July/August 1978 - American Handgunner

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