The four most influential handguns of the 20th century

[shooter521]

I am indifferent to Glocks.

I own a half dozen G17s and a couple of G21s.

Your actions betray your words, sir.

 

[MilitaryArms]

No sir, You just said "they were on there way out." To me they seem as popular as ever and by mentioning all of the popular models that branched from the original design shows me they were influential throughout the 20th century as well. With the popularity of the 45 LC/410 revolvers (which came about in the last 10 years) shows me that they (revolvers in general) are still evolving well into the 21st century. Only my 2 cents and I am a bit of a nerd and a Smith and Wesson junkie so forgive me for defending such an archaic tool. I still consider Clovis points cutting edge so I may not be right...But that is my opinion and I am standing by it.

Guilty as charged, and in terms of military and police use the revolver was on its way out. By the end of the 20th century no major police departments were issuing revolvers to their officers and they were no longer issued to any first world military as a standard sidearm.

The cap and ball revolver is still a big seller in the US, most gun shops have them on display and they're quite popular in the shooting sports (CAS for example). Black powder rifles sell like hot cakes in the US and many people still enjoy using them in competition and for hunting. But I don't think anyone could argue they didn't go out of favor decades ago.

The 1800's were the century for revolvers to flourish. By the 1900's nothing new mechanically came along that revolutionized revolver technology. In 1935 the .357 breathed new life into them temporarily, but that wasn't enough to prevent them from falling out of favor with LEO's.

I would say the resurgence in the popularity of 45LC and other old west era calibers such as the .44 Russian, 44-40, 32-20, etc. can be attributed to the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting.

The era of the revolver is gone and I know this pains fans of wheel guns... but it's a reality one must accept. That doesn't mean they're not lethal or even capable fighting tools. Heck, the .44 Walker is still one of the most powerful handguns ever built and would make for a great carry gun even today... but it's not something you're going to see being carried by the military or LEO's.

 

[Terry A]

Those 4 guns are hard to beat and all classics

 

[CandRFan]

Good choice of influential handguns and a good thread!

While I also agree that the era of the revolver has past, I do not hesitate to pocket carry my 642. A revolver will never not be a viable weapon. However, I can't think of a situation where I would say "Gee, I wish I were carrying a wheel gun instead of this auto-pistol."

Though I'm sure someone here on INGO COULD think of a scenario where a revolver would be a better choice than any auto...

 

[MilitaryArms]

Though I'm sure someone here on INGO COULD think of a scenario where a revolver would be a better choice than any auto...

I used to keep a Ruger SP101 in my glove box many moons ago as a "truck gun". The logic was that it required pretty much zero maintenance and revolvers don't suffer from spring fatigue in their magazines since they don't have magazines.

I stopped the practice many years ago though because I learned that most magazines and their springs will out live me.

I stopped carrying revolvers as personal defensive guns about 18 years ago. I had a S&W M29 that I loved and carried. I shot it all the time. Revolvers rock for reloading by the way, because you don't have to chase empties. Anyway, I was out shooting one day on steel targets practicing my defensive drills when out of the blue my M29 stopped working. Completely. Pulling the trigger did nothing, it didn't budge. I couldn't get the hammer to cock with my thumb. Worse, the cylinder wouldn't open.

Ultimately I had to remove the side plate to fix the problem. A teeny-tiny brass shaving had wedged itself in the lock work in such a way that it rendered the pistol completely inoperable.

Once with my Model 19, which I loved too, it stopped working. Pulling the trigger double action didn't work and I couldn't cock it manually. I could open the cylinder with a little extra effort and realized my problem was that a primer had slightly backed out of the pocket and ceased the action. This happened several times over the years actually.

I realized that, despite the claims of many, revolvers did malfunction and when they did it wasn't a simple "tap, rack, bang" that got them back into service... it required me to stop shooting, take my focus off the target and to tinker with the gun for minutes. As a matter of fact, when a revolver does malfunction it almost always takes considerably more effort to get it back into the fight than it does with an auto.

I've never had any of my autos malfunction in such a way that I couldn't get the gun back into action within a few seconds. Tap, rack, bang usually works. If something is wrong with the magazine, it takes a fraction of a second to drop the bad mag and replace it with a fresh one. Even a bad round isn't a problem - at worst I've had to drop the mag, invert the pistol, rack it, insert a new mag and go.

That's when I started carrying auto's and stopped carrying revolvers.

 

[CandRFan]

I used to keep a Ruger SP101 in my glove box many moons ago as a "truck gun". The logic was that it required pretty much zero maintenance and revolvers don't suffer from spring fatigue in their magazines since they don't have magazines.

I stopped the practice many years ago though because I learned that most magazines and their springs will out live me.

