Handguns

We just learned that Charles Daly has discontinued its HP model ($550 MSRP), a close copy of the Browning Hi-Power. Used Browning Hi-Powers go for $750 or so. New, theyre $922 on up. The Daly HP commonly sells in the neighborhood of $350 on the street. So if you could get a decent version of the Hi-Power 9mm single action for that amount, it might well be all the Hi-Power you need. Weve had a Charles Daly HP (Daly never calls it a Hi-Power on the guns markings or in the manual) on hand, waiting for a suitable test matchup. Because of its recent discontinuation, we thought you might like to know what its all about while the Daly HP is still somewhat available, so we quickly came up with another high-capacity 9mm to test against it.The second test gun used to be made by Beretta as a smaller and lighter version of the 92, yet still is pretty much a full size DA/SA auto. It is now being made in Turkey, using Berettas machinery, and is sold under the Stoeger name (a Beretta subsidiary) as the Cougar Model 8000. As a Turkish gun, its price has come down drastically from around $650 to an MSRP of $449. Street price as we found it is $390. We didnt much like running a DA against an SA, because we thought theyd never compete. We were surprised at the results.We tested both guns with Fiocchi 115-grain JHP, with American Eagle 115-grain ball, with Black Hills 147-grain ball, and with 115-grain JHP by Ultramax. Loading the magazines for both guns was not easy. In fact we found it to be very painful on the fingers, from sharp edges and high forces needed against powerful springs, on both guns. We suspect many women will not like these two guns because of the extreme forces necessary to load their magazines by hand. A suitable loading aid would help immensely. Each magazine would fit the well of the other gun, but neither would latch properly.Heres what else we found.

Florida’s 'guns at work' law is set to take effect July 1 unless a suit by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation stops the legislation, which allows Floridians to keep a gun in their locked cars on work premises if they have a concealed weapons permit.

Ranson, West Virginia, Mayor David A. Hamill says he doesn’t expect the Ranson City Council to approve a proposed firearms ban because of the opposition it has drawn.

Ellen Carrington, 21, who was recently crowned Miss Tennessee, has a concealed weapons permit.

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) is planning to introduce a concealed carry reciprocity bill next week.

Writing in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, gun-rights advocates Alan Gottlieb and Joe Waldron wrote that “Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, behaving like the would-be ruler of a ‘city state,’ has decided to ignore Washington's longstanding firearms statute regarding the legal carry of concealed handguns by licensed private citizens on city property.”

Crimson Trace and Galco Gun Leather are offering a package consisting of a set of Lasergrips for the Kel-Tec P3AT/P32 and a custom Galco Pocket Protector holster.

Everyone loves the big bullet. But one of the reasons why the models in this test are in production probably has more to do with a recent announcement by the United States military. A proposal was made to move away from the Beretta M9 and substitute a 45 ACP pistol with thumb safety and higher capacity than the traditional 1911 Government model. Plans to adopt such a pistol prompted several manufacturers to produce prototypes. Subsequently, the military decided to stand pat with the Beretta.Nevertheless, participating gun makers thought they might as well let the public decide if these new designs were worthwhile. Thus, all three pistols in this test, the $623 Taurus OSS No. 24/7-OSSDS45B, Springfield Armorys $571 XD45 No. XD9661HCSP, and the $743 Smith & Wesson M&P No. 109107, can be made safe by lifting a thumb-operated safety.Some of the questions we wanted to answer had to do with carry options and ergonomics. To withstand 45 ACP recoil, these guns were bigger and built heavier than the 9mm and 40 S&W models generally associated with polymer design. Would adding a full load of heavy ammunition make the guns too much to carry? What about reliability? Would the magazine springs remain strong enough to lift the final rounds into position? To test this last proposition, one magazine of each gun was left fully loaded with the 230-grain Black Hills JHP +P rounds for 14 days.What about the thumb safeties? Did they interfere with maintaining a natural grip? Would they slow the shooter down in an emergency? Did the thumb safety cause malfunctions? Did we think the addition of the thumb safety made the gun safer to handle both tactically and administratively?For this test, we fired indoors at Houstons Top Gun Handgun Training Center (topgunrange.com). There we tested from a distance of 15 yards from a sandbag rest. We also garnered comment from members of the public thanks to testing alongside one of the many corporate functions hosted by Top Gun staff. Test ammunition included three prime examples of 45 ACP ammunition. For a light-recoiling target round we chose Winchester USAs 185-grain FMJ loads. Next, we tried Federal Premium 230-grain Hydra-Shok JHP rounds, and for maximum power 230-grain JHP +P rounds from Black Hills Ammunition.Heres what we learned:

MIAMI – SLIM is the name of this suave new entry into the Taurus line. Elegant in Blue and Stainless this small pistol can easily fit under a cummerbund or pair of bibs.

Cottonwood, Ariz. - LaserLyte is excited to offer the L-Rail Picatinny Adapter, the latest and greatest Picatinny accessory for firearms.

…Last week, the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would ban the purchase, transfer, and inheritance of many popular hunting guns, historical American firearms, and large-bore target firearms

GunReports.com has learned that the S&W’s M&P9 Pro Series pistol was used in its first competitive win at the 2008 Texas State International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) Championship.