Best Fighting Pistol

[5whiskey]

This may sound selfish, but my actions would probably also change if I was with my family (young kids) compared to if I was by myself. I would be less likely to engage unnecessarily with my family, as that would most likely draw fire in my direction. I would try and get them to safety and engage only if being engaged.

Nothing at all wrong with that. I don't view that as selfish, I view that as your duty to your family.

[Fjblair]

Wits and feet, followed by whatever weapon I have available.

[Oni_Kadaki]

Is an HK SP5K with red dot right considered cheating for the purposes of this question?

If so, I'd go with my VP9 or my P226 TACOPS.

[Bamashooter]

The three I would use would be a Glock 19, Glock 21, or a Sig P229. I guess because thats what I have.

[RickB]

Exactly. I'd choose any gun I currently own, over anyone else's gun.

[WVsig]

The 1911 pistol is "The Worlds Finest Close Quarters Sidearm”… and, “King of feedway stoppages.” - Ken Hackathorn

All kidding aside I am a with Tunnel Rat on this one. We are lucky to live in a time when there are so many reliable quality firearms so the "best fighting handgun" is the one you shoot best and happen to have on you when you need it.

There is no "best". There a lots of valid subjective choices but none of them transfer into a universal truth.

[jmr40]

If some one else is paying for the gun I can be happy with most any of the common duty pistols. Glock, Beretta, Sig, S&W, or several more. I can shoot them all well enough and trust any of them to work.

If I'm spending my money I lean toward Glock. Although the newer Smith M&P 2.0 is promising and I've found the Ruger LC9s to be the better single stack 9mm. I prefer it over similar guns from any other manufacturer.

I have several 1911's and like them for their history. Good enough guns in their day and probably the best option for range games still today. But I don't consider them a top tier personal defense or military pistol any longer.

[TunnelRat]

Originally Posted by WVsig

The 1911 pistol is "The Worlds Finest Close Quarters Sidearm”… and, “King of feedway stoppages.” - Ken Hackathorn

All kidding aside I am a with Tunnel Rat on this one. We are lucky to live in a time when there are so many reliable quality firearms so the "best fighting handgun" is the one you shoot best and happen to have on you when you need it.

There is no "best". There a lots of valid subjective choices but none of them transfer into a universal truth.

I was watching a video today where Hackathorn was talking with Ian of Forgotten Weapons. The question was given the mixed results of M1 Carbines today in terms of reliability, why are there those that used them that were so fond of them? Of course the age of existing examples and the quality of reproductions were brought up. However, another point Hackathorn brought up was the fact that frankly our reliability standards have changed over time. Given the general ease of clearing the feed malfunctions common on the M1 it was likely judged good enough. While the M1 Carbine isn't a 1911 (although it was initially designed to replace it for more rear echelon troops) I think the same principlel applies.

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[WannabeMiculek]

C-P01 or Glock 19, great capacity, reliability, and accuracy.

[2wheelwander]

I'll go one step further besides the one you are most proficient at.

Buy the CZ75 platform and become proficient with it, THEN you'll have the best fighting pistol!

[jr24]

Well, that depends on what I'm loving at the moment.

Currently I'm all about my Glock 19X ( or 17, or 26, maybe 21) as that's what I've been shooting/training/competing with this summer.

But maybe I'll get a wild hair and decide i need to back to primarily training with my 1911's and I'll realize that I can shoot my .45 ACP VBob really, really well.

But i guess boiled down, if I had to generalize, I'd take either a Glock or 1911 over anything else.

[Brit]

Originally Posted by Austin HiPowers

My service weapon, since that is what I am trained best with, and shoot it regularly. It proofed that I can trust it with my life. It is a Beretta PX4 (Compact since I am a detective) in 9mm.

Austin...

The Canadian border staff were in a quandary about picking a pistol (not ever armed before) of course the RCMP wanted S&W so they rigged the selection leaning that way. It was all going well, till the 2m (just over 6 ft) drop test.

