Handgun

The Pistols (also Twin Pistols or Dual Pistols) are Lara Croft's standard weapons and reliable companions in many Tomb Raider series. She carries them in all the games from Tomb Raider to Tomb Raider: Chronicles, with the exception of the Ireland and VCI Parts in Chronicles, the first two levels of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and the few occasions when they've been taken away from her. After they've been dearly missed in Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, they made their return in Tomb Raider: Legend and all subsequent games in the timeline.

The Dual Pistols are also missing from the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider.

Lara has unlimited ammo for these and will always carry two of them. They are not very effective, but most of the mortal opponents, except the skeletons and the mummies in The Last Revelation, can be killed with them. If you run and jump around a lot and circle your opponents they will suffice most of the time, even against a bigger opponent like the demigods or the T-Rex.

Because Lara is ambidextrous, she carries a pair of pistols, one for each hand. These were designed to be used as a pair--the left pistol actually ejects spent casings on the left side. In TR1-5, they are the weakest weapon in the game, requiring 20-30 rounds to kill an unprotected human enemy. Advertisements for TR3 describe her pistols as being 9-mm. Along with their visual similarity, this would suggest they were based on Browning Hi-power pistols. However, some FMVs also show her holding what looks like Colt 1911s or Desert Eagle pistols.

In the 2013 reboot Lara once again only uses a single pistol, as the Bow becomes her signature weapon. The pistol doesn't have unlimited ammo, since a major element of the game is survival. One of Lara's pistols is actually one of a pair, used by her mentor, Conrad Roth. She uses the pair in order to kill Mathias at the end of the game.

Appearances
In the earliest games, artwork depict's Lara's pistols as Browning Hi-Powers. She can also acquire Dual Magnums, which promotional art depict as Desert Eagles.

Angel of Darkness
While Angel of Darkness does not feature the signature Dual Pistols, it features many different models of pistol: the Vector R-35 (Heckler & Koch USP Match .45); M-V9 (Colt 1911 chambered in 9mm); Scorpion-X (Glock 17); Desert Ranger (IMI Desert Eagle Mark VII) and Rigg 09 (Ruger P08). There is also Kurtis's Boran X, which appears to be a customized Browning HP pistol.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary
In Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Lara uses Colt Mark IV 1911 pistols, apparently rechambered for .357-caliber ammo (.357 can be seen stamped on the side in some cutscenes, notably when fighting the T-Rex).

Tomb Raider: Legend
Lara's pistols turn to Heckler & Koch USP Match pistols (appearing as RPG Mach-5) with silver slides and black frames.

Tomb Raider: Underworld
Dual pistols are the same as in Tomb Raider: Legend, Heckler & