Legal Heat is an iPhone / iPod Touch electronic version of the CCW guide Legal Heat: 50 State Guide to Firearm Laws and Regulations. At $1.99 is it a lot cheaper than the $15 paperback edition.

I purchased to application to try it out. It is quite straightforward. It gives each state a rating on how friendly they are towards concealed carry, lists where CCW is prohibited in each state and any other pertinent information relating to the state laws on CCW.

My only major criticism is that the Firearm Laws section only lists CCW law, not all state gun laws. It does not, for example, tell me what types of rifles are prohibited in California. Either the Firearm Law tab should be renamed "CCW Law" or they should add general firearm info. Preferably the latter.

I do not regret buying it and I have found it an interesting read.

[ iTunes App Store Link. ]

Hat Tip: Dustin's Gun Blog

Daniel E. Watters, a well known expert and my go-to man on many of the topics I write about, sent me info and photos of the beautiful 1911 pistols he has built.

.38 Super

I built this .38 Super pistol in late 2000 for use in IDPA's Enhanced Service Pistol division. The frame and slide were from Caspian; each made from 416 stainless barstock. This was during the brief period that they offered barstock frames in addition to their usual cast frames. I had to lap the two together as their rails were purposefully cut oversize.

Starting from the top, the rear sight was the Novak LoMount, mated with a MGW front sight. I was delayed in completing the pistol by the lack of a front sight staking tool. A friend was supposed to lend me his MMC staking kit, but he couldn't find it. Ultimately, he did find it, but only after he had ordered a replacement from Brownells. I did most of the early test firing without a front sight by using the front sight slot as an index. The barrel and bushing were from Bar-Sto. The barrel was ramped, with a Clark/Para lower lug profile. I used a lug cutting kit from Brownells to fit the lower lugs of the barrel. I don't remember where I got the barrel links from, but I ended up having to buy a couple of kits to find an odd-ball size.

The firing pin was from Nowlin, and the oversized firing pin stop was from EGW. As few aftermarket vendors offered a stainless .38 Super extractor, I ended up buying a Colt high polished stainless extractor as that was the only one Brownells happened to have in stock. The guide rod was a two-piece model from Wilson Combat, as were the recoil springs. I bought one of their Spring Caddies that had different weight springs so I could tune it to the loads I was using. If I remember correctly, I ended up settling upon a 15 lb recoil spring.

For the lock work, I used a Wilson #299S Commander hammer as it was one of the few quality aftermarket hammers offered in stainless. This was mated with Wilson's Deluxe A6 sear. The short length Dlask trigger has a magnesium shoe and a titanium bow. A tab on the bow allows the trigger to be adjusted for pre-travel. The sear spring was from Nowlin, as I had previously found it very easy to tune. I ended up settling on either a 20 or 21 lb mainspring from Wolff Springs. After some tweaking and stoning, I ended up with a crisp 2 lb trigger pull. It was still as nice nearly 3 years later. (After a couple more years, the current owner eventually replaced the sear and disconnector with the low mass models from Cylinder & Slide. At last check, he was also considering replacing the hammer with one of the Doug Koenig models offered by EGW.)

The grip safety was a standard stainless model from S&A. While the frame was precut for a .250" radius, it still took little extra fitting to install the beavertail. The thumb safety was another Wilson product: their narrow extended tactical model in stainless. The stainless plunger tube was from Nowlin. The stainless extended .38 Super ejector was from King's. The original magazine release was a stainless extended model from Nowlin, but you can see from the photos that the current owner has replaced it. I used Ed Brown's stainless flat mainspring housing with 30 lpi checkering, which has since been discontinued.

The slide stop was originally one of the oversized EGW models that had recently been introduced in stainless. However, EGW had yet to offer a .38 Super specific slide stop, and occasionally, the follower of the Chip McCormick magazines would slip past the side stop. (A proper .38 Super slide stop has a longer engagement surface than its .45 ACP counterpart.) As a result, I ended up replacing the EGW slide stop with a stainless .38 Super model from Wilson. Oddly, the first Wilson slide stop would not seat flush with the frame. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the slide stop's pin was warped. Thankfully, the shop had a second one to swap out. However, the manager of the shop ended up putting the defective part back into his display case. Speaking of magazines, I tried several different 10 round models before settling on the McCormick. The Wilson magazine was simply too hard to load to full capacity, and the follower of the MagPak magazine actually got stuck in the bottom of the tube once it was fully loaded.