Dropped the S&W, the magazine flew out! Kept taking a round out of the magazine, try again. With just one round in the magazine! Still came out.

They rigged the specs to preclude the Glock pistol!

The other pistol in the mix Beretta PX4, passed all criteria, with flying colours.
So that's what they went to. As most of the staff who manned the Booths had never fired a pistol in their lives, the 50-yard portion of the shooting test did them in.

Might have been a way to disqualify the older Ladies? Who knows. But the PX4 Pistols performed really well.

[ammo.crafter]

Rather than discussing manufacturer, calibre, platform, etc., your best choice is most likely already known to yourself.

It's the weapon that your hand naturally falls to without any conscious effort. The one that feels natural and becomes an extension of your arm when anxiety sets in.

[tallball]

If there are several trained shooters with long guns, the question is really, "Which pistol do you want in your hand when you die?"

[subhuman]

my 229, it is an extension of my hand

[Brit]

Tactics are more important than weapon type. Hide and ambush works.

[black mamba]

Quality build, excellent ergonomics, same good trigger pull on every shot, no safety to remember to disengage, better than average accuracy, large capacity with a very effective cartridge:
The Walther Creed is what I've settled on. I've never tried a handgun that made fast follow up shots so easy to put on target.

[RickB]

I was watching a video today where Hackathorn was talking with Ian of Forgotten Weapons. The question was given the mixed results of M1 Carbines today in terms of reliability, why are there those that used them that were so fond of them?

Like any semi- or full-auto, magazines can play a large part in reliability.
I've never had any problems with military 15rd Carbine mags, but even authentic U.S.G.I. 30-rounders, not to mention commercial versions, have been more of a crap-shoot.
I had five or six 30s, and only three of them worked all the time.
I tried measuring the feedlip spacing, and other dimensions to see if I could figure out why only some worked reliably, but never found anything interesting.
I bought a couple of Korean 30s that came on the market a few years ago, and while they do look great, I haven't shot them, yet.

Funny that Hackathorn thinks the 1911's shortcoming is feed reliability, as I've never had any feeding issues with the dozen or more 1911s I own or have owned.
Extraction and ejection are much more likely to be an issue.

[WVsig]

Originally Posted by RickB

Like any semi- or full-auto, magazines can play a large part in reliability.
I've never had any problems with military 15rd Carbine mags, but even authentic U.S.G.I. 30-rounders, not to mention commercial versions, have been more of a crap-shoot.
I had five or six 30s, and only three of them worked all the time.
I tried measuring the feedlip spacing, and other dimensions to see if I could figure out why only some worked reliably, but never found anything interesting.
I bought a couple of Korean 30s that came on the market a few years ago, and while they do look great, I haven't shot them, yet.

Funny that Hackathorn thinks the 1911's shortcoming is feed reliability, as I've never had any feeding issues with the dozen or more 1911s I own or have owned.
Extraction and ejection are much more likely to be an issue.

In that video KH talks about that many of the GIs who liked the M1 Carbine talked about how they understood the mags were crap. They replaced them all the time and they did not pick them up. They treated them as disposable. If you did that and the gun was sprung correctly then it ran. Mine runs pretty well. I have changed the recoil spring and have bought USGI and Korean mags. They all run pretty well but I would not bet my life on them.

As far as feedway stoppages Ken is joking when he says. The 1911 pistol is "The Worlds Finest Close Quarters Sidearm”… and, “King of feedway stoppages.” If you have met him you realize he is joking. As Tunnelrat pointed out KH believes that our expectation of reliability has gone up. Feedway stoppages back in the day were more common and expected. If you ran a 1911 you knew how to clear them. These days we expect every gun at every price point to run 100% right out of the box and for the most part they deliver. IMHO

[rodfac]

Lots of truth in your post, WVsig. Having carried a Remington-Rand 1911A1 in combat, I cannot remember when I ever had a failure of any kind. We kept our sidearms and ammo clean, (both guns and mags), and we shot US Gov't issued ball ammunition.

