The Gun Doctor
12/17/21
The American Rifleman recently announced their 2021 Handgun of the year. The Ruger 57.
The Ruger-57, a full-size semi-automatic built of polymer and steel, measures 8.6″ long, 5.6” tall and weighs 23.5 oz. empty and only 28.4 oz. fully loaded.
“The 57 FN cartridge is something of an oddball choice for a handgun chambering. Introduced by FN in the early 1990s, it’s essentially a miniaturized 5.56×45 mm NATO rifle round, utilizing a 0.224″ rifle projectile and operating at rifle-caliber pressures to achieve mind numbing fast velocities—not really the handgun way of doing things. But on the range, it’s a match made in heaven.”
“Accessorized with an optic and a light, the Ruger-57 would make a great, unintimidating home-defense pistol for those who don’t want the kick of the 9mm luger. Concealed carry may be an issue for some from a size perspective, but it’s not a problem from a weight standpoint; a fully loaded Ruger-57 weighs almost 2 oz. less than a similar filled Glock 19.
Like Ruger’s Security -9 and LCP II handguns, the Ruger-57 is built with the Ruger Secure Action, a partially pre-cocked, double-action functionality with a hammer-fired ignition system; a secondary hammer catch prevents accidental hammer strikes. The gun boasts a blade-in-shoe-type trigger safety and M1911 style manual safety lever; the PRO MODEL excludes a manual safety. The Ruger-57 features a lightened slide, fully adjustable sights, nitride-hardened barrel and ergonomic frame contours for user-friendly operation.
Add an optic and a rail-mounted light the pistol would serve admirably for home-defense—especially for the recoil-averse. The gun ticks all the right boxes—it’s reliable, accurate, full-featured, wisely configured and with a price literally half of its most direct competitor,” all of which made it an easy choice for American Rifleman’s Handgun Of The Year.
For fans of the .45 ACP, Springfield Armory now has a new option in its XD-M Elite 3.8 Compact OSP lineup. Now, the XD-M Elite Compact lineup encompasses three calibers, 9 mm Luger, 10 mm Auto and .45 ACP, and each model is available with either a milled slide or an included Springfield Hex Dragonfly red-dot optic.
Like the other models in the XD-M Elite 3.8″ Compact OSP lineup, the new .45 ACP model features an all-black finish with a forged-steel, Melonite-finished barrel sitting inside the forged-steel, Melonite-finished slide. Both models of the new XD-M Elite Compact are offered with a milled slide cut, and should you choose to go with the optic-omitted option, the gun ships with a contoured cover plate installed. Also sitting atop the slide is a pair of sights, complete with a fiber-optic front blade and a Tactical Rack U-Dot rear sight.
Each XD-M Elite is equipped with Springfield’s META enhanced trigger assembly. You’ll also find a Picatinny accessory rail on the polymer frame, as well as bilateral slide-stop levers and an enlarged magazine-well funnel that eases reloading. Two 10-round magazines ship with each .45 ACP model of the XD-M Elite 3.8″ Compact OSP. Unloaded, the gun weighs 25 ozs. For the optics-ready OSP model, suggested retail pricing is $633, while the model that includes Springfield’s Hex Dragonfly retails at an MSRP of $818
And with one week to go until Christmas you still have time to hurry on down to Smokin Gun Worx. Santa’s helpers are standing by to make sure you find just the right gift for that special someone at Smokin Gun Worx. Smokin Gun Worx where you can buy, sell, or trade, shoot, shop, or train. You can do it all at Smokin Gun Worx.
Smokin Gun Worx 8785 North Baileyville Road Forreston, Illinois.
For the Gun Doctor, I’m Tim Bivins.
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