Exciting New Handguns - Those Days Are Over???

[Skans]

Am I the only one who is totally bored with the "new" handgun offerings over the past 10 years? What happened to the Golden Era of Handguns, of radically new semi-autos that WOW'ed us in the '80's and '90's? Here are some blasts from the past, the likes of which you would never see today:

Mateba semi-auto revolver
Steyr GB
Desert Eagle - yeah, still being made, but in its day, it was a freaking cool new gun!
CZ 75B - Awesome handgun - why no more designs as good as this?
Glock - another radically new design from the 80's (or marketed in the '80's)
Rhorbaugh
Boberg (technically from the 2000's, but cool enough to be from the '90's)
Goncz / Claridge Hi-Tec
Linda from Wilkinson Arms - ugly gun, but cool in its own right.
Detonics Pocket 9mm
Braverman Pen Gun
COP 357
Megastar 45
Bren Ten

 

[TunnelRat]

Absent the Glock and the CZ75, most of those other designs weren’t particularly successful, at least commercially. Those two pistols are semiautomatic pistols using Browning tilting barrels (albeit with different lockups between them) as part of short recoil systems. They are generally reliable and relatively easy to manufacture. That’s what we see being produced in large quantities these days. Unless you want something different for the sake of being different, why would manufacturers step away from that? Why would consumers step away from that?

I don’t see pistols changing anytime soon. We have over 100 years of semiautomatic pistol design. We’re sort of at a steady state now. The biggest change in recent years was related to magazine capacity, not operating system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BornFighting88]

I am a huge 1911 fanboy, and seeing Kimber come out with the Rapide Black Ice line had me drooling. But I do have to agree with the OP. Plastic, Browning Tilt-lock, striker fired... blah blah blah. Some look better than others.

I know I am barking up the wrong tree here, but if someone were to come up with a more cost-effective way to make the P08 Luger again, I think I would be on waiting list day 1.

 

[Siggy-06]

Well we had the pocket 380 boom, and then the Sig brace boom, and now the micro 9mm boom. Now I wouldn't call any of those super exciting, but certainly nice to have.

 

[gwpercle]

I thought the KelTech PMR30 was impressive ...30 rounds of 22 Winchester Magnum in a futuristic looking George Kelgren designed handgun that weighs only 14 ounces ( my airweight J frame 5 shot S&W weighs 12 ounces) ...was pretty dang innovative .
Lets see 14 ounces and 30 rounds of 22WMR or 12 ounces and 5 shots 38 special ...
Think about it ! Very cool design ! Not boring at all .

I was also excited about my last handgun purchase 2020 Ruger Wrangler
$199 and I'm still excited about owning it ...it's just a cool little six-shooter .
I put nice stag grips and a DeSantis leather holster and she looks like a million bucks .
Gary

 

[SIGSHR]

The Bren ten received Jeff Cooper's endorsement, and it was based on the then unobtainable CZ designs, but the company that introduced it had business/financial problems, then when the end of the Cold War made the CZ designs available....then there was the Auto Mag. Which seems to have risen again, like the Phoenix.
Judging by the number of 1911 based designs on the market, I'd say many people are staying with the tried and true.

 

[dogtown tom]

Skans Am I the only one who is totally bored with the "new" handgun offerings over the past 10 years? What happened to the Golden Era of Handguns, of radically new semi-autos that WOW'ed us in the '80's and '90's? Here are some blasts from the past, the likes of which you would never see today:

And thank goodness. Some of those are absolute junk.....but "interesting".

TunnelRat Absent the Glock and the CZ75, most of those other designs weren’t particularly successful, at least commercially....

This.

Since I've been an FFL I've seen these interesting if not somewhat useless guns come across my table:
Trailblazer Lifecard
Taurus Curve
FoldAR
Full Conceal M3 Folding Glock 19
Heiser Defense PS1

 

[chadio]

Hmmm... please allow me to share a slightly different view

- new Browning Highpower-
- new FN Highpower
- Laugo Alien
- Atlas Artemis
- new Ruger Mk. 4

Personally I find my self on sensory overload with these, holy cow they are cool in my opinion.

 

[AustinTX]

Am I the only one who is totally bored with the "new" handgun offerings over the past 10 years? What happened to the Golden Era of Handguns, of radically new semi-autos that WOW'ed us in the '80's and '90's? Here are some blasts from the past, the likes of which you would never see today:

There's actually some intriguing things going on in semi-auto design, in my opinion, but it's almost all upmarket.

