort of programgenerated quite a bit of enthusiasm andinterest. Before long clubs sprang intobeing in different areas of SouthernCalifornia, all more or less participatingin the new sport of freestyle practical pistolshooting. The ideas and concepts ofthe new sport were still quite sketchy andnot widely understood, even thoughinterest was still growing. So, in 1961 Jeffhelped found the Southwest Combat PistolLeague, later modified to the SouthwestPistol League, to give order anddirection to the program.As things progressed, and a little timewent by, the virtues of freestyle combatshooting became apparent. With no setroutine to slavishly drill for, each individualslowly became a more rounded andversatile performer, since each matchcalled for a slightly different approach. Inlike fashion, equipment could not be overspecialized, it had to be adaptable enoughto meet a variety of situations.Since few restrictions were placedupon the performer, the more innovativeshooters began to experiment with improvedequipment and techniques. Theclassic example in this'area, as everyonenow knows, is the Weaver Stance. In themid-1950's everyone shot one handed foralmost all pistol problems, this includeddeliberate fire and speed situations. The2 1

ationale was that the expert didn't needtwo hands at a distance, and two handeye level shooting was too slow up close.Prescribed doctrine called for a one handeye level stance (offhand) for long shots,and unsighted point shooting (betweenbelt and shoulder level) for all close speedsituations.Jack Weaver upset the applecart whenhe started using the two hand eye levelstance for all shooting problems. It tookJack awhile to convince the disbelievers,but convince them he did. One handshooting simply could not measure upwhen compared with the newer technique.Whether for deliberate fire orquick speed problems, the WeaverStance proved superior to all others. Thiscould only have been proven in open unrestrictedcompetition, and only underthese uninhibited conditions could suchan idea be conceived and tried in the firstplace.The Weaver Stance is only one exampleof how freestyle practical pistol shootinghas helped inspire, develop and testnew concepts. Forward rake speed holsters,the roll over prone position, theflash sight picture, ambidextrous speedsafeties, the superiority of the autoloadingpistol, fast grab magazine pouches forautos, and speed loaders for wheelgunsare only a few that come to mind; the listis almost endless.As an interesting side light, speedaders were provided for the top breakWebley service revolvers years ago.These were small devices made of leatherand metal which held six cartridges inmuch the same fashion as our modernspeed loaders. Just another old idea thathas been revived and given much widercirculation than at the time of its initialintroduction.While all this development was transpiring,Jeff Cooper carefully began toorganize this new information, along withsome noteworthy older ideas, into a radicallydifferent concept of pistolcraft.Slowly, this growing mass of data wasrefined as other people came up with importantinnovations.Over the years, as these ideas weretested, refined, and proven, Jeff wouldperiodically write them up for the benefitof other shooters. This continual series ofmagazine articles, plus several books,served to spread and popularize theCooper doctrine on pistolcraft. Amongother efforts, his books, "Fighting Handguns,""Modern Handgunning," "Cooperon Handguns," and "The Principles ofPersonal Defense," all served to disseminateand make available the emergingprinciples of modern pistolcraft.Today, thanks mainly to the tirelesswriting and teaching of Jeff Cooper,freestyle combat pistol shooting as a sportand training vehicle has spread across theU.S. and around the world.Twenty years ago it all started inSouthern California with a tiny group ofpioneering shooters. Such near-legendaryfigures as Ray Chapman, Thell Reed,Jack Weaver, John Plahn, and EldonCarl, Combat Masters all, inspired by thechallenge of the radical new concent offreestyle shooting, laid the goundkorfor the sport as it stands today.Already, the next step in this chain (evolution has been forged and is beginnnto make its contribution. The Intern;tional Practical Shooting Confederatiowas formed in 1976 to give direction Ifreestyle practical shooting onworldwide basis. Interest has grown Ithe extent that a governing body was ne

Charter544 Bi^gShot LoadsBy GEORGE C. MONTEany shooters have asked me to rec-M ommend good shot loads for theirrevolvers. Usually they are .38 Specials3r .357 Magnums. It isn't only sportsmenwho ask; many law officers have askedspecifically for an effective load to beused in their short-barreled, hideoutguns. The trouble is that there simplyaren't any truly effective loads for smallguns. There are both factory and handloadsin .38/.357 size that will kill rats andrattlers at short range, but that's about it.There simply aren't any loads effectiveenough for defense use that can be firedin small-size handguns. Not until now,anyway.The advent of the Charter Arms .44Special "Bulldog" revolver changes allthis. No bigger or heavier than manysnub-nose .38s, the Bulldog combines .44caliber with a cylinder long enough tohandle a sizeable quantity of shot withgood effect. So, with a Bulldog in hand, Iwent back over shot load development of20-25 years ago to come out with somethingthat really does the job from thethree-inch-barrel, pocket-size Bulldog.Standard .44 Special cases (especiallythe old balloon-head type) can be loadedwith about %-ounce of shot, but more isneeded. Plastic shot capsules appear tooffer an improvement in the form of alarger shot charge. Unfortunately, itdoesn't work out that way because thecapsules can't be held in the case tightlyenough to withstand recoil. In the lightBulldog, the capsules move forward outof the case to tie up the cylinder, no matterhow heavily they are crimped in place.Four shots, at most, usually less, movecapsules from unfired rounds forwardenough to block cylinder rotation. Thatcertainly isn't acceptable.The only alternative, then, is to use alonger case which will hold more shot.The .44 Magnum case comes to mind, butit isn't enough longer to help much. EvenAppearance can be deceiving. Plasticshot capsules, although easily available,will not hold up under recoil even underan extreme crimp. Result-cylinder locks.the untrimmed cases I once filched froman ammo plant don't hold enough moreshot to be worthwhile.The .30-40 rim is easily reduced to .44Special dimensions in a lathe, especiallythe fine miniature Sherline unit I use isquick, easy, and accurate. At the otherend of the scale. vou can file them down, .by hand-no problem if you need onlyfive or 10, but a horrendous chore for 50or 100.A belt or disc sander, even a benchgrinder, with a sanding disc in place, offersthe simplest and quickest method.My sander is a small belt unit sold byBrownells for only a bit over $50. It savedme more than that in sweat and frustrationthe first week I owned it.Anyway, take the full-length, .30-40case (easier to hang onto than after trimmingto length) and lay the edge of the rimup next to the speeding, abrasive belt.Use the other hand to steadv vour wrist. , ,Now smoothly roll the case betweenthumb and fingers while touching the rimlightly against the belt. With just a littlepractice, you'll be able to roll it one turnand take off just the right amount withoutmaking the rim egg-shape. Try it. It's notnearly as difficult as you might think.To reduce rim thickness, hold the casehead parallel to the sander, then press itin gently while rotating it smoothly. Hangon tight and don't let the case tip. Two orthree light passes will remove theheadstamp and probably get the rimdown to the correct thickness. Check bytrying it in a .44 Special shell holder.When it slips in smoothly, it's probablythin enough to work in the gun-unlessyour shell holder is oversize. For thetechnically-minded, the final thicknessshould be .055" or a wee bit under. Youcan stop there, but I always bevel the rimedge lightly, rotating the angled caseagainst the sander with a feather-lighttouch. A 45' bevel, half the rim thickness,looks nice. Afterwards, if thefrosted appearance of the sanded rim andhead surface offends you, hit it lightlywith a soft-cloth, buffing wheel and finerouge. The altered head will then sparkle,completely devoid of any headstamp.Now you're' telling me I ruined theprimer pocket; that it's too shallow by theamount sanded off the head. For rifleprimers, yes-but I've yet to encounter a.30-40 case, whose pocket was not stilldeep enough for flush-seating of largeAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978 23

Here we have pictured an unaltered.30-40 case. Rim must be reduced to fit44 Special diameter perfectly. Notestandard 44 Special case at lower left.>....,, s t ,, 'Â '

Throat opening can be done with casesizingreamer or any reamer of the correctdiameter. This reamer is from Clymer.Some polishing required.this point, recoil will simply spill soap andshot out. Repeat firing until all your casesare fire-formed to fill the chamber andchamber throat. Cases are now ready forassembly with proper full-charge,shot loads.Make certain the fire-formed cases willchamber freely. They should, but if not,resize in a .44 Special, full-length die andtry again. If they still won't chamberfreely, run the necked-down portion intoa .41 Magnum resizing die. That shouldreduce it enough to enter the throat easily.Decap and reprime (large pistol size,remember).Now, charge cases with 6.0-6.5 grainsof Unique and again seat two cardboardwads over the powder. They'll go easiernow, with case mouths fire-formed, butwill still be tight. Take care the wadsFrom left to right you will note the' .44 Specialcase loaded with Remco shot capsule, astandard .44 Special factory load, and at far right the cylinder-length case (from30-40) ready for fire-forming. Not as pretty, but very practical. ,'don'i get tipped and flip part of the powderup on top of themselves. You may stilluse the toilet-tissue filler wad, but betterresults will be had from a 3116-inch,thick, composition or felt wad. Felt is theeasiest to insert, so I prefer it. Obtainscraps of thick felt from a fabric shop andcut it into discs of about -430-inch diameter.Stack them as necessary to make upthe desired thickness, then seat down onthe card wads with a dowel. A %-inch,long pin (common, straight pin) protrudingfrom the dowel will help keep the feltwads aligned and together during seating.With all wads down solidly, pour in shotto 1116-inch from the case mouth. Cutdiscs from an ,020-inch thick styrenesheet (any semi-rigid plastic will do, butthis is readily available from model andhobby shops). A hammer and sharpenedtubing handles the cutting best; about.405-.410-inch diameter is usually okay,but will depend on your particular batchof cases. In any event, they should bequite snug in the case mouth.Seat these plastic wads over the shotwith a dowel, forcing them slightly belowthe case mouth; be sure and keep themlevel. The case mouth must be crimpedover the wad to tie everything solidly together.Without a die of some sort madeespecially for this, it simply can't be doneproperly. Any maker of loading dies canmake one for you, but the price will behigh and the wait long. A piece of common%" water pipe will do the job withjust a little bit of work. Use a 90Â (includedangle) countersink to funnel themouth of one end of the pipe (which needbe only 2-3 inches long). Run the countersinkin until the case mouth will enter thechamber. Polish the chamber smooth.The countersink leaves a fairly rough surface,and roughness will mess up the. crimp we need.Take a short pieceof %-inch dowel andslip it inside the pipe. Let its end protrudeabout 1116-inch beyond the bottom(Continued on page 50)25

By C. GEORGE CHARLEShere was a time when the fellow whoT wanted a good .45 autoloader couldpick up an excellent military Colt or contractM1911lA1 at a pretty good price.They were inexpensive enough that economicallythere wasn't any point in buyinga new Spanish Star Model P. It's afact that even doggy militaries cost morethan a brand-new Star, when you canfind one.Actually, the Star design is an improvementupon the old Colt/Browningdesign, with a much more simplifiedframe and lockwork. It is this verv improvementand simplification of frameand lockwork that makes the Star mucheasier to shorten and lighten for combatuse. The parts that give the gunsmith fitsin the Colt don't even exist in the Star.Additionally, there is more leeway in theStar for butt modification.Now let's take a look at what can bedone to whittle that massive 37% ounce,8% inch long, 5'/z inch high gun down tomore manageable and concealable sizewithout detracting from its inherentgoodness and reliability.The hardest part to hide of any gun isthe butt and the .45 and .38 Super Starhave lots of butt. First off, field strip thegun and remove the grips and magazine.Notice the magazine safety (interruptor)positioned in the groove on the right sideof the frame behind the magazine well.Drift it out from the left side and throw itaway. A combat gun has no business witha magazine safety. Of course it is usefulin a household by a neophyte.Now look at the bottom half of the butt.Notice it is completely uncluttered withjust a metal shell into which the magazinefits. Everything below the mainspring anchorpin could be cut away and not interferea bit with the functioning but thatwould be cutting off too much thus makingthe handle too short for proper con-trol. Removing %" to ¥% from the buttis about right and there are two waysto do it.Simplest for the amateur is to saw andfile two lengths of 1/10" by %" steel stripto fit snuelv into the butt cutouts as-,shown. First, remove all other parts fromthe frame. Then, clean the joint surfacesthoroughly. Next flux and apply silversolder. Be sure you heat enough until itflows and a good joint is produced. Makesure these inserts are flush with the sidesof the butt inside so a magazine can enterfreely. This soldering can be handledwith a household propane torch or twoalthough an oxyacetylene torch will dothe job more easily.When cool, clean up the outer surfacesof the inserts. File if necessary. Then youcan flush and smooth with the frame butt.Screw the right grip back in place. Locateon the grip a new grip screw hole on linebetween the two existing and Ys" abovethe bottom hole. Level the frame with theright side up on the drill press table. Nowyou drill through the grip and both sidesof the frame in one shot. Remove the gripand tap both frame holes to accept theoriginal grip screws. Clean off the burrsinside and out as well as making certainthe screws turn in freely. Mark and drillthe screw hole in the left grip too.Now, with a properly secured seat forthe grips provided by the inserts, simplyscribe around the butt parallel to the bottomat the cutoff point. With a new highspeedsteel blade doused frequently withcutting fluid, you can hacksaw off theThe big star is a modified takeoff of theBrowningIColt .45 Government Model. Itcan also be done with the 9rnm or .38Super, all steel models.butt as near to the scribed lines as possible.Just remember to leave enough metalto file and grind it true to the mark. Thenew butt bottom surface should be flushwith the bottom of the silver solderedspacers or perhaps cutting slightly intothem. Note that if the spacers had notbeen installed, the butt would now be arelatively fragile open "U" of steel. Thespacers tie it all together and preventdistortion.Next, with files and your ever handyDremel Moto-Tool, duplicate the funnelingof the original butt around the inneredges of the new surface. These bevelsfacilitate rapid insertion of a freshmagazine and can well be carried evenfarther if you like. This is the simplestway.If you prefer and have welding equipmentthat you know how to use, youmight prefer doing it this way. First, youcan saw out a W section of the butt betweenthe mainspring anchor pin and thebottom paralleling the bottom line of theAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

Now you see it trimmed down to manageablesize. Note the smaller butt, thesquared off trigger guard, and the combatsafety.butt. Then you can weld the cut off bottomback to the upper part. Rememberthat great care is required in aligning thetwo parts so the magazine will remaintrue. However, you can do this easilyenough with a spare magazine body andclamp and shims. A close fitting mandrelwould be best, but making one takesmore time than a single shortening jobcan justify.Regardless of the method you choose touse, it is necessary to clean the inside ofthe magazine well at the joints. This permitsthe magazines to enter and ejectfreely. Get rid of all heat scale and roughnessas well as surplus metal. Not onlymust magazines enter freely but theymust fall clear of their own weight whenthe catch is depressed. After filing, polishthe inside of the well with abrasive clothglued to shaped strips of wood.Now, with the slide on the frame andthe magazine catch in place, put one cartridgein a magazine and then insert ituntil the catch engages. Scribe aroundAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978the magazine body even with the butt andthen press the magazine in as far as it willgo. Use hand pressure only. Now againscribe around the body while it is heldthere.Next remove and disassemble themagazine completely. Make up a hardwoodplug to fit inside the body. Insertthe plug and clamp the magazine in yourvise. Now saw off the bottom W belowthe second or lowest scribe mark. Thensaw through the front of the body justbelow the first or highest scribe mark justback through the radius to the beginningof the flat sidewalls. Trim out this arcshapedpiece of metal and true up all cutedges with files.Insert a block of steel or aluminum thatis push fit in the magazine body. It can beseveral thicknesses of strip if necessary.Now clamp tightly in the vise. The visejaws must be true and the lowest scribemark must be flush and parallel withthem. Quickly bring the overhanging bitsof magazine sidewall to red heat, tap overoutward at right angles, down on visejaws with a smooth hammer that formsflanges just like the magazine possessedoriginally.Finish this by filing or grinding theedges of the flanges you've just producedso that the original floor plate will slidesmoothly over them. Remove the floorplate and flow low temp silver solder intothe seams where it is folded back on itselfto form the front tongue. As for themagazine spring, you just need to clip onecomplete coil off the bottom. Now bendthe last half-coil up as it was originally.Assemble the shortened magazine andinsert it in the shortened gun butt. Polishthe reworked area if necessary for freeinsertion and removal and make certainthe magazine catch engages properly.If the butt has been shortened by ourfirst method, the floor plate will extendwell beyond the front strap. Cut away thisexcess, flush with the front strap, thenradius all edges of the floorplate smoothlyso it won't snag hands or clothing. Now,back to the shortened butt. As it ischopped off abruptly in the curve of thebackstrap, it probably won't feel right inyour hand. Install the grips and saw themoff flush with the butt. Test how it feelsand do a little shooting, if necessary, tobe certain. If it feels okay, you justhave to file or grind the sharp edges to asmooth radius and your butt shapingis done.However, if it doesn't feel right, startfiling and grinding on the bulged backstrapuntil the gun feels and handlesright. I prefer to cut the hump off entirely,giving it the shape of a Colt .45 autowith the old flat mainspring housing.Now if you used the first butt shorteningmethod, you'll find that nearly all theswell at the bottom of the front strap willbe cut away. By the second method, itwill remain but there will be a step whereit joins the rest. There will be a dogleg atthe backstrap joint. Personally, I preferto eliminate this swell in any event. Itadds far more weight and bulk than itssmall amount of handling benefit isworth. Simply grind or file it off, fairingthe entire front strap into a straight line.When this is done, the second methodwill leave a small U-shaped notch wherethe original funneling cuts through. I likethis as it leaves a point of purchase wherethe front of the floorplate can be graspedif for some reason a magazine becomesstuck. For the same reason, when thefirst shortening method is used, I goahead and file a notch at the same pointafter the strap is straightened.27

Once the back and front straps havebeen pared down and shaped to suit. takea look at the edges of the butt, all around.and the grips as well. Compactness andconcealability can 1.w improved by filingaway all the sharp metal edges. With thegrips in place. you can work around theentire butt of the frame, cutting down themetal edges right along with the grips.You should flow thr wood and metal togethersmoothly and eliminate thosesteps and shoulders. Next you ransmooth the grips down as they arc bulkierthan need be. Even though only a verysmall amount of metal and wood is rcmovedin this fashion, it will be a considerableimprovement. The sharp edgesand ridges will be gonp as well as a verysmall amount of weight.Now that you have the butt shaped tosuit. you may want to stipple, groove orchecker the front and backstraps for amore secure hold.The safety of the Star is excellent armore reliable than the Colt. There aresany combat style rcplaccincnts. If youneed an extended thuml~pieee safety a laSwellson, it must lie added to the original.File the thumhpiece carefully to theshape shewn. Next shape a piece of 1/16"thick steel to join with it perfectly. Wireor clamp the two together and flow silversolder into the ioint. File the (~xtcnsion tothe shape that suits you best. If you wantit curved. sumply bend the front diiwn abit. Finish by filing longitudinal groovesin the top of the extension or by stipplingit for certain thumb purchase. The extraarea makes it easier to find in a hurry andthe extra length allots it to functinu moreeasily because of thc increased leverage.If you like the squared-off trigger guardand the forefinger rest it provides. youran simply san through the guard at thepoint indicated and bend thv impel- portionto point straight down. Now file apiece of 3/,'i2" stcel to fit into the gap andfit the two joints very carefully. If fitted1. Author feels that the magazinesafety doesn't belong and shouldbe removed.2. Here the slide is completelystripped, ready to begin the buttshorteningoperation.3. First, small pieces of steel platemust be filed to fit in the bottom of thesidewall cutouts and" then welded,brazed, or silver-soldered securelyin place Here the welded platesshow no visible solder line on the buttafter the shortening operation.dAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

