What a painful thread this is to read.
For my part, and after selling a couple that I sort of wish I hadn't, I subsequently developed my "Handgun Rule #1" which is: "Never sell a pistol; only buy them". That's been my philosophy for quite a number of years so I don't have any of the gun wrenching regrets I've read about here.
However, I'll offer what led up to my Handgun Rule #1 here:
I bought a brand new Model 39, which I really liked.
But what I really wanted was a Model 59.
So I sold the Model 39 to a friend and then bought my Model 59.
But the Model 59 was sort of problematic, so I sold it and bought it's successor, the Model 559.
But I really wanted the stainless model, so I sold the 559 and bought the 659 (have I lost anyone yet?).
But my brother-in-law talked me out of the 659 in a weak moment after which I missed the darn thing so I bought a 5906 (the 659's successor).
It was right at that time that Handgun Rule #1 was officially implemented, and the 5906 is still with me.
A minor addendum to this is that I also liked the compact 6906, so I bought one of them (and of course, still kept the 5906).
So in the end, I still ended up with what I essentially started with and I have no serious regrets. If there is one, it might be that I let go of that first in the lineage, the Model 39. But I'll get over it because I still get to play with the 5906 and the 6906.
Among the list of regrets I DON'T have because I bought and still have these pistols, are many of those listed here in this thread.
And by the way Bubbygator (post#16), I bought that exact same Commander many years ago but have neglected to fire it yet so it's still NIB. I'll be sure to think of you the next time I pick it up.
The problem with my rule, however, is that at some point in my old age, I'm going to have to start letting go of them. I hope I can count on some of you here to take some of them off my hands when the time comes.
Carter