Posted on 06/23/2020 9:49:47 AM PDT by PROCON
All are excellent weapons for defense, and in some cases offense; they are equally at home in a homeowner’s gun safe or carried as an officer’s sidearm.
Here's What You Need To Remember: Locked away behind the Iron Curtain and unable to secure contracts with the Czechoslovakian government, the CZ 75 failed to gain adherents until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today the pistol is available in an updated form, the CZ 75BD, featuring a firing pin safety, decocking lever and underbarrel accessory rail, and available in a variety of midsized handgun calibers.
The bustling global arms trade has resulted in many excellent handguns in the last hundred years. Some of the best handguns are more than a hundred years old, while others have been in production for less than a decade. All are excellent weapons for defense, and in some cases offense; they are equally at home in a homeowner’s gun safe or carried as an officer’s sidearm. Here are five of the best handguns currently in service worldwide.
The Colt M1911A1
Designed by prolific gun designer John Moses Browning, and first introduced in 1911, the Colt 1911 pistol was meant to replace weaker .38 caliber pistols used by the U.S. Army during the Philippine Insurrection. The 1911 was the U.S. military’s first semiautomatic handgun, marking a permanent turn away from military revolvers.
The original 1911 weighed 2.4 pounds and had a seven-round internal magazine. In 1924, the gun was updated, mostly for ergonomic reasons, to the 1911A1 standard. The 1911A1, while internally complex by modern handgun standards, is still a popular handgun. The end of handgun’s patent, coupled with the weapon’s enduring usefulness resulted in almost every major U.S. gun manufacturer releasing its own version of the handgun. In 2012, the U.S. Marine Corps Marine Special Operations Command adopted the Colt M45A1, an updated version of the 1911A1, as its standard handgun.
The Glock 17
The Glock 17 was built around three key ideas: simplicity, reliability and ease of use. The handgun is easy to take apart, with a single press of the button removing the slide for cleaning and access to the barrel. The Glock passed the Austrian Army’s reliability test with flying colors, jamming only once in ten thousand firings. And the weapon was expressly designed with an eye on “pointability”—the pistol’s natural ability to act as an extension of the shooter’s hand-and-eye coordination.
From the original Glock 17, capable of carrying seventeen rounds of nine-millimeter ammunition, the Glock line has expanded to cover nearly all semiautomatic calibers, including .45 ACP, and the gun has replaced the 1911A1 pistol in such organizations as Marine Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army’s Delta Force.
The Sig P226
Developed by the Swiss-German partnership Sig Sauer to replace the M1911A1 in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Sig P226 failed to win the contract but received a major boost when U.S. Navy SEALs rejected their Beretta M9 pistols in favor of the Sig.
The P226 was an evolution of the Sig P220, a postwar favorite of Western and Western-oriented (such as Japan) armies worldwide. The pistol is a so-called double-action design, meaning a single long pull of the trigger will both cock the pistol and release the firing pin, firing the pistol. Users can also operate the Sig in single action mode, in which the pistol is manually cocked and a shorter trigger pull releases the firing pin. The pistol is equipped with a side-mounted decocker for lowering the hammer without firing.
The Sig Sauer P226 served with the U.S. Navy SEALs for twenty-eight years, before eventually being replaced by the compact version of the Glock 17, the Glock 19.
The Smith & Wesson M&P
Smith and Wesson is one of the oldest names in American firearms. Although the company was mostly known for revolvers, it was inevitable that the company would come out with a Glock-style polymer handgun. The result, the M&P (Military and Police) became highly successful in its own right.
Introduced in 2005, the M&P features a steel-reinforced polymer frame and stainless-steel slide. The M&P was one of the first guns to feature three interchangeable palm swells, allowing the user to configure the pistol to better fit his or her hand. The M&P also features ambidextrous slide stop and magazine release. Unlike the Glock, the M&P can be disassembled without pulling the trigger.
The M&P is available in a number of midsize pistol calibers, including nine-millimeter, 357 Sig and .40 Smith & Wesson, as well as .45 ACP. The M&P mostly serves in police forces in the United States and abroad.
The CZ 75
One of the best handguns in the world wasn’t even available to recreational shooters for much of the Cold War. The CZ 75 handgun, introduced in 1975, borrowed a great deal from John Moses Browning’s late model pistol, the Browning Hi-Power, both externally and internally, but is not a copy, and features significant differences. The nine-millimeter pistol could carry up to sixteen rounds, making it one of the largest-capacity handguns of its day.