, .- - A --.-ng. As analternative, you can have the filler piecewelded in place. Either way, you canfinish by carefully filing the filler piece tomatch the bottom of the trigger guardand cleaning up the entire reworked area.Checkering or stippling on squared guardis your option and need not be detailedhere.If you feel the need of a trigger stop,now is the time to install it. Drill and tap a6 x 48 hole in the bottom of the guard.Now you can grind a short taper on theend of a short socket-head 6 x 48 screw(available from B-Square, Box 11281, Ft.Worth, Texas, 76109). Cut back the taperuntil the tip of the screw arrests triggermovement where you want it. Be surethat the screwhead is flush with theunderside of the guard. Once the gunwork is complete and the adjustment isfinalized, you can degrease both screwand hole and then secure the screw with adrop of Lok-Tite.If you need a wider or longer trigger,you can simply install the make of astandard shoe you like best. All you haveto do is reshape the ends and rear toprevent the interference with the frameand guard.As for the rest of the gun, you canshorten the barrel and slide or lighten itup. For anything more, you can just followthe same procedures that have beendeveloped for the .45 Colt. Though Stardimensions aren't quite the same as Colt,all their parts are identical in shape, functionand design. That is, except for theextractor. The big Star Model P can easilybe shortened to Colt Commanderlength. If you care to, you can cut backnearly 1%" from the muzzle while retaininga high degree of functional reliability.In any event, properly modified forcombat use, the Star .45 is not only asatisfactory substitute for the big - Colt,but in some respects is actually superior.And that shouldn't be . - ,*taken lightly.1. After welding, the excess buttmetal is sawed off, parallel to theoriginal butt line, then the protrudingweld bead- is filed or ground awayon the outside.2. The Star safety is unique andblocks the hammer solidly. Be carefulin removing it, to avoid loss of thedetent plunger and spring.r-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 19783. Final internal fitting of the butt isdone with a fine-cut, narrow, flat file.Try the magazine repeatedly as excessmetal is filed away. Polishsmooth, the inside filed areas.

tbemilitary PistolBy GORDON BRUCEMONG the pistol-collecting fraternityA in the United States, the name ofSchwarzlose is generally associated witha rather unique type of German handgunin which the barrel moved away from thebreech when the weapon was fired. This'Blowforward' system pocket pistol wasintroduced during the year 1907 butachieved only a limited amount of success,mainly due to the unconventionalnature of the design. Today, it merelyprovides an interesting addition to someof the more specialized collections. However,if we revert to the origins of automaticpistol designing in Europe towardsthe end of the nineteenth century, we canobserve that Schwarzlose was certainlyamong the earliest of patentees in thiscategory. Throughout the period from1892 until 1897, while still in his twenties,he made a particular study of self-loadinghandguns and was later to innovate variousfeatures which remain at the presenttime fundamental to good pistol designing.By the year 1912, Schwarzlose had obtainedno less than 58 firearms patents inhis native Germany and had also registeredspecifications with several othercountries. Many of these inventions wereconcerned with larger weapons, since agreat deal of his later work involved thedevelopment of a heavy caliber machinegun.Andreas Wilhelm Schwarzlose wasborn on July 31, 1867 in Wust, Altmark,Northern Germany, and his formativeyears were spent working on the smallfarm owned by his father. As a youngman, Andreas enlisted for military servicewith an Austro-Hungarian Artilleryregiment, where he first began to cultivatean affinity for small arms. He eventuallyassumed a special interest in thesubject after his admittance to the OrdnanceTraining School at Suhl. Following30his military discharge in the 1890s,Schwarzlose began to involve himselfwith the application of automatic principlesto firearms of his own design.His first creation had been a somewhatbizarre form of self-loading pistol, inwhich the cartridges were housed verticallywithin a reservoir beneath the barrel(Fig. 1). The ammunition for this weaponwas standard revolver type, apparently of7.65mm caliber, whose rimmed casesplayed an important role in the adequatefunctioning of the loading mechanism. Atleast one specimen of this strange armwas known to have survived and had oncebeen retained in the small arms collectionof the Mushe d'Armes in Liege, Belgium.(It was reported stolen in 1970, togetherwith other rare pistols. Some of theseweapons were eventually recovered butnot, unfortunately, the valuableSchwarzlose.)(All photographs courtesy Royal SmallArms Factory, Enfield).COPYRIGHT 1977 GORDON BRUCE.SCHWARZLOSEModel 1901 MilitaryPistol Calibre 7.65mm \AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

Little is known of his second venture,patented two years later, which involveda more conventional type of recoiloperatedpistol with cartridges housed insidethe handle (Fig. 2). This particularweapon was striker fired and featured arotary system of breech locking for thefirst time. Further improvements wereadded in October 1895 (Fig. 3) and thesedesigns - formed the nucleus of his mainwork to follow.Prior to the turn of the last century,Schwarzlose was employed as an armourerin the town of Suhl, which wasthen considered to be the heart of allPrussian arms industry. As with manyother pioneer firearms makers of thattime, he had persevered with his ownideas for a new type of self-loading pistoluntil he finally arrived at a functional design.His fourth development (Fig. 4) waspatented in Germany on May 14, 1897and the technical specifications describe,fairly accurately, the version under studyin this article.Typical of the thoughtful preparationgiven by Schwarzlose to these early prototypesis apparent in the dual application.*...-',.:& -^y/;* AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978of certain components. For example, thestriker spring also acted to close thebreech bolt, while the trigger spring wasutilized to return the barrel after recoilaction had taken place.Andreas Schwarzlose moved from Suhlin 1901 and opened a small workshop inthe northwestern section of Berlin tobegin serial manufacture of his latest invention.The total number of these particularweapons to be produced at theGerman capital has never been clearlyestablished but was, presumably, notmore than a few hundred. No doubt theintense competition from the excellent7.65mm pistol designs of Mannlicher,Mauser and Luger had been chiefly responsiblefor his lack of success in thisfield. It has been reported that the majorityof these Schwarzlose military pistolswere acquired by Russia for use duringthe 1904 war with Japan, while otherswere employed in the Great OctoberRevolution.Schwarzlose continued to experimentwith other self-loading mechanisms and,in May 1901, he devised a form of linkedbreech for use with a non-recoiling barrel(Fig. 5). This arrangement was reminiscentof the type employed previously onthe famous Borchardt pistol, except thatmembers of the jointed breech wereplaced side by side instead of one behindthe other. It was claimed by the inventorthat this not only reduced the length ofthe breech but also dispensed with anyneed for a breech casing, thus enablingthe breech block to be considerablystrengthened without adding to the totalweight. Despite the zeal and convictionembodied in the patent specification, it is-Fig. 2UlJloubtful if this Schwarzlose pistol everprogressed beyond the experimentalstage.Throughout the years leading up to thebeginning of the First World War in 1914,the inventive talents of Andreas Schwarzlosewere focused mainly upon the perfectionof a new machine gun, for whichthe linked breech principle was furtherdeveloped. These attentions were brieflydiverted in March 1907 for the designingand construction of his well-known 'Blowforward'pocket pistol, as mentioned atthe start of this article.Between July 1900 and June 1901,Schwarzlose carried out the final improvementsto his basic design. Theseincluded the fitting of a special rotaryrear sight, which was adjustable in clickstopsettings, from 100 to 500 meters.Other alterations were made to the triggersafety and to the breech hold-openarrangement. German patents weregranted for all of these improvements.It is interesting to note that the BritishWar Office, having acquired a specimenof the Schwarzlose military pistol duringthe First World War, had arranged for theweapon to be carefully examined and

tested by officials of the Royal SmallArms Factory. This was to comply withtheir policy of familiarization with all currentautomatic weapons. The tests tookplace in the Spring of 1918 at the Enfieldfiring ranges and a technical appraisalwas duly submitted to the Small ArmsCommittee. The following text includes asummary from the actual test report:was turned to the upper position, both trigger andbarrel unit were locked; in this manner, the breechFig. 3could not beopened and the weapon could not be fired bya pull on the triggerA second lever was mounted on the left side of the body,above the grip plate, to perform a dual role of releasing themagazine from the pistol while still holding the breech back inthe open positionA magazine, specified to contain ten cartridges, was securedwithin the handle by a small tooth on the lever shaftentering a notch at the top of the magazine casing.To reload the pistol, it was first necessary to draw back thebreech by pulling on a knob at the right-hand side and then todepress the hold-open lever. This action released themagazine from the pistol, while at the same time. locking thebreech block in the open position. The magazine could not,therefore, be removed from the handle until the breech hadbeen retracted and the firing chamber safely cleared.When a freshly-loaded magazine was inserted,the hold-open lever turned upwardsautomatically to re-engage with the notch inthe casing, while the breech block was releasedand allowed to close. On moving forward,the breech block pushed the topmostcartridge from the magazine into the barrelchamber and the pistol was ready to fire.The prototype weapon featured a noveltype of accelerator device, fitted at the sideofthe barrel unit, to augment the breech openingAs the barrel moved back during recoil,the lower part of the accelerator lever struckthe pistol body, causing the upper part toforce open the breech with extra velocity, ASCHWARZLOSE Model 1901 MilitaryPistol calibre 7.65mmThe weapon comprises three main unitassemblies, plus a detachable magazine.These are: 1. Barrel unit; with spring,plunger and rear sight; 2. Breech unit;with striker, spring and sear; 3. Frameunit; with trigger, safety catch, breechstop lever, breech guide, ejector and gripplates.There are five spiral springs; four removablepins; three removable screws;and 23 other components in the completepistol assembly. Total number of partsbeing 35.The barrel unit is a formidable piece ofmachining, heavily strengthened at therear to accept four locking recesses,which are cut behind the chamber section.The lower portion is extended toforin longitudinal guides, matching thechannels along the pistol frame. Betweenthe guides, lie the barrel return springand trigger plunger.Instead of occupying a more normalposition at the end of the pistol, theV-notch rear sight is mounted high abovethe barrel chamber and requires a fairlytall front sight as a consequence. Sightingis adjustable, vertically, by means of aspiral cam, upon which are marked'click-stop' settings. These are dividedinto 100 meter increments and numberedfrom one to five.Four locking lugs are machined out ofthe solid breech bolt head, while the remainderof the unit is bored to accommodatea large diameter recoil spring. Aprojection extends from either side of therear portion, which enables the breech tobe easily retracted by hand. Along thebottom of the bolt runs a 7mm widegroove with a helical twist and this allowsthe complete unit to move over a guidering on the pistol frame. As the unitmoves back, an anti-clockwise rotation isgiven to the breech bolt, causing it tounlock from the barrel.The sides of the striker are machinedflat to correspond with a special hole inthe guide ring at the back of the frame.Although the striker is free to move backand forth with the breech bolt, it is preventedfrom turning by the flat sides ofthe hole. Measuring 120mm in length, thestriker is a remarkably heavy and sturdycomponent.The sear member is carried within avertical slot at the front of the striker.The unusual, cranked, shape of the searenables it also to serve as an extractor,

engaging the cartridge case groove frombelow. When the breech bolt recoils afterfiring and the empty case is withdrawnfrom the chamber, a sharp rockingmovement of the ejector arm causes thecase to be knocked from the extractorclaw and expelled from the pistol.The magazine seems to be capable ofholding just six cartridges. In order toaccommodate a large diameter magazinespring, the magazine is formed with arather unusual, 'keyhole-shaped' section.The cartridge platform is retained withinby a long bolt passing through the slots ateach side and secured by a circular nut.The head of the nut is knurled to offer abetter grip for the fingers when loweringthe platform during the reloading operation.Located at the base of the handle,the magazine catch tends to be a littleobtrusive but, in combination with the toeof the magazine body, permits a most effectivereleasing action.The wooden grip plates are speciallycontoured to fit perfectly within recessesat both sides of the pistol. The top portionof each plate enters a groove in theunderside of the breech carriage and issupported, laterally by two shoulders onthe handle. A vertical screw holds theitem firmly in position at the base of thehandle.Although the Schwarzlose pistol is wellmade and does not have many components,it is inclined to be rather complicatedin construction. Generally speaking,the weapon has good balance, liesquite comfortably in the hand and hasexcellent pointing characteristics for amilitary pistol.Particular care has been taken with thelocking and safety arrangements, both ofwhich are considered to be good. Largeoperating levers, provided at the side ofthe pistol, are readily accessible and easyto use. A slight disadvantage may be consideredin the location of the safety lever,which is liable to be disturbed when insertingor withdrawing the pistol from aholster.DISMANTLINGDepress the catch at the base of thehandle and remove the magazine.Grasp the two projections at the rear ofthe breech casing and open the breech toensure that the firing chamber is empty.Pull the trigger to release the striker.The lever mounted at the front lefthandside of the frame must be rotatedthrough 180' counter-clockwise to withdrawthe barrel and breech casing. Pressthe muzzle against a hard surface and atthe same time force out the lever axisfrom the' right-hand side of the pistol.Barrel and breech assembly may then beremoved from the front of the pistol.Separate the barrel from the breech byapplying a slight twisting motion.Withdraw the recoil spring and striker(Continued on page 60)Model 1901 MilitaryDisassembled

Trophy KuduThe Author Learns of Cooper'sHunting CodeBy TONY WEEKSwas Monday August 12th, 1977, weIT had just said good-bye to Barry Millerof The Gunshop and his lawyer friend JeffFobbs. For eight days we had unsuccessfullylooked for a trophy sized kudu onUmfula Ranch, Nuanetsi district in S.E.Rhodesia.My hunting partner (Jeff Cooper'sfriend, Clifford Douglas from LosAngeles, California) and I had a few daysto go before returning to Salisbury. Isuggested that we take a stroll down theMkurni River-a tributary of the Lundi,which had pools of water every half a mileor so. At the last moment I discarded mypre-war .30-06 M-70 Winchester with3x-9x Redfield Widefield and decided totake only the 6%" Model 29 S&W .44Maghum revolver with Pachmayr grips.Two school boys and two trackersmade up a party of six. Soon one schoolboyvolunteered to return to the LandRover and to take it to the boundarywhere we were heading. Then Cliffordand the other schoolboy elected to crossover the Mkumi and comb the otherside-once again I had no objection. Thatleft one tracker, Shangani and I and theModel 29!1 The Trophy is SightedWithin ten minutes of very quiet walk-ing-previously impossible due to thenumber of hunters-there, not morethan 75 meters away, was the biggestkudu trophy that I have seen for 15 years.I aimed for the shoulder, shooting fromthe Weaver stance, and squeezed off.The beautiful animal did not drop orspook, but strolled out of view behind abushy ridge. I let it have two more shotsas it moved off. Reloading - from the beltas I moved slowly forward, I then gotanother view from the slight ridge that ithad strolled over. Three more shots at theshoulder and the trophy was mine.Apparently the first shot had been justforward of the point of the shoulder andhad nicked the spinal column, afterwhich the kudu could only walk slowly.Four of my six shots were well placed onthe shoulder. I was not at all dis~leasedwith the performance of myself or mypistol. Elmer Keith's load (22 grains of2400 behind a 429421 S. W.C. weighing250 grains) had penetrated right throughto the opposing shoulder without distortionon two of the four hits. The other twohad been Norma factory soft point hollownose that I had unfortunately reloadedwhile moving forward to the ridge. Thesehad expanded into the lung cavity withlittle penetration. Shots two and threecould have been misses.To have succeeded with a pistol withinone hour of setting out-when we had-failed the previous eight days-only enhancedthe indescribable satisfaction thatonly keen successful hunters using "fairhunting methods" can know.The trophy horns I measured as 57%"round the curve, but Gerry Gore, who isan official Rowland Ward registration officer,knocked this down to 52% inches,just making the Rowland Ward Record ofBig Game Trophy Book. Apparently thecorrect method is to measure up the frontedge of the horns, not following the builtin groove that seems designed to take atape measure!The kudu bull was an estimated 16years of age and had actually started to goblue with baldness on the shoulders. Hewas past his prime, not as heavy as hemight have been three years ago, and actuallyproved to have had seven ribs brokenand healed some time in his fightingpast.Cooper's Hunting CodeOne of Jeff Cooper's first questionswhen told of my success was "How bigdid the front sight appear on the kudu?"After reflection, I said "About one footacross." Now with an 8 inch sight radius,the one eighth inch sight would subtendone foot at exactly 64 yards-which tendsto agree with my estimate of 75 meters.The interesting thing is the reason forJeff's question which was that Jeff onlyshot a hunting handgun if the vulnerableor kill area was bigger than his foresight.Obviouslv he had established his own limitationbased on proven ability.So the next step was to establish myown limitation with the .44 Magnum andso a group of ten was fired with my standardload 22124001250 K T SWC at 75 meters.You have probably guessed theresult-all ten shots were in a 12" circle,proving that I had not broken a goodhandgunners code. I would like to recommendthis system toall handgun hunters.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULYIAUGUST 1978 35

2,846,925United States Patent Office &. ã ã, I.'.,AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * JULYIAUGUST 1978u

II ShootingIll Law EnforcementPart I: HistoryExcerpted from the neiv hook. "History of Smith& Wesson" by Roy G. Jinks. Published by BeinfeldPublishing, Inc.. No. Hollyicood, CA. Availablefrom Amerirun Handgunner: see ad in thisissue.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER - JULY AUGUST 1978ncluded in theI history of theSmith & Wesson9MM pistol i-.the htory of twoof their rarestautn-loading pistols:the 9MMsingle actionModel 44 and the double action Model 39-1.called the Model 52-A when sold commercially.Both of these models are deeply rooted within thestory of the Model 39 and should be included inthis section.In 1946. after (:. R. Hcllstr~im was electedpresident of Sniitli & Wessun. he made a cornmitmentto iniprove production facilities and developnew models. One of the new models hewanted developed was a 9MM semi-automaticpistol featuring the double action first shot design.This type of pistol was manufactured byWalther in Europe prior to World War [I. Theassignment of this task fell to Joe Norman, Smith& Wesson's chief designer. On October 28, 1948.Joe Norman completed a prototype pistol serialnumbered X-46. The factorv tt>sttd this and othersamples and. certain that the gun had good lawt~nforct~ment and military possibilities. supplied asample for testing to the Springfield Armory.Early testing by the U.S. (iiivcrnrncnt broughtrequests fur the factory to supply the army with asingle action version rather than double action.Thus. on July 11. 1953. Smith & Wesson conipleted6 steel-framt.. single action, 9nim pistols:5 of whirti were supplied to the U.S. Army fortesting at its facilities at the Springfield Armory.Interest by the U.S. Army in single and doubleaction 9mms stagnated. and test results were~xchanged only between Smith & Wesson andthe Springfield Armory. Still, the factory continuedits (Jev~lopmt'nt plans, tcstinghoth stcclandaluminum-framed pistols.In 1954. the decision was niade to place the9nin1 double action into production as a liglitwightalloy-frame pistol. Production parts wtwassen~hltvl December 8. 1954. and the first 10productinn Smith & Wessun 011ul1Ic a(-tinn 9mmshrre con~plt~teil. Still having sornc rrscrvationsrcgardini; the acceptance of the doublt~ actionpistol. the factory also planncri and pr~irlurcdparts fur tlr- single action niodcl. On DccrrnhcrI.'^. 1954. UMI pro(Iuctinn-typt- single action YMMr)ist111s were (,omi)lctwl and -vnt to various aovcrnrncntand police ap-nci~bs for testing.Smith & \\ t.ss

¥."^-^,,lthe production of 10 double '%tt&+.'htwature refed b the new manual safety lever appears on pissingleaction auto-loaders toacfio'n-as ik+odel44 from March 1958 tola having serial numbers above 2,200.8- , market interest. The p ~tfdof Single until August 1959, when the &I& action During the 1958/59 period, Smith" &- action patts c o n t i n u e d ~ $ h WM ~ oftidally ~ &&dnubd. Smith & Wewm t o ~ a e genad in~-hlightweight single acti6nsi&kwcompleted Wbsson catalogued the single action for tfae sales of the Modd 39. In I960, theybetween March 1955asd-Wt 1955. taw piam in anticipation of receiving it received an inquiry from the U.S. ArinyDaring this same period, the factory Wor military or police order that would Marksmanship Training Unit located incompleted 298 dodfcle actibnmodel*.'The permit the to be placed into prodoc- Fort Bciming. Georgia. The AMTtJ, imfactorynow had tokaitforthe results of don. These orders never materialized, pressed Kith the test performanceof thefield tests bef$w*&bnnWq prodwlion aqd po ,pistoll other than tire original 10 Model 39, n-quetted thai Smith & Weschedules an ,hodel selectioim. By late single actions were ever built.son prtxiuce a similar modd designed to1955, only rnild*itita%qt had krn shown The&ngle action 9mm waa entirely dif- She a new .38 cartridge with wbicfa theyin both models, ¥rot the govenimeni re- ferent from the double action model. It had been experimenting. This new carquestingptiotquotes for bottiring!~ and incorporated a solid single action trigger tridge was a aemi-rimless .38 Special cardoubleaction versions. Since interest and a single action draw bar and sear. fridge called the -38 AMU. One advan-'.-was shown in both' models, file January The manual safety did not drop the ham- tage of the new cartridge was the elimina-19S6 S$t&h &,Wvaqn catalog tarried illt~ttatumaof the 9mm single action,mer from the cocked position when the tion of the rim, which reduced magazinesafety wasplaced into the safe mode, aa it stacking pro~lems associated with auto-priced at.&% and of the double action, did in the d

neared completion, factory managementbecame concerned that confusion mightdevelop between the Model 39 9mm andthe 39-1 in a .38 AMU caliber; therefore,a new model number was assigned thisversion of the Model 39 and the alloyframes were stamped Model 52. A total of87 pistols was completed, and early in1961 samples were forwarded to the armyfor testing. The balance of completedmins was placed in the vault at Smith &/esson, pending further government orders.AMTU ultimately decided therewas little advantage to the lightweightgun in that caliber when compared withthe standard 9mm Model 39, and no furtherorders were received.In June 1964, with the remaining .38AMU pistols still inventoried, the factorydecided to release the pistols throughtheir normal distribution system. Realizingthat the pistols could not be sold asPart 11: ShootingModel 52s (the number reassigned to its.38 Special Target auto-loading pistol),the guns were unpacked and stampedwith an A to officially designate them asthe Model 52-A. This model is found inthe serial number range of 35,850-35,927.It should be pointed out that the stampingof Model 52 was the only feature thesetwo pistols-the .38 Master and the .38AMU-had in common. There is no questionthat the Model 52-A is a rare collector'sitem today.In the early production stage of the9mm program, the factory forged 1,000steel frames for this model, but theseframes were never used during earlyproduction except for experimental andmilitary test guns. In 1966, the factorydecided that,-.since the frames were partiallycompleted, the machining should befinished and the guns assembled andsold. By the fall of 1966, the factory com-. Ñà - >-..OH ^ ,-^¥"w^gF,'t .pleted 927 of their 9mm Model 39s withsteel frames and sales were processedthrough Smith & Wesson's normal distributorsystem. The steel-frame Model39 is found in three serial number groups;the first group serial numbered in the 35-,000 range, the second group dispersedbetween 62,000 and 64,000, and the lastgroup in the 80,000 range. Unfortunately,factory production records were not kepton the exact serial numbers, but invoicesdo record the numbers; thus allowing thecollector to authenticate his steel-frameModel 39.After the steel frames were completed,the factory was too busy filling orders forthe aluminum-framed version of thismodel to accept any other changes. Manypolice agencies were now testing andusing the Model 39 as a duty sidearm. In1971, Smith & Wesson improved the ex-(Continued on page 57)By MASSAD F. AYOOB' HE S&W models 39 and 59 continue- to captivate handgunners, and it'seasy to see why. Suitable for concealedcarry and far superior for that purposethan any .38 snub or .380 auto; offeringan immediate first shot without the "conditionone paranoia" of carrying a cockedautomatic, safety not withstanding; actuallydelivering more firepower than thevaunted Browning Hi-Power (in theModel 59), these guns have a lot going forthem, even though some gunsmiths castjaundiced eyes at certain aspects of theirdesign and sometimes their workmanship.Running down the list of features.uthere's a lot that people experienced withthese guns can tell the first-time owner,and even the one who's had his for awhile. Some of the advice is admittedlydebatable either way, and I'm sure guyswho've owned three and four of the SmithParabellums will disagree here and there.But when I talk to guys like Homer Clark,head of Illinois State Police Ordnanceand shepherd of some 1700 Model 39sused by his department, I tend to place alot of weight on the opinions such menlearn from experience.To "Safe" or Not to "Safe"?Smith & Wesson's early sales literatureon the Model 39 made the glowing commentthat it was the first American-builtauto that could be fired instantly, with adouble action first shot, like a revolver.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978 39

But .in the fine print, it mentioned thatwhen you wore the thing it was a goodidea to engage the thumb safety.It still is a good idea. It has long beenestablished that a 39 or 59, if dropped onthe muzzle from a height of three feet ormore, will go off. Smith Parabellum buffsargue, logically enough, "If it's only goingto go off when it hits the muzzle, thatmeans the one accidentally-loosed roundwill go into the floor, so why worry aboutit?" It is true that while this accident hashappened in some police departmentsthat issue such guns, including Salt LakeCity PD and Illinois State Police, no onehas been injured. That's because theyusually get dropped on the street or in thesquadroom. And it's true that the 39 or 59won't go off if dropped on the hammer.But let's suppose that you've just comehome, end gone to the master bedroom tochange your clothes and put the gunaway. You set it on the night table, and itslides off, muzzle down, and your kids aredirectly beneath you playing in the roomsbelow . . .Police officers are well advised to keepthe safety on, if only for one reason: thereis about one chance in five that if they'reshot in the line of duty it will be with theirown gun, and many a felon has grabbed a39 or 59 from a patrolman's holster andbeen unable to shoot him because hedidn't know where that inconspicuous,flat, tear-drop lever was.On the negative side, the Smith safetyis relatively awkward to release in ahurry, and requires an upward movementinstead of an instinctive downwardwipe-off like a Colt or Browning auto.This means that you have to lift yourthumb, breaking your hold, at the crucialmoment when your fist should be tighteningto fire accurately in defense ofyour life.It can be learned, though. I eventuallyworked out an odd technique for drawingthe locked Smith Parabellum. As myright hand scoops the gun from the holster,the right thumb flips the safety upinto "fire." The fingertips of my left handhook at the second joints of my right fingers,and my left thumb sweeps over thehammer, cocking it, and stops down nearmy right wrist:It is superfast, and avoidsthe long, muzzle-jerking double actionpull for the first shot. The odd placementof the digits keeps the left thumb out ofthe slide's way.If you carry a 39/59 as a concealed defensegun, though, you'd be better off tocarry it with a round in the chamber,safety off, and be prepared for that firstdouble action round with no fooling. Justbe really careful about dropping thething.The DAISA ControversyMany handgunners, most notably JeffCooper, denounce the concept of adouble-action-first-shot auto like this onebecause the long stroke of the first DAround requires a different finger positionSmith &Wisson Model 395107 Rear Sight Windage Nut 6> Sear Pin 6126 Trigger Play Spring Rivet6001 Barrel 6076 Rear Sight Slide 6127 Trigger Play Spring6005 Barrel Bushing 6078 Extractor Pin 6132 Stock Ri ht6011 Trigger Plunger Pin 6079 Manual Saf Plunger Spring, 6133 Stock: ~e!l6013 Ejector-depressor Plunger Extractorpriring 6141 Dust Shield-Military6014 E ector-depressor Plunger Spring 6081 Slide Stop Button 6143 Drawbar6015 EJ ector Ma azine Depressor 6083 Slide Stop Plunger 6144 Hammer6017 ~iector spfng 6084 Slide Stop Plunger Spring 6145 Insert6019 Firing Pin 6088 Slide 6146 Magazine Tube-Military6022 Firing Pin Spring 6095 Rear Si ht Windage Screw 6147 Magazine Follower6027 Frame Stud 6103 Sear ~e!ease Lever 6148 Ma azine Spring6031 insert Pin, Trigger Pin 6106 Frame 6149 ~akspring6032 ---- Maoazine . .-Tube 6107 -. . Disconnector -. . . .. 6151 Stirruo6034 ~a&%e Assembly6108 Disconnector Pin6036 Magazine Butt Plate Catch 6110 Drawbar Plunger6037 Magazine Assembly-Military 6111 Drawbar Plunger Spring6039 Magazine Catch6113 Sear6040 Maaazine Catch Nut6114 Sear Plunger6041 Magazine Catch Plunger6115 Sear Plunger Pin6042 Maaazine Catch Piunoer Snrina 6116 Sear Piunaer SorinaStirrup PinTriggerMagazine Bun PlateMainspring PlungerStock Screws (2)ExtractorRecoil Sorina Guide Assembly6049 Manual Safety - ' - 6117 Sideplate- ' - 6326 Slide Stop Piun er Rivet -6054 Manual Safety Plunger 6121 Trigger Plunger 7158 ear sight windage Screw Plunger6056 Rear Si ht Leaf 6122 Trigger Plunger Spring 7158 Rear Sight Windage Screw6059 Recoil Spring 6125 Slide Stop Plunger Springon the trigger than do the succeeding,short SA pulls. On police practice rangeswhere Smith Parabellums are used, it iscommon to see the first shot go high andwide, before succeeding ones settle in tocenter.Some people, myself included, don'thave this problem. Since the trigger iswide and smooth on a 39, my finger justfinds its own position for followup shotsafter the first DA round is out of the barrel.The tendency to put that first onehigh, I tend to believe, is largely becausethe trigger pull is so long. It's difficult tothese pistols, a red light goes on in myhead after the first shot: "Malfunction!Malfunction! The double action triggerhasn't returned!" It's a legacy, no doubt,'of heavy practice in DA revolver shooting.I suspect it's one of the reasonsrevolver-oriented police have a difficulttime adjusting to the 39/59. When youchoose to carry a 39 or 59, realize earlythat you'll have to put in lots of practice.PointabilityI never liked the pointing characteristicsof the 39; it's the only automaticI've ever shot that points high in instinc-put a good double action trigger in an tive shooting. The straighter-gripped 59,auto, and any Smith wheelgun (or Colt, in my own subjective, hands, is moreRuger, or Dan Wesson) has a better DA adaptable to pointed fire. But it's all relapullthan a 39/59.tive; I know people who think the 39 is aI will admit that when shooting dne of natural pointer, and for them, the 59

Smith & Wesson Model 595107 Rear Sight Windage Nut6084 Slide Stop Plunger Spring 6257 Trigger Pin6 1 Barrel I . . Slide . .6264 Manazine Followe~61% Barrel Bushing6095 Rear Sight Windage Screw6011 Trigger Plunger Pin6103 Sear Release Lever6013 Ejector-depressor Plunger 6107 Disconnector6014 Ejector-depressor Plunger Spring 6108 Disconnector Pin6015 Sear Lever6110 Drawbar Plunger6017 Elector S~rind6111 Drawbar Plunder S~rind6019 Firing Pin - 6121 Trigger Plunger ' - 6261 Sideplate6022 Firing Pin Spring 6122 Trigger Plun er Spring 6269 Slide Stop6040 Magazine Catch Nut 6126 Trigger play Spring Rivet 6271 Stock, Left6041 Magazine Catch Plunger 6127 Trigger Play Spring 6272 Stock, Right6042 Magazine Catch Plunger Spring 6144 Hammer 6304 Sear Spring Retaining Pin6049 Manual Safety 6149 Mainspring 63118 Extractor6054 Manual Safety Plunger 6151 Stirrup 6319 Slide Stop Plunger Rivet6066 Rear Si ht Leaf 6152 Stirrup Pin 6320 Sear6059 Recoil Spring 6153 Trigger 6323 Recoil Spring Guide Assembly6061 Recoil Spring Guide 6182 E'ector Magazine Depressor 1325 Magazine Butt Plate Catch6076 Rear Sight Slide 6217 Mainspring Plunger 7158 Rear Sight Windage Screw Plunger6078 Extractor Pin 6239 Sear Plunger Spring 7159 Rear Sight Windage Screw6079 Manual Sat Plunger Spring, 6252 Drawbar Plunger Spring~xtractcr?p"ng6253 Frame6081 Slide Stop Button 6254 Frame Stud6083 Slide Stop Plunger 6256 Insertpoints low. Try your own unloaded gun afew times in front of a mirror: close youreyes, thrust the gun out to where you'dpull the trigger, and then look and seejust where it's pointing. In any case, pointshooting is not a vital consideration, sinceany time you can't see to aim you probablycan't see to identify your targeteither. . aJammingThough it has been known to perkthrough sand and mud torture tests, the39/59 has developed a reputation of beingsignificantly less reliable than the Colt orBrowning 9mms. The original problemsin the feed ramp of the 39 have beencorrected, but the gun will still bobble,now and then. It wants a good bright polishon the feed ramp, and maybe a little ofAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978what the custom gunsmakers call "throating."Any good pistolsmith can do it foryou for a few bucks, and if you're carryingthe 39/59 for defense (and really, whatelse would you want one for) it gives youmuch imnroved reliability with the hollowpointsthat are essential if you'regoing to trust your life to a 9 mm pistol inan anti-personnel confrontation.When we say things like this, we drawthe wrath of 39/59 fans who say indignantly,"I've put thousands of roundsthrough mine and it never jammed!" Idon't doubt that. The Smith Parabellumhas more variance between individualspecimens than any handgun I've everworked with. One can be superbly puttogether, and just omnivorous: it'll gobbleanything you feed it without a burp. Butanother gun from the same productiorrun may have feeding problems. This iswhy I don't think I'm contradicting myselfwhen I say the 59 is an excellentweapon for the individual officer whoknows his guns, but a poor choice fordeparmental issue. That single cop willhave made sure that his personal specimenpercolates reliably, but it is safe toassume that out of an order big enough tooutfit a department, some of the 59s or39s are going to have problems.SightsS&W has been working for severalyears on a second generation series of9 mms that will have fully adjustablesights and ambidextrous safeties. We'restill waiting. The sights have been testproducedin small batches and checkedout, but proved to be too frail to take thebattering of the slide slamming back andforth. (This is not an indictment of theS&W product by any means. Colt's deluxeGold Cup is infamous for shearingthe pin that holds its Elliason sight inplace, often causing it to fly off the slide.I'ts just that a high-pressure auto cartridgeslams the slide to and fro so forciblythat an adjustable sight that works onit has to be super rugged:)MMC, 212 E. Spruce, Deming, NM88030, makes a very good little combatsight for the 39/59. It has a low, snag-freeprofile, and it gives you the ability to adjustyour elevation for the different pointsof impact between, say, a 90-gr S&Whollowpoint and a 124-gr. Remington"ball" cartridge. The windage adjustmentsthat come on 39/59 sights areadequate.S&W makes rear sight blades in threedifferent heights to accommodate differentloads. They are available to policearmorers, but I don't believe they're inthe retail catalogs. You might be able toget some from the company's service department,though. Good luck. Try to get amilitary m139 magazine and ejection portdust-cover, while you're at it.It was said that the 39 was sighted toshoot low when it was first produced, onthe theory that in a gunfight, most peoplewould tend to put their first shot high.Most owners simply filed down the frontsight to compensate. Today's 59s and39-2s tend to shoot pretty much on.Another worthwhile option on theseguns is Julio Santiago's $40 Nite-Site.Since most of these weapons are used forpersonal protection or home defense, andsince most such applications occur afterdark, it could give you a definite edge.The days of black-market pricing of 9 mmS&W autos is pretty much over, and theretail list is quite reasonable, so this kindof accessory is affordable.Shooting CharacteristicsSgt. Louis Seman (ret.) of Illinois StatePolice, the guy who turned that departmenton to the 39, once built his own9 mm target pistol, kind of a bastard cross(Continued on page 66)A 1

AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 19788 -

By MASSAD F. AYOOBT THE time of the Model 39's intro-A duction, no one seriously predictedthat it might become a tool for domesticlaw enforcement. Policework in the fiftieswas strictly revolver-only, save for, therandom .45 automatic in the hands of aTexas ranger, Southern sheriff, or metrofelony squad detective. The .357 Magnumrevolver, after twenty years, wasjust making inroads to real policeacceptance.By the Sixties, though, things hadchanged. Armed robbers were becomingmore sophisticated and were operating inteams. Ambushes of cops were escalating.The unnerving spectre of the RiotYears had given lawmen an itch for firepower.And the police began to take a secondlook at the Model 39.It burgeoned mostly in California, thatbellwether of modem law enforcement, insmall communities. The two biggest stepscame later. The milestone was in 1967when, accompanied by headlines in boththe gun mags and the law enforcementjournals, Illinois State Police adopted thegun for its entire force, which now has anauthorized complement of 1700 sworntroops. Salt Lake City PD followed, thefirst large metro agency to do so, and thetwo were held up as shining examples ofprogressive thought by police gun buffs.The biggest spun came with the introductionof the 15-shot Model 59. With250% of the firepower of a service revolver,the 9 mm DA auto was more attractivethan ever, and police across thenation began ordering them. Soon, thefactory was producing three 59s for everytwo 39s.But by 1977, a disturbing trend hademerged: an inordinately high percentageof the agencies that adopted these autoswere switching back to the wheelgun. Tosee why, let's look at some of the agenciesthat went to the 39 and 59, why somekept it, and some didn't.Salt Lake City, at this writing, is completingthe transition to the Model 64(fixed sight, stainless) S&W .38 revolver.The reason, their Major Bryant told me,was purely "that the troops weren'thappy with the Model 39." They hadbeendemoralized, he said, by several incidentsin which the .auto went off whendropped on the muzzle, and by jammingon the practice range. Neither gun norcartridge ever failed on the street, however."We only had three shootings withthe 39," said Bryant, "but when we didshoot someone with the 9 mm, they wentdown."Wrentham, Massachusetts, may havebeen the first police department to adoptthe Model 59. I wrote an article on it forthe Massachusetts Police Associationedition of SENTINEL magazine, andrightly or wrongly, was attributed somePart Ill: Law Enforcement(Above) Model 39 or 59 has firepowerthat can be comforting to lawmen suchas these Illinois State Troopers. That is, ifthey are completely confident.Illinois State Police trooper with 39 (opposite)on firing line with the Model 39.Author believes more training is neededthan with a revolver.,S &WAutosfor L ~ Enforcement TMassad Ayoob photograph courtesy of Trooper Magazine, and Organization Services Corporation publication.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

,-- Members of a S.W.A.T. training teamwith their S&W 59's used for close incombat work.responsibility for accelerated interest in'the gun in the Bay State. One policedealer accosted me at a combat shoot andsaid, "You're the guy who screwed up mypolice sales projections for the next twoyears! Since that damn article came out,everybody wants 59s!" Actually, thereweren't that many departments thatmade the total switch.Wrentham still issues the gun, however,and the men are still happy with it.They've had no shootings yet, accordingto Chief Paul Schwalbe. In Yarmouth.Mass., however, it was another story. Atfirst thrilled with all that firepower, ChiefTed Reynolds told me, his men werequickly demoralized by jamming on therange. Only about 12% of the guns experiencedproblems, but that was apparentlyenough. There were also concernsabout stopping power. In one 9 mm shooting,a burglary suspect was shot at pointblank range. He surrendered immediately,but remained totally mobile and wouldhave been capable of walking to the ambulance.He recovered completely, andnever lost consciousness. In their secondshootout, Yarmouth cops did better withthe 59: a shotgun-armed assailant whocame at an officer was shot 3 times, in thechest and abdomen. He was flung backwardby bullet impact, and killed instantly.In both shootings, the issue90-gr. S&W jacketed HP round wasused. The department has since switchedto the stainless Combat Magnumrevolver.The Sandwich, Mass. PD had a differentexperience, according to Chief BobWhearty. Thirty-eight Model 59s wereIk^L,purchased, for the firepuwoi the ~ n-dutyloff-duty carryability. There were nomalfunction nroblems worth notine. but -,the damp salt air soon wrought havocwith the blued guns (curiously, Wheartynotes, this had been no particular problemwith the blued S&W Model 15s and36s issued before). Worse, he found, wasthat once the blue was gone, thealuminum frame itself began to disintegrate:"If a man had had the gun in theholster for a few weeks, you could holdthe holster over a desk and shake out thealuminum shavings," the chief told me.S&W reps, he said, blamed the problemon the sea air and the tight fit of theuniform holster.Most patrolmen, he said, found the griptoo awkward for comfort, especially hisone female officer. Whearty himselfswitched to a smaller-gripped 39. He alsoliked the fact that scores of poor shooterswent up dramatically, those of mediumshooters went up significantly, and thegood shooters stayed the same. Nevertheless,after two years, he dropped the automaticsand switched the department toModel 64s for patrol, and Model 60s foroff-duty and plainclothes work.Several southwestern police departmentshave also gone back to the wheelgunafter flirtations with the S&W 9 mm,usually the Model 59, with concern overjamming usually cited as the reason.S&W tacitly recognized the problem witha recent news release that offered tochange the slide stop, ejector, andmagazine followers for police-owned 59swithout charge.Still, in any consideration of the 39159for police use, Illinois State Police remainsthe classic example. Working ontheir eleventh year, with as many as 1700troopers and detectives carrying theModel 39 at one time (present manpoweris about 1500), they have more shootingslogged with the 9 mm than perhaps allother police departments combined.I have had a unique opportunity tomonitor the ISP experiment, having beenfor more than two years featureeditorof the Illinois edition of TROOPERmagazine. The story began back in the60s, and firepower wasn't the reason forthe switch. ISP members at that time hadto be armed 24 hours, and qualify withtheir off-duty guns. Scores with theirsnub .38s were embarrassingly low.These weapons, like their .38 service revolvers,were personally owned. The departmentassigned Sgt. Louis Seman,their savvy ordnance head and a 2600shooter, to find a weapon that could becarried both on and off duty without sacrificingperformance. After an elaborateseries of tests, he settled on the 39.The onloff-duty capability has been amajor reason why many departmentshave gone to this gun. It is ironic that ISPdropped their always-armed requirementshortly after the 39's adoption. Nevertheless,the gun did the job: poor shootersshot much better with it, average shooterssomewhat better, and good shootersdropped some points. This is a patternyou see in virtually every department thatgoes to the Smith Nine: the good humanengineering of the gun; the elimination ofthe heavy DA pull for every shot, and theabsence of recoil twist in the hand, allmake it easier for the novice to shootwell. Conversely, a man who has masteredthe handgun simply won't find inthe S&W auto the intrinsic accuracy thatis built into every quality servicerevolver.Initial trooper reaction to the 39 wasbad. Many were totally unfamiliar withsemi-auto pistols and retained a negativegut feeling about it even after extensivetraining. Some resented giving up theirpersonal guns, and others were just angrythat the change was made without theirbeing polled. (This is always a factorAMERIC ;AN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

when an automatic is adopted. One reasonWrentham PD stays with the 59 isthat the men chose it by vote themselves.Other agencies where the gun was chosenwithout input from the patrol officers findmuch the same bad vibes as ISP.)The first ISP 39s didn't work out at all.The 60'-40' step in the feed ramp causedjams. The bushings and extractors failedrapidly. Since this was the first largescaleuse of the weapon, S&W engineerstook the advice of the ISP armorers andincorporated beefier parts and made severalother changes. As a result, the contemporaryModel 39-2 was born. ThoughI speak of the 39 without the secondarydesignation, it is generally accepted thatonly the 39-2, and not the original 39,should be considered for police service.ISP now has all 39-2s or 39s that havebeen converted to beefier bushings andextractors, and with improved feedramps.Even with the bugs worked out,though, there were jamming problems.One was that, even though S&W originallyrecommended Anderol as lubricant,this turned out to be too thin and wouldquickly drain out of a bolstered gun.Model 39s and 59s don't like to work dry.They demand attention and lubrication,probably more so than, say, the 1911.45.Still, they could say, the gun had neverjammed on the street. That happy state ofaffairs ended shortly before Thanksgiving1976 when Trooper Carl Kobler was shotdown by a junkie in a "hasty ambush."His right arm numb from a bullet wound,Kobler fumbled his Model 39 from itscross-draw flap holster left handed, managedto get the safety off, and fired twiceat the fleeing car before the pistoljammed. He has since recovered, and hisassailant, captured by another trooper,was imprisoned.This incident gave TROOPER (a publicationof the Illinois Troopers Lodge ofFraternal Order of Police. and not an officialdepartment magazine) a mandate topoll the men on the controversial weapon.Almost a hundred three-page questionnaireswere returned. The results?72% of the respondents said they'drather carry a revolver, with the ColtPython heavily favored. Among the 28%who liked automatics, 46% said they'drather carry a Colt .45, with 30% favoringthe Model 59, 23% the Browning 9 mm.Of the 12% who said they'd stay with the39, many young troopers noted that theysaid so only because it was the only automatic,or indeed the only handgun, theywere familiar with.Fewer than half rated themselves at allconfident with the gun, only 7% supremelyconfident. 87% said they wereless than totally confident with the Model39, and a shocking 14% said they felt"totally insecure and unsafe" with it.Admittedly, that's only 90-some out of1500 troopers, and the survey responsemay have been weighted away from thosewho didn't have any particular opinion ofthe gun, but even if only those who feelstrongly about something respond to asurvey, it is significant that not manyseemed to be strongly in favor of the 39.In any case, no one doubts that- giventheir choice, the majority of ISP's trooperswould rather carry a revolver.One criticism of the 39 for police use,by the way, is unfounded. Critics of theSmith Nine like to say, "If it's so good,how come the other state police andhighway patrol agencies didn't adopt it?"The fact is that New Hampshire's Departmentof Safety once issued 39s to allmotor vehicle inspectors, who wereswitched to the Model 66 for uniformitywhen that branch was incorporated intothe regular State Police. ConnecticutState Police detectives are authorized tocarry double action automatics if theychoose, and a large percentage havebought their own 39s and 59s. There is(Continued on page 64)..$; ., .Smith and ~esson ~odel59.^ 1". '-..k?%Smith and Wesson Model 39 - .. . .- 2 .--AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978A ,-

Search for theHumongousFivefoot black bear taken with the SuperBlackhawk shown. Ruger is stock exceptfor Mag-Na-Porting and action job byPhil Crowley.is..ARRY KELLY, president of Mag-L Na-Port Arms, and Gerry Kraft, presidentof Magnum Sales Limited, Inc. arethe most successful black bear handgunhunters I know. For the past severalyears they have invited me to go bear' hunting with them, but due to business,. commitments I couldn't make it. Eachyear I heard the tales of their successfulhunt and made up my mind that this yearI was going to make it.In "77" though, the OutstandingAmerican Handgunner Awards, were inconjunction with the N.R.A. show in Cin- foraging and their hides were in goodcinnati. Since Kelly is Chairman of the condition I would fly to Kalispell and weOAHA Foundation, and I'm Vice- would hunt from there.President, it was necessary for both of us Prior to the anticipated departure date,to be in attendance-during prime bear I had decided to use a 10.5 inch scopedhunting time..44 Auto Mag on the hunt as it was as-Larry had severe reservations about sumed that fairly long shots in poor lightthe condition of bear hides that late in the would be likely. I intended to take an ironspring. He and Gerry were to leave the sighted 8.5 inch barrel assembly along today after the awards dinner, drive to switch to in the event we hunted in heavyMontana and let me. know how things brush. It only takes a few seconds tolooked on the following Wednesday or switch barrels on the Auto Mags.Thursday. Assuming the bears were still I had had good results with 28-29 grainsAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 197&

of WW 296 in CDM cases sparked by CCIMagnum primers and the 200 grain Hornady.430 Hollow Point on fairly lightgame from the 6.5 inch A.M.P. and gaveit a good workout from the long barrels.Accuracy from a rest on the truck hoodhovered around 1.5-2.0 inches at 100yards from the scoped 10 incher with the29.0 grain load and around 4-5 inchesfrom the 8.5 inch barrel. Functioning wasperfect with both barrels. The 10.5 inchbarrel utilized a Leupold M-8-2X scope ina Maxi-Mount. I figured I was all set.On the Monday after the N.R.A. show Ifound out I had to leave on a business tripTuesday morning. Undaunted, but unwillingto risk one of my valuable LEJ 005Auto Mags (only 35 complete sets)through several airline flights and motels,I packed a Super Blackhawk .44, ascoped .44 TIC, one box of 236 grainNorma factory loads and several boxes ofthe original Super Vel 180 grain hollowpoint ammo.Sometime Thursday night Kellyphoned in the bad news. They had seenseveral bears but the hides were rubbedand they weren't shootable. He recommendedforgetting it this year. Businessfinished and being on the west side of thecountry anyway, I decided to try itregardless.At about 2 p.m. the next day they metme in Kalispell. First stop was to pick upa license. Since they thought I lookedgood for bear hunting in a light sport coat,white shirt and light green checked pantsthey wouldn't stop to let me changeclothes. No time for foolish things likethat-we're losing valuable time frombear hunting. At least I was able to getmy Super Blackhawk out of the suitcaseon top of.the mess in the rear of the 4 WDcarryall-and since I couldn't reach thesuitcase with the ammo in it they werekind enough to give me six rounds of the240 grain Federal ammo they had. Theydid balk a little bit at my wanting to stopand sight in. They were willing to compromisethough and stopped long enoughfor me to fire two shots and ascertain theywere hitting about a foot high at about100 yards.Seems as if I recall a few remarks similarto "What the hell you want to sight infor-you gun writers don't need sights,you got typewriters, etc. etc. etc." Theythen informed me that since I was theguest I had to kill a bear or at least hit onebefore they would shoot. I protested to noavail; I hadn't seen a bear in ten yearsand didn't want to shoot a midget. "Don'tworry, we'll tell you if it's big enough."Sure, I thought, they'll probably tell meto shoot a cub and blackmail me. In fact Iaccused them of having that in mind. (It'snice to have confidence in your friends.) Ireally wasn't concerned with not beingsighted in, as I really didn't expect to seeanything, much less get a shot at a decentbear that evening.We saw three crossing an open areaand disappear into the trees. Two of themwere year and a half old cubs or better,fully large enough to take care of themselvesand a fairly large sow. As we wereabove them we tried to cut them off for abetter look but only caught glimpses ofthem in the woods.At about 9:30 p.m. light was fading faston the old grassy logging road we wereon. Suddenly, a black shape emergedfrom the woods and immediately becamean indistinct shape in the shadows. Wefroze. Mr. Bear was very intent on fillingup on lush grass after a long hibernationand didn't notice us. He meanderedaround and finally got into the open longenough for a good look at him.Larry whispered, "He's good enough,"(Continued on page 68)Gerry Kraft doing some informal piinkingwith custom M-29.Kelly's custom 5" M-29, Zeiss pocket8x20's and track folding knife andammo.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978 47

HandgunsBy BERT STRiNGFELLOWfor silhou~~&&'&gag?$.Â¥"i,-.-.!',,ti-EPTEMBER of 1975 saw the begin- The production class shooter may changening of a pistol competition that has his stocks, sights, etc., but only to thoseEditor's note: Future issues of'The A&- fired the imagination of big bore pistol items which are commercially availablecan Handgunner will cover the exotic shooters throughout the nation. Lee Jur- to anyone over the counter and whichproduction and unlimited handguns, with ras started it by sponsoring a Magnum do not require machine tools for theirfeatures on the 14" Contenders, the Handgun Metallic Silhouette Match in installation.XP-100 and others. Tucson, Arizona. The match was held in The unlimited handgun class has onlyassociation with his Club de Auto Mag two limitations and they are as follows:and it was held to promote big bore pistol The piece may not weigh more than 4.5shooting and the Auto Mag pistol in par- lbs. and the sight radius must not be moreticular. Many of the shooters, including than 15 inches. The only other limitationsmyself, went to that first match carrying on the handguns are: no shoulder stockstheir favorite Auto Mag and the idea that and no scopes.they could win the match. Well, a young The production class has become domfellownamed Don Jeter showed us how it inated in numbers by the Model 29 Smithshould be done, using a .44 Ruger Super & Wesson .44 Magnum, usually with theBlackhawk and cast bullets. From that 8%" barrel, and the Ruger Super Blackoriginal50 plus competitor match the hawk .44 Magnum. We see very few Autointerest has grown through the formation Mags at the matches. However, Johnof the International Handgun Metallic Adams has worked up a load for his .357Silhouette Association to the point where Auto Mag using 180 gr. rifle bullets whichthe local shoot held in the Los Angeles he uses very successfully; single shot, ofarea in May of 1977 produced 178 compe- course, because the cartridges are tootitors for a two-day shoot.long for the magazines. Thompson CenterUnder the rules of the newly formed Contenders appear at the silhouetteIHMSA there are two classes for hand- matches, but in the heavier calibers, theirguns which may be used in competition: light weight and heavy recoil abuse thethere is the production gun class which is shooters over the 40-s&ot course until bulthebackbone of the association and the let placement begins to suffer from theunlimited class for the shooter who enjoys flinch that inevitably develops. I believeexperimenting with his handguns. The that the 14" bull barrels with click adjustproductionclass handgun must be a piece able sights announced by Thompsonwhich is commercially available and has Center could well be the answer to the -had no modifications performed upon it. production class. *L ,.*.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978,* v " 'f2, *-,. "'.>% \ * s L: 4 *- * *:."A

Zen, a td, lean, mustached western typefrom Fresno, stepped up and dropped 23out of 40 silhouettes shooting a RugerBlackhawk with a 5%" barrel and charnberedfor the -45 Colt cartridge. Glen shotthat outstanding score from the standmgposition with a two-hand hold.The unlimited or modified class gunsare of great interest to thehandgunningenthusiast because they attempt toachieve the ultimate in a precisionxhandyamand, as such, stir the imagination ofthe hunting handgunner. To date fivewildcat cartridges have been developedand tested which would function verywell for varmint or big game hunting; theyrange from the 6.5mm X .222 Mag. Talbot,which would be great for varmints,up to the 1W ,458 Stephens, which, withits 350 grain bullet going at ISOOfps,would be good for bear. These cartridgesare capable of being loaded to velocitylevels which will damage the steel silhou- -wettes used in the matches, and in someinstances holes have been punched completelythrough the %-inch thick steelchickens. The loads described to me bysome of the shooters at the matches Ihave attended appear to be so extremethat I am leery of putting them in print forfear that someone might damage his pistolwhile attempting to duplicate a load.However, the loads these shooters areusing are safe for their pistols becausethey are custom tailored for the one gunthey are being shot in.The old Remington XP-100 and theThompson Center Contender have beenthe beginnings for most of die modifledguns. On occasion an M-29 Smith &Wesson or a Ruger Super Blackhawkshows up at a match with a long bullbarrel but the revolvers do not allow theshooter the precise trigger mechanismand selection of sighting equipmentavailable to the shaoter of a single shot.Gunsmith Lee Baker of Carson Citv. PNevada has used rifle sights, such aspeep rear sights and hooded front sightswith great success. Even so, tfae highest,modified gun score fired to date (August, .1977) is 38 hits out of 40 silhouettes. Thatscore was fired at the May match in Los -'Angeles by Elgin Gates. All eyes will be 1on the too modified gun shooters at theupcoming matches 6 see if the perfectgun which combines accuracy, knockdownpower (the rams weigh 40 poundseach) and controllable rthat perfect score-40 hits with 40 shots.AMERICAN HANDGUNNERJULYMJC4

SHOTLOADS(Continued from page 25)of the countersink. The end needs to beflat and smooth, perpendicular to thelength of the dowel. Pin or glue the dowelin place. Pinning is best unless you happento have some "Super Glue" or similarcyanoacrylate adhesive handy. This isyour "crimping die," used with a hammerand care. Place a prepared case uprighton a smooth, solid surface. Put the dieover the case mouth, aligning it carefully.Now rap the top of the die with a plastichammer. A little practice will teach youhow hard to strike. The chamfered edgeof the pipe will turn the case mouth overthe plastic wad, while the dowel keepsthe wad from jumping out or becomingcocked in the process. After crimping,your full-charge, .44 Bulldog, shot load isfinished. Depending to some degree onthe wads you have used, and the wallthickness of the .30-40 brass, these loadswill contain up to $5 ounce of number 9shot-and that is about 285 pellets. Thisis the shot-charge equivalent of a standard.410 gauge shotshell load.The short, three-inch, rifled barrel isn'tdesigned to produce optimum patternswith naked shot. There isn't any choke,and the spiral rifling not only deformsshot pellets but tends to swirl them outinto a doughnut-like spread at any greatrange. Compared to a proper, choked,smoothbore barrel, the results are lessthan ideal. However, the purpose of asmall-gun shot load is serious use atranges measured more in feet than inyards. Under those conditions, most, ifnot all, of the shot charge will be on targetand will have considerable penetration.At ten feet, this load (in a .44 Bulldog) willput enough of its pellets on a No. 2 tomatocan to knock it galley-west and well perforated.And, there's no reason you can'tcarry a couple of these loads in yourBulldog, along with a trice of standardball loads.Actually, shot-load performance can beimproved a bit, but it will cost you theprice of a new Bulldog cylinder. On theother hand, it will eliminate the need forextra resizing and for that odd crimpingdie. You can get a spare cylinder (assumingyou want to retain the gun's originality)and ream its chambers straightthrough. Do this with a 7116-112 inch expansionreamer, opening up the chamberthroats until they are a straight extensionof the chamber. Then, prepare and fireformcases exactly as before. They'llcome out straight, rather than bottlenecked.Loading proceeds exactly as before,except that there'll be no bottle-neck tointerfere with wad-seating and there willby George Nontebe more room for shot. This time, youmay resize full length in a standard .44Special die. You'll also be able to crimpthe over-shot wad in place in a standard.44 Special or .44 Magnum seatlcrimpdie. Just run the seating screw down tohold the wad in place, then adjust the dieupward to produce a proper crimp on thelonger case.If you're worried about not being ableto use bulleted cartridges in the alteredcylinder, don't; you can. Don't use standardcartridges. If you do, the bullet willupset to fill the oversize chamber, andwill place excessive stress on the barrelforcing cone as it is swaged down. Theresult is likely to be a split forcing cone.Instead, just load wadcutter bullets (ofusual .44 Special diameter and weight)into the cylinder-length cases. Seat themflush with the case mouth and crimpingsecurely. Lacking wadcutter bullets,simply invert any standard bullet andload in the same manner. Most effectivein this sort of load is Lyman number429422, a hollow-base, semi-wadcutter,cast verv soft. and loaded inverted toform a massive, cup-point bullet thatopens up in target almost like a grenade.In short, the Charter Arms Bulldog offersthe ideal vehicle for a small-gun/shot-load combination. You have to makethe ammo yourself, but afterthat it's downhill all the way.One of the world's best known writers sets the stage for this,book which, because of even tighter government regulations,becomes more important to handgun owners every day. Theacquisition of skills necessary to do everything from the simplework of touching up a blueing job to the more complicated rebuildingand accurizing is made easier with the step-by-stepadvice. Pistols, revolvers and automatic pistols can be fixed,improved, and maintained properly following directions forwelding brazing, soldering, hardening, tempering, revolver tuningand timinsmfinishing and more, completely illustrated withphotos and drawings.r -----------------GUNS MAGAZINE1 Book Dept., Suite 200,591 Camino de la Rolna, ATM, San Diego, CA 921081 Please forward ____ copy(s) of PISTOLSMITHING. Enclosedis $14.95 plus 50Ã postage and handling per book.1 NAMEII ADDRESSIS T A T F 7 1 P -1Allow 6 weeks for deliveryAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

