Rating WW1's Pistol's by Aestheic Pleasure!!

Hello everyone, I've been a little bored today, and I've been watching some of my favorite Youtbers Hicock45 and Iraqveteran8888, so I feel like talking about firearms! One of the enjoyable things about firearms for me, is the firearms design and look. Some guns have a beautiful elegant look to them, while other have a more robust machine look about them. I find very few firearms ugly, but there are certainly a few out there that are just eyesore's. I thought I would rate WW1's pistols from Least Aesthetically pleasing, to the most pleasing of all. I'm not going to mention all of the sidearms used in WW1, but I will mention most. This is my opinion of course, and I would love to hear yours!

23. Austro-Hungarian Dreyse M1907-.............This is probably the only gun on this list I'd classify as "ugly"

22. Austro-Hungarian Frommer M1912- It's just not my style for a handgun.......at all

21. British Enfield Mk.II- They should just stick to Rifles........

20. Austro-Hungarian Roth Steyr M1907- The Austro-Hungarians were obviously not vert concerned about looks with this pistol...

19. German Beholla 1915- Not the German empires greatest pistol when it comes to looks...

18. U.S Savage Model 1907- It's not terrible, but it's not great.......it's......meh

17. Italian Beretta M1915- It's not bad, but it's not going to win any competition for looks ever...

16. Italian Gilsenti Model 1910- A very unique pistol, looked like they were going for Luger.....and then it went downhill

15. Italian Bodeo 1889- I shouldn't be too harsh to judge, it was made in 1889....

14. French Chamelot-Delvigne M1874- Not bad for the 1870's, but it's not a beauty either....

13. German Rast & Gasser 1898- It's a unique pistol, that I want to say is higher on this list....but I can't


12. Japanese Type 14 Nambu- I've never really been a fan of the look, but I think it's okay......no Luger though

11. Russian Nagant M1895- I think this is a pretty good looking gun for being a 19th century revolver....

10. British Webley-Fosbery Auto- This is just different enough from the Webley MK. VI to not be higher on this list

9. Spanish Ruby 1914- honestly, this is a pretty nice looking pistol.....way to go Spain!

8. German Mauser C96- I really like this gun, it looks tough and reliable.....which it is

7. Austro-Hungarian Steyr 1912- Finally, the Austro's made something good looking on this list! I like it a lot....

6.U.S Browning M1910- It's a pretty nice looking pistol by my standards....not top 5 worthy though

5. U.S Browning M1903 Pocket hammerless- Now this, is a nice gun!!

4. British Webley Mk.VI- This has always been a revolver favorite of mine.......absolutely #4

 

3. U.S Colt M1917- This is another good classic, one my family owns....a nice sturdy looking American pistol...

2. German Mauser Luger P08- This is one of my favorite looking pistols, it's a beautiful piece of machinery....

1. U.S Colt M1911- This is THE best looking pistol of all time for me.....and a favorite when it comes to shooting too....Just look at those lines!!

 

Just a few words about these...

Not all the pistols above were actually official service weapons in WWI. The big and very ugly Enfield .476 had been phased out by the British Army and replaced by the Webley series many years before the war began. Some may just possibly have still have been kicking around in the colonies or with various police forces, but I have not see any references to it anywhere as a WWI service pistol. The Browning M1910 has been referred to as an American weapon here, but while the designer was American (John Browning, of course), the gun itself was actually made at the Belgian Fabrique Nationale factory and it was a Belgian service weapon--not US. The Japanese Type 14 Nambu was not designed until 1925, so it didn't appear in WWI at all (though the earlier Type A Nambu and the Type B 'Baby' Nambu were around). The Colt M1903 and the Savage M1907 were made in the United States, but did not to my knowledge serve with US forces in WWI. The British did use the Colt and some Savages as well, most of both being purchased privately by officers and O.R.'s. (T.E. Lawrence seems to have had them on his shopping list.) The French, the Portuguese, and the Canadians all made official purchases of Savage automatics. The French of course bought Ruby and Star automatics from Spain as well as some Spanish copies of the S&W Military & Police in 8mm Lebel caliber. The Nagant was one of the most curious handguns of the era, a 'gas check' type with a very brutal trigger pull. I agree with most of the aesthetic judgements so far, but I do think that Beretta pistols of any type were all very handsome guns.

Like most belligerents, the British soon found that they did not have enough of their standard weapon (Webley Mk VI) , so like the French and Italians they turned to Spanish sources. The weapon they ordered was a near-copy of the old American Smith & Wesson Frontier, a hinged-frame design dating from the 1880s and originally in .44 S&W caliber. The British weapon, designated "Revolver, Old Pattern," was chambered in the standard .455 caliber and made by a consortium of Spanish gunmakers: Orbea Hermanos, Garate Anitua, and Trocaola Aranzabal. The British were not entirely satisfied with the O.P.'s they got, for several reasons: the cylinder had no block and 'floated,' finish was not top-notch (many were rejected by British inspectors for cosmetic reasons), and I think parts interchangeability may have been a problem. Anyway, the British cut their contract short and passed the O.P.'s they had to second line use and later to police forces in Ireland and Australia. Despite its poor reputation, modern shooters report that surviving O.P.s actually work pretty well--though you have to be careful about the ammo. Aside from that, I just love the art nouveau styling.
Here is an example made by Orbea.

 

Thank you for the added info, and my apologies on some of my glaring mis-information. I state where the gun originated, I did that to save space and time, I should have clarified that. Thank you Terry for the response!

 

You missed one dandy! Along with the Colt 1917 revolver, there was also the Smith and Wesson 1917 (also in 45 acp), which in my opinion was a tad bit better.

 

Fully agreed. And the Smith is quite a bit nicer looking too.

Smith and Wesson M1917:



Colt M1917:

 

I can agree about the Smith and Wesson, sorry I didn't include it guys, It's a nice one aesthetically, I'd put it in the top 10, maybe top 5.......

 

I don't mean to quibble, but that's a M1911A1 which came out in 1924. The annoying arched mainspring housing that model added still creates gripes, and only a few WWII commemorative pistols have it any more. There's a number of other small changes as well between the 1911 and the later A1, but only that arched mainspring housing was actually disliked.

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Oh yes, the C96 mauser, as used by the Imperial German Army would probably have been the "red 9" version however, I'm sure some officers had their own personal "Broomhandles" in 7.63X 25. By the way, the variant in the pix you used may be a very rare one!

 

I agree wholeheartedly! I find the straight 1911 grip much easier to use.

 

Thank you for pointing that out too me Kodiak, I did not notice at first glance at all!

 

Very interesting thread. Some of the pistols look very "steam punkish" which I guess fits. If you get a chance you should try to get to the museum on Rock Island.
Rock Island Arsenal Museum - 2018 All You Need to Know Before You Go (with Photos) - TripAdvisor
Rock Island Arsenal Historical Society