What Is Your Absolute Favorite Handgun and Why?

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Capybara

Capybara

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Here are the simple rules folks. Bonus if you can post an image of the gun you're posting about.

1. What is your absolute favorite handgun (any type of handgun is qualified, revolver, semi-auto, single shot, AR/AK pistol, etc.) you currently own or have owned in the past?

2. What about this handgun makes it special to you? Is it the way it shoots, it's history, sentimental value, family heirloom, mechanical uniqueness or it saved your life? Give us some background.

3. Out of all of your guns, rifles, shotguns, handguns, AOWs, MGs, etc. is this handgun the ONE gun you would keep if circumstances dictated that you only would get to keep one gun? If so, why and if not, what would be the one gun you would keep and why?

Just doing this to see a cross section of High Roaders, what we all like, prefer and treasure.
 
I have four handguns: S&W SD9VE, a 642 revolver, a 686 Plus revolver, and a Seacamp LWS32. If I could only keep one of these it would have to be the 686 Plus (my gun pictured below). I love shooting 38 Special and having the capability of shooting 357 Magnum. I like it's 7-shot capacity. Being an L-frame it has a nice solid feel and will take 357s all day long.

I like revolvers because they give me a feeling akin to that I get driving a car with a manual transmission. I don't have to have a magazine for the revolver. Yep I will even keep this over the Winchester Model 97 Pump 12 gauge with exposed hammer (1950s) that my grandfather had.

No history as I just bought this revolver a couple months ago but it had a good histroy and came with the box and all the miscellaneous stuff of the original purchase.

Love the custom grips the previous owner put on it, but not good for sustained shooting of 357 magnum cartridges unless i have a shooting glove.

I don't know if i was supposed to say all this in a 1., 2., 3, list but I think I answered all the questions.

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Formatting is just a guide, all good. Beautiful grips. How well can you shoot that revolver with the snub barrel, especially D/A .357? I only have 4" and 5" revolvers myself,
I've never shot a snub nose but I have heard that much like a subcompact for CCW that we all carry, much harder to be accurate with than a mid to
full sized gun?
 
Many years ago, I was attending a five day course at Chapman Academy. All week I had been shooting a .40 cal. Browning Hi Power. Thursday evening (qualify on Friday) while shooting the mover my front sight went over my shoulder never to be seen again. The only other handgun I had with me was a 45 cal. S&W Performance Center 945. I had to borrow ammo from a friend to make enough to qualify the next day. I had not shot this gun during the course, all week long it had been the Browning. To shorten this story, I made master. This 945 will be mine until they shovel dirt on my face. And it will always be my favorite handgun. 4EEF99D3-114E-4700-A12C-09D270F0ADBD.jpeg
 
A S&W 66-2 with 2.5" barrel. A classic and durable design with a great double action trigger. It can fire and function with a variety of ammo choices. Good for target shooting, home defense, car defense, and carry. It is somewhat of a "grail" gun that I acquired to go with a Marlin 1894 CSBL.

View attachment 1076360

View attachment 1076361
 
JoeHenry said:
Many years ago, I was attending a five day course at Chapman Academy. All week I had been shooting a .40 cal. Browning Hi Power. Thursday evening (qualify on Friday) while shooting the mover my front sight went over my shoulder never to be seen again. The only other handgun I had with me was a 45 cal. S&W Performance Center 945. I had to borrow ammo from a friend to make enough to qualify the next day. I had not shot this gun during the course, all week long it had been the Browning. To shorten this story, I made master. This 945 will be mine until they shovel dirt on my face. And it will always be my favorite handgun.View attachment 1076359
Click to expand...

Wow, sweet gun, I've never even seen one like this. Good story to go with it too.
 
chicharrones said:
A S&W 66-2 with 2.5" barrel. A classic and durable design with a great double action trigger. It can fire and function with a variety of ammo choices. Good for target shooting, home defense, car defense, and carry. It is somewhat of a "grail" gun that I acquired to go with a Marlin 1894 CSBL.

