The most iconic all metal 9mms pistols in history...

[john_bud]

Browning high power and the luger. Tied for first place. They are the "ford 8n" of the pistol world.

 

[Gun Master]

Iconic 9mm's

The 9mm is my favorite cartridge and I love the long history of it. I took this pic a few months ago of what I consider to be the most iconic all metal 9mm pistols ever. I grouped them in three tiers, with the top row being the most iconic of them all. Within the rows, they are in no particular order.



The four most iconic 9mm pistols in my opinion, are the S&W 39, Walther P38, Browning Hi Power, and Luger P08.

Next I went with the Sig P226, CZ 75, Sig P210, and Beretta 92.

Rounding out the group, I chose the HK P7M8, Radom P35, and Star Model B






I hesitated before I put the 39 in the top row, as its the only one in the top that never saw a World War. However, as an American pistol, it sure was important in this country. Its the only American pistol in the picture. Being that the 9mm is a European round, I think that makes sense.

Overall, I think the Browning Hi Power is the most iconic, as it was built around the cartridge, has an unmatched military pedigree within the group, and is still in production today.

I'm just curious as to everyone's thoughts and maybe what you would add and/or subtract. I kept polymer pistols out of it, but will certainly say the Glock 17 deserves to be pictured otherwise.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate your feedback.

Once again, "WOW", what a great collection!
Since "iconic" was in the title, I was hoping to see a WWII P-38. That's a very nice looking P-1, however.
The P210 SIG is fabulous!
Could you further identify the Luger with the grip safety, and the H&K ?
Thanks.

 

[bc1023]

Once again, "WOW", what a great collection!
Since "iconic" was in the title, I was hoping to see a WWII P-38. That's a very nice looking P-1, however.

Thanks

That's not a P1. There's a common misunderstanding that all post war aluminum framed P38s are P1s. That's not the case. Its a rare polished blue 1967 P38. I have a P1 as well, but that's not what this is. P1s are labeled P1 and do not have a finish like this.














This is a P1 and marked accordingly. The other is marked P38.

 

[jhb]

Super nice collection. Thanks for sharing.

Not a fan myself of the beretta 92. Now the 5906 I find a superior weapon in about every regard to the 92. Swap those and I'm good. Course the hi power is the best of the bunch, imho...With the cz75/85 a close second. Plenty of good ones old and new and that is a good thing for us all.......

 

[Delmar]

I'd have to move the P210 to the top row, but that's just me. I believe the P210 is as finely an engineered pistol as any of the others, and better than most. My sentimental favorite is the Hi Power.

 

[WestKentucky]

My only complaint is the lack of an artillery Luger. Man I love those, and it's one of the last long barrels on my short list. That p08 is nice though. Certainly nice to see some love for steel these days when polymer is all the rage.

 

[jeff-10]

The Beretta 92 /M9 should definitely be in the top 4. I would go Luger, Hi Power and then M9. Now it's not that I like M9s it's that it has been the primary sidearm of the most powerful military force in the world for the past 30 years, with a good portion of that time in continuous combat.

Again I carried one in the army and own a Beretta 92 Compact but freely admit the P226 is far superior. However there is no denying it's one of the most prolific 9mm's ever made.

 

[jamal28]

The S&W 5906 is a more reliable weapon than the beretta 92

 

[Lucky Derby]

I would probably put a Sig P220 (Yes they were made in 9mmP as well as .45ACP, .38 Super, and .30 Luger) in place of the P226. A Walther P5 should be on the list somewhere as well.
Of course the High Power is the best of the group though.

Oh and that is a nice collection.

 

[Lucky Derby]

Right after the end of WW2 the US Army tested and compared 9mm pistols with 45s. They were impressed, especially with the 9mms superior penetration abilities. Also some in the Ordnance Dept. were impressed by the P-38. Whether they sent out RFPs or just let it be generally known to US manufacturers that they were interested in a DA/SA 9mm I don't know, but S&W developed the model 39 in hopes of getting the Army to adopt it. Never happened of course, but the 39 was adopted by the Illinois State Police.

Just wanted to add that when ISP adopted the M39, it was the first time ever that a major US LEA adopted a semi-auto pistol of any type for general issue.

 

[bc1023]

Super nice collection. Thanks for sharing.

Not a fan myself of the beretta 92. Now the 5906 I find a superior weapon in about every regard to the 92. Swap those and I'm good. Course the hi power is the best of the bunch, imho...With the cz75/85 a close second. Plenty of good ones old and new and that is a good thing for us all.......

Thank you

As for the Beretta 92 vs the S&W 5906, it is not a matter of which is the better gun. I'm talking about which is the more iconic model. Clearly, its the Beretta.

FWIW, I love the 5906 and own one myself.

 

[bc1023]

I'd have to move the P210 to the top row, but that's just me. I believe the P210 is as finely an engineered pistol as any of the others, and better than most. My sentimental favorite is the Hi Power.

If this were a list of the finest 9mms in history, the P210 would be in the top row and the entire list would be quite different.

 

[bc1023]

The S&W 5906 is a more reliable weapon than the beretta 92

Once again, I'm not talking reliability and I'm not talking build quality. That's not what this list is about at all.

 

[BigG]

That Luger looks like a .30.

 

[pendennis]

I'm not familiar with the S&W Model 39 - I don't think I've ever even seen one. What is the historical significance of this pistol?

The S&W Model 39 has its genesis in the Walther P38. With both pistols shown side-by-side, you can see the likeness. The designer of the Model 39 used the Walther as his guide.

I'm not a fan of the "modern" Model 92 Beretta. I've never understood why the military wanted the thumb safety off the frame.

