Classic handgun appearance

bhornjr

New member
There are some handguns, whose image is part of our collective conscience thanks to film and tv (like the Cot 1911 or Single Action Army).
Which has a more pleasing profile: the Walther PPK or .38 Snubby?
 
I just can't see,,,

I can't picture Sean Connery doing his best James Bond pose with a snubbie. :confused:

It just wouldn't look right.

Aarond
 
There is more panache with the PPK, but I've never been a fan of the platform as I have a WWII bringback Walther PP that I hate to shoot. Even in the "brick through a plate glass window caliber" of 7.65 mil, it still hurts the web of my hand to shoot, and the slide sometimes bites me.

Snubbies are too often associated with gumshoe cops wearing Fedoras and sporting beer guts. However, I'd carry one over a PPK every day of the week.
 
Iconic?

If you're meaning shapes and images that are ingrained into us so deeply that you recognize it and even get a little thrill at the sight, I think both fit that, but the ppk is more artistic and aesthetically pleasing. The ppk is, without a doubt, an icon in not only the shooting community, but the entire population as well.

As far as iconic weapons, I have to also give the luger and p38 that status, among only a few foreign produced guns. (I'm not handing that label out to anything less than 40-50 years old)

The model 29 in bright blue configuration has to be in the top ten, along with the python.

It's really interesting to think that you've got to put colt in the top ten with the 1911, SAA, python, and good old M16.

If you count universal recognition as part of that definition, in other words, even your wife will know that the PPK was a bond gun, you really hit a snag.

Winchester gets one in the list; the generic lever action. Everyone knows that if it has a lever, it's "a winchester." The brass framed henry (they're all henrys) belongs there, but winchester gets no credit for the volcanic or any other of their brass frames. . Remington, seriously, has no genuinely iconic firearms that would be recognized by anyone but a real shooting enthusiast that i can think of.
 
Having grown up in the 60's and being a big fan of James Bond (and the Bond girls), the PPK is definitley the cooler gun without a doubt. I was always more interested in the spy shows instead of cop shows from those days so semiautos appeal to me more than revolvers. But I have a snubbie and no PPK (yet).
 
More plasing to the eye? The PPK. Witness Holywood: Almost everytime a small, elegant handgun is needed in a movie (specially when a lady carries it) they use a stainless steel PPK.
 
I like Bond ...and the Bond Girls....but the PPK is truly an ugly beast...

There isn't anything to like about it .../ and I don't see its as iconic.../ and there is something a little bit cool about a snubbie...( not as cool as a model 29 ...) but cooler than a PPK...in my opinion .

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78275&d=1328225939
This one is a model 66-1 in 2 1/2" ...( the other one is a dash 1 in 4" ) ...


Check out this photo ....of a snubbie ....and a discussion of some snubbies for some more photos ....come on guys / show the snubbies some love too ..
 
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To the Colt line-up, I would also add the Police Positive and Official Police models, often used in "cops and robbers" shows from the 30s to the 70s. Very recognizable profile.
 
Classic Handgun Appearance

One of my all time favorites has been the 1896 Mauser "Broomhandle", but few of them are still safe enough to shoot. So I have begun to research the possibility of recreating the forward magazine concept but for full length 357 Magnums or for a rimless version of the 357 Mag using expanded and shortened 7.62x39 cases trimmed to 1.3 inches. At present I have a mock model which incorporates an S&W N frame but with a single action trigger, forward 1911 type of recoil springs and buffers, picatinny rail, 1.8 inch maximum loaded cartridge length, and easilly interchangeable barrels with the shortened 7.62x39 necked down to 223, 256, 7mm, 312, and 357 inch. What do any of you think of my hybrid Semiauto with an N frame handgrip? I currently have come up with three separate designs using the N frame gripframe and the forward magazine.
 
There is more panache with the PPK, but I've never been a fan of the platform as I have a WWII bringback Walther PP that I hate to shoot. Even in the "brick through a plate glass window caliber" of 7.65 mil, it still hurts the web of my hand to shoot, and the slide sometimes bites me.

I find this interesting because I have a WWII Walther PP that belonged to my father which to me is very comfortable to shoot and has never bitten me, not once. My wife's Sig P232 on the other hand bites me every time I try to shoot it and it appears to me to be based on the Walther design. I don't carry my Walther ever but I do prefer the look of it over my S&W M36.

Stu
 
The snub is more American, IMHO. Conveys images of film noir, hard boiled private investigators, cynical and world weary but none the less dedicated detectives, pulp magazines, etc.
 
Witness Holywood: Almost everytime a small, elegant handgun is needed in a movie (specially when a lady carries it) they use a stainless steel PPK.

No kidding. I was watching a TV episode a few months ago (I think it was "Covert Affairs"), and three different female characters had stainless PPKs. I think the set armorer just passed the same gun around to all three actresses.
 
Aarondhgraham said:
I can't picture Sean Connery doing his best James Bond pose with a snubbie.

It just wouldn't look right.
On the other hand, Sgt. Joe Friday with a PPK wouldn't look quite right, either.

[Cue:

dum...da...dum...dum
dum...da...dum...dum...DUM]

Briandg said:
The ppk is, without a doubt, an icon in not only the shooting community, but the entire population as well.
I respectfully disagree. I'm a senior citizen and a Vietnam veteran. The PPK is not in any way an "icon" for most people in my generation.
 
Also, "iconic" doesn't have to have a positive connotation. Someone can acknowledge that the 55-57 Chevy Bel Air is an iconic design, even if he thinks it was the ugliest thing ever to roll out of Detroit.
 
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