COLLECTABLES AND BULLETS
 

Handgun Purchasing Notes

If the handgun you have chosen to carry will not work for you for whatever reason or you haven’t purchased the gun you are going to carry here is a list of popular brands and their strengths and weaknesses. This list is by no means a list of all the carry guns you can purchase nor do we recommend any particular gun over the others. It is up to the individual to figure out which gun works best for him or her.

Beretta

Beretta has numerous makes of guns on the market right now including the M9 or 92F or it’s larger caliber twin the 96. This gun has been on the market in different variants for many years and has been purchased by many law enforcement and military units all over the world. Also available are the Cougar models which are similar.

Calibers available: 380 (9mm short), 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig[1], 45ACP

Pros:

• Years of use in the military and Law enforcement have made parts and accessories easy to find.
• Large heavy frame absorbs recoil well.
• Ambidextrous safety allows easy off hand operation.
• Strong double action trigger pull.
• Fairly accurate.
• Very durable.
• DA/SA operation.
• High capacity magazines readily available due to military use.

Cons:

·        Must be well oiled and clean to operate properly.

·        Large frame and heavy. Very hard to conceal.

·        Long Double Action trigger pull.

Colt Model 1911 (And Clones)

Easily the most popular pistol design ever. The original 1911 was developed for the US Army in 1911 and has been serving ever since. It was phased out in the 80’s to be replaced by the M9 but there are still 1911’s serving here and there in the military to this day and probably for years to come. 1911 style pistols are made in all shapes sizes and colors. Para-Ordinance recently introduced a Double action version designed for safe concealed carry. Many different calibers are available. Polymer versions are being introduced. "Double Stack" or high capacity version are also available.

Many manufacturers are now making the 1911 style pistols. The most notable and reliable are: Auto Ordinance (Thompson), Colt, Kimber, Para-Ordnance, Smith and Wesson, and Springfield.

Calibers available: Too wide a range to list.

Pros:

• The age of the pistol and it’s widespread use make parts and accessories very easy to come by.
• A truly time tested design.
• Multiple safety features.
• Easily customized by a gunsmith to meet the shooters needs.
• Very slim, easier to conceal short barrel versions.

Cons:

• Usually fairly heavy to carry.
• Excessive recoil with large calibers.
• Single action requiring a “cocked and locked” hammer.
• Low magazine capacity.

Ruger Semi-automatics

Sturm Ruger and Co. have continually expanded their line of  semi-automatic pistols over the past decade to include everything from DAO or Double Action Only to Polymer frames. The early 9mm models experienced some problems but after a quick reworking the following models all function very well.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig[2], 45ACP

Pros:

• Inexpensive.
• Highly reliable.
• Many different models and sizes available
• Reacts well to all kinds of ammunition.

Cons:

• Very bulky.
• Fairly heavy even in the polymer versions.
• Low magazine capacity in the larger calibers.

Ruger Revolvers

As with the automatics Ruger has continually expanded their line of revolvers offering new calibers and sizes of pistols.

Calibers available: .38SPL, 357Magnum, .44Magnum

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Quality workmanship
• Reliable
• Many sizes and shapes to choose from.

Cons:

• Heavy, bulky

Smith and Wesson Semi-Automatics

S&W has been expanding into the growing “plastic" market. Their regular metal framed pistol has been popular among law enforcement officers for their safety features and reliability. S&W created a partnership with Walther and created the S&W2000 and the P2000 nearly identical pistols that have become very popular.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP.

Pros:

• Many shapes and sizes to choose from.
• Available in a wide range of calibers from the standard 9mm to the .356TSW.
• Magazine safety standard on most guns.

Cons:

·        Magazine safety standard on most guns.

Smith and Wesson Revolvers

S&W has been taking many new turns in the manufacturing of revolvers. They have begun using new materials like Titanium and Scandium to lessen the weight of the old standard revolver.

Calibers available: 38SPL, 357Magnum, 44Magnum.

Pros:

·        Solid design.

·        Reliable

·        Scandium and Titanium models are extremely lightweight even when loaded.

Cons:

• Low capacity
• Slow reload times
• Scandium and Titanium models have extreme recoil even when ported.

Taurus Semi-Automatics

In 1980 Taurus purchased the Beretta Factory in Brazil and with it the assembly lines to create the Beretta pistols. These Beretta “knock offs” are just as good as the originals if not a little more robust. New features began to appear on the Taurus models in response to some of the complaints about the original Beretta designs. Now Taurus has started to produce it’s own unique models bearing little resemblance to the Beretta beginnings.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig[3], 45ACP

Pros:

• Very robust.
• Relatively inexpensive.
• Solid action
• Beretta design magazine are interchangeable.

Cons:

• The Beretta designs share the same weaknesses of the originals.
• Stiff actions.

Taurus Revolvers

Relatively new to the market Taurus started making revolvers in 1968 in Brazil. They started off manufacturing revolvers for export to the US under other names.

Calibers available: 38SPL, 357Magnum, 44 Magnum

Pros:

• Very robust.
• Reliable.
• Relatively inexpensive.

Cons:

• Stiff action.
• Low Capacity, Slow reload.

