The Qualities of a Good Pistol

Which quality do you think is most important in a pistol? Is it stopping power like the Desert Eagle (although that may be a bit overkill)? Or ammo capacity like the Berreta 92 and other 9mm pistols? Or is it something else? Assuming you were a skilled marksman, which pistol would you choose and why?

 

Every shooter likes something a little different but all will want something reliable (it always fires and cycles), good balance, easy to aim, smooth trigger, and accurate (that's rather opinion based though). Capacity and terminal ballistics are dependant on the shooter's personal preferance and situation.

 

And also what they're trained to use. If you dont' knwo how to use a .45 it would not be a good choice even if you want or need a more powerful gun than the 9mm you've been assigned.

A 'good' gun in general probably has an equal balance of firerate, power, ammunition capacity, and accuracy. the rest is up to the shooter.

 

Yes, but which quality do you think is most important? And which pistol shows that quality?

 

You can't choose a single qualitity, If you want a good handgun you comprise certain facotrs to make it an all round good pistol.

 

As Dave indicated it depends on what you want out of the pistol, accuracy is more important in a sporting target gun where reliability, power and capacity would not be too important a factor.

For an all-rounder such as a military sidearm it's going to be a compromise of different factors, no one factor will be paramount. I'd suggest a good military pistol would have adequate stopping power (such as 9mm P), be controllable (Again 9mm P fits the bill) and reliable. These days though you also have to consider penetration which is one area I believe that the 9mm P looses out over some more modern rounds.

Capacity really isn't going to be too important since by the time in any military firefight it's come down to pistols you're in really big trouble anyway and if more than a few shots aren't going to get you out in one piece then 14 or 15 aren't likely to either.

 

It depend what you want/need.

Brute power: a DEagle would be a good one but it's size and weight make it's accuracy lacking.

I think most .45s are generally good on all counts (don't quote me on that though I'm probably wrong)

 

For me personally, I prize reliability over most of the other choices, I would rather have an adequate pistol that works every time than a great pistol that works most of the time.

As for which pistol displays that quality...the list would be a long one, in the end i chose a gun based on its proven reliability mixed together with which one fit/felt comfortable to me, combined with what i could afford to purchase. I cant imagine anyone choosing a handgun based soley on one criteria. Although I imagine that happens frequently with some people make their selections based on looks, others based on whats the trendy thing to own, others for bragging rights (the ive got the biggest pistol in the world mentality) In the end its up to each individual to determine whats important to them.

 

ditto calhoun and willys...i saw a thing about us pilots in vn who preferred long barreled revolvers like 357 so they couild also use shot shells for killing small game while hikeing out of the wilderness...

 

I agree that reliability is the most important quality.

Next I would put how accurately you can shoot it. A hit with a .22 is more effective than a miss with a .50 AE.

Next would be the question of "fitness for purpose", as already mentioned. if you're carrying a self-defence gun "just in case", that you don't really expect to use, then compactness and light weight become very important, because a heavy gun is less likely to be carried. OTOH if you are going out with the intention of using your gun, against two or four-legged animals, then power and maybe magazine capacity become more important than weight.

But, apart from reliability, to pick on any one aspect of a pistol as being the most important doesn't make sense. It's like saying "which is the one really important aspect of a car: performance, economy, safety, carrying capacity, comfort, styling and image..."

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum