Thinking about making the jump

The 10mm is a great replacement for performance, but the .357 has some great advantages as far as ammo. is concerned: availability, cost, and can of course run .38s for plinking.

Tough call only you can make.

Personally, in making changes I'd keep the .22s and the S&Ws you have.

Go to the STI line through Dawson Precision: Perfect 10 and whatever else floats your boat there. Have fun.

Variety is the spice of life. I'd get bored with just 1911s, even though I shoot them best as well. You have a well rounded accumulation which wouldnt bore me, so I'd stick with it. Your call though.

As far. As 10mm versus .357, it's a pick your poison thing, I think. I'd prefer the variety of ammo you can use in a revolver though.

40 and counting

I own and shoot 40 handguns,was up to 55 at one point.

I see/saw a use for all of them and I am sure I will sell and buy more as the spirit moves me.

Besides they keep coming out with cool new stuff.

Oh and I just got a 'grail gun' that I wanted for the past few decades = S&W model 13 with 3" barrel in .357.

Yes it will see range and belt carry.

If what you are looking for is a honest opinion then here is mine. First when it comes to 1911's I'm a Colt man. They are the originator of it. I own a Combat Elite. I have a buddy with a Delta Elite and it's a nice enough gun, but in reality it's just not as good a handgun to use in the woods as a G20. I own a G20SF, my buddy with the Delta Elite owns a regular Gen3 G20, and he'll tell you the same thing. Obviously it's a Glock so it will handled abuse and being dirty well, it's likely going to be an extremely reliable gun, and who really cares if you scuff it up a little bit. To me it's just a hard handgun to beat for the woods when you take into account that it will house up to 16 rounds of ammo with ballistics nearly identical to .357Mag. If you're mainly wanting it to take down deer or a hog with, and like the Delta better them maybe that's the way to go for you. I can tell you that a heavy gr 10mm load(real 10mm and namely Swampfox ammo, and I think specifically it was 180gr hardcast) does a much better job of destroying clay bricks then a lighter gr .357Mag FMJ.(he probably just had some typical 125gr .357Mag rounds) It was my G20 with it's factory barrel versus his Colt king Cobra. That might not be such a good thing for hunting, and not damaging too much of the animal though

Now that's just my opinion. Sure I'm a Glock fan and own a G20, but I'm a Colt fan also.

While I loves me 1911s, I would tire quickly of them if that's all I had with me when I go to the range. Variety is the spice of life and I feel that is very true when it comes to firearms. From your list of firearms, I would probably get rid of the Dan Wesson and Ruger .357s and get a .44 mag revolver for the woods instead of a 10MM. The .44 would be a better hunting handgun and ammo for hunting and defense against 4 legged predators is more readily available than 10MM. This is in factory ammo and reloading components. I would get rid of the Tupperware and use the monies to customize the 1991. They make excellent base guns for this purpose.

If I were you I would sell the following:

Ruger MkII

S&W 586 6"

Ruger Blackhawk

Glock 22&23

Use the funds to buy a 10mm 1911 for the woods and a compact .45 1911 for carry. I don't see holding on to the Glocks if you know you can shoot a 1911 better. Keep the rest because they're just plain nice; I'd also bet that you'd miss that 642 a lot if you sold it.

Keep whatever you want. You will probably want a good mix of handguns as they all have their attributes. Also, whims change, and you may end up regretting selling some of your guns at a later date.

I think you have a nice collection. What I might do is par down the number of calibers. Personally, I just ( about a year ago) divested myself of all .40S&W and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Never liked shooting it, too snappy for quick followups compared to .45 ACP & and I am not recoil sensitive. I would regret loosing all those fine wheel guns and I like 1911's too. Unless you reload, .45ACP isn't the cheapest round to shoot. At a minimum, I would hang on to at least one .357.

Of your list, here is what I might consider trading/selling to finance a couple more 1911s.

45 colt Ruger vaquero - expensive gun to feed & unless you reload of the two you seem to have more .357s so I would stick with that as my revolver cartridge.

G22 & 23 - personally, I wouldn't have use for a mid-size & a duty sized glock in the same caliber. I'd want a full size & a sub-compact. But I'd let go of all your .40s --- easily replaced if you want them back & defensive pistols are in high demand now.

Either the .22 Buckmark or the .22 MKII --- my preference would be to hang onto the Ruger - you can't go wrong with a good .22 handgun for inexpensive practice. I love my MKII.

S&W model 10 --- I don't see a real reason to hang on to this if you plan on keeping some of your excellent .357s

I have my own personal biases of course, YMMV --- good luck on your decision.

Just a thought if you do sell all this stuff and consolidate, you might want to consider a Ruger 22/45 as your .22 trainer as an alternative to the conversion kit. it has the same feel as the .1911, might be more reliable, and you can have a dedicated trainer/plinker rather than having to swap around. Look around and you might even find it for the same price as just a good quality conversion kit.

As I read your intent that would leave your final collection looking like this:

- .22 Marvel conversion 1922 for practice/plinking & whatnot

-10mm 1911 for woods carry

-.45acp 1911 New Agent for CCW

-.45acp 1911 for all around.

They only potential drawbacks I see are:

-The New Agent is 23oz empty and has a fullsize butt, so it would require dressing to conceal vs the diminuative 642 which can slide unobtrusively in nearly any pocket. On another note I dislike the trough site on the NA as well as I feel it makes the gun too one dimensional.

