Most Iconic handguns?

[jmstr]

"Iconic" meaning readily recognizable or readily identified, leaves the broomhandle mauser, the Beretta, and the Browning out in the dark. The general public usually identifies any full size auto pistol as a "Colt .45" or "Colt Automatic." And, again, few no-gunnies know a Broomhandle Mauser from a Schmeiser. And movie goers wouldn't know a PPK from any other pocket pistol.

Show the gun in silhouette and see what answers you get, from you local church members or co-workers.

That is part of what I found so interesting- differences in what the public recognizes and why, comparing here to China.

While I would tend to agree with you about the USA public not recognizing a broomhandle Mauser [C96, right?] in any way/shape/form, in China it was one of the three most common toy guns on the shelf.

Of course, China had a bunch of them before/during WWII while the USA didn't receive many.

Kind of like the BHP is more recognizable in much of the world than here, because here the 1911 'ruled' the military handgun role until the mid 1980s [we won't debate if that change was good or not, but it isn't the 'go to' issue of the entire US Military any longer].

Since China recieved more of them than the US, it makes sense that they would have a larger role in the collective consciousness of the public there- and this would be revealed in the toys they choose to make.


But I like the lists so far of what should be Iconic, based on gun owner's understandings.

 

[tipoc]

Icon:

emblem, symbol
the house became an icon of 1960's residential architecture

It's an emblem or symbol of something

Iconic

a : widely recognized and well-established an iconic brand name
b : widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence, an iconic writer, a region's iconic wines

We see a pic of some guns we think "a gun". See of picture of another gun we think "cowboy gun", we think open spaces and the West, we think John Wayne, etc.. the latter is "iconic". To be truly iconic millions outside of shooters should see the image and see something more than just a gun. So the Ruger Mark 1 doesn't make the cut because most folks who are not shooters look at it and think Luger.


1. The black powder flint lock pistol. Ya see it you think of pirates, frontiersmen, dueling, etc.

2. Colt SAA

3. The Derringer Iconic before any of our grandfathers were born.

4. S&W M&P/Colt Official Police--The double action revolver, the gun cops and security guards carried and bad guys carried for most of the 20th century. If you are of a certain age you still expect to see them in cop's holsters.

5. The Luger (P-08, Luger Parabellum, and a few other names it's called by officially and not)

6. The 1911 and it's child the Commander

7. Walther PPK (It was iconic before 007)

8. The snubby revolver. Could be the Colt Detective Special, the Cobra, the J frame Chiefs Special or the Centennial or a cut down model 10. It's a snubby. It looks like a fist held in a fist. It's the walking embodiment of a hard punch in the gut by a hard punch in the gut. You look at it and ya think of Jimmy Cagney spitting in your face.

9. The Beretta 92. Globally the king of the wonder 9s. People who don't know it's name know it was used by cops, gangsters and armies and that it shot a lot. For about 20 years it was the gun for movies.

10. The Glock. Don't matter G19 or 22, etc. "The Plastic Gun". In Die Hard 2 John McClane says "That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me!...It's a porcelain gun made in Germany. It doesn't show up on X-Ray machines, and it costs more than you make here in a month!" the Glock name means something and it's the plastic gun.

Also rans: The Mauser, the BHP, the Walther P38, any N frame S&W with a long barrel, the Colt Python, The Webley revolver.

tipoc

 

[rodfac]

Colt SSA
S&W Hand Ejector and it's proteges: M27, M19, M29
Browning Hi-Power
Colt 1911A1
Luger P08

 

[44 AMP]

44AMP said:

Quote:
I have 3 Lugers, that Stoeger never imported.

And they are so marked?

Stoeger has claimed for many years that any such pistol sold and marked as a "Luger" is a trademark infringement.

Bob Wright

Yes, they are marked "Luger", and no, they are NOT a trademark infringement.

I will admit that this is a kind of "gotcha" thing, and I was wondering if anyone would "bite". The Lugers I'm referring to are Stoeger Lugers, and were made in the USA (so never imported). Two of them are the Stoeger .22 Lugers, and the third is a 9mm Luger, a perfect copy of the P.08, (though dimensions are just enough different that German Luger parts will not interchange) made in Texas, in stainless steel.

The guns have Stoeger's name on them, and are clearly marked "Luger".

 

[SIGSHR]

My list:
1. Colt 1860 Army-first truly successful and widely issued revolver
2. Colt SAA
3. The Luger-symbolizes Germany.
4. S&W M&P and Colt Official Police. HOW many LEOs carried them, how many adventure movies, detective movies, serials were they in ?

 

[Ricklin]

Ruger Mk. 1

If we are talking about the general public...? It's likely the Mk. 1 would be identified as a Luger, due to it's silhouette.

Number one in my opinion, the Colt SAA. The gun that won the West, at least if you believe "pop culture"

Broomhandle Mauser def. belongs here too.

 

[dgludwig]

I will admit that this is a kind of "gotcha" thing, and I was wondering if anyone would "bite".

Well aren't you the tricky one! You got people biting past the hook, line and sinker, ending up with the bobber in their mouths. I almost became one of the fish until I squinted my eyes, looked hard and saw past the ruse. This time, anyways. I've been played plenty of other times over the years and have taken the bait every once in a while...

