What is the most effective semi-automatic handgun?

Question

I don't know a whole lot about guns, so bear with me here. I'm looking for a gun that is easy to use, low failure rate as far as glitches go, something that has the ability to use armor-piercing ammunition, ability to hold a lot of cartridges, long firing range, fast reload time, quieter. Money is not a concern, so if it's expensive then that's fine. Would a military issued handgun be my best bet, or is there something better out there? No revolvers, and no old guns. Some pros and cons would be helpful if you have a gun in mind. I'll throw out a few guns that I'm looking at:

Jericho 941

WIST-94

M1911A1

Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

i like the jericho 941 it nice and packs a punch but personally i like colt and d-eagles but u should go with the jericho  

Answer 2

Glock 17, you can buy factory 33 rd. mags, VERY simple/reliable design.  All semi-auto pistols can jam, but as long as you buy a quality, name brand gun, keep it clean/well lubed, and purchase good ammo, then your'e chances of a misfire/jam are pretty low.  I personally don't like our militaries side arm, the Beretta M9/ same thing as a M92, I think its really bulky, but I'm sure its a good gun.  Something else to think about is the Para Ordnance P14.45, its a 1911 with a double stack mag, holding 14+1, I think Kimber and Springfield Armory also make Hi-cap 1911's.

Answer 3

That's too big a laundry list of attributes to be filled by any one civilian-legal handgun.  The only firearms that come to mind to me are the TT-33 and CZ-52 as far as *legal* armor-piercing ability is concerned.  The CZ-52 being the more accurate choice.  Both pistols fall under the category of "old gun", and neither is quiet by any means, nor high-capacity.  Just about every major maunfacturer has at least several handguns that satisfy all the other requirements save armor-penetration.

I noticed that you didn't even consider stopping power, perhaps the single most important attribute of ANY handgun.  You seem to have made up a nice little list of Hollywood specs, but failed to consider this as even a secondary priority.    

Answer 4

Any gun can fire an armor piercing round, you just need a steel bullet, incendiary, or explosive round. The M1911A1 is in my opinion one of the best semi auto pistols available, and I do have a specific brand of firearm that would work great if the novel is fictional. The L.A.R Grizzly Mark 1 .45 Winchester Magnum 10" barrel Long Slide, or to call it what I have dubbed it, the 'Sledgehammer' The 45 is known for causing damage to indoor range bullet back stops, I have heard a story where a guy took a white tail at 140 yards with one bullet (just dropped when it hit) from his stand with the 5.5" or 6.5" barreled version, and it can readily be suppressed like any other auto loading pistol. This thing is extremely reliable. People have put 500 rounds through the thing with no functioning problems, and the gun is still raring to go for more. The things are scarce and they fetch an extremely (with a capital E) high premium for cost, (I can only guess that $3,000 is probably cheap).

Hope this helps. Sorry about any bad grammar or misspellings, and how long winded this is.

Answer 5

bear in mind that military cartridges ae designed to wound...not kill.  the 1911A1 is an exception.  Also a good piece but requires a little more attention for usage.  A Taurus .357 revolver is a good choice.  double action, point and pull, easy to clean and 158grain JHP will take out pretty much anything.

     Other than that the most effective one is the one you can use effectively.  Go to a shooting range that rents pistols and try a bunch. A friend bought a Glock 23, 10MM.  Too big, too unwieldy and just not a good choice for him.

Answer 6

A Sig-Sauer P 226 this pistol has high capacity magazines, is easy to operate and disassemble. Also, this weapon is renown for it's ability to hit human size targets at 100 yards. AP ammunition is illegal for civilian use in the U.S.A.

Answer 7

First strike the 1911 off your list. It's not high capacity.

Where do you plan on getting Armor Piercing handgun ammo? The French Arcane bullets are banned in this country.

Consider the FN 5.7

Answer 8

Why do you want armor-piercing bullets that is a felony in this country. Are you like some kinda of terrorists or hit-man maybe your kinda creepy  

Answer 9

Your Gun is waiting for you here, just what you are looking for...>> Wildey Guns.com....>>> .475 Caliber <<<

Answer 10

The 1911 is not high capacity and the .45 acp performs poorly against barriers.  Armor piercing ammo is banned in the USA so really, what are you asking about?

An extremely utilitarian handgun is the Ruger P series of pistols.

So are the Glocks.  A very Universal model that most everyone finds to be extremely user friendly is the Glock Model 19 9mm.  It is extremely reliable, accurate, user-friendly, hi cap and rated for +P+ ammo.  The FN-Herstal 5.7mm is another possibility, but it is a sub-caliber (between .22 & .23 caliber).  The FN-s frame is too large for some shooters even though the 5.7 caliber produces hardly any recoil impulse.

Some of your other requirements are just plain non-sensical: Ability to fire armor-piercing ammo (any gun can be loaded with A/P ammo, it's just illegal, that's all!); long firing range (handguns are a short-range weapon, fifty yards max!); fast reload time (how long does it take you to slap a fresh magazine into a handgun?); quieter (handguns make noise, period!); military be your best bet (for what?).  It would help if you stated your purpose?  Concealed carry?  Personal defense?  Home defense?  

Consider the any modern semi-automatic pistol chambered for .357 Sig, but this round is LOUD.  Same for the 5.7mm, it is nearly as loud.  Anything +P and +P+ is going to be LOUD.  The subsonic loads (like some .45 acps and subsonic 9mm ammo) is somewhat quieter but it still makes noise.  Modify your question for better answers.

H

Answer 11

Get a FN 5.7 that will do what you want.

Answer 12

Kimber Raptor,or SIS then id go with springfield xd .45 acp 5inch tactical 13+1 how much more do you need? The first 3 shot usually decide the situation.

Answer 13

Every one is going to have their favorites. Mine is the 1911, although it would seem ''mongo_sa..'' has never heard of STI or Kimber's 1911 45's. Both make a high capacity pistol. As far as the ammo, you can't get it.  

Answer 14

If you want all of that in a pistol you'd better get an AK-47 pistol with a sound suppressor because, you ain't gonna find all of what you've got on your little list there in a conventional handgun. Sorry dude.