As a combat gun the Glock comes SO close...but those horrendous plastic sights ruin it. And the M&P is just as close as the Glock...but then there's that silly trigger with the hinging lower half that's supposed to be some sort of "safety" device...they're joking right?
The Ruger Mk III's and Browning Buckmarks can give a couple lifetimes of outstanding service with absolutely no modification. Accuracy is superb, triggers aren't perfect but more than serviceable, and they're very reliable. What's more, depending on which model you buy, they can each be very handsome pieces to boot.
Many Sig's are nearly ideal in out of the box condition if you are okay with the traditional semi-auto DA trigger action. If it fits your hand, the CZ-75 is perfectly adequate right out of the box, and so is the Beretta M9 (rather large, but quite serviceable)
There are many 1911's out there that can be "perfect" right out of the box.
Unfortunately my favorite auto pistol, the Browning Hi-Power doesn't make the list because of the safety lever. If you do a proper hold with thumb resting on the safety, the rear section of that oh-so-poorly thought out "ambi" will punish you.
