Hoping to impress consumers (and possibly secure a major military contract or two), Beretta has introduced the APX, a new striker-fired 9mm handgun. The APX borrows elements from the Glock, HK VP9, and S&W M&P pistols. The grip looks very ergonomic, with an extended rear overhang on the top (like the M&P) and contoured grooves on the front (like the VP9). The most distinctive feature of the new Beretta would be the prominent machined ridges on the slide designed to aid in racking the pistol.
The APX is built with a chassis system. This means that the internal sub-frame is the serialized part. The new APX features a reversible, ambidextrous magazine release. The magazines themselves have a prominent plate on the bottom for easier insertion/extraction. To better fit various hand sizes, three different backstrap inserts can be fitted to the grip.
Beretta hopes many of the world’s armies will adopt this new pistol, which was released at IDEX (International Defense Exhibition & Conference) in late February. According to Gear Scout:
“The pistol is designed specifically for the military market, and Beretta says it’s destined to become the company’s entry into the Army’s Modular Handgun System. But, the Army has yet to release the final requirements for that program to industry. The US Army contract might be the gold rush of pistol contracts, but it’s not the only tender happening at the moment. No doubt, getting the APX out at IDEX was a way to show worldwide (and cash-flush Middle East) defense ministers the major features of the pistol while the company finishes up development on the US military/LE and eventual commercial configurations that will hit the US market soon.”
Brian “Gunny” Zins, 12-Time NRA National Pistol Champion, has authored an excellent guide to bullseye pistol shooting. Brian’s Clinic on the Fundamentals recently appeared in The Official Journal of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. The CMP scanned the story so you can read it online. CLICK HERE to read full article.
Top Tips from Brian Zins:
Trigger Movement: If trigger control is ever interrupted in slow fire the shot needs to be abored and the shot started over.
Relationship between Sight Alignment and Trigger Control: Often when the fundamentals are explained these two are explained as two different acts. Well, truth be told it’s really kind of hard to accomplish one without the other. They have a symbiotic relationship. In order to truly settle the movement in the dot or sights you need a smooth, steady trigger squeeze.
Trigger Finger Placement: Where should the trigger make contact on the finger? The trigger should be centered in the first crease of the trigger finger. Remember this is an article on Bullseye shooting. If this were an article on free pistol or air pistol it would be different.
Proper Grip: A proper grip is a grip that will NATURALLY align the gun’s sights to the eye of the shooter without having to tilt your head or move your or move your wrists around to do that. Also a proper grip, and most importantly, is a grip that allows the gun to return to the same position [with sights aligned] after each and every shot. The best and easiest way to get the proper grip, at least a good starting postion… is with a holster. Put your 1911 in a holster on the side of your body[.] Allow your shooting hand to come down naturally to the gun.
In recent years, Brian “Gunny” Zins has been shooting 1911s crafted by Cabot Guns.
Brian “Gunny” Zins currently holds 25 National Records.
Starline Brass offers a series of videos with helpful reloading tips. Focused primarily on pistol cartridges, these short videos can help anyone get started with metallic cartridge reloading. If you load pistol rounds on a progressive, this video series is particularly helpful. The on-camera host is Hunter Pilant, son of Carroll Pilant of Sierra Bullets.
Preventing Double Charges
Tip: Use a bulky powder that fills your case more than half way with a correct charge. This will overfill the case if it is double-charged, making it very difficult to seat a bullet.
Tumble New Brass Before Loading the First Time
Tip: Tumble new pistol cartridge brass in used media for 30 minutes before loading for the first time. This will add enough graphite (carbon residue) to smooth case entry into dies. You can also lube the case mouths with graphite, or use spray lube.
Powder Through Expander — How to Eliminate Hang-ups
Tip: When loading pistol brass with a progressive press, sometime the powder-through expander is hard to remove, especially with short cases. There are two fixes — first, try deburring the inside of the case mouth on your cases. Second, the radius of the powder through expander plug can be modified to smooth entry and exit (see photo). Starline will do this modification for free.
Tonight American Rifleman TV visits Herstal, Belgium, to examine the rich heritage of Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (FN Herstal), a company originally founded in 1889 to produce one gun — the Belgian Mauser. FN Herstal has now been producing firearms for more than 125 years, including iconic designs of John Moses Browning. FN Herstal’s firearms are now used by the armed forces of over 100 nations.
The FN Herstal episode (on the Outdoor Channel) is previewed in this video starting at 00:30. You may learn some surprising facts. Did you know that FN’s factories also produced bicycles, cars, trucks and motorcycles?
