The Last Handgun That You Would Sell!

[JeeperCreeper]

Right now it is a dead tie between my Ruger MKII and my S&W Model 625-7 45 Colt Mountain Gun.

I want a 45 Colt mountain gun so badly. Lost a few auctions for 'em

 

[entropy]

My 1911 would be the last one I'd sell.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Ruger Security Six stainless .38/357 4" barrel, Hogue grips
The one I'd keep as most versatile

 

[JDeere]

Two reasons I never sell my guns. First reason,my father passed on his love of firearms(and some actual firearms) to me. I treasure the firearms and the legacy he passed to me as very real and tangible reminders of him. I hope I have done the same for my kids and will pass on the firearms I have acquired along with the ones passed to me from my father and grandfather.

I used to have that attitude until I started looking in the safe and saw guns that have not been fired in 40-50 years. With the market the way it is I decided to fund other new or collectible handguns. Smartest move I ever made. I have a couple that were my Dads that I wont sell just because. My kids like to hunt but I guarantee they wont keep them all for sentimental reasons. Times are changing...

 

[sparkyv]

On selling firearms: I've reached my arbitrary limit on the number of firearms I have chosen to own at any given time. So if I want another, something has to go to make room for the incoming one. I've got a few left that I can rather easily let go, but the ONE handgun I'll never let go will likely change over time and will depend upon the situation, and nothing is of highly sentimental value. Because at this time I'm on a 10mm kick, my current pick is this M610.




Wow!

Practical: M&P 2.0 10mm

 

[Charlie98]

Not sure what I would replace my Kahr cw9 with, it has been on my side for so many years now I feel naked without it.

That's what it boils down to with me... jeepers, do I keep one of my CW9's, or my Kimber ProCarry .45? The CW9 has far more practical application, but I don't know that living life without a 1911 is a life worth living.

 

[Rexster]

See my avatar image. It is my first GP100, which has, by now, been with me more than thirty years. I have another, just like it, except for serial number. I have several other GP100 revolving pistols, with different barrel lengths and configurations. This one is special, because it was in my hands, during a critical defensive incident. Let’s just say that the .357 cartridge got the job done, with one shot.

Some say that “police can’t shoot.” I did not miss, that night. (It was, admittedly, not a feat of long-range marksmanship.) This GP100 is part of my family history. It is, actually, not the last handgun I would sell, but, the one handgun I would NEVER sell.

I had bought this GP100 to be a range and utility weapon, and perhaps a hunting weapon. It was (and, is) fun to shoot, largely because I was more consistently accurate with it, than any handgun I had ever used, up to that point in time. On a good day, I can shoot a good 1911 as well as I can shoot a GP100.

The Ruger GP100, with its original-pattern factory grip, is a perfect fit, in my hands. If I were to commission the highest-priced custom grip maker, in the world, to carve the perfect wood grip, for me, I could could mail him/her an original-pattern GP100 rubber grip, to use as a pattern. (Not the horrid Hogue, but the original-pattern !1986 grip.) The trigger is perfectly-shaped, and in the perfect position, for my index finger. It is as if my identical twin works for Ruger, designing revolvers and grips. If I have to, I can dress around a 4” medium/large-frame revolver*, even in the hot, humid summers, here on the SE Texas Coastal Plain, fifty miles inland from the Gulf of Texas, er, Gulf of Mexico. A 4” DA sixgun is really just so very practical.

I do not live among the giant bears, so, .357 Mag will usually do. Feral hogs and feral dogs would be the usual non-human adversaries. I can shoot the various levels of milder Mags, and the various levels of .38 Special, in the same .357 Magnum weapon.

A Ruger DA revolver, in general, is one of the least-likely handguns to break, if used for a lifetime. Take-down of most of these Rugers can be accomplished without specialized tools. A GP100 makes sense as a “last” gun,” for this reason, too.

