Monthly Archives: January 2018

ASG CZ P-09 DT FDE

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ASG CZ P-09 DT FDE

A basic 4.5mm Tactical Trainer Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

By Dennis Adler

The dual tone ASG CZ P-09 in FDE is the more interesting looking of the three ASG models, and unlike the original 9mm guns, the FDE polymer frame is still offered in the CO2 line. The ASG is more of a desert sand color, while other FDE finishes take on a deeper, almost greenish tone like the Sig Sauer P226 ASP models in FDE. The CZ is a more pleasing light brown color which leans more towards the grey tones than green and is much closer in appearance to the original 9mm models. While the CZ pellet-firing version is a blowback action, like the majority of semi-auto pellet models it has a molded-in ejection port that moves with the slide and the slide does not lock back.

Back in 2015 ASG introduced its blowback action, 4.5mm copy of the CZ P-07 Duty, a semi-auto that, in its centerfire version, has become one of the more popular 9mm carry guns. The 9mm models were introduced by Ceská Zbrojovka five years ago as a full-size polymer frame pistol with an impressive 19+1 capacity (also in .40 S&W with a 15+1 capacity). It is a hand-filling pistol that is roughly the same size, although a different shape, than the famous CZ-75. There are more pistols based on the CZ-75 platform today, than almost any other semi-auto except the Colt Model 1911. read more

Deluxe Colt 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker Part 3

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Deluxe Colt 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

Which is faster, a Single Action or a Double Action

By Dennis Adler

In the photo are centerfire 5-1/2 inch and 7-1/2 inch Colt Peacemakers (the CO2 models top and third down) and a .455 Webley MK VI (bottom left) for comparison with the comparable CO2 models, making this a legitimate standoff c.1915, the year the Webley MK VI was introduced.

To conclude this review of the latest 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker from Umarex and Colt, I’m going to answer a question that has loomed over revolvers since 1877 when the Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Mfg. Co. introduced the first American cartridge-loading double action revolver. “Is it faster than a Single Action?” The answer depends upon a great number of variables, the greatest of which is, who’s doing the shooting?

The legendary exhibition shooter Ed McGivern set a record shooting two S&W Model 10 double action revolvers on August 20, 1932 and emptying both in less than 2 seconds. The following month he set another record firing 5 rounds from an S&W Model 10 at 15 feet in 2/5ths of a second and grouping his shots close enough that he could cover them with his hand. He was actually faster with a double action revolver than anyone with a semi-auto! So, if the question is “which is faster, a single or double action revolver” and the person pulling the trigger was Ed McGivern, the answer is Ed McGivern. (You should check out on line videos of McGivern’s shooting exhibitions in the 1930s. They are unbelievable). read more

Deluxe Colt 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker Part 2

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Deluxe Colt 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker Part 2 Part 1

Getting your cowboy game on

By Dennis Adler

Going all out with the Umarex Colt Peacemaker, the author gears up to test the latest 7-1/2 inch rifled barrel pellet model using an authentic 1870’s holster and cartridge belt. In colder weather or on a dusty trail cowboys often wore long coats or dusters. These provided added protection for firearms and clothing but also made it harder to reach for that smokewagon if the need arose. Most learned how to tuck the side of the coat behind their holster. In later years a few holsters were made with high back panels that made it easier to tuck the side of a coat.

Rather than doing my usual slow fire accuracy test with CO2 handguns, I decided to go Old West with this latest rifled barrel, pellet-firing Umarex Colt Peacemaker and shoot it like a real .45 drawn from the holster and fired duelist style at a man-sized silhouette target at 10 paces (Old West for about 27 to 30 feet; determined by the average distance of a man’s step). I want to see what this latest 7-1/2 inch pellet-cartridge model can do in a gunfight scenario, also, we all know how darned accurate this thing is at 10 meters with a modern two-handed hold, so going with a one-handed Western shooting stance will be more challenging. If you are into Cowboy Action Shooting, practice sessions with the 7-1/2 inch CO2 Peacemaker (indoors especially) is time well spent working on drawing and aiming. And if you’ve got the gear, playing the part to the hilt adds that much more fun with CO2. read more

Deluxe Colt 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker Part 1

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Deluxe Colt 7-1/2 inch Peacemaker Part 1

All that glitters isn’t gold – just the cylinder, hammer and trigger!

By Dennis Adler

The newest 7-1/2 inch model from Umarex and Colt has the same bright nickel finish as the first nickel model plus gold plating on the cylinder, hammer and trigger like the custom hand engraved Nimschke models sold by Pyramyd Air. As true to the original Colt lines as an air pistol can be, the 7-1/2 model fits perfectly in this handcrafted copy of an 1870’s double drop loop rig. The cartridge belt is for .38 Colt but perfectly fits the rear-loading nickel plated pellet cartridges. (Holster and knife by Chisholm’s Trail)

As far back as the 1850s, the Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Mfg. Co. began offering silver plating and gold washed cylinders, hammers and triggers as options on their percussion pistols and early cartridge conversions. Gold plating (or gold wash) was usually added to engraved guns, but silver plating was not uncommon. Over time, silver plating wore thin on the high edges and tarnished unless cared for, but with the advent of nickel plating in the 1860s, the average revolver could be given an almost impervious finish resistant to rust, corrosion from gun powder (if modestly maintained) as well as providing a smoother, more durable finish than a blued revolver. Nickel also has a warmer color tone than silver and is less susceptible to wear and damage. For handguns, nickel had the added advantage of being much easier to wipe down and clean. read more

First look: Hatsan’s new 1911-A1 Model Part 2

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First look: Hatsan’s new 1911-A1 Model Part 2

What makes this airgun tick?

