comply with the PPC shooters' demandseasily enough when they made the Elliasonsight a factory option on the Python;the Elliason simply drops into the sameslot and screw holes that would accept thestandard Accro, and the correspondinglyhigh post front sight is no harder to pininto place than the standard ramp, on specialorder. Barrels are another thing.Scuttlebutt was that California HighwayPatrol, which has finally decided to buyguns for their men who for years havebeen required to carry personally-owned6" .38s had specified a heavy-barrel K-38,thus giving Smith & Wesson a reason tomake it a standard item. This is not so.The CHP gun will be designated themodel 68. It will be nothing more nor lessthan a stainless-steel K-38 with 6" barrel.Rhode Island State Police are looking atthe same gun for adoption. That barrelwill have a shroud for the ejector rod, andwill therefore be suitable for the 6" Model66 (stainless Combat Magnum) that willbe a standard item in the S&W cataloguewithin two years.Since we started on a MAGNUMFORCE note, we'll end on one: Ruger stillhas no immediate plans for a stainlessSuper Blackhawk .44(their 9 mm. DA revolveris still not ready for U.S. introduction,though it's apparently selling wellabroad. and the low-awaited " over-underRuger shotgun will be teasingly introducedat the NRA show). However, thereare two other stainlqss steel SA .44 Magnumsready for April-to-June '77 introduction.Two New York State firms, U.S.ARMS and UNITED SPORTING ARMSare racing each other for the intro. Bothcompanies already have in stock bluedversions; the guns are what they call "improvedcopies" of the Ruger SA design,and show excellent workmanship and finish.The two guns are' almost identical,since they're the product of a team thatsplit up and went in' two similar-but-separatedirections after design had been finalized.U.S. Arms promises a lowerprice, but United swear their guns will beavailable sooner. We?!!, 1 e testing them inthese pages; prices, are projected as ex-Itremely competitiva I8PS to police auio ,buffs: Look forBIANCHI to introduce a breakfront holsterfor autos with a secret design to resistsnatch attempts, as does the current Mod-el 27 and Judge line of their revolver holsters,(which incidentally, has been redesignedto incorporate thumbsnaps andfake strap in all 27 versions). It will be thefirst high-security uniform holster forautoloading 9 mm. and .45 pistols.PS to wheelgunners: As far as weknow, we were the first to learn thatS&W's 125th Anniversary Commemorativerevolver was to be a special version ofthe model 25 (1955 Target) .45 ACP revolver.Don't ask us why. We don't evenknow why they asked us so earnestly tokeep it quiet 'ti1 the introduction to theirdistributors. And now you've already readabout it someplace else. Enough of this"Mr. Nice Guy" routine. . .Also in the "Don't ask us why" department:CHARTER ARMS is bringing outtheir .357 Police Bulldog in fixed-sight, 6"barrel configuration. The writer still can'tgrasp the purpose of a small-frame, longbarrel,fixed-sight .357 Mag, but Charter'sDave Ecker says the first. five thousandare already spoken for on orders. Whatthe hell, I never thought Fordthe Mustang over, either, sowhat do I know. . .?AN1A POSITIVE MAGAZINE EJECTORautoloading pistol to be used forserious social intercourse may sometimesrun dry before all the shooting is finished.When that occurs, the most rapidreloading possible won't seem fastenough.Every conventional pistol Iknow of contains a potential problem inthis respect: it depends on a combinationof gravity and follower-spring pressure topop out the empty magazine when youpunch the magazine catch button. If itdoes fall clear immediately, then speed ofreloading depends purely on the amountof practice you've had in seating thecharged replacement.Unfortunately, all too often, magazinesbind in stock autos and don't reliably andpredictably fall clear when they should.6Burrs inside the magazine well, bulges andwarps in the magazine, dirt, rust, etc.often cause the magazine to just sit there,blocking entry of the spare from your belt.Dirt, grit, or un-noticed damage cancause this, even if you've carefully cleanedup both magazine and well so the box fallsfree every time you punch the buttonhome. Any serious binding will be felt asthe magazine is seated-but things youdon't feel at that time can prevent themagazine from dropping clear. Caughtwith a half-out or still-seated magazine,you're stuck with a delay of at least severalseconds while the mess is cleared