What is the best if you could only have one? And why?

I'd have to go with a revolver (even though I have lots more semi-auto's).....S&W model 66 4" barrel in 357MAG. It is accurate. It has plenty of power. It always go bang!

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Colt Python or Ruger Redhawk

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Depends on what you want it for.
I personally like single action revolvers.
If I was going with a double action, it would be S&W.
Rugers are fine guns, but you need a trailer to haul around the overweight redhawk.
I use a 22 pistol more than all others I own.

That extra weight comes in handy when you are shooting .454 Casull

[/quote]That extra weight comes in handy when you are shooting .454 Casull[/quote] Sir, you sure got that right. That caliber has some thump recoil on the hands, especially with the heavier grain bullets. My self, if I could only have one, then I would take anything in the S&W, Colt, & Ruger revolver lines in .357 Magnum caliber. The revolvers are a lot more dependable than the autos. I know that statement may ruffle a few feathers of auto owners but, the revolver isn't as likely to jam as an auto is. Don't get me wrong, I own several auto pistols that have never offered to jam and I carry a S&W auto everyday for my CCW but, in reality the revolver by design is a more dependable handgun. I also carry a 357 Magnum snub revolver as my back up CCW. I prefer the stainless steel versions as well. The blued weapons show too much wear very fast and rust much easier than the stainless steel.

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That extra weight comes in handy when you are shooting .454 Casull[/quote] Sir, you sure got that right. That caliber has some thump recoil on the hands, especially with the heavier grain bullets. My self, if I could only have one, then I would take anything in the S&W, Colt, & Ruger revolver lines in .357 Magnum caliber. The revolvers are a lot more dependable than the autos. I know that statement may ruffle a few feathers of auto owners but, the revolver isn't as likely to jam as an auto is. Don't get me wrong, I own several auto pistols that have never offered to jam and I carry a S&W auto everyday for my CCW but, in reality the revolver by design is a more dependable handgun. I also carry a 357 Magnum snub revolver as my back up CCW. I prefer the stainless steel versions as well. The blued weapons show too much wear very fast and rust much easier than the stainless steel.[/quote]

I keep mine as a backup for deer hunting and self defense against bear. I like the 454 because I can practice all day with the .45 colts and not lose the feeling in my hands. I another note, I prefer those colt double actions over the smiths. They just seem to be better made and more durable although once they need repair, they seem to end up with cascading problems to fix. I have to say, pythons rule, though.

I know what your saying bubbasbbq. I did about the same thing with the S&W model 629 in 44.Magnum. I shot the 44 Specials in it for plinking but, used the Magnums for hunting. I had a S&W model 29 with a 4 inch barrel too, that helped a lot with it as well. I agree Colts set a high bar for the other companies to jump over. A Colt Python in .357 Magnum was one of the most accurate factory revolvers I've ever shot. I see your a gunsmith so, I figure you know about putting all the bells and whistles on a factory revolver to up the performance to a custom job. Have you had any experience with the new round that Ruger has tooled up for, the .327 Federal Magnum? I haven't had time to put hands on one yet and was just wondering if it was a performance round or just hyped up to boost sales.

Yea, not to mention the higher cost of the heavier ammo. I will shoot some .454 just to keep myself used to the recoil, but otherwise the .45 colt keeps me in practice just fine,

I haven't seen the new round From Federal yet. My guess is that it is just hype. I'm pretty traditional and some of these new designs they are pushing don't really solve problems or fill a real need. What does it really do that a 300 or a 338 Win mag doesn't? And whatever you do, don't get me started on those neck down tuna cans known as WSSM's. about what they do best is burn barrels.

It is a real shame Colt stopped making the "snake" series of revolvers. They are harder to repair, but break much less often than a smith. On the other hand, a smith is easier to tune or repair than a Colt. Then again those Colts don't need much tuning.

Glock .40 caliber. Not too heavy, not too hard recoil, but a good solid shooter. That and Glocks are bad a$$

Ruger single six mine has saved my butt more than a few times tracking wounded bear and bayed up ones .Larry

