Author Topic: Best "All Purpose" Gun (Read 15237 times)

longwinters · « **Reply #90 on:** October 18, 2010, 01:05:47 PM »

Can't say I've had a ton of handguns. Only 4 revolvers, 1 semi and a couple of Thompson contenders. Of the revolvers only one has been missed and that was my S & W 357. That is why I just picked up a 686 in 6" . Is it perfect...nope. Best for any one thing....nope. But I like it. Fun to shoot = more practice. Easy to load for = more shooting. Good to 40-50 yds for game if I had to...but like all of you I don't.

Long

t-reg · « **Reply #91 on:** October 18, 2010, 05:57:36 PM »

S&W Mountain Gun.

Pick your caliber, find an accurate load with hard cast lswc or LBT style bullets, and you're ready for anything to be expected of a handgun.

Fortunately I'm not forced to select one gun or afford a MG.

45-70.gov · « **Reply #92 on:** October 18, 2010, 06:50:58 PM »

Quote from: TeamNelson on August 04, 2010, 02:46:03 PM

Quote from: Greeenriver on July 22, 2010, 05:23:51 PM
The best All Purpose gun is the one YOU HAVE WITH YOU ALL THE TIME. Greeenriver

Great post - thanks!

the best all-round hand gun ever made
the 5 inch smith 629 classic......44 mag

some others come close

that is why i always have my five shot little 357 with me at all times
it is concealable

all other opinions are wrong....hahaha

williamlayton · « **Reply #93 on:** October 18, 2010, 10:49:21 PM »

Thank the Lord we don't have to choose just one.
Thank the Lord someone else does not have too choose for us.
Blessings

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #94 on:** October 19, 2010, 12:07:49 PM »

Thank goodness for 1911, 10 mm's

Merle · « **Reply #95 on:** October 19, 2010, 12:16:07 PM »

Just to throw a little fun into this thread

I'm going to pick my Dan Wesson 357 Mag.
I can use the 4" bbl for concealed carry, the 6" bbl for hunting or wintertime CCW and the scoped 10" bbl to lob 180 gr bullets a respectable long ways.

This is stll only one gun, but the choice of bbls gives it a lot of flexibility. Short of messing with a grizzly bear, it will do pretty much anything I need done wih a handgun.

Old Griz · « **Reply #96 on:** November 25, 2010, 08:47:00 PM »

I went with a S&W 65-4. A .357 Mountain Gun would probably been best of all, but A) I couldn't find one, and B) this cost half as much. It sold for $379 and with tax and state background check it was $427 out the door. It has been refinished to matte stainless. I went with the .357 for the reasons so many folks stated above, mainly the wide range of ammo, and the fact that you can get ammo for it in one type or another almost every where.

I love my .44 Specials, .45 Colt, and especially my .41 mag, but you can't depend on dropping by Wally-World or even many sporting good stores and finding ammo for them when in need, except for the occasional wimpy cowboy loads for CAS. Since I don't reload, some of the other caliber suggestions were out of the question. After spending so much time with my Bisleys and N frames, I had forgotten how light a K frame felt, even with the heavy barrel. Went with the 65 over the 66 or 19 due to the fixed sights. One less thing to go wrong. It came with the Hogues which I would have put on this gun anyway due to the "all purpose" criteria.

So now I just have to go out and play with it for a while. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving holidays.

I've enjoyed all the input and never expected the thread to go on for so long. Thanks a bunch!

Brett · « **Reply #97 on:** November 27, 2010, 08:56:55 AM »

Now if the OP had not specified handgun I would have said 12ga pump with 20" barrel and interchangeable chokes.

Mohawk · « **Reply #98 on:** November 28, 2010, 05:30:59 AM »

+1 for Brett. Though if all I had was a 4" S&W .22 I would make it work.

jcn59 · « **Reply #99 on:** November 28, 2010, 05:47:16 AM »

I think I enjoyed reply #13 as much as the various other gun opinions. He compared the Judge to "Achey, Brakey Heart". It was pretty much hilarious.

For those of you who never shot a Judge, the rifling causes the shot charge to have a vortex-like hole in the center of the pattern. If you were to hold dead on a rat at 7 yards, you would probably miss. You would have to hold about a foot off to hit it with enough BBs to kill it. A guy with Parkinson's would probably be deadly with it.

