As the title suggests, this thread is for those guns that for various reasons were snubbed or sneered at by various cognoscenti over the years, but which had pretty good qualities. Sort of like the sweet natured lady whose plain appearance concealed the fact that she was a neat person and a great cook.
My entrant is the venerable S&W M&P, the original, not the plastic pretender. Although it was dependable, reliable and capable of excellent accuracy, the Model 10 as it was known in the later part of the 20th century fell into disrepute. Not powerful enough, didn't have adjustable sights, didn't hold enough rounds: to hear some folks tell it, the poor sap whose department or finances restricted him to carrying one had simply better make arrangements with a mortician, for he was surely doomed if he got into a gun fight.
My take is that there is no better weapon for the non-dedicated firearms user.
Yeah, it's "only" a 38, but a +P 125 grain load or a 158 grain FBI load will get the job done. The examples often given were of tragic failures, but guess what? There are no magic boolits or guns. And for every every officer whose life was lost through his gun failing to stop his attacker, there were scores who made it home because their lowly 38's had done the trick.
True, it only holds 6 rounds, but 6 is enough, if you can shoot. Missing a bunch more times gets you no more benefit. And those projectiles have to end up some where.
Also, there is no denying that the manual of arms is simpler than that of the square gun bottom feeders that have replaced them. For the person who doesn't have time, money or inclination to master an autoloader or a hard-kicking magnum, you'd be hard pressed to make a better suggestion.
And my money is where my mouth is on this one. This pencil barrel, DA only, M-10-5 was formerly owned by the Singapore Police department and Purchased by me for the princely sum of 99 dollars about 23 years ago. It is the gun that protects my home.
But what guns do you have that deserve better press than they have received?