What if you could only own ONE handgun...
- Thread starter pythagorean
- Start date
You have a lot to consider when you're talking about "only one." That covers every possible use, target, ammo, situation, storage, reliability, etc. Any choice would involve compromise. And with all that in mind, I'd take my stainless 6 1/2" Blackhawk .357 (with my handloads: 158 gr. XTPs @ 1600fps).
- Ruark
- Ruark
Glock 22. http://hubpages.com/hub/MyGoToGun
BlackStaff
New member
Different Strokes for Different Folks
I agree with Ruark. To add to that list, (where you live; the country or an urban environment). I know some country folk who would be happy with just a .22. I also know that city folks usually enjoy the compact semiautos. It depends on what you're planning to use the pistol for.
I live in the South-West, and I prefer my Kimber Eclipse Custom II .45.
I agree with Ruark. To add to that list, (where you live; the country or an urban environment). I know some country folk who would be happy with just a .22. I also know that city folks usually enjoy the compact semiautos. It depends on what you're planning to use the pistol for.
I live in the South-West, and I prefer my Kimber Eclipse Custom II .45.
It would have to be a Smith or Ruger 357 magnum revolver in all steel with a three inch barrel.
I've got a number of revolvers and semi's to choose from and always carry a semi but semi's don't have much soul. So.... if it had to be just one I'd go with a revolver and carry a speed loader.
I've got a number of revolvers and semi's to choose from and always carry a semi but semi's don't have much soul. So.... if it had to be just one I'd go with a revolver and carry a speed loader.
pythagorean
Moderator
The one gun pick is always interesting.
I'll justify the SW 41 over all others in my case.
The other choice for me would be the SW 27-2 for obvious reasons, but why a 41 over a .357 or other larger caliber?
The caliber can be the determining point for most, but for me a handgun has to be dependable and pin point accurate.
Most 41s cannot be said to be dependable although the accuracy is pin point. But if you find a 41 that is dependable on even just one brand of standard or match velocity loads then the dependability requirement is fulfilled.
Next is the caliber and what the caliber is capable of doing. The .22 LR is the least of most if not all calibers.
However, the quietness, availability, and range of the .22 LR in a handgun is far above most other calibers of similar or lower velocity.
The little bullet can accomplish a lot in a handgun that can place it into pin point impact.
Lastly, the feel of the 41 in my hand is the best feeling of any other handgun.
I'll justify the SW 41 over all others in my case.
The other choice for me would be the SW 27-2 for obvious reasons, but why a 41 over a .357 or other larger caliber?
The caliber can be the determining point for most, but for me a handgun has to be dependable and pin point accurate.
Most 41s cannot be said to be dependable although the accuracy is pin point. But if you find a 41 that is dependable on even just one brand of standard or match velocity loads then the dependability requirement is fulfilled.
Next is the caliber and what the caliber is capable of doing. The .22 LR is the least of most if not all calibers.
However, the quietness, availability, and range of the .22 LR in a handgun is far above most other calibers of similar or lower velocity.
The little bullet can accomplish a lot in a handgun that can place it into pin point impact.
Lastly, the feel of the 41 in my hand is the best feeling of any other handgun.
omnibus1967
New member
Ruger Speed Six in stainless. 
As I get older I realize I may have to really answer this question somewhere down the road before too many more moons go by. I'm 68 now. My 2nd wife and I are pretty well fixed right now, but, in the unlikely event that I should survive her and be left alone in my old age, I would convert all my personal property (including all my guns but one) into cash (actually a bank account), and move down to Florida and probably just rent a room or small apartment in a community down there where there'd be a lot of other folks just like me; or maybe I'd rent an RV in a permanent RV park or something.
If this situation were to ever actually to occur, the gun I'd keep would be my Kel-Tec P3AT, because its perfectly reliable with ball ammo so long as if I do my part and keep the gun clean, the rails lubed, and the feeding ramp polished. The P3AT is 100% concealable, so I could keep it with me all the time, with no one ever the wiser. I never intend to be a helpless victim.
If this situation were to ever actually to occur, the gun I'd keep would be my Kel-Tec P3AT, because its perfectly reliable with ball ammo so long as if I do my part and keep the gun clean, the rails lubed, and the feeding ramp polished. The P3AT is 100% concealable, so I could keep it with me all the time, with no one ever the wiser. I never intend to be a helpless victim.
Frankly, it can easily be like this. Some of us have had a falling off in income in the last year or two. That means less disposable income and no possibility of shooting as recreation. So you tend to focus on practical things instead of luxury things. Anything after the first gun, if you even need one, is a luxury, just like a second car. And besides, one gun wouldn't have to do everything anyhow. If you can only afford one gun, you probably won't belong to a shooting range or gun club (I don't), so there's no use for any target guns. I've never hunted since I was a teenager, so I have no use for anything along that line.
It's a hard life.
It's a hard life.
Ruger's KGP-141, due to:
> The four-inch barrel is short enough for concealed carry and home defense, but marginally long enough for small-game hunting, plinking, precision target work, and field carriage.
> Revolvers (in general), and the GP-100 series (in particular), have superb reliability, durability, fit/finish, accuracy, utility, design simplicity and effectiveness (additionally, GP-100s are essentially indestructibly strong).
> .38 Special/.357 magnum ammunition is readily available and inexpensive, however, it also includes a BROAD range of uses, from cheap .38 Special target/plinking rounds, to extremely potent .357 magnum defensive (think Double Tap, among several others) and hunting rounds (for example, 190 grain cast-core medium game hunting loads).
> Post-market accessories (holsters, sights, lasers, and so forth) are readily available and relatively inexpensive (due to market volume/economies-of-scale).
> The four-inch barrel is short enough for concealed carry and home defense, but marginally long enough for small-game hunting, plinking, precision target work, and field carriage.
> Revolvers (in general), and the GP-100 series (in particular), have superb reliability, durability, fit/finish, accuracy, utility, design simplicity and effectiveness (additionally, GP-100s are essentially indestructibly strong).
> .38 Special/.357 magnum ammunition is readily available and inexpensive, however, it also includes a BROAD range of uses, from cheap .38 Special target/plinking rounds, to extremely potent .357 magnum defensive (think Double Tap, among several others) and hunting rounds (for example, 190 grain cast-core medium game hunting loads).
> Post-market accessories (holsters, sights, lasers, and so forth) are readily available and relatively inexpensive (due to market volume/economies-of-scale).