Category: Weapons

Two Letters Re: The 9mm Parabellum vs the .40 Smith and Wesson vs the .45 ACP, by B.F.

Good Morning Hugh, Read with interest the article posted today about handgun calibers. I agree, the topic is beaten to death, and I agree with the author’s conclusion 110%: You should practice, practice, practice and use what works best for you! I found the following website/report to be extremely useful in my own research, and it provided me with the information I needed to choose a carry-ammunition for my family (Federal 124 gr HST 9mm). YMMV, however, the data was presented extremely well and un-biased. Please pass this link along to your readers for them to use as well. I …


The 9mm Parabellum vs the .40 Smith and Wesson vs the .45 ACP, by B.F.

I recently wrote a letter to SurvivalBlog suggesting that preppers who were looking to upgrade their handguns consider some of the bargains currently available in .40 S&W. In recent weeks, I have seen police trade-ins dropping even more in price with Sig Sauer P226s and P229s selling for as low as $305 and Glock 22s selling for $279. Hugh asked me about my experience with the .40, and I sent him back a note that covered a bit of ground on that topic. I’ve been shooting and reloading for the .40 S&W since Glock introduced the G35 in 1998. That …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s VP-9 review

Pat, While most of us who have had some experience with the VP9 agree that it is a reliable and affordable pistol we also have found that the trigger guard has a groove in it that will really mess up your finger from friction if you shoot it a lot. One guy I know loves the gun so much he has altered the trigger guard a bit to mitigate this problem. – M.


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: H&K VP9

I’ve always been a big fan of H&K (Heckler & Koch) firearms, at least most of them. They’ve had a few that weren’t to my liking. One thing that most folks will agree on is that the price point on many H&K Products is very high, VERY high, and that scares away a lot of gun buyers– guys like me who are the average guy! I have to spend my hard-earned money very carefully. The H&K firearms I’ve owned in the past were all used ones. I couldn’t afford new guns from them. Well, that is changing. H&K is listening …


Fighting Words: An Open Letter to Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

The New York Times just published the newspaper’s first front page editorial in 95 years. It urged America’s legislators to outlaw civilian ownership of semiautomatic battle rifles. This editorial twisted words to castigate our militia arms as follows: ” These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection.” The editor went on to urge: ” Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Springfield Armory XDm Compact .40 S&W

Make no mistake, I’m a huge fan of Springfield Armory firearms– all of them. When the XD handgun first came out, I picked one up; it was in .40S&W. At first appearance, it looked very much Glock-ish to my way of thinking. However, once home, I tore the gun down and examined it. While some of the parts look like Glock parts, none of them will interchange with a Glock. None! Something very rare for me is to carry any one particular handgun for two years, which is what I did with the XD .40, only changing to a different …


Letter Re: .40 S&W

Hugh, I’m in agreement with the recent postings regarding .40 cal pistols. I have been shooting .40 for more than a decade now and am a firm believer. During the shortages I was still able to consistently locate ammunition, and as mentioned by another contributor you can swap parts out on the Glock easily. I carry a Glock 23 and run full power ammunition for daily carry, but when attending a Front Sight four day pistol course I dropped in a Storm Glock 19 barrel. The pistol functioned just as well on 9mm ammunition as it did with .40. After …


Schrade SCHF3 Survival Knife – By Pat Cascio

It’s probably been at least 20 years since I owned any sort of Schrade knife, and the last one I had was a fixed blade hunting knife. It worked just fine, near as I can recall, dressing out a deer. Schrade has been around for a long, long time, well, sorta. Schrade is now owned by Taylor Brands, and I’m not sure when this takeover took place. As far as I know, all Taylor Brands cutlery is produced in China. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. I recently purchased a Schrade SCHF3 fixed blade survival knife for …


Letter Re: Multi-Caliber Firearms

Hugh, I was wondering what were your thoughts on rifles capable of shooting multiple calibers? Examples are the Sig Sauer SIG556xi and Colt MARC 901. I can see the utility of pistols having this capability, but I was wondering if you thought the extra investment would be worth it for rifles? HJL responds: I haven’t tried any of the new offerings on the market, but the Thompson Contender has long been a staple of my collection. I have both the original frame and an Encore frame with a barrel for each caliber for which I reload. I use it as …


Letter Re: Question About the Transfer of a Pre-1899 Antique Gun

Dear Mr. Rawles, Thank you for your work on the excellent antique gun FAQ page. I have a question regarding a recent purchase. I recently acquired an all matching 1897 dated (barrel and receiver tang, both dated 1897) Tula M1891 Mosin Nagant, Finnish capture marked, from my local Cabelas. I would estimate it at 85%+ condition, and it was Finnish Arsenal re-blued and has no importer markings, shiny sharp rifling and not counter bored. The Finns re-worked the Russian stock into the two piece grooved configuration. The gun was clearly marked “97r” under a T, which makes it an antique …


Letter Re: .40 S&W by Bruce F.

HJL, A while ago I bought a Glock 22 4th Gen .40 caliber hand gun. In my opinion, this was one of the best buys I ever made. In all the firing I have done with this gun, I have had only one malfunction and that was a stovepipe piece of .22LR brass. (There’s more on that brass later.) The Glock 22 does have a considerable recoil in .40 caliber but not so much to make it uncomfortable for a grown man. I’m 73 years old now; maybe I’ll change my mind as I get older. The Gen 4 was …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Walther CCP

I still remember the very first Walther handgun I ever owned. I owned it for less than a week. Bear with me; I had just purchased a brand new Walther PPK/s .380 in stainless steel. I still have the receipt showing I paid $125 for it back in 1973. I was working as a private investigator (PI) at the time and living back in Chicago, IL, where you had to register your handguns within 30 days of bringing them into the city. There were no gun shops in the city proper, so you had to purchase handguns at neighboring suburban …


Letter Re: .40 S&W

HJL, I concur with Bruce F. regarding the 0.40 cal. buying opportunity presented by the fickle gun crowd. It’s almost comical to read the gun gurus slamming the same caliber they were praising some years ago. I just wanted to point out one more, plus regarding the used Glocks in .40 that were mentioned, you can simply drop a .357 Sig barrel in them, and suddenly the G23 is a G32, or the G22 becomes a G31! Even the mags are interchangeable, as the base diameter of the .40 S&W and the .357 Sig are the same. Furthermore, drop in …


Letter: .40 S&W

Dear Hugh Service caliber semi-automatic handguns are generally considered to be in calibers 9mm, 40 S&W, and .45 ACP. A lot of people really seem to enjoy Monday morning quarterbacking the virtues of these calibers and their theoretical stopping power. Well, everyone should have a hobby. The reality is that any pistol (unless it is maybe the 500 S&W) is far less effective than a rifle. I am not sure who said it first, but a common quote is that the purpose of a pistol is to allow you time to reach your rifle. Recent events (see below) are resulting …


Firearm Noise Suppressor Overview, by S.M.

It seems that ownership and use of firearm noise suppressors, also referred to as “silencers” or “cans”, are increasingly popular in the United States. Manufacturers have responded to the increased interest and demand with new, innovative products. For those considering acquiring suppressors, I thought it might be useful if I shared my recent experiences. While there are many legal hurdles to suppressor ownership, they can be addressed fairly easily at a reasonable cost and effort. Since I am not a lawyer, I can only provide a layman’s perspective. Therefore I suggest that you research the applicable legal requirements of the …