Alabaster

I'm a big fan of listmaking. I actually have a group of contacts in my email addy book that is for just that. We come up with an idea and make a list of the best or worst of something. It seems to be a family thing, too. Way back to my Great-Grandma. She was known to make lists, about all types of things.

Anyways, I'd like to hear yall's top 5 list of favorite handguns. Overall. Not finest looking or most functional, most interesting history or whatever, but overall. Top 5 and why did they make your personal list.

Wild Bill Caldwell

1911 in 40 Super...Colt model P in 44 Special.....Smith & Wesson " The 357" from the 1930s...Early Smith 29 ...nodash....Stichken....I'm not a fan of list makein' , whetever it is guns ,guitars, women, dogs, horses,....They can love You one day and take You to the GATES OF HELL on the morrow...That is why You need to keep several of each around , women can usually take You to the gates of Hell the quickest and most unexpected

Wild Bill

Alabaster

That's hilarious! I swear, I dig the list, I'd like to hear more of why you prefer 'em, if you'd share that with us. That really sounds like an answer I'd expect from a wise 'Ol timer from Louisiana or somewhere like that...Oh, wait...lol... That really is a hoot!

Wild Bill Caldwell

Okay AllyB I'll take them one at a time and maybe even come back and add some more....40 Super....outruns a 41 maggie in a way better package....LT Bolton of T&T glocks has witnessed 1800fps with a 180 gr bullet....Ten rd mags outshine the S.A. Ruger or the Smith....1911 ,I can do 2/10ths of a second splits , Azone hits , anyday I can get 11 rds in the a zone at ten yds around two seconds and a reload around one second and ten more rds under two seconds hittin with what the 40 super hits with....What else is there that compares to it.....now I know there are semi 44 mags out there but look at their size....More comein when I get over this weekend of Booze , Babydolls, Hellraisein.......

Wild Bill

one eye joe

[quote=more comein when i get over this weekend of booze , babydolls, hellraisein.......

Wild bill[/quote]
Wild Bill livin' up to his name..............

Sarge405

Bill knows first hand about things lke Colt Model P, he helped design the thing!!
My list,
#1-good liquor
#2-good woman
#3-good 1911
#4-good SW K 357
#5-good luck and the lord behind me when I running 1 through 4.

Wild Bill Caldwell

Yeah You are right Al, I showed Sammie how to make the rachet work when He was carvein His wooden model , matter of fact He'd borrowed My knife to do the whittlen and never gave Me My knife back....I heard My Daddy , "Boss Charlie Caldwell" say , "a man is due three things in His life and just three things , one good woman , onegood dog , and one good knife and not necessarily in that order"......

Wild Bill

Grendel

1. 1911 GOV in 40 Super (Caspian)
2. 1911 Commander 45 (Caspian)
3. 1911 Long Slide 45 (Springfield Armory)
4. Sig 239 in 357 Sig
5. 1911 GOV in 45 Super (Springfield Armory)

one eye joe

Welcome to the Forum, Grendel. I didn't realize that SA made a Long Slide. Is it currently in production ?

Grendel

Thanks Joe,

Yes, they still make them.
Springfield Armory

Bought mine new about 8 yrs ago. It came race-ready w/speed hammer, beavertail and 3 lb trigger pull (no drag or creep) in SS and adj sights. Very accurate
I was going to convert it to a 45 Super, but did the GOV lenght model instead.

I just finished a 1911 Hybrid 45 on a Caspian platform...........lots of work...can't wiat to get it to the range.

Wild Bill Caldwell

Grendel...A Hand most certainly can't go wrong with four of Your chosies...I'm not sure about #4.....357 Sig cartridge had a lot of things wrong at the startup....That was the Big Reason I was ask by a firearms company to neck the 45 GAP to 9mm , I did the job , never got paid , They never got any info except it worked....Only place it was ever seen was on pistolsmith as the 45gapFlappinnine , used to be some photos on Wild Bill View From The Hills but Ain't no more View from the Hills on here no mo

Wild Bill

Wild Bill Caldwell

Grendel ....by the by.....Where are You gettin' 45 Super Brass

Wild Bill

Grendel

Yea, mine blew up on me last week at the range......hot/defective factory ammo (Speer Gold Dot). Sig Sauer took care of me in < 1 week. Houge rubber grips saved my hand.
After I shoot the Hybred, the Sig may drop off

Grendel

Get all my Super brass (40/45) from Starline Brass in 500 count lots

one eye joe

WOW Grendel, that SA Long Slide is Gorgeous ! ! !

Grendel

Yea, I put some VS-G10 black grips on mine..........I get a stiffy every time I take er and peek at it

one eye joe

If ya don't mind me askin', what can you buy one of those for ? ? Also, are the made in the USA ? ?

