From an unbiased point of view, I can't argue these highly subjective views.
The 9 was in among the first autoloaders at the turn of the century. It has been chambered in more military sidearms in more countries than any other cartridge. It started the double stack thing (1935 High Power), the double action thing (Wather P38) and created the "wonder 9s" of the late 20th century. What's the .45ACP done? Outside of serving the US for most of the century, not nearly as much. Even the US adopted the 9 in 1985, with 15 years left in the century.
The 1911 is the gun almost all autoloaders of any note have been designed after. The locked breach action is the standard even today. For that reason ALONE, the 1911 should be considered the number ONE handgun of the 20th century, regardless of chambering.
The .357 magnum not only became the most popular of law enforcement revolver rounds OTHER THAN it's parent, the .38, but it was developed in the 20th century. This is a "best of the 20th century", right? To me, its only real rival is the .38 special and it was developed in the late 19th century. But, beyond that, the .357 started the magnum thing in handguns which brought about the .44 magnum which in the last quarter of the 20th century became the standard to which all hunting handgun cartridges were compared. The .357 was the first and started it all.
I see the logic in these choices. I might not prefer some of 'em personally, but they make sense. Actually, I like all of 'em, just that I prefer other platforms than the 1911 for personal carry. I need another 1911, though. My AMT hardballer got ripped off and I could use one in my collection. I don't think I'll buy one, though, until I could find a deal on a genuine Gold Cup. That's the only 1911 I really would want, now, just because of what it is. I had a couple of shots to buy one at a bargain and missed out. Dangit, a friend sold his Cup to another friend for $250 and I heard about it after the fact or I'd upped the bid!
That gun was like NEW!
