If you had to choose 1 handgun, what would it be?

[Inline_6]

45ACP

 

[saltydog452]

Only one?..

It'd be a 22rf. Maybe a Ruger Super Single Six with interchangable 22rf Magnum cylinder.

salty.

 

[brasskeeper]

Colt comander 45acp

 

[assegai]

Why limit yourself to one caliber, when you can have many?

The 1911 can be had in a dozen calibers, from .22lr to 45 Super, to include 9x19, 9x21, 9x23, .38 super, 460 Rowland, 40 Short and weak, 10mm, 9x25 Dillon, 38 Casull, .30 Luger, probably others that I am not familiar with. Some require only a barrel swap, some require barrel and mag change, some require slide-group and mag to be exchanged, some require slide-group, mag, and ejector change. You can get barrels from 3" to 7" long, weighted stocks, butts that are .5-3/4" shorter than normal, alloy, polymer or steel frames, double stack or single, DA or SA or fast action trigger pulls, whatever you want. So there's nothing even remotely approaching the 1911 when it comes to versatility. It can be 20 ozs and 6.3" long, like a .38 snub, or it can be 50 ozs and 11" long. In fact, there used to be conversion kits to make the 1911 a single shot 308, or a muzzleloader, and there's a kit to convert it into a carbine, too.

 

[Snagglepuss]

Or 7, in the case of the 686+

 

[10-Ring]

If I had to pick one, I'd prolly go w/ the 45 acp...but it would be tough!

 

[jeremywills]

why has no one mentioned a good ol slingshot yet?

hahahaha LMAO, hey no FFL required, can't argue with that

 

[Snagglepuss]

In addition you might also sprinkle some spent .44 casings around the back door.

 

[AStone]

In addition you might also sprinkle some spent .44 casings around the back door.

How about adding some empty 12 ga. shells along with an old shirt with a bullet or shotgun hole and some dried cow blood around the hole?

Hmmm.

 

[Snagglepuss]

How about adding some empty 12 ga. shells along with an old shirt with a bullet or shotgun hole and some dried cow blood around the hole?

I am really not a highjacker of threads but it appears I am going from bad to worse.

You could also keep a 3' x 7' flower bed in the backyard, never plant any flowers and always keep the soil tilled and piled. Keep the shovel stuck in the bed.

 

[callgood]

There's no other single handgun that can do what a 4" .357 service revolver can do.

Small game? Check. 38 wadcutters or round nose kill 'em dead, and don't waste much meat.

Medium game? Check. Hot n' Heavy handloads or Buffalo Bore-style commercial loads are proven killers on deer and pigs.

Personal Defense? Check. The only thing the M&S and Fackler camps seem to agree on is that the .357 has no superiors in this area. There are some that are as good, but none better.

Target Shooting? Check. 38 special handloading is about as cheap and accurate as centerfire handgunning gets.

Just about the only things you can't do with a .357 are truly big game hunting (more gun is a good idea), and Bullseye competition (which requires, for reasons I don't understand, a .45 ACP)

--Shannon

All of the above. Plus I could use it as excuse for a lever gun in the same caliber. Of course, if this was some kind of .gov decree, all the others would not be turned in. (What others?)

 

[assegai]

why spend 12c on a rd .38 wadcutter ammo?

A 2c .22lr accomplishes the same jobs. The 10c per shot savings pays for a $200 .22lr conversion unit in a mere 2000 rds. That's less than a year's "skill maintenance' shooting. You can certainly shoot a .357 or .38 revolver in the "any centerfire" matches, if you don't mind finishing dead last.

 

[Heraclid]

I don't know, but I do own an assegai. Damn fine weapon in its own right.

 

[CAnnoneer]

+1 pax

9mm is the caliber that does it all (but not especially well).

 

[LAK]

Tough choice. If centerfire, a 9x19mm. But maybe a .22 rimfire.
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http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org

 

[armoredman]

Easy answer - I only have one handgun!

 

[No_Brakes23]

Love my 1911, so .45ACP it is.

But I am open to the possibility that .357mag/.38spl is better, or that .40S&W in a different platform, (CZ75, SIG P226R, etc) is more useful.

But ya gotta stick with what you know, and right now, that's 1911s in .45ACP.

 

[Optical Serenity]

Give me a USP Compact .45 and I'm a happy camper

 

[V4Vendetta]

9mm.

 

[dasmi]

why is everyone picking 357?

when it only has six shots?

Because it's a proven, powerful, readily available round.
Six shots is plenty, usually, and having 17 rounds of 9mm, or 20 rounds of 5.7 won't do a lick of good if you can't hit your target.
Anyway, my choice is .357 magnum, preferably in my Ruger service six, or a 686.

 

[Big Gay Al]

If you had to choose 1 handgun, what would it be?

The Taurus PT-92AFS that I have now.

 

[chaim]

In your title you say 1 handgun, but the poll choices are all calibers.

If I could only have 1 handgun that is fairly easy, at least to narrow to the top two choices. I would pick either a 1911 or a 3" K-frame. Since most 1911s are in .45ACP and most 3" K-frames are either .38spl or .357mag (and .357mag is more versitile since you can also shoot .38spl) that pretty much makes my caliber choices, but it has nothing to do with the caliber over the other choices, and everything to do with the guns. Now for exceptions, I could have a Taurus Tracker in .41mag cut down to 3" and not have to do .357mag (as much as I love .357mag, I like .41mag better) and I could always get a 9mm 1911 (cheaper practice ammo) but those aren't really the classic calibers for these gun types.

Now for one caliber I'd argue that .357mag and 9mm are probably the most versitile (cheap practice ammo available along with very capable defensive ammo).

 

[chaim]

Ignorance, that is about the .22lr conversion units available for 1911's, some of which group 1.5" at 50 yds, guaranteed, that .38 wadcutters might as well be .22lr's for no more than you can do with them, and ignorance of the fact that you can get a 165 gr .45 jhp to 1400 fps in a standard 1911 with 10.0 grs of Unique. Dean Grennel and Mason Williams were doing so in 1973, without the advantages of heavy springs or a fully-supported barrel. If you want to use a hard cast 160 gr swc, you can get 1450 fps with relative ease, with half a grain less powder.

You've got to be kidding, .357mag leading out of ignorance! Actually, it is often the more experienced members who choose .357mag, and today many/most newbies to shooting pick autos while only with experience do they gravitate to revolvers.

Handload and most of the cost advantages of .22lr are out the window.

Get a .45ACP 165gr bullet to the same speeds as a 158gr .357mag and the maggie is still the better choice. Why you ask. Because the .45ACP is very limited in bullet shapes due to the need to be sure it will be able to feed in an auto. The revolver round doesn't have that limitation so it can have some pretty huge holes in those hollowpoints and you can use more variety in bullet shapes. You get more versatility and in a less expensive package to begin with.

 

[Super Trucker]

I picked the .357 Mag

 

[Lindenberger]

Something more like this?

Yeah, baby!