Popular Handguns in the late 70s / early 80s
- Thread starter PDS
- Start date
And lets not forget Detective Sonny Crockett's Bren 10 on "Miami Vice".You're welcome. They are a rare bird and a particular interest of mine for many years. They are awesome guns though reality is a bit of a disappointment in some ways. The ballistic performance of the .44AMP and the .357AMP are awesome. The guns are very accurate, but reliability is spotty. They simply were not commercially successful enough to stay in production long enough to the bugs worked out.
Mac Bolan's .44 Auto Mag always worked, but that's fiction.
My interest also extends to the other of what I consider "first Gen" magnum semi auto pistols, the Wildey, the LAR Grizzly, the Coonan and the Desert Eagle.
Any of the magnum autos wouldn't be out of place in a novel, (provided it was set after they were introduced) but they're not even remotely common.
Me, I'm still trying to figure out a plausible explanation for a rich guys thug having a nickel plated 1911 on the Titanic in April of 1912....
Jim Watson
New member
I am a member of that generation although not from that area.
I competed with a Gold Cup and a Python.
Defensive weapons in the decade of the 70s included a WWI vintage 1911, and a STAINLESS STEEL .38 Special! A Model 60 Chief's Special. Nothing unusual now, but stainless guns were just getting established in the market.
I competed with a Gold Cup and a Python.
Defensive weapons in the decade of the 70s included a WWI vintage 1911, and a STAINLESS STEEL .38 Special! A Model 60 Chief's Special. Nothing unusual now, but stainless guns were just getting established in the market.
You were lucky. A stainless Chief Special was a tough item to find and, commanded a premium price!
buck460XVR
New member
I grew up in the rural Mid-west during that time period. Were not a lot of folks with handguns where I was at, other than LEOs. Those that did have them had a model 10 in the sock drawer along with the original and unused box of ammo they bought with it, or it was a .22 revolver or Colt Woodsman. My Grandpa had a Luger he took off a captured German Officer in France during WWI, but I doubt he ever shot it. Back then around here a .22, a shotgun and a deer rifle were in everyone's closet, but it was unusual for folks to have a handgun, or even see one at the local range being shot......until Dirty Harry.
Don't forget RG
I recall quite a few of these back in those days. The RG was pretty much an exception that proves the rule.
The exception?
Proves that not everything made in Germany is good.
A lot of armed security company employees bought RG's, very common to see a RG on the hip of armored car guards.
Was at least a step or two above Raven and Jennings etc. They were not awful.
I recall quite a few of these back in those days. The RG was pretty much an exception that proves the rule.
The exception?
Proves that not everything made in Germany is good.
A lot of armed security company employees bought RG's, very common to see a RG on the hip of armored car guards.
Was at least a step or two above Raven and Jennings etc. They were not awful.
Bartholomew Roberts
Moderator
Looking at the people I grew up with circa 1978:
Grandfather carried a 9-shot .22 H&R revolver. My other grandfather didn’t own a pistol that I knew of but had a .22 rifle and several shotguns.
Greatuncle had a 1911 and P38, probably some other stuff as he was an MP in WW2.
Friend of the family carried a little .380 Colt Mustang in his glovebox and always had a rifle and/or shotgun in a gun rack.
Of my 4 uncles, two owned and regularly carried S&W Model 19s. The third didn’t own any handguns that I know of; but had rifles and shotguns. The fourth was a Korean war vet who had a pretty solid gun collection but didn’t advertise it.
My aunt worked in a hospital and carried a little Jennings in her purse. I believe it was .25 caliber.
In my own household, there was a 6” S&W Model 10, S&W 459, 2.75” S&W Model 66, and a Hi-Power for handguns.
So that’s four of my relatives not just owning handguns but carrying them. Technically, only one of them was carrying legally according to the letter of the law; but police officers tended to overlook regular adult citizens carrying handguns enforcement-wise, especially if they were professionals or worked for government at some level..
Grandfather carried a 9-shot .22 H&R revolver. My other grandfather didn’t own a pistol that I knew of but had a .22 rifle and several shotguns.
Greatuncle had a 1911 and P38, probably some other stuff as he was an MP in WW2.
Friend of the family carried a little .380 Colt Mustang in his glovebox and always had a rifle and/or shotgun in a gun rack.
Of my 4 uncles, two owned and regularly carried S&W Model 19s. The third didn’t own any handguns that I know of; but had rifles and shotguns. The fourth was a Korean war vet who had a pretty solid gun collection but didn’t advertise it.
My aunt worked in a hospital and carried a little Jennings in her purse. I believe it was .25 caliber.
In my own household, there was a 6” S&W Model 10, S&W 459, 2.75” S&W Model 66, and a Hi-Power for handguns.
