In terms of beauty, which handgun holds the title?

My vote is split between the 1851 Colt navy, and the 1892 Colt army

Of those two, I favor the Navy Colt (1851). Overall, though, I favor the 1911s or the SAAs.

Colt SAA, I like the short barrels, but any of them are classic.

Many years ago when I was around 17 or 18 years old I sent off for a replica .36 Navy. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. It was my first handgun. I remember I bought it from EMF Company.

The 1851is one sexy piece of work.

S&W M19 with a four inch barrel.
I don't like DA revolvers without ejector rod shrouds.

The Rhino 😂

No, seriously I would say the Peace Maker or Python.

1860 army hands down.

I'm right there with you guys on the black powder Colts, though I favor the 1860. With lines that elegant, finish is almost a moot point.


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Sarge
Which pistol did Gus carry in Lonesome Dove?

Looks like a walker conversion

That would be my vote for best looking.
My favorite scene in the whole movie.

1851 Colt Navy or 1911 Colt.

Another vote for the Colt 1860 Army here. One built from a kit was my first handgun. It still shoots pretty okay, although the sights are a bit harder to see than they were back during Reagan's second term.

It was a Walker or some movie prop variation thereof.

Colt SAA for revolver.
Browning HiPower/P35 for auto.

I'm partial to the 1st series Woodsman Sports. Nothing as slender and sexy.....

Mossberg "Brownie".

Definitely the Studebaker of handguns

Triple Lock for a revolver and the P35 for an auto.

Whacking a surly bartender with a Walker, might have killed a bartender in real life. Those guns are heavy!!!

The Colt Shooting Master and New Service Targets, to me, were as about as classy as one could make an arm from a mass producer.
Ditto the Officers Model Target, albeit in less profound cartridges.

Book or mini-series? On TV, it was indeed a Walker replica, converted to fire cartridges. Most likely five-in-one blanks were used. He also had an 1860 Army in a pommel holster, that he used in the night fight with the Kiowas and Blue Duck. In the book IIRC, he used a Colt Dragoon, eschewing more modern pistols for his trusted sidearm from his Rangering days. McMurtry is not a firearms expert.

The Colt SAA is pretty hard to beat in the looks department, especially when engraved and silver plated, with ivory stocks with steerheads and jeweled eyes.

In cap and ball sixguns, to me the 1861 Navy is tops in the looks department. I like the looks of the creeping loading lever better than the earlier types. The '61 Navy has a more streamlined look than the '51 and is also more svelte and balanced looking than the '60 Army. Col. Quantrill supposedly carried a '60 Army not widely released, that had the Navy frame, a 7 1/2" barrel like a Navy as opposed to the 8" Army barrel, and a fluted cylinder. Probably the best looking cap and ball gun I've ever seen.

Hand guns are kinda like women. You see the one you think you like best, then, you see that other one over there.... Lots of really nice ones, but there is always something special just around the corner.

The thing about guns is you can always make room for another one.

Luger

1911

Colt SAA with 4 5/8" barrel

S&W k-38 with 6" barrel

I have a SW model 1950 in 45 ACP. It has the tapered barrel, and the bluing is beautiful. I also have a bucket of 1911s, but the one that is special is a true 1911, made in the last month before they changed to the 1911A1 version. Diamonds on grips do it for me.

The Colt Python was always my favorite for best looking handgun.

Second would be a Cold Woodsman Match Target W/ full underlug barrel.

Virgil B.

We have a winner!

Gloc..ok I kid.

I kinda like the cz75 and y'all will laugh but that gp100 is bullstrong and I've shot loads your probably not supposed too. For all the cerakote finishes I've yet to see one matching old-school Colt Royal Blue. The man who built my first federal Ordnance 1911 (there's a blast from the past!) Once polished a 2.5 inch 686 so bright that the local deputies wouldn't let him show it during daylight. Bo's long gone but that man deserved sainthood for showing an unathletic gun nerd kid how to run a 1911 at speed. Patient as he was if trouble came that highly engraved 6" gold cup of his appeared as if magic.

Beautiful = Colts

Sexiest = Luger

Yeah, the two that immediately popped into my mind were the Luger and the Cold SAA.

In double action revolvers, probably either a stainless S&W 686 or Python, preferably with an 8" barrel. Although I think there are several .38/.357 snubbys that are beautiful in their own right.

In single action revolvers, something stainless with an unfluted cylinder, square trigger guard, barrel cut flush with the end of the ejector rod housing, and adjustable sights. Probably either a Ruger Super Blackhawk or Magnum Research BFR, but a USA Seville could work too.

In semiautos, probably some sort of 1911. Probably the Kimber CDP with the rosewood grips, and stainless & black contrasting colors.

I know I'll catch flak over this one, but.. I thought the hard chrome/ rosewood-looking grips Raven .25 was pretty cool looking along with the Bauer .25 (made in Fraser, MI if I recall correctly).

I guess like BlueDuck said,

Revolver...…… Probably a tie between the SAA and the Remington 1858

Auto...……. Hi-Power, hands down with the Kimber Micro in rosewood/stainless as a runner-up.

