The best all around do everything pistol!

[G-Mac]

As you know from reading my threads I like a do everything type of gun.

Actually, I didn't know that. Thanks for clarifying.

For example I love shotguns because they can do everything!

Hmmm....I can think of a few things that a shotgun can't do. Shall I start a list?

I also love the Colt 1911 because it's a battle hardened and proven weapon system and the platform....

I hate when people call guns "platforms" and that's usually when I stop reading a post. Nothing personal, my friend.

What would you consider as the best overall do everything type of firearm?

The one you have with you when it is needed.

If the Gestapo broke down your door slapped you around and took all your firearms....

Now we're living in Nazi Germany?

Keep in mind some important things... Is it affordable? Not everyone is Donald Trump here in this forum so I think maybe that gold plated Dan Wesson or Ed Brown Signature Special is out of the picture here. Is it practical? Is it simple enough that any fool off the street can use it with little training? Can you even find parts for the thing? Warranty? Is it safe and reliable to carry for self defense reasons? Is it lite and small enough to carry comfortably or does it weigh like a tons of bricks? Does it chamber a cartridge thats more than a mouse fart? Can you even get ammo EASILY for the thing? As in can you get the stuff at your nearest Walmart? Can you hunt with it? Is it durable? Does it hold a respectable amount of bullets? For example NOT a derringer.. lol All these things should be considered. I value and respect your opinion so what do you think some of the best pistols are?

I'll go with a good quality .357 Magnum revolver.

 

[Darkenfast]

Never mind the controversy over the gun. The real Controversy is in setting the parameters of the question.

To be truely ALL around would include all of ;

Fun to plink with
Accurate enough for club level bullseye match
Suitable for personal defense against 2 and 4 legged threats.
Suitable for small game hunting
Suitable big game hunting, at least up to deer


And that right there establishes a very short list of sufficient power for deer, while modest recoil for extended plinking sessions. Add in reasonably common caliber for ammo availability, and the choices are medium frame .357 and accurized .45acp .

Bingo! The first task is to identify what a "do-everything" firearm has to do. The odds of us agreeing on that are about as good as the odds on us agreeing on what the particular model of gun would be! Some would say: "Bulls-eye? What's that?". Another might say they have no intention of ever shooting something as big as a deer. If we were all locked in a room and told not to come out until we agreed on an answer, perhaps the best we could do is: the gun you already own and shoot the best!

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

I'd want a Glock 19.

 

[Biggfoot44]

I went back and reviewed the first post . In addition to several mentions of Do EVERYTHING , and comparisons to shotguns, the OP specifically lists Hunting as a factor.

But this just reinforces my earlier post that setting the parameters is the real question. WVSigs categorically excludes handgun hunting . Barring hypothetical wilderness survival scenarios, that would be a legitimate life choice , and would change the discussion.

Not to extrapolate anything to WVSigs, lets say hypothetical poster Mr or Ms X doesn't care about hunting, or even recreational plinking. Their criteria is only personal defense, reasonable power, keep rounds in chest area of life sized target at 10yds, with bonus points for fit in pocket. Then we could have a spirited discussion between various flavors of J frames, and various flavors of subcompact 9mm.

 

[BAM-BAM]

If there really was a "do everything handgun"....... IMHO we'd all be carrying it!

 

[SuperMan]

Revolver....S&W 66-2 3" with an extra cylinder modified by TK Custom or Pinnacle Arms to take moon clips that will run .380, 9mm, .38 Super, 9x21, .356 TSW, 9mm Largo and 9x23 Winchester...

...with 9mm...10 yards DA...




Semi...Colt 1911 .38 Super with extra .45 Slide and barrels for 9mm, 9x23, .45 ACP and 400 CorBon. That along with a .22 Conversion Unit would be my #1 choice... One day I would like to add a DELTA slide to be able to shoot 10mm, .40 S&W and .357 SIG...if I can't find ammo to shoot, that means there is no ammo left to shoot...




If I was going "modern" ...it would be a Glock 19 with an extra 23 slide so it could shoot 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG and would add a .22 Conversion Unit from Advantage Arms....

Bob

 

[BigBill]

Best all around pistol?

1911-a1 of course in that 100 year old 45acp caliber.
CZ-85db in 9mm parabellium it's a amber dexterous cz75.
CZ-82/83 in 9mm makarov don't let this little Russian caliber fool you.

For the best all around revolver?

357 magnum, colt Python, ruger security six, s&w n frame m28/m27
41 magnum, s&w m57 / m58, ruger red hawk,
44magnum, s&w m29, ruger Redhawk, ruger SBH,

No plastic it will never last where I'm going.

 

[rock doc]

In my opinion, the Governor. Fires .45 Colt, .45 ACP, and 410 shells. Name another handgun that does that.

 

[joebiker]

I would be my Glock 20, 10mm and my 40 S&W drop in KKM barrel. It would not be the best to conceal, but I could do it. Minimal tools and parts needed to keep it going.

 

[Cal44]

In my case, it's my M60-15.

Accurate gun at short and longer ranges with 3" barrel and adjustable sights.

Versatile caliber - 357 Magnum.

Stainless steel so it's a good outdoor gun.

Light enough and small enough to carry easily.

I even pocket carry it sometimes.

Shown with the Buffalo Bore hollow point SWCs.

 

[Mike in Reedley]

Expecting one handgun to do everything is quite a stretch. I do believe that you can do everything with two handguns though. Short answer; 640 Pro Series 357 and a Les Baer Thunder Ranch .45 acp.

