American Handgunner May/June 1977

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colts M-1911 .45 Auto has proven its reliability and stoppingpower for 65 years. The .45 Hardballer is a stainless steelcopy of the M-1911 .45.Obviously, the .45 has been tinkered with, accurized and improvedover the years. The Hardballer, in addition to its stainlesssteel construction, incorporates a happy medium of reliability,accuracy and modifications developed in combatcompetition. It's a far cry from the GI .45 Autos.Harry Sanford, the man responsible for the Auto Mags and.380 Back Up; after analyzing the market -paving particular attentionto the trend of individual officers and police departmentsto discard the .38 Special revolver in favor of the .45Auto and the obvious advantages and increasing popularity ofstainless steel guns decided to make a stainless .45.Stainless steel is not rustproof. It is highly rust resistant. Stainlesssteels are available in various chemistries suited to variedpurposes. 17-4-PH (precipitation hardness) is a very tough andrust resistant steel. One of its uses is in atomic reactor engines.32By J. D. JONESThe Hardballer's frame and slide are investment cast of 17-4-PH and heat treated. This is a very tough, durable frame andslide.While the Hardballer is a close enough copy of the Colt toprovide parts interchangeability, several important differences doexist both internally and in exterior appearance.At a glance, the Hardballer appears to be a Colt Gold Cup instainless. Closer examination reveals several distinct differences.The Hardballer retains the serrated matte rib of the GoldCup. Its sights, however, end the top end resemblance. TheHardballer's front sight is a sloped square faced combat typethat won't drag coming out of a holster. The rear sight is a directdecendent of the Auto Mag rear sight. It's rugged, positive adjustable,black, and gives a sharp sight picture. The contrast betweenthe black rear blade and light gray natural stainless coloris readily apparent and extremely compatible. Prior experiencewith essentially the same sight picture on Auto Mags has provenits versatility in the field under all sorts of light conditions. In myAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE <strong>1977</strong>
33opinion, it's a hell of a lot better than red plastic front sight insertsunder any conditions.Looking down at the top of the gun, a slot cut through the rearof the barrel hood readily shows if a round is chambered-if it'slight enough to see. This "loaded chamber indicator" is ofdoubtful value to me for that purpose but it is effective as a"gutter" to vent powder, lubricant, and other debris from the faceof the breech.The thumb safety is a fairly wide, long, serrated combat typerig. It isn't wide enough to cause problems in a holster. It is wideenough to be fast and act as a thumb rest while shooting. Particularcare is exercised to insure the safety is properly adjustedand operates smoothly and at the proper amount of resistance.If they aren't properly adjusted, they can be practically impossibleto disengage with the thumb of the shooting hand. If adjustedto operate without enough tension they can simply fall outof engagement or pop on safe after the gun is fired and the slidereturns to battery. I've had all of the above occur in GI or commercialColts plus a few other malfunctions I haven't mentioned.The grip safety is long enough to prevent pinching theweb of the hand by the hammer.The original mainspring housings are Pachmayr Signatureunits. Later production will incorporate a stainless housing serratedto match the serrations on the front of the grip-frame. Thetrigger is wide, skeletonized and incorporates an overtravel adjustmentscrew-a la Colt Gold Cup.The bottom of the magazine well is beveled to guide a slightlymisdirected magazine into the well. Dimensions of the magazinewell are generous to allow easy insertion and free ejection ofmagazines when the magazine release is depressed. The magazinesare of stainless construction and feature a rounded followerand the "new style" feed lips similar to those found on GoldCup magazines.One note of caution regarding magazines. Don't trust a newone. It may not feed. It may be oversize and a tight fit in themagazine well. The follower or magazine itself may be off specificationenough to allow the follower to slip up over the projectionit is supposed to nest against. When this happens, the magazinerelease must be depressed with one hand and the magazinepulled from the gun with the other. Quite a few of these defec-The Hardballer is fitted closely, yet notso tight as to cause malfunctions. Goodmuzzle/slide fitting (top) contribute tothe Hardballer's accuracy. Though somethroating has already been done, the ownerof a new Hardballer will probably want tosmooth up the ramp just a bit more (bottom.)
Page 1 and 2: E 1'THE HECKLER & KOCHDOUBLE ACTION
Page 3 and 4: The newest and only magazine just f
Page 5 and 6: n old favorite and a new snake from
Page 7 and 8: original thumbpiece down, flush wit
Page 9 and 10: SKILL AND THE FIELDhere has been a
Page 11 and 12: when dropped, for example, or struc
Page 13 and 14: By EVAN P. MARSHALLCOMBAT SHOOTING
Page 15 and 16: ine with the bulk of the gun to cau
Page 17 and 18: your efforts. He's got visions of g
Page 19 and 20: By GEORGE C. MONTEwen I first saw a
Page 21 and 22: Here barrel is full forward, fired
Page 23 and 24: ecome national and international ch
Page 25: after I came out of rookie school,
Page 28 and 29: only about two per cent of the land
Page 30 and 31: ight kidney, passed just over the h
Page 34: tive magazines seem to be floating
Page 37: 5.Â¥ \p'-' At0Advanced Features a
Page 40 and 41: Above, the PQS barrel and recoil sp
Page 42 and 43: HECKLER & KOCH'S4 CALIBER VERSATILI
Page 44 and 45: Interchangeable barrels, recoil spr
Page 46 and 47: The VP-70 is caught'in stop-action
Page 48 and 49: By GEORGE C. NONTEIcan recall when
Page 50 and 51: tana) seems to do the best job. Aft
Page 52 and 53: These examples of feed ramp bulgear
Page 54 and 55: Can the Much-Demeaned.38 Spl. Measu
Page 56 and 57: Jroup fired offhand from 25 yards u
Page 59 and 60: making the improvements that our cl
Page 61 and 62: Set can un top of steel rod, draw.
Page 63 and 64: tion in improving accuracy over the
Page 65 and 66: of striking the firing pin. Because
Page 67 and 68: decided on the Colt Diamondback as
Page 69: BULLET# 252435# 252435#311252#31125
Page 72: MODEL17 -2"THE -vMODEL 17 ~i-~ide S

American Handgunner May/June 1977

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