-As to the 10mm, it's an awsome round but I'd look at the .45 Super or 460 Rowland for a woods rig as the std .45acp would still be a possible option in those chambering. A long slide would be awsome for that use and would be my preference.

Were I doing it I would keep the 642 for those times when you need a discrete carry option, go to a lightweight Commander or similar for carry and would look real hard at going with a long slide set up for .45 Super for my woods rig.

That would leave the collection looking like this:

-.22 Marvel conversion
-.38 642 for deep CCW/BUG
-.45 Lightweight Commander for carry
-.45 1991 for all around
-.45/.45 Super longslide 1911 for woods carry

A .380 Mustang would be another option for small CCW rather than the .38 if you really want to stick with the 1911 style platform.

Regardless if you go all 1911 or just part way, I think you have a very good idea on standardization & simplification.

I'm hardcore 1911, but I still have lots of other handguns (almost all revolvers).

The New Agent is 23oz empty and has a fullsize butt,...

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We ARE talking about the old discontinued Colt Agent correct?

w doing some research and found a custom pistolsmith that will rebarrel your .357 revolver to 10mm. You use moonclips and can also shoot .40 S&W out of it too.

Keep the Colt and the S&W's; dump everything else.

No, do not sell off your collection. I find myself buying guns I sold off years ago. I know it's tempting to consolidate, but fun is an essential element of shooting. I have found that variety adds to the fun. It also increases your skill level. If you can manage a double action revolver trigger, you can manage a Glock trigger.

If you really have to dump everything, just lock them up in a safe and don't use them for a year. Try the 1911. Learn everything you can about it. Relying on a gunsmith to keep your 1911's running is very expensive; figure out how to make one run properly. You can take Hilton Yam's "1911 Operators" class to learn how to do this. Pull the other guns out after a year. You'll be glad you kept them since 22 Long Rifle will still be the lowest cost caliber.

22s Ruger mkii Buckmark camper

38 S&w 10 S&w 642

357 S&w 586 6" S&w 686 4" Dan wesson 6" Ruger blackhawk 6.5

40s&w Glock 22 Glock 23

45acp Colt 1991

45 colt Ruger vaquero

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Save this list. Before long, you're gonna need it for one of those perennial THR "guns I regret selling" threads.

While the 10mm when loaded to it's full potential is a great cartridge and can compete with the .357 Magnum I like the fact you can fire and 38/357 ammo in a .357 Magnum revolver. If times get really bad you are going to wish you had that .357 Magnum instead of a 10mm semi-auto, IMO of course...

Texan Scott said:

Save this list. Before long, you're gonna need it for one of those perennial THR "guns I regret selling" threads.

Click to expand...

This is quite a sage-ful comment. I can't add much, but I'll try.
Unless you an armorer for a small group of armed men and women, standardization is a crock. It seems to make sense until you realize that life gets pretty boring without variety. Same for those who narrow down their cartridge type to, say, just one. Efficient and cost effective but boring.
You have a nice collection. Enjoy the variety. Perhaps sell off one of the 1911's so you can buy another. Buy that 22/45 for some plinking fun rather than a conversion kit.
Variety beats uniformity any day.
Enjoy them.
V

Get a G34 and spend some time and ammo learning to shoot it well - then get a G21 and a 10mm conversion barrel and you'll have all the bases covered.

I had over 30k rounds through 1911s before I went searching for a polymer-framed CCW. The Glock 30 was the first Glock I shot well, so I bought one. I also wanted a range gun in 9mm, so I bought a G34. With California's one handgun per 30 day period stupidity, and another purchase shortly before, I bumped the G30 back and picked up the G34 first (the range had a rental 30, no 34.) It took me several hundred rounds to get it through my thick skull that a Glock isn't a 1911, and it was silly to expect to shoot it the same way, so I changed my grip and learned to shoot the Glock platform. I now own 4 (34,30,21.26), with a fifth (36) on the way.

The G34 lets me practice cheaply, the G30 is fun at the range and a CCW gun, the 21 is a range gun (and the 10mm conversion would make it a woods gun), and the 26 is a subcompact CCW, as wil be the 36.

My point is that you can learn to shoot a Glock as well and as fast as a 1911. I currently own 2 1911s, a blued Series 70 and a stainless Series 80, both full-sized, and a Kinber .22LR conversion kit. I've shot dozens of 1911s and variants, and have a special affection for them, but my collection shares many guns with yours and I sure wouldn't go all-1911. Rare is the gun I've sold without regret. I also enjoy maintaining profiency with a variety of platforms.

Of course, the choice is yours.

I had gone pretty much total 1911, but I got my noob wife a XD-9, ans I really like it too.

1911's and S&W revolvers are the only things that perk my interest anymore........well, I have to throw Freedom Arms revolvers in there too.

I remember many a conservation with fellow gun owners wishing that they had never sold a particular firearm. I've heard this discussion so many times I figured its best not to sell your firearms. Granted in a financial crises it may be your only option but other then ssid crises I would'nt sell or advise one to sell. Too many regrets. Maybe a trade but sell,no.

Sorry, my response is not among the options in the poll. My response is that I don't really care what guns you own and I don't understand why you would want to ask total strangers their opinions on what guns you should own. I buy (and keep) what I want and I don't care what others think. Based on the number of people seeking input from strangers on what gun(s) to buy apparently I am in the minority on this.

Keep the Rugers and the Glocks. Use the 1911 as BBQ guns to brag about. Use the Glocks for carry/SD. Use the Ruger MKII for fun at range.