The stocks were the Chip McCormick Slim Carry grips. As the name implies, these are thinner than standard stocks, and require their own shortened grip screws and grip screw bushings. The front strap of the frame was checkered at 30 lpi, which I cut by hand using a checkering file. You'll note that I didn't add any horizontal lines below the cutout for the front of the magazine baseplate. This allowed me to round over the ends of the vertical lines to keep them from snagging. I also beveled the magazine well using files. I prefer a deep angle, instead of the typical 45 degrees. At the time, Colt was cutting a deep bevel, but they didn't continue it to the rear of the magwell. I did a carry bevel on all of the parts, and I rounded over the bottom rear corner of the frame.

I regret that I never got a chance to bead blast the frame. However, at last check, the current owner hasn't done so either.

Funny story: A Highway Patrol firearm instructor moonlighted at a local range teaching CCW permit courses. He was seriously in love with the pistol. After I let him examine it, he handed it back to me, and I put it back in my range bag. We'd continue to talk, and then he would reach over to my range bag, unzip it, and remove the pistol in order to handle it some more. This process was repeated several times until it was time for his class.

UPDATE: Daniel has priced the parts for this pistol in the comments below.

Colt M1991A1 Compact .45 ACP

Hand cut 30 lpi checkering on front strap
Carry bevel, including rounding over bottom rear of frame
Ed Brown - beavertail grip safety
Wilson Combat - narrow extended thumb safety
Ed Brown - barrel bushing
Novak - Carry rear sight
Hogue - Kingwood stocks
King's - short aluminum trigger (black)

I also fit and blended in a S&A mainspring housing/magwell that was not installed at the time of the photo. In the process, I cleaned up the factory's half-hearted attempt to bevel the magwell. Also not visible is the EGW oversized firing pin stop.

Colt M1991A1 Compact

Colt Combat Commander (XS Series) .45 ACP

Carry bevel, including rounding over bottom rear of frame
Ed Brown - 30 lpi mainspring housing
Wilson Combat - beavertail grip safety (replacing Colt Competition part)
Heinie - SlantPro rear sight (replacing Colt Competition part)
Ahrends - Kingwood stocks
Videcki - short aluminum trigger

Not visible is the EGW oversized firing pin stop. As before, I cleaned up the factory's half-hearted attempt to bevel the magwell. The short-lived XS series was the product of the brief partnership of Colt with C-More, operating as Colt Competition. The XS series' rear sight, thumb safety, and grip safety were all patented designs from C-More's Ira Kay. When their partnership broke up, Kay took all of his designs with him. This led to Colt's XSE series, which reverted to the parts Colt previously used on their Enhanced series. Of the Kay's designs, only the grip safety lives on. It is now offered by Caspian and is standard on the SIG-Sauer 1911 models. Personally, I hate the design, as its "dragon's tooth" digs uncomfortably into the palm of my hand during recoil.

Colt Combat Commander

Many thanks to Daniel for the info and D.A. Murray for the photos.

I was excited to hear from Jim that Ballistics By The Inch will soon be testing how much a revolvers' cylinder gap effects the ballistic performance of a round.

We’ve had a Single Action Army clone in .357 magnum modified to allow for adjusting the barrel position from a standard 0.006″ to 0.001″ to no gap (barrel snug against the cylinder). We have a dozen or so different ammunition loads in .38/.357, and we’ll be essentially repeating the BBTI procedure for each of these, with the normal gap then the minimum gap then without any gap, starting with an 18″ barrel and going down in increments of one inch to just 1″ . Actually, one slight difference – to make sure we get a better statistical sample, we’ll be firing 10 (ten) rounds of each type of ammunition at each point rather than just 3 (three) as we did with the BBTI tests. Because we are limiting this test to just one caliber, we thought this was a reasonable step to take. We hope that this will allow us to conclude with some actual data what the effect of having a cylinder gap in a revolver actually amounts to.

These tests are sure to settle a few arguments.

CAA Tactical are selling a new Glock Carbine conversion kit called the RONI-G1 for €380 (US$567 at the current exchange rate).

More information and a video at Armed & Amphibious.

I am in full agreement with David Crane, who says that the VBR-B Compact is "arguably the most intelligently-developed PDW weapon/ammo concept to date". Why? It is small, can fire 9x19mm armor piercing ammunition, uses glock magazines, includes a foregrip and is not much bigger than a Desert Eagle pistol.

I highly recommend the detailed article David wrote about is at Defense Review.

