On April 15, 2008, I read about a recall on the SR9 on www.gunreports.com. I did not receive a letter, email, or any form of communication from Ruger about a problem with the gun, even though I had made sure to register it online. It seemed certain pistols had the nasty habit of going off if dropped while the safety wasn’t engaged.

Much of the fame of today's sporting BAR began through the fame of the original military BAR designed by John M. Browning near the end of World War I. This rifle, called the BAR M1918, was commissioned by the U.S. Army in an effort to break the stalemate of trench warfare in the battlefields of France and Belgium. It took John M. Browning three months to design it. Browning took this project so seriously that his son Val personally did testing and training of the American troops.

The 2008 Democratic Party’s draft platform confirms that the party still “doesn’t get it” about Second Amendment gun rights versus the Utopian fantasy that gun control laws will somehow make neighborhoods safer, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has said.

Blackwater Worldwide announced its support of AB2498, proposed legislation that would prevent prohibited persons from unlawful access to and possession of firearms.

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Gun Report of the Week

We liked a lot of things on the M&P45. Of course, to start it was slightly cheaper than the Glock and $600 cheaper than the H&K. It had impressive fit, finish, and cosmetics. The gun is ambidextrous. Where the M&P gained an edge was in its 1911-style ambi safety paddles. The gun can be made safe loading, unloading, or working the slide.

Smith & Wesson M&P 45 .45 ACP

Overview

The M&P45s feature a 4.6-inch barrel with an overall length of 8.0 inches. The M&P45 comes standard with three interchangeable grips, a steel dovetail mount front sight and a steel Novak Lo-Mount carry rear sight. Tritium sights are also available. A universal Picatinny-style equipment rail has been incorporated for tactical lights and lasers. Our polymer pistol had an empty weight of 25.1 ounces. The new frame-mounted ambidextrous thumb safety acts as a passive safety device, allowing the slide to be pulled toward the rear, clearing the firearm without disengaging the safety. Another feature is the lanyard attachment. All M&P45 pistols feature a Zytel polymer frame reinforced with a stainless-steel chassis and a hardened black Melonite-finished stainless-steel barrel and slide and a Dark Earth Brown grip. This is a silly name for a color—Sand would have been fine—but we overlooked it.