One handgun only...what would it be?

Glock 23

Mine would be a Glock 23 with a 9mm conversion barrel as a back up and cheaper practice trigger time. 40 cal mags can feed the 9mm bullet
 
I'm gunna cheat on this one...my pick stresses versatility: it's a Combat Commander, originally in .45 ACP with a Wilson barrel and bushing, extended grip safety, thumb safety, combat sights, and stock grips. Years ago, I found a source for Commander slides and barrel assemblies and bought, and fitted 9mm, .38 Super, and 22 lr uppers for it. It's truly versatile, and if you can't find 9mm, .22 lr, or .45 ACP ammunition, you're really up the creek without a paddle; and parts, even for a Commander, should be readily available. I've posted this pic before....Rod

Commander3.jpg
 
Here's yet another take on the matter.

I think a .357 revolver is a very versitile thing and, in theory, it makes a great all-round handgun. It's powerful enough for just about anything I've ever likely to encounter, though hardly as powerful as a .44 magnum. I've owned both a .44 magnum and a .41 magnum (couldn't tell the difference in the two) and were it not for a requirement for an all-round handgun to be concealeable, then an N-frame would be "good enough." Of the two, I would pick a .41 because with a little searching, one might find a Model 58 S&W. I really have no experience with the light barreled N-frames S&W made for a while, their so-called Mountain Revolvers. I did have a Model 624 with a 4.inch barrel and I no doubt decided they were just too big. Very nice but on the large side. What did that leave me.

For a long time I had an S&W Model 13, which is a blued .357 M&P (fixed sights). I considered for a few months getting a Milt Sparks belt holster. It takes even longer to actually get one, I understand. The one I thought about was meant to be concealable but after experimenting with other rigs, I gave up the idea, though it's still there in the back of my mind. Maybe someday.

I think I mentioned before a few pages back that I wound up having at the moment only two handguns, both DA/SA 9mm pistols. One's a Walther P99, the other a CZ 75 P-01, which I'm starting to like a little better than the P99. But most days I'd be content with a .32 auto.
 
The .357 Magnum revolver in a 6 inch or longer barrel

This is not even a contest in my mind. The .357 "comes alive" in 6 inch or longer barrels and becomes a good rifle caliber in a carbine.

I would select my 2011 Dan Wesson 715 6 inch heavy barrel .357 Magnum revolver. (picture of an example is in an attachment....as I have yet to take pics lol) It is overbuilt like a tank and can handle high pressure handloads. I can hit something a 100 yards away consistently if it is not moving. Try that with a plastic pistol.

My reasons are underlined

1) Reliability and Simplicity and Versatility

Autos have come a LONG way but revolvers are still more simple and reliable ---period. end of argument. Do they fail? Yes it is possible but very unlikely and there is no such thing as a stove-pipe jam lol. A FTF then just pull the damn trigger again and again. If you cannot stop a threat with 6-8 .357 magnum loads or 6 44 magnum loads then you need a rifle:) A handgun is NOT a rifle or a shotgun. They are INFERIOR in power and application. This is why a handgun is a compromise. 20 rounds of 9mm is not equivalent to one 12 guage 000 buck shot round or a .308 round center mass. No matter what the Gun Store Commandos with "tactical" plastics covering everything may tell you......Don't believe them LOL


2) Great Variety of Ammunition Available

I use Double Tap loads that I have clocked out of the 6 inch barrel with 1:18.75 rate of twist - similar to a GP100. at:

Double Tap .357 Magnum 125 Gold Dot hollow point

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_27&products_id=338 look at the 6in 686 velocity :-)

I clocked 1730 fps (they advertised 1750 fps) delivering 830 ft-lbs of muzzle energy
--this is BEST social work/human defense load period.