1911crazy · « **Reply #100 on:** November 28, 2010, 07:00:53 AM »

I really like my norc 1911 alot but for an all purpose gun thats a deadly stopper we can count on its my ruger redhawk in 44mag. 7 1/2" & 5 1/2" barrels. I carried the 44mg w/7 1/2" at night on my motorcycle and during the winter with long shirts/leather jackets. The 44mg 5 1/2" barrel i would carry on the warmer weather days(long sleeve shirts). For concealed carry its my 1911 or my 357 snubbies ruger. I did this for over 25 years.

But right now my carry gun is a czech cz82 in 9mm makarov with its two 12rd mags thats plenty of fire power plus its small.

rong · « **Reply #101 on:** December 09, 2010, 11:25:11 AM »

No such "animal" as an all purpose gun. The only
thing one can do is make the best of a bad
situation with what one has on hand!
It always falls back upon the operator,
not the gun

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #102 on:** December 10, 2010, 08:11:24 AM »

Until after ww-2 most could not afford a handgun. Most that could had only one . I believe they decided on one best suited to self defense first then other use . If we were limited to one I would guess many would follow the same thought process .

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #103 on:** December 10, 2010, 09:59:44 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on December 10, 2010, 08:11:24 AM

Until after ww-2 most could not afford a handgun. Most that could had only one . I believe they decided on one best suited to self defense first then other use . If we were limited to one I would guess many would follow the same thought process .

Handgun hunting for big game had really just been invented with the S&W model 27 in 357 Mag.
Back then the 357 was loaded a lot hotter than it is today and could do more.
Also before WWII .32 acp and 32 S&W long were considered a great round for personal defense and now it is considered a mouse gun and 45 ACP Was super power houses and is now the standard that we judge everything else to.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #104 on:** December 10, 2010, 10:24:23 AM »

The 44 Walker was the most powerful revolver until the 357 mag. arrived . I would guess it took a deer or two over the years. The 357 mag. is a great gun in its own right . Like i pointed out one had to choose the best for defense and faster reloading is a concern fer sure. Power is another maybe next concern. Reliablity is important .Then enomical to maintain. Hunting in many cases is important as is a round that can stop a critter . Then target shooting and recreation. I agree about the smaller cal. keep in mind though that Wild Bill used 36 cap and ball guns even after cart revolvers were all the rage. And many think the 45 colt was the only gun in the West when many carried 41 Colts , 44-40 and 38-40 to name but a few. Just think that 44 Walker was more powerful than the 45 Colt back in the day. And also it was fashonable to run down bison on horse back and shoot them with a revolver

back in the day. I would bet alot of hand gun hunting went on it just wasn't a sport back then

mrussel · « **Reply #105 on:** December 10, 2010, 06:24:41 PM »

Quote from: Brett on November 27, 2010, 08:56:55 AM

Now if the OP had not specified handgun I would have said 12ga pump with 20" barrel and interchangeable chokes.

Howabout a Browning A5 with a steel shot capable barrel and a slug barrel?

mrussel · « **Reply #106 on:** December 10, 2010, 06:33:06 PM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on December 10, 2010, 08:11:24 AM

Until after ww-2 most could not afford a handgun. Most that could had only one . I believe they decided on one best suited to self defense first then other use . If we were limited to one I would guess many would follow the same thought process .

For the most part,if money was so tight that getting a gun was a financial stretch,Id get something solid for self defense like a cheap 1911. If we are talking recently,the lower cost clones,if we are talking "back in the day",a surplus GI. If hunting was necessary (I assume its necessary not recreational in this case,as if it were recreational,Id worry more about the self defense gun before a hunting gun,you get what you NEED first,then see if you can afford what you WANT) then I would probably go for a cheap single shot break open shotgun or some sort of surplus rifle depending on the specifics of hunting where I was. I might also consider a 12ga pump action INSTEAD of the handgun if carrying it were not an issue,which would cover all bases. Im not sure what the choice "back in the day was" but nowadays you can get some of the old JC Higgins ones that Sears used to sell for 50-75 dollars. I have one and its a solid shotgun. If your real lucky you can find one with a polychoke but you might pay 100 for it.( I saw one and really considered it but I figure it would be better to put that money away for a steel shot capable barrel for my A5

saddlebum · « **Reply #107 on:** December 10, 2010, 09:24:43 PM »

Funny how many alternative scenarios branched out from the original post. It's almost like there are 4 or 5 different threads going on here.
Reads more like a, "what's your favorite gun", thread.............pretty funny...........

