How many main styles of full-size pistols are there?

[lsudave]

Just curious about this; you can group most guns into a few styles. You have the main brand, and a bunch of clones and copy-cats. I'm leaving out the blowbacks since they really aren't fullsized guns.

1911 style: you see a ton of these. Most are true 1911's, just different brands, and then you see the spinoffs: the Tokarevs, Star's, Ballester Molina, etc.

Hi Power style: FN and Browning; FM and FEG made straight clones. Then, Arcus and Kareen have very similar derivatives.

Beretta 92 style- Beretta (obviously), the Turks made a straight clone, Taurus and Vektor (South African) have close derivations. Heck, it appears that Chiappa is now making an M9 clone in 9mm for ATI.

CZ 75- the original, Tanfoglio/EAA Witness series, Baby Eagle, Jericho, Canik (and apparently every other Turkish maker).

Sig P series- don't see as much. Zastava CZ99, I think Astra made something, but these seem to be "looks like" instead of really copying the design internally. Or at least that's what I hear.

S&W 59 series- S&W made a lot of variants, FEG made SA/DA with similar design features, Daewoo DP 51 (and now Lionheart).

And of course the "Glock" style, polymer frame, steel slide, striker fired. Glock, XD, S&W M&P, now Walther has a bunch.

I know there are others, but are there any other major designs that are copied?

 

[dogmush]

That kinda depends on how many changes you allow before it's a new "style".

One could say that there are Browning tilting barrel locks, and all others.

One could define a style as parts that will interchange.

Or one could, as you did, be in the middle.

In general, I wouldn't combine all the striker fired guns into one style, as there are some large internal differences.

 

[lsudave]

That kinda depends on how many changes you allow before it's a new "style".

Well, yes, it's a non-scientific approach. I guess a lot of it comes down to handling a pistol, and recognizing the connections. For example, not everyone would lump a Tokarev into the 1911 class, as they look pretty different, and are designed for different rounds. Or the Star B, which looks identical but has no grip safety (or the B Super, with the takedown lever). But once you open one of those up, you see (basically) 1911 parts. Granted, the Star Super is more of a single-stack Hi Power, but I lumped it in with the 1911 because from 10 ft away or to the novice, it looks like a 1911.
I guess I'm kind of going with the "design tree" approach, but breaking down from a later point than just Browning's tilting barrel (since that covers almost everything). Because, really, if you wanted, you could go "blowback" or "locked breech", and that takes the fun out of it all.

Probably the best way to describe my groupings is- they look and act similar, and if you can strip the main one comfortably, you would be at home with any of the others in that group. If you can strip a 1911, then with a Tokarev, once you get around the retaining clip, you then have extremely similar internals.

In general, I wouldn't combine all the striker fired guns into one style, as there are some large internal differences.

Yeah, being a snob against plastic I suppose. No real offense to them; but I guess it's just a matter of seeing a design invested into steel (or aluminum).

 

[bannockburn]

How about where certain design elements might be copied or were derived from other guns? The Beretta Model 92 uses a locking barrel block system that's very similar to the one used in the Walther P38. The Beretta PX4 and MAB P15 have a rotating barrel design that can be traced back to the one in the Steyr Hahn M1912.

 

[HexHead]

"Glock style"? Don't you mean HK VP70z style? Polymer frame, steel slide, striker fired, 12 years before Glock.

 

[mavracer]

The problem with what you're trying to do is there are so many features that can be mixed and matched.
The different locking mechanisms tilting barrel, rotating barrel, locking block and just to throw another wrench in the mix there is gas delayed blow back these can be put with most any MOA slide mounted/ frame mounted safetys SA, SA/DA, DAO, striker/hammer and you can always add a decocker function.

Many guns give you options as to MOA HK has several vairiants that can be interchanged on USP models.

 

[mgmorden]

Sorry, but you've already made a mistake by calling everything poly striker fired as "Glock style" and then separating the others out.

If you're going to go that broad it would have to go:

Traditional Single action: 1911's, Hi Power

DA/SA: CZ 72, Beretta 92, SIG P, S&W 59

Striker fired: Glock, M&P, XD

You might be able to make a distinction based on frame material (Ie - Ruger P95 - it's a DA/SA but it's polymer framed), but to go more specific than that you're basically going to end up separating out everything that isn't a nearly direct copy of another thing (ie, Canik S-120 vs CZ75) into its own "style".