Locked away behind the Iron Curtain and unable to secure contracts with the Czechoslovakian government, the CZ 75 failed to gain adherents until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today the pistol is available in an updated form, the CZ 75BD, featuring a firing pin safety, decocking lever and underbarrel accessory rail, and available in a variety of midsized handgun calibers.
I bought my first model 92 in 1979. The action was the same as later models but some things were different.
I had purchased 500 rounds of 9mm surplus at a cheap price. My Nephew and I took a Browning and the Beretta out to shoot as much as we could without our thumbs becoming sore from refilling mags.
The Browning which otherwise has never failed, failed to ignite on nearly every shot. It was 100% on the second strike. The Beretta was 100%.
Double action on the Beretta was pretty stout probably due to that strong spring. It was fine in single action.
I am not criticizing the Browning as it has never had a bobble with other ammo. I suspect that surplus 9mm was sub machine gun fodder. Still I had to respect that Beretta.
Airport security in Spinal Tap. :)
I like Walthers. I went with their ppk just for fun, and it’s an amazing firearm.
Same here. My wife didn’t like the kick of the .380. Fits in any pocket and appears to be the size of a cell phone.
My wife hated the “no safety” feature. I carry it without a round in the chamber. At least I hope there isn’t one. Let me che...
Same here. I carry with no round in.
For the house, we have a couple of Taurus public defenders. For rounds, I have alternating 000 buckshot and #6 birdshot.
Buddy with contacts found new 1951 “c” serial numbers in original boxes with matching serial numbers on the boxes, original wax paper, brush and test casing. There were a handful available, never holstered. Beautiful. They were sold in no time and I’ll leave it at that.
Needless to say this is a treasure find. 70y/o 1911 new in the box. The value increases.
1911 purist here.
BTW rock island armory (armscor) makes a very sweet milspec GI 1911A1, using the original colt tooling in the Philippians, every aspect is as near colt specs as you’ll find. Sear is sweeeeet. All for about $400. If you’re on a budget this is a great buy...if you can get one in this market. Lighten the trigger to 3.5# and it is EVEN nicer.
https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/35151
Ditch the 8 round mag and get Chip McCormick 7 round mags.
A thing of beauty
I like a lot of these, but everyone needs to find what works for them. My uncle has his dad’s 1911 that was issued to him in 1917. It still packs a punch. I like the S&W bodyguard with the laser sight, my home defense weapons are Taurus public defender loaded up with .410 rounds and my wife is most comfortable with the Glock 19 9mm.
This is their USP Compact. Such a great carry weapon. Light, small, powerful, reliable; everything one needs. It's also very easy on the eyes and feels darn good in the grip.
I was lucky enough to find two 25 count boxes of 2.75” 00 buckshot this past weekend!
https://youtu.be/vQrJ9u-jo_E?t=42
Total nonsense opinion. ‘Best’ is a personal opinion, not factual.
The best in my opinion is the Sig P320.
No. Replace the spur hammer with a ring hammer and there will be no more hammer bite.
Ow,
Ow,
Ow!
“It’s little brother, the Combat Commander, is a little better carry gun.”
The Combat Commander has a steel frame just like the original and is only 2-3 oz. lighter. The Commander, OTOH, has an aluminum frame and is 1/2 pound lighter. My EDC is the Ruger SR 1911 Commander model in .45 ACP. They improved on the original Colt design by incorporating a tungsten insert into the feed ramp area so that JHP’s would not gouge the aluminum frame (which has happened to my old original Colt Commanders). This particular specimen has Trijicon night sites and the sweetest trigger I have ever experienced on a production gun.
The one thing that all other semi-auto pistols lack is the trigger mechanism of the 1911. Mr. Browning may not have realized it at the time but he designed the BEST trigger EVER in a handgun. A properly tuned 1911 trigger pull must be experienced to be believed.
***
I don’t care what anyone else here says... Glock is crap.
The rest are depending on the taste;
I prefer S&W or Sig Sauer.
(H&K for the heavier stuff)
I wish I didn’t live in NYC so I could own one of them.
Mark
“That only change I would make is the Glock 19 in favor of the 17 due to concealability.”
IMHO the Glock 19 is the best 9mm for the price. I’ve shot one for years, and it is my preferred “go-to” handgun.
“My 19 is my EDC. Best all around handgun in the world imho.”
My opinion, as well.
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