5 most important handguns

It's really difficult to limit it to five. Among those that deserve mention:

Colt Patterson: First practical revolver

S&W Model 1: First handgun to use self-contained metallic cartridges

Colt SAA: Influence for just about every single-action revolver design after it

S&W Model 3 Russian: First handgun to use inside-lubricated bullets

Colt M1892 Army & Navy: First successful swing-out cylinder DA revolver

S&W Hand Ejector: Basis for the most successful line of revolvers in history which also spawned several milestones such as Magnum handgun cartridges and stainless steel handguns.

Borchardt C93: First semi-automatic handgun

Mauser C96: First successful semi-automatic handgun

Colt 1911: First successful tilting-barrel semi-automatic

Walther PP/PPK series: First successful DA semi-automatic

Browning GP-35 Hi Power: First successful high-capacity semi-automatic

S&W M39: First semi-automatic to be adopted by a major U.S. police agency
 
The round and gun (although less so) was ahead of its time........156 gr at 1400 ft per second in 1899.
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That is powerful and all but do you know what was the most powerful multishot handgun before the registered magnum? It was the Walker Colt which came out in 1847. I guess thats why I don't see the Mars ballistics as groundbreaking even though it was powerful for its time. Why was the gun itself groundbreaking for its time? Its poorly designed.

The round was also known and written about, see "Textbook of automatic pistols" published in 1934. And like I said, I cant help but feel it had an influence. It was before the 38 super, before the 38 special even.
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It had no influence on the 38 super since it came about as a higher velocity 38 cal bullet based on a need for increased stopping power at the time, chiefly from a LE need. The 38 special was born for the same reason. The webley mars however, was chambered powerful to be the most powerful military sidearm option at the time as a selling point. And everyone other than some :rolleyes: saw that the increased power was not worth the trade off. The extra power offered by the mars was actually wasteful since it caused the gun to be poorly designed which caused it not to get a government contract which ultimately led to its failure and obscurity. Some failed designs are not a victim of the times, some are just bad. This is one of those.
 
qualify

The list(s) should be qualified to read " 5 most important modern handguns".
In all the posts so far there has been very limited reference to handguns that were used before the mid-1800s.
Do we ignore the muzzleloaded handguns that were used before that time? Shouldn't there be a place on that list for a reference to at least a generic muzzleloader......or is that too hard to do because there is no very specific model to cite?
Pete
 
I left out the SW 41. How could I have done that?

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Have 41, Will Travel
 
There is no way to limit it to 5, and if you open it up to calibers as well you may have to go to top 20. If you want to limit it to 5 you have to go so basic it's ridiculous.

1) First pistol
2) First repeating pistol
3) First pistol to fire a metallic cartridge
4) First Double Action pistol
5) First Automatic pistol

And as much as I think polymer framed pistols should be on there, the limit was 5!

I'll let the people who know far more than me about firearms history argue about which make and model fit each category.
 
The Glock contributed nothing new to the shooting world
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You mean other than being the first handgun that can take 100 times the abuse of any other handgun out at the time and continue to work flawlessly? What happens to a Browning Hi-Power when you leave it in a bucket of salt water for a week....or try to fire it underwater?

And, believe me I'm no Glock fanboy - I hate the way they look, the feel of the trigger, and I'm not all that accurate with one. In fact, I hate Glocks so much that I will only own one.....of course, one Glock is all anyone will ever need.:)
 
Skans,

The first pistol that comes to mind would be the CZ75, its a better pistol all round. It is more durable, more accurate and more reliable. This is a fact that i witnessed over a period of almost 20 years as a competitive shooter.

Speaking of salt water tests for a week. Can a Glock stay in a pizza oven for a week?

Over a period of 50k rounds of 147 grain lead reloads designed to shoot bowling pins, the cz 75 broke 2 slide stops. The glocks broke 6 trigger return springs, 1 sheared barrel lug, one bulged barrel, one kb. This comparison is between 2 cz75s and 2 Glocks.

Please ok, i only report on what i have witnessed and done. Not what is floating around on the internet.

5 most important handguns is a significant mention. What was the one thing that the Glock pistol contributed that did not exist before it came along.?
 
Over a period of 50k rounds of 147 grain lead reloads designed to shoot bowling pins, the cz 75 broke 2 slide stops. The glocks broke 6 trigger return springs, 1 sheared barrel lug, one bulged barrel, one kb. This comparison is between 2 cz75s and 2 Glocks.
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I like the CZ75 - like it better than the Glock. Are the tests you are conducting on Glocks Glock 17's?
 
Over a period of 50k rounds of 147 grain lead reloads designed to shoot bowling pins, the cz 75 broke 2 slide stops. The glocks broke 6 trigger return springs, 1 sheared barrel lug, one bulged barrel, one kb. This comparison is between 2 cz75s and 2 Glocks.
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I like the CZ75 - like it better than the Glock. Are the tests you are conducting on Glocks Glock 17's? Personally, I don't think the other Glocks can stand up to the same abuse that a Glock 17 can take.
 
No. Its privately owned.

In our team we have an assortment of pistols. It is not unusual to put 1000 rounds through a single pistol in a single range session ( this is a fact that can be proved as i will happily divulge details )

If you shoot that much the weakness/strength of a pistol becomes evident. The glock is a very very good pistol, many pistols are, it just gets temperamental. You have to load ammo separately, you have to clean it or you have a slide that wont return to battery due to filthy chambers. This means interrupting the session.

The 75 is just a crazy pistol. I cannot believe how well they work. I am a fan of the Browning high power but a cz really impressed me that i now own 3.

Even though i think so highly of the cz, i still do not think it belongs on the top 5 as it does not contribute anything that did not exist before it. It brought nothing new to the table that changed pistol shooting
 
except that the S&W patent on the through-bored cylinder hadn't run out yet (not until 1872).
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You are mistaken,
That would be the Rollin White patent of 1855.
Daniel Wesson did acquire exclusive rights to this bored through cylinder but paid royalties of 10 cents per gun from what I have read.;)
(not until 1872)
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Some sources list the expiration date as 1869.

Noylj;
1) Patterson (first successful bored-through cylinder revolver)
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The Paterson ended a good ten years prior to the White patent of 1855.
 
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I LOVE my browning hi-power! :) it was a hand me down from pops, he didn't like it after this.....


Years ago I got my first gun, my Glock 22. I told the old man, "let's go shooting" he said he was up for it and had 9mm ammo from like 50 B.C. anyways and wanted to rid it all (I know in a browning hi-power :confused: ) for the sake of boredom and to make a long story short, he put on some weight and the hammer bit him a few times and he basically said "alright, I guess I've timed out with this gun, I don't trust it anymore" as blood was dripping from his thumb LOL and he gave it to me....I of course felt kinda bad and I gave him my S&W 5946 months after he had given it to me to compensate something. And his chubby hands are happy to this day. :D

Sorry for rambling on...I got fired a little while ago and I'm unemployed now

-___-
 
Amin Parker

Then you completely know what I'm talking about, something about it..Well everything about it makes it perfect! It's the old of my guns that I keep wrapped around cloth, in a case and inside a safe. Take it out to play on occasion. I'm lazy to post a pic now, but if you wanna see one just let me know.

Haven't met a Hi-Power owner that did not LOVE this gun.
 
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