First Class vs. Economy Class Handguns

[Protected One]

You might also want to check stats on how many people are reading this. Browning Class B? I don't think so. It was Class A when the founders of some other A companies weren't born yet.

Agreed! Browning Hi-Power in Class B? ...not in MY book.

 

[stantheman86]

Pietta and Uberti in Class A? They don't even make "defensive" guns, more like "hobby" guns, specializing in cap and ball revolvers, Colt Model P clones and lever guns.......even serious Cowboy Action guys use Rugers.

Taurus should at least be in B Class, they have stepped up their game over the boat anchors they used to make. Even Massad Ayoob like their 85 snubs, and they have made the 82 forever for the "rent a cop" market. At least their all steel revolvers tend to work well.

And, Hi Point actually has a good rep, despite butt ugly guns.......if it breaks , you send it in, they just destroy it, and send you a re-serialed brand new one. The carbines are actually reported to be very good. I mean, for what, $150 for a new Hi-Point 9mm they get good reviews and they just plain work, and at least are made in the USA. Not a bad warranty, you wear it out and they just send you a new one.

 

[Practical]

You list is a lot of opinion with not a lot of evidence backing it up.

The only lists that matter are guns made to Military reliability standards and specifications, guns made for for Police use, guns made for hard competition use and then all other commercial guns.

Bluntly your lists are meaningless.

Firearms built to military standards and use cases have to meet documented standards and specifications.

Firearms made to police standards as well do to, though they are also made to commercial standards.

Firearms used in competition will have longer term durability and reliability but my not be suitable for all environmental extremes.

Finally commercial civilian guns (edited to remove vulgarity) are subject to the minimum standards of longevity, durability and reliability.

Again this is my opinion, but in this case mine can be tested against specifications and we could come up with some use cases.

Your approach we can't.

 

[dwever]

Korth at or near the top, easy call.

Kimber, Remington, and Smith & Wesson are lower second tier - some fine guns can and did come out of both, but you never know anymore what you're going to get.

 

[C J]

You were doing fairly good in your first list for the most part, no way in heck would I have included Taurus!

One of the best handguns I own is a Taurus. It's insanely accurate and has never had a failure through the first 5000 rounds. It holds 10 + 1 rounds in a space that is smaller than some single stack pistols. It recoils perfectly for followup shots. It fits my hand perfectly. I'd rate it as the second best handgun I have and I paid $320 for it brand new. It's a PT-145 and if I told you how accurate it was you probably wouldn't believe me. Of all the handguns I own that one is under my seat next to my foot right now because I count on it to work and to be accurate. The only pistol I own that is better is a Sig P220 and if you want to talk about spotty those can be too. Some of the newer models are not what they older models were.

 

[Arik]

One of the best handguns I own is a Taurus. It's insanely accurate and has never had a failure through the first 5000 rounds. It holds 10 + 1 rounds in a space that is smaller than some single stack pistols. It recoils perfectly for followup shots. It fits my hand perfectly. I'd rate it as the second best handgun I have and I paid $320 for it brand new. It's a PT-145 and if I told you how accurate it was you probably wouldn't believe me. Of all the handguns I own that one is under my seat next to my foot right now because I count on it to work and to be accurate. The only pistol I own that is better is a Sig P220 and if you want to talk about spotty those can be too. Some of the newer models are not what they older models were.

Which is why the only Sigs I own were made when there was still a W. Germany.

Total round count doesn't always indicate reliability. 5k could be shot in one weekend or one decade. When it's one weekend it's a good indicator and one more just to make sure the first wasn't a fluke. Now we're onto something

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[C J]

Which is why the only Sigs I own were made when there was still a W. Germany.

My P220 mentions W. Germany on the slide. Those are some solid handguns.

I shot the 5000 rounds through my Taurus in the course of about a year or so. I had other guns to feed too so it was limited. I've seen the day when me and a couple of friends shot up thousands of rounds of 9mm, 5.56 and .308. When you're feeding a full auto it takes a big supply of ammo. One guy owned a gun shop and reloaded a lot. I happened to get to go the day he decided to shoot up his stash. He shot up about $3000 worth of reloads in a few short hours. I still have a copy of the complaint letter sent to the local newspaper about the noise we made that day.

