Gun Test: Winchester SXP Marine Defender 12-Gauge

By John Taffin, GUNS Magazine

Self-defense means, well, defense of self. It does not mean self-offense nor does it mean lawnmower-defense. Self-defense is protecting self and family against death and/or serious injury. As much as we may be angered at someone stealing a lawnmower from our property, shooting in such a case is not self-defense. You could buy 1,000 lawnmowers for the cost of a defense attorney for shooting when self-defense is not involved. Keep the shotgun loaded, stay in the house and call 9-1-1. Self-defense begins if home intrusion takes place, and the noise of a pump shotgun being activated is not something intruders want to hear.

I always have a handgun close at hand, however, there is also a shotgun or two handy and my latest choice is the new Winchester 12-gauge pump shotgun, the SXP Marine Defender. The “SXP” stands for Super-X Pump. This latest Winchester pump shotgun is produced in Istanbul and imported by Browning.

The name does not refer to it being used by the United States Marines but rather being able to be carried on a boat without worrying about rust. The main components are chosen for this with the buttstock and forearm being a black synthetic, the receiver a black coated alloy and the barrel and magazine tube finished in a matte hard chrome as is the interior of the barrel.

http://goo.gl/zpYEEA

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Gun Test: The Heizer PS1 Pocket Shotgun

By Will Dabbs, MD, American Handgunner
Photos By Sarah Dabbs

Charlie Heizer was raised in Hungary and is old enough to remember life under Nazi oppression. He trained as an engineer and then escaped the Hungarian revolution in 1956 to arrive in the US with nothing more than a toothbrush and a pair of socks. Charlie learned English and went on to form an aerospace company that built parts for the Boeing 747, the C-130 and the space shuttle. Charlie has seen firsthand what results when an entire population is disarmed and finds itself beneath the boot of a despot. Mr. Heizer’s appreciation of the necessity of an armed populace in a free state is not an abstraction. As a result, Charlie is passionate about the guns he designs.

There is a peculiar anomaly within American firearms law allowing gun manufacturers to sell handguns firing .410 shotgun shells. This bit of serendipity arises from the fact.410 shotshells fit perfectly in .45 Colt chambers. Typically any shotgun with a barrel less than 18″ requires a fairly onerous bit of government red tape and expense to establish a citizen’s worthiness to possess such an article. Considering this .410 version transfers like any other handgun it makes the entire regulatory system seem a bit silly. It also imbues the term “Pocket Shotgun” with a certain sexy conspiratorial flavor.

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Gun Test: EAA SAR B6P Compact

By Ed Friedman, Shooting Illustrated

Some Turkish firearms have a reputation among gun owners for being cheap, largely because they are inexpensive and sport rough finishes. In my experience, this assessment is generally unfair, and the 9 mm Sarsilmaz B6P Compact imported by EAA is exhibit A for the defense of pistols made in Turkey.

A CZ 75 clone with a polymer frame, the B6P Compact looks sharp and feels great in hand. It is extremely well balanced and boasts an almost ridiculously low-profile slide, rising just .7 inch above the frame. The fixed, three-white-dot sights are mounted close to the bore line, which in testing I found beneficial toward establishing a natural point of the handgun.

http://goo.gl/ggue7o

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