The Best Handgun Evermade

target,hunting and defense. caliber
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OK:
You want a target accurate gun.
Second you want a hunting gun. To me that means it has to be capable of mouse to elephant.
Defense?
If it's a hunting gun, and not an autoloader, it can always be loaded down to work for defense.

A target gun needs to be built well, have an inherently accurate cartridge, a fantastic trigger, and great sites.

I have two nominations:
First is the .475 Linebaugh. It's inherently accurate, can be load mouse to elephant, and, in a custom gun built on a Freedom Arms 83 will cloverleaf at 50 yards, with 5 shots.
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Next caliber:
.510 Linebaugh Maximum
Can use 525 grain bullets, suitable if you have to worry about the rouge elephant, and, can be loaded down as well. Again, big bullets make for accurate guns.

Either of these guns can be loaded with 260-300 grain Hawk HPS, with thin jackets, that expand very quickly, and, at around 1500-1900 fps give you .357 type ballistics, with a MUCH heavier bullet. Heavy and fast, the way to go for defense. You can also tailor the load to the gun weight, to have it recoil like a 9mm, if you want.
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I think this topic runs regularly every year or so... My answer is still the same - a 6" S&W M19 - pick the load and it will perform in any of the roles. Especially if you practice enough to be really good...
 
Reference to the best handgun ever made for a female

Hey ya'll!
I recently was given a Valentines Day present of a Glock269mm. I have spoken with several Police officers and pistol range owners and have been informed that I have one of the BEST pistols in the world. They were right!! The first time I shot her I was so amazed! I also own a Rossi 38+P, Baby Eagle, a Taurus Millenium and a Mossberg 12 g. pump shotgun. We must prepare people!! Ammo is hard to find and we must stock up! Keep it safe!!
 
My personal best gun is my 686 6" -- no, wait a minute, it's my 617 4" -- er, on second thought, it's my 66 -- come to think about it, maybe it's my 617 6" ----- oh, fuggedaboudit:confused:
 
If it's production, then it's the .475 Linebaugh. Hornady factory ammo has been as cheap as 44 magnum, and, the .480 Ruger is a 'light' or special version, and, can also be fired in the gun. It's also a production caliber. So, you can shoot two production calibers, in one gun.

Two others I would look at:
The 500 S&@, since you can shoot .500 JRH or .500 Special ammo out of it, and they are enough for about anything, and not as expensive as the .500 ammo.

And, the .460 S&@, since you can shoot 3 calibers out of that gun, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and .460 S&@.

An X frame with a shorter barrel, 4-6 inches, or, a BFR in that caliber would be a serious contender, since they are accurate, and have such a wide range of .454" loads avaliable.

If you don't want an X frame:
the.475 Linebaugh, .500JRH, .500 Special, has ammo that fits in regular frame revolvers, and, a .480 Ruger also fits in the regular sized frame. Either one is enough for 99.9% of the needs you listed.

By the way, I'm not alone in my praise of the .475 Linebaugh. Ross Seyfried, Lee Jurras, and a number of other folk think it it THE all around revolver round.
 
Had some of lee jurras old super vel 357.mag from back in the 1970's .that stuff would SCREAM :eek: out of my 10 in tc.:D
 
XP-100 in 7mmBR will kill big game out to 250 yards....will one-hole targets and knock down steel rams

little lacking in defense if you need more than one shot quickly, though...:D
 
Best Handgun

I agree with those who think that the best handgun can be different depending on the situation and I try to pick the gun I'm going to carry to match the situation.
IF I were forced to choose only one defensive handgun my Glock 21 would win hands down! :D I would just choose my holster and my clothes for the situation. I do that anyway regardless of what I'm carrying.
 
I must echo the responses of either a 4" or 6" .357 magnum. My personal pick is (and was, when I bought my first handgun) a 4" S&W 686P. Seven shots of .357 magnum in a fine double-action revolver with a barrel long enough to make the cartridge worthwhile while still being short enough for defense purposes. Not easily concealable, but you didn't list concealability among your criteria.

The case could also be made, as others have already done, for the .41 mag. The only drawback to this plan is the lack of ammo. .41 isn't a common caliber, at least not in my neck of the woods. For me, ammo availability is one of the primary factors in choosing a new gun/caliber.

The case can also be made for the Glock 20. I am an ardent revolver man and not a big fan of Glocks in general. However, it is difficult to argue against a package that holds 15+1 rounds of 10mm in a fast-handling semi-auto platform that is smaller in size than my 4" 686P. That the 10mm eclipses the .357 magnum in size and power and is only barely edged out by the .41 magnum further emphasizes the sheer firepower of the Glock 20.

