Your Top 5 List...

IMightBeWrong · November 27, 2010, 01:06 PM

That same old 5 best 9mm pistols thread seems to resurface extremely often and simply doesn't die, but the main thing that bothers me about it is how limited it is. No .45s, no 10mms, no .380s, etc... So I figured I'd start my own thread: In your opinion, what are the 5 best automatic pistol designs of all time in terms of overall performance?

For me:

1. SIG Sauer's P220 Series
2. The CZ-75 Series
3. The 1911
4. Glock
5. HK USP/P2000/P30

Honorable Mention:
Hi Power, Walther PPK, Beretta 92.

Shadi Khalil · November 27, 2010, 01:14 PM

That's not an easy question to answer. To pick a top five of all time, it would have to be from ones that I own/owned or have extensive hands on experience with. So that's a pretty limited amount of handguns to choose from....

1) Sig P239
2) Kahr MK9
3) S&W 342/642
4) HK P30
5) Glock 19/26

LockedBreech · November 27, 2010, 01:23 PM

1 - Beretta 92/96 Series
2 - Glock 22
3 - Sig Sauer P226
4 - CZ-75
5 - 1911

IMightBeWrong · November 27, 2010, 01:27 PM

Thanks to my illness, I have owned and sold around 20 pistols plus handled many others owned by friends and family. I swear I can't hold on to a weapon for more than a few months before wanting something else. I've been getting bettwer lately, though. Out of what I've owned and handled I made my list. I hope I get a big juicy tax return next year, cause I want to make that P30 a member of the owned list instead of just the handled one!

**Shane Tuttle** · November 27, 2010, 01:34 PM

Of the top five listed, the P30 certainly wouldn't even break the top 50 for me...

In no particular order:

1911, Glock (1st & second generation 9mm and .45ACP), CZ, Browning Hi-Power, Beretta 92 series.

kraigwy · November 27, 2010, 01:44 PM

USGI 1911A1
Cold Series 70 (45 ACP)
S&W Model 52 (38 spl)
S&W Model 41 (22 cal)
Browning 1935 High Power (orginal, 9mm)

TBT · November 27, 2010, 01:50 PM

All time? Dunno. My five favorites are:

1. Smith and Wesson M&P
2. 1911
3. Glock
4. Hi-Power
5.CZ 75b

GONIF · November 27, 2010, 02:37 PM

Any list without the Sig P226 ,is incompleate IMHO.

barry · November 27, 2010, 02:39 PM

Sig p220
Colt gold cup
Browning HP
Glock 19
FNP 45

Shadi Khalil · November 27, 2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Of the top five listed, the P30 certainly wouldn't even break the top 50 for me...

I have never owned one but a friend of mine did. I got to shoot it allot and loved it. It fit my hand perfectly, had an excellent trigger and I was very accurate with it. Not to mention it was reliable with anything we fed it. Its certainly on my "to own list". To each his own I guess...

guypowell · November 27, 2010, 03:08 PM

1. SIG P series
2. Glock
3. Ruger (old P series with metal frames)
4. S/W 3rd. generation
5. CZ
I either presently own or have owned representatives from all of the five I've listed. While I didn't care for the CZ's, they are well made. Honorable mention, heck it might be number one or two itself, is the Makarov. They're not very refined but one would be hard pressed to fine a more durable and reliable pistol than a Mak.

Loupgarou · November 27, 2010, 03:12 PM

H&K P7
Browning Hi Power
Beretta 92
Glock 19
Sig 228

JQP · November 27, 2010, 03:25 PM

1) Colt Model 1911

2) Browning Hi Power

3) Glock 17

4) Sig Sauer P220

5) Walther PP

This was a tough one for me, but I think these semiautomatic handguns all define an era and/or a design sea change.

fightingbard · November 27, 2010, 03:46 PM

It is a really tough decision since there are so many guns with great reputation out there.
Although this will be a biased personal opinion, I will try...

First one should definitely be "the BHP", for me..

After that, in no particular order...

-Sig p 210
-Sig p 220
-Beretta 92
-Beretta 80 series
-CZ 75 series
-Glock
-Walther (as a company-the philosopy, workmanship, innovation...whole package) PP, p88, p5..you name it...

HK...yeah, great company but I've never seen "greatness" regarding their "handguns". If we were talking about rifles, it would have been a different story however...

