Category: Weapons

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Gentlemen, Bruce F. gave some good advice about cutting down barrels, but I find that the process is greatly improved by using a standard pipe cutter, not a tubing cutter. Most tubing cutters will fail if put to the task of cutting steel. A pipe cutter is a tool used to cut primarily black steel pipe. It is very similar in design to the tubing cutter but substantially more robust and up to the task. – Tim in CT