*I have, in the past, dressed-around an even larger revolver. In the Eighties, as a young big-city street cop, with limited financial resources, during that time of recession, used a 4” S&W Wesson N-Frame Model 58 revolver, on and off the clock, as my primary handgun.

 

[shoobe01]

I'm getting old enough that such questions are in my future planning. A time will come when I cannot go shoot, or shoot well, or shoot some things, and stuff the kids don't want or I need to pay bills will get sold off slowly.

So, what is the last one if it got to that? Depends how old and broken I am which gun I can shoot well. I don't use revolvers much now, but can easily imagine, for example, that the last one in the model 19 as I can run it with low-recoil loads. So while today it might not be the last one I'd keep, in future that will likely change.

 

[Rexster]

I'm getting old enough that such questions are in my future planning. A time will come when I cannot go shoot, or shoot well, or shoot some things, and stuff the kids don't want or I need to pay bills will get sold off slowly.

So, what is the last one if it got to that? Depends how old and broken I am which gun I can shoot well. I don't use revolvers much now, but can easily imagine, for example, that the last one in the model 19 as I can run it with low-recoil loads. So while today it might not be the last one I'd keep, in future that will likely change.

I empathize. By age fifty, in late 2011, .40 S&W, fired from the high-bore-axis SIG P229, was becoming a problem. I sold or traded-away four .40 SIGs, just keeping one, because I still had to carry a .40 duty pistol. Thankfully, in 2015, my chief finally OK’ed 9mm to again be an alternative duty pistols cartridge, as a step to making 9mm the standard duty cartridge, a year or two later, relegating .40 to alternate status. (.45 ACP was already an alternate duty cartridge.)

By age 56, in late 2017, some 9mm auto-pistols were starting to become a problem. Firing a mere 80 rounds, right-handed, during a duty pistol qual, with my two Glock G19 pistols, caused pain and swelling that lasted two weeks. (40 rounds right-handed, and 10 rounds right-handed, per pistol.) Thankfully, after two weeks of healing, I fired quals with my larger G17 pistols, and 1911 .45 pistols, with no swelling or pain afterward.

Eventually, I determined that a handgun’s grip needed to extend far enough to brace firmly against the “heel bone” of my gimpier right hand, if shooting 9mm/.38 Special, or anything more powerful than those cartridges. I put my G19 pistols in the safe. I then traded them away, in 2020, which was a good time to get a good value for one’s trades. So, handguns with duty-sized grips are now my right hand’s friends. My smaller-gripped guns, if more powerful than about .32 ACP/H&R, are now relegated to left-hand shooting. Notably, a Ruger SP101 has a grip that is just long enough to brace against my hand’s “heel bones.”

As for Magnum-level ammo, I only shoot full-pressure mags with my bigger revolvers, in quite small quantity, and mostly left-handed. Fortunately, I am functionally ambidextrous with most of my handguns, especially the DA revolvers. (I write lefty, so pulling a trigger lefty has never been a problem. I chose to carry on the right side largely because I throw right-handed, and use many heavier tools right-handed, so, drawing the then-mandated heavy duty revolvers, from the then-mandated low-slung duty holster, back in the Eighties, felt natural when done right-handed.

I should add the disclaimer that we all have uniquely personal hands, and that the multiple things wrong with my right hand are not necessarily the same as anyone else’s, so, my solutions will not, necessarily apply to anyone else.

 

[SwampWolf]

I have many to choose from and, although it's not my favorite and it's not a .22rf, the last one I'd never sell is my Beretta Model 92. It can be carried concealed if you're careful about how you dress; the pistol is very durable and reliable; spare parts should never be a problem to obtain and 9mm ammunition is easy to find and relatively cheap when you do, at least when compared to the prices of other centerfire pistol cartridges.

 

[Obturation]

Last gun that I'd ever part with is my freedom arms m83. It's impractical, too long and viscous on both ends. Love that gun. I had always said I'd want that revolver thrown in the box with me when I'm all done but we just found out I've got a son on the way, guess I'll leave it for him someday (I have 2 daughters but I doubt either would want it)

Beauty

 

[357smallbore]

The last handgun I'd sell would be my neighbors
Cause I sure ain't selling none of mine.

