Greatest 9mm Ever

[MachIVshooter]

1) Length of service and production

2) Military and LEA adoption

3) Commercial units sold

Those are not criteria I would use when rating "best". All 3 of those are as much a product of cost and marketing as favorable attributes.

I would base it on:

-Reliability
-Durability
-Fit & Finish
-Ergonomics
-Accuracy

In those departments, of the eight 9mm's I currently own and the dozens I've played with, the S&W 5906 wins, followed closely by the CZ-75 and quality clones thereof. I love my Beretta 92 FS, but it's simply not as Robust as the All-stainless S&W.

 

[Ethics]

Glock 17 no question.

 

[ACORN]

Slam Dunk! BHP!

 

[Z71]

I would think a series of pistols in 9mm would be considered.

The P08 was the first, and quite succesful 9mm. Then the Hi-power, which would surely be among the best and longest lasting 9mm service pistol. Still going strong.

A successor might be either the Beretta M9/92 series, or the Glock 17, however it would be hard to unseat the Hi-Power.

 

[dwave]

There are too many good guns for any one to be the Greatest, so the answer is None!

Away ye blasphemer dwave!

Perhaps Dwave was being profound. Perhaps he meant that there were so many GREAT 9mms, that none was the best. He could've meant that. Maybe.

Don't worry guys, 9mm is an awesome round, I have owned several, cheap (ammo) and effective. Course I'll admit, I sold my 9mm for a .45ACP!

 

[FlyinBryan]

to me the jmb hi power is the 9mm pistol by which all others are judged.

to me its almost as perfect as a 1911

 

[BigG]

I would guess the G17 but my favorite NINE is the original P08.

 

[Georgia Gunner]

The BHP.

 

[Marshall]

The Hi Power, no question.

 

[kentucky_smith]

HP, then maybe the CZ75, P38, SW39/59, obligatory G17 reference, 92...

 

[Confederate]

The Smith 659 and 5906 are both incredibly sexy pistols. I was able to take some photos this morning. When I see the prices that these guns can be had for, I think they must be the biggest secret in the 9mm world. All stainless construction, flawless reliability, beautiful finish, excellent fit, durable as a tank and as strong as a brick outhouse.

 

[Hansli]

The F.B. Radom Vis P 35. I wish they were still made. Comfortable, reliable and startlingly accurate. Great? Yes. Common? Unfortunately not. If you get the chance to savor one don't pass it by.

 

[Tomcat47]

I say Baretta first! This considerng service, compared to sheer numbers is one tough firearm!

I say the most accurate was a Model 39 Smith & Wesson hands down and they did have a military version of it (ASP39-2), but not in comparative numbers to the Baretta.

The rest where ever you want to put them!

The Baretta 92 fills the criteria and IMO includes machIVshooter"s criteria as well!

And I love my 92 FS also!

 

[Ghostrider_23]

Sig 226

Sig baby, Sig in 226 all the way jack!!!!!!

 

[Harley Quinn]

The 9mm Parabellum has been around for 105 years or so.
Luger is the name of the round now and it was for that gun it was made.

BHP is the one for USA
P38 was for the Germans, along with the Luger
Glock has dominated the USA for some time
Beretta 92 (Std issue) is one that we use in our Military now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta

Some history on the 9mm Parabellum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9x19mm_Parabellum

 

[DawgFvr]

The BHP really must be the final answer here. I will admit that Glock brought the 9mm back into the lime light again...but still, who can really argue with the BHP as the greatest 9mm of all time?

 

[Cliff47]

I, personally, consider john Moses Browning a Higher Power.

 

[Harley Quinn]

The skinny on the Browning Hi-Power. "King of the nines"

FN is a heavy hitter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browning_Hi-Power

Read it and investigate the blue highlights interesting story.

 

[elsullo]

A Runner-Up

Nobody has mentioned the Korean DaeWoo DP51 9mm pistol, sometimes called a P6, I think. It never made it big commercially in the West, so few shooters have heard of it. I think it has been produced for twenty years or so, and it is or was the official military and police sidearm of many Southeast Asian nations. Every Korean soldier and policeman carried one, and I think in Indonesia too, with half a billion citizens. I have no figures, but surely the total production of this superb handgun must be huge........................elsullo

 

[mikebnem]

Smith 39-2
With a doubt...........

 

[Fishman777]

I don't think that I could pick just one...

I'm not going to include any newer guns, because they haven't had enough time to justify their place on this list.

In no particular order:

Glock 17 and 19
Beretta 92 FS
Sig p226
HK USP

 

[rjohnson4405]

So now we're just throwing opinions instead following of the OP's criteria? Granted that was answered pretty quick, so maybe it's opinion time.

Sounds like the BHP overwhelmingly wins the criteria race.

I personally am a Sig guy.

 

[dwave]

See why I said none?

 

[Jiml3]

Cz Pcr.

 

[Harley Quinn]

As of 2007, the MK1 version is currently in service with the Canadian Forces, supplemented by the Sig Sauer P226. The weapon is the standard sidearm of the Belgian Army, British Army, Indian Army, Australian Defence Force, Argentine Army, Irish Army, Luxembourgish Army, Israeli police, Singapore Special Operations Force and Venezuelan Army, among others. The Irish Army has begun replacing its Browning Pistols (known popularly as BAPs, or Browning Automatic Pistols) with the H&K USP automatic in 2007.

The BHP is still in service by numerous countries, hard to beat a good one. With it cocked and locked people really like that feature. It is antiquated but still a very fine pistol.