Jeff B.
Member
Well, based on what I shoot today, I'd say first choice would be a 1911. Second and probably more likely would be a Colt SAA. Caliber TBD.
Jeff B.
Jeff B.
In terms of units sold, small revolvers probably would have been the most popular but most likely from the likes of Iver Johnson and Harrington & Richardson. Then, as now, S&W and Colt would have been relatively expensive- but as money is no object for the purposes of this thread, why not!Honestly, I don't know what models were out back then, that was a long time ago. My first 2 guns I bought on the same day. A pump shotgun and a .357 revolver. I assume I would buy a small Colt or S&W revolver. They were by far the most popular choices back then.
I think SAAs likely were more common than we realize today. Like Krags, surplus SAAs would probably have been cheap and effective!It depends on my occupation.
In 1040 the country was still coming out of the Great Depression. Hard cash was still hard to come by in most parts even though FDR was ramping up production for the war in Europe.
So if on the criminal side of the law I would choose a Colt Super 38.
As a typical underpaid Police Officer a Colt or S&W 32-20. The most common ammunition for the 38 Special was the 158 gr. RNL bullet at 750 fps. Commonly referred to as the "widow maker." Imo the 32-20 was superior to the 38 Special in that era.
As a businessman or store owner I don't want to scare my customers into thinking we will be robbed. Under my suit coat, smock or apron a flat semi-auto such as the Colt 1908 so it doesn't print through my clothing. In the drawer or on the shelf next to the cash box / register a Colt or S&W Model 1917 revolver in 45 Auto.
Farmer / rancher a lever action rifle would be much more useful. Farmers & ranchers were cash strapped so not much of a target for robbery.
Probably not a lot of interest in carrying as a private citizen as crime rates were so low in most parts of the country. The S&W M&P (pre Model 10) or Colt Police Positive Special if I had the money. Actually a Colt SAA would be at the top of the list as by then it was considered to be obsolete old gun and were probably much more affordable than the Colt and S&W. The 45 Colt was THE magnum cartridge of the era.
Makes you wonder how easy it would have been to get ahold of a PPK in the US back then....Same as it is today - Walther PPK in 380 or .22
I wish they still made it today...such an awesome design.
Cool story! Too bad you don't still have that picture. I just recently found a pic of my Grandfather in basic with his Garand. He would never talk about the war. When we asked him about what he carried, he would just reply: "Don't remember."Somewhere, in the dark recesses of my memory, there is an old, black and white photograph of my father standing in front of a 1939...1940 Ford automobile. He's wearing a "Zoot Suit" with the jacket thrown across the hood of the car. He's wearing a hat, and in his hands he hold a pair of what I remember as being 4", Smith & Wesson revolvers.
I remember asking about them once, and being quickly told "Oh, they were just toys." As a child I accepted this without question.
But not so much years later. The picture was obviously taken before I was born, so why would my father pose with toy guns, and whose "toy guns" would they be?
Then at my fathers funeral, my mother told a story that I had never heard. She said when she first met my father, her mother told her to "Stay away from that boy...He's a bootlegger." Again, obviously that advice fell on deaf ears.
I also remember my mother being deathly afraid of handguns. Well, not really "afraid". She just didn't want one around. She came from a family of hunters...shotguns never bothered her. She often said, the only people who had handguns were cops and crooks. As far as I know, she didn't know any cops.
So I like to see that picture again, but I know it's long ago been tossed out with the junk. Just some of those things that make you go....hummmmm.
But to answer the question, if a 4" Smith & Wesson was good enough for my father, I guess it would be good enough for me.
I wish they still made it today...such an awesome design.