zoner · « **Reply #108 on:** December 11, 2010, 03:52:41 AM »

since this thread started as "best all purpose handgun" my two cents is it would be a revolver, single or double action, with adjustable sights and a four inch barrel. Caliber choice would depend on whether you reload or not. If you don't reload i'd say it should be a 357 or a 44 magnum. Lots of loads available for sale and the price is pretty good. If you reload i'd include the 44 Special and the 45 LC. JMO.....and worth what you paid for it....Mike

BTW it should have Smith and Wesson, Ruger, or Colt stamped on it somewhere. The Freedom Arms revolvers are great guns but the price doesn't match up too well with my wallet contents these days

. This 45LC works for me

Brett · « **Reply #109 on:** December 11, 2010, 10:03:17 AM »

Quote from: mrussel on December 10, 2010, 06:24:41 PM

Quote from: Brett on November 27, 2010, 08:56:55 AM
Now if the OP had not specified handgun I would have said 12ga pump with 20" barrel and interchangeable chokes.

Howabout a Browning A5 with a steel shot capable barrel and a slug barrel?

The Browning is a nice gun for sure but I still think that for an "all purpose grab and go" or "bug out" gun as some call them I would stick with a pump. The action is less complex and will take more dirt and abuse than any auto-loader and will digest any load long, short, mild or stout that you care to feed it. I also favor a relatively short barrel for convenient carry and quick handling for this type of purpose gun. Add a pouch with an assortment of choke tubes and an ammo box stocked with an assortment of shells ranging from bird shot to slugs and you are ready for anything.

But that's en entirely different subject. Getting back to the original question of best "all purpose handgun" my vote still goes to a good (ie; S&W, Ruger or Colt) 4" DA revolver in .357/.38.

Old Griz · « **Reply #110 on:** December 11, 2010, 11:50:47 PM »

As far as shotguns go, I like my SxS. Sure, it only has two shots, but it reloads quickly and has even fewer moving parts than a pump.

Swampman · « **Reply #111 on:** December 12, 2010, 12:44:23 AM »

S&W Model 15 Combat Masterpiece with 4" barrel.

drdougrx · « **Reply #112 on:** December 12, 2010, 02:47:27 AM »

I'm having this discussion with my brother in law. I've had him shoot quite a few of mine which include all the formats of pistol and revolver. He's not at all interested in carry and will probably only buy one gun for target and hunting. He's leaning toward a SW29/629, 6".

dennissailplane · « **Reply #113 on:** December 12, 2010, 09:32:48 AM »

Glock 20, 15 rounds of 10mm is hard to beat!!!! It only takes one to do the job if the shot is placed right.

Flynmoose · « **Reply #114 on:** December 12, 2010, 12:03:06 PM »

My vote would be for the Smith model 19 hidden away in the safe. Most seem to
favor the four inch barrel, but I will have to go with what I have now with a six
inch barrel. Let us hope that none of us have an occasion to really need any of
our weapons for anything but hunting and other recreational pursuits.
FM

3030guy · « **Reply #115 on:** December 31, 2010, 02:02:28 PM »

I really like the S&W 4" 686 for my purposes. And as for the Taurus Judge, I wouldn't want to be standing in front of it when the trigger is pulled no matter what kind of load it's spewing! IMHO it's made for defensive situations, and that's about 6 feet. Any further and you've got some explaining to do, at least where I live.

I make oil · « **Reply #116 on:** December 31, 2010, 09:34:57 PM »

I keep on seeing S&W 357 over and over in this tread. To me if I was going to have just one Handgun to do everything with it would be a Ruger Blackhawk/SuperBlackhawk in .44 Mag. Not to expensive. Can be loaded up or down for whatever you need it to do. Also shoots shot shells(Not much good for anything to me). I spent 7 years in the USMC in the infantry and as a Military Police Officer and feel that it is more important to be proficient in you weapon than to have a lot of bullets to spread around. Most gun fights are over in 3 or 4 shots. Body shots and arm/hand hits are very common. I prefer BIG bullets to take the fight out of the other guy .357, .45ACP, .44 Mag. One hit with one of these rounds takes the fight out of the other guy fast even if it is an arm or leg. Then if needed the same gun can be used to take game. However in my mind if I am hunting for food I want a rifle not a handgun but if needed the .44 can do the job on any game.

That brings up the second part of the question. I would choose a short barrel lever action rifle in either .44Mag or 30/30. In a fire fight I have often thought a lever action with the tubular magazine has a distinct advantage over a box style weapon due to not worrying about loseing your magazine or running out of ammo during a tense firefight. How many magazines do most people carry for their wonder AR? 2? 3? You can load a lever action through out a fire fight. A magazine drop is not necessary. A lever action can fire almost as fast as a Semi and the rounds it shoots do much more damage. Not to mention it is not a Black Rifle and won't attact as much attention. I know it has a much lower capacity than the others but one well placed round is all it would take. I do have AR's and AK's but if I could only have one it would be my Lever Action .44Mag.

