The next batter up was the FN 502. I credit FN with essentially developing a new category of .22 pistols—basically full-size guns that match their larger-caliber counterparts. This allows for more affordable and less fatiguing training. The 502 was also one of the first slide-mounted, optics-ready rimfire handgun. The...
There's a new player in the 1911 world named Tisas. Manufactured in Turkey, these new 1911s feature good metal, excellent fitting and a degree of fit and finish I'm not used to seeing in an economy grade 1911. While they have worked very hard for the last couple years...
When it looked like this year’s 1911 Round-Up would only have eight contestants, Gunsite’s Ken Campbell came to the rescue again and provided us with a sample of their Colt Gunsite Lightweight Commander chambered for .45 ACP. Without hesitation, Campbell pulled the unfired gun from Gunsite’s Pro shop inventory...
Smith & Wesson sent me a full-size 1911 from their Performance Center. All Performance Center guns are given an extra degree of attention during the fitting and polishing of the parts. The PC1911 with ports features a satin-finished stainless steel slide and frame. For dramatic effect there are three...
Dan Wesson’s Guardian is an elegant pistol and that’s an adjective that I don’t often use when describing handguns. It possesses classic styling with the addition of a bob-tailed frame and mainspring housing. Finished in satin black, the barrel bushing, long aluminum trigger and stainless-steel skeletonized Commander hammer and...
The new Springfield Armory Emissary is a big, bold brute of a gun—there’s nothing subtle about it. It features a unique tri-top slide design with chevron-style cuts towards the muzzle and wide and deep rear cocking serrations at the rear. It also has a finely serrated flat top between...
This is my first exposure to a Staccato product, and I have to say I am favorably impressed! I received this sample of the Staccato C2 pistol—a higher-capacity 9mm gun designed for concealed carry. This pistol features a 3.9-inch stainless steel, fully supported barrel and it is also equipped...
I first met Guncrafter’s Alex Zimmerman at a writer’s conference about 15 years ago and after spending one short range session with one of his American 1911s commissioned him to build one for me. It remains my favorite 1911, having used it for several seasons of USPSA competition and...
The Nighthawk Custom Delegate is a serious piece of machinery. From its dramatic sculpturing to its carry bevels and unique slide profile, everything about the Delegate is custom and first class through and through.
Our test sample gun is chambered for 9mm, though the gun is also available in .45...
Another budget-friendly offering was the SCCY DVG-1 RD, the company’s first striker-fired pistol. Modeled after the CPX form factor, the DVG-1’s new striker-fired operating system significantly improves the user’s shooting experience with a lighter trigger pull than the traditional DAO model. One feature that facilitates this improved experience is...
