[WheelMan]

In many cultures of the past it was customary to wear elaborate versions of the weapons of the day to formal events. I was thinking about what sort of sidearm would I pack today for formal events and I found it hard to decide. What looks fancier? an autoloader or revolver? there are fine examples of each. I put the poll in to get an idea of what sort of gun is most popular but I'd like to hear specifically what you would carry (and how you would carry it) if you had to open carry with a nice suit or tuxedo (not nessirarly fully open carry, but under your coat where it might be seen and is understood to be there anyway).

For me. If I where wearing a tuxedo I think I'd carry a deep blued and silver engraved 1911 with black pearl grips in a black leather holster, cross draw configeration (have to find a tux with beltloops) If I had a cumberbun It would go over the holster and the grip would stick out the top.

Thanks, I hope this is fun for everybody.

[Poohgyrr]

Well, first I don't really have a fancy pistol. But I do need to dress in a tux on occasion and prefer to carry a slightly improved Hi Power then. Other times my wife and I dress in fancy 1800's Western, and not having a SA or fancy revolver, I prefer a nice Smith .44 Special. If I could, I'd engrave/ivory stock both pistols. The Smith .44 would also also go to someone like Bowen for I'm not sure what kind of work, but it would be fun. I'd also put it in a fully engraved with conchos rig like Mernickle has.

[Johnny Guest]

Every so often someone brings up the topic of Barbecue Guns, Weddings & Funerals guns, State Occasion guns, and so forth. It is worth a search, both here on THR and over in the archives of www.thefiringline.com

My "formal" piece is an old commercial Colt Government Model, full coverage engraving, nickel plated. The stocks are mother of pearl, right panel with carved steerhead, gold horns and ruby eyes, and a bunch more gold overlay. Plain black Bianchi belt slide or flower carved tan S.D. Myres Mexican style holster. You know, the usual.


:D
Best,
Johnny

[Sean Smith]

I'd go with a tarted-up Colt Government Model too. :cool:

[DMK]

I'd definately go with a 1911. I've always though this would be cool:

Series 70 with old style tang and hammer. Deep dark polished bluing with mirror slide flats. Kings hardball sights. White ivory grips with black dice embedded in them. Polished hard chrome on the barrel, barrel bushing, hammer and trigger.

[cordex]

I don't think I have a "pretty dress gun" as such. My guns are tools, and look the part. I take care of them, but I don't have one with perfect finish or fancy engraving. My choice would be a concealed 1911 or snubby revolver. Plenty of ways to conceal when dressed up.
If I could conjure up a weapon for a dress-up show piece, it would be a Commander length 1911 with a matte hardchrome finish and either very dark wooden grips or black Alumagrips. Nothing too fancy for me, and I wouldn't feel bad about carrying it concealed either.

[Skunkabilly]

P7M8 is my wedding & funeral gun.

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

Something fine, and perhaps unusual. A nice Broomhandle or Bergman should give a nice "I'm Han Solo, receiving an award" look.

Must be polished nickel or bright blue with grips made of an exotic material.

[WheelMan]

A nice Broomhandle or Bergman should give a nice "I'm Han Solo, receiving an award" look.

ha!

[hillbilly]

Of course nothing, and I do mean nothing, goes with a tuxedo quite like a Walther PPK...........

hillbilly.....double-naught spy from Arkanas...........

[C.R.Sam]

Full dress, concealed....I have a cummerbund/holster for J frame Smith.

Barbeque dress....pair of nice blue N frames.

Sam

[lee n. field]

Nickel plated Model 19, in the nicest black leather holster I could buy.

[10-Ring]

For those special occasions, I'd go w/ my hard chromed P7M8 & matching magazines :cool:

[Dionysusigma]

Dangit, hillbilly, ya beat me to it! :D

"Martinis, girls and guns
It's murder on our love affair"

-Sheryl Crow, Tomorrow Never Dies:cool:

[CWL]

Yup, my hardchromed P7M8 for formal occasions.

[BigG]

What? No fully engraved gold plated Llama 380s with faux pearl stocks? :eek: :neener:

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's Folk's-

It just depends on how I am dressed? With blue jeans and
a untucked shirt, I most likely would opt for my .45 caliber
SIG-Sauer P220A. If duty called for a suit-and-tie, then I
have an old original Smith & Wesson model 60 .38 Special
laying around here. I feel confident with both; as I have
qualified with this duo many times!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[denfoote]

I, in fact, went to my mother's funeral yesterday. A Walther PPK/S was tucked into my front pocket!!! Not that I expected trouble at my own mother's funeral, but in order to get to the church, I had to drive 50-60 mi through some , let's say, rough country to get there!! ;)

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

Alright, I have to interject an objection.

