Most versatile semiauto?

P

pdmoderator

New member
Hi, all,

What in your opinion is the most versatile semiauto now being made?

By that, I mean the gun that can do the most things: home self-defense, CCW, target, convert to different calibers, etc. If it's easy to be your own armorer, that's a plus.

Thanks,
- pdmoderator
 
the 1911 has the most variations available. The SiG line probably has the greatest easy of change. If you get one of the SiG's in 40S&W or 357SiG you can then switch to the other or to 9mm with a simple barrel swap. The mags, slide, extrator, frame all are the same.

But that assumes you'd want the 40S&W or 357SiG in the first place.:barf:

They still can't beat the S&W 357s. With one of those you can go down to the mildest 38S&W and right on up to the most hairy chested 357Mags simply by sticking in different ammo.:) :D ;)
 
I wouldn't recommend shooting .38 S&W in a Special or .357; the bullet is .003" larger, and swaging lead at 25,000psi can't be doing the gun any good.
 
If you didn't mention CCW, the M1911A1 clones. If you didn't mention being your own armorer, SIG P22x series. If you didn't mention armorer or caliber switching, most any high-cap 9mm.
 
CZ-75:

Good for target shooting - You can get 100rds or Winchester FMJ 9mm for $11 at your local Wally world.

For $200, you can get a Kadet kit to shoot .22LR

For CCW get one of the Compact variants.

Good for self defence with double taps of quality 9mm HP.

For more stopping power get one of the .40 S&W variants for which you can also get a .357 Sig barrel.

Heck, for that matter, any small quality 9mm is versatile since ammo is cheap and you can afford shoot it a lot.
 
Clarification

Hi, all,

Just for clarification, I was talking about the most versatile single semiauto, not the most versatile type of semiauto.

What I was sniffing for was a "rubber gun" that could do anything. Well, almost. :D PRNJ makes it so difficult to get pistols that versatility is a great advantage here.

I'm surprised so many people are mentioning the 1911. I know you can get 22lr conversion kits but didn't know about other calibers. And they seem like they'd be a bit tricky to work on.

I'll throw in a pitch for the smaller Glocks here. You can convert them to 22lr and add weights for target. You can throw on lights. There's even a carbine conversion kit. And they're so easy to service that I once detail-stripped the lower without realizing it. Even more amazing, I got it back together and it worked. ;) And they're common as dirt so spare parts are not a problem.

Cheers,
- pdmoderator
 
1911 or BHP.

Take your pick, both have all sorts of add-ons and do-dads from grips, optical sights, compenstators etc etc to make your bedroom gun into an IPSC laser pistol.

Veratile? Both guns have seen a lot of use in wars all over the globe. Get one. Or better yet, get both.
 
1911

cause it can be:

Pistol or carbine
Several different calibers including 22
Lots of attachments Lasers, grips, extended mag, scope mounts all aftermarket
Can be built up or down to fit the owners needs better than many many others

and of course its a 1911.


S-
 
1911-

Um! Lets see if there is any way I can work a Sig in here?
Maybe a Taurus semi might shed new light on vesatility-
(Laughing real loud) After all, some people do trust their
lives to those things.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

PS: Please do not take my comments seriously; as I"m
just having a little fun. Stay safe, shoot straight, and
always tell the truth; regardless of how much it hurts.
 
1911.

In standard size and configuration makes a great competition, home defense, or carry gun. ( I compete with my carry gun, full size Springfield).

It is a piece of cake to switch the 1911 over to other more powerful cartridges with just a barrel and some different recoil springs. 450 SMC, 400 Corbon .40 Super. Heck the .40 super puts out a 135 grain bullet at 1800 fps! How is that for power? The STI Trojan has an option where it comes from the factory with an extra barrel in a different caliber. No offense to Sig, but switching from .40 to .357 Sig isn't exactly a huge jump in any direction. It is still a pretty narrow power window.

You can also purchase a .22 conversion kit. This takes about 10 seconds to install.

You can get a Mech-Tech converstion kit for your 1911 and have a mini carbine.

There are probably more sight options for the 1911 than any other pistol, including optics.

After market comped barrels are very common.

1911s are not complicated to work on, and there are probably more smiths skilled on the 1911 than any other gun.
 
1911 for the gun nuts(I mean gurus;) )
Sig P229 for the rest of us lazy boys/girls
HK USPs IMHO actually are more versatile than Sigs or 1911 when it comes to manual of arms but factory conversion barrels can only be bought in Europe or on Ebay.
 
The 1911. It can be had in any centerfire caliber. Really, any .40 S&W can be switched to .357 Sig.
Some frames have a mounting rail for lights on them.
There are so many "drop in" parts by many quality manufacturers that anybody can modify them. Manuals are available online. People have learned to detail strip from them and change out parts from them.
Sure a Glock armorer class takes only one day. Do they really show how to do major modifications? Polish feed ramps, machine in dovetails for sights?
 
I'm not that familiar with SIG's, but wouldn't a switch from .40 S&W to 9mm create a breechface size problem? I would think that the slide would have to be swapped also.
 
Here is the answer you are looking for:

10mm 1911.

The 10mm cartridge, by itself, does it all: heavy loads for hunting or critter defense, lighter-and-faster hollowpoints for self defense against humans. You can CCW a 1911 without too much trouble because they are very flat for a full-sized gun (unlike the Glock 20, which is otherwise excellent but fat as a brick). Download it for gun games, add a match target barrel for bullseye, and you can convert it to .40 S&W, .357 Sig or even .38 Super by just changing barrels. It pretty much covers all the bases.

If you want smaller and lighter (but somewhat fatter) the Glock 29 also fits the bill. If you want to be able to do it all with one caliber in a reasonable-sized handgun then 10mm is, in my personal opinion, king.
 
10mm Glock 20 or 29 ...


... depending on which fits your hand better. :)

Hi-cap capability, light weight (relatively), no less concealable than other "full-size" guns, and, since you specified switching to other calibers, either model accepts aftermarket barrels in .40 S&W and .357 Sig. (The 10mm mags and stock recoil spring work just fine with these derivative cartridges).

Sounds pretty "versatile" to me.
 
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