[bigron]

what was the best handgun the germans used in ww2 i think it would be the hi-power i,m talking combat not best looking or most popular.

 

[sauer]

Has to be the P-38. Simple, rugged, and well designed.

 

[Frank]

I would think the benefit would be large for the capacity of the HP!! I would vote the HP for that reason.

 

[sauer]

The HP is surely one of the great ones, but I think the double action of the P-38 puts it in class by itself as a combat pistol.

 

[cpw]

I would vote for the Hi-Power.

 

[Mark]

I think the Germans put their money behind the P38 as well or they would not have 3 manufacturers making them. Sounds familiar? Look at the 1911A1 and how many companies made those guns!

Additionally, FN made slides and frames for P38 production used by all three manufacturers. Should I go on? JVD made mags for P38 production to keep up with demand.

Need more proof? The 92 Beretta pistol used by our armed forces today, uses the same locking block system invented by Carl Walther for the P38 pistol!!!

Mark

 

[byf45]

P38! Ahead of it's time. Rugged, easy to clean (disassemble), few small parts to lose, forgiving tolerances which made it effective in wartime conditions (unlike the Luger). All-around excellent pistol, thought the HP ain't bad either... )
JB

 

[Edward Tinker]

Always loved the hi-power for looks, never shot one, but the P38's I have shot, shoot and shoot, very few problems.

Ed

 

[cpw]

quote:Originally posted by byf45

P38! Ahead of it's time. Rugged, easy to clean (disassemble), few small parts to lose, forgiving tolerances which made it effective in wartime conditions (unlike the Luger). All-around excellent pistol, thought the HP ain't bad either... )
JB

Look at the facts.

The Hi-Power is still being made. Is the P-38?

More nations use/used the Hi-Power than the Luger and P-38 combined.

The Hi-Power has been produced for 74 years, more than the luger and P-38 combined.

The Hi-Power's magazine capacity is more than the luger's or the P-38's. Almost the total of both.

Also, the Hi-Power is simple, rugged, and well designed.

 

[Jan C Still]

If my life depended on the firepower and reliability of a handgun in combat conditions, I would choose a Hi-Power. As Charlie said “ the Hi-Power is simple, rugged, and well designed.”
Jan

 

[bohemian]

If we are going to call the High power an Axis pistol then we have to include the 1911 in the form of the 1914 Norwegian. I’ll take the 8 big holes over the 16 little holes. If we apply Charlie’s logic then the 1911 has been produced for almost 100 years. Further if we look at the total numbers of guns produced, how many 1911’s and copies are there? If we limit ourselfs to German pistols then the P-38 has no peer.

Robert

 

[Lloyd in Vegas]

Tuco,

Nice to see you over here on these pistol forums talking about pistols you are acquiring and talking about the "Best Axis Pistol". I hope we see more of you over here in the future as you start this new phase of your vintage/collectible gun acquisition program (hobby)!--(smile)

BTW, I would go with a HP on my left hip and the Norwegian 1914 on my right hip! Big holes filled with small holes!!

 

[sauer]

Maybe we are missing the point. We're not talking John Wayne's magic 50 shot SAA here. A combat sidearm is a personal defense and last ditch weapon only. It has to be simple, rugged and completely dependable. It's intended for saving your *** in a bad situation, not for mowing down hordes of attackers. There are better weapons for that senerio. I wouldn't feel unarmed with either the Browning or the P-38, but let's get real.

 

[Edward Tinker]

Sauer, some of us relied on a handgun during our stint in the military, so to me, it was the gun I had at hand 24/7 if I was in a scary situation. As I would gladly grab a shotgun for a tense situation or an M-16A2, let alone a M60 for real situations, but the Colt 1911A1 or Berretta M9 is what I had, and since the discussion was about "Best Axis Pistol", each view has merits?

Ed

 

[Doubs]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Polish Radom which some experts consider to possibly be the best Axis handgun of WW2. Agree or not with that assessment, certainly it has to score very high among pistols issued to Axis troops.

 

[bigron]

it's strange no one has said the luger i own all the guns every one has said and did not say the luger. but you you know there were a lot of times in that terrable war when many germans solders found in the ruions of there towns all the had were there pistols after all the mg42 and 34 had ran dry and the mass attack the russians made the bolt action rifle impractible.

 

[sauer]

Sorry, I was remembering a time long ago when a Colt Cobra saved my butt. I'll try to keep myself on topic in the future.

 

[axl]

Interesting, I was out last Sunday with all referenced, for me the P38 is boxy and the sights aren't too great, the High Power has 13 rounds and anybody in a combat situation will have it cocked and locked anyway, but the Radom is built like a small tank, its action as fast as the BHP, there is no barrel rise cause of its weight and the sights are like a 1911. If the Radom had a double stacked magazine I'd go with it, otherwise the BHP.

 

[bigron]

the radom is one fine pistol i shoot better with it then i do with my tangent WaA140 MARKED HIGH POWER. STILL NO ONE HAS SAID THE LUGER.

 

[Frank]

Okay Ronnie, the Luger was the best combat pistol used by the Germans in WW2. Now of course you realize I'm kidding, but at least I said it!!!

IMHO the Luger is perhaps the most accurate of all the pistols mentioned. It does lack the reliability of some of the other pistols IN A COMBAT SITUATUION. I shoot Lugers, as well as the other pistols, and if I maintain the Luger, it operates flawlessly. In the dirt, mud and snow, I don't think so. That's why no one mentioned the pistol of choice of this forum!!!