No. 6: Colt’s Single Action Army Revolver, 31 Points

Few revolvers, if any, are as revered or recognizable as the Colt Single Action Army, also known as the “Colt Peacemaker” or Model of 1873, given its acceptance into the U.S. military in that same year. Although Samuel Colt died in 1862, his idea of a revolving-cylinder firearm culminated in what is known today as “The Gun that Won the West”—along with the Winchester 1873, of course. It became legendary in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the early 20th century and has been immortalized in countless Western movies and television shows.

Colt’s Mfg. Co. built and delivered more than 37,000 SAAs for the U.S. military from 1873-91, the period during which it was standard-issue. The then-new self-contained cartridge revolver, in its original Cavalry guise, came in .45 Colt, had a 7½" barrel, solid-frame construction and a blued, color-casehardened finish and walnut grips. By the end of the First Generation production (1873-1941), it had been available in at least 30 different chamberings, production exceeded more than 350,000, and they were available engraved or in custom configurations. Add in the Second Generation, the Third Generation, then the replicas and clones, and we’re talking millions of Single Action Armys.

Servicemen of the day considered it rugged, sturdy and dependable, and the SAA withstood months and years of abuse on the Western Frontier and around the world. Cowboys, soldiers, hunters, frontiersmen, outlaws, sheriffs and shopkeepers were attracted to its power and well-designed simplicity. It bore witness to some of the most historically significant events of the past 140 years. George A. Custer’s 7th Cavalry carried them at Little Bighorn; Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders carried them at the Battle of San Juan Hill; T.E. Lawrence carried one in Arabia; and Gen. George S. Patton carried his famous ivory-gripped Single Actions from 1916 until his death in 1945. Colt continued manufacturing versions of the gun periodically, and today still offers a number of models for sale, as do other manufacturers. It truly is an American legend. —Angus K. McClellan, Assistant Editor

No. 7: Walther PP, PPK, PPK/S Pistols, 31 Points

The PP, or Polizei Pistole or “police pistol” is not a single model, but really a series of blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols developed by Walther that includes the PP, PPK, PPK/S and PPK/E. Their common features include an exposed hammer, a double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine and a fixed barrel that doubles as the guide rod for the recoil spring.

The PP was released in 1929 and the PPK in 1931. The PP and the PPK were among the world’s first successful double-action semi-automatic pistols. Instead of having to manually cock the hammer on a PP, a single long pull of the trigger cocked the hammer then released it to fire. The slide’s movement cocked the hammer for single-action operation for subsequent shots. There was also a safety on the slide that safely dropped the hammer when depressed—a device better known today as a decocker.

From 1929 to 1945, they were made exclusively by Walther in Zehla Mehlis, Thuringia, Germany. After the war Walther set up shop in Ulm, Germany. By combining efforts with Manurhin just across the border in Strasbourg, France, Walther was able to resume production of the PP-series pistols. For years they were imported by Interarms of Alexandria, Va., but like other Walther pistols, they are currently distributed by Smith & Wesson. All production has been under license from Walther, including U.S. manufacture of the PPK/S.

The PP was made in both 7.65 mm (.32 ACP) and 9 mm Kurz (.380 ACP), and the smaller PPK was available only in 7.65 mm. Before and during World War II they were sold commercially in Germany and produced for the German police and military, including the Luftwaffe and Nazi Party officials.

The PP is beautiful in appearance, innovative in design and smooth in operation. It has inspired numerous copies, including the Soviet Makarov, the Hungarian FEG PA-63 and the Czech CZ50, but none of them hold a candle to the original. —Glenn M. Gilbert, Shooting Editor

No. 8: C96 Mauser “Broomhandle” Pistol, 27 Points

Designed for Mauser by a trio of Swiss brothers, the Federles, the C96 was state-of-the-art at the time it appeared at the turn of the century. Mauser produced and sold more than a million C96 pistols between 1896 and 1937. In addition, vast numbers of unlicensed copies continued to be made in Spain and China until the 1950s. It has a number of unique features that set it apart from later semi-automatic pistols, including a fixed, 10-round box magazine forward of the trigger guard fed by stripper clips, a bolt that traveled within its upper receiver and a thin, awkward grip that gave it its “Broomhandle” nickname. These features made the C96 unduly large and unbalanced.

Despite these limitations, the Broomhandle was popular and remained in service for decades. There were a number of reasons for its success. To start with, it was the first semi-
automatic pistol reliable and powerful enough for military service. Second, because it was compatible with the production methods and technology of the time, Mauser could deliver them, so it was always available. Last, it was supplied with a detachable buttstock that doubled as a holster. The necessity for a proper grip and precise sight alignment make handgun marksmanship a skill with a steep learning curve. The Broomhandle’s long sight radius and detachable shoulder stock meant that inexperienced troops were free to shoot it from the shoulder. Although technically a handgun, the Broomhandle was arguably a compact semi-automatic carbine in disguise. This quality is lost on many today because purpose-built military carbines and submachine guns have been available for decades. In sum, the Mauser C96 (Construktion 96) was not the first, nor was it the best, but it was the first commercially and militarily successful semi-automatic pistol. —Glenn M. Gilbert, Shooting Editor

No. 9: Browning Hi Power Pistol, 25 Points
John M. Browning began development of the Hi Power, his final pistol design, at the request of Fabrique Nationale, which was motivated by the prospect of fulfilling a French military request for a service sidearm. Variously known as the GP, for Grande Puissance, which is French for high power, or Grand Rendement, for “high yield,” the pistol is more commonly referred to simply as the Hi Power or P-35—the latter referring to the year that it was adopted by the Belgian military after the French passed on it in favor of a similar, inferior design.

For its day, the Hi Power was indeed capacious, holding 13 rounds of 9 mm Luger in its staggered, double-column magazine. Yet the Hi Power still managed to present a grip frame that allowed a comfortable grasp by all but the smallest hands. It also possessed a natural pointability exhibited by few handguns before or since that time.

Although Browning’s first prototype was of blowback design, the second was a simplification of his already well-regarded locked-breech M1911 concept. But the Hi Power eliminated the M1911’s swinging link in favor of a frame-mounted cam bar and corresponding cut in the barrel’s underside. It was typical Browning design: pioneering, simple and foolproof. Operationally, though, the Hi Power was still the familiar locked-breech, single-action semi-automatic that could be carried with the hammer cocked and locked by the manual, frame-mounted safety. John Browning died in his FN office in 1926 before the gun was finalized, and it was FN’s Dieudonné Saive (best known for the Fusil Automatique Leger) who finished the design and shepherded it into production.

Changes to the gun’s original design have been relatively few. The internal extractor gave way to an external type fairly early on, and the safety eventually became more generous in dimension and ambidextrous. Also, investment cast frames, said to be stronger for the later .40 S&W versions of the pistol, replaced the forged and machined frames used in earlier guns. Variations, some rare, have included tangent-sighted models that accept detachable shoulder stocks, experimental aluminum-frame and large-caliber models and licensed copies with shortened slide/barrel assemblies.