What is your Holy Grail of Handguns?

[coop44]

Sphinx, all stainless 9mm

 

[orygun]

John Wayne's Colt. Don't care which one...

 

[jbett98]

Steve McQueen's 44/40 Randall Special (Mare's Leg) in his "Dead or Alive" TV show.
Really liked the look of his holster belt when filled up with 45-70 ammo

 

[Cheezit]

ruger redhawk in 45 colt 4" barrel

View attachment 72918

Me, too! Wish they'd start making them again.

 

[Cheezit]

I think guys are still missing the point... a "holy grail" isn't something you can just buy with money- it's something of legend, that's unobtainable or extremely difficult to obtain.

OK. A handheld 105mm.

 

[NeoConShooter]

Steve McQueen's 44/40 Randall Special (Mare's Leg) in his "Dead or Alive" TV show.
Really liked the look of his holster belt when filled up with 45-70 ammo

You know they are available now from, IIRC, two different makers. But if you like to shoot things, go for the .357, or .44 mag versions? The recoils and terrible ergonomics would make that thing a one shot wonder like the Mars .45! Quote " No one who shot it would do so again!" Paraphrasing?

 

[NeoConShooter]

OK. A handheld 105mm.

Look up the M-67, IIRC! It was/is an American Army 90 mm Recoilless rifle that shot several different types of ammo, but the new manufacture Korean HE-Frag round at about 10 pounds at 850 FPS sounds like the best you will ever find at blowing things up!
But if you are more practical and less impressed by the name and caliber, the Chinese made a very nice copy of the American 57 mm Recoilless rifle of WW-II vintage that can lob a 2-1/2 pound shell at 1,200 FPS with sniper rifle accuracy to over 1000 meters and it can be had for very little money, if you know a righteous importer with the right license's!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

9mm Broomhandle with wooden butt stock/holster! Just a kind of nice looking shooter.

 

[YoukaiMori]

Absolutely, positively the Mateba Unica 6.



I would figuratively kill to get my hands on one of these.

Or as I'm sure many others have said, the Mauser C96 is a close second for me.

 

[RVTECH]

John Wayne's Colt. Don't care which one...

Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe I read once (like 30 years ago) the Colt always seen on JWs hip was his own personal gun and was a 38-40 Mod 73. If you watch his movies, particularly after they went 'color' you can see the ivory grips getting darker over the years.

 

[orygun]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe I read once (like 30 years ago) the Colt always seen on JWs hip was his own personal gun and was a 38-40 Mod 73. If you watch his movies, particularly after they went 'color' you can see the ivory grips getting darker over the years.

I remember reading an article, I think in the American Rifleman about that gun. JW used other Peacemakers, too, but that one would have to be top of the list.

 

[RVTECH]

The supposedly 'missing' PO8 Luger in .45 ACP

 

[The Heretic]

It changes over the years.

When I was a kid (pre-teen) we would go over to the neighbors farm (about a mile away) and play in their barn. They had a dairy farm, so they had a lot of hay, which the three stout boys of German heritage would form into forts and tunnels and such. One of the games we would play would be "Army". They had a plastic Thompson and Garand as I recall, but the favorite of most of us was a die cast Luger.

I currently have a Mitchell SS Luger replica which can't make it through a single mag without FTF, but I still like it.

However, for general shooting I've always preferred revolvers with 4 inch barrels. Never really cared for SAs though, always preferred DAs.

Right now though, my favorite has to be my S&W 329PD.



Nice to carry - so light I don't even notice it. Nice balance, and in my eyes it has a nice functional yet proportional and well designed style to it.

The only problem is that it is a beast and not that fun to shoot - which kind of goes against the whole raison d'etre - right?

Which segues into my "Holy Grail" - i.e., the unattainable; a very powerful, versatile, lightweight, nice looking and nice shooting handgun.

Towards that end, I am going to send it off to be ported and have the action worked over. Most of the time I will shoot it with light ammo for fun, while knowing that if I ever return to the land of brown bears it will be a handgun that I don't feel underarmed with.

 

[The Heretic]

http://www.sixguns.com/BookOfThe44/bot44c23.htm

 

[Nickoftime]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Smith & Wesson "Registered Magnums" from the late 1930's.

 

[jrprich]

So many, but a 2.5" Python in bright stainless would be a nice start

 

[Wood Worker]

There was a time that the S&W 624 or 696 would have fit the bill.
But now I have them and currently can't think of any other more desirable pieces.

 

[pdxjazz]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Smith & Wesson "Registered Magnums" from the late 1930's.

There was, sort of. Someone did bring up Gen. Patton's 3.5" S&W which is a Registered Magnum. I do however think the "Holy Grail" of Registered Magnums has to be the first one produced. It is a 8.75" barreled one given to J. Edgar Hoover. Whereabouts are still unknown.

As much as I would like to have a Registered Magnum, or even an early production Royal Blue Colt Python, those old Texas Paterson or Walker Colt's are pretty nice looking revolvers. This one sold a few years ago for nearly $1 million.

 

[gunfreak]

I have it, my HK USP40.

 

[Barachiah]

My grand dads WWII Colt. He carried it through the South Pacific. He lost his entire company around him, got placed with the Bushmasters afterwards, fought the Japanese until they surrendered. Brought that gun home with him and it was the first pistol my dad ever shot. Had that old colt until the late 70's, early 80's (I wasn't around so can't confirm). Retired then, he decided it was "too much gun" so he traded it, straight across, for an H&R .22 mag/.22 lr revolver. I have that stoopid revolver, only because it was his. As a grown man, I found a pristine 1945 vintage WWII Colt. I pretend that it was grandpas gun. But, I would give nearly everything I own to have that gun that he carried back. I never will, because I don't know the serial number, let alone where he sold it. I still pretend though.

Miss you grandpa.