Chiappa is now offering its Rhino 30DS with an olive green frame and barrel shroud. This six-shot, 3-inch-barreled, .357 Magnum revolver has a fiber-optic front sight and an adjustable rear sight. Like all Rhino revolvers, it has a double-action/single-action (DA/SA) firing mechanism and fires from the bottom chamber in the cylinder, which causes it to have much less muzzle rise.
Colt has introduced a new version of its innovative Cobra snub-nose revolver. The new pistol, the Night Cobra, and has a matte black finish and a Trijicon tritium insert in its fixed front sight. The rear sight is the traditional notch in the top of the frame. Colt’s Night Cobra is designed for pocket carry with a spurless bobbed hammer and a smooth, low-friction polymer grip. However, this six-shooter is also more than suitable for belt or IWB carry as well. The pistol is 7.2 inches long, 4.9 inches tall and 1.4 inches wide. It weighs about 25 ounces unloaded, which helps it absorb the extra recoil of +P ammunition.
This variation of the value-priced CM9 from Kahr is distinguished by its Kyrptek camo polymer frame and Cerakote Armor black slide. Like all other CM9s, it is very small and lightweight. It’s 5.42 inches long, 4 inches tall, 0.9 inches thick and has a 3-inch barrel. It weighs only 15.9 ounces unloaded and has a 6+1 capacity.
This variation of Kahr’s ultra-compact CW380 also has a Kryptek camo polymer frame and a Cerakote Armor black slide. It is both smaller and lighter than the “CM” series gun with the same color scheme. It is 4.96 inches long, 3.9 inches tall and 0.75 inches wide. It weighs a little less than 12 ounces with an unloaded magazine but it still holds 6+1 rounds of .380 ACP ammunition for a fighting chance.
The striker-fired S9 is one of the first models in Kahr’s new “S” series of compact semi-autos. It features a redesigned magazine basepad and grip. It also has a rail on the dust cover to attach lights, lasers or light/laser combination units. The pistol has a 3.6-inch barrel with conventional rifling and holds 7+1 rounds of 9mm ammunition. It is 5.9 inches long, 4.5 inches tall, 0.9 inches wide and weighs 17.7 ounces with an unloaded magazine.
Kimber has introduced a new version of its six-shot, double-action-only, .357 Magnum K6s with a 3-inch barrel. The extra barrel length gives this revolver a longer sight radius for easier shot placement at distances beyond 10 yards. The longer barrel also generates greater velocities with magnum loads, increasing the power of every shot, which helps promote expansion of hollow points. This particular K6s is 7.62 inches long, 4.46 inches tall and 1.39 inches wide. This stainless-steel handgun also weighs 25.1 ounces.
The K6s is the smallest, lightest, six-shot .357 Magnum revolver on the market at 23 ounces unloaded. This new CDP (Custom Defense Package) version features a DLC-finished frame, a brushed stainless 2-inch barrel and cylinder, three-dot tritium night sights and one of the smoothest factory DAO triggers you’ll ever experience. It also has laminate grips and Kimber’s “carry melt” treatment for added concealability.
Kimber’s new Micro 9 CDP (DN) is a scaled-down 9mm 1911 with a Hogue Wraparound grip and TruGlo Pro TFX day/night sights. It also has a “carry melt” treatment so there are no sharp edges to cut hands or abrade clothing—a very desirable feature for a concealed-carry gun. The CDP (DN) also has an aluminum frame and a matte stainless steel slide. and it’s 6.1 inches long, 4.07 inches tall and 1.08 inches wide. Even so, it has a 3.15-inch barrel and holds 7+1. Unloaded, it weighs 15.6 ounces.
Remington’s new offerings for 2018 recognize that today’s shooters aren’t always attracted to guns that have matte black or stainless finishes. Many gun owners long for the days when firearms looked more like works of art and a lot less like something that came out of a tool box. Therefore, Remington is now offering the RM380 with a light blue frame and a black slide, or a medium-blue frame and a silver slide.
The 9mm R51 pistol is now available with a smoke-colored frame.
The EC9s is Ruger’s new value-priced, subcompact, striker-fired 9mm. Ruger engineers developed new machining techniques that allowed them to reduce the complexity involved in manufacturing the slide, and they’ve passed the savings on to the customer. This new pistol is just 6 inches long, 4.5 inches tall and 0.9 inches wide. It weighs only 17.2 ounces unloaded and has a through-hardened steel slide, a polymer frame and a matte black oxide finish. It only costs $299.
Ruger is now offering standard production versions of the GP100 in .357 Magnum with seven-shot cylinders. Available with a 2.5-, 4.2- or 6-inch full-underlug barrel, they each weigh between 36 and 43.5 ounces unloaded and measure from 8 to 10.38 inches long overall. Standard features include fully adjustable rear sights, fiber-optic front sights and cushioned rubber grips with hardwood side inserts.
Four new Ruger LCRx revolvers are now available: .22 WMR, .327 Federal Magnum and 9mm models with 1.87-inch barrels as well as a 3-inch-barreled .22 WMR. All four feature Hogue Tamer Monogrips, aluminum frames and stainless steel cylinders with black PVD finishes. The front sights are replaceable, and the snubbies have U-notch rear sights while the 3-inch-barreled .22 WMR has an adjustable rear sight. All four models have hammer spurs that allows you to choose between single- and double-action shooting.
