The Firearm Blog had information about the AR57 earlier in the year, here is an update.  This AR57 is fully suppressed:

Sneak peek of intergrally suppressed AR57

The AR Five Seven is a one piece 5.7×28mm upper that attaches to a AR-15 lower and uses the 50 round FN P90 magazines. 57 Center posted a few photos of their new integrally suppressed AR57 model:

How cool is that!

An integral suppressor encompasses the barrel which is ported at various strategic points to bleed off gas. The advantage is that the suppressor does not extend much further than the muzzle, if at all, and its weight is distributed along the barrel instead of in front of the muzzle.

More

Related posts

• Assault Weapons Education (0)
• Assault Weapons Ban Confusion (0)
• Thank You for Panic Buying… (0)
• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• Patrick Murphy Signs on to National Concealed Carry (0)

This is Part II in a series, if you have not read Part I it can be found here Choosing a New Gun Part 1

Searching the Internet for information is a bit like getting on a telephone “party line” and asking for an opinion.  I spent several hours researching the various calibers for a carry gun and finding a lot of opinion, conjecture, and supposition.

There were several interesting sights offering various bits of data, mixed with conjecture.  One of the best quotes I found during the research was on The Box O’ Truth

People often say, “I think…”, “I suppose…”, “I bet…”, when discussing facts like penetration of ammunition.

There is only one way to know how much a certain round penetrates.

You must shoot it into a medium and see for a fact.

Results found:  9MM penetrates slightly more (one additional sheet of plywood) than 45ACP

I visited several other websites that had were of the same opinion (9mm fast, 45 slow).  A few websites, however, proclaimed the 40 S&W as a good mix of the two.

After a couple more websites, with ballistics results, I started to understand Ayoob’s comments about ”Morgue Monsters and Jello Junkies.”  There was a seeming endless, sometimes contradictory, stream of data available.

.40 S&W 155 grain Federal Hi-Shok JHP, 1/7/91:

Test Gun	Barrel Length	Velocity	Bare Gelatin		Clothed Gelatin
			Penetration	Expansion	Penetration	Expansion
Glock 22	4.5″	1167 fps	13.75″	0.61″	19.50″	0.51″

.40 S&W 165 grain CCI/Speer Gold Dot JHP, 11/17/97:

Test Gun	Barrel Length	Velocity	Bare Gelatin		Clothed Gelatin
			Penetration	Expansion	Penetration	Expansion
SIG P229	4″	1076 fps	13.05″	0.65″	15.80″	0.60″

.40 S&W 165 grain Federal Tactical HydraShok JHP, 2/27/97:

Test Gun	Barrel Length	Velocity	Bare Gelatin		Clothed Gelatin
			Penetration	Expansion	Penetration	Expansion
H&K USP	4	1007 fps	13.85″	0.62″	15.15″	0.64″

After all of the reading and research, I decided it was time to get a 40 S&W caliber firearm and go to the range.

Related posts

• Choosing a New Gun Part 3 (0)
• Choosing a New Gun Part 1 (0)
• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• Illegal? (0)
• Assault Weapons Ban Confusion (0)

HK P2000

A few weeks ago, I bought a new boom-stick (handgun) to use as my primary carry weapon. I spent a few weeks researching, and after careful consideration I decided on an H&K P2000 in 40 S&W caliber.  Getting to that decision was a journey…

The choice in brand of firearm was fairly easy as I tend to be bias to H&K products, however, the choice in caliber was an issue. I had read about various calibers (9mm, 10mm, 40 S&W, 45ACP, 50AE, etc.) and their stopping power, accuracy, penetration rate, and other factors.  I found there were studies to support nearly every type of ammunition for personal defence, with the exception of 22 short, 25 Auto, and a few other small calibers.  The 40 S&W appeared to be a good fit as it had characteristics that were put it between the 9mm (for capacity) and the 45 ACP (for power).

I decided the best way to make final decisions decide was to rent or purchase a 40 S&W caliber handgun and try it out…

Related posts

• Choosing a New Gun Part 3 (0)
• Choosing a New Gun Part 2 (0)
• Assault Weapons Ban Confusion (0)
• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• Positive Gun Story… (0)