The 'AK-47' of handguns

R

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Hey everyone :)

I have a question for you all to chew over...

What would be considered the AK 47 of the handgun world?

factors to consider:

Reliability
ease of maintenance
Toughness
Put-Down-Power
Does not necessarily need to be Russian :P

I currently have a Izmash Saiga in 7.62 by 39 and am looking for a side arm to complement it.
Im leaning heavily towards the 1911, shot it before and it was a great weapon

What are your ideas and reasons?
 
Lot of quality handguns out there. For reliability I suggest a good DA revolver, but there are so many good reliable handguns today, you should go with whatever feels comfortable to you, and that you can shoot well.
 
hehehe. Yeah, it is a tough question.
I like the 1911 because I have big ol hands, and the grip fits nicely. Tried the beretta, but the grip was just a bit too short.
The FNP 45 was also a nice fit, same with the HK 45.
 
A good single action revolver.

Simple design, no convoluted safties or cocking devices. Large-diameter bullets provide great power, and an American icon. Sure, not quite as venerable as the AK47, but probably one of the more reknowned designs when it comes to handguns. Outdated? Never!

Plus you can find the .44 Russian, the "improved" version of the Schofield revolver, to match your Saiga (which you should convert to a pistol-grip, BTW.)
 
You must be referring to the venerable Colt 1911,,,
It's been around exactly 100 years now,,,
Still in widespread use.

Aarond
 
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If you already like the 1911 grip frame and want a eastern European gun that will go bang everytime, check out the CZ 40b. Designed from the ground up by CZ and Colt for the 40 S&W get them while they are still cheap. Got mine for around $350 without a single problem of over 1000 rds and the Colt Z 40 (the same gun!) is around $1000 but they probably didnt make as many. Show your czech pride and rock a gun most dont know anything about.
 
Browning Hi Power

The AK-47 was used by more military's around the world than any other rifle ever made. I would suggest that the Browning Hi Power would be the handgun that could make that claim.
 
Hey Great Mahoo,

A revolver is a good idea. I held and fired the taurus 44, 4 inch barrel and it was a nice weapon.

The things that turn my head to a pistol are the slightly larger capacity, and the fact that they have magazines, instead of popping the rounds into the cylinder one at a time. Sure, you need to one by one the rounds into the magazine, but i'll have 3 or 4 of them :)

And BullDawg, I was thinking of a glock, but in doing my research, i found that they tend to have problems with limp wrist firing. Not the biggest problem, but if for any reason i NEED to fire my weapon and my grip isn't 100% for whatever reason, i Need it to fire.

Thanks though :)
 
Hey Aaron,

Yup, specifically the springfield 1911 GI 45. plain, no frills, pull the trigger, boom goes the baddie weapon.
 
+1 1911. Its old world, reliable, has its own toolbox within the pistol itself and fires the 45acp round.

Then theres the Browning High Power. Same as above but with twice the amount of ammo but in 9mm.
 
A revolver is a good idea. I held and fired the taurus 44, 4 inch barrel and it was a nice weapon.

The things that turn my head to a pistol are the slightly larger capacity, and the fact that they have magazines, instead of popping the rounds into the cylinder one at a time. Sure, you need to one by one the rounds into the magazine, but i'll have 3 or 4 of them
Click to expand...

While I mentioned a single-action design, a good double-action design might alleviate your concerns here. You can load up speed-loaders to fill all chambers at once, or have the gun cut for moon-clips to make them function about the same as a magazine in an auto loader. You can even find revolvers in high capacities than the standard 5 or 6, too, though they'll never come near the capacity of some autos.

I'm not knocking autos; I have several of them. But revolvers are less prone to malfunction, will feed any appropriate cartidge (as opposed to some finicky autos liking only certain rounds) and are generally available with more power than the bottom-feeders.


If I could only keep one of them, I'd be hard pressed to choose between my 625MG in .45colt/acp and my 1911 in .45acp.
 
hahahah! yeah i got some paws twhidd...

I dont have a ruler at hand, but if i grip a bic pen, the round stic one, its almost gone.
 
I don't own either, but the AK-47 of pistols is undeniably a Glock 17.

The similarities are too endless to name:

The ak47 is the go-to gun for an army (too many countries to name)
Glock is the go-to gun for police departments

Both the Ak47 and Glocks are significantly cheaper than competitors. (Colt m16 vs Ak47, Glock vs Sig or HK or even a 1911)

Both guns can literally be buried in the ground for years and then used later.

Glocks and Aks are simple enough for non-soldiers to use. (Glocks, you pull the trigger and it goes off, pretty simple)

I say it has to be a 9mm because just like 7.62x39, I believe there is a large majority more 9mm ammo stockpiled globally than .45 or .40.



The Ak47 has transcended just being a gun, it has now become a cultural icon. Likewise, only Glock has the same cultural availability as the Ak47.

Here is the litmus test, ask a NON-GUN enthusiast to name a ''machine gun'' and they'll tell you "Ak-47 yo." Ask a NON-GUN enthusiast to name a pistol, and they'll tell you "A Glock dawg."
 
1911 is my vote. Easy to strip down and clean, simple set up, over 100 years of proven reliability, can be more accurate than you are, easy to find parts, big hole no matter what ammo you use when it's a .45 ACP (easier to find than .50 GI but GI will make a bigger hole even with fmj because after all it is a .50)

In my mind though there are other potential candidates but the 1911 stands out IMHO.

A wheelie to me is more like a good bolt action. Reliable, accurate but limited firepower despite potentially shooting very powerful rounds. I'm not knocking both of those as I own a bolt action and a wheelgun (hopefully 2 of them in the future) but that's my opinion and like a hole for excrement, everyone has one.
 
The Glock seems like the best parallel. Mass produced with simplified manufacturing and truly interchangeable parts that don’t require hand-fitting. It is known worldwide as the "black gun" (at least I think). It is reasonably priced and known for reliability even under extreme conditions. It has a simple manual of arms and may be one of the easier pistols to repair.

For me the Glock is a tool. Every other firearm I've ever bought gave me that "kid on xmas morning feeling" that I simply didn't get from buying a Glock. For me, buying a Glock was similar to getting a high quality power drill or something – really nice but inspired no lust in my heart. Regardless, or maybe because of these feelings, my G22 and G27 are what I carry on or with me most of the time.

If I were more fastidious in my gun care, I wouldn't hesitate to carry a Hi-Power or 1911 (my favorites). There are plenty of different firearms that are the equal or superior to the Glock, and these may certainly be better for different individuals or situations.

The CZ line of pistols may be another possibility, since it was, I assume, a sidearm of some Warsaw Pact armies. But to me, the Glock comes closest to being the AK-47 of the pistol world - if there can really even be such a thing. I suppose the thing the Glock has most in common with the AK-47 is how ubiquitous and well known they have become worldwide. Although I doubt if a Glock will ever be incorporated into a national flag like the AK-47 has.
 
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