How many semi-autos can you say are as radical of a departure from previous designs, mechanically speaking, as the Laugo Alien? There haven't been too many pistols with an action like that of the Geiger GRP. Plenty of interesting things have been happening in the world of boutique 2011-style pistols. Phoenix -- the revived Sphinx, not the SNS maker -- is doing some pretty innovative stuff, particularly with their newest pistol lines.

Not disputing that the 1970s through the 1990s produced a greater number of unique/unusual designs, particularly when it comes to pistols that weren't quite as upmarket as the ones I mentioned. I do disagree that such innovation isn't happening at all, though.

By the way, as far as more easily obtainable guns go, you could add the HK P7 variants, the Benelli B-series pistols, the Wolf / Gabriel & Vojta Ultramatics, and perhaps the Pardini PC-series (very similar to the later GT-series) pistols to your list of exciting late-20th-century designs.

- new FN Highpower

I remain impressed that they could take one of the most beautiful, elegant handgun designs of all time, keep 85-90% of it, and still manage to make it look like an abortion that came out of Taurus's design shop.

Should be a significantly better pistol than the original, in any case.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I also discovered a couple winners -

I was pretty pumped when the (first) Sig P365 was released - it measured within the exact same size envelope as my S&W J-frame, except thinner, but held 13 rounds of 9mm with one in the chamber. 13 rounds of 9mm v. 5 rounds of .38 Spl in the same size package wasn't a difficult decision.

I also like the new FN 502 in .22 LR. It's a sweet little pistol, and mine has a decent trigger as well. Seems real accurate, and fun to shoot.

So I've seen some pistols come out that I found pretty compelling. Not many, i agree - most are just another polymer striker-fired 9mm. But every now and again something catches your interest - even now.

 

[Drm50]

Bla-Bla-Bla, nothing with class for years from this side of the pond. It won’t be long before plastic pistols are bubble packed.

 

[Red Devil]

The last one I can remember buyin' was the Sig P938.




Red

 

[10-96]

I'm still pretty tickled with my US Sig P210, although I've begun to question whether or not they really released a P210 Carry. I have yet to see one in the wild.

I do wish S&W would eyeball their old Model 52 and see if they can't modernize it a bit and make it digest 9mm.

 

[AustinTX]

I'm still pretty tickled with my US Sig P210, although I've begun to question whether or not they really released a P210 Carry. I have yet to see one in the wild.

It's around. No shortage of them on GB.

I do wish S&W would eyeball their old Model 52 and see if they can't modernize it a bit and make it digest 9mm.

They already did that, back when the Performance Center, under Paul Liebenberg and Jimmy Ray, was a true semi-custom shop building some of the finest semi-autos ever produced in this country instead of the lame marketing gimmick it is today. The result was the Model 952 (and 952-1 and -2).

S&W does not have anything close to the skill in-house to build a gun on the level of the Model 52 or 952 these days.

 

[Shadow9mm]

One could argue the Laugo Alien or some of the kel-tek offerings, along with others could be considered new, or exciting.

I do find anymore, that most "new" guns are like car packages, more looks than function. But there are still a few here and there.

 

[BornFighting88]

KelTec P50 is on my want list. That is a really neat looking new pistol.

 

[dwhite]

I still would like a Remington R51. These were an intriguing design, just weren't completely reliable without some work.

 

[SIGSHR]

Judging by the enthusiastic reception of the Springfield SA-35, the EAA Girsan MCP35, and FN introducing a "new improved" High Power I'd say there's more interest in the tried and true old classics.

 

[JERRYS.]

"they've" been trying to reinvent the Glock, Kel-Tec, and J frame for a few decades now.... nothing truly "new" that has lasted.

 

[BornFighting88]

The reinvention of the Glock is a near-certain dead end. Not a knock on the Glock, but aside from making custom aftermarket parts for it, or a frame with a more human grip angle... I can't see all too many ways to change/improve on that platform. Same can be said for most legacy platforms, no? The 1911... They tried the abomination of two of them spliced together, they tried the "2011" double stack thing, neither of which I see in a whole lot of production anymore. Revolvers... if someone were to bring back the idea of the old Webley & Scott monsters. Maybe bring them into the 21st century??? Or the Webley Fosberry?? Now THAT was interesting. A reciprocating six gun that cocked the hammer for subsequent shots FOR YOU. Drool-worthy.

If they were to clean it up and not have all the action's bits and pieces look like they were amalgamated to the side of the frame, chamber it in something like .327 Federal, and do the "bulldog" snub nose arrangement... or a 4-6" barrel thing. I think I would be on the waiting list for that, too. Gosh this forum is getting expensive for my imagination!!