Before 1980, the wheel gun was considered the primer self defense gun. The 1911 in 45 auto was the only semi that was considered a viable combat / self defense pistol. Just about every police officer in the state of Texas carried a revolver, 41 mag for some of the dept. Of public safety, 38 special or 357 mag for most others. Very few carried a 1911, as semi auto pistols were considered unreliable at the time. 9mm luger was more of a novelty, a ww2 trophy. There was only one pistol that had more capacity than a 1911, the browning high power with its 13 rounds. Col. Jeff Cooper, a notable writer and master of the self defense handgun, liked the browning high power but didn't like the 9mm it came in. He liked the 1911 but again didn't like its flaws, it was big and hard to master the recoil of the 45. In the late 70's he came across a pistol that was made in a soviet satellite state, chekoslovika , called the CZ 75. It had the slide rail of the Sig, the lockup of a browning and a grip angle more conducive for accuracy with a 15 round capacity. Col Cooper pronounced it the best fighting pistol in the world. The only drawback was the anemic 9mm round. I was able to pick up one in 1980 in Europe. They couldn't be imported into the US because they came from a communist country. It wasn't until the late 80's or early 90's that ammo makers started to load good self defense ammo. Col Cooper was the inspiration for the 10mm and the cz75 knockoff called the bren 10. Now, every gun maker offers a semi pistol in 9mm and or a short 10mm (40s&w). Although I still like a wheel gun, I love my CZ's.