American Rifleman General Pupose Handgun

[sqlbullet]

American Rifleman has a short article this month on the authors view of the ideal "general purpose" handgun.  The author chose a revolver in 357 Magnum, a 4" Ruger Security Six (about $550 on gunbroker).  They enhanced the pistol with a front night sight ($110), a Hogue monogrip ($30) and a lanyard ring ($50).  They added a couple of HKS speed loaders for reloads ($11) as well as holsters for concealed and non-concealed carry and a lanyard loop.

All told, the kit for the gun, with upgrades plus two reloads for a total of 18 rounds would come to $762.

As I thought about this, I couldn't help but think the Glock 20 has it in spades over a 4" 357 Mag.

First, ballistics.  Common 357 Magnum loads range from 110 grains up to 158 grains.  That gives a sectional density spread from 0.123 to 0.177.  Comparable 10mm bullet options would be 135 grain (0.121) to 200 grain (0.179).  I tried to select bullet weight match ups that kept sectional density close.  Here is the stack up: 

Diameter	Weight	SD	Velocity	Energy
0.357	110	0.123	1351	446
0.357	125	0.140	1477	605
0.357	130	0.146	1452	608
0.357	140	0.157	1284	512
0.357	158	0.177	1248	546
0.400	135	0.121	1600	767
0.400	155	0.138	1500	774
0.400	165	0.147	1400	718
0.400	180	0.161	1300	675
0.400	200	0.179	1250	694

The velocities were taken from Ballistics by the inch and Underwood ammo, back checked by real world tests in comparable gun on youtube.  The end result in the 10mm in a Glock 20 delivers 175 ft-lbs more energy on average for a given load in these platforms.

The Glock can be had for $630 + tax all day long new in box with night sights and three magazines (2 year GSSF membership of $60 + 491.00 GSSF purchase pricing on Blue Label Glock 20 + $79 for night sights).  The Glock already has a lanyard attachment point, so no loop is needed, though if you want a stainless steel keyring to clip to they are 80¢ at your local Walmart.  Savings of $130 over the Security Six.

Holster costs are gonna be pretty comparable so I didn't bother to research them, but I will say this;  I would not want to carry a Security Six IWB appendix.  I just don't see that as a viable option.  I carry my Glock 20 that way quite regularly, or a did pre-Covid.

The Glock comes in 6 oz lighter than the revolver empty, and about the same fully loaded.  However, the Glock has 16 rounds of 10mm on tap for that weight versus six in the revolver, and the two reloads bring that total up to 46 rounds (50 if you, like me, spend a few of the $130 savings on some +2 mag extensions for your backup mags).

About the only place the revolver bests the Glock is in pure target accuracy.  Typical expectations of good ammo in a Security Six would be a 2" group at 25 yards for five shots.  The Glock will run about 0.5" larger with comparable ammo at that distance.

For my money a Glock 20 (or EAA Witness P-Match) is a much better option for a general purpose handgun.

What about for you?

--Edit to add a link to the article: https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nra/ar_202009/index.php#/p/32

[Kenk]

The G20 for sure

[jthoresen]

sqlbullet - completely agree

Energy, capacity, shot placement, follow-up placement, the G20 wins

Personally speaking -  I'm only more accurate with a revolver in single action, and single action is not ideal for "general purpose"

[Graybeard]

I would agree. A little tuned up XDM 10 pretty much foots the bill, as well. I wasn't terribly happy with mine out of the box, but now it's become a fine shooter. I've spent less than the total for the Security Six setup.

[Muskrat]

Well, at least they didn't pick the Glock 19...

But ya, I completely agree.

I like revolvers...have several of them. A 340PD is my most carried CCW for the simple reason that I can just slip it into a pocket and have full concealment while wearing shorts and a t-shirt. But from a practical point of view, unless you need something more powerful than 10mm, revolvers are a antiquated design. Six shots vs sixteen shots...heavier recoil, slower follow-on shots, bulkier weapon, and very slow reloads for most people....that only give you six more shots.

People tout the reliability of revolvers...but I don't believe they have any advantage over pistols today. I've had at least as many issues with my titanium .357 pulling bullets as I've had failure-to feed or extract issues with my Glocks.

People tout the simplicity of revolvers...but if you're going to cary a gun, is it really asking too much that you learn how to master a semi-automatic pistol??? Seriously...it's not like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube while skydiving.

In addition, I am not enamored by .357 ballistics. I've shot a lot of water jugs and milk cartons with various cartridges, and .357 never really wowed me. I'd MUCH rather have a 10mm...downloaded for bipeds and full-power for quadrupeds. I think that handgun cartridges disproportionally benefit from a larger frontal area and heavier bullet, and there's no circumstance where I'd choose the ballistics of a .357 over a 10mm. Frankly, I wouldn't choose a .357 over a .40 S&W 99% of the time.

That's not to say that a .357 Security Six isn't a fine weapon...it is. But unless someone wanted it just because it strummed their heart strings, there are much better choices.

[Sneed]

It has always seemed to me that AR reviews are heavily influenced by advertising and, as mentioned previously, negative reviews of anything mentioned in an AR article will never make it online. For that matter, look hard for anything other than minor negativity, for which an excuse is generally provided, in any Dope Bag article.

That said, I've spent a lot of time in AK living there part time for 15 years and when I was on a stream or in the woods I carried a Redhawk .44Mag loaded with hard cast, flat point 320 grain bullets and would not go to anything lighter.

[4949shooter]

For a "General Purpose" handgun I agree....the Glock 20 wins out for all the reasons mentioned above.

The revolvers to me are more "purpose" built handguns.

[Rojo27]

I like my 357 magnums (own three) but back to the question at hand.... 
Best all around general purpose handgun (do almost anything, go almost anywhere)?

No question about it; Glock, EAA Witness or even XD in 10mm polymer handguns with 15+1 capacity clearly superior choice. 

Not saying that to be agreeable.  That very question is what always made me interested in the 10mm, lead me to pick up my first one (Glock 20SF), ultimately lead me here to learn as much about it as I could.  Even with other choices in 10mm and many other options in handgun calibers, the Glock 20 is still very often the most practical, rational handgun option in the safe and therefore gets carried afoot most often. 

[jiminthe burg]

Love my G20-3 and would prefer it to a wheel gun all day, any day.
. Had some work on "innards " and it has a 4 lb trigger

[Rick R]

I love me some wheel guns, but try to find parts for that Security Six.  The GP100 would have been a better choice and it's available in 10mm...

[sparkyv]

I'm not a Glock fan, but I agree 100%.