 

[BlindJustice]

Styles naw more llike Designs.

The CZ 75B shares only the cam action barrel from the BHP
but the DA/SA is different than a P-8 internally.
The inside the frame reverse rail to slide was first
seen in the French pistol adopted in '35 swiss designer
who went on to design - there's that word again -
in the Sig P210 of 1950.

P-08 Luger - dead end technologically.

The Beretta M9/92FS barrel lockup design can be tracccd
back to the P-38 <-- first full size DA/SA semi-Auto

R-

 

[lsudave]

Sorry, but you've already made a mistake by calling everything poly striker fired as "Glock style" and then separating the others out.

Again, apologies. maybe the OP should be clarified to "different styles/designs of all-metal pistols". My bias against polymer frames; I don't think they are bad guns, but I don't care for them. They certainly achieve a very high grade of efficient functionality, they work and they're light.
I guess I sound like one of those old car guys who complains about the fiberglass fenders on modern cars.

"Glock style"? Don't you mean HK VP70z style? Polymer frame, steel slide, striker fired, 12 years before Glock

Did not know that, thanks. My cultural introduction to polymer was some cop movie in the 80's. There was a smug young hotshot who had a new Glock, and bragged about it a whole lot as superior to the pistols the older guys used. For some reason, I keep thinking it was Andy Garcia... can't place it. He boasted about the light polymer frame, the quick striker first shot, the polygonal rifling. Of course, he turns out to be the bad guy, and the ballistics testing on a murder victim (this bullet shows polygonal rifling, rare in the US) was what gave him away. The good guy used either a 1911 or a S&W 59 series in stainless, I think; it was about as blatant as a cowboy movie where the good guy wears a white hat, and the bad guy wears a black one. The hero shoots him in the climax with his 'good' gun, and even makes a remark about it before the bad guy dies.
That movie, whatever it was, always seemed to color my initial impressions of the brand. When they later became prevalent, I still associated them with an obnoxious braggart.

Back on track, I suppose you could go:
Browning swinging link barrel (1911 etc);
Cammed barrel (Hi Power, etc);
the internal slide railed guns (MAB 1935, Sig 210, CZ, Star 28, etc);
the falling block guns (Walther P38, Beretta 92, etc)

 

[BlindJustice]

Hey, more of a Euro LEO handgun

H&K P7 - gas operated delayed blowback ? squeeze cocker

R-

 

[WestKentucky]

The big thing missing is the webley fosbery type, the "modern" colt revolver type, the smith and wesson hand ejector revolver type, the topbreak revolver type, the tipup revolver type, single action army type, dragoon type, schofield type, remington type...

Back to autoloaders...
the AK variants, the AR variants, luger type,

As others have said it's all in how you define a type of gun. If your lumping all the polymer striker fired guns together then you might as well lump all the metal framed hammer fired guns together. And as far as full size goes there are some massive guns like the ak,ar,keltec plr...there are the huge sidearm like the desert eagle...where do you draw the line. The only things I see noticeably missing from your list were the Mauser broomhandle and the luger, but those designs are very well antiquated.

 

[bc1023]

Wow, talk about an inexact science...

What does the Daewoo have to do with a S&W 59?

 

[9mmepiphany]

It really is all about how you define style. My personal separations are determined through major engineering innovations:

P-8 - toggle action
1911 - tilting barrel (covers the P-35, S&W, etc.)
P-38 - falling block (covers the Beretta)
SIG 210 - reversed rails (covers the CZ)
MAB 15 - rotating barrel
H&K P9S - Roller delayed
H&K VP-70 - polymer frame, striker fired
H&K P-7 - gas delayed
SIG P-series - using chamber block, as opposed to ribs, to lock barrel to slide

 

[rcmodel]

Let's not forget gas operated rotating bolt semi-autos like the Desert Eagle.

And the gas operated Wildey.

rc

 

[C0untZer0]

Styer GB gas delayed blowback Barnitzke system.