Preview Fabrique Nationale Episode on American Rifle Television
Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (aka FN Herstal) is a major firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium. This enterprise is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. Firearms manufactured by FN Herstal include the Browning Hi-Power pistol, Five-seven pistol, FAL rifle, FNC rifle, F2000 rifle, P90 submachine gun, M2 Browning machine gun, MAG machine gun, and Minimi machine gun.
History of Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal
FN Herstal originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre (French for National Factory of Weapons of War) was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 1889 rifles ordered by the Belgian Government. FN was co-founded by the major arms makers of the Liège region, with Henri Pieper of Anciens Etablissements Pieper being the driving force and the primary shareholder of the new company. In 1897 the company entered into a long-lasting relationship with American Gun Designer John Moses Browning.
American gun designer John Moses Browning did the preliminary design work for the Browning GP35 ‘High Power’ (sometimes written as Hi-Power) pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or “high power” in French. However, the weapon was finalized by Dieudonné Saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after Browning’s death.
The American Connection — Winchester and Browning
FN Herstal is a subsidiary of the Belgian Herstal Group, which also owns U.S. Repeating Arms Company (Winchester) and Browning Arms Company. FN Herstal is the parent company of two United States entities: FN Manufacturing and FNH USA. FN Manufacturing in Columbia, SC, is the manufacturing branch of FN Herstal in the United States, producing firearms such as the M249 and M240 machine guns and M16 rifle, among others. FNH USA, located in McLean, VA, is the American sales and marketing branch of FN Herstal.
Today is the 179th birthday of the revolver, as invented by Samuel Colt of Hartford, Connecticut. On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt was granted a United States patent for an “Improvement in Fire-Arms”, specifically the “Revolving Gun”. The rest is history. Colt’s original patent drawings, along with the text of his application, are available online.
At the 2015 Media Day at the Range, I got to try our some sweet firearms. One was a handgun I’ve lusted after for a couple years, every since watching the killer video German arms-maker Korth created for its Pistole PRS. This video has some great exploded parts views and 3D animations, showing how the roller locking system works when a .45 ACP round is fired.
3D-Cutaway Shots from PRS Pistol Video
Video from 2014 Media Day
This Video was put together by another journalist last year, but we shot the same gun this year.
Handgun owners have debated the comparative merits of the 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP cartridges for decades, ad nauseum. If one focuses on downrange energy, there IS an answer to the age-old 9mm/40SW/45ACP debate, namely “none of the above”. Bottom line, if you really want the most powerful, widely available semi-auto handgun cartridge, the 10mm Auto beats the other three contenders. Don’t just take our word for it — check out the ballistics comparisons on GunData.org:
The .40 S&W has more energy than the older 9mm Parabellum cartridge, but the .40 S&W is trumped by the larger 10mm Auto. In fact, the .40 S&W is actually just a “detuned”, shortened 10mm. The .40 S&W was developed when the original 10mm Auto proved a bit too snappy for FBI agents.
Fans of the original hard-hitting 10mm Auto, have reason to celebrate. Now one of the great semi-auto handguns, the Sig P220, is available in 10mm Auto. “A 10mm version of the legendary P220 is at the top of the list of ‘most requested products’ from fans of our products,” said Jeff Creamer, Executive Director and General Merchandise Manager for SIG SAUER, Inc. “We heard the demand, and created a P220 that will make full use of the cartridge’s potential.”
Four different 10mm P220 models will be offered, all with 5˝ barrels. There will be one DA/SA model and three single-action-only (SAO) models. The Match Elite Reverse Two-Tone P220 is the one DA/SA model. It features match sights, G-10 grips, an Elite Beavertail, and a stainless finish with front cocking serrations
The Stainless Elite P220 and Stainless Elite Nitron® P220 are single-action only pistols featuring the Elite Beavertail, Siglite night sights, and front cocking serrations. Last but not least, the SAO “Hunt Ready” P220 comes with Sig Sauer Romeo1 mini red-dot sight installed, black G-10 Piranha grips and a Kryptek® Highlander camo pattern finish.
Sig Sauer Introduces 10mm Auto Pistol Ammo
To feed its new 10mm P220s, Sig Sauer will offer two new types of 10mm pistol ammo: 1) 180gr Elite Performance Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) target load; and 2) 180gr Elite Performance V-Crown™ Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP) and for self-defense and hunting. “We are pleased to add this accurate, powerful round to our Elite Performance Ammunition line,” said Bud Fini, Sig Sauer Marketing VP.
