I've been taking a lot of big pistols to the (alleged) BackUp Gun Match, and I figured it was time to try out something that actually would quality as a back-up gun. So, I got my hands on one of NAA's .22 Mini-Revolvers. This is the smallest practically shootable "real" gun made, and they are rel...

"The Formidable" was the name given to one of many different civilian pocket-carry revolvers made by the French Manufrance firm in St Etienne. This particular model was introduced in 1895, although it went through a significant redesign in 1902. The example I have here is the later pattern, which...

Yesterday we looked at the history and development of the vz.82 pistol; today I am taking it out to the BackUp Gun Match. this should be a pretty competitive pistol in this environment, and it actually meets the characteristics of a backup gun quite well. It is light and compact, but still offers...

So, I took the GR-1 to this month’s Backup Gun Match…but all did not go as I’d hoped. We blew a fuse in the gun (it is still an alpha prototype, remember), and were not able to get it repaired in time to complete the match. We did get it fixed, and some of the other folks around had a chance to t...

Yesterday we took a look at the history and the mechanics of Dan Conan's .357 Magnum 1911; today we are going to take it out to the range. Specifically, a BackUp Gun Match, plus a bit of extra range time afterwards...

I don't normally take actual backup guns to the backup gun match; it's usually some oddball old pistol. But today, I decided to bring out the new S&W Shield Plus in .30 Super Carry. It's actually exactly the sort of gun that the match is designed for. I chose to minimize the size of the gun by us...

Back in 1975, Beretta introduced a line of mid-size semiauto pistols. The Model 81 was in .32 ACP (intended for the European market) and the Model 84 was chambered for .380 ACP for Americans. These both used double-stack magazines, and single-stack versions followed a few years later (the 82 and ...

Previously, I did a Totally Scientific (tm) comparison between Bruce Gray's personal SIG P220 Elite and a flock of six of Hi-Point's new 10mm JXP pistols. Today, I want to see how the two compare in a more practical test, so I brought them out to the monthly BackUp Gun Match.

Note 1: What I re...

Yesterday we took a look at the design choices I made for my P365, and how I put it together with ModGuns.com . Today, I’ve got it out at the BUG Match for a trial run! Let’s see how it handles…

Today I'm at the BackUp Gun Match in Tucson with a first model Le Français made in 1923. This is an early French semiauto pistol design intended for pocket carry. It has a 7-round magazine and a tip-up barrel, so that one need not ever manually rack the slide. It's very compact, very light, and s...

Update: I came in 3rd place of 33 competitors, with a total score of 71.

Today I am shooting a Colt 1908 originally issued to the Shanghai Municipal Police in 1925. The gun was chosen for issue by William Fairbairn, who is best known for training OSS and SOE operatives in hand-to-hand combat t...

Today at the Backup Gun Match, I'm shooting a French Modèle 1892 service revolver. It's a 6-shot revolver with a swing-out cylinder, chambered for the 8x27mm cartridge (often called 8mm Lebel, although it really shouldn't be). I'll be shooting in a mix of single action and double action as seems ...