Great line up! I've never been a fan of the 9mm, but you certainly have a nice collection!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Cee Zee]

Iconic is in the eye of the beholder IMO. There's nothing wrong with your POV here. But the best pistol in the bunch is the Sig P210 IMO. And they have brought back the production of them and even managed to improve them. I suppose we won't be seeing any more of them unless Sig starts building them in the US though. Germany has banned Sig from exporting their handguns. What a world. But Sig plans to move production to the US in 2015 so...

The 210 is not as "iconic" as the Luger or the Hi Power obviously. Those are some of the best know firearms in history. The Luger in particular developed a lot of fame due to it's role in the Nazi regime. It isn't my idea of a good pistol though. It is a bad idea to carry one with a round in the chamber for example. Many people have been shot because of doing that. The Browning is one of the most popular handguns of all time if not the most popular. But for actual quality I'd take the Sig every time. Nothing against the Hi Power. It's just that the P210 might be the best pistol ever built.

 

[Orion8472]

bc1023 . . . . . . per post #37, . . . . . . . . well then, by all means, please do make that list!

You can set it up like the one for this topic, all together, doing "top tier", then working your way down.

 

[bc1023]

The 210 is not as "iconic" as the Luger or the Hi Power obviously. Those are some of the best know firearms in history. The Luger in particular developed a lot of fame due to it's role in the Nazi regime. It isn't my idea of a good pistol though. It is a bad idea to carry one with a round in the chamber for example. Many people have been shot because of doing that. The Browning is one of the most popular handguns of all time if not the most popular. But for actual quality I'd take the Sig every time. Nothing against the Hi Power. It's just that the P210 might be the best pistol ever built.

The Swiss P210 is an absolute must have for any serious collection. I've been fortunate enough to own just about all the high end pistols from around the world and I don't think anything quite equals the combination of build quality, accuracy, durability, and pedigree of the P210. There are a select few pistols that can match its build quality and there are some that can even match its accuracy. However, when you combine all the qualities I mentioned, the P210 stands alone, in my opinion. It really has no equal.

I would not call the P210 Legend an improvement. They have some features that are easier to work with and a better finish. However, they don't have that old world craftsmanship that comes from bing hand built in Switzerland. Don't get me wrong, the Legend is an awesome pistol, but they are quite what the Swiss models are in some ways.

I own both.

 

[bc1023]

bc1023 . . . . . . per post #37, . . . . . . . . well then, by all means, please do make that list!

You can set it up like the one for this topic, all together, doing "top tier", then working your way down.

I guess I could do something like that and post it in the thread, though it would certainly get debated even moreso than the most iconic.

I'll post a list of the finest pistols tonight...

 

[Orion8472]

I'd start a new thread.

And yeah, the list would be subjective, but from a guy who owns so many of them, and seems to know fine semi-autos, . . . I think many would respect the list. I know I would.

Most that will be on your list will be guns I've never owned, though. I only own CZ produts [P-07, P-09, and SP-01, and only the last one could even be in the running].

Anyway, have fun with your decision making!

 

[JTQ]

bc1023, excellent thread with great pictures. Thanks for doing it.

pendennis wrote,
I'm not a fan of the "modern" Model 92 Beretta. I've never understood why the military wanted the thumb safety off the frame.

You'll see these comments all the time about the Beretta 92. This is an excellent thread to possibly shine some light on the subject as you can see several of the Beretta's predecessors.

When the military decided they wanted a double action auto in 9MM, the common design at the time, was the slide mounted safety used on S&W auto's that were very common in the 1970's & 1980's, just like the S&W 39 shown and the earlier Walther P38.

 

[bc1023]

I'd start a new thread.

And yeah, the list would be subjective, but from a guy who owns so many of them, and seems to know fine semi-autos, . . . I think many would respect the list. I know I would.

I appreciate the support. However, I'm afraid starting a new thread about the world's finest pistols may come off the wrong way. I'd rather just post them subtlety in this thread than to look as though I'm showing off...

 

[bc1023]

By request here is a list of what I consider to be some of the finest pistols ever built. There are not icons (other than the P210). They are just extremely well crafted autos and just about all of them are single action target pistols. Not every pistol shown is chambered in 9mm. However, they were all available in 9mm at one time or another. Sadly, most are no longer in production, mostly due to lack of sales and/or extremely high production costs and retail price.

I did not include custom 1911s, because they really aren't production guns. What we have are guns that were in production at one time or another, most being built by hand on a very limited basis. Likewise, most of these are extremely rare and you may or may not have heard of them before.

I arranged them by tiers, just like I did for the iconic list. However, not a single pistol was present in the first picture. I even changed the Sig P210 to a target model. The P210 Legend Target I own would be in the second tier with the X Five. I don't consider them quite on the level as the best from Switzerland.



The top tier consists of the Wilson Super Grade, Delta AR Top Gun, Sig P210-6 Heavy Frame, and the Korth Autopistol

The second tier consists of the Wolf Ultramatic, Pardini GT9, Smith & Wesson 952, Sig Sauer X Five, and the Benelli MP3S

Wrapping up the third tier we have the Walther P88 Competition, Beretta Steel I, HK P9S Sport, Sphinx Competitor, and the CZ 75 Champion.






There are a couple other pistols I would put in this picture, but I don't own them yet, unfortunately.





.

 

[Gun Master]

H&K From Original Posting

Once again, "WOW", what a great collection!
Since "iconic" was in the title, I was hoping to see a WWII P-38. That's a very nice looking P-1, however.
The P210 SIG is fabulous!
Could you further identify the Luger with the grip safety, and the H&K ?
Thanks.

Thanks, that P-38 is beautiful, but not a WWII model.
Also, could you identify the H&K ?
Thanks.

 

[bc1023]

The HK is a P7M8...