When it comes to a sterling reputation for quality, few in the firearms community have earned the standing of Wilson Combat. Founded more than three decades ago by Bill Wilson, the company has earned an enviable reputation for building top-end custom shotguns, rifles and pistols.

Custom is the key word here. Although the company may at first appear to be a traditional firearm company with its expansive lines of offerings, it is in fact a custom builder with no traditional production lines. An individual artisan using the highest quality components handcrafts each firearm. And, befitting this level of quality, many of the company’s firearms can be ordered in a broad array of chamberings, finishes and additional custom touches.

Wilson Combat has been steadily developing a following in the long gun market in recent years with its well-respected line of AR-based tactical rifles and Remington Model 870-based tactical shotguns. As a result, it might be easy to forget that the company began as a custom M1911 pistol manufacturer.

“It has been 29 years since the first custom firearm with my name on it was built,” states Bill Wilson. “At Wilson Combat, we still hand build our pistols, still hand-match and hand-fit every part,” he says.

The revered M1911 is where Wilson began, and it is still a big part of what the company is today. An accomplished competitive shooter, Wilson recognized the strengths and the popularity of the M1911-style pistol, determining that it was a good basis for his own custom pistol work.

As John Browning’s masterpiece 1911 design approaches its centennial, the classic shows no sign of losing popularity among every shooter—from law enforcement SWAT to military special operations and just about anyone who wants the ultimate in reliable combat handgun stopping power. Before some sharp-eyed reader takes me to task about the date of the pistol’s centennial, the 1911 design was finalized in 1910 but wasn’t adopted by the Army until the following year, thus 2010 is the actual centennial of the pistol’s design.

When one reflects on the handguns that were the 1911’s contemporaries or even includes those that were designed decades later, few are still serious contenders for serious defense purposes. At the time the 1911 was adopted by the US Army, one of the most popular pistols for military use was the German Pistole 08, better known as the Luger. Needless to say, the Luger is no longer seriously considered as a combat handgun but a relic of the past, more properly a firearms curio. The same can be said of the Russian TT-30/TT-33 Tokarev, which “borrowed” much of Browning’s design. The Luger’s replacement, the P38, soldiered on in modified form into the 1970s with the German military service, but the gun was hardly used anywhere else and has now been replaced by more “modern” handguns. Meanwhile the 1911 rides in the holsters of just about anyone serious about using a pistol to defend oneself. Even Browning’s final handgun design, the P35, is far less popular than the older 1911, despite holding 13 rounds of 9mm. From military special operations units to law enforcement SWAT teams, the 1911 reigns supreme and shows no signs of being replaced by a more recent handgun design.

Even though officially “replaced” by the 9mm Beretta M9 (92FS) in US military service, the 1911 continues as the handgun of choice among knowledgeable military and law enforcement professionals. The reasons for this are pretty straightforward. The 1911 carried in Condition One, “cocked and locked,” is arguably the fastest system to get into action and to get lead on target, besides being one of the safest.

When FNH USA introduced the Five-seveN pistol in 2004 it became quite a controversial weapon. It was initially introduced as a compliment to the P90 that had been making the rounds of many police departments and was a law enforcement restricted product. Many agencies and operators were moving to match their primary and secondary weapon calibers. The big move to the 5.56mm rifle had not really occurred yet and most were using a sub-machinegun of some type. It made sense to use one type of ammunition for many, if for no other reason than the logistics of ammunition supply. For those teams that had made the move initially to the P90 the Five-seveN pistol made perfect sense. The 5.7×28mm cartridge was not chambered in anything else at the time so these two complimented each other well. Many of the characteristics that brought the P90 to SWAT teams at the time were shared by the Five-seveN pistol. Lightweight, low recoil, accuracy, and high capacity were just a few.

Ammo Details
The 5.7×28mm round was initially designed to meet the Personal Defense Weapons (PDW) requirements. This and other rounds were designed to penetrate body armor of the era and still be lethal well past 100 meters. The shorter barrel of the pistol provided for some limitations, but it was still pretty penetrative. It is a small bullet (25 to 40 grains) traveling at high velocities. Velocities well over 2000 fps (feet per second) were the norm in the P90, and slightly less in the Five-seveN pistol.

