Opinion time… what is your favorite production (doesn’t have to be current, just no custom or one off items) handgun ever made? The dreaded “if you could only have one” kind of piece.
Here’s my submission:
I think a strong case could be made for the S&W Performance Center 586 l-comp being one of the finest and most versatile handguns currently in production. The trigger in both double and single action are superb. The 3” barrel is the Goldilocks size for revolvers that could be carried daily without undue discomfort and weight (36oz), but still boast impressive ballistics. The combination of the weight of the gun (solid, but not too heavy to conceal carry) and the compensated barrel make shooting hot .357 rounds rapid fire - even nasty hard cast bear stoppers, a relative breeze. The sights on the gun are adjustable and the front post is a Trijicon tritium blade for low light work. In single action with that Performance Center trigger offering a light pull with zero creep and zero over travel - accurate shots can be made at distances you’d typically deploy a carbine - and with some factory loads sporting an excess of 800 ft/lbs of energy - you’re hurling some seriously fierce lead down range that make this a credible backwoods gun capable of taking any four legged beast in North America. With 7 rounds of two and four legged predator stopping power, and a cylinder cut for moon clips (the gun comes with some as well) - reloads are an absolute breeze and nearly as quick and trouble free as a semi automatic to allow you to swap duties (plinking, snake shot, backwoods, 2 legged protection) in seconds. The gun also comes with two grips - a very handsome set of checkered boot style wood grips ideal for concealed carry, and a set of recoil taming rubber grips - which allows you to sport the slick wood grips on CCW duty, and swap out to rubber if deployed as a home defense gun, loaded up for the back country with bear medicine. You can also toss inexpensive .38 special into the gun for target practice/plinking - in which recoil becomes a mere bunny fart. The 586 L Comp is built like a bank vault, and is a multi-generation, heirloom quality piece that looks outstanding and feels very special in hand. It is a tool with a soul. Lastly, quality rifles are made in .357 magnum - which give you the ability to carry a practical pistol and rifle in the same caliber - with .357 magnum offering material gains with a rifle length barrel.
Second place and an honorable mention for me is the Glock 20C. 15+1 capacity of thundering 10mm in an ultra reliable, and packable package, with lightning fast reloads and excellent control (due to the compensated barrel and slide) it is quite a versatile piece. You can’t talk about Glock and not mention their reputation for unflappable reliability and ease of maintenance. It stays in second place for me though, as 10mm isn’t a versatile as .357/.38, you can’t load snake shot into a 10mm, and a plastic Glock, while stellar - doesn’t have the soul and swagger as a finely tuned piece from the performance center. You also can’t shoot lead bullets out of its polygonal barrel, and I’m not sure you’d be able to find a compensated Glock 20 barrel with standard rifling, so you might lose some of the benefits of the comp, should you need to shoot lead.
So that’s my .02 what’s yours?
Here’s my submission:
I think a strong case could be made for the S&W Performance Center 586 l-comp being one of the finest and most versatile handguns currently in production. The trigger in both double and single action are superb. The 3” barrel is the Goldilocks size for revolvers that could be carried daily without undue discomfort and weight (36oz), but still boast impressive ballistics. The combination of the weight of the gun (solid, but not too heavy to conceal carry) and the compensated barrel make shooting hot .357 rounds rapid fire - even nasty hard cast bear stoppers, a relative breeze. The sights on the gun are adjustable and the front post is a Trijicon tritium blade for low light work. In single action with that Performance Center trigger offering a light pull with zero creep and zero over travel - accurate shots can be made at distances you’d typically deploy a carbine - and with some factory loads sporting an excess of 800 ft/lbs of energy - you’re hurling some seriously fierce lead down range that make this a credible backwoods gun capable of taking any four legged beast in North America. With 7 rounds of two and four legged predator stopping power, and a cylinder cut for moon clips (the gun comes with some as well) - reloads are an absolute breeze and nearly as quick and trouble free as a semi automatic to allow you to swap duties (plinking, snake shot, backwoods, 2 legged protection) in seconds. The gun also comes with two grips - a very handsome set of checkered boot style wood grips ideal for concealed carry, and a set of recoil taming rubber grips - which allows you to sport the slick wood grips on CCW duty, and swap out to rubber if deployed as a home defense gun, loaded up for the back country with bear medicine. You can also toss inexpensive .38 special into the gun for target practice/plinking - in which recoil becomes a mere bunny fart. The 586 L Comp is built like a bank vault, and is a multi-generation, heirloom quality piece that looks outstanding and feels very special in hand. It is a tool with a soul. Lastly, quality rifles are made in .357 magnum - which give you the ability to carry a practical pistol and rifle in the same caliber - with .357 magnum offering material gains with a rifle length barrel.
Second place and an honorable mention for me is the Glock 20C. 15+1 capacity of thundering 10mm in an ultra reliable, and packable package, with lightning fast reloads and excellent control (due to the compensated barrel and slide) it is quite a versatile piece. You can’t talk about Glock and not mention their reputation for unflappable reliability and ease of maintenance. It stays in second place for me though, as 10mm isn’t a versatile as .357/.38, you can’t load snake shot into a 10mm, and a plastic Glock, while stellar - doesn’t have the soul and swagger as a finely tuned piece from the performance center. You also can’t shoot lead bullets out of its polygonal barrel, and I’m not sure you’d be able to find a compensated Glock 20 barrel with standard rifling, so you might lose some of the benefits of the comp, should you need to shoot lead.
So that’s my .02 what’s yours?
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