Post
by timmy » Sat Sep 08, 2012 4:30 am
This sort of question is simply too difficult to answer from an analytical perspective. There are too many disparate uses for handguns, which require too many different trade-offs in design for one handgun to deserve the title of "best." Another point here would be, does one factor in the influence a specific handgun had on the design of handguns?
That question gives away where I am heading. I don't think that there could possibly be a best -- it does not, nor cannot exist -- but my answer is the Browning 1911.
For one thing, the design is so influential -- the locking short recoil action has been copied and refined in so many ways. The toggle link is sometimes replaced by a ramp, such as in the Hi Power. Or, rather than interlocking ridges in slide and on barrel, one has a lump that fits the ejection port. There is the development of the staggered magazine, another Hi Power innovation.
But in the end, the 1911 is the granddaddy of them all, and blazed the way. It also remained viable for a considerable length of time. Revolutionary when introduced by the US Army, its design was timely through 2 world wars and well beyond.
Not only has it served as an excellent battlefield sidearm and self-defense arm, it has also soared to the apex of competition accuracy. It is true that it has received the attention of many many gifted people who altered, engineered, and refined the manufacturing tolerances and defects, but this is due, in a large part, because the basic design permitted this.
There are two arguments I'm going to brush over in making this statement:
First, I'm not going to get into the 7 x .45 ACP versus 14 x 9mm P debate. The 9mm P is a good round for its purpose. I have such a handgun. However, my preference is still with the .45 ACP, not only for self defense, but also for accuracy, an area in which the .45 ACP excels.
Second, there's the debate of pistol versus revolver. I own revolvers, both single and double action, and am well recognized by those who know me as a strong aficionado of the modified Schmidt Galand action of the Colt series of double action handguns. I love shooting them and admiring them for their manufacturing finish and excellence, their refined design, and their tactile feel of operation. But to me, a revolver will always remain an older design, as compared to a pistol -- something from "a time gone by."
So, my vote would go to the 1911. Nothing feels as good as mine does in my hands.
“Fanaticism consists of redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.”
saying in the British Royal Navy
