Hello. At a past gun show, I picked up an unfired S&W Model 66 .357 Magnum revolver with the 2 1/2″ bbl. It had some nice aftermarket stocks on it but I opted to refinish a set of the factory service stocks instead since the regular factory round butt stocks work fine for me. When…
By now, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know that I am an ardent admirer of the 1911 pattern pistol. Having over 35 years’ experience with “Old Slabsides”, as a pistolsmithing apprentice, sometime practical pistol competitor, and lately legal concealed permit holder, I still believe it to be the best and most versatile service automatic out…
Hello. Ever since seeing the magic worked by Mr. Craig Spegel and Mr. Hakan Pek on their handgun stocks, I’ve sort of kept my eyes open for new handgun grip makers. I noticed a fellow named “Erich” on several boards with some really nice looking grips on a Makarov. It turns out that they were…
Hello. A past range session was with an “old friend”, a shooter that was common decades ago but that has sadly gone the way of too many classic firearms in my opinion. In today’s world, it is probably not” tactical” enough for many shooters…and that’s fine. While I don’t expect all shooters or handgunners to share the exact same…
Essentially an aluminum frame Model 10, the S&W Model 12 was manufactured from 1953 to 1958, with model numbers running from 12-1 to 12-4. Before the 12-4, these revolvers had a frame that was 0.08” thinner than their steel counterparts and hammers measuring 0.240” wide compared to the usual 0.265” wide hammers on the Model…
At one time when the words “forty-five automatic” were heard, the Colt Government Model immediately came to mind. Times have changed and more than a few different pistols are chambered in this American favorite, though the great 1911-pattern pistol continues to reign at or near the top of popularity polls. I have long been an…
A while back I wrote an article suggesting that the K-frame .38 Special, specifically the Model 10 w/4″ HB, could make a very viable home defense gun, range gun or “insurance policy” to take when camping and so forth. Not as easy to conceal as some smaller revolvers and autos, the 4″ Smith & Wesson…