I generally look forward to Fall, a favorite season. Not too hot nor cold, the light seems just right and I can get lots of range time in – usually. I get in a foul temper when other issues intrude, as they must, on the best time of the year to be outdoors.
With that in mind – and being unable to get busy burning powder – here’s some news
First, Gunsite Academy announced their new GSP version. The Gunsite Service Pistol has a history and has been issued and reissued over the years. The GSP format tends to be a full size 45 Auto in the pattern of 1911 with improvements. As Dave Fink is running the Smithy at Gunsite, the new gun is labeled the Gunsite Government GSP 1911, Fink Model.
Issued with two 8-round magazines, the gun features forged slide and frame, a hammer forged barrel, non-firing pin block 1911 fire controls, G10 stocks, Novak sights and a unique rowel hammer with the cut-out in the shape of the Gunsite Raven. The new gun is available from the Gunsite Pro Shop and Finks Custom Gunsmithing, LLC.
Our friends at Streamlight, Inc. offers another constant carry light that’s pocket friendly. Years ago, a number of us at SHOT Show were asked by a maker of duty lights what the best form factor was for a light. I believe it was Mike Boyle, a very smart guy, who noted that the shape of the battery dictated the form of the light – like building a pistol around a magazine. Now, all these years later, non-cylindrical lights are coming out. The newest is the USB-C rechargeable Wedge XT, a “500 lumens for two hours on high” constant carry light. Measuring just 4.25 inches, the Wedge XT has a flat, low-profile design that allows for concealed carry in either pocket a tactical push-button tail switch.
The tail switch allows tactile control over momentary or constant-on operation. The Five-Tap lockout feature prevents the light from turning on while carried or stored. The clip is set to put the light low into a pocket.
Bright at 500 lumens, 1,900 candela, and an 87-meter beam distance, it features an integrated 950 mAh lithium polymer cell battery that can be recharged in the light by plugging the included USB-C cord into the waterproof USB port. I was surprised by the charging port just being open, with no protective cover.
I have a sample in hand. The light is available in black and coyote – my sample is black, it has an MSRP of $155.00 and it’s very handy. While it hasn’t yet taken the place of the other lights I use – it looks like it soon will.
I’ve had over a year now with the current sample of the Taurus Model 942, a matte black 2” snub. An 8-round 22 LR (also available in 22 Magnum, as well as other barrel lengths), this DA-SA 22 has a 2-inch barrel, a rear sight blade fitted into a slot milled in the frame as well as a black serrated ramp up front.
The rubber stocks look strange to me, angled for a low hold relative to the barrel. Remarkably, they “hold better than they look.”
All steel, the little gun weighs over 23 ½ ounces – it’s a chunk. The frame, barrel (shroud and liner) as well as the cylinder are all steel, contributing to the weight. The Taurus website shows an “Ultralite” version of the M942 with an aluminum frame (with steel barrel and cylinder) weighing in at just under 18 ounces – still weighty enough to make shooting easy, I’d imagine.
I’d painted up the front sight in the Claude Werner-style, with an undercoat of white and the top half of the painted ramp covered in red. My paint job is not a thing of beauty but the sights are more easily seen now.
While accuracy of the little 22 wasn’t much about which to write home a year ago August, the little gun has made probably six or so range trips – I tend to take a 22 along on nearly all range trips now. I just finished one of those trips. While I wasn’t dead-on with the CCI Blazer 22 LR (put up in the ‘milk carton’ box) at the outset, I found that I was getting better with each cylinder full of ammo.
I found 22 double-action revolvers to help me settle in after a range session with other guns. I tend to start out on steel targets or doing regular range drills, but finish out with closer range trigger control drills. The object is to put the entire gun load into a single hole.
I have 22s that make that easy. The Taurus doesn’t make it easy, but I’ve noticed a few things about it.
One is that the double action pull is getting smoother and smoother. My ability to hit a mark on demand with the M942 is increasing. The solid steel of the frame, cylinder and barrel shroud makes this as steady a 22 snub as I have – a good thing. And getting more used to the unique stock is not a bad thing.
It’s hard to beat this gun for the price. If you want to work on revolver skills, carry a rimfire snub for field expeditions or just have a fun gun to shoot, I think you could do far worse.
— Rich Grassi