and thegun made ready to continue firing. Thoseseconds can be fatal.A magazine ejector can prevent thatsort of problem. It won't help with a badlyjammed magazine, but will take care ofany interference you wouldn't notice duringloading. In its simplest form, the ejectorconsists of a stiff spring under thegun's grip; the spring compressed by a lugon the magazine as it is seated. Then,when the magazine catch is disengaged,the magazine is thrown clear, even if thegun is held upside-down.To make this gadget, obtain a fewinches of '/M-inch diameter spring wire(music wire) from your local hobby shop.Bend the spring shown, altering to suityour particular gun if necessary. The oneshown fits the Colt GM series, but will fitbig-bore Star and Llama models as well.Position the spring so its lower leg fallsinside the butt cutout, just above the solidweb, as shown. Drill a inch hole to acceptthe turned-in tip of the upper springlimb. With this tip seated in the hole, outlinethe spring coil on the rear of theframe wall. Use a drill of appropriate sizeto form a cavity that will accept about halfthe width of the coil without allowing thespring to intrude inside to interfere withthe magazine or any other internal parts.If possible, use a drill ground with a veryshallow point, and do not drill clearthrough the side-wall. Ideally, this holeshould be flat-bottomed and made with anend mill.With needle files and/or small chisels(a hand grinder and rotary file will help),open up the front of this recess as shownso both limbs of the spring have room tomove.Position the spring and center-punchdirectly over web at the rear of the magazinewell. Drill a '/i&ch hole into theweb, then drive in a short length of rollAMERI CAN HANDGUNNER JULY/AUGUST <strong>1977</strong>
Top: Closs~d of wing seat cut-out with anci.", pin drive in place.Below: Ejector spring as fitted to a LW Colt Commander. Note smallhole near magazine catch and lug soldered to side of the magazine.pin. This pin keeps the spring from jumpingout when there is no magazine inplace.Seat the spring and hold it tightly inplace, as it would be if the grip were inplace. Bend the lower limb inward, about'A the width of the magazine well, but notso far it will catch on the magazine feedlips as it is inserted.File a piece of '/m-inch steel to theshape shown. Locate it on the magazinewall approximately as shown so it willengage the lower limb of the spring. File aslight bevel on the upper edge to preventthe spring slipping off. Arrange this lug soit will compress the lower limb about 'Ainch,or a bit more, when the magazine isfully seated.Solder the lug securely to the magazinewall. Soft solder will do, but silver solderis better. For soft solder, make the lug abit larger for more joint surface.Next, file a passage in the inside of themagazine wall to clear the lug as the magazineis seated.All that remains now is to carefullybend the lower limb of the spring so it iscaught by the lug and compressed as themagazine goes into position. It should notrequire excessive force to engage the magazinecatch, but should be stiffly compressed.Then, when the magazine catchis disengaged, the compressed springasserts itself and literally hurls the magazineclear of the butt.When reinstalling the grip, be sure torelieve the inner surface for the upperlimb of the spring; also at any other pointwhere it might interfere.The spring can be made as strongly asyou want, but I caution against overdoingit If too strong, seating magazines can be-come difficult-and magazines can bedamaged by too-forceful ejection. In myopinion, it's best if the spring is just stoutenough to toss an empty magazine completelyclear of the gun when held vertically,butt-up.Once installed, the magazine ejectorcan be simply lifted out after removingthe grip. Unaltered magazines may beused in the gun, with or without the ejectorin place. The modifications to the gundo not effect it functionally. The slot inthe frame for the lug on the magazinedoes weaken that area; however, there isno load there unless the gun is dropped orstruck heavily. On the other hand, magazinesmodified by adding the-ejector lugcannot be used in any gun not altered forthe purpose.In my opinion, that's a small price topay for positive and unfailingmagazine election.;-200 models & 15 bronds- INational TreasureHunters LeagueMesquite, TX 75149-write for free catalog-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER * JULYIAUGUST <strong>1977</strong>
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