1911's...They are great guns...both historically and even just for their joy...But I personally never found them to be an "innovation", although I love single stack semi-autos, and I love them...

All the best

chuckles · November 27, 2010, 04:14 PM

HK USP Compact or FS. (9 will do, .45 is better)
Beretta 92
SiG P-226
S&W M&P
CZ 75B

IMightBeWrong · November 27, 2010, 04:18 PM

It's interesting to me to see M&Ps making lists in spite of how relatively new the design still is.

Pilot · November 27, 2010, 04:22 PM

1911
Browning Hi Power
P-08 "Luger"
P-38/Beretta 92
CZ-75

**Shane Tuttle** · November 27, 2010, 04:59 PM

Quote:

I have never owned one but a friend of mine did. I got to shoot it allot and loved it. It fit my hand perfectly, had an excellent trigger and I was very accurate with it. Not to mention it was reliable with anything we fed it. Its certainly on my "to own list". To each his own I guess...

Ergonomics? Yes. Excellent trigger? I rank the level of importance of having a quality trigger to be pretty high if we're talking about the top 5 of all time designs on a gun. Safety and marksmanship starts at the trigger regarding the firearm itself in relation to the shooter IMO. The P30's trigger was average at best. Many have reported decent reliability. It malfunctioned on four major ammo brands as well as various reloads of mine. The slide release on the right side was looser than some care. Mine would actually slide into battery on its own when I inserted a magazine because of it. The design of having the decock lever on the backside of the slide was clumsy to use compared to where traditional levers are placed. The texture treatment was a good idea, but you better have an article of clothing between you and it or you'll have one, nice, exfoliation job of your skin.

Add all of those faults up as well as being on the market WAY to short to destinguish it to leapfrog up to the top 5 is a stretch to say the least on my list. Good gun? Sure. I liked it. Didn't work for what I wanted, but I think it was a decent design. That's about it.

Quote:

1911's...They are great guns...both historically and even just for their joy...But I personally never found them to be an "innovation", although I love single stack semi-autos, and I love them...

Have you ever read the history of how Browning designed and built the 1911?

twhidd · November 27, 2010, 05:40 PM

H&K P7 has to be in there somewhere. All of my other favorites have been mentioned.

**Shane Tuttle** · November 27, 2010, 05:45 PM

If an HK is to be mentioned, I wholeheartedly agree I would stick the P7 in there as well. The design is like no other and has been in use quite a bit.

Leejack · November 27, 2010, 06:00 PM

I could repeat the 5 darlings, but instead, I'll throw in the PT92!

dalegribble · November 27, 2010, 06:48 PM

designs? designers? don't mean squat to me. beyond sam colt and john browning i couldn't name one to save my life. what matters to me is affordable performance. most people would love a ferrari but can afford a toyota...maybe less in this economy.

#1. 1911 design. any affordable brand. mine are colt, springfield and taurus.
#2. beretta/taurus mod 92. mine is the taurus.
#3. .22 ruger semi auto pistol. mine are a mk1 6 7/8" target and a mk 2 5 1/2 bull barrel.
#4 9mm cc type weapon. mine iare a s&w 669 and taurus 709 and taurus 145
#5 very small pocket pistol. mine is a 380 amt backup.

what designs? i buy what i can afford and shoot what i buy and those work for me. who designed them all? don't know and don't care, my bases are covered.

NickW · November 27, 2010, 07:08 PM

1. 1911
2. Hi Power
3. Beretta 92
4. Glock 2/3 gen
5. Ruger P95

pythagorean · November 27, 2010, 07:13 PM

1. SW 41
2. Colt 1911
3. P-08
4. CZ 52
5. Browning HP

MLeake · November 27, 2010, 07:18 PM

Problem with adding the Walther PP and PPK to this list is that it supposed to be a strictly 9mm list (the OP specifically ruled out .380).

The PP and PPK were .32 or .380, not 9mm.

