the fastest handgun in the world ?

From drawing to firing? Is there a safety involved that needs to be disengaged? Or is it simply the actual lock time from squeezing the trigger to the hammer / striker falling and hitting the firing pin? That's a pretty large question...

From drawing to firing? Is there a safety involved that needs to be disengaged? Or is it simply the actual lock time from squeezing the trigger to the hammer / striker falling and hitting the firing pin? That's a pretty large question...

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Most of the top competition shooter use a 1911 style pistol that has a "safety that needs to be disengaged", and it doesn't hold them back.

As fast as a 1911 is, I've seen video of both Jerry Miculek and Bob Munden shoot revolvers faster than their 1911's, both are (Munden was, he passed away within the last year) also very good with the 1911, but since they are so fast, they have to wait for the slide to cycle with the auto pistol.

It's not a tough question; however, since you've excluded automatics, e.g., the Glock 18, then you apparently don't understand the question.

How could anyone know this for sure? You would have to build a machine that could pull the trigger in faster and faster increments and hook it up to each individual pistol to test it. Like someone said, you have to wait for the slide to cycle and the sights to return before you pull the trigger again, or you would just be spraying random bullets. If you simply want to know which pistols are fastest in the real world, look at some of the pistols used in shooting competitions where time matters.

greenlion said:

How could anyone know this for sure? You would have to build a machine that could pull the trigger in faster and faster increments and hook it up to each individual pistol to test it. Like someone said, you have to wait for the slide to cycle and the sights to return before you pull the trigger again, or you would just be spraying random bullets. If you simply want to know which pistols are fastest in the real world, look at some of the pistols used in shooting competitions where time matters.

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Which would be some version of the 1911.

Actions already cycle faster than any human trigger finger. I saw Miculek bump-fire a 1911 at 600 rounds per minute - not even he can do that with his trigger finger. And if you've ever heard a semi-auto go auto for 2 or so rounds (usually a 1911 because someone likely messed with the sear too aggressively), you can hear it's far faster than anyone can actually pull the trigger.

that is why I am asking , so that I don't have to try and figure out something that someone else already knows

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I think the simple fact of the matter that in just about everyone's hands, it's a total wash. Pretty much every semi-auto will cycle faster than you can pull the trigger and certainly faster than you can both re-aim and pull the trigger again. Of the several semi-auto pistols I own, none of them seem to be any faster than the others. I'm sure there are the differences of fractions of a second between them but you'd never know it and it would never make a difference while shooting.

The cyclic rate of the Glock 18 and Beretta 93R is said to be 1,100 - 1,300 rounds per minute.

Or about 20 shots per second.

Any other recoil operated semi-auto pistol based on the Browning design would have a similar cyclic rate if it were full auto.

As you can see, how fast the slide cycles is a purely academic question, because nobody can pull the trigger faster then the slide cycles on any semi-auto pistol design.

rc

I'd look up what Jerry Mitchlek (sp) has used. If any one is likely to push it to the limits it's him.

Jerry Miculek and Bob Munden do not use revolvers because they pull the trigger on semi's too fast.... Jerry's split times with a handgun are around .12 seconds, which is more than enough time for any semi automatic pistol to cycle.

two gun charlie said:

Thanks RC and Sheepdog , I want this information because I am planning a little "modification" and I need to buy a pistol that will be able to cycle really, really fast

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You may be walking a fine (legal and safety) line, so be careful.

ed mcgivern's record is 5 shots in 2/5 seconds. that is equal to 750 rounds per minute. a colt 1911 cycle rate is 600 rounds per minute. i'm sure a lighter, faster bullet out of an auto will cycle much faster than either of these weapons, but in 1934 that's all they had to play with (i'm assuming the mauser and luger were not an option).

murf

Couldn't tell you what the cyclic rate was, but I wore a sear on a Government model down to the point where it fired 3 shots so fast that at first I didn't realize what had happened-just that something felt different.

The first indication that it went full auto was 4 holes in a fresh target, and the last case was trapped between the barrel and the slide

Back into my parts bag for a new sear!

It's going to be a sub-compact- they have the shortest cycling slides.

Another way of asking the question and getting the same result is, "which semi-auto, when converted with an auto sear, has the highest cyclic rate?"

A glock 26, converted to full auto, fires faster than a 17/18.

Therefore, it could be reasonably assumed, given that Glocks tending to have a shorter trigger reset than many semi-autos, would be the fastest cycling and firing; the Glock 26 probably meeting your criteria.

Any locked breach action is going to be slower than a straight blow back. Also most SA service caliber autos are of the JMB tilting barrel design I'd almost bet that changing the recoil spring rate would affect rate more than the brand on the slide.

I always thought a SA revolver would be much faster than any semi

I wonder how the HK P7 would stack up from a cyclic rate, since it's gas operated and uses a fluted cylinder to ease extraction....

It depends on the shooter, gun, and the situation.

I have a 1911 with a great feeling trigger, but I will pick my M&P 40 for combat.

There is not much of a speed difference in how fast I can pull the trigger between the two.

Sure, the 1911 have a lighter trigger, but that does not mean I can just jamm on the trigger and expect hits.

Now, that does not mean I think M&P is the "fastest pistol." I am not aware of any pistol that cannot keep up with a speed of human trigger finger speed, although I do think heavy and long DAO trigger will slow a shooter down the most.

People who advocate manual firing inhibitor like to say it does not slow them down because the manipulation is done during the drawing motion or transition from ready to firing position.

Problem with that argument is that it is not always true.

Each of them have different doctrine of how manual firing inhibitor is used, and depending on the doctrine it can be a problem , especially in regards to situations where a user has to frequently switch between engaged and disengaged position in quick succession.