Having grown tired of the old controversy, why not drag out a new one. American Rifleman publishes a list of the top ten handguns of all time. Who could possibly take exception?
UPDATE: This guy’s list puts the Glock 17 on top.  I carry a Glock, and even I wouldn’t do that. I’m happy to see the Luger make his list though.
I’m glad to see the Broomhandle Mauser there, that’s iconic in so many ways from Churchill to Hollywood, from Bolsheviks to the Rocketeer.
The Glock 17 should probably be on a Top 10 list but no where near the top.
I see nothing controversial about this. Then again, I stopped reading after confirming 1911 was on top.
No controversy about it, in my mind: The top 10 guns are the ten you personally do best with, and enjoy shooting the most— which varies from person to person, and also over time and experience. A KimBaer Ultima-Carry Accu-Blaster with Sooper-Hydra-Kill hollowpoints is a hateful piece of junk in the hands of someone who’s scared to death of the recoil, noise, flash, etc., and flinches every time s/he fires it.
As a wise man once put it, “I’m not anti-Glock, I’m anti-fanboy.”
These rankings are always amusing … and even more amusing is how worked-up people get about them.
Rankings depend entirely on the criteria used, and the weighting of those criteria. And it can be pretty objective, too, until you begin talking about personal preferences (which are important factors in choosing handguns).
I think is regrettable that this kind of nonsense is in the American Rifleman. Guns and Ammo magazine regularly ran these kinds of articles thirty and forty years ago, but hey that was Guns and Ammo, not the American Rifleman. Sure theses kind of features are kind of fun, but really nothing more than a pissing contest. But for the American Rifleman magazine — compare this tripe to what was typical for the same magazine 25 years ago. If you really want to get sick take a look at some issues from sixty or seventy years ago when the editors took it for granted that their subscribers could read and also could handle real technical information. After reading this issue, I dug out several older issues from the 1940s and 50s just to get the taste out of my mouth.
And besides, to leave out the Luger?
It’s all subjective.
If I could afford the ammo, I could stand at the range and fire my S&W mod. 29 .44 magnum all day long, while most of my friends empty one cylinder and hand it back, rubbing their wrists :)
If the economy ever recovers, I’m getting me a .500 Magnum….