Long winded answer justifying Two Gun Mike- first handgun is the smaller of the two; concealable, and COMFORTABLE that you will actually EDC and not just say so on the forum (I'll have the 32. Bob, Said Little Bill). It should drop into a pocket, IWB or ankle holster etc. My personally owned ones in descending order are; 640 Pro Series, 60-15 Pro Series [central fire kit gun ], Kahr P9, CW 9, 638, 442, model 38, Walther PP .22, 3913, Sig P232 Sig P6 [225], Ruger SP 101 in .22, pre model 36.

The second would be a full or midsize handgun capable of killing an up to deer sized animal at 50 yards or hitting a man sized target at 100. Again personally owned and in descending order; Les Baer TRS that has most of the bluing gone from the grip and edges and is quite battle proven-having saved my *** a number of times, mid size M&P 45 with an Apex trigger that is also battle proven, M&P 69 (so dang accurate), model 25 Mountain Gun in .45 Colt, 329 with 44 spl ammo, Ruger SS Speed Six 2 3/4", 3" 65, Kimber Compact Stainless II, M&P CORE in 9 with an Apex barrel and trigger. Hi Power.

Now that I'm retired and my cc handguns roll has changed to strictly defensive and as a food getter in a pinch. The days of chasing crooks, serving search warrants, zombie apocalypse or waiving my gun around while saying something cool are over for me. So if forced to pick just one, it would be my 60-15 357 3" adj sights. Most of the time loaded with BB +P 38 or a reload of 158 hard cast over some non +P WW 231 powder. A packed of shot shells left in the truck or backpack, round out the ammo.

I have an Oak Creek IWB and a gorgeous Threeperson style brown BW with safety snap for it I bought here on the forum. Spare ammo is carried in speed strips in my back pants pocket, an El Paso covered six loop belt slide and one HKS speed loader in a jacket or cargo pants pocket. All reload carriers are charged with non +P ammo, so no hot stuff snakes its way into a non +P rated oldster.

Only one shotgun? Benelli M2 12 gauge 26" barrel. Only one rifle? Marlin 336 Texan pre-cross bolt safety peep sight with both jacketed bullets loaded with Leverution and cast bullets with Rl 7. So thankful to live in a Country/State/County that doesn't restricts me to just one handgun.

 

[franzas]

.357 or 10mm would do pretty much anything you need

 

[jeeps]

One pistol GLOCK. G 19

 

[dandyrandy]

Everyone keeps saying 357 revolvers are the way to go. I dont disagree but 357 can be hard to find at times and those magnum revovlers tend to be more on the heavy side. The 45 ACP revolver would be a good choice for a survival self defense gun. This revolver does not need moon clips either you can just pop those cartridges in the cylinder. Also I never held a 45 that was this light before.

 

[Skeptic 9c]

3" M65 or M66.

I'll second that opinion.
Geoff
Who leans toward the adjustable sights, but as I age I realize exact point of aim is more flexible than it was in my youth.

 

[SuperMan]

Well...since my last post a few above this one, I sold the Super Elite as it was just worth too much money...and replaced it with a Kimber Stainless Target II in 10mm.

After some reading discovered that the slide for the 9mm/.38 Super and 10mm/.40 are exactly the same....so I started adding barrels...

Long story short, the original gun will currently run 10mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 9x23 Winchester and 9mm LARGO. A 9x19mm barrel has been purchased but needs to be fitted. By total luck a complete {minus the frame} .45 Stainless Target II came up for sale on eBay and was purchased..and will be modified so the 10mm ejector will work with that slide. So the system will now also run .45 ACP and .45 Super and maybe one day .400 CorBon and or .40 Super...

I already have a .22 Conversion Unit so this gun will do everything from Bullseye to big game....





I've carried a 1911, either a GM, Combat Commander or Commander daily since 1976 so this will work 99% of the time...

Bob

 

[Arik]

Everyone keeps saying 357 revolvers are the way to go. I dont disagree but 357 can be hard to find at times and those magnum revovlers tend to be more on the heavy side. The 45 ACP revolver would be a good choice for a survival self defense gun. This revolver does not need moon clips either you can just pop those cartridges in the cylinder. Also I never held a 45 that was this light before.

They make light 357 too. Check out the 340PD. Only 13oz! Ruger has LCR is around 15oz.

The beauty of the 357 is that you don't necessarily need 357. I've never heard of 357 ammo being hard to find but if it is there is also 38 special.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Triggernosis]

What gun is that on the left above?

 

[American1776]

The gun should be small. That rules out 4 inch revolvers (a 4 inch K-frame is roughly the size and weight of a 1911) for me.

1911's are too big to conceal in small places or on your person. You don't want the Gestapo to find it, it can't be an 8 inch by 5 inch pistol.

I'd say the following pistols are great, do everything guns:

1) Makarov PM (in 380). Extremely reliable, will last forever, very small.
2) J-frame or SP101 357 magnum. Small, reliable, ammo is available, powerful.
3) Beretta Cheetah 85/84 (380). Small, very reliable, good round count.
4) SIG P225a1 9mm: Small, powerful, and in a service caliber.

All of these guns are metal framed. I chose against plastic, because this may be the only gun you can pass onto your kids, and their kids. Polymer may be fine for 40 years, but i doubt it will hold up longer than that like a steel or alloy gun.

 

[Mehutch]

All good choices, but for me it has to be a S&W 686 or 686+ with a 4" barrel. Tough, powerful, .38 or .357 mag, stainless, no magazines to damage or lose...

Seven shooter...



or a six shooter...