The S&W 39 was considered a flat and easy to carry Semi auto pistol. But the early 1980’s were a time when you either had a magnum revolver (the cool thing was a 6” 357) or a 1911 in 45acp. The L-Frame S&W 586/686’s were the new hotness.
The prevailing thought was that a 9mm would get you killed on the streets. Although older dudes carrying a well worn Hi Power were usually left alone.
Progressive thinking shooters looked at the new Beretta 92fs or the Sig 226’s.
Last edited by Beat Trash; 04-23-2020 at 02:18 PM.
The semi-autos from the 1980s that I remember got a lot of attention. .45 ACP was the American cartridge, and the "Nazi 9 millimeter" was not popular.
1) Colt Combat Commander in .45 ACP
2) BHP (only really common 9x19 pistol at the time as the rest were Walther P38 and Lugers)
3) SIG P220 "American" (first with a magazine release behind trigger guard versus heel release on the Browning BDA guns). These were expensive pistols in the 1980s. Made in 9x19, .38 Super, and .45 ACP. Never saw one not in .45 ACP until after the 1994 law than banned "hi-cap" magazines. A buddy of mine bought a P220 just after passage of the law.
4) S&W 2nd Generation pistols, especially the 645 and 745
5) Beretta 92/XM9/M9
6) SIG P226 (from the XM9 program)
7) Auto Mag (after "Sudden Impact" in 1983)
8) Ruger Mark II in stainless. The addition of stainless to the regular product line as well as the last-round hold open was a big deal.
Last edited by farscott; 04-23-2020 at 02:54 PM.
How far pre-Glock?
As others note, revolvers, 2nd/3rd gen Smiths, 1911s, Berettas, some Ruger P-series as the newcomer. I remember the GP-100 making waves in 1985. Going back even further, and we get P-38s, PPs and PPKs. When I was a kid, every other college prof owned a PPK as a "carry gun" (I grew up in WA, mind, they were shall-issue in the early 60s, so the PPK/professor trend was actually a thing).
ETA: Safari Arms, bitchez. Enforcer, or go hone...
I think we were talking just pre-Glock (or pre Glock "takeover"), like the thread title says, mid-80's.Originally Posted by Sidheshooter
"The victor is not victorious if the vanquished does not consider himself so."
― Ennius
I had one of those (in addition to a Series 70 Colt Government Model back in the day and shot both of them in "Combat" matches (steel targets) about the time IPSC was in it's birth (and pre-USPSA and IDPA days).Excuse me while I whip this out!
The Hardballer I had actually RAN as long as I kept it heavily lubed. I had so much oil on that gun that following a match, me and my clothes looked like we had been used as a canvas for a Jackson Pollack painting!
Cool.
In my experience, in the mid 80's
Custom 1911s were in every single fucking gun mag cover... with the gun writer telling us why it was so much better than anything else he had ever tried.
BHPs had a cult following as well, specially outside the US. But it was nothing compared to the mightly 1911
CZ 75s were very well regarded outside the US. But they were not even as popular as the BHPs
S&W DA pistols were very well made and worked OK, but for some reason (price?) were never ultra popular
SIG 22X series was very well liked, but pricey and a not yet with a cult following
HK P7 was expensive and a obscure item
Glocks were very new, everybody talked about them but very few had them
Beretta 92s were the new hotness, thanks to the US Army competition
Vher is da lazer sighting?Excuse me while I whip this out!
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Coonan 357
>> shot by Hickok45
>> and by Jerry Miculek
Desert Eagle
Last edited by P30; 04-23-2020 at 04:05 PM.
As I recall, the 10mm was a hot cartridge, and the 41 action express blipped on the radar for a second before the .40 S&W came to fruition at the end of the decade/first part of the 90s, and then everyone had to have the new wonder cartridge.
When the FBI adopted the 10mm, then dropped it a short time later (except for some teams) it was big news at the time in L.E. circles. It seemed like 75% of the nations agencies sort of followed the lead in one manner or another.
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