 

[nachogrande]

CAN YOU NARROW IT DOWN SOME?

"What a billionaire would own", for what purpose? Bragging rights/safe queen, or will it actually be used and for what? Can you narrow it down to a revolver or a semi? Those early registered magnums (way out of my reach) really get my juices flowing.

 

[woodsltc]

Trying to get even close to a consensus opinion about that many firearms makers is gonna be like "herding cats"...... Good Luck.

Don

 

[Brasky]

Why are norinco and Arsenal in class B? They make some of the best AKs money can buy

Those AKs will go 80,000+ rounds before needing replaced but you have them classed with Taurus firearms that fall apart in the first 1,000 rounds

 

[C J]

Taurus firearms that fall apart in the first 1,000 rounds

I thought bashing wasn't allowed on this board but I'm not a moderator obviously. Again I have a Taurus that has 5000 trouble free rounds through it. It shoots as well as any pistol around to 25 yards. It holds more ammo in a smaller space than any double stack I know. It recoils perfectly and fits my hand perfectly. Yeah it's a real piece of - gold.

 

[Brasky]

I thought bashing wasn't allowed on this board but I'm not a moderator obviously. Again I have a Taurus that has 5000 trouble free rounds through it. It shoots as well as any pistol around to 25 yards. It holds more ammo in a smaller space than any double stack I know. It recoils perfectly and fits my hand perfectly. Yeah it's a real piece of - gold.

It's not bashing if there are dozens of documented cases. Yes a Taurus might go 5,000 rounds but really 5,000 rounds is not a large number.

The average Glock will easily reach 40-50,000 rounds. The average Taurus will have issues in less than 5,000

 

[BigBill]

Why are norinco and Arsenal in class B? They make some of the best AKs money can buy

Those AKs will go 80,000+ rounds before needing replaced but you have them classed with Taurus firearms that fall apart in the first 1,000 rounds

Norinco manufactures quality firearms. Look at their sks, 1911, tokarev.

I purchased the misses her own 22lr revolver a Taurus m94. It's a sweet shooter.

 

[44wheelman]

Tough list to compile, some mfg's make models that would go in different categories. Springfields Professional model would not be in the same category as their 1911-A1. Personal experience will vary too. My recent experiences with several new guns from Ruger would move them into economy on my list.

 

[Drm50]

I would say you need a few more years of study before writing
any lists or books.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Kimbers are always expensive. Nothing economical about them, regardless of whether they are top of the line or just average handguns.

 

[C J]

The average Taurus will have issues in less than 5,000

How could you possibly know that? So it isn't bashing if you think you know it's true. BTW I just happened to only shoot 5000 rounds through that pistol. Who knows how long it will last. I know Taurus has made some bad guns. So have other gun makers including S&W (my daughter owns one). Some of the other guns listed in the OP's categories aren't exactly foolproof. He put Beretta in the top category but I've seen them make some absolute dogs. I'm not going into which models because I don't bash here. They make some very good handguns now but I am here to tell you there was a time I thought they were terrible. I saw some of their stuff back in the 50's and 60's that just wasn't very good at all. Companies can change just like Beretta did.

If you think I want to start a Taurus vs. Glock thread here it ain't going to happen. I will just say that when I bought my first Taurus I was looking for a Glock. I looked in every LGS in my area and there are lots of them. I never found even one Glock that fit my hand right. Not one. That's how I got talked into the Taurus. I was given a 30 day no questions asked return deal because the LGS owner knew there was no way I'd bring back that pistol and he was right. I have no regretted for one second buying it instead of a Glock. I had the money in my pocket and every intention of buying a Glock but they just aren't made for people with hands like mine (big). The Taurus fits me perfectly and it shoots perfectly. You'll also find reports of high round counts on them around the net. Mine happens to have 5000 rounds through it. I have no idea how many it will go through before something gives. I know that my Sig is limited to about 15,000 rounds before springs need to be replaced. If you're going to tell me a Glock is better than a Sig I'm going to laugh. But the last thing I want to do is to argue against a Glock fan. Too many of them are unreasonable. It's like all the people I've seen say the Ruger 10/22 is the best .22 made. It's a fine rifle but the best??? No freaking way. I don't argue with fan boys. I don't know if you are one or not but you're wrong about Taurus. They make some good stuff.