Here's what makesDan Wesson revolvers unique:, '.'QUICKSHFT inter. tiangeable barrelassemblies, availab ? in Z1/2", 4" 6"and 8" lengths. For i irget models 10".12" and 15" lengths re also availableas are 4 styles of bai el shrouds: regular,regular with vei tilated rib, heavy,heavy with ventilat d rib.QUICKSHIFT interchangeable walnutand zebrawood grips in four styles:Target (smooth or checkered walnutor zebrawood). Combat (smooth walnut),Sacramento (smooth walnut) orTraditional (smooth or checkeredwalnut). A walnut blank, inletted tofit the gun, is available for those whowish to carve their own grip.QUICKSHIFT interchangeable frontsight blades with red inserts are standardon all target models. Yellow andwhite arealso available.r"Con tillationson t e verv bestrevolver I have everheld in my hand!"officer Gerald E. Wheeler, VirginiaShown: Model .15-2VH8 withoptional checkeredzebrawood targetgripFor the past couple of years we've been tellingyou how great our Dan Wesson revolvers Are. Howthey're THE MOST ACCURATE, MOST VERSATILE,MOST DEPENDABLE .38/.357 magnum doubleactionrevolvers on the market.. . BAR NONE.Then a lot of you started telling us the same thing and now we'reswamped with letters from people all over the country saying the mostincredible things about our guns. Frankly, we're really excited! Wenever expected such a terrific response. Just look what they're saying!"This has to be the best handgun produced in the world today."Robert T. Cassidy, Massachusetts"The versatility of the gun with 2%" to 15" barrels is unbelievable!"Tom Wheeler, Georgia"The most accurate handgun I have held in my hand."Norm Doyal, Texas"I think these are the finest firearms available for today's policeman."Jay Scott, Missouri"It's hard for me to believe that I could get such a quality gun for such a reasonableprice."Paul Mangold, California"You are producing a superb revolver embodying the tradition of oldtime workmanshipwith innovative design."Robert N. Newton, Pennsylvania"Your service does iusticeto the quality of your fine arms andproves the value of your warranty."Ashley Lane, North CarolinaUnique placement of the cylinderlatch close to the barrel-cylinder gapstabilizes the cylinder in its alignmentto the barrel, aiding accuracy.A wnne oumne on me rear sightis standard equipment on all targetmodels.Five year warrantyon every revolverFor more informationwrite Dept. 16sDan Wesson A"My new Dan Wesson 15-2VH is thebest gun I own. "Bleep and Bleep"and "Bleep" just lost a customerand you have gained one."Bob McGarity, GeorgiaIsn't it time you stepped upto a Dan Wesson?293 Main StreetMonson. Massachusetts 01057 (4131267-4081 made in Monson, Massachusetts U.S.A.

PISTOLSMITHREPORTIBy GEORGE C. NONTEoubtless some of you'll rememberD Lii Trapper (Trapper Guns, 1674614-Mile Road, Fraser, Michigan 48026)'who I've mentioned before on thesepages. Trapper is a top pistolsmith, butdelves into other fields as well. He's alwayslooking for ways to do things better orquicker. Obviously, things that will workfor him will work for other smiths as well.So, when Trapper had milling cuttersets made up for installing S&W K- andN-rear sights on other guns, he decided tooffer them to other smiths as well. Thoseof you who have tried to obtain the bastard-sizecutters needed to fit those sightsproperly will know the problem. About allyou can do is find a good, custom-toolshop and have them made to order at avery unpleasant price. Trapper has madeit easy, if not cheap, by having completesets made up of the tools he uses and offeringthem for sale, complete with layout,setup, and use instructions.The set consists of a single-end, ballmill and three, specially-ground, doubleendmilling cutters. Cutter T-2 is for thelongitudinal cut to accept the sight base. Itis .002" undersize to allow cleaning up thecut with files. This same cutter is used forthe crosscut for the sight boss at the rearof the frame, T-3 is simply a 118-inch milland is used to cut the vertical recess forthe elevation screw nut T-1 is a ratherdelicate, small cutter for forming the T-slot, at the bottom of the aforementionedhole, to accept the flange on the elevationnut. A 5116-inch ball mill (T-4) is suppliedto make the relief cut for the sight ratchetCutters 1,2, and 3 are double-ended sothat when you eventually break one, thejob won't have to wait while you orderanother. However, if you break one end,you'd better quickly order another, becauseyou're then down to one usable cutter;if it goes, S&W sight jobs stop./-HISTORY OFSMITH & WESSONby Roy G. JinksPresented for the first time are facts,production information, and data on variationsand modifications of all post-1945 SMITH &WESSON firearms, information necessary to everyS & W gun collector. Written by SMITH &WESSON authority Roy G. Jinks, this all newbook carefully 'details the evolution of the companyand step-by-step, describes the development ofeach of their firearms from 1852 through andincluding 1977. Send $15.95 plus $1.00 forpostage and handling for this renowned standard..........................................................AMERICAN HANDGUNNER591 Camino de la Relna San Diego, CA 92108Please send ___ copy (ies) of HISTORY OF SMITH &WESSON. Enclosed is $1 5.95 for each book plus $1.00for postage and handling per copy.NAMEADDRESSCITY STATE ZIPAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

Cutter T-1 is the most delicate of thelot, and I've been told by some 'smithsthat they break similar cutters (for the elevationnut T-slot) with distressing regularity.In this regard, Trapper assures me thatthe cutter he furnishes is of the best qualityand that he obtains dozens ofjobs fromeach end. But, he tells us, a good, solid setupand very careful use is necessary to obtainthat life. Slow feed, 700-900 rpm,keep the chips cleaned out, and watchwhat you're doing. Trapper has fittedseveral sights for me with these cutters,and all the cuts look and work fine.Price of the four-cutter set, each in itsown compartment in a wood box, is$64.50 net. Sets and replacement cuttersare in stock for rapid delivery. If you'vebeen turning down those $50 sight jobsfor lack of proper cutters, now is the timeto change. It won't take very many suchjobs to wipe out the cost of the cutter set.Trapper also now offers a kit for installingcolored inserts in front sights. It consistsof material for dozens of inserts indifferent colors, a special dovetail millingcutter, and an instruction sheet. The cutto be made is light, so even a drill pressand compound table will allow you to installfront-sight inserts; a milling machineisn't needed. This cutter, too, is doubleendedfor long life, but the probability ofbreakage is very lowwith a proper setup.IÑÑÑÃ1 pistol.PampervowSmithCarry & Wesson it in a~remium aualitv Model 22 Lined Holster.ere's a tough hide with a tender heart. Keepsyour bluing - bluer longer. With a glove-soft full- lining. it's a smoothie.For revolvers and automatics in all framesizes and barrels up to 8% inches. Built-insight protector and single retaining strap. Fits1 % inch belts. In black or russet, plain orbasket weave.Check your local dealer. Or write:Smith & Wesson, Springfield,MA01101This .45 auto retails for less thanS2OOMeet the new Crown CityArms .45, the only WWII Model1911-A1 in production today.No frills, just reliable shooting and a full factory warranteefor $199.95 suggested retail. Pre-1970 barrel bushing. All-steelGovernment model, or lightweight construction (exclusive withCrown City). Commander Model in .45, .38 Super, or 9mm, allsteelor lightweight. Long adjustable trigger, stainless steelmagazine with round follower. Checkered walnut stocks. Testtarget in box. Most models same low price. Buy now,assure lowserial number. Send for catalog today.yYes, send me your new illustrated catalog on Crown City .45's, 0.38's, 9mm's, frames, slides, parts, kits, accessories. 1 enclose$1.00 postage and handling. Dealer inquiries invited; for Âprice list send copy of FFL.ÂÂÂNameÂÂAddressÂÂCity State@ZipMail to: Crown City Arms, P.O. Box 1 126ÂCortland, NY 13405, (607) 753-0194 AH1*¥¥¥¥¥*¥¥¥¥¥¥¥Made in USA.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

ur gun mat you TOWand ite size and shag50 Huyshcpe Ave.Hartford, Conn. 061 02HUNT 'ING,RECORD CLASS BIG GAMEAND HANDGUN HUNTER AWARDSN the November/December 1977 issueI of The American Handgunner, thiscolumn mentioned various ABGHA requirementsand standards regarding therecognition of record class big gametaken with a handgun. Because the subjectof huntable exotic big game was stillundergoing review, primary considerationwas given to indigenous species.Sufficient information has since been receivedand studied to permit ABGHA'sRecords Committee to determine the policyand procedure to be used regardingexotic big game taken with a handgun.While credit for continuous and sincereefforts to promote greater hunter acceptanceof and participation in exotic biggame hunting properly belongs to severalgroups and many individuals, it can alsobe said that Texotic Wildlife, Inc., ingeneral, and Thompson B. Temple, inparticular, established a milestone in thearea of exotic big game hunting with thepublication of "Records of Exotics, VolumeI." For the first time, it becamepossible for big game hunters to have informationavailable-in one sourcewhich,among other things, describes therecognized exotic big game species, givesthe minimum scores needed for possiblerecords inclusion, and shows the comparativerank of the top exotic trophiesthus far recorded.Initially, ABGHA's Records Committeeconsidered using its own method torecognize certain exotic species as biggame, and to establish the minimumscores needed for records inclusion.However, this would have probably resultedin conflict with and/or duplicationof what has already been set forth in the"Records of Exotics." Consequently,ABGHA's decision is to recognize thesame species and minimum scores aslisted in the most recent edition of the"Records of Exotics," provided any andall listed trophies taken with a handgunare so indicated.At the time this was written, the "Rec-By GEORGE BREDSTENords of Exotics, Volume 11" had not yetbeen published, but compiler John P. Ingram(P.O. Box 832 - Ingram, Texas78025) advised this writer that the followingrecognized exotic species and theminimum scores would be listed therein:SPECIESMINIMUM SCOREBlackbuck Antelope 50Axis Deer 120Fallow Deer 80Red Deer 190Sika Deer 75Catalina Goat 75Ibex 80Aoudad 85Corsican Sheep 80Mouflon 80Mr. Ingram also mentioned that,should sufficient interest develop in huntingexotics with a handgun, a separateyearly award for the most outstandingexotic trophy will be made. Dependingupon the amount of handgunner participation,this could be either a singleaward for the most outstanding trophyregardless of the species, or it could verywell be multiple awards; i.e., an awardfor the most outstanding trophy of eachrecognized exotic species.Coincidently, while Mr. Ingram wasconsidering the foregoing, ABGHA decidedto start an Outstanding HandgunHunter Awards Program. The purpose ofthis program is to give recognition tothose handgun hunters who have takenan exceptionally fine record class biggame animal and have at the same timeparticipated in an extremely challengingand/or unusual hunt! Additionally, thisand similar type awards can be helpful inpromoting a greater awareness and acceptanceby the general public of the factthat handguns are used, much more oftenthan not, for a variety of legitimatereasons-handgun hunting is one suchreason.The first recipient of ABGHA's Out-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * JULYIAUGUST 1978

standing Handgun Hunter Award is DanBrainard. Dan is the first sport hunter inmodern times to legally take a muskoxwith a handgun-a Smith & Wesson,M-29, .44 Magnum using handloadedammunition. Not only did Dan take amuskox with a handgun, his trophy is alsorecord class-by both ABGHA andBoone & Crockett standards.To furnish the reader a basis forgreater appreciation and understandingof Dan's achievement, a brief backgroundregarding muskox hunting in Alaska isperhaps in order. One should first realizethat by the mid-1800's Alaska muskoxhad been eradicated. and that remainedthe situation until 1935-36 when thirtyoneGreenland muskox were transplantedto Nunivak Island. From that time untilaround 1950 the population growth ofthese animals was slow; thereafter it increasedrather fast-500 muskox by1965. By 1968 the Nunivak muskox popu-lation had reached 750 animals-this increasein spite of the fact that someanimals were removed for domesticationexperiments and others were transplantedto Nelson Island. Concern wasthen voiced by various game biologiststhat something had to be- done or elsemany of these animals would be lost todisease and/or starvation.As a result, the Alaska Board of Fish &Game approved (1968) hunting as onemeans to manage the surplus population,but political opposition delayed the implementationof sport hunting until 1975.Whenever the preservationist's viewsprevail, it is usually to the detriment ofthe wildlife to be "saved." The Nunivakmuskox herd was to be no exception. Becausethe animal population was allowedto exceed the winter carrying capacity ofthe land, the end result was over onehundred and fifty dead muskox.By 1975 the muskox population had increasedto the extent that the first permithunts were held in the fall; however, onlya token number of ten muskox were taken.The second hunt was held duringFebruary-March 1976 and forty hunters,nineteen of which were nonresidents,were successful in taking muskox. In1977 another sixty permits were granted,thirty in the spring and thirty in the fall,and from the latter group it was DanBrainard who became the first hunter tochoose and use the handgun as his primaryhunting arm.If one considers the fact that a muskoxtrophy tag costs the resident $500.00 andthe nonresident $1000.00 (not refundable),together with the additionalexpenses for a hunting license, air transportation,guide service (not mandatorybut recommended), and trophy processingif successful; it is not surprising thatvery few hunters would consider andeven less would deliberately choose touse a handgun in preference to a rifle.Other factors being relatively equal,AMERICAN HANDGUNNERJULYIAUGLthere is a greater challenge in successfullyhunting big game with a handgunthan with a rifle. It should be stressedthat the actual degree of challenge iswhat enables the ethical sportsman to differentiatebetween a slaughter and ahunt. The game hogs, poachers and/orother maladjusted persons, who are interestedonly in the slaughter, cannotcomprehend the idea, let alone the significanceof the challenge in a hunt! Dan'sdecision to hunt muskox with a handgunwas undoubtedly based on other factors,but the increased challenge of a handgunhunt would have beenimportant!REVOLVER SHOOTERSREVOLUTIONARY NEW SIGHTSBehlert's revolutionary new patented sightreplaces existing K or N frame sight with noalteration to the frame!* 20 clicks per revolution adjustment inelevation, and 16 clicks windage per turn!On D.W. and Ruger clicks are 16 and 16!* By far the finest adjustable sight on themarket for S&W handguns!* Elevation stud is twice as long as thestandard factory, thus removing theproblem of popping the stud when adjustingfor long range shots!* A flat rear blade makes for the clearestdefinition and pickup of your sight!A must for the serious shooter, in all fields!Price $32.00 std. or $35.00 white outlinesPlease add $1.00 postage, dealer inquiries invited!We pay $5.00 for your old sight if it's in good conditionIMPORTANT * ORDER FOR MODEL AND DASH NUMBERSUCH AS 19-3,29-2 etc.Send $1.00 for our catalog on custom pistol workBEHLERT CUSTOM SIGHTS, INC.

For almost 20 years,arms dealers around the worldhave wanted this book...NEW! The completely revised llth edition of the mostcomprehensiv.e firearms reference ever published.Examines arms of 42 nations from 1900-present every chapter completely revised 5new chapters follow small arms developmentssince W.W. II 672 pages well over 2000photosRenowned military scholars consult it to keepcurrent with world arms capabilities ... Facelessmercenaries. thev sav. use it as a "shoo~ina, .. .. -guide."And weapons buffs-perhaps like yourselfreadit over and over aaain iust for thesheer eniovmentof being "hands-on" close to the finest inclassic and modern military hardware.The book is Small Arms of the World. Andnow, in its 11th Edition, you getcompletely revisedchaoters ... new sections ... new ohotoaraohs ...and hundreds of new weapons, manyofwhichhave only been whispered about in print until now.Truly internationalSmall Arms of the World is one of the fewweapons references that is truly international inscope. In its more than 600fully illustrated pages,vou'll find oistols. rifles. submachine duns and machineguns from 42 nations. weapons rangingfrom Astras to Kalishnikovs. Armalites toMausers. Brens to STENS. Hush Puppies to Uzis.They date from the turn of the century right up totoday.Small Arms of the World not only examineswell known and widely employed weapons, butalso sootliahts obscure and often bizarre arms. Itexposesvi?ually useless weapons ... praises trulyoutstanding ones ... even points out proofmarksand minor modifications in desian that helo h inpointdates and places of manufacture. ~or'thesereasons, this unique book is an absolute must forany serious collector.Loading, Firing, Strippingyou'll treasure the new 11th Edition of Small ArmsUnlike some weapons references, Small of the World.Arms of the World does not merely describe weap That's why make you this risk-free offer:it shows You how to use them-safel~ and ermine Small Arm$ ofthe World for 15 days. Ifeffectively. YOU clearly see-in words and pic- you don't agree th&itfs hotthe closest thing to getting.,our hands on the actual weapons themselves,simply return the book within that time for afull. RC-auestions-asked refund.tures-exactly how to load, fire and field strip hundredsof small combat arms, from auto-loadingpistols to heavy machine guns.Up-to-the-minuteGuerilla warfare, counterinsurand terrorism have profoundlychan ed military thinkingsinceborld War II. In five completters, the 11th Editionexamines thesethe effects they have had on small aYou'll.. learn the difference betweenAmerican arms thinking as you cornsigns of M.T. Kalishnikov with tho~Stoner lor the AK-47 vs. the M-16).. find out about a new generation of silencedweapons, Including the Ingram M-1Osubmachinegun and its sionics sound suppressor that actuallyconfuses the ear as to the source of sound... discover wh pistol developmentis in a state ofuncertainty. And why pistols soon may be replacedentirely by a new generation of small submachineguns little bigger than a service-issueColt .45 auto.'... read candid appraisals of current NATO andWarsaw Pact weapons. Learn about their I .strengths and weaknesses. Even witness the kin0AMERICAN HANDGUNNERBook D* , Suit* 200591 can& d. Ia Relna A7San Dteoo. CA 12108YES! I'd like to examine the llth Edition of Small Arms of the IWorld risk-free for 15davs I enclose IN check fur only S19.95. mi.able to American ~andgunkr and understand that it I'm not compl&&satisfwa nth my copy çilh 15 days. I may return it for a full re 1fundÑn questions asked.\arne-p-of political infighting it takes to get a weaporadopted bv the U.S. Armed Forces.Act Now for Risk-Free Offer1 AddressIf you're a weapons buff-someone who appreciates the thought and technology that goes I Cityinto engineering small armaments, we guarantee 1State__ Zip --AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978I- I