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I can't knock a Glock, even though I'm not big on the material they use for the frames. They are one of the most dependable auto pistols made. I guess I'm just old fashioned. Do you mind if I ask why you chose the .40 caliber & not the 10MM? I understand that ammo is cheaper for the .40 caliber and more accessible but, for the performance side that 10MM is a hoss cat compared to the .40 caliber. Once I was shooting some bowling pins with some guys and there were 4 or 5 .40 caliber pistols being shot. Another friend brought a 10MM to the shoot. Both the .40 caliber and the 10MM (the 10MM shoots the same .40 caliber bullets but the 10MM just has a longer brass case) were using the same grain & bullet design. Those .40's were knocking the pins for a loop but, that 10MM started busting the pins into splinters. My brother went straight and bought a 10MM Glock model 20. I seen where the .357 SIG round (.357 SIG is a .40 caliber brass case necked down to .357 caliber bullet) has gotten a lot of feeding problems in all name brand pistols. Seems the bottle necked case only feeds half way right with FMJ or ball ammo bullets. Word is unless they can find a fix for the feeding problem that will allow hollow point bullets to feed correctly, the .357 SIG round may stop being made. bubbasbbq, that new .327 Federal Magnum round is being offered in the Ruger line of handguns. A short barreled handgun to beat that. As I said, I haven't had time to handle one yet but, it better be a performer if it's going to survive. I definitely agree with you about those SSM rounds. The smaller .22 caliber SSM rounds are OK but, when you go above that caliber they're only hype. The .270 Short Magnum & 300 Short Magnums are supposed to be better ballisticly than the .270 Win. & .300 Win. Magnum rounds but, I've shot both Short Magnum rounds from several different brand name rifles and they are not better. If anything the .300 Win Magnum is quite a bit better than the .300 Short Magnum at longer ranges say out to 700 to 900 yard shots. The 25 Short Magnum couldn't improve the 25-06 ballisticly at all even on paper. The .243 Super Short Magnum can't do anything better at any range than what the 6MM Remington already does except burn the barrels out as you said. I think all the WSSM hype was only another way to say NEW & IMPROVED, that they could think of without using those two words. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for any improvement in firearms if it really is an improvement but, if the average John Q. Public could have both calibers of a WSSM or WSM & the round that it's supposed to be better than in two exact rifles. They could see that there is no improvement like they claim after shooting them. Believe me, I've done the comparison. Anything to try and boost sales and the firearms companies will try it. That's why I figure the new .327 Federal Magnum is falling right behind the WSSM rounds. I may be wrong, I am more then not.

I just took a look at the Federal website and they are touting it as a personal defense cartridge. Not sure why you'd need it when there are so many other cartridges that will fill that role nicely. Sounds like more hype to me since a .357nd a .38 will make a bigger hole. Plus Both are revolvers, so it isn't like this is some sort of high powered auto-loader. On top of that, both .38 and .357 ammo are easier and probably cheaper to get. One of the reasons why I don't like some of these "boutique" cartridges is availability and cost. If you can't easily feed your beast than is really isn't much good. Being able to go down to the local gun store and get ammo or components is a factor, to me at least, in choosing a firearms. Plus, if only one company is making the gun, odds are it could be discontinued and therefore the ammo gets evne harder to get.

Oh yea, on another note, I read a report on the WSSM's and they found that they tend to be LESS accurate. It seems that they are so powerful that they can distort the slug, which throws it off target. If you need a good shoulder buster, get a .300 win mag or a .338 in mag. I have a .338 and it will blow a big hole in anything from deer to moose, although I don't use it for deer hunting.

My dad was issued the .40 Glock at the beginning of his career and needed to teach us about guns, so I grew up shooting that gun. I don't know much about guns (never heard of a 10MM honestly) so I just bought what I knew. I've never really worried about how much damage I can do per bullet, but it does make sense to make maximal damage since if I shoot that gun I'm only going to be aiming for one thing.

Yep, your right about maximum damage. That .40 caliber will provide all the maximum damage that's needed in a situation shot like you stated. The 10MM shoots a .40 caliber bullet, it just has a longer brass case which gives it more case capacity. I had one in a S&W model 1006 and one in a Auto-Ordnance 1911 style copy. Both were very accurate. When I get on a caliber kick and start buying a certain caliber, I try to get the bigger cased version of that caliber. I can always down load the round when I reload but, it's hard to up load a round when you run out of case capacity or start running into C.U.P. pressure problems. The .40 caliber S&W round doesn't pack the power that the 10MM does but, as I said the .40 caliber will handle man sized shots with plenty left over. I've got a friend that was the county Sheriff here. He bought all the dept. Glock .40 caliber pistols. He did his own test on them. He used one certain .40 caliber Glock pistol then made all the deputies qualify with it for they're short range qualification. He only cleaned it once, before he let them start qualifying. That Glock never failed to fire but one time and then it was a ammo failure where the round didn't fire. No cleanings anytime during the qualifying either. That's a few thousand rounds that went through that Glock pistol without a problem and ever deputy that shot it passed they're qualification. He swears by them now. I honestly don't think that the S&W 1006 I had would have done that. bubbasbbq, I think your right about the new .327 Federal Magnum round. There's no way it could produce what the .38 Special or .357 Magnum calibers do at they're working distances. Not enough Mass there for it to happen from a handgun.

I liked the 10mm, but it never relaly seemed to catch on. only a few companies make them down, they will probably go the way of the .348 at some point. shame, too. It can really do the job.