The Best Handgun Ever Made!

[Mike_Fontenot]

Originally Posted by Hawg

I don't do double action. If I can't cock a hammer I don't want it.

No DA shooting at all for me either. I like light triggers. The best gun FOR ME is the one I carry every day, from pajamas-off until pajamas-on. It's a 5" S&W 629 "Classic" (full underlug) .44mag, loaded (always) with 240gr JHP Underwoods. I put in an 11 lb rebound spring to get me the lightest possible SA trigger ... measures about 3 lb on my gauge. I shoot that gun more accurately than I shoot anything else. I carry it in a homemade under-the-shirt vertical cloth shoulder holster. Comfortable and well-concealed. Only downside is a very slow draw ... but much faster than if I left my gun at home. I just have to see the bad guys before they see me ... that's a work in progress.

[Obambulate]

I'd rather carry my 351c. 7 shots, 12-oz, actually fits in a pocket and shoots a MAGNUM caliber, not a wimpy Special.

[HighValleyRanch]

pajamas-off until pajamas-on.

...ah, more that I wanted to know about you!

[shurshot]

Given it is 2020, I'll forgive all the previous posters for their clouded thinking. . I do love the older S&W K, L and N frames, but...
THE best handgun, the absolute top quality, best handling handgun, fastest first shot on the draw, is the Colt Peacemaker 4.75" in .45 LONG Colt.
Ok, now we can close the thread.

[Dave T]

THE best handgun, the absolute top quality, best handling handgun, fastest first shot on the draw, is the Colt Peacemaker 4.75" in .45 LONG Colt.

I read this all the time but don't believe it, unless you're Bob Munden (rest his soul) or Thell Reed. I participated in and watched way too many people in CAS matches shooting single action revolvers, mostly clones or copies of the venerable Colt, to believe the first shot from a SA revolver is all that fast. I've also participated in practical pistol competition and most of the competitors there can get off one shot faster than most of the CAS shooters I've seen. I'm talking about regular folks, not super stars of the shooting world.

And I say this as a real single action revolver fan. I own a bunch and have for over 53 years.

Dave

Dave

[Bhfromme]

This best handgun ever made for me is always the next one I want to buy!

[mrt949]

FREEDOM ARMS Pick A Caliber The Best Single Action You Can .
BUY ONCE CRY ONCE

[44 AMP]

While the Colt SAA has been the tool used, holding the world record for many years as the fastest draw and fire, one needs to look beyond just the gun to the exceptional individuals that did it.

The one that always impressed me the most was the often repeated feats of Ed McGivern. Particularly 10 (TEN) HITS on a playing card @ 20feet using two revolvers in 9/20 of a second, including the draw!!!

Be aware that the records for fastest draw and fire are not the same as fastest draw, fire and HIT! Some of the speed records were done with blanks.

[shurshot]

"While the Colt SAA has been the tool used, holding the world record for many years as the fastest draw and fire, one needs to look beyond just the gun to the exceptional individuals that did it."

Exactly! I agree. And many of those exceptional individuals chose the COLT SAA for a reason. They chose it for a damn good reason... it's the best!

[rclark]

Best ... at what? One gun can't be 'best' for every situation. Not possible. My 'best' revolvers are those that feel 'really' good in the hand, real nice SA trigger action, and shoot to point of aim with good accuracy. I've got several SA revolvers that add up to that description. Speed? Who gives a hoot? Fast to draw? Big deal.... Not that I didn't mind watching Munden shoot! Or read about Ed McGivern (wish I could have seen his exhibitions). I do appreciate the skills some people develop. But it doesn't relate much to 'best' shooting iron for me or maybe you .....

[elsancudo]

I revolve between my Para Ordnance Expert Carry .45 and my Walther PPS M1 all of the time, so I know what you mean.

[Scribe]

S&W model 10, 4 inch heavy barrel, Pachmyer signature grips, loaded with 125 grain +P flat nosed, semi jacketed soft points, carried with two HKS speed loaders. Sits in the hand like a double Wild Turkey someone else paid for.

[Stophel]

"It's more snappy than you might expect."

Actually, I would expect any such lightweight gun to be "snappy", to say the least.

I'm glad it works for you. For me, it would not be suitable for anything... "best" or not.

[HiBC]

If we all agreed on the same "best"...that would probably mean there was no other choice.
It might not be what I would buy,but I'd carry it.

Looks like a darn good choice!

[Carl the Floor Walker]

Originally Posted by Mike_Fontenot

No DA shooting at all for me either. I like light triggers. The best gun FOR ME is the one I carry every day, from pajamas-off until pajamas-on. It's a 5" S&W 629 "Classic" (full underlug) .44mag, loaded (always) with 240gr JHP Underwoods. I put in an 11 lb rebound spring to get me the lightest possible SA trigger ... measures about 3 lb on my gauge. I shoot that gun more accurately than I shoot anything else. I carry it in a homemade under-the-shirt vertical cloth shoulder holster. Comfortable and well-concealed. Only downside is a very slow draw ... but much faster than if I left my gun at home. I just have to see the bad guys before they see me ... that's a work in progress.

Man a 3lb trigger? Sounds like a target gun more than a defense EDC. I am on the opposite side of the fence. I do not prefer a exposed hammer in a revolver. Give me a smooth, controlled and deliberate well built DAO and I am ready to roll. And I do believe the ability to draw fast is a big factor in who lives or dies. The bad guy usually has a huge edge to begin with.

I believe people are making too much of a deal that the OP said it is the best. I believe he was saying this tongue in cheek. Yes, a fantastic gun and I would love to have one.
Congrats OP, you did well! Smith needs to bring it back.

[BWM]

S&W 586 & 686 and I like 57 41Mag

[rodfac]

SInce you specified "Handgun" even though this is a revolver sub-forum, here's an old doggerel from long ago...found it in Stebbins wonderful book: Pistols, A Modern Encyclopedia...published by Stackpole, 1961. It sums up what many of us, who carried the old "fist-filling gat" with confidence through long ago scenes of carnage, feel to the marrow if our aging bones! Best Regards, Rod BTW, for best Revolver, my vote is a M19/M66, Smith.

"Lines to My Lady .45"

For wide open spaces the rifle's all right,
Where there's time, space, and distance, and plenty of light,
But for work on the instant, when shooting is tight,
You can't get the slant with a rifle.

So, I'll say that at times it's all very well,
But for deviltry, death, and the raising of hell,
The Colt .45 is unusually swell
And will go where you can't with a rifle.

You can splatter a dollar at seventy feet
With a stunning precision that's pleasing and neat;
So I'll still make the claim that the Colt can't be beat
And will do what you can't with a rifle.

So when something is crashing the alders ahead,
And it's death to the brute, or you in its stead,
Let the Colt automat, the fist-filling gat, the chunky blue cat,
Chuck its competent lead.