I stopped carrying revolvers as personal defensive guns about 18 years ago. I had a S&W M29 that I loved and carried. I shot it all the time. Revolvers rock for reloading by the way, because you don't have to chase empties. Anyway, I was out shooting one day on steel targets practicing my defensive drills when out of the blue my M29 stopped working. Completely. Pulling the trigger did nothing, it didn't budge. I couldn't get the hammer to cock with my thumb. Worse, the cylinder wouldn't open.

Ultimately I had to remove the side plate to fix the problem. A teeny-tiny brass shaving had wedged itself in the lock work in such a way that it rendered the pistol completely inoperable.

Once with my Model 19, which I loved too, it stopped working. Pulling the trigger double action didn't work and I couldn't cock it manually. I could open the cylinder with a little extra effort and realized my problem was that a primer had slightly backed out of the pocket and ceased the action. This happened several times over the years actually.

I realized that, despite the claims of many, revolvers did malfunction and when they did it wasn't a simple "tap, rack, bang" that got them back into service... it required me to stop shooting, take my focus off the target and to tinker with the gun for minutes. As a matter of fact, when a revolver does malfunction it almost always takes considerably more effort to get it back into the fight than it does with an auto.

I've never had any of my autos malfunction in such a way that I couldn't get the gun back into action within a few seconds. Tap, rack, bang usually works. If something is wrong with the magazine, it takes a fraction of a second to drop the bad mag and replace it with a fresh one. Even a bad round isn't a problem - at worst I've had to drop the mag, invert the pistol, rack it, insert a new mag and go.

That's when I started carrying auto's and stopped carrying revolvers.

I appreciate your talking about your past history with revolvers. I'm still very new to them...I haven't had my 642 for a year yet and have only put about 600 rounds through it.

 

[MilitaryArms]

I appreciate your talking about your past history with revolvers. I'm still very new to them...I haven't had my 642 for a year yet and have only put about 600 rounds through it.

Don't let my experiences taint your view of your 642. S&W makes a beautiful handgun.

What I suggest is that you learn to clean and inspect your chosen carry gun inside and out. Don't be content doing the basic cleaning for years and years which in the case of a revolver means opening the cylinder and punching the bore and chambers, wiping everything down and calling it a day.

Come up with a maintenance schedule that includes regular stripping of the carry weapon - CONPLETELY. Take the side plate off and clean the internals and lube them. Look for worn or broken parts and get all the gunk out. Even pocket lint will get in places you never thought possible and it can cause failures.

With handguns like S&W revolvers the side plate is tightly fit and you can mar it up a bit without the proper tools or as you learn, be forewarned. But it's a tool, use it like one... That how I view things.

It's one of the reasons I carry a Glock. I can strip it completely with one tool and it has the fewest parts of any popular auto on the market. It makes this regular maintenance super simple so it's not so much of a chore.

If I were to carry a revolver as a primary defensive gun these days given my past experience, I would only do so if I carried a back-up gun. If my primary stopped working I would transition to the backup vs. trying to fix the primarys failure.

 

[Tony7141]

By influential I mean their features inspired other designs. These are the handguns I believe helped to shape the popular design of handguns throughout the 20th century.




What about the Smith & Wesson model 39, didn't that really kick of the wonder 9 craze? Just a thought?

 

[MilitaryArms]

What about the Smith & Wesson model 39, didn't that really kick of the wonder 9 craze? Just a thought?

The M39 came years after the P-38. The M39 had most of the same features as the P-38. Double action trigger, single stack magazine, hammer drop safety mounted on the slide and it chmbered 9mm. The only difference is that the P-38 had a loaded chamber indicator, used a different method of lock-up and had a heel release magazine release.

 

[gdog243]

1911 Glock17 S&W K Frame S&W J Frame

 

[CandRFan]

Don't let my experiences taint your view of your 642. S&W makes a beautiful handgun.

What I suggest is that you learn to clean and inspect your chosen carry gun inside and out. Don't be content doing the basic cleaning for years and years which in the case of a revolver means opening the cylinder and punching the bore and chambers, wiping everything down and calling it a day.

Come up with a maintenance schedule that includes regular stripping of the carry weapon - CONPLETELY. Take the side plate off and clean the internals and lube them. Look for worn or broken parts and get all the gunk out. Even pocket lint will get in places you never thought possible and it can cause failures.

With handguns like S&W revolvers the side plate is tightly fit and you can mar it up a bit without the proper tools or as you learn, be forewarned. But it's a tool, use it like one... That how I view things.

It's one of the reasons I carry a Glock. I can strip it completely with one tool and it has the fewest parts of any popular auto on the market. It makes this regular maintenance super simple so it's not so much of a chore.

If I were to carry a revolver as a primary defensive gun these days given my past experience, I would only do so if I carried a back-up gun. If my primary stopped working I would transition to the backup vs. trying to fix the primarys failure.

Solid advice that I will take, thanks again.