A Wistful Look At The Handgun Battery

American Handgunner, March, 2000 by Ken Hackathorn

Most readers of American Hand-gunner own more than just one handgun. Many own lots of handguns, and one of the nice things about being a handgun enthusiast in the U.S. is that we are allowed to own as many as we desire.

I know friends who consider no need for more than just a couple of pistols; others consider a full gunsafe barely enough. The truth of the matter is that as a serious handgun owner and user, I have managed to justify owning a large number of pistols and revolvers in my time. If I were to check out the pile of handguns I own, I would easily note that, while they are all enjoyable to own, only a few are used on a regular basis.

My handgun battery has changed over the years, mainly because my user-requirements have changed. Like many handgun fans, my first introduction to handguns was via Stoeger's Shooters Bible. Along with Gun Digest, many an hour was spent looking through the pages of these books and magazines like American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo in the late '50s.

The era of the late '50s and early '60s had nothing like American Hand-gunner to cater to the pistolero. Elmer Keith and Jeff Cooper were the main handgun gurus; every word they wrote was carefully absorbed by those of us who fancied the pistol or revolver.

This was pre-'68 Gun Control Act when the purchase of firearms through the mail was not an issue. Contrary to what the anti-gunners claim about the widespread availability of guns in our society today, in those days you could buy guns in nearly every hardware store or sporting goods shop without much fuss about your age or background.

If you appeared to be a clean-cut youngster, or your parent gave permission, buying a gun was not a big deal. My first handgun, purchased when I was 14, was a Smith & Wesson K-22. I worked all summer mowing yards, scraping paint and even working as a caddy at the local country club to earn $70 to purchase this prize revolver.

A few years later, at age 16, I spotted a GI 1911A1 .45 pistol in a local sporting goods store. The price was $22.50- and oh, man, I knew that this was the gun for me. A real "Army .45."

In my eyes, it was the greatest handgun in the world. I learned to shoot a revolver with this classic .22 handgun, and shot an incredible amount of .22 LR rounds through it.

My dad had to come with me while I made the purchase. He, like most World War II vets, regarded the M1911 as nearly as useless as a box of rocks, but he humored me and allowed me to make the purchase.

After another week of wages from my after-school job, I purchased a box of Winchester 230 gr. ball ammo and went off to the woods to shoot it. I nailed an old pie plate to a tree and, at about 15 yards, began to blaze away with this great blaster. Without ear protection, little if any understanding of recoil control, and a trigger pull far different than my K-22's 3 lb. single-action pull, the results were pretty grim.

I quickly concluded that all those negative things that the hard-bitten vets had said about the 1911 being inaccurate were true. I sold it to one of my school buddies for $25. My next handgun was to be a .357 Magnum.