My two favorite are my Model 10 (s) and my Model 58.....I like the simplicity of a service handgun with fixed sights....

Auto: Colt Commander in 45 acp.
Revolver: 4" Python or a 4" M-28.

Of course, my SAA isn't a "service pistol".

Glock G19, it just works.

.45 Commander. (All-steel 1911s are heavy!) There are so many good second choices it is ridiculous to try to list them all, but one of them might be another Commander, this one in .38 Super. P220 .45s get an honorable mention.

Actually it is. Used by the U.S. Army from 1873 through the Philippine Insurrection. Funny true story about that. It seems in the trials leading up to its adoption, one of the requirements was that it had to pass the sand/dust test, cleaned only by equipment possessed by the common soldier.

That problem was solved by dousing it with urine - it certainly did the job, and all agreed that was equipment possessed by every soldier.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I have a preference for the .45 ACP revolver with moonclips. My 625 with 3" full lug barrel is the one handgun I would choose for every occasion.

Dave Sinko

Going to have to revise my previous choice and go along with David on this one. I've always liked the 3" round butt Model 13 but it's being pushed aside by a 2-1/2" Model 625-3. Will be replacing those grips with a set of Ahrends.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

My favorite is a Model 67-1. Still enjoy shooting it.
I have carried well in excess of 25 different handguns for duty and off duty the last 38 years and still shoot revolvers for fun.
gaf

4" 686 back in the day...Sig P229 in .40 S&W nowadays.

I like the Smith 25-5, 4" in blue. Also like the P-08 9mm Luger for the unique factor.

I have a lot of fine revolvers, yet when I mess around in the boonies, (I ride the trails a lot on a quad) I usualy take either a old M&P or a HD I had converted to .44 special. (I had found a model 21 .44 special barrel). They are probley the two "cheapest" guns in my collection and I dont mind getting them dusty or scratched up if it happens. My real favorite though is still the model 24-3 pictured on the bottom. Guess I baby it.

I am partial to the Highway Patrolman. Probably pick a 19 next, then go with a Glock in .40.

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Even older, even crankier....

Probably a tie for first between the Model 15-3....


and the Model 1911 (depending on the mood)...


with the Model 10 coming in a close second.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Having carried the S&W 66 and 15 in the past as "duty guns", I suppose I should vote for them. But these days it would be a Glock, preferably a 27, but a 26, 23 or 19 would be fine.

I think it would have to be any N frame .357, in particular a four inch barreled Model 28 or the 3 1/2 inch Model 27. If they were good enough for the FBI in the 1930's, who am I to argue?

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Vaya con Dios

I really like those "Thumpers" of Mule Packer's, As to the service arms, I'm sticking with 45's; 1917's and 1911's in no order. Third would be Sig 220. With an Honorable Mention to J-frames as B.U.G.

A 1911 45 of course!

^^^^^ Of course!

The only service handgun I ever carried was a 1911-A1, but the service-type handgun I own today is a C-series Browning Hi-Power from the 70's.

Attachment 109733

....nuff' said

After 30 some years of deciding.......

Revolver: 3inch Model 66 w/ Spegel boot grips

Auto: S&W 3913 NL with Hogue checkered Wood grips.

Honorerable mentions

Revolvers: 3inch model 65 DAO w/ magna-port ( a mistake; but a must have in the 80s LOL) and a 4 inch Model 686 no dash I had round butted.

Autos: S&W PC 6906; Beretta 92compact type M (single stack) and Beretta 92 Compact w/ D spring mod.

The only gun I ever carried in uniform was a 1911A1. It was and still is my favorite.

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

My well worn 10-6 is my favorite revolver.

On Duty: Glock Model 21 .45acp
Off Duty: Glock Model 30 .45acp
Bug: S&W Model 638

I carried 9 different service weapons in the last 40 years. My favorite is a 686 4" revolver. I often carry it around the farm and woods when checking fences and deer stands.
GAF

CZ75 D compact + M38 nickle.(saltwater environment)

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Halfway and one more step

Started with a S&W Model 15 then got the S&W 66 4". Still have them both.

Smith and Wesson Military and Police .38 special. It always will work when needed.

Attached Images

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If I had the time and ammo to maintain proficiency where I think it should be, a 1911. The 45ACP MG is a winner, with a good SWC in AR cases as the carry load and a good JHP service round (Gold 230s seem to be a good choice, but anything that has done well in Doc Roberts' testing would do) in moonclips for reloads.

I have a Wilson KZ9 that shoots like a dream, and would give it serious thought if I could get a decent duty holster for it. The fixed sights on S&Ws are too hard for me to see as I get older and have more vision trouble, otherwise the pool would be larger and include an M58. My M58 has a fiber optic rod and the rear trough was opened a bit more before the hard chrome, so it is a decent choice.

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NHI, 10-8.

Model 10-5, four-inch standard barrel, built 1966. I miss a nice 459 I had for a while years ago, and a fine old CZ-75, but the 10-5 suits me just fine.

S&W Model 10 .38 caliber revolver with a 4 inch heavy barrel.

Very interesting reading. I agree with many of the choices made.
My choices would be
Auto: Colt Gov't. Series 70 .45ACP, second choice a S&W 59 (when backup is an hour away 43 rds in a good working 59 is a comfort)
Revolver: 686 4" or 6" in a good Hoyt holster.

My favorite "service" type sidearm is a Glock 17 or 22. Out of the box the things just work and it doesn't seem to matter what might be the particular load used. Either the 17 or 22 are easy for just about anyone to use effectively. They are not hard to learn.

But, while these are my favorites, I do not currently own either one. When there had to be some cutting back, I let some things go. I did however hold on to my 4"28-2... and my SA GI 1911-A1. They are the types of handguns I started with 30 years ago. It would be hard for me to let them go.

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<><

Mexico has some pretty weird rules, but basically we're restricted to .38 special revolvers and .380 acp automatics. If you take your regular basic nine, and get a barrel made up that duplicates the original with a .380 chamber and a longer lead-in for heavier bullets, you can load the .380 case right up to 9 performance. If it's a 1911 Super or 9 m.m. and you fully support the barrel, you can do 9+P with nothing coming apart.

This "long-slided" Glock 25 will launch a 125 grain Lee RN lead bullet at 1,130 fps all day long without distorting anything.


These .380 acp 1911's with fully supported chambers will exceed the Glock a little bit. The 6 inch version can fire a Saeco 140 grain LSWC at 1,200 all day long. We use small rifle primers for that loading, but we've shot several thousand of them. It's about the top-limit for the .380 case as you basically don't have any more room for powder. They are very accurate.


For our fledgling competitions -- which are just getting started (we hosted a P.P.C. event this weekend with 26 competitors) we separate all firearms into two classifications: SERVICE CLASS, which is any auto or revolver with a barrel no longer than 4.25 inches with or without adjustable sights. Also, we have the TARGET CLASS which are all autos and revolvers with barrels longer than 4.25 inches and shorter than 8.5 inches with or without adjustable sights.

These are arbitrary divisions due to the unique situation we face with the incredibly draconian laws we have to live within, but they work well enough. I am not sure that a 6 inch Model 10 is any less a "service" gun than a 4 inch Model 10, nor am I any more sure than a 5 inch Model 27 is as much a "Target" gun as a 6-inch K-38 but it's the division we make and it works well enough for us so far.

We also have the "SNUBBY CLASS" (the two-inch pocket guns) and the "SUPER SNUBBY CLASS" for the 2.5 inch to 3 inch guns. This Colt would be a "Super Snubby":


Phil's classic 5-inch Pre-Post-War Model 27, under our rules, is a "Target Gun" although it's real-life battle experience was as a service gun on Guadalcanal and Bouganville.


The "Silver Menace" is a long-barrelled K-38 tube mounted onto a round-butt Model 19 frame and marked as a 14-4. There's lots of jokes about Jack Nicholson in "Batman" and his long-barrelled revolver when this one's around.


A Mexican gunsmith reblued this Pre-Model 23, including the hammer and trigger, and when we bought it we replaced those parts with case-hardened versions. It is now the Target Class revolver of one of my best friends.


My own Target Class gun is a Model 14-3 that I have installed an original K-38 H.B. on to, with a Model 64 parts set (cylinder, trigger, and hammer) giving it the two-tone finish. The cylinder has been moonclipped by TK-Custom, and the thumb-latch is one of the excellent S.D.M. latches that really have great surface checkering. The front sight is a .243 red bead that is still sold and the rear is a .160 White Outline.


But you asked about service class guns. My personal choice as a "Service Class" firearm, both for Mexican Shooting Competition and real-life use is my pretty, although used, Heavy Duty. It's got the power. It's got the looks. And it shoots to where the sights point with the "big loads". It's all I could hope for.


So, that's my state of affairs in the "Service Class" situation here in Bananaland.

My first duty weapon was a Model 15 Combat Master Pease. Now my carry is a 686 3in barrel for winter carry summer carry is a M60 3in barrel. or a 1911-1A

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Carpriver.

58 or Colt Rail Gun

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Cheers, Charles
SWCA #2442

In the 70's I carried a model 19 that was the first gun that my brother carried. I bought that from him when he switched to a model 58.

If I was working today, I would carry my Glock 21, my Sig P220, my S&W M&P, or my HK USP, all are .45.

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Corripe Cervisiam

1. Browning Hi Power
2. 4" K38 Combat Masterpiece w/ target stocks

1943 Ithaca 45 given to me by a now deceased WWII vet, S&W model 10 and 1937 Contract 1917 45 revolver. Frank

As a Security Officer, I first carried a 6" barreled Colt's Trooper Mk III (in .357 Magnum, of course.) Later, I carried a Glock Model 20.

Scott