 

[Steve in NC]

my 1911 in 10mm. Simply because I put in the hundreds of hours hand filing and sanding to fit an original Delta Elite Colt slide to an oversized Les Baer frame and all the other parts. Contour everything together and go shoot it. It isn't a master piece of beauty like some of these custom makers do, but I built it and she will easily put them on target when needed. I have to work to shoot my M&P 4.6" 10mm. The 1911 just stacks them on top of each other for me it seems.

Steve

 

[igotta40]

This is a tough one. I have some fine stuff, but when it comes down to it, probably my Ruby pistol. It’s the first actual firearm I ever saw when I was a kid. Dad kept it in the drawer under the cash register at the barber shop. I’ve shot it a couple times. It’s as ugly as a mud fence and worthless, but it’s a keeper.

 

[.308 Norma]

Let's hear about your last handgun that you would ever sell!

I had to think about it for a while. Even though it's probably my least used handgun nowadays, I guess my Smith Model 69 would have to be the last handgun I would ever sell for the simple reason I could press it into service (if I had to) for a lot of different purposes.
I mean, I could use my Model 69 for EDC, or as a decent home protection handgun if it was the only handgun I had. And seeing as how it's a .44 Magnum, it would be more than adequate for hunting big game if I was inclined to hunt big game with a handgun. If my wife and I were still into backpacking, I could carry it for "bear protection" too - which in truth is the reason I bought it in the first place.
Also, to a handloader (which I am) a .44 Magnum is very versatile. I mentioned big game hunting in the above paragraph, but the truth is, I've snipped the heads off of more blue and ruffed grouse (during season, it's legal here) with lightly loaded .44 Magnums than I can remember.

 

[GRIZ22]

A S&W. Model 10.

 

[.308 Norma]

Deleted - double post.

 

[WisBorn]

@.308 Norma I need to spend more range time with my S&W 69. It is really a good all-around choice. Nice weight and with 44 special to stout 44mag loads it can get the job done.

 

[KevininPa]

This is a tough one. I have some fine stuff, but when it comes down to it, probably my Ruby pistol. It’s the first actual firearm I ever saw when I was a kid. Dad kept it in the drawer under the cash register at the barber shop. I’ve shot it a couple times. It’s as ugly as a mud fence and worthless, but it’s a keeper. View attachment 1151606

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[KevininPa]

This was bought to scratch an itch for a Browning Hi Power. Shot so well that it makes me look good! Heck with the Browning. Got my FEG hard chromed because it's my keeper!

 

[Jetmag22]

My Ruger single six 22/22mag. First handgun.

 

[I6turbo]

That would be a tough decision, and there are several ways to approach it. Do you keep the most all-around versatile gun? The one you can most effectively carry for self defense? The one with the most sentimental value? The best shooter? The one you simply admire the most?

I really like all of my handguns (except two), and would truly hate to see them go. But if I could keep only one, it'd probably be the 1971 Browning International Medalist. It's the best and most accurate shooter I've ever had in my hands, probably the most enjoyable to shoot, fires the most affordable ammo, and I should probably be able to shoot it further into old age than any of the centerfire guns. The main downside that would give me pause is that it's not suitable for carry.

All this assuming the rule that you can't simply go out and buy replacements in the future. Otherwise, I'd keep the most sentimental (and also a top favorite), the 1982 Smith 686, then search out duplicate replacements for most of the rest.

 

[TitanicTortilini]

I'm pretty boring, out of practicality I'd just keep my Glock 17. Cheap and easy to keep running and completely reliable. I'd think about the fancier ones now and then I'm sure, but I'd just keep the workhorse.

 

[Beck]

S&W Model 915 (3rd Generation, 5900 Series). But I wouldn't sell it.

 

[SwampWolf]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Eyes hurt when ugly is "beholded". Viewing the Ruby was painful.