For you to succeed in GTA Online, you need excellent driving, navigation, and shooting skills because the game throws crowds of enemies at you. To handle yourself well, you need to know when to reload and when to switch to your handgun.

Why are pistols important in GTA Online?

• Switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading
• They deal a tonne of damage if customised correctly
• They’re fun to use!

Today we’ll give you a list of the top 7 handguns available in GTA Online. Read on.

7. Pistol Mk II

First on our list is the Pistol MKII, the enhanced variant of the regular Pistol. This gun is present in every GTA game, so you need to own one just for history.

This semi-automatic pistol isn’t the finest nor the worst, but the MKII variant gives it a good damage bonus (32 per round) and allows you to equip it with a mounted scope and compensator for better accuracy and recoil control.

What the Pistol MKII excels at:

• Cheap and reliable: best choice if you’re out of options
• Classic feeling: it feels realistic when you use it
• Customizable: mounted scope and compensator, and custom rounds like armour-piercing bullets.

 How to get the Pistol MKII:

• Can be converted from a Pistol at the Weapon Workshop for $73,750.

Pistol MKII details:

• Description: Balance, simplicity, precision—nothing keeps the peace like an extended barrel in the other guy's mouth.
• Custom pistol: unlockable skins and attachments
• Unlockable bullet options: Incendiary, Tracer, Hollow point, and FMJ rounds

6. Pistol .50

Next is the Pistol .50, based on the famous Desert Eagle pistol. This bad boy is a portable artillery machine that fires. 50-calibre bullets.

The Pistol .50 does a lot more damage per shot than pistols like the Compact and SNS; it also has better range, so it can be used in medium- to slightly long-range battles. The main downside to it is the accuracy; due to recoil, it’s very difficult to hit certain targets if you’re in a vehicle.

It is best used against low-level NPC enemies (ones without armour) or bulletproof glass.

What the Pistol .50 excels at:

• Classic Deagle: always need one of these bad boys in hand
• Range: no damage reduction for medium-range combat
• Clearing NPCs: You can use it to one-shot low-level NPCs.

 How to get the Pistol .50:

• Bought from Ammu-Nation

Pistol .50 details:

• Description: Sticking a .50 calibre round in a pistol might seem excessive, and it is. And if that immediately appeals to you, you’re going to fit right in here.
• 9 or 12 round clips
• Price: $3,900.

5. Up-n-Atomizer

  Have you ever had your car stuck and had no way to get it out? The Up-n-Atomizer is an Arena War DLC you can use as a Ray Gun; it sends a blast that explodes on impact, sending whatever it hits flying.

You can see how it’s useful as a tool more than a weapon; if you had a car stuck in a ditch or wanted to troll your friends (without dealing too much damage to the player or car), then the Up-n-Atomizer is a must-have.

What the Up-n-Atomizer excels at:

• Saves time: gets things unstuck without wasting too much time
• Trolling: can be used to troll your friends or random players
• Fun to use: the futuristic sound and things flying in the air are always satisfying experience
• Never runs out of ammo

How to get Up-n-Atomizer:

• Buy at the Agency Armoury
• Buy at the Gun Van

Up-n-Atomizer details: 

• Description: Republican Space Ranger Special, fresh from the galactic war on socialism: no ammo, no mag, just one brutal energy pulse after another.
• Unlimited ammo
• Price: $399,000 (Full Price)

4. Heavy Pistol

  The Heavy Pistol is a Business DLC pistol; it’s a tactical version of the real-life 1911. It’s an excellent choice if you want the middle ground between maintaining a tactical advantage and dealing good damage.

The Heavy Pistol can hold up to 36 rounds per magazine, has a built-in tactical sight, and kills NPCs with 2–3 bullets. It’s better than most semi-automatic pistols because it’s more accurate, does more damage, holds more ammo, and has better range.

It’s not the most famous pistol on this list, but it’s a very underrated weapon.

