Archive for the 'Guns' Category

WiscoDave sends this to me from Brock and makes fun of me that I didn’t find it first.

Shooting Illustrated.

A true industry legend, Michael “Chip” McCormick, has passed away.

I can think of no other man who has changed the industry in more ways than McCormick. Most people know him for his industry-leading 1911 magazines, but few are aware McCormick was responsible for many other innovations that transformed the gun world. An intensely private man, he quietly invented many things we take for granted today. He took the drive that pushed him to two World Speed Championships and focused it on inventing and manufacturing.

Before CMC (Chip McCormick Custom), there was no such thing as the now ubiquitous drop-in AR-15 trigger. Gunsmiths would put together a trigger with parts, often from a kit. McCormick created a single-unit trigger that installs in minutes; literally a “drop in.” Of course easy installation was not good enough for McCormick, he made it crisp, clean, with no creep….Match grade. Now dozens of imitators crowd the market, the market created by Chip McCormick.

Before Kimber, the 1911 had to be fitted from oversize parts. If you saw one in the gun store, it was usually a basic government model that the owner would have to customize. McCormick conceived of the “spec” 1911 with all parts being within specific tolerances so the gun could be assembled, instead of fitted. McCormick approached several companies, but they turned him away. Kimber’s Leslie Edelman saw the potential and quickly struck a deal for Chip to create a production gun. Unlike anything else on the market, it was fully accessorized with beavertail grip safety, extended slide release and ambidextrous thumb safeties. Not only was the Kimber handgun line born, but so was a new way of building the 1911. Now the production 1911 is the industry standard, as are fully accessorized guns.

When we think of the 2011, the first company that comes to mind is STI, which has since become Staccato. Few know the true origins of the company. It was Chip McCormick who conceived of the modular gun based on the 1911. Even with his vast experience, he lacked sufficient knowledge in plastic molding. McCormick had several other companies, so he also lacked the bandwidth to take on such a project. A team was assembled, including Sandy Strayer and Virgil Tripp. McCormick invested money and made agreements to buy parts to help fund the fledgling company. Strayer and Tripp took McCormick’s concept, developed and patented it, creating what we know as the 2011.

While he never said it, I believe the innovation that McCormick was most proud of was his RPM magazine. McCormick’s mind was always going and he often didn’t sleep. On one particular sleepless night he put his mind to thinking about the problem that vexed him and all 1911 enthusiasts. Of course, that of which I speak is out-of-spec feed lips. John Browning just didn’t leave enough room. Though McCormick didn’t get any sleep that night, he did get inspiration. Staring at his ceiling he figured out how to turn them back on themselves, making smooth, amazingly strong lips. That was revolutionary enough for most…but McCormick wanted to create something truly different. The RPM follower is unique as it is a two axis leaf spring, pushing up and sideways. This innovation is important because when the magazine is emptied, the follower sticks out of the top of the magazine tube and twists counter clockwise.  The results are that the slide always locks back when empty. I can still remember the satisfied smile when he explained how it worked. It was a simple, elegant solution and that was McCormick’s way.

I know that Chip McCormick made some great 1911 magazines, and also that Wilson Combat bought him out.

I didn’t know that Chip was responsible for all of those things.  I do very much like and admire self-starters and self-taught engineers and mechanics.

This video is interesting for not only the point that the 5.56 round penetrates no more than roughly the pistol rounds, but also for the good performance of the 77 gr. SMK compared to the 55 grain M193.

However, I think his testing suffers from a flaw that could throw the results into question, depending upon review of the test materials after testing (which of course I didn’t do).

I question the need for the studs in between the walls, and especially “randomly” positioned (not that it’s really random anyway).  If what you’re comparing / contrasting is penetration of various pistol and rifle rounds, putting a stud in between the dry wall to be hit “randomly” based on your aim makes no sense.  It would only yield meaningful results if you had one set of tests where every round only penetrated dry wall and siding, and another set of tests where every round had to pass through a stud.  Otherwise, he’s skewing the results without even knowing it.

Not that it’s a very scientific test anyway.

Finally, his testing includes no rifles shooting 5.56mm from 18″ or 20″ barrels.

Paul Harrell being himself.

I’ve always had my eyes on this particular wheel gun, and I agree with his assessment of how pleasant and easy the .22 magnum is to shoot.

There was a recently flurry of articles on Korth Revolvers.  Handguns Magazine had one very comprehensive article.

The NXR’s overall length is 11.65 inches, width is 1.72 inches, and height is 6.38 inches. Suggested retail price starts at $5,299 and goes up depending upon any additional features you’d like to add, say, a compensator. That kind of price places the NXR out of reach of a lot of shooters, but is the Korth’s price commensurate with its performance?

Range testing .44 Magnum revolvers can be a real bear, but as .44s go, the Korth NXR is quite manageable to shoot. That oversize, Jim Wilson-inspired Turkish walnut grip really fills the hand, and it provides a comfortable and secure grip on the gun. Plus, like I said, the large, flat base of the grips worked well shooting off the bench.

Also at Special Ops Magazine.