SHOT Show kicks off in exactly one week. What were some of the more unusual items unveiled at last year’s show? Well how about a convincingly authentic 1911-style pistol made entirely of wood. That’s right, every component — frame, barrel, slide, hammer, grips, trigger, even the functional beavertail grip safety — are made from wood. The gun shouldn’t be used with live, full-power ammunition of course, but otherwise it operates just like a real 1911. It will feed dummy rounds, the slide racks, and the trigger causes the hammer to fall — just like on a real 1911 made from metal. Somehow, we think John Moses Browning, father of the 1911, would have been proud….
This unique all-wood pistol is a “tour de force” of craftsmanship. NRA Blog Editor Lars Dalseide was so impressed with the “all organic” wood 1911, that he named it as his favorite story subject for 2014:
#1 – A Fully Functional 1911 Pistol Made from Wood
When walking the SHOT Show floor last January I spotted what I thought was an incredible carving. But it was more than a carving – it was a fully functional 1911 pistol made out of wood.
From the Wood Caliber workshop in Davidson, Michigan, this beauty acts and feels just like a regular 1911. For the pure beauty of it, the 1911 wooden pistol is my top story for 2014.
Taurus has introduced an innovative new DAO pistol, the “Taurus Curve”. This .380 ACP compact carry pistol ($392.42 MSRP) features a curved frame (see photos below). Seen from the rear, the grip curves inward (to the left). Seen from the front, the frame and grip (below the slide) curves to the right. The purpose of the curve is to make the gun fit more comfortably when carried in a pocket or inside the waistband. (The Curve comes with a built-in metal spring clip for inside-waistband carry).
The extended front section of the Curve’s frame houses a red laser and a lamp with twin LEDs. That’s a smart feature on a carry pistol we think. Taurus claims the Curve is the first production pistol that combines both integrated LED lights and an aiming laser.
The 10.2-ounce Curve is a tiny gun. With a 2.5″ barrel, the pistol measures just 5.2″ long and 3.7″ high. Width is 1.18″ inches, while the grip is just 0.88″ — very slim indeed. Capacity is 6+1 rounds of .380 ACP. There is no external, selectable safety, though the Curve does have a magazine disconnect and loaded chamber indicator.
GUNS Magazine was able to field-test an early production Taurus Curve. Reviewer Mark Kakkuri reports that the DAO Curve was reliable: “The 100 or so rounds I fired through the gun fed well and the empty cases ejected perfectly. The long trigger was decently smooth and the recoil, while sharp, was manageable. And not only was the gun a reliable shooter, it also hit where I aimed, thanks in part to its integrated light and laser.”
The reviewer also validated the Curve’s unique shape: “In my pocket, the Curve indeed fit comfortably, printing less than most other pocket pistols, looking sort of like a large wallet. In my waistband… the well-designed bend in the frame proved more comfortable than most other pistols this size.”
Ok, here’s the deal. Get yourself to the Austin, Texas area this weekend, and you can shoot a bunch of new guns from numerous major manufacturers. At the first annual Texas International Firearms Festival, avid shooters can try and buy the latest guns and gear. With more than 30 dedicated gun bays and dozens of ammo and accessory retailers, the Texas International Firearms Festival proves the old adage that everything is bigger and better in Texas.
This isn’t your run-of-the-mill gunshow where you can only look at a bunch of guns indoors. At the Texas Firearms Festival this weekend you can actually “test drive” dozens of new firearms. Here are some of the big-name gun-makers offering firearms at the Festival: Barrett, Beretta, Cabot Guns, FN Herstal, Henry Repeating Arms, Sig Sauer, Tracking Point, Walther, Winchester.
The Festival isn’t free — but the price is more than reasonable considering the hours of fun you can have. A one-day pass, which includes the cost of ammo, is $59.00. A weekend pass for two full days of shooting is just $95.00 (ammo included). Purchase tickets at TexasGunFest.com.
Festival Location and Directions
The Festival will be held at the Best of the West Shooting Range in Liberty Hill, Texas. The address is 19500 W. SH 29, Liberty Hill, TX 78642. For driving directions, use this interactive Google map:
Our friend (and ace sharp-shooter) Kirsten Weiss will be at the Festival this weekend acting as a spokesperson. Maybe you can meet Kirsten and learn how she makes those amazing trick shots featured on her popular YouTube Channel.
Brian “Gunny” Zins, 12-Time NRA National Pistol Champion, has authored an excellent guide to bullseye pistol shooting. Brian’s 
Tonight 
