Happy Hand Cannons

Ah, you saw what I did there with those semi-silent T’s borrowed from tsunami, didn’t you? Yeah, it’s pretty lame, but, I may be the first person to ever write “SHOT Show” that way. And as my pal Rudyard Kipling (might have) said, “Dude—If you can’t write good, then at least write different; weird, even.” I try, Rudyard, I try…

SHOT Show is comin’, folks; January 17th through the 20th in Las Vegas, and there are two things you can count on: First, you’ll be buried in bombast and bunting about new!, exciting!, ground-breaking! and paradigm-shifting! guns, always followed by one or more exclamation marks. In fact, there may be a couple of new design twists and not just examples of paint-on performance and funny finishes. In truly new and different offerings, some years are fat and some lean, but the ballyhoo is always bloated anyway.

Second, some really good guns born over the past couple of years will be instantly relegated to the status of poor second cousins, mostly among that portion of our firearms community who, every January, go all buggy-eyed and drooling over whatever’s alleged to be NEW! and they just gotta have it! Curiously, this form of money-chucking madness applies to handguns far more than long guns. Perhaps that’s because handguns are more kiddie-toy-sized?

In order to afford those shiny new 2-ounce .380’s the size of Zippo lighters or 4-shot monster revolvers which use 20mm cases necked down to fire carbide phonograph needles at 17,000 feet per second, they’ll be selling those red-headed stepchild guns—the ones they put one box of ammo through before losing interest, often dumping them for chump-change. That’s where bargain-hunters like you and me come in…

For that reason, plus my feeling they deserve a little more respect, let me share with you some soon-to-be “old hat” handguns I’ve tested and reviewed for GUNS or American Handgunner over the last two years—ones which surprised and delighted me. These aren’t full reviews by any means, just reminders, or brief introductions; a scent to put you on the trail. Maybe you’ll sniff out a gem for yourself.

Happy Hand-Cannons

Springfield Armory’s 1911 Range Officer 9mm belongs to the growing family of firearms which can shoot straighter than I can hold ’em. Basically, it’s a high quality, full size, full weight 5-inch barreled 1911 upgraded and outfitted for instruction and competition. It’s an excellent choice for a hard-working trainer who does a lot of demo shooting for classes, who sometimes needs to put it into a student’s hand for personal coaching. And, it’s a fine choice for established shooters getting serious about competing.

The outside diameter of the barrel is the same as the original Range Officer .45’s, of course with a smaller bore, which yields a thicker, heavier barrel. This places more weight forward of the triggerguard and at the perfect height to further complement accuracy. The barrel, bushing and trigger are match-grade and hand-fitted, and slide-to-frame fit is snug and smooth. The fully adjustable sights are bold and sharp. Overall, it was a tackdriving pleasure to shoot, and shooting 9mm vs. .45 ACP saves significant money.

Another consideration is with lessened recoil and a slide spring half the resistance of the .45 ACP model, it is ideal for anyone who struggles with too-stiff recoil springs, like shooters suffering from arthritis or other nerve damage.

Want to punch the black out of a bull’s-eye target all day long with comfort? The Range Officer 9mm might be perfect for you.

I’m not a big fan of the .40 S&W cartridge, but if you’re a Forty Fanatic like my gunsmith and co-conspirator, the mysterious Dr. K, here are two slim, flat, compact and highly ergonomic .40’s which I think deliver a big bang for your bucks:

I tested and reviewed Kahr’s CT40 and wrote it up in our May 2015 issue. One of their “Value Series” pistols, the CT40 priced at $449, is more than $200 less than its fraternal twin in the premium TP40. The CT40 has less machining on the slide—mostly aesthetic—a conventionally-rifled barrel rather than the TP40’s polygonal-rifled tube, a MIM instead of a forged slide stop lever, a pinned polymer front sight, and simple rollmarks versus engraving. In every tactical and practical respect, the CT40’s performance was right on par with the TP 40, and a pleasant surprise to me.

After proper factory-recommended break-in, function was flawless, accuracy was excellent, and recoil was very manageable, especially considering the CT40’s weight of only 21.8 ounces and very slender girth. With a long-but-smooth double-action trigger pull which feels more like a tuned revolver than a semi-auto pistol, this simple, strong pistol makes a great concealed carry gun.

Smith & Wesson’s Performance Center Ported M&P Shield .40 S&W wasn’t a new pistol, but a really significant upgrade over the original Shield 40 I wrote about in July/August 2016 issue of American Handgunner. Improvements included obviously, the porting job on the barrel and slide, HI-VIZ “LitePipe” fiber optic sights, a Performance Center trigger sear and striker plunger, and various polishing strokes and kisses from the Center’s best gunsmiths. In my opinion, the payoff in performance was far greater than the simple sum of changes. In the hand, on the target, and especially under rapid fire “active engagement” conditions, it is a vastly more controllable, better pointing and aiming and all-around better-behaved little beast.

The HI-VIZ sights get you on target fast, the ports keep you on it, and the far better, crisper trigger pull and re-set help you put maximum firepower downrange fast, simple as that. When you consider the suggested retail price of a Performance Center Ported Shield is only about $70 more than that of a “standard” Shield .40, and a set of HI-VIZ LitePipe sights alone run over $100, well… You get the picture, and it’s a pretty picture indeed.

Shape-Shifter Extraordinaire

It’s been out for two years, but SIG SAUER’s P320 pistol shows no sign of second-cousin syndrome. I wrote it up in our January 2015 issue and recommend you go online and read or re-read the Digital Version. I don’t use the term “the future of semi-auto pistol design” lightly, but it may apply to the shape-shifting P320. Imagine owning one “firearm”—the serialized fire control unit, which SIG calls the “frame assembly”—and having your choice of four pistol sizes in full, carry, compact and sub-compact—and within those overall sizes, your choice of large, medium or small grips. Now add the ability to shift from 9mm to .357 SIG to .40 S&W calibers with a few simple swaps of parts, et voilà, what more could you ask?

Stunningly strong and simple, superbly accurate and about as safe as a “point-and-pull” striker-fired pistol can possibly be, the P320 also has, in my not entirely uninformed opinion, the best, smoothest trigger of any off-the-shelf production striker-fired pistol. The fire control unit/frame assembly is unitized, with all parts captured, and the whole process of completely stripping the pistol and swapping parts is fast, simple and well within the skills of the average gun owner. The P320 has won several prestigious awards, and it comes as no surprise it is one of three rumored finalists in DoD’s current search for a new military service pistol. Conclusion: Regardless what new and exciting!!! handguns show up at SHOT 2017, you might wanta thinkle on a P320…

Happy hunting! Connor OUT

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