A fancy dress event is just not the occasion for items that are "tactical" in nature. No matte finishes, no lights or laser sights, nothing Skunkabilly owns. The piece should either be elegant, or oddball (and hopefully both)!

Ala Dan, you better at least have some rosewood grips for that 220! Otherwise, it's like wearing a Nomex tuxedo with matching balaclava.


See the recent "Romeo and Juliet" for examples of beautiful/absurd for formal wear.

[Dorrin79]

a mil-spec parkerized 1911 with nice wood grips.

I think that is one of the 'classiest' looking automatics in the world.

(a Hi-Power, in the same trim, would be as good)

[Dr.Rob]

You know the nicest pistol I own is Colt Commander with near mirror blue flats, but it's seen some use. Even have nice new leather for it.

Maybe I need to savve up and get my self an EL series Colt 38 super. Those sure are pretty.

Maybe a renaissance Hi-Power?

[JeepDriver]

This thread really needs pictures ! :D

[Poohgyrr]

I don't think I have an autoloader that isn't "tactical"..... Hmmm, maybe I can convince my Wife her Colt needs some fancy ladylike enhancements... Then I can send my Smith out too...... :D

[Rembrandt]

....on special occassions I wear my fully engraved Renaissance Browning High Power, pearl grips and Bianchi leather......."Vodka Martini please...shaken, not stirred".......


...If someone can post it, I'll email a photo of it....

[Standing Wolf]

My fancy-schmancy carry gun is a four-inch Colt Python with a crowned, Magnaported barrel, gold-plated hammer and trigger, and Herrett's fancy grade walnut stocks in a Mitch Rosen holster. It's bulky, but pretty—and a pretty accurate shooter, too.

[MacPelto]

Well...my actual fancy gun is a 1911; Clark Custom Meltdown w/ebony grips to be exact. I must say, however, that I voted for a single-action revolver - can anyone deny the style of Doc Holliday in 'Tombstone'?

[B Sigmon]

This is my "Dress" baby. Kimber Ultra Shadow II LE with new California Buckeye Burl Grips by Scott Sensing (http://www.truckwithaheart.com/grips.htm)

http://www.fototime.com/CE4B89A798DBE6A/standard.jpg

Bob Sigmon :D

[JPM70535]

I was beginning to think there was no true class among the High Road Faithful, thankfully Standing Wolf affirms what I have always known. Nothing looks finer or classier than a Bright Nickle Colt Python with ivory grips carried in a Galco shoulder rig or open top OWB.

GOD MADE ALL MEN!

SAM COLT MADE THEM ALL EQUAL!!!

[Archie]

Colt lightweight Commander, in Super 38. Fully engraved and blued. Ivory grips checkered in the large diamond manner of the original 1911s. Bright trigger and hammer. Suitable BoMar sights melted into the slide; BarSto barrel.

Carried in a trim Tom Threepersons style sheath with matching carving, black.

[Josey]

Hey Mine is either my Colt Trooper MKIII 357 Magnum or my Ruger Vaqueros 44-40. They each are stylish in their own right. I have tucked a Colt 1908 25 ACP in my vest pocket before for concerts.

[stevelyn]

This is too easy for a formal dress gun. I have to go with a Commander length Kimber Eclipse. The combination of stainless steel w/ black trim, Mepro night sights, and those laminated grips with their blacks, greys, and yellows is well..........sexy and formal. Of course I would have to wear a stainless, black-face, Chase-Durer Pilot Commander wristwatch to properly accent it should the need to draw and assume a proper fighting stance arise. Throw in a Mitch Rosen IWB holster in a dark Havana brown and I may have a hard time getting away from admiring myself in the
mirror.:D :evil:

[jercamp45]

I do not have one...yet! Mine are tools more or less...BUT
A Clark Meltdown, highly engraved Colt, or the future dream project of mine...a Caspian Titanium Officer's frame, Caspian Damascus Commander length slide(with my name engraved upon it), quality internals, fitted and assembled by a master 'smith would make me very happy!
I am searching for a suitable canvas for a future engraving project too...since I love the balance of the CCO concept(officer frame and 4 inch slide), that is what I would like. Maybe Colt will put the 1991A1 Compact and Commander together so I have a nice engravable steel surface?
I ALSO would love an original 1911 that is engraved for a 'fancy' piece! A great holster too....sharkskin, or another exotic for me. Raftersleather(dot com) has a few that are reasonably priced!!
But for now my fairly plain jane, reliable, accurate customized Officer's model will have to do!! Or my circa 1976 Colt Government model.
DVC,
Jercamp45

[uglymofo]

I can't believe I had to scroll halfway down the page to get to 'HillBilly's' first vote.

