Top 5 Pistols of 2025

Top 5 Pistols of 2025, and yeah, this list is going to make some of you mad. In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves runs through his five favorite new handguns of the year, including a couple of guns you can’t even buy in the US yet and a few that have already stirred up a ton of drama. We talk about the OPOS Venator, the alien-adjacent Euro space gun that stole the show at IWA; the SIG P211, SIG’s not-so-subtle answer to the Staccato XC; the KelTec PR57, a paper-thin, featherweight 5.7 that trades detachable mags for a 20 round internal mag and stripper clip reloads; the Glock COA, Glock’s short-lived but legitimately excellent duty gun and optic combo; and the CZ Shadow 2 Carry, a competition-bred DA/SA that might be the best “shoot it and carry it” pistol of the year. Along the way James talks about why 2025 was actually a pretty weird, weak year for new pistols, why internet drama around the P320 and big-name brands doesn’t change how the guns shoot, and why some of these picks made the cut even though they’re controversial, expensive, or hard to find. Let us know in the comments which guns you think got robbed, which ones you’d swap in, and which pick you think is completely wrong.