Anyway, my 5 (based partly on quality and partly on my shooting preferences):

1) Browning HP (the trigger on mine is unreal, can't wait to see how it is once Novak is done with it)
2) CZ75
3) SIG P239 DAK
4) Beretta 92 / M9
5) SIG P226

Other contenders: Glock 17/19/26; S&W M&P/M&Pc; SIG P210 (the P210 would rank higher but they are rare and more target than duty guns IMO)

November 27, 2010, 01:44 PM	#6
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,061	USGI 1911A1 Cold Series 70 (45 ACP) S&W Model 52 (38 spl) S&W Model 41 (22 cal) Browning 1935 High Power (orginal, 9mm) __________________ Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071

November 27, 2010, 02:37 PM	#8
GONIF Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2009 Location: PHOENIX IT'S A DRY HEAT AZ Posts: 844	Any list without the Sig P226 ,is incompleate IMHO. __________________ WHO ME ?

November 27, 2010, 02:39 PM	#9
barry Member Join Date: November 6, 2010 Location: TEXAS Posts: 52	TOP 5 Sig p220 Colt gold cup Browning HP Glock 19 FNP 45

November 27, 2010, 03:12 PM	#12
Loupgarou Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2002 Location: Nunya Posts: 113	H&K P7 Browning Hi Power Beretta 92 Glock 19 Sig 228 __________________ I know who I am. I'm the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude.

November 27, 2010, 03:46 PM	#14
fightingbard Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2009 Posts: 169	It is a really tough decision since there are so many guns with great reputation out there. Although this will be a biased personal opinion, I will try... First one should definitely be "the BHP", for me.. After that, in no particular order... -Sig p 210 -Sig p 220 -Beretta 92 -Beretta 80 series -CZ 75 series -Glock -Walther (as a company-the philosopy, workmanship, innovation...whole package) PP, p88, p5..you name it... HK...yeah, great company but I've never seen "greatness" regarding their "handguns". If we were talking about rifles, it would have been a different story however... 1911's...They are great guns...both historically and even just for their joy...But I personally never found them to be an "innovation", although I love single stack semi-autos, and I love them... All the best __________________ I like blades even more...

November 27, 2010, 01:06 PM	#1
IMightBeWrong Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2009 Posts: 814	Your Top 5 List... That same old 5 best 9mm pistols thread seems to resurface extremely often and simply doesn't die, but the main thing that bothers me about it is how limited it is. No .45s, no 10mms, no .380s, etc... So I figured I'd start my own thread: In your opinion, what are the 5 best automatic pistol designs of all time in terms of overall performance? For me: 1. SIG Sauer's P220 Series 2. The CZ-75 Series 3. The 1911 4. Glock 5. HK USP/P2000/P30 Honorable Mention: Hi Power, Walther PPK, Beretta 92.

November 27, 2010, 01:14 PM	#2
Shadi Khalil Senior Member Join Date: September 23, 2006 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 5,210	That's not an easy question to answer. To pick a top five of all time, it would have to be from ones that I own/owned or have extensive hands on experience with. So that's a pretty limited amount of handguns to choose from.... 1) Sig P239 2) Kahr MK9 3) S&W 342/642 4) HK P30 5) Glock 19/26 Last edited by Shadi Khalil; November 27, 2010 at 03:21 PM. Reason: Put down P230 when I ment P239

November 27, 2010, 01:23 PM	#3
LockedBreech Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 2009 Location: Rocky Mountain West Posts: 3,395	1 - Beretta 92/96 Series 2 - Glock 22 3 - Sig Sauer P226 4 - CZ-75 5 - 1911 __________________ 16 Pistols, 5 Rifles, 1 Shotgun, no time to shoot them

November 27, 2010, 01:27 PM	#4
IMightBeWrong Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2009 Posts: 814	Thanks to my illness, I have owned and sold around 20 pistols plus handled many others owned by friends and family. I swear I can't hold on to a weapon for more than a few months before wanting something else. I've been getting bettwer lately, though. Out of what I've owned and handled I made my list. I hope I get a big juicy tax return next year, cause I want to make that P30 a member of the owned list instead of just the handled one!

