What is the best combat handgun in use today?

[ClarkEMyers]

SIG - but I carry a 1911 - there's a difference between general issue and personal choice

 

[StrikeEagle]

I'm a private citizen and can carry anything I'm willing to buy. I carry a Colt 1911 (Combat Commander).

If I knew of anything better, I'd carry that instead.

 

[tinygnat219]

Rinspeed,

No offense taken, I just see it as whatever you have on your person. This assumes that you know how to shoot it, it's a reliable weapon and you have taken the time and effort to know its quirks. Let's be honest here, there are as many "best combat pistols" out there as opinions, and while one might truly be "the best", chances are it's not on your person when you need it.

The one at hand is the best thing you can have.

 

[CountGlockula]

Isn't there some sort of gun sales stat sheet that tells us which firearms have been sold in the US?

 

[Hoppy590]

1911 is the finest COMBAT handgun in the world. IMO

glocks/xd's/M&P's/ any other plastic fantastic pistol are good SERVICE guns. but only a single action pistol makes a good COMBAT handgun. the 1911's down side of course being capacity has been "solved" in various hi cap models

high plains drifter! SHH dont expose Davis. seal team six and the reanimated corpse of chesty puller are both armed with Davis .25's and .380s running ops in saudi arabia RIGHT NOW!

 

[Never No More]

The 9mm peashooter is NOT a man stopper, like the 45 ACP.

Ill take any service grade 1911a1 and hit 7 out of 7 at 100 yards all day long.

 

[GTSteve03]

SIG 226

Hey, if the Navy SEALs chose it, that's good enough for me.

 

[CWL]

Who has actually used enough variety of pistols in combat to be able to comment? I don't believe anyone who posted here has. At most, someone has used one kind of pistol.

I prefer M1911 in .45ACP because that's what I'm best trained with. Second choice would be the G17. I have been in "combat" once and all I had was a S&W stainless in 9mm and it didn't matter -everyone else had full autos and artillery.
The idea of "Combat" handguns is stupid.

 

[Rexster]

I have come to appreciate smaller service handguns, because they take less room on the duty belt, and clash less with the buttstock of the long gun, because the pistol's grip frame extends less distance from the body. To my mind, "combat" implies something accomplished primarily with shoulder weapons, not pistols. If I had to fight using only my pistol(s) I would choose something large, with a proven, reliable 1911 being a valid candidate. If in an environment where a shoulder weapon is available, something like my present police duty pistol, a SIG P229, seems just right, for me. Having carried a variety of duty pistols over the years, including service-sized revolvers, SIG P220, Glock G22, S&W 3913, and several 1911s, I really appreciate my P229, as it is big enough to shoot fast and well, yet clashes less with my 870P and carbines, and leaves fewer divots in door frames and other things things a guy tends to bump into in the darkness. (The 3913 was small, so it did not bump into things, but it was narrow, and harder to grasp well in a hurry.) All of that being said, my favorite combat pistol is a Ruger GP100 .357 mag.

 

[WeThePeople]

'Combat' doesn't mean full-auto and artillery. Ever hear of hand-to-hand combat?

 

[inherentical]

The 9mm peashooter is NOT a man stopper, like the 45 ACP.

Ill take any service grade 1911a1 and hit 7 out of 7 at 100 yards all day long.

To be fair, I'd rather have a rifle in combat. Any pistol is a peashooter compared to a good rifle.

I don't believe there's a "best" of anything. Firearms are tools. You wouldn't use a sledge hammer to pound in a finishing nail, just like you don't want use the wrong tool for the job in other areas.

 

[possum]

Delta and so on and so forth

where did you get that info? is this something you know, or something you heard i know the tale a little different, they have 1911's and they have glocks they choose glocks for desert enviornments. thier 1911s are to very tight tolerances and there are sometimes issues in extreme enviornments for most of those situations the glock is called upon and has never failed.

i prefer 1911's but i think the glock 19/17 are among the best and most widely used in the world.

 

[glockman19]

what is the most accurate, reliable, and economical handgun to arm a large body of people with?

a Glock 17 OR 19

I prefer the 19

 

[col_tapiocca]

I'd say the HK USP US socom Mark 23
+ .45 acp power
+ reliable
+ HK quality
- HK price

Singel stack 1911 are really nice pistol but If I've to choose one pistol for combat I'll prefer HK first, Second will be a Glock

 

[SuperNaut]

Combat seems to be the operative word here.

I'm a big 1911 fan but in combat (that I'll probably never see) I'd rather have a Kel-Tec PLR-16 .223 Long Range Pistol.

The "in use today" part just screws everything up...

 

[Vern Humphrey]

We're asking four different questions:

1. What do you want to carry? For me, it would be a .25 automatic, or something like that.

2. What's the best buy for the department? For many, it's the Glock.

3. Which gun is safest in the hands of Ol' Flubdup? For many, it's the Glock.

4. Which gun do you want in your hand when the shooting starts? If I can't have a rifle or shotgun, I want an M1911.

 

[littlegator]

The idea of "Combat" handguns is stupid.

It reminds me of Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan where he uses his 1911 to shoot the tank at the end.

 

[Erik]

"What is the best combat handgun in use today? By this, I mean what is the most accurate, reliable, and economical handgun to arm a large body of people with?"

The Glock 17 or perhaps the S&W M&P given your criteria.

 

[Rexster]

Yes, I have heard of hand-to-hand combat; that is what happens when your guns are broken or empty.

 

[CWL]

'Combat' doesn't mean full-auto and artillery. Ever hear of hand-to-hand combat?

I was on the receiving end of an artillery exchange between 82mm mortars and 155mm howitzers. Everybody else had automatic rifles.

You stick around for HTH.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Yes, I have heard of hand-to-hand combat; that is what happens when your guns are broken or empty.

I'm reminded of an old Arkansas boy taking bayonet training in AIT. The instructor gave the usual spiel, "And if you can't get your bayonet out of his body, blow off a shot -- the recoil will pull it out."

"Sahgent? If'n I still got ammo, there ain't-a gonna be no bayonet fightin.."

 

[Zak Smith]

Simplicity, ubiquity, reliability-- Glock 17/19.

 

[applekev]

Glock 17, reliable, light weight, reliable, high cap mags up to 33 rounds, reliable, proven 20 year track record, reliable, 9mm +p+ ammo. Oh, did I mention reliable!!!

 

[Wil Terry]

I Think It Is Most Important To Ask Those Who've Been There.

I have friends who together have put bullets in well over one hundred people. They have used just about every common pistol and caliber.
TO A MAN THEY ALL PREFER A REVOLVER WHEN THE SHIQ HITS THE FAN !!!
None of them have any strong preferences as to caliber either; " they all work about the same."

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Nothing wrong with a S&W Mod. 10 (or similar). A revolver is a one-hander. Much can be made of that fact.

My pick is, of course, the 1911a1--but I'd take a robust wheel gun, too.