The 9mm continues to be among the nation's preferred weapons, if recent manufacturing information are to be thought. According to the BATF's Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report for 2001, 626,836 handguns were produced (the most recent year for which figures are available). Of that sum, 213,378 remained in calibers above.380 to 9mm. That's almost 30,000 more for the next-largest quality section, guns above 9mm to.50 caliber.
Certainly, then, the 9mm continues to discover wide favor amongst the basic shooting population, and it continues to expand its approval in niche areas of the market also. In the world of competitive shooting, particularly Action Handgun and Practical Shooting, the 9mm is being given a boost. The USPSA now enables the 9X19 case to be loaded to major power consider its Open division. On both a national and global scale the Production divisions in Practical Shooting favor 9mm pistols in their scoring. At the NRA Bianchi Cup the switch is on from.38 Super to 9mm too.
Essential, Gun Tests readers continue to ask us for 9mm tests, and in this concern, we have actually responded with a three-way contrast of the SIGArms P226, $830; the CZ-like Desert Eagle from Magnum Research Study, $499; and Beretta's 92FS, $676.
These pistols have constantly delighted shooters with accuracy and lower recoil. However we felt if the 9mm pistol was going to keep up with the bigger quality weapons, more aggressive ammunition might be necessary. Our test ammunition would not only include basic target rounds but likewise consist of expanding and fragmenting ammo for self-defense usage. Here's what we found:
[PDFCAP( 1)] Taking into consideration its production as a military weapon (the M9), this pistol is one of the biggest selling sidearms in history. The 92FS and the other guns are standard double actions. The very first shot is double action; subsequent shots are single action. The hammer can be lowered securely using the decocking lever found on both the right and left side of the slide. This lever will then remain down and, serving as a security, detach the trigger. Raising the lever returns the gun to double action.
A minimum of two features make the Beretta 92 handguns unique. One is that the slide exposes the majority of the barrel, and the other is that lockup is practically entirely attained from underneath the chamber. A barrel-mounted falling locking block achieves lockup. This adds to the simplicity of field-stripping. On the left side of Beretta APX Carry the frame is a button that when pressed allows the catch on the opposite of the frame to rotate and launch the slide. There is no slide stop to eliminate. Once gotten rid of, the top end breaks down to move, barrel with locking block attached, and the recoil spring with the guide rod. The recoil spring is a single-filament coil, and the guide rod is polymer. This combination enables this pistol to be trusted with low slide mass and decreased recoil.
The energy expended to run the locking block also adds to a reduction of felt recoil, as does the full-sized frame, which contributes exceptional ergonomics. The frame is alloy, with Beretta's Bruniton finish. Both the Beretta and SIGArms handguns in this test weighed in at 34 ounces. The all-steel Magnum Research study pistol, although comparable in overall size, weighed 6 ounces more.
To check the performance of each of our handguns, we set up a test apart from our normal benchrest session. We fired pairs of shots from 7 backyards at a NRA D-1 target, which is utilized in Action Pistol (Bianchi Cup) and resembles its label, the tombstone. It is fashioned from corrugated cardboard revealing concentric circles starting with a 4-inch X-ring. Next is an 8-inch ring, described as the 10-ring, and a 10-inch ring, which scores 8 points. Focusing on the X-ring we started shooting double action, and followed as quickly and as properly as we could with a 2nd shot single action. This was repeated 15 times. We utilized a Competitive Edge Characteristics timer to tape-record the divides, or time between shots. This device ($134.50 from Brownells, 800-741-0015) sounds a start signal and after that displays elapsed time each time its internal microphone hears a shot. Split times are likewise displayed.