Your favorite handgun

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Hoyte

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Everyone has a favorite pistol. One that they think is superior in function and form. One that makes you bewildered at everyone else’s favorite choice. I want you to tell me your favorite handgun, but then only mention it’s top flaw. It must be an actual, non-sarcastic problem with its design or looks.
 
I'm really not attached to any of my handguns but if I had to pick one (past or present) it would be my S&W model 915.

Honest flaws

I don't like TDA triggers
I don't like the fact that they haven't been in production for a long time and that S&W no longer supports them.
Mecgar is the only company that makes magazines for them. That in itself isn't a flaw, Mecgar makes some of the best quality magazines in the world BUT you pay for that name.
There's almost no aftermarket support for them.

I'll stick with my Glock
 
For hand fit and pointability (if that's the word), a P08 I own in 9X19mm.

Main drawback is it can be finicky with some factory ammunition but it's easy to avoid what doesn't work well once it's recognized. I tried a 50 round box of CCI Blazer aluminum cased stuff back in the 1980's and had severe issues with stovepiped brass. I never bought any other aluminum cased ammo in any cartridge.

There are other things others can point out as drawbacks but I'm not in the North African desert, the frozen steppes of Asia, or a muddy trench.
 
Single six convertible 9”. The gun shoots great, carries well, durable as all get out, cheap to feed... but just try finding a holster that’s worth having without having to special order one. It’s just a smidge shy of impossible. And the beater holster I have lived with for years broke today. I have a nice western rig but I don’t want to destroy it in the woods, and a decent leather holster isn’t cheap or readily available.

Inwould love to be troubled with a Blackhawk 357 with the same holster problem.
 
I’ve been mesmerized by the 1911 for as long as I’ve been shooting. It’s my favorite - by far.

It was my first handgun purchase back in 1974 and has never ceased to lose it’s edge with me. For almost as long, I’ve favored the Colt Lightweight Commander models and my favorite among them would be one of the latest CCO versions.

One of the most often mentioned down sides to this pistol (in the modern era) is it’s more limited ammunition capacity due to a single stack magazine.
 
I’ve been mesmerized by the 1911 for as long as I’ve been shooting. It’s my favorite - by far.

It was my first handgun purchase back in 1974 and has never ceased to lose it’s edge with me. For almost as long, I’ve favored the Colt Lightweight Commander models and my favorite among them would be one of the latest CCO versions.

One of the most often mentioned down sides to this pistol (in the modern era) is it’s more limited ammunition capacity due to a single stack magazine.
Old guys love single stack
Here's my favorite - IMG_3614.JPG
 
My new favorite pistol is a SIG P320 Subcompact in a Wilson Combat X-Compact frame. That makes it a "mullet gun": shorter slide, longer grip. But I like that.

My gripe is more a legal one than a design flaw. This pistol can take a P320 Compact magazine, which holds 15 rounds. Because of the state in which I reside, I am forced to use neutered mags that only hold ten rounds. That makes this pistol, in my opinion, five rounds short of the perfection it could have otherwise achieved.
 
1911. Top "flaw" it's a VERY old design, there are far better now. I fell in love with them the first time I shot one as a kid and still am. Probably the biggest "down side" is there is no way I would want to trust one until I had a good amount of range time on it. Many newer designs I pretty much just expect them to work from day one. ANY new to me 1911 I ever buy I "hope" it works 100% from day one but, I am not disappointed if it is not, at least as long as I can fix it. When people ask me about this I do not try to pretend there is a good reason, I just love the damn pistols. :D
 
My S&W model 63. The right mix of size and weight for enjoyable range time. Very accurate.

Once it gets dirty the cases get sticky. And to be honest, the machining on the ejector star looks rough.

That said, this is one of the few guns that I would never sell.
 
The guns most sentimental to me are not my carry guns, my G17 that my wife bought for me when I was 21 is at the top of the list, my Colt 1903 that a friend sold to me shortly before passing is another favorite.