Ruger is now offering the SP101 revolver in .327 Federal Magnum and 9mm. The former has a 3-inch barrel, fixed sights and holds six rounds of ammo. It can also be used with .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R Magnum ammo. It is 8 inches long and weighs 27 ounces unloaded, which gives this handgun enough heft for excellent recoil control with magnum loads. The 9mm version has a 2.25-inch barrel and a five-shot cylinder. It is 7.2 inches long and weighs 25 ounces unloaded.
Ruger has come out with a smaller version of its popular 9mm SR1911 pistol. This “Officer-Style” version weighs just 27.2 ounces unloaded. It’s also 7.25 inches long, 5 inches tall and 1.34 inches wide. It holds 7+1 rounds and comes with drift-adjustable Novak three-dot sights. Finally, this attractive pistol has a matte stainless steel slide, a matte black aluminum frame and checkered G10 grip panels for a sure hold.
Sig’s new P365 is a very small 9mm carry pistol with a very large 10+1 capacity. At SHOT, a factory representative attributed the increase in capacity to the P365’s “stack and a half” magazine design. In addition, there’s an optional extended 12-round magazine that can be purchased from the factory. This pistol comes fully equipped with X-Ray day/night sights, a polymer frame and a Nitron-coated stainless steel slide. It is striker-fired, +P rated and weighs only 17.8 ounces unloaded while being 5.8 inches long, 4.3 inches tall and 1-inch wide.
For 2018, the S&W Performance Center is offering two stainless.357 Magnum L-Frame revolvers: one with a 4-inch barrel and six-shot cylinder, and the other with a 5-inch barrel with seven-shot cylinder that takes moon clips. Both have competition-ready features such as vent-ribbed barrels, unfluted cylinders, chromed teardrop hammer spurs, speed-release thumbpieces, adjustable rear sights, interchangeable orange front sights and Hogue grips.
Springfield’s new 911 is a 1911-style .380 ACP semi-auto that is just 5.5 inches long, 3.9 inches tall and weighs only 12.6 ounces unloaded. The 911’s slide is 416 stainless steel, which can be had with a stainless or black nitride finish, and the frame is 7075-T6 aircraft-grade aluminum frame. The 911 comes with both a flush-fitting six-round magazine and an extended seven-round magazine. It also has G10 grips that provide excellent control. Finally, the 911 comes with Pro-Glo front and rear tritium sights, and Springfield will soon offer a version with a Viridian green laser.
This January, Springfield introduced a new 3.3-inch-barreled .45 ACP version of its hammer-fired XD-E. This DA/SA pistol is 6.75 inches long, 5 inches tall, 1-inch wide and weighs 23 ounces unloaded. It comes with a six-round magazine as well as a seven-round magazine with a Mag X-Tension. The slide has a Melonite finish, and the frame is made from textured polymer. The fiber-optic front sight is paired with a low-profile, two-dot rear sight. Finally, the XD-E has a manual thumb safety/decocker.
For those who prefer striker-fired pistols, Springfield also introduced a new Mod.2 version of the .45 ACP XD-S. This single- stack pistol is 6.5 inches long, 4.4 inches tall and 0.98 inches wide. It weighs 21.5 ounces unloaded, and the barrel is 3.3 inches long. It comes with both five- and six-round magazines. The frame is black polymer with an enhanced gripping surface, and the slide is forged steel with a Melonite finish. The red fiber-optic front sight is paired with a two-dot rear sight.
An exciting addition for 2018, this is a seven-shot, medium-frame .357 Magnum revolver in stainless or matte black that, with a simple cylinder change, can be converted to fire 9mm rounds using Taurus’ Stellar clips. It’s a traditional DA/SA design with a fixed ramp front sight, an adjustable rear sight and a black “Ribber” grip. Taurus offers the revolver with either a 3- or 6.5-inch barrel.
Taurus’ new Model 856 revolver is available in both matte blued carbon-steel and matte stainless steel variants. This six-shot DA/DA revolver has a 2-inch barrel with a fixed front sight. The rear sight is a U-shaped notch in the top of the frame. It’s 6.55 inches overall, 4.8 inches tall, 1.41 inches wide and 22 ounces unloaded, making it well suited for concealed carry.
Walther is now offering a Sub-Compact (SC) version of the striker-fired PPQ 9mm. The pistol comes with polymer three-dot sights, and the rear unit is adjustable for windage. (Metal self-illuminating sights are available as an option.) The PPQ SC holds 10+1 rounds, and it comes with a dust- cover rail for mounting a light or laser. This is a fast-handling pistol with a 5.6-pound trigger pull. It also has two drop safeties and a firing pin block for safe carry. The grip has non-slip, cross-directional texturing, and two interchangeable backstraps are included.
Handguns have always been popular for personal protection, and they sell very well today, even though the gun market has slowed a bit in the last year. The brisk sales are partly explained by a Pew Research Center study in which the majority of male and female respondents said they own guns for protection rather than hunting or other sports. And it’s also due to a 30-year increase in the number of states that have “shall-issue” concealed-carry laws. Therefore, it’s no surprise that there were a number of personal protection handguns designed to meet varying tastes and needs of a strong market. There were some entirely new personal protection handguns produced, as well as many newly released variations of already popular models.
Scroll through our gallery above to see what personal protection handguns made our list.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
For more information about these personal protection handguns, please visit:
