What would your priorities be if you could only have one handgun?

My turn. Re the criteria if allowed only 1 handgun:

woods carry protection? perhaps
hunting? perhaps
concealed carry? yes, though not a high priority
competition? no
range fun? range practice
home defense? yes

Would your choice be influenced by:

Where you live? don't think so
Where you work? nope
Where you camp? nope
Where you hunt? nope
Where your travels take you? nope
What competition you enjoy? not that either


Caliber? 10mm
Ammo cost? don't care

If I had only one, I would optimize for HD and SD and go to the range only to become more proficient. I doubt I'd ever carry it unless there were some change in my public safety concerns versus today.
For this, maximum round effectiveness, and maximum round count would be the highest priorities and tradeoffs. I wouldn't be shooting it enough that ammo cost would factor in to my answer.

Answer for me would be a Glock 20.

B

My deciding factors,,,
Home defense,
Concealed carry,
Woods carry,
Range fun.

My choices are most influenced by;
Where I live,
Where I hunt,
Where my travel takes me.

Caliber? .357
Ammo cost? N/A, Roll my own,,,

Defense of me and mine while out and about. At home I can put any of a number of long guns to the task. For target shooting, I can either use my SD pistol or any of my other long guns.

Is having a variety good? Sure. But if I could only have ONE handgun, it would be a defensive pistol.

If I could only have one handgun...

Unfortunately I have as yet to see the one I need, or require, at an affordable cost.

What I desire for almost all situations and or purposes, would be a hi cap .40, 12 rounds or so per mag., of a hybrid 1911 style design with a 3" to 4 1/4" bbl. This would be a SAO with a 4-5 lb. trigger and a safety within the trigger, like the Glocks have. So no external thumb safety would be required, yet it still retains the grip safety as a "backup" safety. It would be as thin as my SR9, but, not quite as tall. It would be Easily field stripped using only one hand, without tools. Similar to the Bersa Thunder 9UC or Stoeger Cougar, yet without the Stoeger rotating barrel. Flip a lever and apart it comes. The one thing that is the hardest to accommodate is the feel and action of the 1911 in what I want.

As far as a One pistol that's available on the market now, I have yet to find it. That's why my safe is getting more full as I go.

Original Colt trooper 4 in. .357

enough said. This situation is completely unrealistic since you live in the US.

To answer the title question: fit, shootability, and reliability, are all tied for being absolutely, vitally important. Now, for the questions in the narrative:

1) All of the above, except competition.

2) All of the above, except competition.

My choice for "the one" has not changed in two decades, and except for the cartridge, nearly three decades. I am too old and tired to try to remember all the factors I weighed back then. If my choice can cover all the stated bases, why over-think? As I recall, it was more of an evolutionary realization that two of my early handguns, in 1983, a 4" S&W Model 581 and 4" S&W Model 686, were darn good do-it-all handguns, with adjustable sights on the 686 obviously increasing the range of utility. (As a rookie LEO, I was mandated to start my career with a 4" .357 DA revolver.) I moved to bigger bores for a few years, then returned to
the .357 Magnum sixgun by the early 1990s, in the form of a GP100. A 4"
stainless steel adjustable-sight GP100 has been my answer to the "one
handgun" question since that time.

That does not mean I actually tote a GP100 daily, or even often, but if I had to really choose one, and only one, in my present environment, I would default to one of my several GP100 sixguns. (I do tote smaller, lighter .357 revolvers daily, but my primary duty pistol is now a .40, and I favor a 1911 for HD and some carry.)

Only one? Very tough! Does one go larger? Or go smaller? A smaller gun will be limited beyond its scope. A larger gun won't conceal as well. See the other 2,000 threads on this topic. You'll be no closer to answering this question after reading all 50 million posts.

Pictures are needed:


Glock 26 with grip adapter on Glock 19 magazine. This is a versatile setup for personal defense.


Ruger Alaskan 44 Magnum. It's also versatile with the short barrel. It just needs shorter stocks.

What would your priorities be if you could only have one handgun?
1) Reliability (in my hands)
2) Control (how well I shoot it)
3) Capacity (more the better)
4) Cost (practice ammo)
5) Caliber (heavier the better)

My first priority would be CCW. That narrows a gun into a certain size form factor for me, but since it would only be 1 gun - it would be a compromise CCW, meaning I wouldn't get something like a Rohrbaugh R9 or a Kahr PM9 - which IMO are pocket pistols.

I'd probably get something that is the largest pistol I can carry concealed.

The second priority would be a pistol that can fire multiple calibers.

Some Europeans deal with this and they have setups that can convert between calibers.

The Glocks are a pitol line that is good for this - you can get a large caliber Glock and get conversions -for almost everything down to .22LR

Hell, I could make do with my .22 mag NAA Black Widow....if I had to. That way, I'd always be armed with SOMEthing. If I had to carry a 3" .357, there would be times I couldn't be armed. I'd just quit handgun hunting, I guess. I own rifles and front stuffers. Do cap and ball count?

if you could only have one handgun?

Click to expand...

I'd have to sell my other 56 hand guns...and 'the one' would be so very lonely.

Honestly, I am unsure of the point of this thread and the other 55,000 'if-you-had-only-1,2,3,4,etc' threads like it.

.

Service size pistol but still concealable.

9MM

Able to accept a .22LR conversion kit.

Currently it is personal protection. Glock 22 for me at the moment.

I can bolster the defenses of my home with better physical barriers and alarms, a gaurd dog, and an alarm system, to compensate for only having one gun - which may not be optimal for HD.

However, I know I can't take a dog with me everywhere, so for me the priority would be getting something that could fit the CCW role (although not optimally, and could be used for other things as well - such as HD).

In regards to the handgun itself:

1) Reliability
2) Durability
3) Versatility
4) Availability

In regards to what the handgun would be used for:

1) CCW
2) Home Defense
3) Range
4) Recreational Shooting

For me...

It would be between four guns.

Stainless Ruger GP100 with a 4.2" barrel
M&P 45 TS
Stainless SP101 with a 4.2" barrel in .22 lr
Stainless Ruger Single Six convertible

I'm assuming that I could own rifles and shotguns.

I would probably take the M&P 45. The 255 grain buffalo loads are basically low to mid power level .45 colt rounds. That should handle anything that I'd expect to see where I go for woods carry.

If I only had one handgun...

1. It must be reliable.
2. It must conceal easily.
3. It must use the more common calibers (9mm, .40, .45)
4. It must be at least 9mm or larger caliber.
5. It must be rugged enough for weekly practice. (200 rounds per session every week)
6. It must be able to accept larger magazines (when needed) so as to increase capacity.
7. It must be a semi auto... for quicker reloads.
8. It must be resistant to rust and corrosion.
9. It needs to have a sense of ruggedness when I hold it. (Built like a tank/ brick/ block.)
10. It must be an economical buy.
11. It must be built with minimum number of parts. Simple enough for me to take apart.
12. I should be able to easily find accessories for it.

Hmm... It's looking like a G26.

If I wanted something more elegant...without some of the above criteria...

Smith & Wesson Revolver (586). Reliable. Rugged. Elegant.

What I'm looking for:
A gun as small as the LCP, that launches .45 caliber ammo, as reliable as Glock, with the recoil of a 9mm, and at least 12 round capacity, equipped with night sights, and laser/flashlight combo....and all of this.. able to fit into my jeans front pocket. Oh... it must have nice ergonomics too.