The initial ammunition (SS190), which met this criteria was restricted to law enforcement and military so it was mostly a discussion amongst operators and the many “experts” out there. The initial design was primarily a solution to a military problem. Militaries are prohibited from using expanding ammunition for the most part. In order to meet The Hague conventions, this round was designed to penetrate then immediately tumble. In theory at least this would create a permanent wound channel similar to those made by hollow points and meet these requirements.

This all began to change with the late 1960s “God is Dead” Vietnam protest movement, the revocation of the right of prayer in the classroom, and a liberal media antipathy towards religion. What we saw next was the regular vandalizing of church and cemeteries (also once believed to be sacred ground), thefts from churches, vandalism and other desecrations to church property. From the ‘70s, to the 21st century, the trend continued and exacerbated.

Criminals now view the church as any other business operation—full of items to steal and helpless people. Recently churches in the US have begun to respond to some of the four major threat areas, although most of the responses, are weak in comparison to what is needed.

Taking an appealing design that has had more than its share of underserved troubles, the Masterpiece Arms Defender Series provide shooters with a series of MAC-style firearms that are even better than the originals—and are here to stay.

Sometimes, it just seems as though the stars are aligned against the success of particular firearms. While this may not be of too much concern when it comes to mediocre or unremarkable designs, sometimes truly innovative firearms simply get a raw deal. And, a classic example of this is the family of firearms known colloquially as MACs.

However, the series has been revived through the efforts of MasterPiece Arms, a company that has taken these appealing designs and given the MAC-style firearm a richly deserved new lease on life through its extremely high-quality Defender Series product line. But first, we should consider the complex, murky and hotly debated history of this class of firearms.

Origins
With a timeline dating back to the 1960s, what is now known as the MAC series began its life as a sub-machine gun design created by Gordon B. Ingram and dubbed the Model 10. While Ingram had a history of developing sub-machine gun designs in preceding years, none would become as well known as the Model 10 would eventually be.

Witness Who Misunderstood
In 1967, Jimmy Dale Taylor had just completed a three-year hitch in the US Navy, and decided to try his luck in the Pacific Northwest. Hitchhiking there wouldn’t just be cheap travel; at his age, it must have seemed like an adventure. In a bar, he met a 46-year-old man named Glenn True Clark, who offered to drive him. Soon, the two were off on a road trip.

Along the way, however, it became apparent to Taylor that his newfound boon companion was a criminal. Clark showed him the two stolen .38 caliber revolvers he had in the car, which was also stolen. He spoke to the young man of doing a bank robbery together, and perhaps committing the crime of rape…and then, the time came when Clark pulled over to pick up a pretty 18-year-old girl who was hitchhiking too.

Slowly, things began to go downhill, and Clark’s intent to rape the girl became apparent. When the two were speaking alone in the course of the long trip, Clark made it clear to Taylor that he was perfectly capable of murdering the girl when he was done raping her, to ensure her silence.

When Clark momentarily left the young man with the girl, Taylor assured her that he wouldn’t let her be harmed. He slipped one of Clark’s stolen guns into his pocket, and warned her that Clark had the other one.

On a remote Oregon mountainside, Clark pulled the stolen car off the road, and told Taylor to grab some alcohol, take a walk, and leave him alone with the female. Before long, Taylor heard her scream. He drew the revolver and ran back to the car. There he found Clark on top of the hysterical young woman.

Taking Clark at gunpoint, Taylor ordered him out of the car. The criminal reluctantly obeyed, and the terrified almost-victim busied herself with pulling her suitcases out of the car so she could leave on her own, on foot.

It was Valentines Day, I was getting off work and going to meet my wife who was at the salon getting her nails done. I went and picked up some Valentines candy and cards and other item’s to greet my wife with and after meeting with her we decided to go get something to eat at a local burger restaurant.