What the Heavy Pistol excels at:

• Range: good for close to medium-range
• Accurate: built-in scope included
• Magazine capacity: hard to empty a 36-round mag
• Affordable: excellent for new players

How to get the Heavy Pistol:

• Can be purchased from any Ammu-Nation

Heavy Pistol Details:

• Description: A rapid-fire pistol for the strong communicator. Guaranteed to send a clear and concise message in the mid-to-close range.
• Price: $3,750.
• Unlocks when starting GTA Online

3. Navy Revolver

Up next is a handgun that is both fun to get and fun to use: the Navy Revolver. It’s a hidden unlockable weapon that was added as part of a promotion for Red Dead Online.

To unlock the Navy Revolver, you need to find five clues about a serial killer in Blaine County. Finishing the hunt awards you the pistol and $50.000; get 50 kills with it, and you receive $200.000. Sounds like fun, right?

If you’re curious about the performance, it’s very similar to the Heavy Revolver but slightly slower on the reload time. Damage is acceptable over long range, and the fire rate can be excellent for hitting players.

What the Navy Revolver excels at:

• Serial Killer hunt: unlocked with a fun evidence hunt
• Awards cash for finding and using it: $250,000 for you to get
• Good damage and range: perfect for PVP and PVE

How to get the Navy Revolver:

Find five clues spread across Blaine County and kill the serial killer that will come after you once the clues are all collected. The Navy Revolver will then be unlocked, along with $50,000. Getting 50 kills with this revolver will earn you $200,000.

Navy Revolver details:

• Description: A true museum piece You want to know how the West was won—slow reload speeds and a whole heap of bloodshed.
• Unavailable for purchase at Ammu-Nation
• Also unlocks a pistol in Red Dead Redemption once found in GTA Online.

2. AP Pistol

   The AP Pistol has been in the GTA since it first came out in 2013. It’s a community favourite, and very few players don’t use it as their main pistol. Why? It does way more damage than it’s supposed to. 

While it’s in the pistol class, the AP Pistol is a fully automatic handgun capable of firing 36 rounds at a high fire rate with low recoil. There’s no catch, though; the damage, rate of fire, recoil, accuracy, and reload speed all make it by far the best drive-by weapon in GTA Online. You need a fully customised AP Pistol if you want to survive gunfights in a car (which happens to be where you spend most of your time)

What the AP Pistol excels at:

• DPS: light ammo firing at a high fire rate does wonders
• Recoil: light recoil, even lighter with a suppressor
• Drive-by: best pistol to use in a car, guaranteed headshots most of the time
• Affordable ammo: fire at cars care-free.

How to get an AP Pistol:

• Buy at an Ammu-Nation

AP Pistol details:

• Description: A high-penetration, fully-automatic pistol Holds 18 rounds in magazine, with option to extend to 36 rounds.
• A customizable suppressor can be equipped.
• Unlocks at Rank 33
• Price: $5000

1. Heavy Revolver MK II

  The best pistol in GTA Online is the Heavy Revolver MK II. If the AP Pistol makes you invincible in a car, this one makes you invincible on foot. It came out with the Doomsday Heist DLC.

You see, building this hand cannon is very simple; you buy the normal Single-Action Heavy Revolver variant, upgrade it to the Double-Action MKII variant, add the Hollow Point rounds to it, and voila! You deal 200 damage per bullet.

There’s a vehicle damage bonus, so combine it with the high damage output and wreak havoc. Just make sure you don’t miss your shots because it has a low fire rate, so take a deep breath before firing.

What the Heavy Revolver MK II excels at:

• Damage output: one bullet to a non-maxed-health player
• PVP: excellent pistol to switch to
• Vehicle damage: good for NPC cars and helicopters
• Multiple customization options are deadly when built correctly

How to get the Heavy Revolver MK II:

• Buy MKI variant at Ammu-Nation
• Upgrade it to MKII at a Weapon Workshop

Heavy Revolver MK II details:

• Description: If you can lift it, this is the closest you'll get to shooting someone with a freight train.
• Price: $99,000 (Conversion at Weapon Workshop)
• That’s it for our list; we hope you enjoyed reading it. Now get one of these pistols and never fear running out of bullets again in GTA Online!

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 10] GTA Online Best Weaponized Vehicles That Are Powerful
• [Top 10] GTA Online Best Flying Vehicles That Are Powerful
• [Top 5] GTA Online Best Fighter Jets That Are Powerful