The Smart Way to Buy Guns Online
Four hundred fifty rounds through the Taurus Public Defender, the 5 shot .45 Colt and .410 snub. It never failed to fire and kept buckshot in 5.5 inches at 7 yards, but .410 hulls stick, and the Poly model is shorter than the steel guns despite its longer barrel.
Six hundred rounds through the Savage A17, the semi-auto 17 HMR with an AccuTrigger and a 10 round rotary magazine. It shot 0.6 inch groups at 50 yards but was fussy about one load, and Savage lists the 17 WSM Sporter at the same price as the 17 HMR Sporter.
Seven hundred rounds through the Taurus 92, the 17 round, 34 ounce DA/SA 9mm with a rail. Taurus lists five current models with identical specs, the black gun has an alloy steel slide while the others get stainless, and the slide is still stamped PT 92 AF-D.
Six hundred rounds of .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle through the Browning BL-22 Grade I, the lever action with a 33 degree throw. Browning lists seven current models from $839.99 to $1,429.99, but its own spec sheets show the 20 inch guns are the same rifle, and FLD means Full Line Dealer, not Field.
Eight hundred rounds through the CZ P-09 F Nocturne, the 19 round hammer fired DA/SA 9mm with swappable safety or decocking levers. CZ lists the full size and the compact at the same $649, and its own specs show the compact saves only 3.2 ounces and is exactly as wide at 1.5 inches.
Five hundred rounds and twenty takedowns with the Henry U.S. Survival AR-7, the 3.5 pound .22 that stows its barrel, receiver and magazine inside its own buttstock. It ran perfectly on CCI Mini-Mag and stalled on standard velocity ammo, and Henry lists the camo versions $80 above the identical black rifle.
Four hundred rounds of .45 Colt through the Uberti 1873 Cattleman, the Colt Single Action Army pattern for about a quarter of the price. Uberti lists 29 models from $599 to $1,479, and the ladder is strange: brass trim costs $90 less than steel, the 5.5 inch brass gun undercuts the other lengths, and a 7.5 inch steel .357 lists below the 5.5 inch.
Seven hundred rounds of .22 LR and .22 WMR through the Ruger Super Wrangler, the two cylinder single action that adds an adjustable rear sight, a longer barrel and a steel cylinder frame to the Wrangler. Ruger lists all four models at $339, the 250th Anniversary is 5.7 ounces lighter, and the cylinders will not fit a Wrangler or a Single-Six.
Eight hundred rounds through the Kimber Custom LW, the aluminum framed full-size 1911 that weighs 31.2 ounces against 38 for the steel Custom II. Kimber gives it a stainless match barrel, lists the KCB Club Bundle below the bare Shadow Ghost, and sells it under a dozen trim names that differ in sights, grips and magazines.