Please keep in mind that this area is known for its high crime. I always go armed and had my Kel-Tec 9mm in a IWB holster. My wife and I ordered our food, sat down and started eating when two men who looked really shady walked in and were taking with some other people that had been hanging out in the restaurant. One of those men went to the restroom and we lost track of the other one.

The one that went to the restroom came out and as he was walking past us he dug his hand into my wife’s plate and started eating. I asked him what the hell was he doing several times and he turned around and proceeded to walk back to our table. I stood up because I did not want him standing over me or attacking me while I was sitting down.

So we were chest-to-chest and got into a shoving match and then I realized that he was with the other man, not to mention that he knew other’s in the restaurant. Fearing for my wife and my safety I drew my 9mm and told him to go on and just leave.

He made a sudden movement toward me like he was going to take my gun and I shot him once in the chest. He ran out of the restaurant and collapsed by near by shop. I called the police on my cell phone, told them what happened and the police took my wife and me downtown.

We were questioned and after a brief investigation we learned that the incident had been caught on camera and that the other man he was with could have come out of the restroom behind me as we were having a shoving match and it was ruled a justifiable shooting. My wife and I were released and the individual that I shot survived.

—JT, WA

In an instant, I recognized that this was an attack and that no matter how things turned out they weren’t going to turn out good. The least that could happen was that my dog was going to get chewed up; the worse that could happen was that I could get chewed up, too. I had no choice, the only way I could stop the attack was to shoot the pit bull.

I have had a concealed permit for many years and always carry when walking my dog. I jerked my dog’s leash toward me with my left hand as I lifted my t-shirt with the same hand and drew my Kel-tec PF-9 with my right hand. It was loaded with 124-grain Federal Hydra-Shok hollow points. Pulling my dog’s leash, a standard 4-foot leash, up against my feet and shins caused the pit bull to miss its attack. It overran us about two feet, turned and, mouth open, came at my dog’s right haunch. I extended my right arm downward over my dog and fired until the pit bull stopped and rolled over.

I estimate that only about four seconds expired from my seeing the pit bull charge to its rolling over, the distance between the end of the barrel and the dog to be about 2.5 feet. I fired four times before the pit bull stopped its attack.

After I shot the pit bull, I put my pistol in my front right pocket, retrieved my cell phone from my left front pocket and dialed 911. My intent was to stay put and wait for the police. Three men came out of the backyard shouting and screaming, “What have you done? You shot my dog. Why did you shoot my dog? My dog wouldn’t hurt your dog.” As the men, younger and bigger than I am, approached, I retreated, facing them, back the way we had come. They continued to approach me and shout, “Where are you going motherf*****? We will find out where you live motherf*****. We will come kill you motherf*****.” When they spoke these words, I continued to retreat backwards and drew my pistol from my front pocket and held it at my side. I said in a calm voice, “I am retreating to the corner to wait for the police.” Even though I spoke in a calm voice, I was really worried that they would rush me, and that I did not have enough ammo to finish the fight (I wasn’t carrying a spare clip and still was dealing with my dog). I focused on arms and legs, not faces and voices. They stopped following me and I retreated to the corner to wait for the police.

My older son happened to drive by and stopped. I had him put the dog in his truck and take her home with a quick summary about what happened and to tell his mom about the event, and that I would probably end up at the police station.

Several people in the neighborhood must have called the police because at least four squad cars showed up. A police officer met me at the corner. I explained the events. I was frisked and detained there while other officers interviewed the pit bull owners and neighbors. After about 30 minutes, I was cuffed, placed in the cruiser and driven to the police station, where I was handcuffed to an iron bar in the cage in the booking room. I was not processed for about two hours. Eventually I was booked and read my rights. I requested a lawyer. In private, I calmly told my story to my lawyer and then calmly answered the detective’s questions.

I was released pending charges, which I was informed could include cruelty to animals, discharging a firearm in the city limits, endangering the welfare of others (some neighbors were working in their yards), felony forms of threatening behavior (they claimed I pointed my pistol at them and threatened them) and a host of other charges. My pistol and concealed carry permit were kept by the local police department.