Ken's comment about feedway stopages is a bit of a cipher in that regard (or maybe disguised humor)...it wasn't my experience whatsoever. Today's shooters expect to fire literally hundreds of rounds with no maintenance...lube or cleaning and still have 100% reliability. The 1911 just wasn't designed for that level of use in my opinion. It was designed as close quarters defense weapon, not a handgun "games" tool. Even so, it did well in the dirt, and mud of the SEA's jungles that were my home for a cpl tours.

Were I down to my last nickle, and my family's lives depended on my defense, I'd gladly pick a well maintained and accurate example of the Browning/Colt 1911. In the OP's scenario, shots might have to be taken beyond the 5-7-10 yds common in today's defensive handgun training. For that use, better accuracy (more precision vs. sheer speed and volume of fire) is needed, and a moderately tuned 1911 will win out over some of the more modern, high capacity duty size offerings, while delivering a large caliber, heavy wt. bullet.

Rod

[TunnelRat]

Originally Posted by rodfac

Lots of truth in your post, WVsig. Having carried a Remington-Rand 1911A1 in combat, I cannot remember when I ever had a failure of any kind. We kept our sidearms and ammo clean, (both guns and mags), and we shot US Gov't issued ball ammunition.

Ken's comment about feedway stopages is a bit of a cipher in that regard (or maybe disguised humor)...it wasn't my experience whatsoever. Today's shooters expect to fire literally hundreds of rounds with no maintenance...lube or cleaning and still have 100% reliability. The 1911 just wasn't designed for that level of use in my opinion. It was designed as close quarters defense weapon, not a handgun "games" tool. Even so, it did well in the dirt, and mud of the SEA's jungles that were my home for a cpl tours.

Were I down to my last nickle, and my family's lives depended on my defense, I'd gladly pick a well maintained and accurate example of the Browning/Colt 1911. In the OP's scenario, shots might have to be taken beyond the 5-7-10 yds common in today's defensive handgun training. For that use, better accuracy (more precision vs. sheer speed and volume of fire) is needed, and a moderately tuned 1911 will win out over some of the more modern, high capacity duty size offerings, while delivering a large caliber, heavy wt. bullet.

Rod

I'd argue that the guns that go hundreds of rounds aren't just for games. The reality is reliability has IMO improved in say the last 100 years. None of that takes away from what Browning accomplished.

As for accuracy in that situation, most modern production pistols will deliver 2-3" or so at say 25 yds. You have to spend a fair amount on a 1911 that will repeatably deliver significantly better accuracy than that and at that point you're comparing products at different price points. Most shooters can't outshoot a modern handgun. Obviously certain triggers make getting that accuracy easier at times, but having shot a stock Glock 19 trigger at IPSC targets at 100 yds and gotten repeated hits without much difficulty, I honestly don't think a non-1911 would be an issue in that area. They're typically available in 45 ACP as well if desired.

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[Rob228]

Most likely my Glock 19. But I wouldn't say no to my Springfield Operator which I can shoot just as well with a lot less effort.

[Pops 1]

I own a G19 gen3 and a PX4 compact with a D spring, the G19 would go before the PX4.

[Skans]

If I had to choose one pistol to fight with away from my house, it would be my Sig X-Five. That's right, I'd choose it over my Glock-17. It's my go-to pistol when I compete. I see no reason not to make it my combat pistol, if I had to.

I could choose my 2nd Generation S&W, but why choose that when my X-Five weighs about the same, is easier to take-down and clean, and will out shoot every other gun I own.

[Oldjarhead]

Sig Sauer P229, in 357Sig. Gold dots, Federal hsts 124g hollowpoints. Good capacity and imo a better choice than 9mm, 40 and maybe a 45acp. This is a flat shooting near magnum velocities.