A tux and a 1911? what, are y'all in Mexico or Texas? Gonna Mexican carry that, too, I suppose. WheelMan posed a question about formal dress :rolleyes: :D and even he got it wrong:o :D. Hell, if you're gonna wear a cannon to a 7-course dinner with the Queen, why not shoulder holster your Uzi?:)

[Dr.Rob]

Ever knealt down to be knighted while packing an Uzi in a desantis rig?

There is formal, as in tea with royalty, and there is formal, as a Texas BBQ with Anne Richards.

[uglymofo]

...and there is formal, as a Texas BBQ with Anne Richards.
Doc,

Surely, you jest.

Then again, I guess chicken 'n ribs with chili and some BBQ sauce on a paper plate with anyone who can distinguish toilet paper from a Sears catalog would be considered "formal" in Texas :rolleyes: :D. :neener:

"...must be Texans...lowest form of white man living." :what: Al Sieber, Chief of Scouts, Fort Bowie, Arizona Territory

[Dr.Rob]

Then you have missed the whole point of owning a BBQ pistol. Check TFL for the threads.

[uglymofo]

I went over to TFL and searched 'BBQ pistol', 'BBQ gun', and BBQ', but I musta missed it. I didn't come up with anything with a title that seemed relevant.

But hell, I've packed a 1911 to a BBQ. Where I come from, ain't no way we call it 'formal' if the bathroom's an outhouse. :)

[Standing Wolf]

...thankfully Standing Wolf affirms what I have always known. Nothing looks finer or classier than a Bright Nickle Colt Python with ivory grips carried in a Galco shoulder rig or open top OWB.

Sorry, but my only nickel-plated gun is a Detective Special, and I wouldn't have bought it if I'd been able to buy it in blue.

This is the Python I tried to have nitre-blued, but the @#$%^&!s at Checkmate Custom in Florida made a botched mess of it.

[glockten]

My 6½" Mdl. 29 Classic is a beautiful handgun, but a bit large, so I'd go with my two-tone P220.

Subtle elegance.

[Rich357]

Please help me here. Does anyone expect to be showing off their handgun at any of these dress events? If you aren't going to show someone your carry piece, what is the point of carrying something pretty?

Thanks,
Rich

[priv8ter]

I think the point of the original questions was this:

IF it was an allowed and accepted policy to wear a sidearm to a public dress-up type event, what kind of gun would you display?

I myself have always thought the 'Eclipse' line of Kimbers were pretty sharp guns...OR any full-size Stainless 1911 with nice wood grips, or maybe a Python...so many pretty guns.

[Rich357]

Thank you priv8ter.

Ok, how about a highly polished, deeply engraved S&W 500 Magnum. I guess you would want it in a shoulder rig. Dark wood grips, engraved made of Purpleheart.

Rich

[Jeff Timm]

Please help me here. Does anyone expect to be showing off their handgun at any of these dress events? If you aren't going to show someone your carry piece, what is the point of carrying something pretty? Sez Rich357


The point is, when (Ursula Andress, Honor Blackman, Kissy Suzuki, Diana Rigg, Jill St. John, Barbara Bach, Maud Adams, Denise Richards or Halle Berry, pick your generation) tears off your Monkey Suit, you wanna look good.

Geoff
Who is more the Mike Hammer, war surplus M1911A1 type, and wouldn't Lucy Lawless make a great Velda? :cool:

[natedog]

A stainless PPK just seems to scream "Formal". It looks great with a suit too.

[Standing Wolf]

Does anyone expect to be showing off their handgun at any of these dress events?

Aw, heck, yes! Open carry is legal in some parts of the country. Even if it weren't legal in Colorado, people could carry openly at my house, although I'll have to admit the gatherings I play host to have always been informal.

[Jeff OTMG]

BBQ guns!!!! The Renaissance FN Hi-Power has got to be one of the ultimate factory BBQ gun:
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/custom/images/medres/3cs_hipwr_gprenarg.jpg

There were even a few gold engraved versions:
http://a1460.g.akamai.net/f/1460/1339/6h/www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/community/gun_inventory/images/owatonna/browning/130087_brnhipgld_01.gif

I have a NIB German Walther PPK in .380 that I want Mr. Bone to do for me. He did a gun similar to this one and won the Firearm Engravers Guild award one year. The difference is that there were gold wire inlay circles down the top of the slide and the grip panels were ivory with the gold engraved Walter banner on it:
http://www.fega.com/photos/98fega17.JPG


The downside is that he wants about $5000 to do the work and it will take about 2 years.