As far as favorite carry piece, it used to be my G19 but lately my G43 (commandeered back from my wife). It really is my favorite lil Glock pistol. Lately I've been wondering if given the opportunity would I trade for a 43x or 48. I dont think I would. I think the 43 is the perfect size and with +2 ext it is more than adequate. G19 is never too far away either....

The only downside if you can really call it that is the fact that I usually put extended slide stops on all my glocks but not with the 43 because my thumb would interfere with it, the way I stack my thumbs along the bore line of the gun sit very, very close to the lever.....
 
My factory nickel plated Triple Lock, I would post a picture but it is currently having real pearl grips fitted for it.
 
I would pick the S&W Model 625-6 Mountain Gun chambered in 45 ACP. The 4” tapered barrel cuts the weight quite a bit and makes it nearly the ideal EDC. Except for the rounded grip frame and adjustable sights. The grip frame can be compensated with conversion stocks. Here is mine.

upload_2020-10-25_8-21-41.jpeg

S&W corrected some of the “problems” when they introduced the Model 22-4. Squared off grip frame and fixed sights BUT they retained the reinforced ejector lug. But it has been my EDC since they were sold to the public. Here is one of mine.

upload_2020-10-25_8-24-56.jpeg

But, the perfect revolver, in my opinion, is the Model 1917 with a shortened barrel. The problem with it? Never made in this configuration! But, I have built a couple. Here is one.

upload_2020-10-25_8-27-35.jpeg

This revolver is lighter than a 4” Model 19 yet is chambered for the 45 ACP cartridge. To me, the ultimate.

Kevin
 
Top flaw? The caliber(s) are not the cheapest.
I really like the Glock 35 (40 S&W) or Glock 35 with 357 Sig barrel.
Easy to shoot quick & accurate and offers 15 +1 capacity.
357 Sig generates impressive power from that barrel. :)
Glock 35 with 357 Sig Barrel
125 Gold Dot @ 1,399 fps / 543# KE
125 HST @ 1,415 fps / 556# KE
125 Ranger T @ 1,428 fps / 566# KE
125 PPU FPJ @ 1,461 fps / 593# KE
Glock35Sig.jpg
 
My No.1 favorite would be my Colt Combat Commander customized by Colt's Custom Gun Shop. Reliable (feeds everything but really prefers 185 gr. and 200 gr. ammo), durable (after all these years still looking great), accurate, (like a Gold Cup but without the drama), and a real hoot to shoot. It's my frequent companion on many a range visit, was the gun I used to qualify for my CCW license, and still gets out on occasion for concealed carry duty. No flaws that I'm aware of; just one awesome handgun!
ZFwuWE7.jpg
 
Sights could be bigger, yet I can still shoot a Government Model, in its original A1 configuration, better than anything I've ever used. Polished blued steel and wood, trigger second to none, accuracy superb. And yes, 100% reliable even with those dreaded old Hydra-Shoks. Still the best looking pistol of all time ...
Series 70-2.jpg
 
I know this is going sound like a wise-ass answer, but I think for me it's true: my favorite gun is the last gun I got, and that holds only so far until I start wanting the next. So, I suppose to answer the OP, that would be the Colt Police Positive I recently picked up:

View media item 3386
Its top flaw is the deep and narrow cutout between trigger guard and grip frame, in combination with rather small grips, means your knuckles get a pretty smart rap on every shot. Also its trigger is just plain not as good of a trigger in either DA or SA mode as compared to its nearest S&W competitor.
 
Hmmmm. Favorite.

I'd go with my Wilson EDC X9. My main gripe was that my favorite holster maker (Vedder) didn't make a light tuck with that, but I solved that by adding a light and using a Glock 19 holster molded for the same light, works perfect.

Now... Hmm. I think that I wish Wilson had made a deeper, higher, beaver tail and undercut. I can't get as high on the gun as I'd like and it feels more like a Sig than the 1911 it's supposed to modeled after. Fairly sure I can get higher and feel is nicer on the Sig Legion series. If the 229 legion SAO was 5 or so ounces lighter I might not have bought the Wilson.
 
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