American Handgunner May/June 1977

n old favorite and a new snake fromA COLT'S. By May of '77, the Hartfordgunmaker plans to introduce two promisingvariations on the small "D" frame.One is the long-overdue Detective Specialtreatment on the four-inch Police Positive.The shrouded ejector rod will terminatepartway up the barrel, as on theMark Ill Trooper; the streamlined rampsight will, as on the Detective Special, extendall the way back to the frame. Thegrips will be modified, also, in what thecompany describes as a teardrop shape.Slightly longer than the grips on the currentsnubbies, they'll give a better hold ina man-sized fist, while the trim silhouetteof the new stocks is expressly designed forpolicewomen.Colt will simultaneously introduce theViper, which will be a four-inch Cobrawith the same barrel and grips as the newPolice Positive. This alloy version, like thePP, will be chambered for .38 specialonly, and will have fixed sights.Price is slated for the $160-170bracket. A Colt exec told us that policewomenand security personnel are expectedto be the principal buyers, but wewouldn't be .at all surprised to see a largeacceptance of this piece among uniformedmetro policemen as well. Ideal foron- or off-duty caq in departments thatspecify fixed-sight .38s, either is a compactdouble-threat gun that saves a rookiethe price of a second revolver to carry onhis own time.Leathermakers are planning a few surprisesfor '77. BIANCHI is coming outwith several new items; Neale Perkins atSAFARILAND also has some interestingplans, one of which is an ankle holster thatwill be doubly secured, once above thecalf and again above the shoe. Price isn'tyet set on the ankle jobbie, which will belimited to guns the size of the Chief Specialor smaller. Neale also says that he's finallygot a thumb-break holster design onwhich the hardware won't mar the finishof the gun as it's drawn. This is welcomeNEWS, LEATHER & LOADSF. AYOOBAMERICAN HANDGUNNER a MAYfJUNE 1 B77news. The feature will first be seen on theModel 28 holster, Neale's answer to RoyBaker's Pancake and John Bianchi'sShadow scabbards.Don't look for any radically new handgunsfrom HARRINCTON & RICHARD-SON for a while. A few minor variationson currently catalogued revolvers may beannounced, but nothing earth-shaking.H&R is busy trying to get their autoloading-22 Rimfire Magnum rifles out tomeet the burgeoning demand created bytoo-early announcements in the firearmspress. Another thing that's irritating someH&R execs is that production of the highpowered,autoloading 360 Ultrarifle isbottlenecked way behind orders, due tosome supply problems with componentsvendors. . .Look for S& W LEATHER to introducea new holster designed purely for freestylecombat competition. This small butdemanding holster market has thus farbeen dominated by MILT SPARKS ofIdaho City, Idaho. As yet un-named, thenew Smith holster has a straight-up drawingangle, and no safety straps: a leafspringedstud concealed inside the bodyof the steel-lined holster engages the insidefront of the trigger guard. This preventsthe pistol from falling or bouncingout, but the pressure is easily overcome bythe natural drawing motion. S&W researchengineer Tom Campbell used aprototype to win the Northeastern US SectionalTryouts for the World Practical PistolChampionships, to be held in Rhodesianext August. . .Good ammo cheap: American policehave long been buying remanufactured(ie, industrially-reloaded) .38 wadcutterammo for practice and qualifications. Foras little as $50 for a case of 1000 rounds,if you trade in an equal portion of firedbrass, this stuff is a terrific bargain. Somewill shoot right along with factory match-38 loads, while others group a little sloppier.ZERO, the bullet makers, and STAR,most famous for their progressive ammoreloaders, are among the leading suppliersof remanufactured ammo. Also right upthere is 3-D CORPORA TION, of Grand Island,Nebraska, which just introduced aspate of loadings in addition to the ubiquitous.38 Special, that includes 9 mm Parabellumand .45 ACP. At savings of up to$50 a case, the -45 mid-range semi-wadcutterin particular should capture the attentionof the civilian pistoleros, especiallywith cheap GI hardball -45 ammo now athing of the past. Other real bargains inpistol ammo can be found from local,commercial reloaders using Camdex andsimilar equipment.Next fad in custom handguns, we predict,will be large-bore DA revolvers withheavy Douglas barrels and BoMar sightribs. Highly publicized shoots like theMagnum Handgunners of America silhouettematches in the Southwest and theNortheast, and the National ShootersLeague $15,000-purse event in Laramie,Wyoming, have created a demand forsolid-hanging, flat-shooting sixguns thatpunch big holes in paper targets and packenough energy to knock over forty-poundsteel animal cutouts. Ron Power, PO Box1604, Independence, Mo. 64055, theacknowledged top builder of PPC matchSmith & Wessons, has already beenswamped with orders for heavy-barrelmodel 29.44 Magnums and model 25.45ACP wheelguns, most being made for serious,big-prize competition handginners.Verdict is in on FEDERAL'S controversial80-grain jacketed hollowpoint load in.380 ACP. All testers including this writerhave reported virtually flawless functioning.The load doesn't mushroom with thesame destructiveness as the old Super Vel-380, and even the factory admits that expansionis nothing to rave ahout. Still,stopping power is markedly improved justby the cutting shoulder of the new bulletdesign, and until somebody comes outwith something that expands like theSuper Vel did and is as jam-free as theFederal (the most reliable expandingbulletload yet produced in this caliber),the stuff in the red and white box fromMinnesota seems to be the round ofchoice for -380 fans who don't handload.If you carry a ,380, we suggest you buy abox now: We've heard nothing more ofWinchester's proposed .380 Power Point,and Remington execs tell us that the longthought-about.380 JHP to follow theirhighly efficient and successful loadings ofsimilar design in .45 ACP and 9 mm.Parabellum, remains in the "someday"stage of development.SMITH & WESSON's second generation9 mm with ambidextrous safeties andfully adjustable sights are still not in production.First scheduled for July '76, it'snow slated for second quarter '77. DickMcMahon of S&W also promises somefirst-quarter surprises with the model 25(1955 Target .45ACP) revolver.