So that’s four of my relatives not just owning handguns but carrying them. Technically, only one of them was carrying legally according to the letter of the law; but police officers tended to overlook regular adult citizens carrying handguns enforcement-wise, especially if they were professionals or worked for government at some level..
the possum
New member
I grew up on a farm here in southern Illinois. One thing I have not seen mentioned was just how scarce hanguns seemed to be. It was probably different in the cities (we're only a 45 minute drive from Saint Louis), and maybe other members in other states have different experiences, but long guns outnumbered pistols at least 50 to one around here.
Only a few of my friends in town didn't have any guns in their homes. Farm families who didn't really hunt still had a shotgun for protecting the chickens from all manner of predators, and a .22 rifle for shooting/slaughtering the hogs on butchering day. I come from a long line of gun enthusiasts, and dad owned like 30 shotguns and a handful of .22 rifles, but the only functional handgun in the house was his .22 Ruger Single Six. (He also had an 80 year old top break .32 that had been broken for decades.) I knew of some guys that had a .22 pistol for dispatching game in traps back when mink were still valuable. But come to think of it, I only knew of 1 neighbor who had any centerfire handgun in their home.
This isn't surprising given our local culture. No one back then locked their doors or their cars at night, so carrying a gun for defense would be viewed as paranoid. It would have been highly illegal to risk it anyway, since we just got right to carry a few years ago. There were no special hunting seasons for hand gunners here back then either. (On a side note, centerfire rifles for bigger game were also rare since we can't use them on deer even to this day, and coyotes were just recently reintroduced back then.)
Only a few of my friends in town didn't have any guns in their homes. Farm families who didn't really hunt still had a shotgun for protecting the chickens from all manner of predators, and a .22 rifle for shooting/slaughtering the hogs on butchering day. I come from a long line of gun enthusiasts, and dad owned like 30 shotguns and a handful of .22 rifles, but the only functional handgun in the house was his .22 Ruger Single Six. (He also had an 80 year old top break .32 that had been broken for decades.) I knew of some guys that had a .22 pistol for dispatching game in traps back when mink were still valuable. But come to think of it, I only knew of 1 neighbor who had any centerfire handgun in their home.
This isn't surprising given our local culture. No one back then locked their doors or their cars at night, so carrying a gun for defense would be viewed as paranoid. It would have been highly illegal to risk it anyway, since we just got right to carry a few years ago. There were no special hunting seasons for hand gunners here back then either. (On a side note, centerfire rifles for bigger game were also rare since we can't use them on deer even to this day, and coyotes were just recently reintroduced back then.)
larryf1952
New member
I was born and raised in northeast Kansas. In the 1970's, I was in my 20's. The guns that I owned during that time were a Ruger Standard Model .22, a Ruger Security Six .357 Mag, Colt Trooper MKIII .357 Mag, Colt MKIV Series 70 Government Model in 9mm, and a S&W Model 59 9mm. I never have owned a Smith J-frame, although I do have a Rossi Model 88 .38 snub.
I didn't add much to my collection through the '80's, until I moved to Houston in 1989. Then, I got really crazy. But, that's another story...
I didn't add much to my collection through the '80's, until I moved to Houston in 1989. Then, I got really crazy. But, that's another story...
a new Colt M1911 has always been an expensive handgun for the times, most people could only afford a revolver of some type, or a cheap derringer, lots of old men carried derringers in their pocket
WW2 bring backs like Lugers, P38's, Japanese Nambu, etc were not that common because most people kept them in private collections, not many in the gun shops, not until a little later when gun shows became popular you could see the uncommon guns or war souvenirs you dont normally get to see.
most LE only carried service revolvers, and wore the old heavy leather belt with extra loops to hold extra ammo.
the Belgium Browning Hi Power was one of the most popular semi auto 9mm's at that time.
WW2 bring backs like Lugers, P38's, Japanese Nambu, etc were not that common because most people kept them in private collections, not many in the gun shops, not until a little later when gun shows became popular you could see the uncommon guns or war souvenirs you dont normally get to see.
most LE only carried service revolvers, and wore the old heavy leather belt with extra loops to hold extra ammo.
the Belgium Browning Hi Power was one of the most popular semi auto 9mm's at that time.
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bamaranger
New member
THE off duty revolver
The benchmark for an off duty or plain clothes revolver in my circles was the round butt S&W M66, a 6-shot, stainless .357 w/ adjustable sights. So much so that they seemed hard to obtain in certain areas with large PD's, at least in my experience.
The benchmark for an off duty or plain clothes revolver in my circles was the round butt S&W M66, a 6-shot, stainless .357 w/ adjustable sights. So much so that they seemed hard to obtain in certain areas with large PD's, at least in my experience.