Like I said, I'm a revolver guy, and I like magnum chamberings for the added power over the common semi-auto cartridges, and I really don't care for Glocks, but the Glock 20 with 16 rounds of 10mm is a serious piece. :eek:
 
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There are a whole lot of things that are out for hunting with those wimpy little service cartridge Glocks, and bottom feeders.

When you really get down to it, either the guns I've posted, or this one:
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Ruger Redhawk in .500 Linebaugh.

Or,
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These are custom BFR and Rugers in .500 JRH. Elephant to mouse, and target accurate, though they would have a hard time out shooting the .475 FA 83 custom JH I posted earlier.
 
Single-actions are very comfortable for shooting mag loads. Some are amazingly accurate. I kinda miss having a .44 mag and may get one again.

We used to shoot 10 1/2" Super Blackhawk .44 mags in handgun silhouette shoots and, from a prone position with iron sights, could usually keep our gas-checked cast bullets in a 4" group at 200 meters.

It was fun to watch others shooting the big slugs with spotting scopes and binoculars when the afternoon sun was behind us. We could see the big bullets fly, looking almost like tracers.

I did a lot of Ruger SA trigger jobs back then and figured out how to get a 2 lb pull with almost no creep and no backlash and how to caseharden them for longevity. Except for silhouette shooting, that's too light a pull for most folks. I still do a few triggers, just as a favor to friends and relatives.

Picher
 
Best?

Why, why, Oh, why do you do this?
Much as I am a fan of semi-autos and think that a 1911 is the answer to the target/defense parts of the equation, the 1911 is not a hunting gun (though, doubtless some have used it for that purpose).
The answer, if it exists, would be some type of revolver - very possibly one of those cited and pictured in this thread. I wonder, though, about the suitability of the larger, more powerful handguns for target purposes. Certainly one could shoot IMHSA matches with the big fellas but that's only one type of target shooting (Alas, the downfall of handgun polls - the failure to take the time to phrase a question that is specific enough to be answered accurately.)
I wonder about using a big large caliber revolver, even loaded down, in the rapid fire section of a Bullseye match. You "could" do it but you "could" use a way better tool for the job.
Personally, if I HAD to pick, it would be a DA action .44 Mag (.44 SPL for target work); almost went with a .357 but the .44 has an edge in the hunting scenario IMHO.
Pete
 
Many folks say the S&W 29 with full-power loads is hard on the hand, especially in the web, because it comes back so straight. It also used to have serious maintenance problems if shot with magnum loads for many hundreds of rounds. The company has since beefed them up and they last much longer now.

Even Super Blackhawks had issues, if shot for thousands of rounds with magnum loads. The cylinders used to get out of round. You could measure the differences with a micrometer because the cylinder was unfluted.

Picher
 
That's actually the blessing of the larger cases. You don't have to run high pressure to get excellent performance.
For instance, a 325 grain LFN at 1300 fps requires only 28K pressure, using 4227.

Likewise a 400 grain XTP can be moved about 1100 fps, at that 30k range. Low recoil, and, plenty powerful.

Guy we know took a 370 grain LFN, at 1170 fps, using the smaller .480 case, and, it went broadside through a 2500 pound bison, killing the bison quickly. What more do you need?

Another consideration is the 44 magnum, the way Lee Jurras used it. He used light, 185 grain bullets, and, depending on the target, used different thickness bullets, all hollow points. For heavy game, a thick jacket, so thick the bullet acted like a solid. For lighter game, a thinner jacket.
Same point of aim, and, he did use some slow powders with tricks to hold the bullets in place long enough to get 1800 fps, or more. With his ability to shoot, he could take an elk with such loads. OK, he neck shot the elk...
 
S&W 629, 4" bbl, with various loadings for various applications.

Now, that wasn't all that hard, was it? :D
 
For 25 years, my do it all was this gun:
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This is a 6 shot conversion, on a Seville, by John Linebaugh.
It's 45 colt, but, it's capable of 454 level loads, just not too many 60k loads.

Ross Seyfried used it's sister gun to kill a cape buffalo. Marginal, but, he got it done. It has enough range to shoot 45 Colt target loads, to full house cape buffalo loads, and, a larger variety of bullets in 45 Colt then 454.

With .452" 230 grain lead bullets, you could shoot it all day, for very little money.

45 Colt was, and, is still probably cheaper then 44 magnum, and, in a strong gun, or a custom, is the best compromise between hunting, SD, and target shooting.
By the way, with the right loads, and mainly in the right hands, this gun would put a cylinder on a playing card at 100 yards.
 
Seville

I know this will come to shock SOCRATES but my Seveiile Stainless 41 Mag with 4 5/8" barrel.It is the one next to me everynight.
 
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