Star Trek didn't make the cut...seriously?

Many handgun owners are big fans of science fiction. I'm not sure why this is, but the fact that the characters in the books and movies get to play with a lot of cool hardware -- even before you add in futuristic weapons -- has to be a big draw.

Seeing as this is a blog for Handguns , I have to restrict myself from going on a nerdy fanboy rant about the Colonial Marines' M41A pulse rifle from Aliens, or the ultimate sci-fi multi-tool, the lightsaber (it's a knife, a welder, a wound cauterizer, a bullet deflector!). That said, when I sat down to try and figure out what my five favorite sci-fi handguns were, the choices were a bit overwhelming.

You'll find nothing from Star Trek in my list, not because I'm not a fan, but because there are so many generations of the phaser that narrowing it down to one was more work than I wanted to take on. I love the recent Battlestar Galactica series, but their pistols were simply very lightly decorated FN Five-Sevens. Malcolm Reynolds' pistol from Firefly/Serenity is a great signature piece, but it looks like an amped up single-action revolver (it was built on a Taurus Model 85), and I'm just not a big fan of single-action revolvers.

I'm sure many of you will disagree with some or all of my choices, but here are my picks for the 5 best Sci-Fi Handguns...

#5 THE LOGAN'S RUN D.S. PISTOL

D.S. stood for Deep Sleep, and these sleek, stylish pistols carried by the police officers called Sandmen spouted jets of greenish flame when fired. Many of you reading this are probably too young to have even heard of Logan's Run, and it looks a little dated now, but there are two things to recommend it--this pistol, and Farrah Fawcett. If you don't know who Farrah Fawcett is, I guess I'm even older than I thought.

#4 THE HELLBOY SAMARITAN

Many of you might not have seen the Hellboy movies (or much less read the comic books), but their larger-than-life protagonist carries a suitably larger-than-life pistol, the Samaritan. A 6-shot double-action break-top revolver of mythic proportions, it's almost too big to be shot by anyone with normal human hands. The cartridges look like short brass cigars, and would probably take down an elephant--what's not to like?

#3 THE FIFTH ELEMENT ZF-1

At first I wasn't going to include this, because it didn't register as a handgun in my memory due to its size, but the fact of the matter is this multi-purpose master of mayhem is designed to be held and fired with just one hand, which makes it a handgun. Whether you want to set your target on fire, freeze it, cover it with a net, or just perforate it on full auto without even looking in its general direction (by using the Replay feature), this desert-camo'd delight can do it all. Don't forget your Multi-Pass, and don't press the red button!

#2 HAN SOLO'S BLASTER

The only argument I might hear from some of you about this one is incredulity that it isn't #1 on my list. Built, of course, on the Mauser C96 "Broomhandle", this is perhaps the most well-known and identifiable pistol on this list. Han carried it in a low-slung thigh rig, which only adds to the cool factor. It shot right through the stormtrooper uniforms, but then everything did. Kinda makes you wonder why they wear them. There are only two things to remember about Han Solo and his signature sidearm--Greedo didn't shoot first, and hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

#1 BLADE RUNNER PISTOL

This is officially designated the Plager Katsumate Series-D (or PKD, an obvious tribute to Phillip K. Dick, the author of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep on which the movie is based). Blade Runner is one of the most influential science fiction movies of all time, and even after 30 years everything about it, including its special effects, holds up. Detective Rick Deckard's pistol is very recognizable, but little is known about how it was supposed to work. The original prop gun was reportedly made from a Charter Arms revolver mated to a Steyr rifle receiver. Adam Savage of Mythbusters is such a huge fan of the movie that he built his own replica pistol. Some people think the pistol had two barrels, but in actuality it just had one, with a shroud over the top. In one scene in the movie two red indicator lights can be seen on the frame, but their purpose remains a mystery. To this day whenever I see finger-groove grips on a revolver, I am reminded of this pistol. Deckard (Harrison Ford) carried it in a crossdraw holster, and had one heck of a fast draw, but when you're going up against replicants, a fast draw by itself isn't enough.