Lessons From The Murder of Officer Scott Gadell

Having previously discussed the murder of New Jersey State Trooper Philip Lamonaco, and its influence on that agency’s decision to make the switch from revolvers to autopistols, we now turn our attention to the similar murder of New York City Police Department Officer Scott Gadell. Continue reading “Lessons From The Murder of Officer Scott Gadell”

Lessons From the Murder of Trooper Philip Lamonaco

There was a revolution in police handguns happening in the 1980s, as American police officers increasingly said goodbye to their double action revolvers and replaced them with semiautomatic pistols. Continue reading “Lessons From the Murder of Trooper Philip Lamonaco”

A Pretty Capable J-Frame

I bought a lightly used S&W 640-3 about four years ago. A friend’s elderly neighbor was thinning his collection and didn’t want his guns getting into the wrong hands. It was priced fairly, and I rationalized the purchase as an altruistic deed to help the man out. Continue reading “A Pretty Capable J-Frame”

The Smith & Wesson 547: Ahead of its Time?

Smith and Wesson brought out a brace of 9mm handguns in 1980. The 2nd generation of autos was introduced with the Models 439 and 459. These were anticipated and appreciated, but the other 9mm they brought out was not expected at all–it was a revolver. Continue reading “The Smith & Wesson 547: Ahead of its Time?”

Ruger 9mm LCR Field Report

I was late to the LCR party. As I mentioned in my previous article, the gun’s radical looks were a turnoff to my conservative tastes, and I didn’t get excited about it until I started getting some trigger time on them. Then, the performance caught my immediate attention, and I realized I’d been missing out on a helluva gun. Continue reading “Ruger 9mm LCR Field Report”

Charter Arms Pitbull 9mm Revolver

There is considerable interest in revolvers that fire semi-automatic pistol cartridges these days. Take the new Ruger Match Champion 10mm as just one and then look back one hundred years ago to revolvers such as the S&W and Colt 1917 .45 ACP revolvers to prove the concept of ammunition consolidation. The old Smiths and Colts were made to chamber .45 ACP cartridges because the military couldn’t get 1911 pistols made fast enough. So it made more sense to get revolvers produced that could fire the military’s huge depots full of .45 handgun ammo. Continue reading “Charter Arms Pitbull 9mm Revolver”