Mike

A two-and-a-half-inch barrel on a .357 Magnum revolver. Huh? Well, if you have read many of my small-revolver reviews, you will notice that I have reviewed more than a few small revolvers that were in .357 Magnum. I like those abbreviated big boomers…they work. Here are a few of them for you to peruse when … Read more

A small, light .22 pistol can be a thing of joy. We don’t necessarily need a big, honkin’ gun on our hip all the time. There are times when we want to travel light and don’t want two-plus pounds of pistol weighing us down. There is room for a twenty-ounce or so in our gun … Read more

An article about revolvers? Do they still make those anachronistic hunks of steel? Are they still relevant in this day and age of striker-fired, polymer-framed semiauto wunder-guns? Ja, sure! There are some shooting tasks that only revolvers can accomplish. Gun design, metallurgy and technology have advanced in the world of the wheelgun as well as … Read more

Heritage Manufacturing is known primarily for one thing – inexpensive, single action .22 revolvers. Although they do sell some very nice Uberti-built centerfire guns, they are mostly known for their .22 LR and Magnum revolvers. I have reviewed some of their guns (read it here) and have owned a couple of them. The guns are … Read more

Ruger has long been a name to be reckoned with in terms of American gun production. Since 1949, this company has introduced model after model of innovative, well-built and popular firearms. Another plus is that Ruger guns are usually affordable – you can’t discount that, to be sure. I have been a long-time owner of … Read more

OK. I hear you, even before we start – what the heck does “SD9VE” stand for? Allow me to explain: SD: Self-Defense 9: 9mm VE: Value-Enhanced Oh, OK. How in the world did S&W come up with that mouthful-of-a-moniker? I believe they were just trying to differentiate it from its not-so-well-received predecessor, the Sigma. That … Read more

The .22 LR is by far the most popular caliber out there. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimates that about half of the approximately ten billion rounds manufactured annually are .22 rimfire cartridges. The military has used it to teach marksmanship; Boy Scouts use it to qualify for their Shooting merit badge. Largely available … Read more

For those of you out there who own a Ruger 10/22 rifle – all six million of you – Ruger has something relatively new for you. It’s called the Charger. And, if you’re not one of those owners, the Charger is for you, too. I’m sure a lot of you already know about this little … Read more

“I won’t carry anything in a pistol caliber that doesn’t start with ‘four’”. This is the philosophy of many old-time (and some newer) shooters who grew up with the .45 ACP being the King of the Hill in terms of effective pistol cartridges. To them, the good ol’ .45 ACP is THE only round to … Read more

Did you ever wish you had one gun that shot ammo in three different calibers? Imagine carrying just one gun to the range but with three different types of ammo. Those of you who own a .357 or .44 Magnum revolver know what I mean, at least as far as the .38/.357 and .44 Spl./Magnum … Read more

If you’re trying to select the best 10mm pistol, you definitely have a hard job ahead of you. This is one task that, about 25 years ago, would have been simple due to the lack of said-chambered guns. Not so much now – the 10mm is experiencing a renaissance of sorts as more shooters discover … Read more

What – a lightweight snubby in .357? Wow! That would be handful! I can hear the comments flowing from all you revolver shooters out there. And, these comments are not without merit. I have shot snub-nosed revolvers before, in calibers from .22 LR to .357 and it certainly can be a handful. A lot of … Read more

The Colt 1911 semiautomatic pistol is an icon. If you were to show photos of an 1873 Peacemaker, a 1911 and a few other common handguns to your non-gun-savvy brother-in-law and asked if any guns were recognizable, chances are that he would point to the 1911 and say that he’d seen that one before, in … Read more

Smith and Wesson has had a lot of experience with .22 LR autoloaders. Matter of fact, one of my recent reviews was about their M&P Compact .22. They make a lot of different models. Friend Duane has in his gun case a like-new Model 41 Target pistol with two barrels – one has a red … Read more

Here’s a conversation from a gun shop: “What’s that in your pocket?” “A .380 in a pocket holster”. “Don’t you know you might as well throw rocks as shoot somebody with a .380?” “Well, if it’s so ineffective, will you volunteer to hold the target at the far end of the pistol range? HA! Didn’t … Read more

The M&P line of semi-auto pistols is a big seller for Smith & Wesson. Coming in calibers .22 LR, .380, 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP, these guns are solid choices for concealed carry or competition. Heck, they’re fun just shooting in the back yard. I surely think you could do worse when it comes … Read more

The 9mm cartridge has long held a reputation as a great round for target shooting and competition. But its greatest surge in popularity has occurred over the past 30 years or so as more concealed carriers have adopted it as their favorite. Why has that happened? First, let’s look briefly at the 9mm backstory, then … Read more

Mossberg. Great shotguns, right? I own a decades-old Mossberg 5500, a lesser-expensive version of the 550 autoloader shotgun meant to be sold in box stores. I bought it long about 1986 or so and paid $199 for it, if memory serves. I got it a long-gone retail store called Service Merchandise. At any rate, I … Read more

If you are into rimfire guns, .22s, then you should definitely take a look at this one. There – I said it. I have always liked .22s, preferably of the handgun persuasion. Sure, I’ve got the obligatory Ruger 10/22, and an accurate thing it is. I even painted mine camo for the squirrel woods. With … Read more

Glock guns. Love them or really not like them (don’t like the h*** word – too much of that in the world today). The shooting world is bifurcated when it comes to this company’s guns. Some shooters will buy only Glocks – I know a few of them. Others would not buy one if it … Read more

An AK-47-based pistol? What were they thinking? First of all, it’s an AK, not an AR. Second, it’s a pistol, not a carbine, I initially thought. Having just reviewed the Sig Sauer P556 AR pistol and having seen how quickly and easily these short guns are brought into action, I think I can see what … Read more

The “other” 44. What do I mean? Well, if you look at this gun for more than 2 seconds, you will see that it looks an awful lot like a Smith & Wesson. Why does it resemble the other gun? We’ll get into that. Suffice it to say that this gun is a winner in … Read more

Deer-legal in my state. Huh? This gun is deer-legal in my state. The .40 S&W, shot through a minimum-4-inch barrel is considered deer medicine where I live. Of course, I think you’d be better off with the “other” .40-caliber cartridge, the 10mm which is also legal, but that’s another article. Add in the ability to … Read more

Stoeger is a company that I am familiar with. Known for decades as an importer of really decent-quality shotguns, the company got this handgunner’s attention around 1980 when they began importing these: This is a German-made Luger .22. Stoeger has owned the rights to the Luger name in the U.S. since 1924, so they thought … Read more

Ruger has been making guns since 1949, and they apparently do it very well. From Bill Ruger’s first .22 pistol to Red Label O/U shotguns to No. 1 rifles to the 10/22 to … well, you get it. They make all sorts of guns that historically have been very well received and have grown to … Read more

OK, so I make a little funny here – I figure it’s my gun so I can make fun of it a bit if I want. The thing that isn’t funny about this gun, though, is how it shoots – it does that job in a very serious manner. I like my little humpback whale … Read more