News

Roberts Defense is introducing a line of 1911 custom-built firearms chambered in .45 ACP, offering a multi-tiered selection for law enforcement, competitors and for personal and home-defense use.

Rio Grande Custom Grips is now making custom handgun stocks with customer-supplied photos, logos, or texts. Initial design and production setup and application of the image into the first pair of handgun grips is $112.95.

The Professional is a complete rebuild, including the installation of a match-grade barrel and complete refinishing. Other parts listed for installation include match hammer and sear, speed trigger, titanium firing pin with extra heavy firing pin spring, beavertail grip safety, ambidextrous thumb safety, low mount Novak rear sight with matching dovetail front sight, 3-dot tritium inserts, magwell, 20-lpi checkering on the front strap, checkered cocobolo grips, beveling of all external parts, deburr complete pistol internally, apply a "Black T" finish to the complete pistol and ship with six Metalform seven-round magazines tuned to the pistol.

The first Remington Number 5 bears no resemblance to the new Remington Model 5. The two rifles differ as much as cats and dogs do. The old Number 5 was a rolling-block sporting and target rifle adapted to use smokeless powder ammunition. It was introduced in 1898, initially chambered for .30-30 Winchester, 7mm Mauser, .30-40 Krag, with .303 British added a few years later. The rifle flopped. Only 198 were sold before it went out of production in 1903. That was too bad for Remington but a good deal for anyone who owns a Number 5, as it would be a mighty nice collector's piece today. I don't think the new Remington Model 5 will suffer the same fate as the old Number 5. Right now, it's a clip-fed bolt-action available in .22 LR and .22 WMR. I have few doubts that in the future it will be able to handle one or more of the .17-caliber rounds gaining popularity. While it wears "Remington" on its box and at the rear of the receiver, you'll find "Zastava-Serbia" above and forward of the magazine housing.

Gun Tests magazine tested three 357 Mag lever-action rifles in the October 2012 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report, used with permission:

Bushnell has introduced two new 1x28mm red dot sights to the AR Optics product line. Both sights feature multi-coated optics and a waterproof and fog-proof design.

Honeywell's new Howard Leight FirmFit earplugs feature a softer, more comfortable fit and better noise protection than the leading classic-style foam earplugs.

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and state Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker have announced that Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. will establish a new manufacturing facility in Rockingham County. The company plans to create more than 450 new jobs in North Carolina by the end of 2017 and invest more than $26 million in the new Mayodan location.

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a gun outside the home.

The National Rifle Association has experienced a significant increase in women seeking to become firearms instructors since 2008, thanks to an increased national interest in the shooting sports.

The Gun Tests Houston test team obtained three interesting 9mm polymer-frame handguns — the Walther PPX M1, the Kriss Sphinx SDP Compact, and the CZ USA CZ 75 P-07 Duty — and tested them in the October issue.

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.