American Rifleman: Top 10 Handguns of All Time

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Dr Raoul Duke

Moderator
I just received my copy of the September 2009 copy of the NRA American Rifleman. I was excited to read the article that was on the front page the; "Top 10 Handgun of All Time". My mailbox is about three doors down the street, and I couldn't wait to get back in my van to see what the top ten picks would be. For those of you who are not members of the National Rifle Association (shame on you) the top ten picks are:

1. The M1911, M10011A1 pistols and variants

2. Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector Revolvers

3. Glock 17 Pistol

4. Smith & Wesson Model One Revolver

5. Volcanic Volitional Repeater

6. Colt's Single Action Army Revolver

7. Walther PP, PPK, PPK/S Pistols

8. G96 Mauser "Broomhandle" Pistol

9. Browning Hi Power Pistol

10. Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum Revolver

I'm not judging, just reporting; at this juncture.:)

Dr. Raoul Duke
Gonzo Forever
 
I took a look at their list and went... meh.

I fully expected and knew the 1911 would somehow magically make it to the top of the list...

I didn't expect to see the C96 Mauser in there. Talk about a frigging dead end. I'd have gone Walther P38 or S&W 59.
 
While the top 10 list makes for an interesting article, no one asked me how I would have voted. BTW, I am a NRA member and have been for years and years. I'm not endorsing the NRA but feel that they do their best to protect my gun rights.
 
I just read that article last night. I guess I can see how the 1911 made it on the list and the Glock. But some of those picks were absurd. Like that old .22 rimfire revolver!! Or the S&W "magnum" from the 1930's. Or the Broomhandle Mauser??? If they said the Brochardt C-93, or even the Luger, that would make more sense than the Broomhandle Mauser.

So, here's my list:

1911
Glock
Ruger Mark I, II, III
Smith 59 series pistols
S&W Model 10 .38 & similar pistols
Luger
CZ-75
Browning Hi Power
Beretta 92
Desert Eagle - (It's been around now for over 25 years and is the gun of choice for the movie industry and macho men)
 
Read the article and considered it 'interesting' and just another list that someone put together based on their criteria (whatever that is). Some I'd agree with, some I wouldn't. The 1911 would likely make many peoples list of the top 10 of all times. Some of the others on the American Rifleman's may not appear on very many.

It's a matter of personal opinion and nothing else.
 
Even knowing that all these kinds of lists are made up by a couple of people with certain tastes, I was still surprised to see the conspicuous absence of the Colt Python.

Also, a couple or three of their choices were downright silly.
Volcanic Volitional Repeater... yea, right.
 
I have somewhat more issues with making the 1911 No. 1 by such a huge margin.

The article even states that until the mid to late 1970s the 1911 wasn't that much of a player in the civilian market at all where for over 70 years the S&W Hand Ejector was a very large player in the civilian AND military markets.

Where a case could be made for the 1911 would be in its influence on other designs, the Tokarev, the Ballester Molina, all of Star and Llama's guns, the Radom...

Then again, the same thing could be said about the profligate copying of the S&W Hand Ejector.

Neither here nor there.

I do like the concept that some of these picks were made not because that particular handgun was so wonderful, but because of the overall influence that that gun had on later firearms developmet.

The Volcanic and S&W No. 1 are prime examples of that.

The Volcanic concept led directly to the Henry/Winchester repeating rifles. While the pistol was a failure, its influence was immense.

The No. 1 was, literally, the first modern revolver, combining the bored-through cylinder with the first successful metallic-cased, self-contained cartridge. It is, literally, the father of every cartridge revolver since.

The .357 Magnum? A lot spottier of a choice. I probably would have picked JMB's pocket blowback guns in .25, .32, and .380.
 
As much as I love them, I wouldn't include any of the Smith hand ejectors, as they were merely variations on earlier Colts. When Colt's New Army was adopted by the U.S. military, Smith had to make revolvers of the same solid-frame, swing-out cylinder design if they wanted any contracts. The success of the M&P, Registered Magnum, et al. would not have been possible had S&W not been compelled to follow Colt's design.
The PP/PPK represents every krunchenticker pistol, but if you applied the same logic as the inclusion of two S&W revolvers, then the list should have maybe included a successful derivative design such as the Beretta 92, instead.
The Broomhandle is sort of an odd choice. Even if it was one of the most "successful" of the very early automatic designs, its internal box magazine, located ahead of the grip frame, was a total dead end; I'll agree with replacing it with the Borchardt.
Maybe there's room for something like the Ruger .22 auto(s)?
The 1911 probably would not have been such an overwhelming favorite, if the poll was conducted even twenty years ago, but hard to deny its longterm popularity and success.
 
"as they were merely variations on earlier Colts."

Actually, they weren't, other than the fact that the guns had similar parts and served a similar purpose, their mechanics were quite different.

But, one could also claim that the 1911 shouldn't be on that list, then, becuase it's similar to other designs that were also being developed in Europe independent of Browning.

Or that the High Power should be on the list, since it's simply a variation on the 1911.

The importance for both lies not in their innovation qualities, but in their overall acceptance and their subsequent influence.

It's likely that more Hand Ejector/Hand Ejector direct copies have been made than any other type handgun. They were, for over 50 years, THE standard for police use in the United States.

Well over 1 million of them were made during WW II and supplied to combatant nations, in many cases being used in combat.

The Hand Ejector also, as the article indicates, served at the initial platform for several of the most popular cartridges of all time -- the .38 Special, the .357 Magnum, and the .44 Magnum.

Colt's revolvers, for whatever reason, never approached that kind of acceptance.


But, if you're going to use the criteria that one particular gun doesn't belong on the list because it's a variant of another, earlier gun, you'd end up with a list of fewer than five.

1. 1911 - already talked about that. Out.

2, 10. Hand Ejector, talked about. Out.

3. Glock 17, neither striker fired or polymer construction were innovative. Out.

4. S&W Number 1. This one comes a lot closer to being new and innovative. First use of the bored through cylinder, first use of a break action to access the cylinder. But, the cylinder indexing was dreamed up by Colt. Out.

5. Volcanic. This one may be the first true original on the list. Tentatively in.

6. Colt's SAA. Used the bored through cylinder, which was invented by a Colt employee, refused by Colt, sold to Smith & Wesson, and introduced in their Number 1. Out.

7. Walthers... These may be innovative enough to be on the list. But, blowback operation was pioneered by many others before the Walther came along. Out.

8. Mauser C96. As far as I know, this was an innovative design in all aspects. Tentatively in.

9. Browning High Power. Same as the Colt 1911. Out.

So, there you have it. The list of the two tentatively greatest handguns of all time. :D

Greatness isn't just about technical innovation. It's also about acceptance, longevity, and utility. When you start thinking like that, and being bound by it, you're not going to get to the heart of understanding why some handguns are still in common use after more than a century.
 
Top Ten lists are great for neophytes and non-shooters but nobody whose been around the block a time or two pays any attention to them. They are meaningless.
 
"They are meaningless."

Yep, they're absolutely meaningless because they don't have the ability to spark informed, indepth, intelligent discussion among those who know firearms.

Everyone knows that informed, indepth, intelligent discussion is Communism's lesbian sister.

:D
 
I'm sort of wondering why the Ruger semi-auto isn't in there, either.

I'd gladly chuck the C96, or move the .357 Magnum up to No. 2 with the rest of its Hand Ejector brethren, to get the Ruger in there.
 
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