INTRODUCTION TO 39/59(Continued from page 39)tractor on its Model 39. The original extractorwas a wide spring bar that extendedfrom the manual safety hole to thebolt face. This spring bar would occasionallybreak when exposed to extensiveuse. The factory installed a small narrowextractor that incorporated a coil springto apply the appropriate tension to holdthe cartridge case against the bold face.The factory indicated this engineeringchange by adding -2 beside the modelnumber.MODEL 59The development of a fourteen shot9MM semi-automatic pistol began in August1964, when Smith & Wesson manufacturedtwo experimental models. Thefactory needed a handgun with increasedfirepower for military and police use. The9MM cartridge was easily adapted to thisconcept by using a staggered boxmagazine. After completing these experimentalmodels. , thev , were set aside: thefactory had other projects that demandedits attention.In 1968, when the U.S. Navy requestedSmith & Wesson to build a small quantityof fourteen shot oistols. the experimentalmodels were taken from the cabinets anddusted off. They were examined by theNavy, but they desired handguns made ofstainless steel and equipped with otherspecial features. The company acceptedthe order, but the factory did not have thetooling needed for these specialized pistols;thus, the first fourteen shot pistolswere produced in the Experimental Departmentand delivered in June 1969.Plans were made to expand Smith &Wesson's 9mm line with the introductionof a fourteen shot aluminum-frame pistoldesignated as the Model 59. On June 8,1971. the first commercial Model 59swere released for evaluation with serialnumbers beginning at A170.000 of theAutomatic serial number series. Test andfield comments indicated that the frontand back of the grip straps should beserrated rather than smooth. The first 200pistols completed had incorporated asmooth front grip strap and back strapinsert. The factory modified the insertsby serrating them, and a few guns wereshipped having only the back strap serratedand a smooth front strap. Whereverpossible, the factory reworked the Model59 so that both the front and back gripstraps were serrated. Only the initial testguns, of which less than 100 were distributed,have the smooth front and backstrap. These early configurations arerarely seen.The Model 59 is similar in design to theModel 39, except for the large grip necessaryto accommodate thefourteen shot magazine.ADJUSTABLE TARGET HOLDER1 I I I ADJUSTS TWO WAYS, HOLDS ANYSIZE TARGET UP TO 15" X 15" FOUR HEAVY CLIPS (REPLACEABLE)HOLD TARGET SECURELYWELDED STEEL ROD FRAME, 15" X 34" QUICK TO SET UP - JUST PUSH LEGSIN GROUND EASY TO CARRY, EASY TO STORENo easier way to set up your targets! Aquality accessory for only $8." + $1.00shipping. (For two or more, $8.50 + $1 .OOshipping, each.)Send check or money order to:ADJUSTA-TARGDept. H-41817 Thackeray N.W., Massillon, Ohio 44646DEALER & JOBBER INQUIRIES INVITEDII IPATENT PENDS'c~itr~i~eier - Get a Gri~on Your 11~hompson-contenderOrder the New Replacement Stock and Forearm Today 11$19.50 eachDesigned for large calibersPerfect fit for two hand shootersAvailable in left or right hand, please specifyForearm to match stockForearm can be wei hted to lessen muzzle jumGenuine walnut-oilfinishPlease specify caliber when ordering forearmExotic woods.available upon requestSend Check or M.O.Bankamericard or Master ChargePlease give exp. date and number on bank cards.0 Protects surfacesfrom fingerprints. Burns clean, leaves nocarbon deposits.0 Dries out wet guns andkeeps them moisture free.FREE SAMPLE! Protects against rust andcorrosion.Send just $1 .OO to coverDostage and handling for your  Cleans, protects and lubritrialsize can of LPS #I and cates in one simple appli-LPS "1001 USES" book. cation.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978 57

HOW "SPECIAL" IS THE .38?By DAN COTTERMAN.t is a fact that one of our most popularI handgun cartridges, the .38 Special, isbetter known than it is understood. Underthese circumstances, it is often a victimof the contempt that is bred through familiarity,and, in a few rare instances,7 NEWEDITIONFIREARMSINVESTIGATIONIDENTIFICATIONAND EVIDENCEBy ~ atcher,'~ur~ and Weller"he classic reference book of the ballisicstrade is now available in a newirinting to ballisticians and tool markixaminers. This is a limited edition of1000 copies.this outstanding reference work encomlassesmany ballistics and tool mark:epics, including: a history of firearmsdentification, modern firearms manufac-:we, firearms and cartridges tool marks,~hotography in investigation of firearms;rimes, firearms identification laboratoryiquipment, investigation of firearms;rimes, laboratory investigation and pro-;eedings in "no gun" work, automaticweapons and rifle identification.1000 Limited Editions Only!Orders processed by postmark!AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAGAZINE591 Camino de la Reina San Diego, CA 92108Enclosed is my check for ___ copy(ies) ofFirearms Investigation, Identification and Evidenceeach at $22.50 plus 50C postage andhandling. Allow six weeks for delivery.NameAddressCity-C.k...has been built up beyond reality. Intruth, despite the bad-mouthing andbig-mouthing that has taken place overthe years, the .38 Special, if properlyhandloaded, can be made to take its placeamong today's more effective handgunrounds.Let me state from the outset that nosolution to improved .38 Special effectivenessis, in my opinion, to be foundthrough seeking higher velocities withbullets weighing less than 140 grains. Inmy experience, loads of this type have notproved effective. Initial velocity drops offrapidly and the all-important element ofaccuracy is generally left wanting.Other aspects worth considering arethose of the bullet's design, compositionand construction. The overall make-up ofa bullet will determine its effectiveness,especially in hunting and self-defensehandloads. The elements of,design, composition,construction and weight combineso that the potential of such a handloadcan be assessed in terms of whatmight be thought of as the "EnergyTransfer Factor."A given bullet's potential for expansionand stability as well as its ability to expendmaximum energy within the targetis a matter of infinite variation. So being,the value of ETF will forever remain toonebulous to nail down on any table ofnumbers. It exists, nonetheless, and becomesapparent in the extremes of thehard-coated, round-nosed versus thehalf-jacketed, hollow-point designs. Thenarrower difference will be noted between,for example, wadcutter andsemi-wadcutter designs.As far as stoking the .38 Special is concerned,the handloader will discover thatthere is ample room for any of the prescribedpropellants. In fact, what wasonce a spacious incinerator for bulkyblack powder is no more than surplusspace when it comes to loading modemsmokeless mixes;Before we get on with the business ofhandloading the .38 Special at its nominalfactory case length of 1.155 inches, theresults of an experiment should be menioned.Some years ago the writer, beingaware of the excess length just noted, setabout determining a length to which the.38 Special case could be shortened forbest results with smokeless propellants.The result was a case roughly a quarter ofan inch shorter than is commonly handloaded.For purposes of comparison it issufficient to say that the new hull wastrimmed to nine-tenths of an inch.It was necessary to shorten a regularcrimping die so as to accommodate thereduced case length. Then, with the useof two revolvers, a Smith & Wesson K38with six-inch barrel and the Combat Masterpiecewith a four-inch barrel, workbegan to -learn what, if anything, hadbeen gained.A series of velocity and penetration testshots reflected a marked improvement inperformance, the smaller case (tentativelynamed the .357 Short) showed a 20to 25-percent increase in effectivenesswith equal loads when fired from eitherbarrel length. Curiously, the performancegain nearly matched the shortening of thecase, percentage-wise, for the case hadbeen shortened just over 19 percent.The outcome is not astonishing whenyou remember the power gain possiblethrough raising the compression of aninternal combustion engine: the combustionspace had been lowered; therefore,better fuel efficiency was realized.On the practical side of the issue, itbecame possible to get equal results withless powder and more from similar powderweights. For safety's sake, the .357Short was about an eighth of an inch toolong for some of the weak, gimcrack revolversonce turned out for the centuryold.38 S&W cartridge. Still, the .357Short was lengthy enough to allow thcuseof bullets normally loaded in the .38 Special.There was even some thought as tothe possibilities of new, shorter-framed,more compact and lighter revolvers forthe .357 Short.The experiment caused a few ripples,but that was nearly twenty years ago andnowadays nobody's holding their breath.We still have the .38 Special, just as itcame out of the box back around the turnof the century.Nonetheless, as has been suggested,handloading the .38 Special can be a rewardingexperience; that is, providedmore care is devoted to choosing theright bullet. This, of course, will dependupon the purpose for which the load wasmade up.One of the best dual-purpose bullets Ihave found is the lead hollow-base wadcutter.My experiments with this bulletbegan many years ago with the old Northridgebullets. This bullet, which weighed147 grains and had a six-percent antimonycontent, could be turned around(hollow-base forward) to become one ofthe most effective projectiles available forthe .38 Special.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

''mentioning the fact that, with the exceptionof the swaged single-bullet loading,these off-beat bullets present difficultyduring the handloading operation. Thehollow-based wadcutter on the otherhand, is easily turned around and seated.The standard wadcutter seating stemworks well, and there is if anything, lesstrouble involved in seating the bulletbackwards than may at times be encounteredwhen you're attempting to introducethe skirted end into a case mouth.A good balance between expansion andthe all-important matter of sufficient bulletweight is found in the 15%-grain jacketedsoft-nosed, hollow-pointed bulletsuch as made by Hornady, Remingtonand Speer. Most recent handloading experimentshave involved the use of Remington'sversion, their number 2938.The energy transfer capability is nearlyas great as with the inverted hollow-basedbullets and the extra ten grains of heftspeaks for itself. There is some gain inpenetration and also on the plus side,barrel leading is reduced because of thecopper jacket. The 158-grainer, loaded toa velocity of around 900 feet per secondwill prove itself effective in the .38 Special,whether your quest is small game ormetallic silhouettes.If speaking of metallic silhouette shooting,you're seeking no more than to knockover members of that magnetic menagerie,and if, perchance, you choose to tryyour luck with a favorite 38 Special inthe production class competition, it iswell to consider the 200-grain roundnosedbullet. It is significant here thatthis heavier bullet, because of its inherentlybetter flight properties, will retainmore wallop out where the turkeys andrams are lurking. For most any other purposehowever, the 200-grain round-noseis not as effective.You can listen to someone else and getanother story as far as bullet weights andeffectiveness in the .38 Special goes. Jointhe light-bullet, high-velocity culture ifyou've a mind to, then devote a few yearsto experimenting with loads and observingthe results. There's every chanceyou'll abandon the lightweights and comeback to those with greater substance beforeyou find the practical performanceyou seek.My minimum weight recommendationis 140 grains in the .38 Special. Speer'sjacketed hollow-point can be loaded tospeeds in excess of 900 to 1000 feet persecond and slightly more without reachingdangerous pressure levels. The bulletthus reaches respectable energy levelsand more important, is well rated when itcomes to transferring its energy effectively.The 140 also boasts an ability tomaintain stability somewhat better thanthose that weigh less.Revolver handloads for the .38 Specialare assembled with greater ease andperhaps fewer eccentricities than anyother handgun around. There is still theneed to take some facts into account. Forexample, the Speer people caution thatthey do not recommend heavier loadswith hollow-base bullets due to the possibilityof bullet deformation which couldresult in gun damage. The admonitionshould be honored. However, it does notapply to the same bullet when it is inverted.There also is a recommendationto avoid low-velocity loads with 146 and160-grain half-jacketed bullets due to thelikelihood of having the jacket separatefrom the lead and remain in the barrel. Itis appropriate then, to heed the warningsand avoid light loads with the bulletsmentioned. I have never had a iadketseparation, at least within the barrel, witha swaged, half-jacketed bullet. It couldhappen nonetheless, and you know whatthey say about an ounce of caution.As anyone who has ever handloadedthe .38 Special for revolver use knows,new or once-fired cases can be countedon for several re-uses, especially if lightto-moderatecharges are loaded. There is,as usual, a recommendation to avoidover-working the brass through too muchmouth expansion and full-length resizing.4 As far as trim length is concerned, onlyconsistency of length is of much importance,the length being critical primarilyto the amount of crimp that is set fromround to round.As far as primers are concerned, thoseused in these test firings were Remingtonnumber 1% for small pistol and revolverhandloads. I have determined no materialadvantage in the use of magnum primerswith the propellants listed since theyburn as cleanly and efficiently withstandard primers.The propellants themselves are all ofthe small-granule, free-metering type, aproperty that is important when chargeweight variations can make a big differencein load performance.The question of effectiveness with the.38 Special cartridge-whether thehull is shortened or loaded at standardlength-has resolved itself to the amountof thought the handloader devotes tochoosing the right bullet. Properly fed,the old .38 can amount tosomething special.È"- IME GUNS U,6 IR RIB"PPC GUNS BUILT 1" BULL BARRELSHANDGUN BARRELS RELINEDHANDGUN CYLINDERS RECHAMBEREDJAY SCOTI GRIPS h COLT PACTS - $10 MIN.ShW SIGHTS INSTALLED ON COLT SLIDESShW MOD. 28 TO 44 SPECIAL 6 45 L.C. SEND LARGE'3.A.S.E." FOR 1BROCHURE6" PYTHON BARRELS $49.00 PREPAIDID-LINE GUNS3727 JENNINGS ROADST. LOUIS. MO. 631211-314-383-3907SCHWARZLOSE(Continued from page 33)from the rear of the breech casing. Thesear may also be removed from beneaththe striker head.The trigger spring is located under thebarrel unit. To remove the spring, theslide piece myst be drawn back, underpressure frohrthe spring, until the rearportion is ckar of the grooves. Pull theslide down at the rear and then back towithdraw.SPECIAL FEATURES:The breech bolt return spring also actsas spring for the striker. The barrel returnspring also acts as spring for thetrigger. In the event of a misfire, thestriker may be re-cocked by hand withoutopening the breech.The end of the striker protrudes fromthe rear of the breech bolt to indicate thatthe weapon is cocked.DATA & DIMENSIONS:Overall length .......... 10.8" (274mm)Overall depth ........... 5.5" (137mm)Barrel length ............ 6.5" (164mm)Weight.. .................. 32 ouncesBarrel Bore .............. .3" (7.62mm)Four concentric grooves; Right-handtwist; 1 in 8.78 or 29.26 calibers.Trigger pull-off ............ 5-6 poundsMagazine capacity ........ 6 cartridgesTO PREPARE FOR FIRING:The safety catch should be moved up tothe SAFE position. The magazine, loadedwith six cartridges, is inserted within thehandle and % first round chambered bypulling the beech- bolt to the rear andthen releasing it. On depressing thesafety catch, the weapon is ready to fire.FIRING SEQUENCE:When the trigger is pressed, the searmember is forced off the projection on theaxis of the safety lever and the striker isdriven forward by the breech bolt springto fire the cartridge.As the bullet leaves the muzzle, bothbarrel and breech recoil, locked togetherfor a distance of about .I". From thispoint, the breech bolt is rotated to theleft, through an angle of 30' and unlockedfrom the barrel by a guide ring fixed tothe frame. The guide ring acts in a helicalgroove under the breech bolt, while thebarrel and bolt recoil a further .65". Thebarrel is then stopped by the safety catchaxis, while the bolt continues moving tothe rear. The barrel moves forward a distanceof. 1" and is retained in this positionby the detent lever, the front end of whichAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978'

s raised by the bottom arm of the ejector.A stud on the underside of the breech boltdraws back the hold-open stop, to whichthe ejector is pivoted, while the top armof the ejector is thrown upwards to expelthe empty case. Rearward travel of thebreech bolt, after separating from thebarrel, is 1.8". Rearward travel of thebreech bolt, locked to the barrel is .75".When the breech bolt reaches therearmost position, it is stopped by thesolid neck of the guide ring contacting thefront end of the helical slot. The compressedrecoil spring then moves the boltforward and the next cartridge from themagazine is carried, by the sear member,into the firing chamber.On contact with the barrel, the detentlever is free to rise into a recess at therear of the breech bolt and so releases thefront end from the barrel. The barrel andbreech bolt then move forward together,during which time the bolt is rotated tothe right and once again locked with thebarrel. Both units are then stopped by thesafety catch, leaving the sear memberand striker engaged by a projection on thesafety axis.This action is repeated by each pull ofthe trigger until the last cartridge is fired,whereupon the magazine platform rises infront of the hold-open stop to prevent thebreech from closing and indicating thatthe weapon is empty.MURRAY 40-CUP AUTORemember when Cagney threw hisempty gun at Bogart in "East WindsBlow North in Java "? It was in 1944when it occured to manufacturer1movie buff Iris Murray to make theMURRAY 40-CLIP AUTO. Hispatent was to provide a way tosave precious reloading time.Holstering of the 40-Clip proved tobe its downfall. Already clumsyprivate eyes who used the gunwere constantly knocking overlamps and bruising people ontrolley cars with the protrudingclip handle.-w^ALL WEATHERDEPENDABILITYThe stainless steel .22and .25 caliber pocketautomaticsoffer the bestprotection against thecorrosive influences ofwater, humidity, and evenhand perspiration. Thesepistols are accurate,well-balanced, compact andsimple to clean. Fastactionthumb safeties andcycolac grips are standard.Also available in nickeland blue finishes.Mag. Size WeightCapacity in inches6 4% x 3% 13 oz.At all fine sporting goodstores and gun shops. Or forcatalogue, please send $.25a sterling armsSterling Arms Corporation21 1 Grand StreetLockport, New York 14094LresistcorrosionL