November 27, 2010, 01:34 PM	#5
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	Of the top five listed, the P30 certainly wouldn't even break the top 50 for me... In no particular order: 1911, Glock (1st & second generation 9mm and .45ACP), CZ, Browning Hi-Power, Beretta 92 series. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

November 27, 2010, 01:50 PM	#7
TBT Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2005 Location: Pittsburgh Pa Posts: 971	All time? Dunno. My five favorites are: 1. Smith and Wesson M&P 2. 1911 3. Glock 4. Hi-Power 5.CZ 75b

November 27, 2010, 03:08 PM	#11
guypowell Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2008 Location: Wood County, TX Posts: 195	1. SIG P series 2. Glock 3. Ruger (old P series with metal frames) 4. S/W 3rd. generation 5. CZ I either presently own or have owned representatives from all of the five I've listed. While I didn't care for the CZ's, they are well made. Honorable mention, heck it might be number one or two itself, is the Makarov. They're not very refined but one would be hard pressed to fine a more durable and reliable pistol than a Mak.

November 27, 2010, 03:25 PM	#13
JQP Member Join Date: October 17, 2010 Posts: 51	1) Colt Model 1911 2) Browning Hi Power 3) Glock 17 4) Sig Sauer P220 5) Walther PP This was a tough one for me, but I think these semiautomatic handguns all define an era and/or a design sea change.

November 27, 2010, 04:14 PM	#15
chuckles Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2005 Location: Great American Western Desert Posts: 228	HK USP Compact or FS. (9 will do, .45 is better) Beretta 92 SiG P-226 S&W M&P CZ 75B

November 27, 2010, 04:18 PM	#16
IMightBeWrong Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2009 Posts: 814	It's interesting to me to see M&Ps making lists in spite of how relatively new the design still is. __________________ "Intelligence is nothing more than discussing things with others. Limitless wisdom comes of this." - 山本常朝

November 27, 2010, 04:22 PM	#17
Pilot Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2000 Posts: 4,193	1911 Browning Hi Power P-08 "Luger" P-38/Beretta 92 CZ-75 __________________ Pilot

November 27, 2010, 05:40 PM	#19
twhidd Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2005 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 823	H&K P7 has to be in there somewhere. All of my other favorites have been mentioned. __________________ Todd NRA Life Member

November 27, 2010, 05:45 PM	#20
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	If an HK is to be mentioned, I wholeheartedly agree I would stick the P7 in there as well. The design is like no other and has been in use quite a bit. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

November 27, 2010, 06:00 PM	#21
Leejack Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: The Alamo! Posts: 2,056	I could repeat the 5 darlings, but instead, I'll throw in the PT92!

November 27, 2010, 06:48 PM	#22
dalegribble Senior Member Join Date: August 4, 2007 Posts: 861	designs? designers? don't mean squat to me. beyond sam colt and john browning i couldn't name one to save my life. what matters to me is affordable performance. most people would love a ferrari but can afford a toyota...maybe less in this economy. #1. 1911 design. any affordable brand. mine are colt, springfield and taurus. #2. beretta/taurus mod 92. mine is the taurus. #3. .22 ruger semi auto pistol. mine are a mk1 6 7/8" target and a mk 2 5 1/2 bull barrel. #4 9mm cc type weapon. mine iare a s&w 669 and taurus 709 and taurus 145 #5 very small pocket pistol. mine is a 380 amt backup. what designs? i buy what i can afford and shoot what i buy and those work for me. who designed them all? don't know and don't care, my bases are covered. __________________ Waltzes with woofs

November 27, 2010, 07:08 PM	#23
NickW Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 242	1. 1911 2. Hi Power 3. Beretta 92 4. Glock 2/3 gen 5. Ruger P95 __________________ Any man who packs a big bore Sharps carbine could come in mighty handy, if we're attacked by buffalo... or elephants. - Rooster Cogburn

November 27, 2010, 07:13 PM	#24
pythagorean Junior member Join Date: January 27, 2008 Posts: 970	1. SW 41 2. Colt 1911 3. P-08 4. CZ 52 5. Browning HP

November 27, 2010, 07:18 PM	#25
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	Problem with adding the Walther PP and PPK to this list is that it supposed to be a strictly 9mm list (the OP specifically ruled out .380). The PP and PPK were .32 or .380, not 9mm. Anyway, my 5 (based partly on quality and partly on my shooting preferences): 1) Browning HP (the trigger on mine is unreal, can't wait to see how it is once Novak is done with it) 2) CZ75 3) SIG P239 DAK 4) Beretta 92 / M9 5) SIG P226 Other contenders: Glock 17/19/26; S&W M&P/M&Pc; SIG P210 (the P210 would rank higher but they are rare and more target than duty guns IMO)