What is THE American handgun?

Pick the quintessential handgun. Read text for explanation.

  • Colt SAA

    Votes: 139 19.4%

  • 1911 A1

    Votes: 502 69.9%

  • S&W K frame

    Votes: 51 7.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 26 3.6%
  • Total voters
    718
  • Poll closed .
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W

Warren

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Say there was some reason to decide which handgun was to be the quintessential American sidearm. It's profile would appear on all manner of things and untold millions would see it.

What would you choose?
 
S&W M&P and its later derivatives (i.e. all .38 and .357 K-frames). It rode in more US police holsters or did duty in more US nightstands than any other gun for most of the 20th Century. In the aluminum M13 form it served US military air crews. Many grunts brought the M13 and M19 versions with them to Vietnam. It was the most common gun to use as the base for many competition guns for decades. Even today it still does nightstand duty or CCW duties for countless US citizens. The only guns that come close to challenging it are the S&W J-frame and the small framed Colts (maybe the Python, but for most of us we only know it in legend, far fewer own or owned them).
 
Hands down...

The 1911...

The perfect blend of Ravishing Form and Incredible Function...



The 1911A1 - American Icon - Just as it Should Be :)
 
I agree, at a glance most americans will recognize a colt 1911,

all revolvers to them are just some revolver, most cant tell a colt from a s&w
 
SAA all the way. Don't get me wrong, I love the 1911A1. Finest semiauto pistol on the planet. But if there's one thing that really characterizes the US, it's the frontier spirit of the 19th century. And no gun better typifies that than a single action colt.
 
I'm torn between the SAA and the 1911/A1. The SAA was technically obsolete just a few years after its introduction, but animals-both two and four legged occasionally get a permanent dirt nap from being on the wrong side of the muzzle even today. Simple, reliable and easy to fix.

As to the 1911 series, it was innovative at the time of its introduction, and despite some of the hate mail written about it, a properly made 1911 will run with the best of them, anywhere, anytime, under any conditions. My oldest one has nearly 75K through it on the original barrel.
Yep, it rattles when you shake it, but except for changing the barrel bushing every 20K or so, and the sear I messed up by fileing on it a bit too much and had to replace, its running the same parts.

How about both???

This is really like asking as to whether the Model 70 or the Model 94 Winchester is the "American rifle." Both deserve the title, although they do the same job launching bullets, they do it differently.
 
It's gotta' be the 1911. In all it's different form's, it's still the Hand Gun of America.:)
In the not too distant past it would have been the Colt 45.:cool:
 
Love it or hate it the 1911 is still the most recognizable handgun in the world.
Click to expand...
I'll agree with the caveat that it's the most recognizeable auto in the world.

The S&W K-Frames are the most recognized revolvers in the world in my experience. Most folks (non-gun) don't know the model #s, don't know they're called K-Frames, nor do they even know what the S&W letter frames are; but say revolver or show a picture and they know it's a Smith & Wesson, and the 38 Special and 357 Magnum are the cailbers they think of. The K-Frames even beat the 1911 for longevity; the S&W Model of 1905 Hand Ejector - the M&P - lives on today as the Model 10 in blued steel and Model 64 in stainless. Chaim, your praise of the K-Frame as The Amaerican Handgun is beautiful and it cannot be said any better.

Still I cannot say the 1911 is any less The American Handgun, nor any more The American Handgun. Say "American Handgun" to a non shooter and they will answer "Colt 45" in reference to the 1911; or "Smith & Wesson Revolver" (usually 38 or 357 as well). They are THE American Handguns. THE American Pistol, and THE American Revolver. The 1911 and the S&W K-Frame have both been around since the early 1900s, and they have seen us through two World Wars. They have served Americans for a remarkable span of time; the former the Armed Forces for some 70 years as standard issue and now close to 100 in certain circles; the latter the majority of the police forces for over 60 years as THE police handgun, and now over 100 with at least some officers still carrying them. Both have spent over a lifetime in service of The Armed Citizen, who is the quintessential American, at once the defender of liberty and freedom, and the bane of the tyrant. I cannot vote without a choice of both. The 1911 and the K-Frame will always be THE American HANDGUNS.
 
For me it was a choice between the M1911 and the Single Action Army.

I voted SAA. As a symbol, it's nearly perfect. As a side arm, I own two M1911 types and a .22 Conversion unit on a separate frame.

Geoff
Who, well, does own a Ruger Super Blackhawk. :rolleyes:
 
"Nearly every non-gun person will recognize a 1911. I don't think that is true for any other pistol."

Desert Eagle? Glock? MAC10/11? Berreta 92?

I know just about every non-gun person I know would recognise those...
 
The 1911. Still state of the art almost 100 years later. How many people carry a SAA?

I would disagree that it's the most recognizable pistol, though. I believe that honor goes to the Luger.
 
All three are recognized as American handguns and I like them all, but I believe the S&W revolver is probably the most copied handgun in the world.
 
To me it's a tie. Colt .45 (sometimes known as a Peacemaker or SAA) or .45 Auto by Colt (sometimes known as a 1911). Both are recognizable to non-gunny types, one as the American Cowboy revolver, the other as the U.S. Army pistol. 6 to 1, half a dozen to the other.

Closely followed by a Smith & Wesson revolver.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so.
 
I'd have to say that the revolver, rather than the autopistol, is the quintessential American firearm. From the Colt Paterson, through all the front-stuffers, to the SAA, through the S&W M&P, right up to today's highest-powered handguns - all revolvers. The 1911 is a wonderful firearm, and is very American, sure, but I submit that it's not the same as the revolver.

As to which revolver, I don't know that this is all that important. The single-action designs dominated the 19th century, culminating in the SAA. The double-action designs dominated the 20th century, with the S&W unquestionably the champion here (as evidenced by all the S&W copies in South America, Spain, etc.). I'd accept either one as the exemplar weapon of America. The SAA has the historical cachet, but in sheer numbers, the S&W dominates the scene, particularly for the last century.
 
Semi: 1911
Revolver: SAA
The only two guns that every American can ID by a common name "Colt .45".
 
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