Ruger Introduces the PC Charger Pistol
Gentlemen, you had my curiosity… but now you have my attention.
We first laid eyes on the Ruger PC Carbine at Range Day during the 2018 SHOT Show and almost immediately fell in love. It’s a take-down pistol caliber carbine that feels and shoots like a real-deal rifle from a great firearms company. While I haven’t had the extra money (or, realistically, the need for another PCC) to put one in my safe, every time I see one out in the wild, I long to have it. Now, Ruger has stepped up their game with a pistol version.
The just announced PC Charger is a 9mm pistol based on Ruger’s popular PC Carbine Chassis model. The PC Charger boasts an abundance of features including a 6.5″ barrel; an integrated rear Picatinny rail that allows for mounting of picatinny-style braces; a glass-filled polymer chassis system; a flared magazine well for improved magazine reloading capabilities; and an ergonomic pistol grip with extended trigger reach.
The glass-filled polymer chassis system allows for the use of standard AR pistol grips. These models utilize a CNC-machined, hard-coat anodized aluminum handguard with Magpul M-LOK-compatible slots at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions for easy mounting of M-LOK-compatible rails and accessories. The 6 o’clock position of the handguard features a factory-installed handstop for secure support-hand placement.
These models also maintain several hallmark features of the original PC Carbine, including an easily interchangeable magazine well system that allows the pistol to accept Ruger Security-9 and SR9 magazines, as well as Glock double-stack magazines; a dead blow action with a custom tungsten weight that shortens bolt travel and reduces felt recoil and muzzle rise; a reversible magazine release and charging handle to accommodate right- or left-handed use; a simple takedown mechanism to allow for quick separation of the barrel/forend assembly from the action; a durable heat-treated, chrome-moly steel bolt; a cold hammer-forged chrome-moly steel barrel with ultra-precise rifling and a 1/2″ x 28 threaded barrel.
The threaded barrel, coupled with a brace like the SB FS1913, would make this thing a great home defense/range/truck gun that can share magazines with your carry pistol. Or, I guess, if you’re feeling adventurous, it could be your carry pistol.
The PC Charger models ship with the SR-Series and Security-9 pistol magazine well installed and an additional magazine well that accepts newer Glock magazines. A 9mm Luger Ruger American Pistol magazine well is available separately at ShopRuger.com.
The standard model features a 17-round capacity, and an additional 10-round, state compliant model also is available.
At an MSRP of $799, it’s a little steep, cutting into CZ Scorpion territory, but likely to come down in price and go up in availability faster. Add in the handy takedown feature and that it comes with some nice accouterments, if I were going to add a firearm from this genre to my collection, I think this would be the one.
NSSF’s SHOT Show Receives Creative Award
The Davey Awards has recognized the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s SHOT Show with a Gold Davey Award in its Design/Print category for the SHOT Show’s “Fully Loaded” print advertising. The award recognizes NSSF and CSG Creative, NSSF’s SHOT Show creative agency, for the recent 2020 show’s print ad creative.
The Davey Awards are sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising and marketing firms. AIVA members include executives from organizations such as Condé Nast, Disney, GE, Microsoft, MTV, Yahoo! and many more.
The Gold Davey is the Davey Awards’ top honor.
NSSF’s SHOT Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world, attracting attendees from 115 countries in addition to all 50 states. More than 55,000 industry professionals attended the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, with the number of exhibiting companies exceeding 2,500.
The show is held each year at Las Vegas’ Sands Expo Center and is the venue’s largest event. Next year, the SHOT Show is adding even more exhibits, education, meetings and experiences in the all-new Caesars Forum. Just steps away from the Sands Expo via a custom-built skybridge for SHOT Show attendees, Caesars Forum will provide more space for manufacturers and distributors to display their product lines, as well as new exhibitors from even more product categories.
KelTec Discontinues Production of P11
Subcompact 9mm handguns are all the rage with many CCW-ers. The Sig P365, Springfield Hellcat, and Glock 43 are hot sellers thanks to their fairly high round count relative to their fits-in-a-pocket size real-ammo chambering. Back in the olden days, however, there weren’t as many options. Sure, circa mid-90s Glock introduced the chunky chopped-down Baby Glock G26 that could pack 11 rounds of 9×19 NATO, but that same year, KelTec introduced their P11 – a DAO 10+1 9mm that could fit in a pocket or disappear in a waistband.
Sure, the OEM trigger was (and continued to be) terrible. Sure, it wasn’t a piece of art. Sure, the sights were crude. But I carried one for several years, either as a primary CCW or a backup piece, and we had a lot of fun improving ours.