Springfield Pistols

Springfield, the manufacturer of such notable firearms as the M-1 Garand, M-1 Carbine, The M-1A or M-14, and the M1911, has made a leap into the future of pistols. Springfield introduced it eXtreme Duty or XD pistol as an upgrade to the already popular Glock pistols. The XD has features that seem to be in response to every criticism that the Glock ever received.  The XD and XD compact both are available in many calibers, both have a grip safety as well as the trigger safety seen on the Glock, both sport a true ambidextrous magazine release, and unlike the Glock both have accessory rails. In a torture test design for the Glock the XD met or exceeded the Glock in all categories except firing underwater. With all its features and its low price tag the XD is the fastest rising star in the pistol market.

Calibers Available: 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig.

Pros:

• Light weight.
• Easy to conceal.
• Simple to operate.
• Ambidextrous magazine release.
• Front and rear serrations on the slide to ease cocking.
• Integral Accessory rails.
• Low Price.
• Smooth Trigger.

Cons:

• Recoil can be heavy in larger calibers and compact design.
• Very new to the market, no surplus parts available. Yet.

Heckler and Koch

H&K has created some incredibly innovative firearms over the past 15 years.  The P-7 pistol has a squeeze-cocking feature that allows the pistol to be cocked by squeezing the handle thereby making the single action gun function like a double action. The MP5 is known throughout the world as the best sub-machine gun ever to enter service. The G-11 is the worlds first “caseless” rifle. The ammunition is not encased in a brass or steel casing but is just a solid propellant with a bullet on the end and fired electrically. The USP or Universal Self-loading Pistol is in service with the military special forces as the Special Operations Command or SOCOM pistol. The Volks Politzei or VP pistol is a pistol designed to fire like a standard semi-automatic pistol until a stock is attached and then it becomes a submachine gun capable of 3-round bursts. A civilian version of the VP was also introduced.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP

Pros:

• Extremely well designed
• Incredibly reliable.
• Very robust.
• Ambidextrous magazine release.
• Integral rails to mount a flashlight.
• Manual decocking lever.
• Surprisingly light recoil for large calibers.

Cons:

·        Very Expensive.

·        Large frame.

·        Long trigger pull.

·        Hard to conceal.

Glock

That one name is instantly recognizable to anybody with even a limited knowledge of guns. Designed by Gaston Glock in the 1970’s this innovative new gun dubbed the “Plastic Fantastic” has caught on very quickly with Civilian and Law enforcement alike. Mistakenly believe to be able to pass through metal detectors the Glock got an unwarranted bad reputation from the media. Since the introduction of the first pistol, the G17, Glock has produced models of different sizes and calibers, including a new slim-version of it’s 45ACP for conceal carry purposes. Glock’s newest pistols will be a line of pistols chambered for the .45Glock caliber. .45Glock is a .45ACP bullet with a slightly shorter casing.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig, 10mm, 45ACP, 45Glock.

Pros:

• Extremely simple to operate.
• Low Maintenance.
• Requires little to no oiling to operate.
• Extremely reliable.
• Light weight.
• Many different models available.
• Compact and sub-compact versions accept full size magazines.
• Full frame and compact versions have integral accessory rail for
• Easy transition from a revolver.
• Compensated versions available in all but the sub-compact version.

Cons:

• Other than the Trigger safety there are no safeties.
• Large caliber versions of the compact and sub-compact have excessive recoil.

Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ)

Manufactured in Czechoslovakia these pistols have been very popular in the law enforcement market overseas. Because of the cold war the CZ was not able to be introduced to the US until late in the 20^th century. Even as a weapon of the Warsaw Pact countries this pistol did not see much service because it was not made for the 9x18 Makarov, 7.62 Tokarev, or 5.45 Russian the standard calibers of the Warsaw Pact.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP

Pros:

• Sturdy manufacture.
• Fantastic trigger pull.
• Large capacity magazines.
• Manual decocking lever.
• Low recoil.

Cons:

• Relatively new to the market.
• Parts are scarce.
• Heavy.

Sig Sauer

Sig-Sauer or Sig has over 140 years of experience in the firearms industry. Sig has developed many new models of Semi-Automatic pistols based on their popular P220 military pistol. Sig developed the P226 in response to the US military’s call for a pistol to replace the 1911. While Sig did not win the contract limited numbers of the P226, P228 and P229 can be found in the military. The Sig P229 was also the first introduction of the .357 Sig cartridge. A hybrid caliber, the .357 Sig is a .40 S&W cartridge casing necked down or tapered to accept a 9mm or .357in bullet. The result looks something like a small rifle cartridge.

Calibers available: 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig, 45ACP

Pros:

·        Well made.

·        Very sturdy.

·        Fantastic grip.

·        Fits small hands well.

·        Smooth Trigger.

·        Manual decocker.

Cons:

• Very Expensive.
• Very picky about ammunition.
• Difficult to disassemble/reassemble.

Ammunition Ballistic Data

This is a listing of most of the common pistol calibers and their ballistic data for the Hornady Ammunition. While there is no “best” caliber to buy this table will give you some ideas about the power of a handgun. This is just one ammunition manufacturing company so it does give a limited idea of the velocities and energy but it is a good baseline.