Glad this is all speculation. I would hate to have to give up any of my guns. I am really enjoying this post some good opinons here for sure.

Old Griz · « **Reply #117 on:** January 10, 2011, 05:19:12 PM »

Good idea. I'd have to grab my Marlin .357 to go with my .357 S&W.

mjbskwim · « **Reply #118 on:** January 10, 2011, 08:08:04 PM »

Quote from: hornady on July 18, 2010, 10:45:43 AM

Ok lets back up for the third time, is there such a thing as a one Handgun will do everything (.NO), is the Taurus a peace of junk, could be, I don’t own one. But you tell me what other revolver will fire a 410 shot shell or a 45LC. Kind of covers a broad area. Also why would they have gone to all the trouble of developing a round specifically for this gun, if it was the flavor of the week?
As to all gun writers being full of it. This seems to be a mystery to me, if these guys have no idea what they are talking about. Why are they paid so well? Sure some idiot can write something, but let take Elmer Keith, he sure was full of it, and Jeff Cooper, these two sure didn’t know what they were talking about did they. I read reloading, gun, and hunting Magazines, I read post on forms, as well as Gun blogs, this is what is known as collecting an informed insight into a subject, yes I have read BS in all of these, If guys did not want or like the Taurus, it would not have stayed on the market.
This is ridicule; any fool knows you do not read one Magazine ad or post on an opinion form, and take it as fact. You guys talk about the Taurus, but look at the Hi Point, to me this is the biggest piece of junk on the market today, but go out and read some of what the guys that own them are saying. Not everybody likes vanilla ice cream.

The writers are paid to say nice things about the products that the advertisers make.
PERIOD

Taurus' in general are POS to me.I would never buy another one.

For "one gun"?
What gun do you shoot the best?
That's always a good place to start.

Rugers are the ones that the reloaders around here like,cause they can load their home brews heavy and not worry about it breaking.
As for caliber,a 44mag is a great all around caliber for protection,at home,and hunting.
You can get shot shells that pattern as well as the 45lc/410 guns do.
The latter has to be rifled to make it "not" be a short shot gun,so the patterning of the shot kinda sucks.
And you can shoot 44 special in the 44mag to cut the recoil

357 is good,but marginal for deer sized game.(ruger also)

mjbskwim · « **Reply #119 on:** January 10, 2011, 08:12:34 PM »

Well said.
A 44mag isn't my favorite to shoot in a handgun.I have often thought it would be a great lever gun round.Should get as good or better than the contender barrels are getting for ballistics,no? 1600+fps?

Quote from: I make oil on December 31, 2010, 09:34:57 PM

I keep on seeing S&W 357 over and over in this tread. To me if I was going to have just one Handgun to do everything with it would be a Ruger Blackhawk/SuperBlackhawk in .44 Mag. Not to expensive. Can be loaded up or down for whatever you need it to do. Also shoots shot shells(Not much good for anything to me). I spent 7 years in the USMC in the infantry and as a Military Police Officer and feel that it is more important to be proficient in you weapon than to have a lot of bullets to spread around. Most gun fights are over in 3 or 4 shots. Body shots and arm/hand hits are very common. I prefer BIG bullets to take the fight out of the other guy .357, .45ACP, .44 Mag. One hit with one of these rounds takes the fight out of the other guy fast even if it is an arm or leg. Then if needed the same gun can be used to take game. However in my mind if I am hunting for food I want a rifle not a handgun but if needed the .44 can do the job on any game.

That brings up the second part of the question. I would choose a short barrel lever action rifle in either .44Mag or 30/30. In a fire fight I have often thought a lever action with the tubular magazine has a distinct advantage over a box style weapon due to not worrying about loseing your magazine or running out of ammo during a tense firefight. How many magazines do most people carry for their wonder AR? 2? 3? You can load a lever action through out a fire fight. A magazine drop is not necessary. A lever action can fire almost as fast as a Semi and the rounds it shoots do much more damage. Not to mention it is not a Black Rifle and won't attact as much attention. I know it has a much lower capacity than the others but one well placed round is all it would take. I do have AR's and AK's but if I could only have one it would be my Lever Action .44Mag.

Glad this is all speculation. I would hate to have to give up any of my guns. I am really enjoying this post some good opinons here for sure.