The PXT 14.45 is one of two handguns being sold by Para-Ordnance to support the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.

The famous movie quote "Fasten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy ride" could well describe our near future. Those in power are not friendly to us. There are already panicked cries of impending bans of one kind or another.

"Which gun or guns should I buy before the ban?" is a common question at gun shows and gun clubs. Well, the best defense is a good offense. You should be sending money to gun rights support groups--all of them--and becoming a member. But it doesn't hurt to hedge your bets and stock up on the "likely suspects" either, just in case.

Well, there is a way to do both.

Para-Ordnance has introduced its Gun Rights pistols. You can have your choice of either a hi-cap or single-stack 1911, and when you buy one, Para will donate $25 to the NRA-ILA. In case you don't know, the ILA is the Institute for Legislative Action. It is the legislative, electoral and political arm--the lobbying wing, if you will--of the National Rifle Association.

What you get for your investment is an top-notch pistol. Both Gun Rights models--the PXT P14.45 and the single-stack PXT 1911 SSP--are all-stainless. Each model has the modern-style beavertail grip safety, flat mainspring housing, lightened match trigger and Novak-inspired rear sight with a pair of white-dot inserts. They come with the newest competition must-have, a fiber optic front sight.

For those not on the cutting edge of things USPSA/IPSC, a fiber optic front sight has a small plastic bar in it that collects ambient light. The only way for the light to escape is out the ends, so you see a glowing (in this case red) dot in your front sight. If there's any light at all, the bar glows. More light, brighter glow. It is a self-regulating dot that works in bright or dim light. It's way cool, and many of the best competition shooters have it. Best of all, if something happens to the fiber optic, the sight is still there as a standard steel blade.

The extractor is the new Para-Ordnance X-tractor, which will pull empty brass harder than the lure of free money. The fit of the slide and barrel is cause for some comment. I have heard shooters who complained that they just didn't like the (to them) "sloppy" fit of the slide and barrel to frame. Some people just aren't satisfied unless what they own locks up like a bank vault. Now, I have a number of "bank vault" pistols. Paras don't lock up that way. If you have strong hands, you can feel some movement when you wrestle the slide on the frame or push the barrel around.

I'm more interested in how a handgun shoots than in how it is fitted, and in that regard I've never had a complaint with a Para. While custom gunsmiths might handle it and mutter, I reserve judgment for the range session. A little movement is usually a sign of a reliable pistol, and, again, on the part of Paras I have not had any complaints. Well, there's one. I find after all these years that I don't like full-length guide rods. So, in the event that this one stays here I'll have to change that. But from Para it comes with a full-length guide rod.

The author's test gun exhibited excellent accuracy and flawless functioning at the range.

While the frame, slide and barrel are stainless, the magazines have the look of a hard-chrome-plated part. Which is good. Carbon steel can be easier to form than stainless, and a chromed carbon-steel magazine can be more durable than a stainless one. Then again, I'm not going to be running either over with my truck, so the difference is probably academic. But the mags have an enviable reputation of reliability, durability and function.