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Old August 13, 2012, 10:21 PM   #1
9mm
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1950-1970's ERA[before plastic, what would you carry?

1911 high noon 38 on akle/pocket.



Note, we? didn't have the supertuckable holsters back then.
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Old August 13, 2012, 10:33 PM   #2
jfrey
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Browning Hi-Power or 1911 Commander
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Old August 13, 2012, 10:37 PM   #3
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1911 government model, Browning High Power, S&W Chiefs Spl., or S&W model 10. Most in home made pancake type holster.
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Old August 13, 2012, 10:42 PM   #4
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Colt hammerless pocket pistol either in 32acp or 380.

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Old August 13, 2012, 10:52 PM   #5
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S&W K-Frame M19 or M66 depending on which side of 1970 we’re on.
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Old August 13, 2012, 11:32 PM   #6
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A S&W 66 when I first got into this gig. A Government model 1911 later, followed by a Commander size.
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Old August 14, 2012, 01:16 AM   #7
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Colt Commander for me.
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Old August 14, 2012, 06:13 AM   #8
Mike Irwin
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Same thing I carry now...

A Smith J frame in .38.
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Old August 14, 2012, 06:36 AM   #9
Seaman
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Lots of good choices back then.

How about...a 6 1/2" S&W 44 Magnum on the shoulder, and a PPK on the ankle...the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Old August 14, 2012, 06:45 AM   #10
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My LW Commander. I built it in 1975. Note the serial number: my initials and the year. Yeah, I know; the beavertail GS was added in the '90s.

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Old August 14, 2012, 07:20 AM   #11
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Probably a Smith 10, or 19. If I knew then, what I know now, it would have been a BHP.
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Old August 14, 2012, 07:33 AM   #12
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Assuming I had the money to buy it back then, the same thing I'm carrying now.

Smith & Wesson Model 12-2, 2" barrel.
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Old August 14, 2012, 07:48 AM   #13
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I carried a Colt Diamond back .38spcl with 4" bbl. after I could afford it. As a USAF pilot I carried a Hi-Standard Sentinel .22lr for survival purposes when not in combat.
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Old August 14, 2012, 08:16 AM   #14
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My picks....

For the posted era, I'd use a S&W model 27 .357magnum with a 3" barrel or maybe a stainless model 657 4" barrel .41magnum.
If I worked in plainclothes or concealed a lot, I'd buy a 2.5"/3" barrel S&W model 66 .357magnum.
As for semi auto pistols, I'd get a all steel Colt Cdr 1911a1 with arched back-strap(Bobcat type) in .45acp.
Gun writer & former LEO: Evan Marshall(left handed like me) wrote that on duty in the 1960s/1970s, he & his patrol partner packed a S&W model 57 .41magnum & a Browning Hi-Power 9x19mm on Detroits mean streets.
Many cops & armed security officers working in cold weather or at night would carry a 2nd gun in a shoulder rig under a vest/coat.

The .41magnum never really caught on but it has great specs & does very well as a LE or armed citizen round.

Clyde
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Old August 14, 2012, 08:27 AM   #15
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During that period I had only owned two different examples of the same gun, which were Browning Hi-Powers, so I suppose that what it would have been because that's what it was. Today it would probably be something different, possibly just to be different.
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Last edited by BlueTrain; August 14, 2012 at 11:21 AM.
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Old August 14, 2012, 09:42 AM   #16
Bob Wright
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I think I probably opted for a Colt Detective Special, but with more money, a Colt Single Action Army, which became more available in 1955. Or maybe one of Hy Hunter's Great Westerns, maybeso the Deputy.

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Old August 14, 2012, 10:32 AM   #17
ClydeFrog
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Other picks...

With more thinking, I'd add a stainless or nickeled Colt Python .357magnum with a 2.5/4" barrel.
Pythons were considered by most of the gun industry & gun buying public to be the "Cadillac" of .357magnum revolvers.
They aren't cheap either, .
A Colt Detective Special .38spl would be a great BUG or concealed wheelgun. Sworn LE officer, legal use of force expert and trainer; Massad Ayoob wrote a few articles, back in the day, about how the D frame Colts were better than S&W J frames.
Id add that I like the "Baby Browning" .25acp semi auto pistol, even though I loathe most "mouse guns".
I was thinking of wearing it as a deep concealment pocket pistol as I worked nights & in cold weather(early 1990s). I never purchased a Browning .25acp but it's a good design. The Beretta line of .32s & .25acp pistols have merit also.

Clyde
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Old August 14, 2012, 10:33 AM   #18
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Probably a Colt series 70. 45 acp IWB at 3 o clock. Maybe a s&w model 19 or a colt python 4'' in a shoulder holster. Then maybe a Hi power to feel like Serpico
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Old August 14, 2012, 10:40 AM   #19
ClydeFrog
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GEN George A Patton, Colt .380acp BUG...

If I recall, WWII era General, George A Patton, would often tote a stock Colt .380acp hammerless pistol as a "second gun".
I've seen a few b-w photos of General Patton wearing a small Colt pistol & actor George C Scott wore a Colt pistol in a few of his Patton(1970) scenes.
Scott had his hammerless Colt tucked into his waist.
GEN Patton was well known for carrying many "non-issue" sidearms in combat. Mostly the S&W model 27 revolver & a SA Colt .45LC with "ivory grips".

CF
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Old August 14, 2012, 11:25 AM   #20
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The Colt .380 was an issue pistol for general officers at the time and continued to be down until after I was in the army. I believe, however, that he had a Remington .380, a Model 51, if memory servies as a hideout gun. It was an especially thin pistol. He wore his revolvers so the troops would easily recognize him, as the story goes.
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Old August 14, 2012, 11:38 AM   #21
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S&W 66 with the 3" barrel or a commander size 1911. Maybe a S&W 19 as well. There were some very good choices even back then. If I was going all the way back to 1950, I'd probably try for a S&W M1917 revolver for the 45.
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Old August 14, 2012, 11:47 AM   #22
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When did the ambidextrous safety come about for the 1911? I would carry a commander sized Colt with an ambi safety (I am left handed) and gold dot front sight. If that isn't available I would probably start looking at the available DA/SA pistols (were there any besides the PPK and P38?) of the time. I shoot revolvers fine, but I prefer a semi automatic.
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Old August 14, 2012, 11:54 AM   #23
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Combat Comander 45 ACP...
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Old August 14, 2012, 12:10 PM   #24
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S&W M36, M40 or M49
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Old August 14, 2012, 12:27 PM   #25
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I would and did carry 1911 or BHP. For more compact a Rem M51 or Mauser HSc
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