By Denis Adler

The Hatsan H-1911 looks like more gun than it is, a bit confusing but also satisfying if you like authentic details in an entry-level CO2 powered pellet pistol that looks like a hard chromed Government Model 1911.

After the initial first look at this 1911-style pellet-firing air pistol, the big question has been “Why?” It all comes down to how it fires 4.5mm pellets. There were only two ways to fire pellets from a semi-auto style air pistol. The first was using an 8-shot rotary magazine, as originated by Walther and Umarex over 20 years ago with the first CP-88, a non-blowback action semi-auto introduced in 1996. It was, and remains, one of the most authentic looking CO2 air pistols on the market.

Semi-auto style CO2 pellet pistols go all the way back to 1996 when Walther and Umarex introduced the CP-88 and its cast alloy 8-shot rotary magazines. Internally, the gun operated like a revolver rotating the magazine like a cylinder to bring each pellet into line with the barrel. This is still one of the best and most accurate semi-auto style pellet pistols on the market after more than two decades.

It was followed by the equally authentic looking Beretta 92 FS pellet-firing model in 2000. Both are still manufactured today and have yet to be surpassed, even by Walther and Umarex. They are non-blowback action by virtue of the firing mechanism; internally they function like revolvers with the action rotating the magazine for each shot. The slide release is used to open the action (by allowing the slide to move forward and expose the breech), and a new rotary magazine to be inserted. The second design, also by Umarex, is the reversible stick magazine that loads into the pistol grip. It holds a total of 16 pellets using an 8-shot rotary magazine on either end. It was introduced with the Beretta PX4 Storm in 2007 and the magazine design is used today on a number of pellet-firing semi-autos, including the new Sig Sauer P226 and P250 ASP. read more

Shot Show Preview: A first look at Hatsan’s new 1911-A1 Model Part 1

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Shot Show Preview: A first look at Hatsan’s new 1911-A1 Model Part 1

A different “spin” on loading

By Denis Adler

The new 2018 Hatsan H-1911 is a mixed bag, it looks like it is going to be another fairly accurate-looking M1911 CO2 pistol, but it doesn’t quite deliver what you’re expecting. The front and rear sights are early 1911-A1 style, as is the hammer, but the grips are modern G-10 style.

As a gun writer I have looked forward to the annual Shot Show for over 20 years, it is the firearms industry’s own international forum for introducing new models, not to the public, but to the industry itself and its retailers. The only way the general public finds out what is new at the Shot Show is through media outlets (internet and print media) following the show, which runs this January 23rd to the 26th at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. However, once in awhile we get a preview of what is going to be introduced, and today we get a look at the new Hatsan H-1911. read more

Dan Wesson Model 715 4-inch BB model Part 4

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Dan Wesson Model 715 4-inch BB model Part 4, Part 3, Part 2, Part 1

The rail gun revolver rivalry

By Dennis Adler

Dynamic but not a duo, the Umarex S&W 327 TRR8 (bottom) is a larger CO2 handgun and mounts the Walther Night Force tactical light and red laser a little better than the Dan Wesson Model 715. The DW on the other hand has better balance and handling overall. And no that is not a nickel finished model of the DW, the high polish blued smoothbore has such a highly reflective finish that under some light it appears to be nickel.

When you talk about a level playing field you also need to have two relatively equal competitors, and that we have with the ASG Dan Wesson Model 715 4-inch BB model and the Umarex S&W Model 327 TRR8 BB cartridge firing rail equipped revolver. Rail guns are nearly always semi-autos and the list is endless from 1911s to Glocks, Sigs, Walthers and so on. When it comes to revolvers the choices are more limited. Among the handful of centerfire wheelguns are the aforementioned Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P R8, S&W Thunder Ranch and the 327 TRR8, the Chiappa Rhino 40SAR, 50SAR and 50DS, 60DS, and 60SAR models, the biggest selection of rail gun revolvers available, last, the Taurus Judge rail model, and the massive German Korth Super Sport .357 Magnum. What’s not mentioned here is a Dan Wesson model because they don’t make one, at least not in .357 Magnum. But when it comes to air pistols, Dan Wesson, via ASG, does have a rail gun and it is a near perfect match up for the only other BB cartridge firing rail revolver, the Umarex S&W TRR8. Both are, of course, smoothbore guns (but you can shoot lead or alloy pellet cartridges with them if you want), and both have excellent triggers, and sights. The big advantage seems to lean toward the S&W CO2 model because it has excellent green fiber optic sights and a longer 6.25-inch (external length) barrel vs. the ASG Dan Wesson’s 4-inch (external length) shrouded barrel. Internally, the smoothbores measure 3.5 inches for the DW and 5.44 inches for the S&W with a 0.81 inch recess from the muzzle. That gives the S&W almost a two inch advantage. Still, the Dan Wesson smoothbore has delivered some very tight 0.875 inch groups at 21 feet. read more