View attachment 1076360

View attachment 1076361
Click to expand...

Beautiful Smith Revolver! Same question for you, how much harder is to be accurate with a snub nose revolver, especially in DA? Such a tiny sight radius!
 
  1. Colt Police Positive
  2. My dad gave it to me, it's my wife's favorite gun as well, the trigger is smoother than warm butter
  3. It wouldn't be the Colt... if I could only have one gun it would be one of my long guns. That Colt ain't much for defending anything.
 
Capybara said:
Formatting is just a guide, all good. Beautiful grips. How well can you shoot that revolver with the snub barrel, especially D/A .357? I only have 4" and 5" revolvers myself,
I've never shot a snub nose but I have heard that much like a subcompact for CCW that we all carry, much harder to be accurate with than a mid to
full sized gun?
Click to expand...

Yeah I'd have preferred a longer barrel. I grabbed this one for $675 and a month later they had a 4-inch show up but was asking $850. They have let me go 10% under on the two guns I bought there, but I am okay with the snubby as it would be easier to carry. I forgot what distance I had the target, maybe 5 yards, should have wrote it down. I was getting about 3" groups on the 38 Specials out of it, but the .357 Magnums were bigger groups, say 5-7 inches, but they were torso shots and the 38 Specials were head shots on the target, so maybe because I had to aim lower it wasn't so good, but frankly, I think the .357s are just harder to shoot. Next trip to the range I better take a pen and ruler so I can write stuff down.

Speaking of snubbies, here is an article about shooting a revolver with no barrel, just the chambers functioning as barrels. It did pretty well in fact.
 
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Capybara said:
Beautiful Smith Revolver! Same question for you, how much harder is to be accurate with a snub nose revolver, especially in DA? Such a tiny sight radius!
Click to expand...

Sight radius almost doesn't matter much in my middle age since handgun sights are fuzzy to me now, unless those sights are on a really long barrel. Hence the laser grip for low light optical sighting assistance.

I will say this 66-2 is much easier to shoot than my snub nose Taurus 85 UltraLite that also had a Crimson Trace grip on it. The 66 is the easiest to shoot snub nose I've ever tried, probably because it has the best double action trigger I can recall using.

Of course, this 66 is pushing 33 ounces empty compared to an alloy framed J-frame sized revolver with less trigger/hammer leverage. While that 66-2 is a snub nose, it's not exactly a small snub nose.

I do have other revolvers with 2", 3", 6", and 9.5" long barrels. Due to their chambering, action, or size, they wouldn't be my last handgun if I had to whittle it down to just one.
 
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Ruger Blackhawk in 41 mag w. 7.5 inch barrel. My grandpa had one. Don’t remember him. Last time I saw him I was 4. Would give my of my gonad’s to have it back. Pops sold it when he got disabled.
Also my other grandpas charter undercover in 38 snub nosed. Would trade a kidney for it back. That one got sold due to me having kids and a craptastic job.
 
Easy: my Colt Combat Commander, part of a limited number made by Colt's Custom Shop in the late '70s. I saw an ad for it in Shotgun News by a large gun distributor that was about an hour and a half from were I lived at the time. It was a Saturday and the distributor had a small store front building connected to their warehouse. They closed at 4:00 and I decided to go for it! Unfortunately it was like a quarter to 3:00 when I thought about going there! Thankfully the state troopers must have been somewhere else that day as I made it there in less than hour. I saw one in the case and said "I will take it"! I had $300 on me and it came to $289 and change. There was another one with an ambi safety but that would have put me over my available cash (pre-Visa days).

