Aesthetics - form versus function

[STW]

I recently acquired a CZ75 Semi-compact to go along with my Ruger P97. The Ruger is accurate and dependable but compared to the CZ it is clunky and boxy in appearance. We generally talk function here but I wonder about aesthetics particularly when it runs counter to function.

This thread is an attempt to give the chance to opine on any or all of three questions:

1. - What gun (hand, long, modern, antique) is the best looking irrespective of whether it works well or not? (Nice to look at but....)

2. - What is the ugliest gun that works well?

3. - What gun best combines both form and function? (A gun so pretty you'd hate to fire it but does its job so well you couldn't help it.)

 

[Chipperman]

1. Luger
2. Glock
3. HK P7

 

[armoredman]

1. Luger
2. Mosin
3. CZ 75

 

[outofbattery]

1) PPK
2)AK-47
3)Browning P35

I bought a Beretta 9000 simply on looks.It's not that great of a pistol,though in fairness it really isn't nearly as chunky and hard to operate as some make it out to be and it shoots well,but I wouldn't sell it just because I love the look of it.Same with an HK4.

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

1. I am very partial to the longer barrelled single action revolvers. Like the Vaqueros or the Blackhaws from Ruger. They are what a firearm should be in my opinion. As for long guns I like lever actions.

2. The Ruger autos are hideous. What the heck is that little metal flap folded up the side? I also do not like the way pump shotguns look (I prefer over-unders or side-by-sides)

3. I like the Ruger double actions like the Redhawks and the GP series. They retain some nice asthetics but combine that double action feature with the single action. Long gun wise, I think the lever actions are perfect.

 

[shaggycat]

1. Desert Eagle

2. Glock

3. Any serious 1911

 

[Rembrandt]

Luger....the most beautiful lines of any handgun past or present

Glock....Has all the charm and style of concrete block. Webley revolver almost as homely...

(Tie) 1911 & Browning High Power....so well designed initially that very little has been changed on either gun.

 

[Monkeybear]

1) Baby Eagle/Longslide Custom 1911
2)Glock/AK
3)CZ 75

Alot of people seem to like lugers, dont see it myself.

 

[Mulliga]

Interesting topic.

1. Beretta 92, specifically the old Inox models without the black components marring the look of the pistol. Probably one of the nicest-looking stainless steel pistols ever, and certainly very prevalent in popular culture.

2. Ruger autos. I personally think the Mosin has decent lines, and the AK and Glock have never offended me aesthetically - the AK, if fitted with nice wood and a well-finished receiver, can actually look better than most modern rifles. Glocks are boxy, but it's an Austrian, purposeful boxy - sort of like Bauhaus architecture of the 1920s. The Rugers look like someone took a Jericho 941, a Glock, and a 1911 and stuck them in a blender.

3. I'd like to answer "Custom 1911," but having never owned one, I'll have to say a CZ 75 as well.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

1. Colt 1911 Combat Commander (the old ones, not the XSE models)

2. Colt SAA, 5-1/2" barrel

3. I'm working on #3 ... could be a multiple-gun tie for third

 

[Beetle Bailey]

1. SAA revolver with 5.5 inch barrel, M38 Swedish Mauser with turned down bolt.

2. Glock G17 and Ruger GP100 (tie), AK.

3. 1911A1 and BHP (tie), M1 Garand.

BTW, I answered number one with the idea that those look good regardless of whether or not they functioned since I personally have never come across a an unreliable gun that wasn't also ugly. That doesn't mean I think the SAA and M38 are just pretty pieces of junk.

 

[Trebor]

The Ruger autos are a product of the philosophy that "form follows function." In this case, the form is a function of the manufacturing process. They were designed to be manufactured through investment casting and the form of the pistol was designed for east of manufacture using that process.

 

[Zen21Tao]

1. 4" S&W 500

2. Glock

3. M60

 

[RyanM]

1. Deckard's gun from Blade Runner. Very cool looking. But all it does is shoot .44 SPL blanks. Mateba Autorevolvers look cool, too.
2. Springfield XD. What the bleep is up with the slide being thinner at the top? They could have at least sloped the sides, instead of putting that step in the slide. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
3. Dunno. But me, I'm going to say Glock does a good job of combining no-nonsense functionality with no-nonsense aesthetics to match. It looks like a gun, not a poodleshooter.