[practical]

Quote:       Originally Posted by lefty o

5" 1911 in 10mm.

Nice choice. Kimber I assume?

I've thought long and hard about this one :target: I'd pick my Smiff & Western model 681 .357 magnum revolver

[lefty o]

no kimber, i build my own. i happen to currently have a 5" 10mm 1911 sitting on the bench. now if i ever get the ambition to finish it.

[practical]

My security six would be a good choice. Excellent balance and accuracy, and the weight isn't too much. If I had my way though, I trade the 6" for a 4".

[hounddawg]

Ruger Vaquero in .357 Mag. Why? Because if I'm going to shoot anyone, it would be with a rifle

[BigJake]

My first impulse was to put Glock 21 .45acp, because the ammo in a time of shortage possibly would be available vs. 357sig or some other non millitary round that could dry up faster. BUT.... 357 Magnum (the real 357) is rather abundunt as well, and I have one gun that I could not part with it Unless God Himself wanted it. My precious Ruger 357 magnum Redhawk (yes Redhawk) with a 7.5" Barrel. (Does anyone know if Ruger made many of these?)

[lefty o]

not only have they made alot of redhawks, they are still making them.

[BigJake]

I mean in .357 magnum

[Plink Floyd]

I would go with a wheel gun, as well. For a survival type situation, I'd opt for a 4 5/8 inch Ruger Blackhawk. Simple, accurate, and tough as nails. Could take game big or small, adn defend against any North American dangerous game of either 4 or 2 legged persuasion.

[Thrawn]

A rifle:joker:

[Oxford]

As of about three weeks ago, I can now say I would go with my 4" .357 Ruger Stainless Steel Magnum Security Six with custom grips. :nod:

[Sniper[MI]]

I agree on the rifle, especially for stopping a Tango a ways out for fun and sport...plus ya don't want the booby trapped ones going off 20 feet away! :right: If ya don't believe my affection for rifles and the skill in which to use em, check my name!.....LOL!

But, much like quigley, I am good with my pistol, though I actually do have much use for em....

However, the topic at hand is hanguns, so......I still stand by my assesment in my earlier post. :guitar:

my primary use for firearms is personal defense :nod: :gangster:

[pipsqueak]

Fair enough, but I wasn't saying anything about having a rifle as well, just one handgun. Assume you can have a rifle for whatnot, and a shotgun, a machine gun and a rocket launcher.

:target:

[Glock32]

.357

Good penetration.
Reliable.
Versatile.

[solar]

If I could ONLY have one... Para P16. 16 rounds of .40 cal = sweeeet.

[OneInchGroup]

If you only have the one, then go for the one that has the most capability to do multiple tasks. My .357 S&W Stainless 686, Ruger Security Six or GP-100, all are .38 special capable and will handle .357 Mag for thousands of shots with little or no maintenance. All the automatics are more prone to wear and breakage just by the nature of the autoloading, and those slides wanting to wear on the rails or the ejector pawls wanting to snap off at just the wrong time. The only way you can screw up with a wheelgun is to never clean it so that someday after a few thousand ronds the GSW (gunshot residue) gets thick enough to jam the cylinder. All the autos will have feed failures, stovepipe jams, or other fun stuff much more frequently than the old reliable wheelguns. I like my 1911's for stopping power and narrow carry profile and fast clip reloading, and my Ruger 9mm and 45 cal autos for high capacity and lighter carry weight, but a .357 wheelgun will still be the conservative choice for a one-gun scenario. There is also that little safety factor to consider. The wheelguns will always fire a round when you pull the trigger, if the weapon is loaded. With the autos, everybody winds up carrying them on "safe" because they are fearful of making a mistake, or its their department policy. In a crisis, that carry safe policy gets people killed because they either forget to "off" the safety, or they lose a precious second checking it. With the wheelgun its point and click, not "Oh my is the safety on or off is this thing cocked is there a round chambered or do I rack the slide first or oh jeez I'm hit!" Just a thought. As to the hi cap versus 6 or 8 rounds debate, whether its a wheelgun or a low cap .45 1911 in the argument, I always fall back on the advice I got from a very large D.I about a hundred years ago. "This is a pistol. This is only to be used after you have run out of rifle bullets. It is to be used between the time your rifle ammo is gone and the time when you need to use your bayonet. You will not need to carry an extra clip. When this is empty you use it as a hammer"

[pipsqueak]

I've heard a lot of .357 fans. I have a .357 and am going to get some trade in value
for a semi-auto though because the revolver kicks really hard and it's very difficult
to hit the target in the right place with the magnums. The .38's aren't bad, but I've had even better results with a 9mm auto which I don't currently own. The 9mm's are pretty accurate in most of the guns I've checked out. In the defense of the .357/.38, I've only tried the one gun. Maybe most of them are quite a bit better.

[auspighunter]

stainless smith and wesson 357

[Johnny_Revolver]

I would have said S&W 686 all the way till I saw Springfield 1911 9mill fixed sight at my local shop for a grand... I am a lil torn now LOL, we can only have one handgun ( effectively, I dont regard an air pistol as a firearm ) here for the first 12 months.