UPDATE: PersonalDefenseWeapons.com also has info about the gun.

A common misconception is that the desire for high capacity firearms is a relatively new phenomenon. This is far from the truth. Since the at least the mid 1800s designers had been experimenting with many novel ideas in an attempt to increase magazine capacity, mostly with little success.

Early next month, the Rock Island Auction Company will be auctioning off a collection of prototype arms which include some interesting "high-cap" guns.

Jarre Double Action Harmonica Pistol

The bullet chamber houses nine pinfire 38 cartridges. The action functions in both single and double action. There is lower trigger attached to the rear of the primary trigger which fits through a slot in the bottom of the trigger guard that when pulled back advances the chamber and cocks the hammer. To fire double action one simply uses the primary trigger in the traditional manner. Fitted

Estimated Price: $9,0000 - $14,000

French Guycot Chain Rifle

Manufactured circa 1878, this unusual and rare rifle features a chain housed in the frame and stock which holds 80 rounds of centerfire cartridges. The "endless chain" has carrying cups that hold the rounds. Once loaded the rifle can be fired as fast as the trigger can be pulled. The belt is revolved until a chamber (or cup) faces the barrel. At the same time a long firing pin is retracted. An inner barrel is drawn back through the heavy outer barrel until it covers the bullet end of the cartridge. When the long drag on the trigger end, the final pressure releases the needle like firing pin, which drives through a small opening in the base of the cup detonating the cartridge primer. The rifle fires a lead conical bullet which is hollowed out to accommodate the powder

Estimated Price: $6,500 - $9,500

Extremely Rare Meigs Sliding Guard Action Repeating Carbine

Patented by Captain Josiah Meigs in 1866, this carbine is fitted with a unique action which provided a level of firepower virtually unknown in the era, with a potential rate of fire of nearly 160 rounds per minute, as compared to the 200 rounds per minute of the Model 1861 Gatling Gun. Blade front and flip-up adjustable rear sights, with no visible makers marks. The buttstock of the arm consists of a buttplate and carved walnut cheekpiece fitted to the 50-round tube magazine, which contains a replaceable 5-track rotating frame with spacers for 10 rounds per track. These frames could be preloaded, cutting down reload times substantially. Mounted on a rail between a pair of mortised tracks is the trigger guard assembly, which has a checkered firing trigger and a smooth long release trigger, and is reciprocated back and forth to rotate the magazine frame and move the breechblock, which extends up out of the frame to eject spent cartridges, Full length forearm with raised decorative carving and cord wrap, leaf pattern raised carving on the cheekpiece and nickel finished brass buttplate.

This design resembles the helical-feed magazine design used by the Calico guns and its clones that were designed over 100 years later!

Calico M960. Photo from Wikipedia

Inevitably, Kel-Tec's new .22 Magnum (WMR) chambered PMR-30 pistol will be compared to the FN Five-seveN pistol which fires the ballistically similar 5.7x28mm cartridge. If people are not saying it now, they will be soon saying that the .22 Magnum is the same as the 5.7x28mm. I used to say the same thing. It turns out that this is far from the truth.

Kel-Tec PMR-30 pistol. Photo by Oleg Volk.

FN Five-seveN USG

Kel-Tec have stated [PDF Link] that a 40 grain .22 WMR round should reach a velocity of 1230 fps from the 4.3" barrel of their PMR-30 pistol. This works out to 134.40 ft/lbs of energy.

This is a significantly less than the FN Five-seveN USG (4.75" barrel), which can push a 40 grain bullet at 2009 fps. This works out to 358.57 ft/lbs! Nearly three times as powerful as the .22 WMR! ¹

This does not mean that the .22 WMR is not a good cartridge. It simply means that the 5.7mm is optimized to be fired from a pistol, rather than the slower burning .22 WMR loads which are designed to be fired from a rifle.

5.7x28mm. Image from Wikipedia.

.22 Magnum / WMR. Image from Wikipedia.

UPDATE: Added correct link to specs on Kel-Tec's website : http://www.kel-tec-cnc.com/downloads/SHOT2010_preview_keltec_PMR-30.pdf [PDF Link]

This monster of a gun is manufactured by German firm WTS Waffentechnik in Suhl GmbH. While it is technically a pistol, it weights just about the same as the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle!

The action is of a single shot design which requires the bolt to be removed in order to load another round. Two large lugs keep the bolt in place.

German gun magazine Visier are featuring the pistol in their December issue. This is a real gun, not a hoax!