The .a57 MagnumHE .357 Magnum was developed by Major D. B. WessonT of Smith & Wesson in 1935. Phil Sharpe, the handloadingpioneer, developed the original loads. Winchester, however,produced the first commercial loads for it.The .357 Mag. was an instant success, and its popularityhasn't lessened in subsequent years. It's a highly popularweapon in law enforcement circles, being the most commonreplacement for the traditional .38 Special. It allows officers tocarry a considerably more powerful weapon, while inexpensive.38 wadcutters can be used for practice.The .357 Mag. however, does have some drawbacks forurban law enforcement use. First of all, it has a tendency tooverpenetrate with most loads. For approximately a year and ahalf before being promoted to the rank of Sergeant, I wasassigned to a unit that investigated all shootings by and ofpolice officers. During that period of time, I was unable to finda single shooting where the .357 Mag. did not produce athrough and through wound. Furthermore, the closest that I'vecome to being killed, was when an armed felon ran twenty feettowards me trying to draw a weapon after taking a .357 Mag.slug through both lungs and the heart!Another problem with the .357 Mag. is that it relies on theexpanding bullet for stopping power. While the .357 Mag.provides adequate velocity for reliable expansion, this cancause some real problems. Virtually every manufacturer of.357 Mag. ammunition offers high performance .38 Specialalso, and most of them load the same bullet in both calibers. Abullet fragile enough to produce expansion at .38 Special velocitieswill explode at .357 Mag. velocities. I have severalincidents in my files where .357 Mag. slugs exploded on impact,and failed to produce the desired results.The most commonly carried .357 Mag. is the four inch barreledversion. On the rare occasion when I rely on a .357 Mag.for on-duty use, however, I carry a aS&W Model 19 with sixinch barrel. The additional two inches offer a substantial increasein stopping power, and the increased sighting radiusalso makes the gun easier to shoot. It should be pointed out thatS&W will soon produce the Model 66 with a six inch barrel, andI'll be testing it in a future issue of American Handgunner.The weapon used in testing the .357 Mag. loads, was theabove-mentioned S&W Model 19 with six inch barrel. Theweapon is unaltered except for a pair of grips from SchwiebertEnterprises (1661 Tenth St., Los Osos, California 93402).Proper grip design is a subtle art, and these grips tame even theheaviest Magnum loads.The Oehler Model 11 with skyscreens was used to checkvelocity, and twenty pound blocks of oil base clay were used forexpansion testing. Ten rounds of each load were chronographedand an average velocity obtained through the use of anelectronic calculator. Five rounds of each load were checkedfor expansion ind diameters were measured with a precisionmicrometerThe lie' ¥ weight available in the .357 Mag. is theBy EVAN P. MARSHALLS&W 90 grain jacketed soft point load. I can't recommend ittoo highly, however, since both S&W's 110 and 125 grainofferings produce higher velocities in the six inch barrel length.90 Grain Type Velocity ExpansionA. S&W ~SP 1299fps .672"The 110 grain bullet weight is the one chosen by Lee Jurraswhen he developed the Super Vel .357 Mag. loads. Frankly, Ithink the 110 grain loads are better suited for those who huntsmall game or who carry a .357 Mag. snub. I've seen these lightweight loads blow up on windshields without harming the felonsinside the vehicle.110 Grain Type Velocity ExpansionA. W-w jhp 1392fps .802"b. Speer jh~ 1472fps .812"c. S&W jh~ 1312fps .761"d. Federal jhp 1342fps .783"e. Super Vel ~SP 1485fps .721"The 125 grain weight is also highly popular, but I have thesame reservations about it as I do about the 110 grain loads. Forthe shooter who prefers the light bullet approach in the .357Mag. however, it does offer better results than the lighter bulletloads.125 Grain Type Velocity Expansiona. W-W jhp 1483fps .827"b. Speer ~SP 150lfps .756"C. S&W jhp 1391fps .791Md. Federal jhp 1421fps .742"e. Remington jhp 1522fps .722"Speer is the only manufacturer who produces a load in the140 grain weight. It offers an excellent compromise betweenthe 110 and 158 grain loads.140 Grain Type Velocity Expansiona. Speer jhp 1406fps .762"H&H Cartridge Corporation, the current manufacturers ofSuper Vel ammunition, offers a 150 grain load for the .357Magnum.150 Grain Type Velocity Expansiona. Super Vel jhp 1324fps .722"The 158 grain bullet weight is the traditional offering in thiscaliber. The lead semi-wadcutter loads produce leading athigher velocities, but offer acceptable accuracy for law enforcementpurposes.158 Grain Type Velocity ExpansionA. W-W swc 1466fps .701"b. W-W jh~ 1322fps .762"c. W-W ~SP 1306fps .716"d. Speer k~ 1267fps .674"e. S&W jh~ 1226fps .682"AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

f. S&Wg. S&Wh. S&Wi. Federalj. Federalk. Remington1. Remingtonm. Remington~SPswcSWC-hp~SPswcjhpjspswcWhich is best? Once again, that depends upon the shooter'sintended purpose. For small game hunting or snub use, the 110or 125 grain loads are probably the best choice. They're alsoexcellent for home defense loads, because their violent expansionlimits penetration. For those who prefer the light weightloads for law enforcement use, I would suggest carrying threehollow points followed by three soft points. The light weightsoft points offer good expansion with much better penetrationon cars, windows, doors, etc.Quite frankly, the Speer 140 grain jhp load is the lightestbullet weight I'd care to rely on when carrying a -357 Magnum.It offers both excellent expansion and penetration from the sixinch barrel, and even offers good expansion at snub velocities.Personally, however, I long ago decided on the 158 grainweight. The jacketed hollow point loads in this weight offeradequate expansion with good penetration. They offer goodaccuracy, and the most decisive stopping power of any of the.357 loads available.As I mentioned previously, the .357 Mag. is not without someserious problems as a law enforcement weapon. However, it'sstill the best weapon for at least 75% of today's law enforcementpersonnel. It offers greatly increased stopping powercompared to the -38 Special, with recoil levels that can bemanaged with practice. It's also an excellent choice for smallgame. Whether your quarry has two legs or four, the .357Magnum should be equal to the task.NEXT TIME-THE.380 AUTOTHE LEWIS LSATISFACTIONGUARANTEED$7.95Revolver Cleaning Kit. Removes leading from, Forcing Cone, Cylinder, and Barrel. Availablein either 38-41-44-45 cal. Brass cloth paches(Pk. 10) $1.60. Order direct or from yourdealer. Check or Money Order.GUN SPECIALTIES INC.College Park, Georgia P.O. Box 311CUSTOM HANDGUN STOCKSPresentation grade stocks of fancy American& exotic woods for diwriminating shooters.SUPERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIPIlIustrated brochure $1.00ROBERT H. NEWELL55 Coyote St. Lm Alamcm, N.M. 87544New stamless steel barrel & accuracybushlng to match Natlonal Match qualltyGuaranteed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6800 W.New Stamless Steel Brownlng HI-Powerbarrel Match quality . . . . . . . . . . $78.00 PP.ALLOW 4 70 6 WEEKS FOR DELIVERYbCONCEALABLE - COMFORTABLE - SECUREThree qualities necessary for any holster and especially criticalwhen considering a leg holster. Safariland's new leg holster meetsthese challenges and fills all qualifications with flying colors. Theunique application of full leg support along with strategicallyplaced padding allows wear without fatigue. Try it, you will buy it!Available for .25 Auto'sl 2" small revolvers and mediumAuto's only, Leg sizes: small, largel and extra large.Small Less than 14''Medium 14'l to 1511Large 1511 to 16"rn X-Large 16l' and above $24.957 1941 South Walker, Dept. F, Monrovia,

Durable liaht weiaht cast aluminum for Colt, S & Wand many 5ther m-&ern pistols. rilles and shot unsPOLISHED $3.50 BLACK $3.60 QOLD b.7~11 YOUR FAVORITE DEALER or SEND DEALER'S NAMESend make 8 model of gun. No c.0.D.'~ please.*Fully Guaranteed *Prompt Postpaid Delivery*Send for Cataloa *Dealer Inau~rles WelcomeGenuine stag-lvopbra 6 rom'wmd gun griLee Loader*-Bu let Molds-Gun ~ccessort?,Hand-made Hohters 6 Belts, Leather 6 ClerlnoMELVIN TYLER MFG. AND DIST.13% W. Brlnon ~d., Oklahm8 city, OIII~. 73114STATE PISTOL LAWS111n1kIct ~lcs~!rll~l~~~ 11kte8t uistot regulatlous wr-IUIIIIIIK lo t~wxqlng carryinu, an11 uurcl~anlng ofhand guns for d sdm $2.00.FEDERAL GUN LAWSUse your custom plan or select one of oursCedar or Pine Log homes, leisure homesand cabins from $3900. Plan book $3.50DealershiD - ~information ~aCk $5.Wfideunm LogHomaRoute 2-Plymouth, Wl53073 A8Q7-Dse,ld Dealership information pack $5.0 Plan book $3.50.Enclosed is $NameStateZip' SEMI-- AUTOMATIC \- IvIACHINE PISTOL'10 ROUND - SIDE MOUNTED CLIPFREE: Ta el & 50 Reuseable Pell~~a QM I Am YO& CIV - NO mtlt ~oq111mI318 rapid fire 22 Cal "Commando" type whir>i8toi lwks like the famous hard-hitting weapon Impular with combat athk group8. The sicnounted detechable ten round cilp sprays peliento the hget as fad a8 you can pull the trig3ni $3 95 plus 5Od for p a g e and handfIN~UD~NG FREE TARO & PELLETS. Conplete satisfaction guarantead or your mommpti refunded.ENOF! HOUSE DEPT. WAWLYNBROOK, N.Y. 11583NY State Res. add Sales TaxPOLICE S&W NINES(Continued from page 45)said to be strong sentiment among theCSP troopers to follow suit, especiallyafter early problems with their bluedModel 66 revolvers. And I know of atleast one state police department that issuesthe Model 39 to its narcotics people.Let's look at the real problems, one byone.Jamming. Though rumors of jammedSmith Nines are around, it is rare to findone documentable, like Kobler's. Hisfailure to eject has been attributed variouslyto (a) inadequate lubrication, (b)shooting from an unlocked wrist, and (c) abad round. Kobler, a master shooter, insistshis gun was lubed with WD-40, butISP Ordnance says the gun was bone-drywhen they examined it. (b) is a possibility,especially since S&W 9 mms have aninteresting idiosyncrasy: some will jamwhen the shooting wrist is not locked, justas surely as will an accurized target -45,while others can be shot limply without abobble. No one knows quite why this is,but it is something most who have workedintensively with the guns have observed.It is a detriment to the 39/59 for policework, since a wounded officer like Koblermay well have to fire from an awkwardposition where he cannot lock the wrist.Another documented report involves acity policeman who drew his 39 to findthat he couldn't fire it: the magazine releasebutton had been activated by pressingagainst his holster, thus looseningthe "clip" and engaging the magazinedisconnector safety, another controversialm139 feature discussed elsewhere inthis bonus feature. S&W subsequentlymade the mag release button shorter inthe 39-2 and 59, and some holster-makerslike Bucheimer, put mag release cutoutson their m139 holsters.Safeties. Here we find one of thestrongest cases for the 39/59: the averagecriminal who gets one out of a police holsterwill need some time to figure how tomake it go off. In one ISP incident, thiswent on for several minutes, with thegunman actually jacking the slide inexasperation, ejecting a live round. SaltLake City documented a classic case ofthis, and Illinois State Police has fourtroopers alive because assailants got theirguns and couldn't make them work.The firepower question. A main reasonfor choosing the Smith Nine, especially inmi59 configuration, over the revolver isfirepower. The trend today is towardteams of heavily armed offenders in robberysituations, and the officer with a sixshooteris worse off than ever in such aconfrontation. Fifteen shots under yourtrigger finger, with 28 more a couple ofseconds away in dual belt pouches, canbe awfully comforting. (Curiously, IllinoisState Police, the only such agency in thecountry with autos, is also the only onewith no provision for spare ammo to becarried in the belt, at least at this time.)Still, some have theorized that an officerin the emotional grip of a shootoutmight be likely to spray his shots. Thishas not necessarily proven to be the case,though it does appear that if he has more,he'll fire more. One basic truth of policegunfights is that, especially if it is hisfirst, an officer is likely to empty his gunin a single burst. With the 39/59, you justhave a longer burst and maybe even somerounds left. (One policeman who killed agunman who shot at him with a -38 toldme, ''I thought I had fired maybe threetimes, but I looked down and saw myModel 39's slide locked back. I figured atfirst it was jammed, but I had shot theguy all eight times.")The firepower advantage is largely atactical one; for instance, an officer witha 59 and spare clips can afford to runfrom one cover point to another, firing allthe way to keep his opponent from deliveringeffective fire while the officer isexposed and vulnerable. It is a clear advantageover a .38 revolver, ev.en onebacked up with speedloaders, yet no 59-equipped police department I know ofputs such exercises into the trainingcourse. Most shoot a modified PPC thatmay or may not have more shooting; severalrun five- and six-shot strings withtheir eight- and fourteen-shot guns.Speaking of firepower, most departmentswith the Model 39 carry it withseven in the clip and an eighth in thechamber, instead of 8-and-1 listed in thecatalog. It improves reliability. Some 39swon't even take that ninth cartridge. The59, into which you can occasionally stuff16 rounds, works better with only fifteenand some say certainty of feed is enhancedwith only 14 cartridges in the gun.Recoil. Blast and recoil are greaterwith any 9 mm round strong enough towork the action, than with -38 practicewadcutters. This is hardly a bad point;instead of the common sight of policetraining with mild loads and ill-equippedto handle the full +P -38 or Magnumrounds they carry on the job, the cop witha 9 mm knows when he leaves the rangethat he can be effective with what he'llbe using for real. It is a solid advantageof the 39/59, indeed, of any policeautomatic.Stopping Power. In any considerationof the 9 mm police pistol, it is the cartridgethat probably takes more heat thanthe gun itself. Illinois State Police foryears issued only a full-jacketed round.Loaded hot on special order by WinchesterWestern, and supposedly with only athin jacket over the nose, it still wasfound wanting. Many agencies still issueball ammo with their S&W 9 mms; Wrenthamis one that comes to mind.The reason for this is that ball is theonly ammo that perks reliability in an un-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

'altered S&W 9 mm; at least, it used tobe. Though many hollowpoint roundshave been made available in 9 mmParabellum, the consensus of police armorersis that only one, Remington's115-gr. jacketed hollowpoint, feeds as reliablyas the full metal jacket stuff. This isthe round I personally recommend toagencies with S&W 9 mms. Not only isfunctioning excellent, but expansion isusually close to that of a similar weightsemi-jacketed HP out of a .38 Specialrevolver. Penetration of auto bodies isexcellent, too; because the jacket goesover the edge of the cavity, leaving no sofllead to deform on the feed ramp, thcprojectile bites into steel with a "cookiecutter" effect, punching through anaopening only when it hits meat. Mostother 9 mm hollowpoints will have agreater'or lesser tendency to break up oncar doors.Because the ACLU-inspired hollowpointcontroversy has made many departments,including ISP, leery of suchbullets, softnoses have come into voguein many places. In 1976, ISP adoptedW-W's 100-gr Power Point (exposed leadat the round nose, with a series of slitsaround the jacket to promote mushrooming).In street gunfights, however, it didnot live up to expectations.Federal Cartridge, at this writing, is'making a new load for the Illinois troopers.It comprises a 95-grain jacketed softpoint, with the jacket covering the leadaround all edges to reduce feeding problems,and loaded to 1400+ feet per second.In tests, 800 rounds fed perfectlythrough an assortment of ISP 39s, andthe slugs expanded to as much as .60caliber in ordnance gelatin. Functioningin all the department's guns is somethingyet to be proven, however; it is generallyrecognized that when you go to anythingmuch lighter than a 115-gr. pill in the9 mm cartridge, you wind up with a roundtoo short overall to feed perfectly. Remember,the gun was originally designedfor the military, where the standard cartridgeis a long 124-grain@.% . .;Â l "f . 3AMERICAN HANDGUNNERJULYIAUGUS

exceeds this record of rejection-afteradoptionis the .41 Magnum service revolver,whose uncontrollable recoil tookaway more than it made up for with itsincreased stopping power.Is the 39/59 a bad police gun? Notnecessarily. It has particular value for detectives.Its ability to deliver a high rateof controlled accurate fire is coupled withshock power that, though inferior to apatrolman's four-inch .357, is markedlysuperior to a plainsclothesman's .38snubby. In view of the fact that a hugepercentage of felony arrests are made by"the dicks," it is understandable thatthey appreciate the Smith Nine morethan their brothers in uniform. ISP detectives,though they still have mixed feelingsabout their 39s, like it better by andlarge than the road troopers. The fondnesstheir Connecticut counterparts holdfor the gun stems in part from a highlypublicized shootout in which lead .38slugs from the detectives' snubnosesbounced off a gunman's car, which wasthen brought to a bullet-riddled halt by aclipful of 9 mm ball from a city cop'sModel 39. It was about that time that theS&W Nine became nouular with that1 Mod 10fagency. Several other departments havepartially equipped their detectives andsometimes their SWAT people with 59s,leaving the "regular" cops with revolvers;that arrangement usually works out to thegreater satisfaction of all concerned.A good 39 or 59-a specimen that exhibitsgood workmanship, is proven to bereliable, and functions with hollow-points-is a fine police weapon. A largequantity of these guns, ordered for generalissue, seldom works out as well. Departmentsthat issue them, like ISP, needa staff of top-quality gunsmith/armorers;while the Illinois State Police can affordthis, few smaller agencies can. The automatic'sinherent advantage of easierparts replacement is offset if the gunbrings in a lot more mechanical problemswith its very adoption.Thus, while a proven, individual Model39 or Model 59 may be a superb choice foran individual officer who knows how totake care of it, collective police experiencewith these guns as standard sidearmsshould make any law enforcement agencytake a long, hard look before orderingthem in quantity, for thewhole department.Holsters of QualityWithout the ExpenseAvailable for MostPopular ModelsSend for Free Brochurebelt slide, inc.Specializing in Ruger, S&W, ColtCustom tunint, conversions, repairs & refinishingDealers Sen $2.00 for catalog Ph. 3131779-8750inquiriesTrapper Gun Inc.,Home of the Mini Scorpion 28019 Harper St., Clair Shores, MI 48081STOCK NO. DESCRIPTION PRICE1070 Walther pp,ppk/s[New Models] .22lr,.32acp,.380$26.501073 Browning Hi-Power, Model P-35. 9MM Para ... 26.500972 Colt Bisley Model Single Action .......... 31.501075 Colt Single Action Army[Pre-WW II Models]. 26.50..0971 Colt Single Action Army[Post WW II Models] . . 26.501072 Colt Peacemaker. New Frontier .22 ........ 26.500973 Colt gov1t.M/191 1 auto.comdr.,ace.gold cup. etc 23.000974 Colt Python, other off. pol. Old model Frames MagnaStyle ............................. 32.500975 Colt Python, other off. pol.[stand size replaces factorywood] ............................ 26.501071 Ruger Bearcat Single Action 22 26.50..........0980 Ruger Single6,Blackhawk[New modelsXR3-RED] 26.501074 Ruger Single 6, Blackhawk[Old models XR31 . . 26.50...High-quality genuine 0978 Ruger Super Blackhawk. .............. 31 SOSTAG once again avail- 0979 Ruger Security 6, Pol. Serv. 6, Square Butt. 27.50able and at REASON- 0983 Smith & Wesson, "J" Frame Round Butt .... 26.50....ABLE prices! Cashier.s0984 Smith & Wesson, "J" Frame - Square Butt 26.500985 Smith & Wesson, "K" Frame ...o,s,- Round Butt. 27.500986 Smith & Wesson. "K" Frame - Square Butt. ... 27.50................requests with Orders 0987 Smith & Wesson, "N" Frame - Square Butt. 28.00shipped same day re- 0988 Smith & Wesson. Model 39 46.50ceived. Include $1.50 Bona Fide Dealer Inquires Solicited.per order to all 48 states.Best Ivory Grips Availablem Ibuuincivn uuN E&unANGE, Iiiu.- Manufacturer of "Outrider Brand Grips"431 1 N.E. EXPRESSWAY, ATLANTA (Doraville), GA 30340,404-934-Guns & 4869SHOOTING 39 /59(Continued from page 41)between the 39 and its steel-framed,superaccurate sister gun, the Model 5238 Master target auto. He swore he goteven better than Model 52 accuracy becausethe shorter 9 mm case allowed thepowder to burn more evenly and consistentlythan the squib loads stuffed intothe .38 Special wadcutter rounds thestandard 52 feeds on.Air Force weapons specialist JackRobbins recently completed a projectwhich involved testing - the Model 59 foradoption. Since out-of-the-box accuracywas found wanting, Jack became the firstgun expert to really "accurize" the 59,something that even the factory hadhitherto admitted was virtually , imnossi- .ble, given the design features one has towork with. He made it shoot like a 52 andstill function. This, unfortunately, involvedlots of custom tuning, and a speciallot of barrels produced by S&W to hischosen dimensions. These parts willprobably never be made available to thepublic.Out of the box, the 39 or 59 can charitablybe described as having "adequatecombat accuracy." It's a rare police departmentthat issues these guns and hasthe men qualify at 50 yards. This is becausethe accuracy simply isn't there.I've seen 39s and 59s that would not stayon a humanoid silhouette target at thatdistance, and which at 7 yards couldn'teven keep them all in the same hole,which any snubnose .38 revolver is capableof. Yet I've seen other specimens thatwould stay inside the X-ring of a Colt (butnever a Prehle B-27) silhouette target allday at 25 yards. The problem is that thelockup just isn't there. Any good ColtCommander, let alone Mk IV, will generallyoutshoot a Model 39 or 59, assumingCOLUMBIA 1HUNTERHOLSTER4For revolvers with 4" or and flower design at deal-Â¥longer.barrels,.the.holster ers or by mail.is fully lined, is designed for Write for Free Catalog lor'rugged durability and can all details on completebe installed thru belt slot in Lawrence line ol over 1003 different positions. Avail- holster styles and otherable in plain, basketweave shooting accessories.THE GEORGE LAWRENCE CO.Portland, Oregon 97204ÂÂ66 AMER 4N HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978

