Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. Out Of Control Hooray to Mr. Joe Bowen of Cleveland, Texas, and his letter to the editor appearing in the November issue (“Not A Dirty Word,” Letters, Nov. 2007). Mr. Bowen’s letter speaks loudly for the dwindling number of independent stocking dealers left. Between manufacturers who “test the waters” with products yet unproduced, and Internet cutthroats who sell firearms for next to nothing, the meat and potatoes of the industry is just fading away. I warn my customers that when the “big box” fat cats get their fill and decide to file for bankruptcy, it may just be too late. Gun control is actually coming at us from the most unique of directions: From within! Rising ammunition prices, guns that are consistently unavailable, guns that are immediately “de-valued” from being sold on the Internet for $10-20 in profit. Let’s face the facts: FedEx and UPS make MORE from the sale of guns than gun dealers! The industry is in the midst of a wakeup call and we should all look around. The best course for survival is for the manu- facturers to start working intimately with the small dealers and selectively choose who they will sell to. Things are so far out of control now that it’s nothing but a crapshoot when choosing guns to stock. We have recently notified several “online gun whores” that we no longer accept transfers from their company — and more will follow. Regards, Leah Madachik, General Manager Sherwin Shooting Sports Eastlake, Ohio (and) Auburn Outdoor Sports Auburn Township, Ohio Thank You, Bob Here’s another letter from an American Handgunner reader: American Handgunner, you did it again! I have been a subscriber for many years and feel you are the best in magazines for the shooter. I read the article on the Taurus 1911 (Nov./Dec. 2007) and went to my gun shop to check it out. There was no question I had to buy one. Thank you, Bob Morrison (Taurus International president and CEO) for not stealing from me! The gun shot excellent and, no, there AFFORDABLE wasn’t any shooting it FIREPOWER until it CLINT SMITH started Huh? What? hitting; it was good out of the box. All of the custom work was on the mark. I own several weapons and had to pay over what was needed. Maybe some of the other 1911 manufacturers will wake up and quit stealing from the American people. Thank you, Bob! Robert D. Mitchell via: www.americanhandguner.com 9 TOO-TOUGH TAURUS 1911 the market today would run many off. Then again, many folks simply do not have that kind of money — or foolishness — to buy a pistol costing that much. I do believe, though, the old adage of “getting what you pay for” is true, at least most of the time. But, many people simply don’t like the 1911 platform and every time there’s one on the cover of Handgunner someone goes ballistic. “I’ll puke if I see another 1911 article! Cancel my subscription! You sold out to the gun makers and your editorial is for sale!” Or my personal favorite: “I hate your guts!” These are, of course, all very mature responses. Photos: Ichiro Nagata I ’ve owned some pretty expensive handguns in my time, especially when it comes to the 1911 family. I’m not sure the money spent has always justified the product, but many of you know what I mean when I say “I just wanted it.” My first 1911 cost me $100 in 1970. I still have that pistol and it still works fine even after years of carrying and shooting it — even to the point the frame has developed cracks here and there. The last 1911 I bought cost me about $3,000 in 1999. I still have, carry, and use that fully engraved 1911 today, and it’s a very special pistol to me. The cost of the exotic 1911s offered in 52 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 E-mail The Editor russ@shootingindustry.com 8 CIRCLE NO. 245 ON INQUIRY CARD SHOT SHOW EXTRA SUPER ISSUE 2008 • www.shootingindustry.com