 

[44 AMP]

Yes, I can be tricksy, sometimes. I do like knowing, and sometimes having guns that are exceptions to "the rule". I like showing how, sometimes, broad blanket statements, aren't 100% true.

one of my current "buttons" is the number of people who make sweeping blanket statements about striker fired pistols, as if every striker fired pistol ever made was a Glock or a close copy.

I'm fine with discussing Glocks and things like them, just say what you are talking about, don't say something that includes everything when you don't mean to include everything.

Several of my striker fired pistols are Lugers, actual German P.08 or Stoeger Lugers. Quite different from the polymer framed Glocks & similar, but still "striker fired". I've also got a 9mm pistol that is more accurate than any semi auto 9mm I've ever met. It's the ultimate low capacity 9mm. Capacity: 1 round. T/C Contender! ITs another one of the exceptions I like to point out when people make blanket statements about 9mm pistols.

I'm an odd fellow, and I have a number of odd things.

 

[dgludwig]

I like showing how, sometimes, broad blanket statements, aren't 100% true.

I've found, with few exceptions, that's almost always true. Certain absolutes, of course, warrant a "blanket statement": God is good; murder is bad, for example. Most discussions concerning guns (or cameras, toasters and lawnmowers, for that matter) don't come close to being an absolute of anything.

 

[darkgael]

Number one in my opinion, the Colt SAA. The gun that won the West, at least if you believe "pop culture"

That is very true....the understanding of pop culture.
Check out if you get a chance George Layman's "The British Bulldog: The Forgotten Gun that Really Won the West."
Mowbray Publications, ISBN 1-931464-26-X

 

[Rangerrich99]

Iconic to me means something that's so well-known that even the average lay person would recognize it. With that in mind, I decided to ask this question to my girlfriend, who isn't average by any means, but only consumes gun culture through movies and TV shows. in other words, she doesn't know much about guns. So, with much anticipation, I showed her some pictures of the handguns the rest of you listed, as well as a few from my own collection.

Here's what I got:

'Army gun"= 1911

"Cowboy gun"= Colt SAA/Peacemaker

"Dirty Harry Gun"= S&W M29; she thinks my Ruger GP-100 is also a DH gun

"Luger"= Luger. She actually used the name 'Luger,' surprisingly enough, though she also thinks my buddy's Ruger Mark II is a Luger.

"Police gun"= my dad's S&W J-frame, M60

""Glock"= Glock. Again, she thinks all black, plastic guns including my LCP are Glocks. But at least she knew the correct name for this as well.

"James Bonds Gun"= Walther PPK.

"Beretta gun"= Beretta 92F. Only gun she got excited about. She's a big Die Hard fan apparently. Or maybe she has a thing for Bruce Willis . . . whatever the case, she knows this gun.

And those were the only handguns she recognized. Again, she's definitely not a gun person, so my guess is that most non-gun people would recognize those guns as well, which would make them iconic, according to my way of thinking.

 

[dgludwig]

Don't forget the Red Ryder. Most "average lay people" would recognize it as America's most iconic "cowboy gun".

 

[darkgael]

Don't forget the Red Ryder. Most "average lay people" would recognize it as America's most iconic "cowboy gun

Yep. Shoot yer eye out with that gun, iffin yer not careful.

 

[Powermwt]

My list is no different than a lot of previous posters.

One item I find interesting is production numbers and the world view don't alway mean a handgun is Iconic.

For example, it is said production of the Makarov "PM" was 10,000,000. I had to do a search on it to remember what it looked like.
The Chinese call it a Type 59. Speaking of the Chinese, who knows anything about the Type 64 pistol or the QSZ-92? Can you imagine the production numbers?

Interesting production numbers... here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-produced_firearms

Note the SAA was less than 500,000 total to date.

Glock is listed a 10,000,000, S&W 10 at 6,000,000... and the list goes down from there.

I have a French AN XIII flintlock cavalry pistol. Over 300 000 pistols were made, mostly between 1806 and 1814. Im sure that was pretty well known back in that era... maybe even Iconic.

Where you are from and your interest in firearms shows a skewed view.

 

[tipoc]

Glock is listed a 10,000,000, S&W 10 at 6,000,000... and the list goes down from there.

Where is Glock listed at 10,000,000?

Last time I looked at their website they did not say that. In fact I looked at the Wiki page you cited and it claims Glock has sold 10,000,000 million guns. But the source they cite for that is a rumor to that effect posted on this forum earlier this year. At that time I asked..."Where's the beef?". So still no official announcement from Glock that they have produced that many guns, or even 9 million.

But I agree with the general point you made, production numbers don't make a gun iconic.

tipoc

 

[rwilson452]

I wish I had my Colt Woodsman back. I sold mine when I enlisted. I still think about it. I have no Idea what one would cost today.

 

[ifithitu]

Ruger GP 100
Ruger Redhawk
S&W Revolvers
1911
To name a few of the handguns.

 

[muzzleblast...]

My 2 cents, strictly based on my personal interests.

1. Broomhandle Mauser.
2. Luger.
3. 1911.
4. Browning Hi-Power.
5. Smith and Wesson "Registered Magnum" (i.e. Model 27).
6. Smith and Wesson "Combat Magnum" (i.e. Model 19).
7. Colt Python.
8. Smith and Wesson M-39, 9mm.
9. Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum (i.e. Model 29)
10. Glock 19 :-(

 

[mehavey]

`51 Navy
`73 Colt SAA
1911
Model-19
Model-29