Took the gun home and couldn't stop staring at it as I never had a bright nickel plated gun before and it was stunning! So much so I didn't want to shoot it, ever! I showed it to a friend and he instantly fell in love with it. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm moving out of state. Need some traveling money and instead of selling a bunch of less expensive guns I decided to sell my prized Combat Commander, still unfired. We settled on a price and I added a Right of First Refusal, meaning if he ever wanted to sell or trade it he would have to offer it to me first. Years go by and I moved back home. Look up my old friend and yep, he still has the Colt but he's not interested in selling it. He has used it quite a bit and found it to shoot as good as a Gold Cup without being too fussy about ammo. Now I have to find a way to get him to trade it back to me. I picked up a Colt Officer's Model ACP and he really liked it! But it would take more than that to pry him loose from the Combat Commander! Then I figured to bump up the ante just enough by throwing in an Interarms surplus Walther P1 that was in great shape, along with a spare mag and a leather holster. That got him! He got two very decent guns in the deal and I got my "sweet shootin" Combat Commander back!

Now the gun itself was tuned and accurized, fitted with a Gold Cup trigger, and had an MMC rear sight. Along with the bright nickel plating, it's still quite a gun to behold. Even today with match ammo it would have no problem keeping up shot for shot with a Gold Cup. And reliable and tough enough, with any ammo, to be carried in the CCW
role. I used it to qualify for my CCW license and then for an advanced course I took some years later.

This is my Absolute Favorite Handgun!
ZFwuWE7.jpg

P.S.-I added the Pachmayr grips, main spring housing, and the Pachmayr magazine. Just like the way the black grips played off of the mirror-like appearance of the nickel plating.
 
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These two are my favorites. Both are .44 Special. The Freedom Arms, I love the feel, it carries good in a belt holster. It’s just a beautiful revolver. The 624 because, I wanted one so bad, when they come out in the 80’s, but there was no way I could afford to buy one. Found this one, new in the box, several years ago. It was like a dream come true. I have a 4” 629, but it’s not like the 624. A N frame, with a 4” tapered barrel, looks so neat. I would have to get very hungry to part with either of these.
02ECF127-7D4B-4FB4-9619-45B898BC353F.jpeg 9615AED5-7964-4CAD-8350-7A620B91775B.jpeg
 
bannockburn said:
Easy: my Colt Combat Commander, part of a limited number made by Colt's Custom Shop in the late '70s. I saw an ad for it in Shotgun News by a large gun distributor that was about an hour and a half from were I lived at the time. It was a Saturday and the distributor had a small store front building connected to their warehouse. They closed at 4:00 and I decided to go for it! Unfortunately it was like a quarter to 3:00 when I thought about going there! Thankfully the state troopers must have been somewhere else that day as I made it there in less than hour. I saw one in the case and said "I will take it"! I had $300 on me and it came to $289 and change. There was another one with an ambi safety but that would have put me over my available cash (pre-Visa days).

Took the gun home and couldn't stop staring at it as I never had a bright nickel plated gun before and it was stunning! So much so I didn't want to shoot it, ever! I showed it to a friend and he instantly fell in love with it. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm moving out of state. Need some traveling money and instead of selling a bunch of less expensive guns I decided to sell my prized Combat Commander, still unfired. We settled on a price and I added a Right of First Refusal, meaning if he ever wanted to sell or trade it he would have to offer it to me first. Years go by and I moved back home. Look up my old friend and yep, he still has the Colt but he's not interested in selling it. He has used it quite a bit and found it to shoot as good as a Gold Cup without being too fussy about ammo. Now I have to find a way to get him to trade it back to me. I picked up a Colt Officer's Model ACP and he really liked it! But it would take more than that to pry him loose from the Combat Commander! Then I figured to bump up the ante just enough by throwing in an Interarms surplus Walther P1 that was in great shape, along with a spare mag and a leather holster. That got him! He got two very decent guns in he deal and I got my "sweet shootin" Combat Commander back!

Now the gun itself was tuned and accurized, fitted with a Gold Cup trigger, and had an MMC rear sight. Along with the bright nickel plating, it's still quite a gun to behold. Even today with match ammo it would have no problem keeping up shot for shot with a Gold Cup. And reliable and tough enough, with any ammo, to be carried in the CCW
role. I used it to qualify for my CCW license and then for an advanced course i took some years later.

