So many excellent pistols have been made over the years that if one has to select the best, it would not be a question of selecting the best among the good, but selecting the very best among the best, the greatest among the greats.
Solid like Phantom: The Colt M1911A1
The Colt M1911 was designed by the legendary John Browning in 1911. It is a simple, reliable gun that is actually as solid as it appears with its broad square looks. It was the heartthrob of the Americans and the official sidearm of the US Army for the entire 73 years, that is, until 1984! It fired the .45ACP cartridge because earlier the American troops fighting in the Philippine-American War were intrigued by the charged up, frenzied Tausug guerrillas not dropping in spite of being hit by the .38 Long Colt revolver bullet, and demanded a weapon with more stopping power. Its only problem was its magazine capacity of just 7 rounds being very low for a combat weapon. American parochial pride kept them from adopting the 9mm Parabellum, even as the world had adopted it.
This is the iconic American handgun which Phantom uses in a pair and is thus recognized all over the world by everybody who has ever read the famous Phantom comics.
Also Read: Phantom -the Ghost who walks
Browning, the King of Nines
The Browning, a classic among pistols, manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, is the pistol against which other 9mm pistols of its times and even the future would be measured—they can be better than this but they will always be measured against this. It was to the Commonwealth countries what the Colt M1911A1 was to the Americans. The Browning GP/HP (Grande Puissance/High Power) was introduced in 1935 and continued in production up to 2017. India still produces it as the Pistol Auto 9mm 1A at the Rifle Factory, Ishapore. It was the first successful design to use a staggered column magazine giving a capacity of 13 rounds.
Realizing that James Bond had made double action pistols famous (particularly his sleek 7.65mm Walther PPK), FN also went on to produce double action pistols called BDA (Browning Double Action) and BDAO (Browning Double Action Only).
SIG-Sauer P226, the Uncrowned Prince of Pistols
The P226 is derived from the P220 with a higher magazine capacity. This is an excellent pistol, especially suited for VIP security in view of its pointing qualities and great accuracy. It is a perfect specimen of the historically famous Swiss-German excellence in mechanical engineering and craftsmanship.
The P226 is a recoil-operated double-action gun with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. The P228 is a compact version of the P226. The P229 was a .357 calibre pistol. The US Secret Service and US Navy SEALs used SIG-Sauer pistols as their official sidearm. The US Army adopted it as the official sidearm for that person who needed a gun more compact than the Beretta.
Beretta 92SB-F and the Great American Pistol Test
Beretta makes several models in the 92 series. The 92SB-F was the one which had finally got through in the XM9 pistol trial as a part of the Joint Service Small Arms Program. Beretta guns are instantly recognizable by their top-open slide. This is the gun which Mel Gibson carries in the famous film Lethal Weapon. The film has several close-up shots of the gun. Many people believe that it was a marketing gimmick and it contributed to the popularity of the gun, particularly because the film (1987) was released shortly after the XM9 trial and just before the controversial XM10 trial. The gun also figured prominently in films like Robocop, The Matrix, Die Hard, and Resident Evil.
When the US Army conducted the so-called Great American Pistol Test (or the XM9 pistol trial) in 1984 to consider a replacement for the Colt M1911A1, the P226 and Beretta 92SB-F were the only pistols that could pass the rigorous tests consisting of 85 requirements out of which 72 were mandatory. However, as it happens with high-value tenders, in this case also, in spite of all the scientific rigour and fairness, the test got mired in all sorts of controversies including allegations of corruption. After a series of General Accounting Office and Congressional investigations, the tests were repeated in 1987. They became controversial from the beginning. There were reports that some Beretta pistols had the problem of slide separation. Beretta countered it by saying that the M882 ammunition being used in those instances exceeded NATO pressure specifications and sued both the Army and the Navy. Then the tests were rescheduled for 1988 and called the XM10 trial. Eventually, nothing special came out of it. The US Navy SEAL and US Secret Service took the SIG-Sauer P226 as their official sidearm whereas the US Army kept the Beretta and which was called the M9 pistol.
Controversies apart, there can be little doubt about the intrinsic greatness of this double-action gun as a service weapon. The standard magazine capacity is 15 rounds though magazines of higher capacity are also available. The problem with the Beretta is that it is a big gun. It is 0.83 inches longer than the P226 and the grip is bulkier making it convenient only for people with large hands. It is also full 7.5 ounces heavier than the P226. It also demands greater maintenance.
Glock Polymers in Pistol Construction for the First Time
While other famous arms manufacturers discussed above have had a long tradition of arms-making, this company started off making curtain rods and progressed to making field knives and entrenching tools for the Austrian Army. They also made machine gun belts and practice hand grenades. Still, if you are looking for a gun that could truly be called a product of modern high technology, you could take one from the Glock family of guns. They make at least 21 models in different calibres. The guns have absolutely rectangular slides, unique grips and trigger guards designed for double-handed shooting.
The Glock has many unconventional features. The first is its low weight and small size—the Glock 19C model in 9mm Parabellum is just 6.85 inches long which is 0.87 inches shorter than the P226 and weighs just 21 ounces (that is, a little less than 600 grams), which is, full 5 ounces lighter than the P226, making it the lightest 9mm pistol in the world! The second is the use of a special polymer for the frame and steel slide made by the precision moulding process followed by a special metal treatment called Tenifer treatment given to the exterior of all Glock pistols. The Tenifer treatment imparts great resistance to both corrosion and wear.
The third is its unique trigger action. The Glock is neither a single nor a double-action pistol. It uses a hybrid action called Safe Action®. It consists of three automatic and independently-operating mechanical safeties (trigger safety, firing pin safety and drop safety) built into the fire control system of the pistol. This system allows the user to concentrate fully on shooting without having any additional actions to disengage and re-engage safeties. Generally, Glock pistols have no external control levers barring the slide stop.
XM17 Modular Handgun System Competition
The XM17 Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition in 2017 was a United States Army and United States Air Force competition for a new service pistol—33 years after the Great American Pistol Test. Departing from conventional notions, the MHS requirement called for a non-calibre-specific weapon with modular features to allow for the adaption of different fire control devices, pistol grips, and alternate magazine options. The weapon will fit various hand sizes and will also mount targeting enablers using Picatinny rails. The new weapon will also have a non-reflective neutral colour and would be able to mount silencers/suppressors also.
Once again, as in the 1984 test, Beretta and Glock challenged the trial but eventually, two versions of the SIG-Sauer P320 (full-size and compact versions) were declared the winner—a $580 million contract! After acceptance into service, they got the designations M17 and M18, respectively. As per the conditions of the competition, even as the 9mm is the basic calibre, they can be adapted to fire other calibres such as .357 SIG and .40 S&W. The M17 has an ambidextrous manual thumb safety and a removable plate on the slide to allow for the mounting of a compact reflex sight.
Greatest of Them All
I have mentioned only some of the great pistols. In all fairness to these great pistols produced in the past one hundred years, the fact is that there is no single pistol that would meet all the requirements of every user and thus you cannot select a ‘universally’ greatest pistol. Thus, you can only select the best pistol for a specific purpose in mind. For example, if you are going to select a pistol for VIP security then the most important features to be kept in mind would be the pointing quality of the gun, double-action-only, that is the absence of a safety catch and an extremely low failure rate. If you have to issue pistols to commandos or troops for serious military or counterinsurgency combat then the most important considerations would be the ability of the gun to function reliably even with dirt in its mechanism and a large magazine capacity. One can make his selection accordingly.
