As for other calibers, the first handgun I purchased for myself was a 72C series FN High Power after we were told we could carry a pistol if we were working plain clothes. I made the drive to the Bright Lights a few hours away, found a telephone booth, looked up gun shops in the Yellow Pages, where the old guy behind the counter (must have been in his early 40's!) showed me a 1911 and that High Power. I have no idea 50 years later why I chose the HP - if I had to guess I would say the rounded heel of the grip felt better in my hands.
Been shooting and carrying that HP ever since, done nothing more than change the springs out once per year. I am at the point where I have to stop procrastinating and get some high visibility Novak sights mounted on it to deal with Old Man Eyes presbyopia.
The HP was followed shortly afterwards when one of the guys I worked for introduced me to PPC. Didn't take long to realize that after my initial forays into target shooting that I needed something better than the issue Model 10. So that lead to a purchase of a Model 19 revolver due to the 6" barrel and adjustable sights (and I probably dreamed of shooting .357 Magnum). Then another Model 10 tricked out to be a 1500 gun with bull barrel, Wichita sights, etc. Then a K-22 for practicing with. Then a Model 19 snubby for the snubby matches.
Then in the late 1980's a BHP in 40 S&W was added to the fold, intended to be my Bear Wrench with heavy loads - I never could fire the N frames all that well.
About the same time I strayed off into small bore target pistol and purchased a High Standard Supermatic Trophy up for sale, the full meal deal with both .22 short and .22 long rifle barrels, slides, and magazines.
My last purchase was a Dan Wesson CBOB in 10mm with an included 40 S&W barrel, springs, and magazines. A local young cop desperate for cash money in his hand to buy a muscle car up for sale, talked me into paying him less than half of what that pistol was worth. The Deal You Cannot Refuse - I felt slightly guilty paying him so little for that pistol, even after I told him what it was worth. That has now become the Bear Wrench I wear walking around here around the homestead a few minutes away from Glacier National Park, where grumbly bears wandering through on their way somewhere else are not uncommon.
I probably shoot a bit more .22 rimfire than 9mm at this point for both training and recreational fun. Either through the Supermatic Trophy, a Model 17-6, or a .22 conversion kit on the High Power. The 9mm is all exclusively through that same High Power. The 40 S&W High Power sits collecting dust in the safe; the caliber does nothing for me and FN built them on the Chubby Gal later models, the MkII and MkIII pistols. Just as the current clones are all remakes of the Chubby Gals.
The S&W K frame collection gets regularly fired with .38 Spl, just to enjoy what I remember from shooting PPC. So they aren't collecting dust and never will. I think I may have fired a box or two of hot .357 Magnum through my Model 19s just to see what all the buzz was about, but that was about it. More noise and more recoil never had any kind of appeal to me, and I didn't have a use for the additional power. I think I have the remnants of a few boxes sitting somewhere in the reloading room.
I do shoot some a few magazines of 40 S&W with stout handloads for practice with the Dan Wesson from spring through fall, and a few times a year a magazine of 10mm rino roller loads goes through it to prove to myself it works and I can hit what I'm shooting at.
And there's two WWI .455 Webley revolvers that I cast the original bullet for and shoot for pure enjoyment: a Webley and a Triple Lock. They make a few trips to the range each year, especially when I'm bringing somebody along who I think would enjoy shooting them rather than sticking with only the .22 rimfire, 9mm, and .38 Spl.
All the brass other than .22 rimfire gets picked up and comes home with me. I can still reload everything I shoot that's centerfire less expensive than purchasing practice ammunition; I buy components in bulk and look for sales on blemished bullets. Having a Dillon makes short work of reloading them.
They all have their uses and provide enjoyment in their own way.
Shorter barrels clean up faster. Getting older and having kids makes time a bigger factor for me. Much bigger.
