Pistols

Not much has changed on the Glock 34, and it is still the most popular choice for Practical Shooting competitors, including Dave Sevigny, the most prolific winner in the history of the USPSA Production division.

The G34 featured a 5.3-inch barrel on a full-size frame that housed a 17-round magazine. The G34 has a large cutout in the top of its slide. It might just be the easiest way to produce a slide of the proper weight so that reciprocation remains smooth and reliable.

Our first impression of the $679 S&W M&P 9mm was that it felt extremely comfortable in the hand. It was well balanced, not too heavy—at least without a magazine full of 17 heavy-bullet loads—and was pleasantly devoid of extraneous controls and levers. We note S&W also sells a version with a thumb safety, along with a host of variants in 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP, and with longer or shorter barrels or grips, and in a variety of colors. One even has a pink grip insert.Our test gun came in a large case with two different grip inserts to make the handle larger or smaller. We liked it as it was, so we left it alone.

Here are new videos added to GunReports.com the week of September 12: JJ Racaza expands on Natural Point of Aim tactics in a multiple target scenario. Remington’s all-new platform, the Model 783. And a Barrett 50 Cal Impossible 'V-Drill' with Jerry Miculek.

(GunReports.com) -- The 9mm pistol was the breakthrough sidearm that ushered in today's massive popularity of the self-loading pistols. One of the ways in which the semi-auto has evolved is its variation in size, making it possible to conceal a smaller version of a full-size carry gun. One pistol with these assets is Glock's $599 Model 26.

Glock adapted this same pistol to other cartridges, including the .357 SIG, and we found the fully loaded GL31 handled much like the model 17. If you have ever felt that the Glock pistol chambered for .45 ACP or 180-grain .40s were somehow out of sync, then the .357 SIG is a more natural fit.

Here are new videos added to GunReports.com the week of September 5: Jerry Miculek shoots a Barrett .50 Cal off the shoulder. Unbelievable. Gunsite Range Master Il Ling New talks about shooting from the bench. FPSRussia takes a look at his four favorite handguns.

Spanish-made SPS high-capacity magazines for 38 Super, 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP MAC 3011, SPS Pantera, and Vista and Para-Ordnance pistols are now available in 12- to 29-round capacities. The SPS magazines also fit STI and SVI pistols.

The SW1911 operates with two functional variations on traditional 1911 design. The first variation is an externally mounted extractor. John Browning himself saw the extractor as the one weak point in the 1911 system and developed the external design to enhance reliability and maintenance.

Here are new videos added to GunReports.com this week: Jerry Miculek shoots a 24-carat gold 1911 pistol (2011) in a V-drill; Kyle Lamb discusses rifle to pistol transitions, cleaning your AR-15 with Cheaper Than Dirt!

American Tactical Imports’ GSG 922 handgun, $390, is now available in a California compliant version (GSG 922 CA) and is now listed on the state’s roster for handguns allowed to be sold in California.

What about carrying your pistol so that no one can see it? After all, it is a concealed handgun license. Texas does not have a statute which allows the open carry of a handgun and for a CHL holder, it is an offense to carry a handgun in a manner where it is not concealed. Failing to conceal is a crime set forth in Texas Penal Code 46.035, writes attorney Michael D. Wisdom, president of the Texas Law Shield, a firearms legal defense retainer program developed by Houston-based Walker, Rice & Wisdom, P.C., Attorneys at Law. The key to this crime is that a CHL holder must INTENTIONALLY fail to conceal their handgun.

We tested two 40 S&W handguns in the May 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report, "Two Midsize 40 S&W Pistols: Taurus and Glock Square Off,".