This is my Absolute Favorite Handgun!
View attachment 1076380

P.S.-I added the Pachmayr grips, main spring housing, and the Pachmayr magazine. Just like the way the black grips played off of the mirror-like appearance of the nickel plating.
Click to expand...

Wow! I can see why this is special to you. What a great story and it's a beauty. I too am not partial to Nickel-plated handguns as they are usually a bit too gaudy for my taste but your colt is a vision.
 
Gary W. Strange said:
These two are my favorites. Both are .44 Special. The Freedom Arms, I love the feel, it carries good in a belt holster. It’s just a beautiful revolver. The 624 because, I wanted one so bad, when they come out in the 80’s, but there was no way I could afford to buy one. Found this one, new in the box, several years ago. It was like a dream come true. I have a 4” 629, but it’s not like the 624. A N frame, with a 4” tapered barrel, looks so neat. I would have to get very hungry to part with either of these.
View attachment 1076374 View attachment 1076379
Click to expand...

Wow, what kind of grip wood are those on the Smith? Is that Ash or ?
 
That’s not a fair question.

I have a H&R sealed 8 that belonged to my grandfather when he was a teenager, Pre-WW2 model. I got it when my dad retired, he had taken it to the mill (he was a machinist) to fix something and forgotten about it until he cleaned out his tool box years later.

I also have a 357 my brother bought for me when I was a teenager decades ago. Neither of those are going anywhere.

I have a 1911 I built (using the term loosly) for “backyard bullseye” and I learned an incredible amount of knowledge with that gun. I still love it today, and that was a long time ago.

I currently enjoy shooting my 29-2 more than anything else, but I’ll move on to something else one day. For now I love trying to tame the beast, lots of fun to be had with a 44mag and a shot timer.

My PM45 that I EDC has been a loved companion for well over a decade now.

I can pretty much narrow it down to those, but beyond that I simply can’t tell you my favorite.
 
F1FBADE3-F15F-40A0-9970-6419B226EEB3.jpeg Favorite gun is a new model Ruger Blackhawk in 44 special. Why is it my favorite? Hmm I don’t know. I had a short barrel SBH that gave me trouble a good spell. I came across this and it’s been love ever since. I replaced the XR3 grip frame with a stainless XR3-red and carry it daily in a simply rugged sourdough pancake holster.

If I had to pare down to just one gun, it would be a Ruger new model single six that was moms. They are a pair, except the single six isn’t two tone. But for sentimental reasons I wouldn’t part with it.
 
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I really like all of my handguns except the LCR. My favorite is the 1971 model Browning International Medalist, top center amongst the rimfires below. It's my favorite because it is an amazing piece of craftsmanship, feels the best in my hand, has a perfect trigger, is the most accurate of any handgun I've ever fired (rimfire or centerfire), and is just very satisfying to operate and shoot.

vELRBll.jpg

As much as I like the International Medalist, it wouldn't be the one gun I'd keep if I could only keep one. Perish the thought of only having one gun, but I'm comforted by the knowledge that this is presently a hypothetical scenario.

I wouldn't keep the IM because I'm more of a rifle guy than handgun. The one keeper would be a rifle, and probably a rimfire because I'd see myself shooting it much more over the coming years than a centerfire. Exactly which one would be a difficult choice. The best I could do at the moment might be to narrow it down to three likely candidates. Assuming I didn't let sentimental favorites take over (like my Dad's 1950 Remington 121 or my 1966 10/22 that I've had since I was about 15 years old), I'd probably keep one of these:

The CZ 452 American on the bottom in this photo...
e0JWQYM.jpg

or the CZ 453 Varmint in the middle of this photo...
CAth61S.jpg

or this 1938 Winchester 52B...
2ADTbBj.jpg
 
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If I could only have one handgun it would be my T/C Contender with multiple barrels. This is a versatile gun for shooting targets to big game. Granted, not the best for self defense, but the 45/410 barrel with 410 defense loads will put a hurtin on a perp.
 