Translation: "Giant Pistol"

Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the info about the pistol.

A strange marketing decision that is sure to lead to some confusion. From the press release ...

The new FNX 9 and FNX 40 pistols offer the key features demanded by today’s serious handgunner. New ergonomic polymer frames have a low bore axis for flat shooting and less felt recoil resulting in improved control. Deep checkered grip panels are comfortable and designed for no-slip shooting. Four interchangeable backstrap inserts quickly offer a custom fit and feel. The profiled stainless steel slide has cocking serrations front and rear, a 4” hammer-forged stainless barrel delivers long life and pinpoint accuracy. Fully ambidextrous operating controls make the FNX perfect for competition and personal defense for both right and left-handed shooters. Each FNX comes with both a decocker and manual safety making it one of the safest hammer guns on the market. Every part is proudly made in the USA.

FNP-9 is now the FNX 9

Hat Tip: Caleb @ Gun Nuts

Designed to be as inexpensive as possible, assembled from mostly stamped sheet-metal parts, the Liberator was a single shot pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge the US military was using for standard handguns and submachine guns. It was so cheap that each one set the US government back only $2.40 in 1942 money. A million were made in less than three months during the darkest days of WWII, to be airdropped to Resistance fighters in enemy occupied territory.

Read about it at Hell in a Handbasket.

The short answer is “absolutely”, and the longer answer is “yes, think of it as a hot 9mm.”

Caleb, whom I sometimes think has more carry guns than I have guns, writes about the suitability of the .38 Super for self defense.

Kel-Tech have developed a new pistol which chambers the .22 Magnum (WMR) rimfire cartridge. The small size of the .22 WMR has allowed Kel-Tec to squeeze 30 rounds into the double-stacked magazine (a new original design), yet maintain a comfortable grip size.

The PMR-30 has a unique hybrid blow back / locked breech recoil system. In order to accommodate a wide range of ammunition, the pistol automatically adjusts between locked breach and blowback based on internal pressure. I look forward to seeing how this system works.

One problem with the .22 Magnum is that because it was designed as a rifle cartridge, the powder load is slow burning. This maintains high pressure in the barrel for a longer period of time. This high pressure can prevent extraction during recoil because the gas pushes out against the brass and presses it into the chamber wall. Shooting Log report that the PMR-30 has a fluted chamber to prevent this type of extraction problem. The gas enters the flutes and counterbalances the pressure against the case wall and also acts as a lubricant.¹

The PM-30's frame is aluminum. The slide and barrel are steel. Interestingly, the barrel is fluted.

Regarding the .22 Magnum performance compared to the FN 5.7x28mm round, read this article.

Oleg Volk has taken some photos of the pistol...

30 Rounds is a lot of ammo!!!!

UPDATE: Bill pointed out that the Grendel P30, which was manufactured in the early 90s, was designed by George Kellgren, the founder and chief designer at Kel-Tec. I suppose the PMR-30 is an improved P-30.

Jim Shepherd writes that Remington is entering the handgun market! From The Shooting Wire (scroll down half way) ...

The Outdoor and Shooting Wires have received- and verified the accuracy of an internal Remington memorandum that effectively answers most of a question that has been making the rounds of the industry: Is Remington getting into the handgun market?

Short answer, yes.

...

A 1911 is in first-production testing, and may be ready for introduction at SHOT Show in January.

This is incredibly interesting news! I have wondered for a long time why Remington did not seem to want a piece of the handgun market. Not wanting to be associated with "evil" handguns was my guess.

I do find the suggestion that they are going with the 1911 platform odd. While the 1911 is a very popular pistol with civilians, police departments are not adopting it. Instead they are dropping the Glock in favor of other polymer pistols like the Springfield XD and Smith & Wesson M&P pistols.

We know Remington loves military and police contracts and that they are willing to delay consumer products in order to make a grab for lucrative military contracts. The constant delays of the Bushmaster ACR are a testament to this.

So is Remington making a 1911 because they know something we do not? Will we soon be hearing about a new military competition for a .45 ACP pistol¹ ? Or are they developing a polymer 1911 or some other polymer pistol ² ?

I first learnt about the Ares Carbine from GunPundit who spotted it at SHOT Show '09. It was supposed to go one sale in the first or second quarter but nothing was seen of it since SHOT.

Tyler Kreis, the NRA's Firearms Inventory Manager, is the first to have gotten his hands on the Ares Defense Systems Ares-22 RCU and has shot a video of it in action. It looks like a very fun system.