Last weekend I went out shooting with three of my older guns. I had my '41 P-38


my Colt New Service


and my S&W 1917.


It was a great day. These old POS models shot just like new ones. They were accurate, reliable and just plain fun to shoot. I was as happy as a puppy in a basket of just folded clothes straight from the dryer.

So here is my question.

Other than new materials (Polymer, new alloys, titanium, scandium, etc) and some new manufacturing methods that may, or may not, be improvements, what's new? Where has the ART of handguns improved in the last sixty years or so? Will today's handgun be as good as my 1917, P-38 or New Service when they are 60+ years old?

Look at the differences in a car from the first half of the last century compared to a car of today. With all the advances in the last half decade, why has there been NO real improvements in handguns?

As I see it......there has`nt been any HUGE improvements.....mostly subtle changes...mainly appearance wise.....there are definitly advanced materials...which is a plus as far as weight or corrosion resistance.....when you realize the guns that have been "copied"...the most...you see minor improvements...that tells you something.......

I guess you could make the analogy to older vs. newer cars. The older cars have classic lines and are all made of heavy steel. The newer cars are made of some lightweight composites and the lines are... ummm... modern... for lack of a better word. I suppose most improvements are in the safety department. New cars have seat belts, air bags, crush zones, etc... and modern guns have improved safetys, key locks, magazine disconnects, etc.

Then there are "user convenience" items, such as night sights, lights and lasers, tactile grips, ambidextrous safetys, etc., and guns now come in colors.

But I gotta tell ya... I love the classic looks of an old Mercury or an Oldsmobile 455 Rocket. I'm kinda nostalgic that way, and I guess that's why one of my favorites is my Springfield Armory 1911-A1, a classic design with a few modernizations.

303 olds...rocket88.....once, the terror of the drag strip!.......

I think for the most part the sights are better, andI think the reliability and the metals are stronger and more diverse.

That said, I would feel confident with any of my pre WW2 guns in a CCW scenario.

I think the single biggest improvement has been not the guns, but the ammunition.  There have been pretty significant leaps in bullet design, powder chemistry, and cartridge metallurgy and manufacturing in the last 50 years.  The idea behind the gun hasn't varied that much in the last 100, with the exception of the autoloader (which was dependent on a change in ammunition technology.)  I'd say if you take care of those three guns, in 100 years they'll all be just as functional as a Glock you bought today.

The only "advances" I see in cars is mainly the factory sound system. Losing vent windows is hardly an advancement. The passenger wiper blade that takes the snow from the right side and deposits it UNDER the left blade isn't either. (Whos idea was that?) And now that most cars are fuel injected, IMO, the whole car length is now under high pressure from the fuel pump in the tank, where before it was under a vacuum. And to make up for that mistake, a cut off switch was put in...too late in an accident. And those lttle bitty cars with the "crumple zones"...I like that, because those cars are now MY crumple zones. Getting back to guns...sorry, I see a lot of the improvements to facilitate production. No longer lovingly hand fitted. True, new materials have progressed so we can have lighter and more rust resistant models. But I hardly look twice at some new models if I can't get more that a 10 round magazine for it. I do like a lot of old classics and some of the new "improved" offerings too. The gunmakers have to be creative to get my money nowadays.