Great Handguns Fallen out of Favor

S&W pre model 10, S&W Hand Ejector, Colt 1903, all from around 1915.

Also, 1911, BHP, Tokerov, Makarov, Colt Government Model 380, Star Super B, and probably some others not coming to mind just now.

I love old functional machines. - drove my 1970 Ford F100 to work today.

Most Colt hand ejector revolvers made between 1908 and 1970 that are chambered in .32 Colt New Police (32 S&W Long), .38 Colt New Police (.32 S&W), .32-20 (.32 WCF), and to a lesser degree .38 Special.

These were some of the best made and most accurate revolvers that were ever mass produced. But now they often suffer because of the lack of spare parts and qualified gunsmiths to fix them. However if you find one in good mechanical shape - cosmetics are less important - and take care of them, they offer some great buys in what amounts to a shrinking and depressed market.

I still like shooting a Luger in 9mm but would not probably carry one.

Don't see many of these on the range any more ....



Not saying anything bad about magnum wheelies, just not seeing them.

Everything's autoloaders ... we see Glocks, Sigs, 1911s, some Beretta and HKs, and occasionally some XDs.

Just sayin'.

I shoot my mag's (.44 & .41) almost every trip to the range. Shoot my 10-5 every trip. Love that old gun and hits where I point it.

Great handguns have not fallen out of favor. Re-defined maybe, but still very much in favor

I don’t know that older guns have fallen “Out of favor”, it’s just that as newer shooters come into the fold who grew up with a video game controller seem to prefer to stick with a hand full of plastic.

Someone mentioned revolvers and capacity. That's not the only reason most people don't look past a j frame these days. Many newer shooters start out with a striker fired semi auto with a 5-6# trigger pull. They complain about the long, heavy trigger pull without knowing smooth is more important than light. They are interested in instant success and don't want to spend the time and energy to develop the muscles and technique to learn how to shoot a DA revolver well. They might buy a j frame and tell you you can't hit anything with one past 15 feet.

S&W's, mod's 25,27,29,57,10-5, and others. Although the 29 is still made mine is in a large presentation case with all the tools which as far as I know is not available.

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I agree that S&W N-Frames are not as popular as they once were although folks on the Smith & Wesson Forum are paying ridiculously high prices for Model 28's.

As for Model 10's (and other K-Frames) I suspect there are a lot of them serving duty as home defense guns in a night stand drawer.

My old S&W pre-model 10 gets a regular workout. It's the gun I am most accurate with.

S&W pre model 10, S&W Hand Ejector, Colt 1903, all from around 1915.

Also, 1911, BHP, Tokerov, Makarov, Colt Government Model 380, Star Super B, and probably some others not coming to mind just now.

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The M1911 doesn't belong in that list of "great handguns fallen out of favor" -- it's going strong. Literally dozens of companies are making M1911s and selling them as fast as they come off the assembly line.

I don't think great handguns fall out of favor so much as out of circulation. People recognize the greatness and hang on to them, and new people never have an opportunity to encounter them, and they fade from common memory.

I suppose my own vote goes to the pre-hand-ejector 5-shot .32 and .38 pocket revolvers by S&W. Thin, light, perfectly proportioned. I don't know of a modern equivalent to a safety hammerless.



The trigger looks huge because the whole thing is small.

But there are good reasons why the modern version of that looks like this:



Doesn't mean I must like it....

I could also make an argument for guns like the Reising .22 pistol.

http://americanhandgunner.com/exclusive-web-extra-the-reising-22-semi-auto-pistol/

Of course that was never exactly popular to begin with so how far could it really have fallen?

definitely the NAA .22s, they can punch above their weight if properly equipped:

I agree with Deepsouth. Anything 25acp has fallen out of favor. I guess for a good reason. So many super small 380"s out now. But, still not as small as a baby browning!

A S&W 6946 is about perfect for a double-stack 9mm. And, for revolvers, a Colt Detective Special.

Go up a tad bit in revolvers and a Model 10 or a Model 15.

Nobody wants to carry a 3lb beast around anymore---when your plastic fantastic comes in at a little over 1lb

Have been slowly but surely been picking up a few revolvers lately---miss the old school heft and magnum power---but my Glocks aren't going anywhere either.

The S&W numbered autos and Ruger P series are the biggest shames to have gone away.

You can still pick up a new J frame---.357 or .44 mag revolver fairly easily these days--they just don't occupy the majority of the store's shelf space like they used to.

The Tokarev TT-33 and its clones. Simple, near indestructible handgun. My father has one that I know has had more than 10k rounds fired through it with no failures of any kind.

VH - You are correct. The 1911 doesn't belong on the list. I was having a brain malfunction.

Colt Woodsman, in any incarnation, was John Browning's crowning achievement, despite those who would argue that the 1911 deserves that crown.

It was the first reliable semiautomatic .22LR. It not only worked, it excelled, and was copied by High Standard, Ruger, and Browning.

I love mine, even though it is not pristine.


Oh yea, . . .

No, I'm not shooting Mini mags in it. That's a Ruger Magazine.

Only plastic I own are KelTec. I dislike the current S&W lock and MIM parts mine are all old with the pin barrel and real firing pin. My Oldest Shoot able S&W is 1880's 32 short 5 shot top break . I have several 1911 oldest in 1941 USGI . I haven bought a new pistol since 2007 when I bought my only Dan Wesson .

Not planning on buying any thing new No way going to buy. The worlds ugliest revolver made by Ruger. Looks to me that they hired some Taurus people to design their guns. Ruger going to have a curve revolver soon

Nobody wants to carry a 3lb beast around anymore---when your plastic fantastic comes in at a little over 1lb

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Really a Colt Commander on my side more than any other pistol I own. Lots of people want a real size service rather than a plastic pistol. Their not hard to carry with good belt and holster .

Personally I'm glad that the S&W K frame models have fallen out of favor. More for me.

Colt Woodsman, in any incarnation, was John Browning's crowning achievement, despite those who would argue that the 1911 deserves that crown.

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Nobody denies the Woodsman is a great gun -- mine was made i1938. Ed Harris published an article on .22 pistols where he compared pre-WWII Colts and High Standards to modern pistols -- and the old guns shot rings around the new guns.

Colt New Service in .45 Colt. Everybody knows about the 1911 to the extent that The Trashmen could write a song about it, but nobody remembers the gun it replaced, which was the Colt New Service.

The New Service marked the return of the .45 caliber bullet after being usurped by the 9mm caliber .38 Long Colt (kind of a revolving pattern no pun intended.) The New Service didn't last long as just a few short years later the M1911 came about and six shooters, including the New Service, were only summoned once again at the outbreak of WW1, but with the cylinders modified to accept .45 ACP in clips.

Even after it's military days were behind it, the New Service became a popular duty gun for police officers outside of the bustling Northeast part of the US where the .38 Special was the more precipitous choice for police. What finally retired the .45 Colt for good as a duty firearm was the creation of the .357 Magnum, where it gave shooters a more powerful alternative to the .45, but also the option to shoot lighter .38's. Come the late 1940's the New Service was dropped from production after nearly 50 years of continuous production, but not before becoming Colt's highest selling revolver at the time.

The Colt New Service is one of those great early 20th Century guns that was quickly forgotten because of the techonology of higher pressure, more powerful magnums and the ease of reloading with autoloaders. The New Service is still a great gun, and one of the few double action hand ejectors that's chambered for the .45 Colt.

Of course, today Ruger makes a double action Redhawk that can fire +P .45 Colt and .45 ACP and you can get those brand new, but if tomorrow I was handed a badge and a Colt New Service, I wouldn't feel incapable of doing my job and that's the mark of a great handgun.

Colt New Service in .45 Colt.

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Amen. Mine was made in 1906. It had been re-blued, and shot 18" high and a foot left. I finally cut the barrel to 5 1/2", put adjustable sights on it, and got Herritt to make me a set of Shooting Master grips. This one impressive handgun. If Colt would start making them again, I'd buy two!

I carry DA revolvers a lot. One of my favorite autos and, I think, the best autoloader Ruger ever produced is now out of production in favor of plastic framed guns with doohickey triggers, striker guns. That's a shame. I love the decocker DA, myself, as the first shot is like my revolvers and successive shots are SA for precision. The DA/SA transition on the KP90DC is awesome, one of the things that endears me to it. It is also flawless, will feed ANYthing, and as you can see it's quite accurate.

The hit on this gun, other than "ugly", is that it's fat and doesn't conceal well. But, it only weighs 33 ounces unloaded, pretty light gun, and it conceals quite well in a sparks summer special or even carried OWB under a long polo shirt.