Here is a stainless Walther done by Roger Sampson.
http://fega.com/photos/scan5.jpg

You should see the what some of the Texas Rangers (not the ball players) carry as BBQ guns. Very ornate 1911's almost to the point of gawdy.

Yes, the shooters do go over to the side and everyone pulls out there pistols for others to admire.

[tonerguy]

Maybe something fancy like this Tucker Gunleather rig. It's an HF1 holster in Black Cherry with a Cross Cut Stamp, a Texas Concho and matching belt. The gun is from Lone Star Arms http://www.lonestararms.net/

http://www.imgmag.com/images/tonerguy/Tucker/Handgunner002Small.jpg

Speaking of Texas Rangers, there are approximately 106 at present. I believe about ten of them are wearing Tucker Gunleather. Here's a letter from one to Tucker:

http://www.imgmag.com/images/tonerguy/Tucker/TuckerLTRMedsize01.jpg

[chaim]

If I was going to a formal occasion and I was in a state where I could carry I suppose I'd bring something like a J-frame or maybe even something like the Beretta Tomcat. Most state laws allowing carry require concealment as well so I see no need for a particularly fancy gun for this purpose, just something easy to conceal in a tux that won't get in my way.

Now, what is my nicest gun. I'd say my S&W 65LS. Eventually I'd like a Python and a nice medium to high dollar 1911 to fill my "nicest gun" slot.

[Wanderer]

I have to disagree with Selfproclaimedexpert. Have you seen the pics of Skunks M92?

[No Quarter]

S&W Model 27 w/ 3 1/2" barrel - fully engraved with nicely carved and worn with age ivory grips.

Ohhhhh baby!

NQ

[PCRCCW]

My dress gun is my STI Trojan, that will have hard chrome finish a french border on the slide. Give it a month and Itll be a reality.

Shoot well.

[Poohgyrr]

I would still like to have an engraved, blued, 4" M24, but a 3 1/2" M27, or pre M27, would work pretty well too. Carried in a fully hand-carved Mernickle gunbelt.

If neither of the above, then I'd want an engraved, blued Hi Power. My wife (from Houston) will have her 5" Colt 1911 to cover that area. :evil:

[Johnny Guest]

Dr.Rob wroteThere is formal, as in tea with royalty, and there is formal, as a Texas BBQ with Anne Richards. Uh, no one I know would invite Ms. Richards to a barbeque nowadays. She is the main reason Texans did not have a Concealed Handgun License law at least four years earlier than it came about.

While Texas Governor, Ms. Richards vetoed the prospect of having a public referendum on whether or not the voters wanted the law. Too bad, too, because I always thought she had a pretty good head on her shoulders. Someone who will not even allow Texans to make their wishes known, though, has no business being our governor. The Texas State Rifle Association made a substantial effort to direct the ground swell against her, and she was NOT re-elected. A few years later, the CHL law passed.

Kinda sad to see her leave public office, too:( Brought it on herownself.

Best,
Johnny

[aerod1]

Notice how many 1911's were mentioned? One gun noticeably absent is the BUTT UGLY Glock! It proves most people would be ashamed to take it anywhere they needed to look dignified. Well I am not going to go against popular opinion either. I love all of my1911's.
It would be any 1911 for me as well.

Jim Hall

[Rich357]

No matter what you carry, IMHO, it had better be reliable. If it isn't a good SD piece then you are just carrying a heavy chunk of jewelry.

If your diamond encrusted pistol doesn't work I'm sure you would be happy to have and "ugly" little Glock on your ankle.

Rich

[mete]

The renaissance BHP is too ornate for me but I remember seeing a beautiful matched pair of BHPs which were gold inlayed. Simple and elegant that would be my choice.

[Brian Dale]

I like the lines of a 1903 Colt, but I don't want .32ACP. It would look awfully nice in the cummerbund, though. Have it engraved in an art-deco style to go with the lines of a tuxedo.

In a more reassuring caliber, I'd like a highly polished, lightly engraved Webley R.I.C., with mammoth/mastodon ivory stocks, and shirt studs to match. I'd probably want a Wilderness belt under the cummerbund (strong side carry). If Ronald Reagan could put up with wearing patent-leather opera pumps with a tuxedo, I guess I can do the same, and have a patent-leather Tom Threepersons rig made for the Webley.