Mike

It all started with this… … a 7 ½-inch-barreled Ruger Super Blackhawk. I had traded a 7 ½” Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt for it, long about 1980. My good friend Mitch’s dad, a military collector and owner of an original Flattop Blackhawk .44 magnum (before it became the Super Blackhawk), had me re-think swapping … Read more

I am a fan of the Modern Sporting Rifle. The “Black Rifle.” The MSR seems to have a polarizing effect on shooters and non-shooters alike, at least in my experience. To an old-school rifle shooter, an AR-style rifle is anathema to his or her way of thinking…rifles are supposed to be wood and metal with … Read more

I have always been fascinated by the idea of a carbine that shoots pistol-caliber ammo. This is not a new idea – pistol caliber carbines have been around since the days of the Wild West. So, it would come as no surprise that I requested a 9mm firearm from Troy Industries. They sent me their … Read more

A .22 LR pistol can be a very useful firearm. I’ve had a few. My first semiauto .22 handgun was a Ruger Bicentennial Mk. II that was given to me by my band at the school where I was teaching – I was leaving and they wanted to get me a nice going-away present. Talk … Read more

The eBay of gun sites. That’s what Gunbroker.com has been called by those who use it. There is some validity to that point, as gunbroker.com is set up and run pretty much like an auction, except that you can list a “buy now” non-negotiable price if you want to sell something as quickly as possible. … Read more

It all started with the PT111 Millenium Pro. That was the small double-stack Taurus pistol that held 12+1 and included two magazines. Features included double strike capability, adjustable rear sight and some really good ergonomics. It was a competitor in the small, double-stack 9mm market. It was a successful gun and I owned two of … Read more

If you’ve read many of my articles, you’ll know that I frequent a very good friend’s gun shop. My buddy Duane has loaned me used pistols to write about from time to time – he’s one of the good guys. He’s had a used Glock Gen 3 Glock 20 10mm in his case for a … Read more

The Colt Anaconda is a revolver that many of us dream about owning. But, we have about as much chance of finding a Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver as we do finding its namesake slithering around our backyards. Of the Colt “snake guns”, the Anaconda is one of the newer ones, and seems to be … Read more

Heckler & Koch makes some of the highest-quality firearms in the world. That’s a pretty strong statement, but I believe most folks who’ve spent much time around an H&K gun would probably agree with me. The designs, the engineering, the materials, the craftsmanship…it all goes together to make some top-notch guns. We’re going to look … Read more

Sar What? Sar Who? You might even wonder more if you knew that Sar was short for Sarsilmaz. OK…now it’s getting weird, I hear you say… What is a Sarsilmaz? First, A Few Things… I hope to accomplish three main goals by writing this article. Here’s what I’m trying to do herein: Answer the questions … Read more

I owned a 9mm Shield once upon a time and foolishly sold it. That gun was reliable and easily carried inside the waistband (Best Concealed Carry Holsters). It was well-built, felt good in the hand and went “bang” every time it was supposed to. I don’t remember what gun I just had to have in … Read more

I recently was able to snag a used SIG Sauer P226 from my friend Duane’s gun case to review. The gun is chambered in .40 S&W and is in pretty decent shape, considering that it was shot and carried a lot. The P226 is one of those classic guns that has a great reputation. It … Read more

For those of you who remember American pop singer Jim Croce, one of his biggest hits of 1973 was “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” – a song about a mean dude on the other side of the law who “owned the downtown”. He was known for his fighting – he carried a razor in his shoe, … Read more

As I went to pick up the AR-50 from its owner, my friend Marty, I was a bit uneasy about actually lifting the thing into my truck. I’d read other reviews and had watched videos about this beast of a gun. As I walked into his store and saw the rifle leaning against a file … Read more

Kimber is a company that has had a rather rocky past. Known today for high-quality 1911 and other types of pistols and rifles, the company has struggled to achieve the reputation it now enjoys. We’re going to examine the Micro 9 pistol in some detail, but first let’s look at the company that makes it. … Read more

This article/review is about Taurus’ relatively new .380 ACP handgun, the Spectrum. But, before we get into discussing the Spectrum itself, a word about Taurus may be in order. (To cut to the chase, I really like my Spectrum – it’s a very reliable pistol). The following is directed at those who are not fans … Read more

The Colt (Combat) Commander has had a long, blue-ribbon-pedigreed history. Evolving from the legendary Colt 1911, the Commander is not a lot different from that storied gun – the most obvious difference is that the Commander has a 4.25-inch barrel as opposed to the 5-inch one in the 1911 – but it has gained a … Read more

I approached my shooting bench with a bit of trepidation. I was holding an original, older Delta Gold Cup that belonged to a friend of mine who’d loaned it to me for this article. As you can see from the photo above, it is a beautiful pistol. He has had it for many years. He … Read more

I just traded for a fun little gun. I got one of these… This is Charter Arms’ Target Pathfinder .22 LR with a 4.2-inch barrel. They also make a snubby version but I wanted the longer barrel and adjustable rear sight. If you’ve read many of my articles on this site about handguns, you would … Read more

It’s a fact – more and more people are getting concealed carry permits. Now that Illinois has joined the club, all fifty states have some method or other of allowing its citizens to legally carry a concealed gun. In some states, you don’t have to obtain a permit – it is just assumed that it … Read more

Small. Thin. Light. Reliable. Cheap. What’s not to like? I’m talking about the Ruger LC9S, a single-stack, striker-fired pocketable 9mm that has sold like hotcakes. Why is this such a popular gun? We’ll examine it in some detail to see if we can determine the answer to that question. Variations On A Theme Before we … Read more

The Taurus G2C is something of a phenomenon. Sales are greater than expected, which surprises a few people. Taurus is not the company it was, even 10 years ago. It used to be that if you bought a Taurus (especially a semi-auto), some fellow shooter might hand you a quarter and say “flip it – … Read more