I would not bother specifying a particular gun but rather a few characteristics:
1. Poor quality of manufacture. This would eliminate many of the choices already mentioned which suffer from frequent malfunctions and/or structural failure.
2. Poor suitability for the purpose at hand. A .25 auto pocket pistol, a mini-revolver, or derringer are inherently ill suited for combat anywhere but in a phone booth, and are far from ideal choices for a fight inside a phone booth. Similarly, I would rule out over-powered handguns unless required to do double-duty for hunting or defense against four-legged predators by virtue of the additional difficulty in achieving accurate follow-up shots or being able to accurately engage multiple targets. Excess weight or dimensions for an acceptable mode of carry would also be a disqualifying factor in my book.
3. Excess cost. This is going to sound strange from someone who generally is not drawn to inexpensive guns, but if the cost represents an excess drain on resources such that adequate amounts of ammunition or non-weapon preps are a consequence of the purpose, then your prepping program is out of balance (not that I am convinced that there is such a thing as complete balance possible in anyone's program unless you are extremely wealthy and have for all practical purposes too much of everything). For example, a quality <$1000 1911 with a couple thousand rounds of ammunition is more effective than a ~$2000 1911 with a box of 50 or 100 rounds for the purpose of maintaining your long-term safety. I would make the same argument that a $500 gun with plenty of ammo is better than a $1000 gun with a small handful of ammo. At the end of the day, a gun without ammunition is an expensive club--a detail that is easily enough forgotten in the event of having one's attention distributed widely over a number of things in the prep program.
There are some common opinions that I do not support. Common ammunition is one of them. Right now, you would be better off prepping with a pistol chambered in .30 Luger than 9mm, or .45, or .357, or .38, or most anything commonly used in the US since ammunition is available for off the beaten path weapons that is not available for the more popular calibers. If you have a gun in an uncommon caliber with a sufficient supply of ammunition, you will be well-defended. In the event you manage to find ammunition after a SHTF event, odds are that there will be at least one gun to go with it. The same goes for rifles although that is extraneous to the discussion at hand. A person could do far worse than a .30 Luger and a classic semi-auto battle rifle in a less common caliber like 7mm Mauser, 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54R or .30/06 with an adequate supply of ammunition. I feel that there is an unhealthy mindset that in order to be properly prepared, you must have a handgun in 9mm, .40, .45, or maybe .357, and a rifle in your choice of 5.56, 5.56, or 5.56. Lets face it, if you are forced to use a firearm under SHTF conditions, one of two outcomes will necessarily happen: First, you die. Second, you succeed at making your attacker die who presumably is armed and did not expend every single round of ammunition in his possession. It will take you quite a while to go through a case of ammunition, especially using a handgun. Consequently, I fail to see the necessity of using a 'common caliber' especially when dealing with a general ammunition shortage.
Kel_Tec...really????? So why are these guns fetching thousand plus of$$. I EDC a pf9 not one hiccup in over 3 years. Trust my life on it.
3. Excess cost. This is going to sound strange from someone who generally is not drawn to inexpensive guns, but if the cost represents an excess drain on resources such that adequate amounts of ammunition or non-weapon preps are a consequence of the purpose, then your prepping program is out of balance (not that I am convinced that there is such a thing as complete balance possible in anyone's program unless you are extremely wealthy and have for all practical purposes too much of everything). For example, a quality <$1000 1911 with a couple thousand rounds of ammunition is more effective than a ~$2000 1911 with a box of 50 or 100 rounds for the purpose of maintaining your long-term safety. I would make the same argument that a $500 gun with plenty of ammo is better than a $1000 gun with a small handful of ammo. At the end of the day, a gun without ammunition is an expensive club--a detail that is easily enough forgotten in the event of having one's attention distributed widely over a number of things in the prep program.
There are some common opinions that I do not support. Common ammunition is one of them. Right now, you would be better off prepping with a pistol chambered in .30 Luger than 9mm, or .45, or .357, or .38, or most anything commonly used in the US since ammunition is available for off the beaten path weapons that is not available for the more popular calibers. If you have a gun in an uncommon caliber with a sufficient supply of ammunition, you will be well-defended. In the event you manage to find ammunition after a SHTF event, odds are that there will be at least one gun to go with it. The same goes for rifles although that is extraneous to the discussion at hand. A person could do far worse than a .30 Luger and a classic semi-auto battle rifle in a less common caliber like 7mm Mauser, 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54R or .30/06 with an adequate supply of ammunition. I feel that there is an unhealthy mindset that in order to be properly prepared, you must have a handgun in 9mm, .40, .45, or maybe .357, and a rifle in your choice of 5.56, 5.56, or 5.56. Lets face it, if you are forced to use a firearm under SHTF conditions, one of two outcomes will necessarily happen: First, you die. Second, you succeed at making your attacker die who presumably is armed and did not expend every single round of ammunition in his possession. It will take you quite a while to go through a case of ammunition, especially using a handgun. Consequently, I fail to see the necessity of using a 'common caliber' especially when dealing with a general ammunition shortage.
First... I'd like to commend you for bringing up some very good points. However, I see a direct conflict with your thinking between the point you made in #3 and your argument for choosing a non-common caliber.
In #3 you make the point that a $1000 1911 + 1k rounds > $2000 1911 + 50 rounds. The basis is that when creating a budget for prepping... you should count ammo and training as being supremely important and should consider it into your budget.
You then follow this up with how in an end of the world scenario having a common caliber is a bad thing (sort of).
However... when we look at the current cost and availability of common calibers... generally they are cheaper and easier to come by, and therefore mean you will be able to train more NOW and hone your survival skills if you buy a common caliber.
9mm ball ammo is about $.30 a round... how much is .357 sig or even .40S&W?
Same applies to 5.56 compared to just about any other rifle cartridge besides 7.62x54r? And NO ONE wants to do prolonged training with that ****!
I don't consider ANY handgun as a viable SHTF weapon. In a SHTF scenario you are going to need more than what a handgun can bring to the table.
I would say that a handgun should be part of the equation, but not the entire equation. Then again, while I would not feel prepared without at least one proper rifle and one proper shotgun for the purpose, a handgun (only) certainly beats a fist.
I own a ruger p97dc 45.shoots smooth ad butter,I owned it since 2000,never one failure of any kind. Big,bulky...ya,sexy,reliableI don't go with the Ruger selection in this case. I thing they are reliable and hard to beat.
Maybe just a little. But mainly I, the original poster, was thinking that we can figure out the best guns for SHTF if we know what qualities to avoid.
I disagree whole heartedly. I believe a glock will break before a quality 1911 will.
Anything made by Bersa, Taurus, Ruger semi autos, keltec, etc
So I think a more challenging question is: what's the worst SHTF handgun? (Antiques are not allowed!)
I can think of a handgun I hate more. I cant grip and fire a 2x6.Chrome Desert Eagle....