2000 "Gunny" Award

Every edition of our Gun of the Year contest brings its own surprises, and this one’s no exception. All the ballots have been hand-counted and the results are in. Readers have selected Handgun of the Year, Rifle of the Year, Shotgun of the Year and Gun of the Year. And the editors have managed to get in their two cents’ worth in choosing a winner for the Editors’ Award.

Despite the rankings, there are really no losers here. And, in the big picture, the real winners are American shooters who are—year after year—able to select from a plethora of exciting new offerings.

HANDGUN OF THE YEAR

It doesn’t take much to make a great gun better, and one of the best ways to do it is to refine it ergonomically. And that’s exactly what Para-Ordnance did with its Light Double Action (LDA) Single-Stack As many readers no doubt recall, the original manifestation of the LDA was a double-stack. And it’s no real surprise that that 1911-type Canadian-made pistol won Handgun of the Year honors in our last contest.

Para-Ordnance LDA Single Stack

However, this particular model has the same significant feature as the original LDA. It employs the company’s revolutionary Light Double Action system, which has pretty much set the standard for DAO pistols. It’s light, it’s crisp and it’s consistent. Reliability and power are, of course, the critical factors in a defensive pistol, but a good trigger is crucial if you intend to hit anything much past very close range.

The major complaint of traditionalists (not to mention the small-handed) with the double-stack design was its bulk. It just doesn’t "feel" right to many shooters, and those pistoleros seem to be perfectly happy to sacrifice an extra three rounds (assuming we’re talking about civilian guns instead of the 14-round law enforcement model) of magazine capacity for something they can wrap their mitts around comfortably. This may seem like a small thing to anyone who doesn’t shoot all that much, but it’s not. In fact, in this instance it was evidently enough to push the LDA design to the top of the heap again.

Naturally, all things being equal, if civilian shooters could once again own high-capacity magazines, many folks would be happy to sacrifice a bit of ergonomics for an extra six rounds. But they can’t, at least in this current political climate. So there you have a possible reason for the LDA Single-Stack’s triumph.

G&A Editor Garry James original assessment of the Single-Stack, in this context, bears repeating: "Frankly, while I’ve never had too much trouble wrapping my small-to-medium sized hands around a large capacity Para grip, if I had my druthers, I , too, would opt for a single-stack. I figure that if I’m in a situation calling for 14 rounds, I’m in way over my head anyway, and I simply prefer the added controllability offered by the thinner grip."

The continuing viability of the design—not to mention the .45 ACP cartridge itself—is truly one of the wonders of the American shooting scene. Para-Ordnance is to be commended for marrying America’s classic big-bore auto design to a sensible double action system—and then improving it ergonomically.