Grendel

The parts are made in Brazil now.........not USA, maybe assembled in Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil.
I paid $800 8 yrs ago for mine.....guess you could order one from a dealer and pay around $1100-1300 for them now. If you can find a used one for under a grand, get it.
You could probably build a nice one for under a $K. Les Baer make a 6" slide and theres plenty of 6" barrels out there.

My SA long slide uses a 18lb recoil spring w/reverse 2-piece guide rod assembly. I hade to paint the front sight blade white so I could see all the way down to the end of the barrel......my eye sight is pretty much shot

SA made a ported 6" longslide (VL16) but discontinued it due to reports of malfuntions.....FTF I think...could be wrong, but I have not seen on of those in years. The last one I saw was a used V16 @ GUNSAMERICA on-line . It sold for $1,220.

But I think we're off topic now

one eye joe

Gredel, it amazes me that SA sells weapons made outside the USA. A 'Nam buddy of mine wanted a 1911 that resembled what he carried when we were in-county. SA makes one. He lives in Maine, so he ordered it from Cabelas. When it came in, he refused to take it (was made outside the country, and was stamped as such). He ordered a new R1 from Remington instead, which looks pretty authentic other than the white dot sights. He likes it alot. I hear ya on that eye sight issue. The only eye on me that still sees has Cataracts and Glaucoma. Gettin' old ain't for sissies.......

Wild Bill Caldwell

Joe ....I'll buy every Argentine 1911 clone I can find....maybe I should check this out with J TEE but I've always been told that the early Rtennes were made at Colt , Colt people , Colt Machinery.....When They started buildin' them south of the border , They started with a new Metalugy , new machinery and Colt Supervision.....I've got maybe twenty and I beleive the first ones to be as good as any Colt from the same year..the ones made in Argentina to be a unmeasureable touch better..... Far as Springers go, They have a Hand their that can match up with any 1911 builder past or present , name is Dave Williams....so those are two made outside of Us that I'll not turn down if the price is rite

Wild Bill

one eye joe

Wild Bill, I think it's just a psychological issue with my friend and I. I don't doubt that a good weapon, 1911 or not, can be made outside the USA. If you're lookin' to replicate what you've carried in-country, IMHO it MUST be made in the USA. (unless it was a battlefield pick-up lika ChiCom 7.62 mm or a Tok or Mak that you carried into Cho Lon as a throw away) I forgot where the SA that my friend rejected came from, but I don't think that it was Argentina. Llama's are made in Spain. They make 1911 clones. I owned a .22 that was a jam-o-matic. Tarus is made in Brazil. I'll spare you my feelings on this brand. I must reiterate that IMHO, that SA Longslide is GORGEOUS no matter where it's made...........

Alabaster

There's a nice longslide, stainless SA @ VA ARMS on consignment that I'm pretty sure is under a g. 703-368-3949 is their #, I believe. It wouldn't hurt to give 'em a call, I suppose.

Grendel

uh, isn't the PISTOLSMITH logo at the top of the page a SA Longslide?........

Alabaster

Ha. Good point. Sure looks like it.

Alright, here are some of mines then. Not neccessarily in this order either.

1. 1911 Commander .45, and yes, alloy frame.

2. EAA Witness 9mm. Commander type here too. Full frame and short slide. CZ Clones, all of 'em. EAA is the only one I owned tho, and thought it coulda been a little cleaner as far as finish and all, but it went bang EVERYTIME, and felt just right in my hand. It was a factory ported .45 originally, but I preferred the 9mm top end/conversion. I think they look kewl as a sh*t too.

3. SAA 4/12 .45 Colt birdshead revo. My old man has one of these, blued and case hardened and that thing points so naturally and just looks hawt. .45 colt can bag a deer or stop a 2 legged attacker too.

4. Kahr K9 and T9. perfectly sized, reliable, and lend themselves REALLY well to trigger work/action slickin'.

5. Colt Anaconda 6in. I saw one of these for the first time when I was about 13 or so. I had a neighbor with a friend that loved to flash it. He was an ornry old biker type with long hair that loved whiskey and that mean as* stainless .44. I thought that gun was possibly the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Actually, I still think it might be! 6in barrel has the right look and balance too, IMO.

If yall are like me, this list changes totally about every 2 weeks or so. Of course there's a "dream gun" top 5 too, but I figured one list at a time, right?

NGIB

It's kind of hard for me to do a top 5 as I tend to change around my collection fairly often. I do have one that will always be with me and that's a Springer Loaded Longslide. It's one of the few guns I bought new as it was the only way to get one. Another of my favorites is a Sig P220 and I have a pair of those. Lastly, I guess I'm really fond of my pair of series 70 Combat Commanders...

one eye joe

Welcome to the Forum, NGIB. That's a sweet lookin' SA Longslide & a great pair of Combat Commanders. I'd have trouble parting with any of them.....

NGIB

Thanks for the welcome - she shoots good as well as it's my bowling pin gun...

davejones

Walther PPK 380,ruger bearcat,Glock 19,Sig 226,S&W 19