What do you consider an innovative, but serious handgun that has actually made it in the market?

An example of the opposite would be perhaps the Hudson H9, an example of the former the HK P7.

Indicate why you think the gun either made it or didn't.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SIGWolf,

Have to give a nod to Glock.

Glock due to it’s ubiquity.

quote:

Originally posted by P210:
Have to give a nod to Glock.

I agree with this 100%.

Glock changed the direction of handguns. Just about every major manufacturer now offers pistols incorporating elements of the Glock design. Polymer frame, striker fired, bladed trigger safety, ...

Steyr M9/S9/L9 series.

Still has some very interesting/ahead of it’s time features (low bore axis, modular sub-assembly, trapezoidal sights, etc).


EDIT: CQB60, your signature doesn’t have a line break, just a long unbroken line you typed out. It makes mobile viewing very funky - could you fix?

My vote is for the somewhat forgotten - yet classic Savage 1907. An early pocket design, the Savage competed with other .32 auto pistols of the day; specifically the Colt 1903. Its unusual profile and striker firing system were the result of designers working around existing Colt/Browning patents. The Savage tag line was "Ten Shots Quick!" which emphasized their innovative 10-round staggered, detachable magazine - quite possibly an industry first. The 1907 survived for ~21 years until it could no longer compete with Colt and others. As an aside, Jude Law's character Harlan Maquire carried a Savage 1907 in Road to Perdition.

Boberg pistols would be my pick.

What was the old german pistol with the steep grip angle and the toggle action?
The first one was a .30 cal right? but then they changed to a .355?
I think the .355 got kind of popular for a while.

Innovative?

Calico

Glock

Mechtech

Tripp Research

Walther

Browning

Arsenal

Buco

Grendel

Boberg

Cobray

Colt

Volquartsen

Magnum Research

Made it?

Glock

Colt

The easy answer for me is the switch-barrel Dan Wesson revolvers.

A less-easy answer for me is the tip-barrel Berettas. Did they really make it on the market? I don't know - all I can tell you is that they were never ubiquitous but there's a relatively steady supply of them on ChodeChoker that sell for the kind of money that would get you a new HK.

I'd like to throw in the Thompson/Center Contender and its progeny, but I'm not sure if that was an innovative idea or a refinement of existing ideas married to improved metallurgy. For all of the firearms marketed as 'pocket rifles' in the century that preceded it, though, I think the T/C Contender was probably the first successful rendition of that concept.

Mauser C96, the first large-scale commercially and militarily successful semiauto pistol.

After about a half dozen other prior attempts at early semiauto pistol designs that fell short, the C96 ended up being the first semiauto to be reliable, functional, and ergonomic enough for serious use.

BHP. Its high capacity magazine set the stage for other designs to follow.
Walther PP series. First practical DA/SA trigger system.

ASP 9mm made by Paris Theodore, originally and later by ASP in Appleton WI.

The first descreet compact carry 9mm. Regards 18DAI

P365 magazine design made it unique.

The Walther PP family of firearms brought a double action trigger system to market in 1929



The PP family design has remained mostly unchanged for the past 91 years



I am also a huge fan of what Arne Boberg has done with his bullpup design

The Webley-Fosbery. An ingenious design that suffered from coming out right before semi-autos became available, which offered much more than the revolver.

Perhaps this is taken for granted, but the P320, with it's modular design seems pretty innovative to me.

That it is striker fired is not new, or with polymer frame, that's not new, calibers aren't new, but the removable FCU that is the core of the package seems pretty innovative.

Laugo alien pistol

S&W Model 39, it seemed to jumpstart the transition to 9MM, in law enforcement in the US....