If you could only own ONE, MODERN, CENTERFIRE HANDGUN, which one, and why?

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HK P30. Reliability, good fit and finish, looks cool, outstanding ergonomics, and has interchangeable grips which I prefer because I have small hands.

That being said, I carry a G19 because of its reliability as well, and because of the wide array of holster and accessories as well.
 
Well, as much as I like my .357 revolvers. If I could have one gun I would have to choose a Glock. I have a .40 S&W Glock 27. If I were buying my only one I would have the model 22 because of the capacity and longer sight radius. The standard frame fits my hand better than the larger 10mm or .45 ACP frame. They are accurate, rugged, have a simple mechanism, perform well in bad conditions or when dirty, & I can repair them quickly with few tools. If the .40 S&W dries up I can cheat & change the upper and magazines and have 9mm, .357 SIG (just the barrel), or 45 GAP.

I like the .40 S&W because it has similar performance to .45 ACP & .45 GAP and more punch than 9mm. It also has more capacity than either of the .45s. 45 GAP is harder to find than the others. Even in the current ammunition drought, I have been able to find .40 S&W as often as .357, .38spl, 9mm, & .45 ACP.
 
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robhof

That would be a hard choice; between my 357max DW and my Ruger Blackhawk in 45 Lc. Both shoot great, but the BH is a convertable so it shoots 45 acp with a quick cylinder change.
 
Browning High Power

Fits, points to point of aim, 9mm or .40 cal and plenty of "custom" calibers in between, can be had in anything from a utilitarian finish all the way up to fancy "Dress Barbecue".
BHP-1asstoriskL_small.jpg


08-100-300_sm.jpg
 
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Hmmm...that's a very difficult question. Most likely I'd have a gun that has a decent sight radius, is concealable and so forth.

I'd definitely get a custom weapon--something nicely tuned with every option one could want.

Just offhand, I'd go with a high end 1911. Commander slide, short grip, rail, dehorned, night sights, slide serrations on top, checkering, bobtail, ambidextrous safety and fully tuned. Something like this:

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff111/servarw/CCO/JustinJCCO-2-1.jpg

If I didn't have much money, I'd just get a Glock 26.
 
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I guess one could openly carry a revolver with a 6" barrel...but carrying it in the appendix position would be too exciting for me :)
 
Someone else once said that it would be like playing eighteen holes of golf with one club. I guess that if I could only have one gun it would be a fine tuned S&W 686 Plus with a 4" barrel.
 
S&W 627PD. 8 rounds of .357 Magnum goodness in stainless steel. 4" barrel - the best compromise of accuracy and concealment. Nothing else comes close for me.

William
 
It would have to be a S&W 5946TSW. Built like a tank and reliable as a Linux OS. Handles +P loads with the recoil of range rounds. No SA/DA trigger to worry about when things go bump in the night. Mated with night sights, TLR-2 and a half dozen Mec-Gar 17 rounders and it is the perfect weapon.
 
4" barrel .357 revolver, preferably one of the newer models with more than six shots. Two-caliber capable with proven performance in both options.
 
I just can't see ANY semi-auto being the choice if you were only ALLOWED 1 handgun no matter what. There isn't anything a semi can do that a revolver can't. But there's things a 357mag or even a 44mag can do that no other semi caliber can do. The ONLY advantage a semi has is magazine capacity. And for most people, that's a non-issue. I.e. 1911A1 only carry 7+. This is like rationalizing only being allow to own 1 vehicle. The ONLY obvious choice is something along the line of an extended cab pickup truck. Carries the same amount of passengers, but allows for hauling. ANY car is limited compared to an extended cab pickup. Same with a semi auto. No semi is as versatile as a 357 magnum revolver.
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Sure. a case can be made that a 4" .357 magnum revolver is more "VERSATILE" than an auto, but one must recognize the flip-side to that argument:

The 4" .357 magnum is a jack-of-all-trades, but a master-of-none.
Meaning that while it can theoretically "do it all", it really doesn't excel at any particular task....

It's generally too bulky and heavy for concealed carry (except light-weight non-steel snubbies which are painful to shoot in .357 magnum).
It doesn't tolerate dirt and grime as well as an auto.
And the heavy double-action trigger and limited capacity make it a poor self-defense handgun (which is why cops and soldiers carry autos instead of revolvers).
 
Probably my S&W Model-19 4". I can reload .38Spl and .357 mags to suit just about any situation and it has a very simple manual of arms. I also have a S&W Model-686 4" but it has a Millet red dot w/B-Square rings and mount. Make CCW a little difficult.
 
I just can't see ANY semi-auto being the choice if you were only ALLOWED 1 handgun no matter what.
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Really? The question doesn't limit you to one gun. It limits you to one center fire handgun. For hunting you can own a long gun. If you don't hike you don't need a gun capable of "woods defense." People have different needs and different uses. A .357 sure is versatile, but it isn't the best at everything . . . thus the different answers.

But there's things a 357mag or even a 44mag can do that no other semi caliber can do.
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What can a .357 do that say, a long-slide 10mm can't? This isn't rhetorical. The ballistics are pretty similar, I'm just curious what the .357 has over the 10mm. Lot's of guys put 6" barrels on their 10mm glocks and have similar ballistics to .357s in a lightweight and high capacity package.

This is like rationalizing only being allow to own 1 vehicle. The ONLY obvious choice is something along the line of an extended cab pickup truck. Carries the same amount of passengers, but allows for hauling. ANY car is limited compared to an extended cab pickup. Same with a semi auto. No semi is as versatile as a 357 magnum revolver.
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If hauling things while carrying 4 passengers is important at all, you may be right. What if all you do are thousand mile trips by yourself and don't have the need to haul anything? Perhaps a car with better gas mileage and a comfortable driver seat would be higher on another person's list.
 
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