But, alas, those days have come to an end with KelTec announcing the discontinuation of the P11 model. Quite likely due to the newcomers on the market who scratch the itch for this category with a far better executed pistol for a hundred or two bucks more or the SCCY CPX1/2 clones for roughly the same price.
Although the pistols will no longer continue to be made, KelTec says that they will continue to honor the warranty and provide service as long as replacement parts are available.
RIP, KelTec P11. The company even laid the venerable pocket pistol to rest with a… Viking funeral?
Sig Sauer Delivers Milestone 100,000th M17 / M18 Handgun to U.S. Military
Sig Sauer has announced the delivery of the 100,000th M17 and M18 for the Modular Handgun System program to the U.S. Military, ahead of schedule, and surpassing the performance standards and requirements since the official contract award in January 2017.
“In the month of October SIG SAUER exceeded our manufacturing requirements by thirty percent and delivered a record-setting 12,100 handguns to the U.S. Military to achieve this historic milestone for SIG SAUER and the MHS program,” began Ron Cohen, President & CEO, SIG SAUER, Inc. “With the strict accuracy and acceptance specifications that the M17 and M18 are continuously exceeding, it’s clear that the success of this program can be directly attributed to the reliability, durability, and accuracy of the handgun, which has resulted in the high demand for both the M17 and M18 from every branch of the U.S. Military.”
The M17 and M18 handguns are a 9mm, striker-fired, P320-based handgun platform, featuring coyote-tan PVD coated stainless steel slides with black controls and utilize both 17-round and 21-round magazines. The handguns are equipped with SIGLITE front night sights, removable night sight rear plates, and manual safeties. To date SIG SAUER has delivered M17 and M18 handguns to all branches of the U.S. Military and the U.S. Coast Guard.
“From the very beginning the MHS program has been a true partnership between SIG SAUER and the U.S. Army which has resulted in the overwhelming success of the program, and ensuring that the M17 and M18 handguns are entering service, and in the field with our military,” concluded Cohen.
Ruger Expands Security-9 Pistol Line with New Pro Models
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. is proud to introduce the Security-9 Pro and Security-9 Pro Compact pistols. These Pro models maintain many of the same advanced features of the popular Security-9, but are offered without the external manual thumb safety. Security-9 Pro models also ship with three alloy steel magazines and factory-installed steel tritium night sights.
Like other models of the Security-9, these new Pro models include internal safety mechanisms such as an integrated trigger safety, neutrally balanced sear with significant engagement and strong spring tension, and hammer catch to help prevent the hammer from contacting the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled.
The Security-9 Pro is constructed around a rigid, precision-machined, anodized aluminum chassis with full-length guide rails and a blued alloy steel slide and barrel. The ergonomic grip-frame is comfortable in the hand and features a medium texture. The internal hammer and Secure Action trigger provide a short, crisp feel and positive reset.
The Security-9 Pro holds 15+1 rounds of powerful 9mm Luger ammunition with a mid-sized frame and 4″ barrel. Weighing under 24 ounces, and measuring just 5″ tall and approximately 1″ wide, it is the perfect size for your holster or a day at the range. The compact model shares the same features in a smaller package, holding 10+1 rounds in a flush-fit magazine and weighing under 22 ounces with a 3.40″ barrel (15-round magazines are also available on ShopRuger.com). Both models are ideal for everyday carry.
Sig P365 Wings NASGW POMA “Best New Handgun”
The updated P365 SAS model was recently awarded the 2019 NASGW POMA-Caliber Award for “Best New Handgun.”
The NASGW-POMA Caliber Awards are a partnership between the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) to recognize new and innovative products within the sporting goods industry. Products for the NASGW-POMA Caliber Awards are submitted by the manufacturers for the various product categories and are evaluated for uniqueness, market need, value of the product, ingenuity, and presentation.
“For the second year in a row the SIG SAUER P365 micro-compact concealed carry pistol has been honored with a Caliber Award. This year we brought new innovation to the P365 pistol, and concealed carry, with the P365 SAS,” said Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, SIG SAUER, Inc. “Our proprietary SAS technology removed all the snag points from the pistol and integrated the sights directly into the slide with a flush-mounted FT Bullseye sight that’s intuitive, and easy for the trained or untrained eye to pick-up for fast target acquisition. We could not be more proud to have our continued innovation to the market-leading P365 recognized by these two organizations.” Continue reading
