A Plethora of New Pistols

by Jim Shepherd

With this being the centennial year of the venerable 1911-pistol design, it seems nearly ever gun company is planning on rolling out a commemorative 1911 model. They range from the basic "as-issued in 1911" pistol that's made to be shot, to the highly decorated, gold inlaid, over-the-top commemoratives that are made to be admired, not fired.

Confidentiality agreements notwithstanding, when writers hear a gun company's about to launch a "new" pistol, most of them start wondering which combination of .45ACP will produce the best groupings. The 1911-thing is almost a given. Many have already seen, held, and test-fired 1911s from companies that have never produced that particular pistol before.

Although I've never been told anything official, the company that bears the name of the 1911's venerable designer, John Moses Browning, is apparently getting ready to roll out their version of the century-old design. In fact, many non-industry types have already seen the pistol- in .45ACP and .22 rimfire versions.

Seems the Treasures and Traditions auction benefitting the Hunting Heritage Trust has scored a coup, getting Browning to donate the first pair of their new pistols to leave the factory in a highly-figured, serial number coordinated, matched pair. According to the auction information on GunBroker.com (the official auction partner of the NSSF and Hunting Heritage Trust), the pair of pistols come in a "special velvet-lined walnut case with a printed glass lid".

It might be one of the most surreptitious launches of a new product ever, but the pistols have already been seen by about 15,000 visitors- and the current bidding stands at well above $8,000 with more than two weeks remaining in the auction.

If you're interested, you can see them for yourself at http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=209363448. If you're going to SHOT Show in a couple of weeks, the packaged pair of pistols will be on display in the Browning booth (15540).

Meanwhile, Ruger's one again used their proven successful method of introducing new products via electronic teasers to announce their new Light Compact Pistol (LCP) in a beefier 9mm configuration, the LC9. Previously only available in the .380 (or 9mm short), the new pistol weighs just over a pound (17.1 ounces/empty) has a 3.12 inch barrel, and overall length of 6 inches and height of 4.5 inches. Like the LCP, it's thin, less than an inch thickness. It ships with a single 7-round magazine and the MSRP is $443.

According to Ruger CEO Michael Fifer, the LC9 was developed via requests from Rugers Voice of the Customer program. "..customers repeatedly requested a lightweight compact 9mm pistol," Fifer said, "Frankly, they wanted an LCP chambered in 9mm."

Now they have one.

More new products are rolling into our system as companies try to get the word out in advance of the month-long series of industry trade shows that begin this week with the Archery Trade Association show in Indianapolis, Indiana. Archery editor J.R. Absher will be providing our coverage from ATA, and, as always, we'll keep you posted.

Republished from The Outdoor Wire.