NRA
American Rifleman
Top Ten Handguns
#10. Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum:
The Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum (S&W) Model 27 is the original .357 Magnum revolver and was first produced in 1935, production ceased in the 1990s. The Model 27 was built on Smith and Wesson's carbon steel, large N-frame, was available at various times with 3 1/2", 4", 5", 6" or 8 3/8" barrel lengths and had adjustable sights.When first introduced by Smith and Wesson in 1935 it was known as the .357 magnum Registered Magnum. The model was essentially a custom order revolver. Barrel lengths could be had in quarter inch increments from 3.5" to 8.75" in length. In addition to the different length of barrels available there were different grips, front sites, triggers, hammers and finishes available. Each Registered Magnum came with a certificate of authenticity.Even though it was introduced in the middle of the Great Depression, and was extremely expensive, Smith and Wesson found itself backlogged with orders for the four years that it produced the Registered Magnum. The Kansas City Police Department issued the Registered Magnum to its officers and many other law enforcement officers across the United States carried the Registered Magnum. In 1939 S&W stopped producing the Registered Magnum. It was replaced with the .357 Magnum. The .357 magnum was available with barrels lengths of 3.5", 5", 6.5" and 8.75". It has been reported that these were the most popular barrel lengths for the Registered Magnum. Essentially the .357 magnum (the ancestor of the Model 27) was still the Registered Magnum, but standardized for ease of production and economy. The Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum was a power break through with its .357 Magnum cartridge. It was a beautiful gun in fit and finish. It had a deep blue and beautiful wood grip panels. Today an empty Registered Magnum box can sell for $2,000. A gun in good condition brings around $10,000.
#9. Browning Hi-Power:
The Browning Hi-Power was the first high capacity auto-loading pistol. The 9-mm. Luger pistol has a thirteen round magazine. The Hi-Power was used by both sides in WWII. John Mose Browning was the inventor of the Hi-Power. The pistol that was eventually manufactured contained Browning’s locking system but the rest of the design came from Fabrique Nationale’s designer, Dieudonne Saive. Browning died in 1926 and the pistol was introduced in 1935. It is sometimes called the P-35. It was the first widely used high capacity military pistol. While no longer favored by military users, it is still a civilian favorite.
#8. Mauser C-96 Broomhandle:
The Mauser Broomhandle was the first commercially successful auto-loading pistol. It was developed in the early 1890’s and introduced in 1896. The pistol magazine was loaded with a stripper clip. The Mauser had a unique shoulder stock that also served as a holster for the pistol. The hinged wooden stock opened for removal of the pistol. The stock could then be clipped onto the pistol’s broom handle butt for conversion into a small carbine. The Broomhandle was the predecessor to the modern sub-machine gun. Winston Churchill was a huge fan of the Mauser. The Broomhandles’ 7.63-mm. Cartridge was the fastest cartridge available until the introduction of the .357 Magnum cartridge in the 1930s. A Chinese copy was developed that was chambered in .45 acp.
#7. Walther PP, PPK, PPK/S:
The Walther PP, Polizeipistole (Police Pistol) and PPK Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell (Police Pistol Detective Model), also called the Polizeipistole Kurz (Short Police Pistol) were among the world's first, successful double action semi-automatic pistols, making them safe for police and undercover carry. The PP was released in 1929 and the PPK in 1931. Both were popular with European police and civilians, for being reliable and concealable. During World War II they were issued to the German military and police, the Luftwaffe and Nazi Party officials. Adolf Hitler killed himself with his PPK. Moreover, the Walther PPK pistol is fictional secret agent James Bond's signature gun in the films and most novels. Ian Fleming's choice of the Walther PPK directly influenced its popularity and its notoriety. Many consider the PP series to be the world’s most naturally pointable pistol. The PPK/S was developed following the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA68) in the United States, the pistol's largest market. One of the provisions of GCA68 banned the importation of pistols and revolvers not meeting certain requirements of length, weight, and other "sporting" features into the U.S. The PPK failed the "Import Points" test of the GCA68 by a single point. Walther addressed this situation by combining the PP's frame with the PPK's barrel and slide to create a pistol that weighed slightly more than the PPK. The additional ounce or two of weight of the PPK/S compared to the PPK was sufficient to provide the extra needed import points.
#6. Colt SAA (Single Action Army):
The Colt SAA was also known as the Model 1873, for the year that it was adopted by the U.S. Army, and it was popularly called “The Peacemaker.” The SAA is a highly sought after collectible. It was one of the most beautiful and well designed revolvers of it’s time. It was highly durable and chambered in the powerful .45 Colt caliber. There traits were said to have been responsible for making it the choice of Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. The SAA was said to out shoot any other weapon of the time. It is considered the iconic pistol of the American “Old West.” The SAA was the conversion of the Colt Model 1860 Percussion Revolver. The 1860 was a beautiful, sleek revolver. Production of the SAA ceased during WWII. Due to its enormous popularity, it has been brought back several times since then.
#5. Volcanic Pistol:
The Volcanic Pistol was very important for several reasons. The first and foremost is the fact that it solidified the partnership between Smith and Wesson. Another would be the fact that the Volcanic was a lever action pistol, that was the predesessor to the modern lever action carbine rifle. The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company was a company formed in 1855 by partners Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson to develop Walter Hunt's Rocket Ball ammunition and lever action mechanism. Volcanic made an improved version of the Rocket Ball ammunition, and a carbine and pistol version of the lever action gun to fire it. While the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company was short lived, its descendants, Smith & Wesson and Winchester Repeating Arms Company, became major firearms manufacturers.
#4. Smith & Wesson Model 1:
The Smith & Wesson Model 1 was the first firearm manufactured by Smith & Wesson, with production commencing in 1857. It was also the first commercially-available revolver which used modern rimfire cartridges instead of loose powder, ball and percussion caps. It is a single-action, tip-up revolver holding seven .22 Short cartridges. In 1860, the Model 1, second issue was introduced. In 1868 the Model 1, third issue was brought to market with its notable alterations being a round barrel and fluted cylinder. The Model 1 was discontinued in 1882. The Model 1 is historically significant as the first revolver with a bored through chamber and the first to use self contained metallic cartridges.
#3. Glock Model 17:
The Glock Model 17 was successfully introduced in 1983 by Gaston Glock, engineer and founder of Glock Ges. m.b.H. located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. Mr. Glock's company was established in 1963 and had previously manufactured a variety of commercial appliances, including police and military related products, i.e., bayonets and entrenching tools. Prior to 1983, Glock applied for a bid to provide 25,000 handguns for the Austrian army. Having never before designed or manufactured a firearm, Glock assembled a brilliant team of gun designers and experts from around the world to design a new handgun for evaluation and testing by the Austria army. Many other major firearm's manufacturers had also bid on the same contract to provide 25,000 9mm semi-automatic combat handguns. The bid required that all competing handguns pass an initial screening process. Thereafter, the remaining qualified handguns would be rigorously tested. The prototype handgun submitted by Glock not only passed the initial screenings, but typical Glock-style, exceeded the rigorous test requirements that followed. The Glock Model 17, a simple but innovative handgun, not only represented the most exciting and successful idea in handgun history, but soon developed a trend setting design that included a limited number of components (initially only 32), a new safe-action system with soft recoil, and low weight through the use of space-age polymers that are stronger than steel and 14% its weight. The Glock pistol frame can withstand extremely high and low temperatures without structural damage. Needless to say, the 9mm Glock Model 17 pistol was selected as the official handgun of the Austrian army. Soon after, the armies of India, Jordan, Thailand, Norway and the Philippines purchased the Glock Model 17. The Glock Model 17 was selected as the official handgun for NATO forces in Europe. The model number "17" was not the first Glock. The Glock Model 17 was the 17th version of the Glock pistol that won acceptance by the Austrian army. Many people mistakenly think the handgun was so named because the magazine holds 17 rounds of ammunition. 1986 saw the establishment of Glock, Inc. in Smyrna, Georgia (USA) and the introduction of the Glock pistol into the United States.
#2. Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector:
The Hand Ejector was introduced in 1899 with the first S&W 38 Hand Ejector, also known as the .38 Military and Police (38 M&P) and the Victory Model of WWII. The model was aptly named as the K frame Smith and it became the basis for the most popular police issue revolvers of this century. The Hand Ejector dominated law enforcement sales in the 20th Century, until the introduction of the Glock semi-automatic Model 17. It may be thought of as the typical frame for a 6 shot 38 Special.
#1. M1911:
The M1911 pistol originated in the late 1890s, as a search for a suitable self-loading (or semi-automatic) handgun, to replace the variety of revolvers then in service. The United States of America was adopting new firearms at a phenomenal rate. Several new handguns and two all-new service rifles (the M1892/96/98 Krag and M1895 Navy Lee), as well as a series of revolvers by Colt and Smith & Wesson for the Army and Navy were adopted just in that decade. The next decade would see a similar pace, including the adoption of several more revolvers and an intensive search for a self-loading pistol that would culminate in official adoption of the M1911 after the turn of the decade. The M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It was designed by John M. Browning, and was the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces from 1911 to 1985, and is still carried by some U.S. forces. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Its formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original Model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam era. In total, the United States procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols during its service life. The M1911 is the most well-known of John Browning's designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design. Besides the pistol being widely copied itself, this operating system rose to become the pre-eminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols.
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