Ask someone what kind of handgun they think is the best to have and most often they will respond with a bad Dirty Harry impression and say –“a 357 Magnum, the most powerful gun in the world and can blow you head clean off.”

Well you may feel lucky punk but as great as the 357 is, it’s not the best handgun to have around. Not that there’s anything wrong with a revolver that has enough bullet shredding energy to cause hydrostatic shock or in layman’s terms, remote wounding effects but for many practical reasons this isn’t going to be the one you keep by your bedside.

To begin with the 357 Magnum is a big and heavy gun. The cartridges used are great for stopping big game making it a favorite to game hunters but for home and personal defense you may want to consider these alternatives which are lighter to handle, have far less recoil and can still stop a bad guy in their tracks without having to blow their heads off. Unless of course you want to.

Kimber 1911 Custom Covert II

Perfection! Oh wow where do you even start. Just looking at it. Looooooook at it! Ya, you know you want one. 

From my personal experience, Kimber is by far the best 1911 pistol manufacturer hands down. Everyone has their opinion and I am sure others will disagree and again this is simply because I have fired and owned several models from all sorts of gun manufacturers. Down to accuracy, performance, reliability and price, its worth every penny. 

FN 57

Belgian made semi automatic pistol manufactured by FN Herstal. This hunk of hand held self defense weaponry has a delayed blowback single action pistol firing a 5.7×2.8mm cartridge. It can hold a 20 round magazine with an effective range of 50 ms. You can get one with a fixed or adjustable sight.

Beretta 92

The preferred handgun of the original James Bond, the Beretta 92 an Italian gun that fires a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. In production since 1975 and is used by the Italian, French and US military.

Walther P99

The Walther is another James Bond favorite and the P99 is a semi automatic pistol of German made in Germany. Manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffenm it is used by the German police, Polish police and the Finnish army. Firing a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge it has short recoil operated and a locked breech action with a muzzle velocity of 1339ft per second.

QSZ -92

Made in China by Norinco at the Changfeng Machine Shop, the QSZ -92 is recoil operated locked breech pistol using a rotating barrel locking system. Firing a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, its range of effectiveness hits the mark at 50m with a muzzle velocity of 1148 ft per second.

FN-FNP45

Made in a partnership between Belgium and a US Manufacturer, the FN Herstal is manufactured in United States of America (damn it!) by FNH USA and is a gun owner’s wet dream. In production since February 2006, this piece of hardware fires a 9 x 19mm Parabellum cartridge or a .45 ACP for big bore stopping power while maintaining excellent accuracy and it can come with a 14-16 round magazine.  The polymer frame and low bore axis allows for reduce recoil and better control which translates into a dead on shot.

Mark 23

The Heckler and Koch Mk23 come from joint venture between Germany and America (damn it!) and consist of match grade semi automatic pistol, a laser aiming module and a god-damn suppressor! Making it a perfect choice for dispatching a burglar without resorting to waking the wife and kids. “The Mark 23 has been tested in harsh conditions and capable of firing tens of thousands of rounds without the need to change the barrel. This little terror has been standard issue to the US Special Forces because of its short recoil DA\SA action and an effective range of 50 Ms and because with the .45 ACP round, it has considerable stopping power but with its subsonic attributes makes it a great fit for a silencer. Mmmm silencer. Built since 1997, it comes with a 12 round detachable box magazine or as we like say - a dozen little points of death in your hand.

Glock-17

Even the most pacifist vegan knows the Glock. Anytime you hear a guy in the movies these days talk about getting a gun, chances are they say “Glock”. These are cool guns to be sure but there is something about saying the word – Glock, that just shouts GUN. This series of semi automatic pistols was designed and produced by Glock GmbH of Deutsh-Wagram, Austria (Arnold’s home country). In service since 1982, it has an extensive plastic structural content making it light to hold but hardly lightweight in action. With a short recoil locked breech; the tilting barrel action fires amongst others a 9x 19mm Parabellum cartridge. Used by the Austrian military and US Law Enforcement agencies, this has been the “go to” handgun of choice for the police and military.

HS2000

The HS 2000, also known as the Armory XD, is Croatian made by HS Produkt. A polymer framed semi automatic pistol it fires a 9x19mm Parbellium as well as the .357 Sig, .40 S&W, .45 GAP and .45 ACP. Boasting a short recoil and striker fire, this little baby has a gripper safety that won’t allow it to be fired unless you depress a lever on the rear of the grip making it a little more safety conscious. The standard issue of the Croatian army, Czech Republic, the Bobbies of Brittan, the Iraqi police force and is popular amongst several US law enforcement agencies.

Heckler and Koch USP

The Heckler & Koch USP is of German origin and incorporates many traditional handgun designs like those of the Browning M1911. Known as a Universal Self Loading pistol this semi automatic has a mechanically locked breech and uses the short recoil mode of operation. Firing 9X19mm Parabellum cartridge it can come with different variants of design from double action/single action. Decocking and safety lever to the LEW (Law Enforcement Modification) Trigger made specifically for the US government.  The Double Action only model has a particular trigger mechanism with improves its performance and makes it a little lighter to pull.

SIGP250

Another fan favorite is the Sig Sauer aka  SIG P250 pistol. A half breed of American and German origin this is a semi automatic pistol with an action based on recoil operation and comes with a 17 round magazine. Designed to anticipate the needs of the future law enforcement and average Joe shooters, this bad boy will shoot with 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W or .45 ACP rounds.  You can get it in 6 different ergonomic grip combinations making it as close to custom as you can get. Know as the only modular shooting system, the Sig Sauer has earned its reputation as the weapon of choice if you need to go into hell and want to come back alive.