Double Tap .357 Magnum 200 Grain WFNGC hard cast

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_27&products_id=152 look at the 6in 686 velocity :-)

I clocked 1310 fps (they advertised 1305 fps) delivering 762 ft-lbs of muzzle energy and a .224 cross-sectional density for tremendous penetration
--this will do a lot of damage and stop anything up to and INCLUDING black bears (they actually can be turned by hurting them anyway) for a Grizzly you had better have a rifle with 3000 ft-lbs of energy. I love reading posts on idiots with Glock 20's and 10 mm cartridges walking around in Alaska waiting to be eaten by Grizzlies LOL.
----The 10 mm works great against grizzlies as long as you have a friend you can shoot in the leg while you run away shooting wildly behind you praying that the big Brownie eats your friend instead of you.

The 44 magnum or 41 magnum is on a different planet than a 10 mm (twice the energy in many cases) and I will vomit if somebody says that it is a 41 magnum in a an auto. :eek: Back to the next factory load....

Buffalo Bore 180 Grain Hard cast FN

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=100

I clocked 1480 fps (they advertise 1400 out of a 4 inch barrel) delivering 875 ft-lbs of muzzle energy
---this will take care of anything from black bear and down

Handload (.357 magnum +P ---200 grain beartooth bullet, 1425 fps, and 900 ft-lbs of muzzle energy) ---this is my "bear medicine" load for protection against black bears if I don't have one of the former factory loads above.

All these loads offer entry level 44 magnum energy but sacrifice diameter so they are inferior to a good 44 magnum BUT you can also shoot 38 special and 38 special +P (the 9mm of the revolver world)...These loads I mentioned (or a good handload in .357) do trump 99% of the 10mm factory offerings and lay waste to the .45 ACP, .40 S&W, any 9mm, etc.

Even the more mundane and in my estimation underloaded factory .357 magnum ammo from Remington, Federal, Corbon, etc... will still post 650 ft-lbs of energy from a 6 inch barrel variety .357 magnum.

The Best .357 Magnum loads (I just listed are far better than the standard factory 10 mm offerings ---500 ft-lbs range of energy). Even Tim Sundles at Buffalo Bore said it best, "The best .357 Magnum rounds (180-200 grain) are equivalent in effectiveness on a black bear to the best (230 grainish) 10 mm. And neither of them are adequate on a Grizzly."

I love the 10 mm, especially in a 1911 platform BUT the
10 mm is just too scarcely available and it is not a good survival round because you would never find it!!!! The 10 mm is a niche cartidge and impractical. If you don't handload (most people don't) then it is just curiosity at best and a bad choice in a survival scenario.

3) Ammo conservation
The capacity of a semi-auto is nice but you are not going to be spraying and praying when in your mind you have a finite amount of ammunition in a situation (the rest of your life by yourself). Shot placement Ladies & Gentleman, shot placement. Even in the civilized world of self-defense this cannot be overemphasized. I get such a chuckle out of the hi-capacity auto people when they say, "OMG the .357 magnum loads are too powerful and will overpenetrate--that will get you in trouble." I just say,"Hmmmm so when you pull the trigger 10 times on your Glock and statistically more than half of those shots miss, is that considered overpenetration when you have 5-6 bullets unhindered flying all over the place?" I think the judge will be kinder to a person with a 6 round cylinder than a person with a 20 round clip if they were to have collateral damage. The lawyers LOVE the "tactical" hi-cap 9mm
dudes who can explain to the judge how it was necessary to have 3-- 20 round magazines when 95% of self defense altercations end with 1-2 shots fired. LOL Good luck on that one. :D They are the ones at the range with 3 feet groups at 30 feet.

Anyway, I have a 44 magnum 629 but I feel that it is not as practical as a .357. I have autos ( I love my 1911 and my CZ 75-B) and I really adore them but in this scenario I am sticking with the best all-around hand gun caliber of all time and that is the maximally loaded .357 Magnum.
 

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I'd have to go with a Glock 29. I'd have a 10mm barrel, 40 barrel, 357 sig barrel, and a 22 conversion kit. I could carry that. I could hunt about anything in my state with it. A Glock 20 would be good, but a little bit much for everyday concealed carry.

My third choice would be a S&W K-frame, 357.
 
For me, a 4 inch stainless Redhawk, .44 Magnum. I could load it with .44 Specials for HD / SD, and the more powerful stuff for hunting.
 
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