Handguns

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has added Virginia, Florida and Kentucky to the list of states whose valid Right-to-Carry (RTC) permits will now be recognized in South Carolina. These additions are due to the passage of H 3212, the RTC reciprocity reform legislation passed earlier this year.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to allow a House-approved bill on the District of Columbia’s gun law to face an immediate Senate vote.

SB184, the bill Gov. Ted Strickland calls “common-sense legislation”, establishes Castle Doctrine in Ohio and clears up ambiguous sections of Ohio's concealed carry law, went into effect September 9, 2008.

On September 18, 2008 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that under state law R.C. 9.68, municipalities may not infringe on the broad statutory and constitutional right to carry firearms. Within a few days, this opinion saw application in courtrooms around the state. Hopefully, Damon Wells, the young man in Cleveland who shot at thugs in self-defense last year, killing one, will benefit from the ruling.

The Board of Directors of the Cato Institute has elected Robert A. Levy, a former Senior Fellow in the Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies and a board member since 2004, chairman of the institute.

New York criminal defense law firm Tilem & Campbell announced that all charges were dismissed against a client charged with possessing a loaded firearm in Bronx County, New York.

FactCheck.org supposedly exists to look beyond a politician's claims. Ironically, in its analysis of National Rifle Association materials on Barack Obama, these so-called 'FactCheckers' use the election year campaign rhetoric of a presidential candidate and a verbal claim by one of the most zealous gun control supporters in Congress to refute facts compiled by NRA's research of vote records and review of legislative language.

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign has sent threatening letters to news agencies in Pennsylvania and Ohio to stop airing ads sponsored by the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF).

What’s the difference between a bulldog and a soccer mom?In the case of Meleanie Hain, it’s a loaded sidearm.

The Illinois State Rifle Association is urging state hunters, sportsmen and gun owners to vote 'no' in November on a ballot initiative to hold a state constitutional convention. The ISRA believes that holding a constitutional convention would open the door to significant changes in the state constitution and thus imperil the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

We recently read The Book of Two Guns, The Martial Art of The 1911 and AR Carbine, by Tiger McKee. McKee is the proprietor and headmaster of the Shootrite Firearms Academy (shootrite.org) located in Langston, Alabama. Printed in long hand with illustrations, McKee instructs and inspires the reader to consider what skills are necessary to effectively use the handgun and rifle weapon interdependently, as well as in transition from one to the other.With the two-gun concept in mind, we decided to go ahead with a story weve been considering for some time-evaluating two pairs of handguns that could also be used to work effectively in tandem, in this case, two revolvers against two pistols.In each pair, we picked one gun that was larger and better suited for primary carry, be it for duty or concealment. The other was significantly smaller and meant to be hidden in case of emergency. Each pair belonged to the same system, or as close as we could supply.For primary carry we chose two 45-caliber weapons, Rugers $836 Redhawk 45 Colt Model KRH454 and Springfield Armorys $785 Mil-Spec Full Size Stainless 1911A1. Paired with the Ruger revolver was the $450 32 H&R Magnum Smith & Wesson Airweight J-frame Model 431PD. To run with the Springfield, we added a $699 9mm Walther PPS semi-automatic, which was light weight and super slim.We could have selected any number of pairs of handguns to fill out our test roster. It is interesting to note that our four guns are each chambered for a different caliber. Certainly when it comes to a primary gun there is more leeway in choice. But when it comes to deep concealment larger calibers demand bigger, stronger and heavier frames. Bigger bullets can also limit capacity. Therefore we felt that system and size was more important than matching caliber.Our test ammunition was as follows. The 45 ACP was represented by Magtech 230-grain FMC, Hornady 185-grain JHP/XTC, and Black Hills 230-grain JHP+P ammunition. The 45 Colt test rounds for the Ruger were Winchester 225-grain Silvertip HP, Federal Champion 225-grain semi-Wadcutter hollowpoints, and Black Hills 250-grain roundnosed flat points. The 9mm ammunition was 125-grain HAP rounds from Atlanta Arms and Ammunition, Black Hills 124-grain full metal jacketed rounds, and Federals 105-grain Expanding FMJ ammunition. For the 32 H&R Magnum ammunition we chose Federal Personal Defense 85-grain JHPs, Federal Classic 95-grain lead semi-wadcutters, and Black Hills 85-grain JHP rounds.

We recently read The Book of Two Guns, The Martial Art of The 1911 and AR Carbine, by Tiger McKee. McKee is the proprietor and headmaster of the Shootrite Firearms Academy (shootrite.org) located in Langston, Alabama. Printed in long hand with illustrations, McKee instructs and inspires the reader to consider what skills are necessary to effectively use the handgun and rifle weapon interdependently, as well as in transition from one to the other.With the two-gun concept in mind, we decided to go ahead with a story weve been considering for some time-evaluating two pairs of handguns that could also be used to work effectively in tandem, in this case, two revolvers against two pistols.In each pair, we picked one gun that was larger and better suited for primary carry, be it for duty or concealment. The other was significantly smaller and meant to be hidden in case of emergency. Each pair belonged to the same system, or as close as we could supply.For primary carry we chose two 45-caliber weapons, Rugers $836 Redhawk 45 Colt Model KRH454 and Springfield Armorys $785 Mil-Spec Full Size Stainless 1911A1. Paired with the Ruger revolver was the $450 32 H&R Magnum Smith & Wesson Airweight J-frame Model 431PD. To run with the Springfield, we added a $699 9mm Walther PPS semi-automatic, which was light weight and super slim.We could have selected any number of pairs of handguns to fill out our test roster. It is interesting to note that our four guns are each chambered for a different caliber. Certainly when it comes to a primary gun there is more leeway in choice. But when it comes to deep concealment larger calibers demand bigger, stronger and heavier frames. Bigger bullets can also limit capacity. Therefore we felt that system and size was more important than matching caliber.Our test ammunition was as follows. The 45 ACP was represented by Magtech 230-grain FMC, Hornady 185-grain JHP/XTC, and Black Hills 230-grain JHP+P ammunition. The 45 Colt test rounds for the Ruger were Winchester 225-grain Silvertip HP, Federal Champion 225-grain semi-Wadcutter hollowpoints, and Black Hills 250-grain roundnosed flat points. The 9mm ammunition was 125-grain HAP rounds from Atlanta Arms and Ammunition, Black Hills 124-grain full metal jacketed rounds, and Federals 105-grain Expanding FMJ ammunition. For the 32 H&R Magnum ammunition we chose Federal Personal Defense 85-grain JHPs, Federal Classic 95-grain lead semi-wadcutters, and Black Hills 85-grain JHP rounds.