&2.>b&&'both are stock. So will most BrowningHi Powers.If you're a civilian, don't worry aboutit. You will seldom have to shoot muchbeyond 25 yards in any defensive situation.Police officers, who must pursueand capture people when violent confrontationsgo down, find it entirely possibleto get into running gun battles at 50yards or farther, on Interstate highwaysfor instance. While the 39 has beenknown to do the job in long range shootouts,it would hardly be the first choicefor such an encounter.Customizing the 39/59Jack Robbins won't accurize SmithParabellums commercially, and I know ofno one else who will, either. The best youcan do is find a competent smith who'llslick the thing up for you. There isn'tmuch that can be done for the triggerbeyond a good polish job; you'll still havea second rate DA pull compared to a goodrevolver, and a creepy single action witha mushy letoff. The latter, it should besaid in fairness, is just as well; being adefensive gun, the S&W engineers contemplatedthe fact that the owner mightbe pointing it cocked at someone in atense situation, and they wanted to makesure that a discharge would be deliberateand not nervously accidental. Consideringthe weapon's purpose, I really thinkthe single action pull should be left asit is.Austin Behlert (725 Lehigh Ave.,Union, NJ 07083) and others do chopand-channeljobs on the 39 or 59, theBobcat type conversion that used to be sopopular on the 1911 .45 auto. It makessense on the aluminum framed, DASmith Parabellum, since you have a gunthat is both light enough and safe enoughto carry in your pocket. It won't pull yourpants down from its weight, nor do youhave to worry about the safety beingbrushed "off' from contact with yourpocket lining, inviting an accidental discharge.I'm sending one of my 39s downto Austin for his mini-combat conversion,and I have high hopes for it (we'll write itup afterwards for you). He'll do the samefor the 59, but thinks it's rather pointlessbecause of the thickness of the butt. Eventhe Mini-Combat 39 is a trifle wide amidships,but once you've put the other dimensionsdown to those of the WaltherPPK, it's something you can fmd easy tolive with.Several people grind off that nasty,sharp hammer spur that likes to tear upyour coat lining. Since you can drop thehammer safely via the safety catch, andP. 0. BOX 53Mesquite, TX 75149catalm - Lavawav PlanI"NO SECOND PLACE WINNER-- - /pJ-Bill - Jordan tells -. it like it . is - in @ GUNShis fascinating book about gunfighting, how to do it and what LEATHERequipment to use. Informativeand exciting reading.COMBAT SHOOTINGGUNFIGHTING1 s w - All GUNS readers will receive aIpersonally autographed copy. Order yours today, and, 1I order one for a friend! II Please send me - copy(ies) @ $6.50. plus SO$ (per i .I book) for postage and handling. II Name - I 1 gL'1 Address 1 piI'CAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978 67

1 fire the first shot DA anyhammerspur is a bit extraneous.are those who'll tell you aboutat defective 39 that went offsomeone activated the safety hambp,but I have yet to document onedf. IPSC (free style combat shooting)FA mandate that with these guns, coma&titors must let the hammer down byhand rather than trusting the safety. I. . ,-

~ ~looked at him, discarded the object as notbeing a bear and was looking in anotherdirection. The Zeiss 8 X 20s provedGerry right-he looked like a Humongousmotionless in the shadows. Before wecould react he started across the clear cutparalleling the timber and about 50 yardsaway from it. The terrain was rough,crisscrossed with ditches, logs, stumps,weeds, etc. Visibility was just plain lousy.Gerry stayed where he was and Larry andI attempted a parallel course at maximumattainable speed about 100 yards to theside of the bear to catch up with, flankand cut him off. He wasn't alarmed; justtravelling. After about 300 yards we gotup even with him just as he started foolingaround at the edge of the timber. Thewind was no problem-there just wasn'tany. As we stalked closer, Larry passedon the opportunity to shoot on severaloccasions as the exertion of the fast stalkmade it impossible to place a shot positively,and we never did get a really goodlook at the bear. At a range of about 40yards he disappeared into the timberand deep shadows. As we slowly edgedour way closer we heard him crashingthrough the brush, just as I felt a chill onmy back as a stray puff of wind betrayedus.On numerous occasions we stalked towithin pathetically easy handgun rangesof ravenously hungry bears feeding ongrass. They were all quite intent on catchingup on their calories after hibernationand were not at all cautious. Frequently,we were completely in the open and itwas only necessary to "freeze" when Mr.Bear raised his head for a quick look see.A couple of them seemed to sense somethingwas amiss and when we were within40 yards or so would raise their head, lookabout for quite awhile, start to graze andsuddenly jerk their head up for a look inour direction. Usually, upon discoveringtwo or three red eyedsmelly-,monsters intheir close proximity theeould exit insheer panic.Kelly passed shooting at least fourbears I felt were fully as large if not largerthan the one I took. My luck at findingbears where it was possible to get decentphotos was on a par with Kelly's trying tolocate Humongous. Typically, bright sunlighton a logging trail with a black bear indeep shadows was what was offered tophotograph. We saw about 32 bears thatall three of us observed. After severallong days and short nights all of us couldhave been sharper both mentally andphysically. It's hard to guess how manybears we overlooked but I'm convinced itwas quite a few.It's a dirty shame that we didn't findHumongous, but Kelly and Gerrywouldn't settle for anything less. Fromthe way things looked when we partedcompany it would be Larry's turn to shootuntil he got one. As for myself, I'm plentyatisfied with both theshot and the bear.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER .THE HANDGUN MARKETClassified ads 254 per word insertion including name and address. Payable in advance. Minimumad 10 words. Closing date Nov./Dec. 1978 issue (on sale Sept.) is June 15. Print carefully and mailto THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER Maaazine. 8150 No. Central Park Blvd.. Skokie. I1 60076. .BOOKS-Order these fobulous books from our extensive book clublArt of Engraving by Meek. $19.95; The Book of Colt En.graving by Wilson. $39.95; The Book of Winchester En-!roving by Wilson $39.95; Pistolsmithing by Monte,14.95; No Second Place Winner by Jordan $6.50; GunsmithKinks by Brownell, $9.95; The Book of the Rifle bOlson, $9.95. Allow 50- postage and handling for eachbook, cash with order. Allow 6 weeks for delivery. Orderfrom American Handgunner Classified Books, 591 Caminode la Reina, San Diega, CA 92108."SURVIVAL/GUERRILLA WARFARE"-BOOKS/MANUALS."SURVIVAL" FREEZE DRIED FOODS BY CASE/UNITS/.CAMPING PACKAGES. LARGEST CATAlOG AVAILABLE.FREE: WRITE KEN HALE (AH-FOJ, MCDONALD, OHIO44437.STATE PISTOL LAWS latest pistol carrying, purchosinetc., regulations for all states and FEDERAL GUN LAW!:both booklets $3.00. POLICE EQUIPMENT CATALOG $1.00.Schlesinger, 415 East 52nd St., New York, NY 10022, De.partment E.AVAILABLE NOW, the New MERUSURVIVALCATALOGfrom Phoenix Associates, featuring hard to find military sciencebooks on guerrilla warfare, demolitions, FM's, survival,weapons, and self defense. Plus top quality mil!.tory/poro-military and survival equipment for the rofessionol. Order the MERUSURVIVA~ CATALOG from phoenixAssociates, P.O. Box 693, Dept. HG, Boulder, CO 80306,for $1.00. Refundable with first order.FORT FIZZLE BOOK COMPANY. Books On Firearms. ReloadingGunsmithin Fishing More. List 25-. Dept. 2,2000 letter St., Las truces, N.'M. 88001.UNUSUAL BOOKS. Crime, locksmithing, police manuals,survival, guerilla warfare, self-defense, unusual moneymakingopportunities, and much, much morel Hundreds oftitles! Unique catalog $1.00. Loompanics, Box 264-E, Ma.son, Michigan 4885.RARE, SCARCE, OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS ON FIREARMS,EDGED WEAPONS, HUNTING, FISHING. CATALOG $1.00REFUNDED. MELVIN MARCHER, 6204 N. VERMONT, OKLA-HOMA CITY, OK 731 12.FREE, MAKE MONEY, Become Gun Dealer At Homel Instructions,Application Forms FREE With Purchose ATF NewGun Dealers Instruction Course, 23 Chapter Manual,$4.95, Deolers Directory 500+ Wholesalers, $3.50, Fed.era! firearms Lows Monuol, $2.00, Class Ill License ApplicolionForms, Lows 6 Regulations Monuol, $3.00, Your StateGun Laws, $1.50, How To Obtain Concealed Gun Permits,$2.00, Deoler Record Books, $3.50, Reddick, 1925G Abbott, Son Diego, 92107COLLECTORSNAZI WAR SOUVENIRS1 Illustrated cotolog $10.00 bill (refundablol.Disco. Box 331.H. Cedarbura. Wl 53012, .GUNS & AMMUNITIONTOE .44 AUTOMAG. SOME HONING NEEDED. TWOTUNED CLIPS. 325 CDM BRASS RELOADS. SEVEN PLASTICAM CARTRIDGE BOXES. RCBS RELOAD DIES. LARGE BUT-TERFLY CASE. $425 FOR ALL. "AMMENDMENTS 11" RR2BOX 318 RICE, MN. 56367. 612-252-8228 AFTER 6.CLEAN YOUR GUN WHILE YOU SLEEP. Automated (l10v)cleaning system for handguns. Eliminates brushing. Savestime mone and work. Removes both lead and powder.only $19.95. Info/order: Agimatic, Box 3667H, SonBernordino, CA 92413.1-AT LAST AN EXTENDED SPEED SAFETYFOR THE BROWNING HIGH POWERCompetition Proven Design By James W. HoagBlue-$23.00 Hard Chromed425.00(California Residents add 6%) 1I I Dealer Inqulrles Invited I H 6 D PRODUCTS8523 Canoga Ave. Unit CCanoga Park, CA 913041FOR SALEBLOW GUNS AIR PISTOLS CROSSBOWS. THE POWER.FUL, SILENT,' ACCURATE WEAPONS. BARGAIN' PRICECATALOG 25- CROSSBOWMAN. BOX 2159GM.PETALUMA, CA. 94952.GUN EQUIPMENT"GUNS, TEAR GAS, HANDCUFFS, POLICE EQUIPMENT BYMAIL, NO PERMITS REQUIRED. SEND $1.00 FOR CATALOGTO: LAW ENFORCEMENT PRODUCTS, 5200 S. SAYRE, CHI-CAGO, ILL. 60638."GUNSMITHING-Police Combat revolvers built on Smith 6 Wesson. SchoneTool. 309 13th Avenue West, West Forgo, North Dakota58078.Your ShW M.28 Converted To 45 Colt, 44 Mag, 44 Spl.,44/40, 41 Mag, 38/40. David Woodruff, Box 5, Beor, Del.107ftl ,,,",.General And Custom Pistolsmithing, Specializing In ColiberConversions On N-Frame ShW Revolvers. Write ForFurther Information-Trulock Firearms, 3 East Brood Ave.nue, Whigham, Georgia 31797.KNIVES & SWORDSKNIVES. SWORDS. BADGES. 75C TO $75.00. FREE CATA.LOG. KNIFETRADER. 6434 RADFORD. N HOLLYWOOD.MISCELLANEOUSBEER CAN MORTAR. Complete information and detailedinstructions, no complicated machinin ran e to 1000yards. Information on burstin projectif& included. Send$4.00. Pioneer Industries, o x 36, 14A Hughey - . St.,Nashua, NH 03061.PYROTECHNICAL: NOW AT LAST, detail construction pro.cedures and formulas on many pyrotechnical devices fromBlockbusters to Roman Candles. Parts and chemical service.For catalog send $1.00 to Pioneer Ind., Box 36, 14AHuahev -, St.. . Nashua. N.H. 03061.REMEMBER THE OLD ASH CANS. M80 etc? Complete detailedinstructions on above and many others. Send $3.00to: Pioneer Ind., Box 36, Dept A.H., 14A Hughey St.,Naihuo -..- , NH . ... 03061 -. - ..FIREWORKS. MAKE YOUR OWN ROCKETS, MBOs, FOUN.TAINS, MANY MORE. EASY INSTRUCTIONS $3.00.MICHAELS, 323 S. Franklin, '804, Chicogo, IL 60606.FREEIII POLICE INVESTIGATIVE SCHEMATICS, BOOKS ANDEQUIPMENT LISTINGS QUIMTRONIX BOX 548-HG SEAT.TIE, WASHINGTON 9811 I.INTELLIGENCE LETTER-ESPIONAGE ASSASSINATIONMERCENARIES, KARATE. SAMPLE-$1.00 OR $9112 IS'.--SUES. HORIZONN, BOX 67, ST. CHARLES, MO 63301.CRIMEFIGHTERS Send $1.00 (Refundable) For Our NewPolice Catoloa B.PEC Deal. ' AH9 9889 Alondro. Bell.flower. . ., Calif. .- $0706. . -.100.CARD ADULT BIBLE GAME . . .I Entertaining1 Educotionall$1.00. Scriptgames, 5837-J Stewart, Sylvonio, OH43560. -..."HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONÑ20.00 eo Ie will bemurdered in the United States this year. Quohied investi.aotars needed. Comalete home studv course bv moil. Send$9.95 to Notional cadem em^ of ~imicide l&estigotion,5200 S. Soyre, Chicogo, Ill 60638POKER. You can turn aoker into o 2nd Income. Consistentwinnin not de endent upon odds Complete details inpoker handbook-nly $3 00 Write Prolects (AH), 12Sunset Hill Rd , Newtown, Conn 06470FIREWORKS. New 1978 Catalog, $1.00. Buckeye FireworksMfg. Co., Inc. P.O. Box 22, Deerfield, Ohio 4441 1.OPTICSGIANT OBSERVATION BINOCULARS 25x150 Finest Binoc.ular MadeÑDetail $2.00 Refundable With Purchose. MIL-ITARY OPTICS, Box 30243-AH, St. Poul, Minn. 55175.REAL ESTATEGIVE your children a Living, GrowinEstate LAND1 InNorthwest Arkans-Timber, Water, Good Roads Write- . . ,"WILDERNESS' Box 1 I82 Foy, AR 72701 ,

THE AMERICAN. . . the only magazine of its kind in the handgun marketUnlike any other publication appearing on newsstands today, THE AMER-ICAN HANDGUNNER is a pioneer in its field. Currently a bi-monthlypublication, THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER is a sure shot in your aimtowards total knowledge of the handgun market. With feature articles thatcover combat and self-defense shooting, hunting, reloading, collecting andpistolsmithing, THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER is unchallenged in itseditorial excellence. Subscribe now, for a one of a kind opportunity.J. D. Jones Full color feature articlesWith your subscription to THEAMERICAN HANDGUNNERyou will receive ABSOLUTELYFREE a copy of the 1978HANDGUN ANNUAL. THEHANDGUN ANNUAL featureshundreds of famous handgunsdescribed in authentic detail.It is an unquestionable must forall handgun enthusiasts.THE AMERICAN HANDGUNNER591 Camino de la Reina A7 0 San Diego, CA 921080 $9.95 enclosed. Please send me a full yearsubscription (6 issues) to THE AMERICANHANDGUNNERADDRESS¥tantnii.istraii'BT¥HUt&IUimiJMi-1 II ICITYSTAT-IDSubscription includes 1978 Handgun Annual

---Join PMA to ImproveYour Shooting SkillsAmericds only organization dedicatedsolely to police weapons trainingand competitive shooting.STEP-BY-STEP HELP FROM THE PROSIf you want to learn the "secrets" of champions and the techniques of expert firearmsinstructors like Royce Weddle, Frank May, Allen Arrington, Tony Borgeseand many more you are invited to join the Police Marksman AssociationPMA's membership roll is growing rapidly because we police shooters arespecial-a different type of shooter from civilian competitive shooters. For us,Training and Competition go hand-in-hand.Created exclusively for Law Enforcement Personnel and Officers, PMA isAmerica's first organization dedicated to improving an officer's skills both as atraining supplement and for competition. There are a lot of police groupsaround but none designed just for shooting and weapons training. Each of our\ member benefits are aimed at serving you and helping you become a bettermarksman.PMA members are already exchanging ideas and techniques that will provideyou with supplemental skills and knowledge you need to enhance your chancesof survival in performance of duty. Join our thousands of satisfied memberswho agree that PMA is the EXTRA EDGE for winning - on the job and inmatches. If you want to learn more, gain confidence, and ability to react,we'll be proud to have you join us. Here's why you should sign up today!The POLICE MARKSMAN Magazine - Available only to PMA Members!You'll receive the only magazine written by police officers andtraining experts for police shooters. Every issue of POLICEMARKSMAN is filled with info about combat shooting, bull's-eyeshooting, and training techniques you can put into action immediately.The champions and the training experts combine theirtalents . . . give away their "secrets" in professional "how-to" articlesthat guarantee to improve your shooting skills. You'll learn"How to Care for Equipment" . . . "How to Perfect YourStance" . . . "The Effects of Light on Sight Alignment". . . "Ways to Improve Your Aim and Your Draw". You'llbe communicating, exchanging ideas, and learning from topshooters and training officers across the country in every page ofPOLICE MARKSMAN.Try shooting after reading just one issue of POLICE MARKS-MAN. This exciting, fact-filled magazine will give you all the extra-edgeyou need forjob security and training. And for competitiveshooting, it will become as vital to reaching a 1400 score asspeedloaders are! Complete your application card today and mail italong with your dues so you can start enjoying all PMA benefits.Your cost to join is only about the cost of three boxes of targetammo! There's even more . . .Plus Get These Full-Fledged Member Benefits!You can join PMA either as a Full-Fledged Member or an AssociateMember. In addition to getting Police Marksman Magazine, as a Full-Fledged Meniber you enjoy these extra benefits:NOTE: Full-Fledged PMA membership available only to recognizedLaw Enforcement Personnel and Officers.PMA QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERPMA MEMBERSHIP CARD- You will receive an official personalmembership card identifying you as a Full-Fledged Member.SPECIAL MEMBER BUYING SERVICE-To assist you in findingdifficult to locate equipment and to provide you with discount memberbuying privileges.ELIGIBLE FOR PMA AWARDS- You become eligible for PMA nationalrecognition awards: The Joerg-SIoan Trophy. The Police MarksmanAwards and Postal Matches.PMA DECAL- You will be sent a handsome designed Police MarksmanAssociation Decal for your car or shooting box.Associate members receive POLICE MARKSMAN Magazine andNewsletters only.POLICE MARKSMAN ASSOCIATIONI217 South Court Street IMontgomery, Alabama 36104IYes! Enroll me as a member of PMA as indicated below. If I am not :completely satisfied. I will notify you and you will refund my dues. IFull-Fledged Member 1 yr.-$15-Eligible for all PMA Benefits :(open only for recognized law enforcement personnel.) IAssociate Member: 1 yr.-$10 (THE 10LICE MARKSMANMagazine only) Open to interested shooters.I1Check one Dues enclosed: Bill me IICharge my MC#_ ----____ Hxp. date-IIBAC#Exp. date IIkink on which iiccount is dra\vnNAME ~TitleIPositionStreet -_ IIIIIIIII

When your 22 has to do more than it usedto do, load it with new XpeditecThese are the hottest 22 Long Rifle cartridgeswe've ever produced. 30 percent faster than a highvelocity 22 Long Rifle. That kind of speed trans- 'lates into flatter trajectory. And more impact at thetarget at usual rimfire ranges. Cornnew bullet's diamond shape cavity,that's really hard-hitting.These are also the most çÂ'22's we've ever introducing ? Because when you're producing cartridgesthis hot, you'd better make sure that everythiis right. So we've done our testing in the labmake sure that you get the performance youin the field. That's the kind of care you have a130 ut our name on the box. Andthknow more, write for your 48ng arms and ammunition&ester Catalog, P.O. Box