Me too. They're perfect!

3.5" model 27. the same in the registered magnum is holy grail for me.

That's a fine commentary on women from a guy with a handle of Blue Duck LOL. How did that jump out the window go by the way?

I kind of love the look of the Schofields, although I've yet to own one. More generally speaking, I like a pistol with the birds head grip and about a 4" barrel.

There's just something very business-like in the appearance of either of those, to me. .

For something a little different, the Colt 1903 Hammerless is a real nice looking pistol

Those are rare birds, rem.

I:m partial to a S&W 66 no "-" or -1 2.5" or 3".. Pinned and recessed. Extremely well balanced. To me, possibly the finest carry revolver ever produced.

Next to that, SAA.

Here's a few I like:

Swiss 7.65 Parabellum


A couple of Browning Hi Powers


S&W 5" 27-2 with Herrett's Roper/Skelton stocks


Colt SAA from 1901. Nicely redone by SAA master Alan Harton

Those Brownings are stunning!

For me it is hard to beat an N-Frame Smith.

I agree with EdM


upload img to forum

Some think the Bisley is ugly. I don't. Here is Beretta's iteration.

K frame

Love those Cold Steel Bowie’s !
And Bisley’s too. 🤠

Model 27 for me

I'm the proud owner of a 51 Navy. It was my Great, or Great Great Uncle's gun. It's come down through the family to me and will be handed down to my son when my days here are done. Man, if that old Colt could talk.

offft...

I got my first handgun in a hardware store here in the county seat. The store is long gone. They had only a few short guns...an H&R 949 (which is what I purchased), a blue Ruger Super Single Six, a stainless Ruger Security Six with a six inch barrel and the scarce Ruger oversized wooden grips (looked a lot like the Goncalo Alves oversized targets on Smith's) and a Nagant. The Nagant was the uglist mfer I had ever laid eyes on and had a double action trigger pull that I'm not sure I could do with just one finger. I think I may have put two hands on it and pulled with two fingers.

We bitch and moan about guns a lot but the truth is, a lot more people seem to own guns now, at least in my part of the country, and a helluva lot more own handguns. Back then a .22 and a 12 gauge were standard and some of the old men had a .22 or .38 pistol that you never heard about or saw. A few guys had a 30-30 or an '06, but they were the rich ones that hunted Colorado or New Mexico.

I recently acquired a High Standard Sentinel MK4 22 Mag having wanting one since I was a kid as I thought they were pretty sharp. Not "classic" but a nice looking, well fitted and finished piece.

S&W Model 15 4" for DA revolvers. For semi autos the Browning Hi Power (and I don't even own one) and the S&W 5903 alloy frame (I DO own one). For single action revolvers I'll go sentimental with the original Ruger Bearcat. Got mine when I was 13.

I know they're a dime a dozen but in my mind a nice old M10's pretty darn "beautiful".

S&W model 19 is hard to beat....

LOVE IT BUTTON
😎

I like the model 19 as well. Except for the barrel length, pretty similar.

Any Smith that Gen. Stuart got aholdt of looked danged good. RIP old buddy.

Boy that’s the truth!

I forget what kind of wax he used but he had that aspect honed to perfection.

Two have always made me lustful:

Ruger speed six stainless 2 and 4"
Colt Trooper Mark V

Never owned either.

Beretta 92 inox
Colt 1861 navy
Deep blue 1911

The one I'm with.

Every level he passed on the way down, he thought "So good so far!"

I always thought the Mauser Hsc was a pretty neat looking pistol. I have only seen a couple in the wild and unfortunately one was during a domestic back in the 90s that I responded to, that went sideways and got bloody. Cool guns though.

How about a stunner of an original 5" Model 29.



This does not belong to me. It is Ken Hackathorn's.

Crappy phone pic, but we were on the range, shooting.

the 6.5" M29 is a classic beauty in my opinion:

Hard to beat a 5” Model 29 !!!

Colt Single Action Army for me has always been # 1
Colt 1911 # 2
S&W N Frame 29 # 3
Browning Hi-Power in High Polish Blue would be # 4

Skeeter always thought the 5" barrel was the best balanced of all the N frame bbl lengths.

Renaissance Wax.

Ole Skeeter badly corrupted my youth. 🤠

Screw the balance and the barrel length, look at those stocks. Holy cow!

I know it's stainless, but the '89 model of the 627, 5 inch has always gotten my attention. Too bad S&W didn't make that in a deep blue finish.
I am blessed to own a 6.5" 29.......always fun just to look at and admire.A 5 inch 27-2 has always had a high cool factor.

Thanks!

Hard to beat a Colt Diamondback.

S&W pre-war magnums are kinda nice...

A 5" M29-2 is, indeed, hard to beat.





My 5" 45 Colt regripped.

With a humpback hammer and Sheard gold bead no less. Beauty!
Someday I’ll get to put my hands on one.

Colt Python 6"

Either a 5" N frame in 45 Colt or a dressed up Single action in 45 Colt'