Combat Handguns January/February 2022

Some might say that showcasing a .22-caliber pistol on the cover of a magazine called Combat Handguns is oxymoronic. We say the heck with that—know your audience. In early 2020, when heavy-handed government lockdowns were occurring worldwide and not-so-peaceful protests morphed into all-out riots, legions of first-time gun buyers woke up—big time—and realized that only they could be responsible for their self-defense and protection of their loved ones. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), 8.3 million new gun owners joined the ranks of responsibly armed citizens in 2020. In the first half of 2021, another 3.2 million jumped on the wagon. The editors of this magazine are going on record here saying that the best type of handgun for first-time shooters to learn on is a .22 semi-automatic.…

I don’t usually quote from the Bible in this column, but for this issue’s topic it seems on point. The quote is from Proverbs 28:1: “The wicked flee where no man pursueth, but the righteous man stands his ground as bold as a lion.” In common parlance, it’s known as “flight equals guilt.” The principle is that the person who has done the right thing in self-defense will remain at the scene to explain his or her actions. It tends to be presumed—by cops and prosecutors, by plaintiffs and their attorneys, and by the general public from which the jury pool is tapped—that the person who fled did so to escape punishment for what they themselves believed to be criminal wrongdoing. The term in court is “consciousness of guilt.” Having…

ADAMS ARMS AA19 HANDGUN Well-known for being a top-quality piston-driven AR-platform firearms maker, Adams Arms has introduced a new 9mm handgun. The AA19 combines Adams Arms’ years of experience with handgun barrel and slide innovations with its mission of elevating firearm reliability and performance. Features include enhanced front and rear cocking serrations, a double undercut triggerguard, Ameriglo Defoor EDC sights, a profiled and lightened slide, and a threaded barrel. Additionally, the slide is cut for an optic. The pistol has an overall length of 7.6 inches and weighs 1.26 pounds empty. (adamsarms.net) REAL AVID BORE-MAX SPEED CLEAN SYSTEM If you think that cleaning your gun takes too much time and effort, the Bore-Max Speed Clean System from Real Avid includes brushes, jags and patches designed as a faster, easier way…

“I HEARD SOMEONE SAY YEARS AGO, ‘If he shoots, he’s my friend, no matter what.’ That really resonated with me and has been my own personal belief ever since. We as shooters need to stick together. Every shooter from competition, hunting, the everyday gun owner. All of us who support the Second Amendment need to support one another.”—Matt Sims. Matt Sims has been a competitive shooter since the mid 1980s. He was the first Four Gun Master from the state of Alabama as recognized by the IDPA. To his credit over the years are numerous state and regional championship wins that span several states, along with impressive finishes in several IDPA National Championships. In addition to competitive shooting, Sims holds just as much experience when it comes to defensive firearms…

The new FN 502 Tactical is the gun all proper gun nerds have dreamt of whether we realized it or not. A beautiful, full-sized rimfire rendition of the storied FN centerfire combat pistols, the FN 502 packs all that is righteous and wholesome about those superlative tactical tools into a chassis that is versatile, rugged, cheap to run and fun. The FN 502 is the .22 LR combat handgun for grownups. Unlike most .22-caliber plinking pistols, the FN 502 Tactical is serious social iron. The polymer grip beautifully replicates that of its centerfire big brothers, while the bilateral controls and killer feature set will seem familiar to anyone who has ever hefted a modern FN defensive pistol. Additionally, the FN 502 is the gun world’s first rimfire pistol cut to…

Who said all striker-fired handguns chambered in 9mm must have polymer frames? No one I know. Even so, the popularity of the Glock 17 and all the other polymer-frame striker-fired pistols on today’s market have probably planted that thought in the minds of a lot of us. That may be about to change because Rock Island Armory has just introduced an aluminum-frame striker-fired 9mm pistol called the STK 100, and it’s beginning to turn heads. KNOCK-OFF OR NEW? This new pistol resembles the full-size Glock, but important differences set it apart. It weighs about 5 ounces more and its balance is distinctly grip-heavy. Part of the reason for this is that its steel slide has seven weight-reducing ports located on its top and sides in front of the chamber. In…