As soon as I started reading your OP @Capybara this gun popped into my head immediately.

1. My S&W 327 Night Guard
6D7C7CBD-CA34-4449-BC13-2410FF7A5EAA.jpeg

2. I fell in love with this gun the day the salesman at a gun store in Elk Grove CA handed it to me. My wife was with me helping pick out a woods carry gun. She looked at me and said “I can tell by the look on your face that this is the gun for you. You should buy it.” And I did.
For some reason I shoot this gun very well even with the short sight radius. It has a Big Dot XS night sight in front and a Cylinder & Slide rear. With .357 magnum loads I actually shoot this gun as well if not better than my 4” & 6” .357 revolvers.
It carries very well and is a pleasure to shoot.

3. This will be the last handgun I ever part with. I love all my guns, especially my revolvers, but this one is special. Funny thing is it is also the gun that my wife shoots best out of all my guns. It is the house gun because I know how well I shoot it and I know my wife can shoot it well too.
When I move back East this summer this will be my primary all around gun and it will go hunting and fishing with me.
It’s mine and I will never part with it.
 
Pat Riot said:
As soon as I started reading your OP @Capybara this gun popped into my head immediately.

1. My S&W 327 Night Guard
View attachment 1076397

2. I fell in love with this gun the day the salesman at a gun store in Elk Grove CA handed it to me. My wife was with me helping pick out a woods carry gun. She looked at me and said “I can tell by the look on your face that this is the gun for you. You should buy it.” And I did.
For some reason I shoot this gun very well even with the short sight radius. It has a Big Dot XS night sight in front and a Cylinder & Slide rear. With .357 magnum loads I actually shoot this gun as well if not better than my 4” & 6” .357 revolvers.
It carries very well and is a pleasure to shoot.

3. This will be the last handgun I ever part with. I love all my guns, especially my revolvers, but this one is special. Funny thing is it is also the gun that my wife shoots best out of all my guns. It is the house gun because I know how well I shoot it and I know my wife can shoot it well too.
When I move back East this summer this will be my primary all around gun and it will go hunting and fishing with me.
It’s mine and I will never part with it.
Click to expand...

It's rare a husband and wife both shoot the same gun well, that's great!
 
Capybara said:
Here are the simple rules folks. Bonus if you can post an image of the gun you're posting about.

1. What is your absolute favorite handgun (any type of handgun is qualified, revolver, semi-auto, single shot, AR/AK pistol, etc.) you currently own or have owned in the past?

2. What about this handgun makes it special to you? Is it the way it shoots, it's history, sentimental value, family heirloom, mechanical uniqueness or it saved your life? Give us some background.

3. Out of all of your guns, rifles, shotguns, handguns, AOWs, MGs, etc. is this handgun the ONE gun you would keep if circumstances dictated that you only would get to keep one gun? If so, why and if not, what would be the one gun you would keep and why?

Just doing this to see a cross section of High Roaders, what we all like, prefer and treasure.
Click to expand...

1. Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in 454 Casull (I only shoot 45 Colt in it) with a shim kit installed, one level down from factory strength Wolf springs installed, and a Bowen Rough Country rear sight.

2. It fits my hand perfectly. The trigger pull is amazing. I had Bowen cut the rear sight notch wider so I get the sight picture of a 6" or so barreled revolver on a 2.75" revolver, which is really cool. I shot it in a USPSA match and it was extremely fun. Low recoil, big hole, plus, I can leave it loaded forever and not worry about magazine spring tension.

3. If my world continues to be as safe for the rest of my life as it has been thus far, then yes. If there is an end of the world scenario envisioned, no, I'd take my Wyndham Weaponry AR-10, so I could handle anything that comes my way.

-Stan
 
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