Smith & Wesson Model 19: Smith & Wesson, with help from Bill Jordan, got it right.
Just don't shoot too many 125gr .357s in them.
Ruger always made high capacity center fire semi-auto pistols and the Speed Six and SP101 were designed with concealed carry in mind, the Mini-14 as I recall always had hi-cap magazines available. At one time it was the only real 5.56 competitor to the AR series of rifles.
Now with reviews:
Browning Hi-Power: fits hand like glove, shoots great.
1911A1 - Good gun, in more traditional forms, needs lots of lubrication
Colt All American 2000 - worst gun ever made by a major US manufacturer.
S&W - 3rd Gen Semi-Autos - very underrated, durable, relatively ergonomic and generally reliable, frequently a great bargain on the used market
Browning BDM - An outstanding design, but a poorly made 9mm semi-automatic, most disappointing gun I ever owned.
Colt Double Eagle .45 ACP - the most underrated gun in the whole Colt semi-auto line, also probably the ugliest.
S&W MP Series of semi-automatic pistols - S&W has come up with a real winner.
Colt .380 Govt Model - Bring this back along with the Mustang, a very nifty pistol.
Colt Pocket Nine - Perhaps the best small 9mm ever made and designed, came too late in Colt's 20th Century History to be successful.
Ruger P89 - Rugged, ugly, built like a tank, but it could take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.
Sig Sauer Double Action Semi-Autos - Until recently the preeminent top shelf semi-autos, world class if you will, now quality control appears to be an issue.
Winchester Model '94 lever action rifle - a true American Classic
Mossberg Model 500 series of shotguns - truly amazing pump guns, good value and good shooters.
Remington 870 Shotgun - The quintessential American pump shotgun, a truly great piece of ordnance.
AR15/M16 - Living proof that if you spend enough time and R&D, you can finally make a silk purse out of a sow's ear (almost
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), a highly overrated piece of ordnance that for some mysterious reason has caught the fancy of a generation of civilian shooters.
S&W N Frame Revolvers - Like the girl with the curl in her forhead: "When they are good, they are very, very good and when they are bad they are horrid."
S&W K Frame Revolvers - Ditto the N frame comment.
S&W L .357 Frame - S&W's best compromise between durability and size with regard to caliber, see other remarks about S&W revolvers in general.
Ruger Single Action Revolvers (center and rim fire) - Best factory production single action revolvers made in America.
Colt Single Action Army Revolver - A true American Classic, and a delight to own and shoot, but more fragile than a Ruger.
S&W J Frame Revolvers - the classic and best small frame revolvers made, bar none, but like all S&Ws of the last 4-5 decades quality control can be an issue, see remarks referencing other S&W revolvers.
Colt Detective Special (with ejector rod shroud) - IMO the best looking snub nosed revolver ever made, and a great CCW piece.
Colt Python .357 Revolver - A truly magnificent example of American gun making at a regular production facility, but also fragile and prone to getting out of time, a thoroughbred and not a draft horse, this Colt is arguably the best looking American DA Revolver.
S&W M39 9mm Semi-Auto - For reasons I cannot totally explain objectively, probably my most favorite handgun of them all because of looks, feel and something intrinsic that I cannot define, shoot one and you might fall in love with it, despite the bad DA trigger, and mediocre SA trigger.
Ruger 10/22 Semi-Automatic Rifle - Arguably the best .22 rifle made in modern times (a tip of the hat to Marlin, though).
P08 Parabellum (Luger) - the one gun I never owned, but wished I had esp the artillery model, these are beautiful although somewhat temperamental guns.