I spent the week expecting at any moment to be arrested or called and told to turn myself in to authorities. On Friday of that week, the investigating detective informed me that no charges were being filed on any of the parties involved. While it was an experience that I never want to go through again, I am resolved to protect myself and loved ones no matter what the cost.

—KR, AR

In 1995, as an unarmed citizen, I was robbed by two gun-toting men at a gas station and was almost murdered because the crooks were angry that I didn’t have more than $13 on me. Since then, I’ve obtained my CCW permit and a 1911 .45 ACP, a weapon I was familiar with from my days in the military. I’ve since carried the .45 almost daily in an inside-the-waistband holster.

Several years later, I was on my way into town to pick up my son from college and bring him home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The shortest route to him was by back roads. En-route the car overheated on a deserted stretch of country road. I pulled over and raised the hood to find a leak in the radiator hose. Almost immediately, I heard a vehicle pull up behind my car. As I peered around the hood, I saw two shaggy-looking young men get out of an old beat-up truck.

“Need any help?” the driver asked. “Yeah,” I said. “You don’t happen to have any radiator fluid, do you?” “That depends,” he said. “How much money you got on you?” My danger antenna immediately went up as I watched the passenger begin to move towards me along the far side of my car.

“Never mind,” I answered. “I think I can make it to the next gas station.” “I said,” the driver responded as he also began to move forward, “how much money you got on you?” Instinctively, I edged my left shoulder to the driver, swept my jacket back with my right hand, and grasped the grip of the .45. I didn’t pull it from the IWB holster, and it was still out-of-sight of the two young men, but they both stopped when they saw my movement.

“Thirteen dollars,” I answered, “and I keep it here in my pocket, right next to my .45.” The two men looked at each other and I could see the wheels turning in their heads, wondering if I was bluffing and whether it would be worth calling my bluff for $13. Finally the passenger started retreating back to his own vehicle. “C’mon, Tom,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Without a word, Tom got into his truck and the two drove off. As they passed me, I kept my hand on the grip of the .45 until they were some distance down the road. Then I patched the leak as best I could with duct tape and nursed my car safely to a farmhouse where I got some water for the radiator. After a stop at the next gas station, where I replaced the hose, I made it safely to my son and back home—where we all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday together.

Although I didn’t have to pull my weapon, or even show it, the situation could have turned out much differently had I not gained the confidence that the .45 and the CWP training gave me.

—GW, FL

Recently, I was returning alone from an out of town trip with a medium size enclosed cargo trailer in tow behind my pick-up. Since the economy has turned sour there has been an increase in crime in our state, and I had decided to take my HK P7 along for company. As allowed by state law, it rode beside me in the center console. Just after dark, I pulled off the interstate and proceeded to make the ten-mile drive to the small town where I live.

This stretch of road is mostly rural with some light industry mixed in between pastures and wooded areas. At that time in the evening there was little traffic going either way. As I approached a lonely intersection, the traffic light changed to red and I prepared to stop. After a check of my side view mirrors, it appeared that I would be the only vehicle at the intersection. It was then that my situational awareness level went to hi alert.  I quickly began to assess the upcoming area to determine whether I could detect anyone hiding in the dark woods and high bushes bordering the side of the road that I was on. Then as I rolled to a stop, I confirmed the location of my P7, it was in its holster and ready if needed.

Suddenly, I detected a quick movement in the driver’s side view mirror. My heart raced. Then my eyes focused to see a figure of a man, lit only by my brake lights, running up from behind. Trying to stay calm, I quickly grabbed the P7. By the time the man reached my side window, I had turned in my seat and was holding my gun in the low ready position.  I could see his hands were empty as he tapped on the window and loudly declared that one of my trailer doors was wide open. At that moment the light changed to green, so I cracked the window and thanked the young man then drove away to find a safe place to pull over and secure the trailer door. As I passed through the intersection, I returned the P7 back to its travel position. Only known to me, it had done its job well.

In reflection, having a means to protect myself had given me confidence in that sudden scary moment. This confidence and familiarity with my weapon allowed me to react in a controlled manner; I kept my cool.

—TH, SC