In use the Korth Combat is pleasant to shoot and as accurate as might be expected, capable of delivering tight groups in single-action mode, slightly larger in double-action. So far as performance goes, I would say that it is on a par with other high-quality revolvers; the finish, inside and out is excellent, the design good; but I cannot honestly see where the high price is justified in any concrete manner.

And finally at Shooting Illustrated.

The successor to the innovative Korth Ranger, the NXS is Korth’s first eight-shot .357 Mag. wheelgun. An eight-shot 9 mm cylinder is also available as an upgrade that will allow you to switch effortlessly between the two popular calibers.

It’s a beautiful gun, a work of art.  But something would have to be wrong for me to spend that kind of scratch for a handgun, unless I had money to burn.  Then again, there are an awful lot of people with large boats, property on the lake and high paying jobs that might not even wink at the price.

Does any reader have a Korth or know anyone who has one?  Perhaps Korth would send me a gun for testing and review.

In the title of the post I’ll go ahead and say it so that everything is clear.  If I was left with only a single option for weapons to hunt or use for personal defense or defense of home and hearth, I’d choose a shotgun, or better year, several shotguns.

You can hunt deer with it, you can hunt fowl with it, you can defend yourself against large predators (such as bear) with it, and you can defend home and hearth with it.  Indeed, the range is limited to 50 yards or less, but there is no single weapon that can solve every problem.

As for tactical shotguns, there are two on the market that are considered the best of the best: The Benelli M4 and the Beretta 1301, especially enhanced by Langdon Tactical.

The 18.5″ barrel for the 1301 patterns tight and some use it unmodified for turkey hunting, and if you want more barrel length it accepts a choke.

I simply cannot imagine anyone saying that the tactical shotgun is useless, especially when using 00 buck it will launch eight 9mm size balls at 1500 FPS.  I don’t know who they’re talking about in the video below, but I’d be wary of anyone who said something like that.

In other shotgun news, the Beretta A400 appears yet again in lists of the top shotguns available for multipurpose use.

I stumbled across this smart and well-informed video of the history of the 1913 rail.  I think you’ll enjoy it and learn from it.

Many firearms manufacturers, from Mossberg (who is now in Texas) to Ruger (who is now in North Carolina) have joined an already large contingent of firearms manufacturers who were born in the South or have made their home here, including Daniel Defense (Georgia), Wilson Combat, (Arkansas), FN (South Carolina), Palmetto State Armory (South Carolina), etc.

Troy Industries may be the most recent to relocate, as they have begun building in Tennessee.

But there is still a large portion of firearms still manufactured in the North.

Based on data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which analyzed five categories of firearm production (pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and others), the report identified the states where most firearms are manufactured. In 2019, New Hampshire accounted for the most firearm production of any state, with 1.2 million guns, followed by Missouri, Florida, North Carolina and Mississippi. Those five states made up more than half of all licensed firearms produced in the country.

New Hampshire produced the most rifles, at nearly 328,000, and pistols, with more than 700,000, in 2019, while Florida manufactured the most revolvers: nearly 190,000. Texas produced the most shotguns, at about 191,000, while Mississippi followed closely behind with 188,000. The two states made up 79% of all shotgun production in 2019.

I’m not certain who is in Mississippi, Florida or Missouri, but the obvious big actor in New Hampshire is SIG Sauer who has at least six plants in that state, with no manufacturing left in Germany.

Massachusetts also accounts for a large firearms manufacturing portfolio.

The American firearms industry was born in Massachusetts. As recently as 2018 the Commonwealth ranked as the largest producer of guns in America, according to Bloomberg News, accounting for about 1 out of every 4 of guns made each year — including military-assault-style rifles …

The gun industry in Massachusetts is a source of jobs, with companies that make guns that are used for recreational purposes and by officers of the law. But it also manufactures assault-style weapons that are sold to civilians out of state, such as the AR-15.

New Hampshire may be a tough nut to crack, as New Hampshire gun laws are quite favorable, and as best as I can determine, their plants are not unionized.

But this may all be about to come to an end for Smith & Wesson in Massachusetts.

BOSTON — State Rep. Frank Moran and three other Democratic legislators are proposing a bill which would outlaw the manufacturing of assault weapons in Massachusetts that are banned from being sold in the state.

The state has banned civilians from buying or owning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for decades, but companies like Smith & Wesson, with headquarters in Springfield, can still make the guns in Massachusetts and sell them elsewhere.

Backed by parents who lost children to mass shootings and the Stop Handgun Violence organization, Moran, who represents Lawrence, launched the effort Tuesday with the support of fellow lawmakers. They filed legislation that would extend the existing assault weapon ban to cover the manufacturing of guns sold to civilians.

There are of course a host of ways to address this, including [but not limited to] refusing to sell weapons to police in states that have such bans.

One of the most obvious for S&W will be relocation.  If they can’t fabricate their S&M M&P ARs to sell to anyone but law enforcement, they’ll go bust (at least, this is my prediction).

One has to wonder anyway why they would still wish to be ensconced in a state who doesn’t want them.

Prior: Gun Valley Moves South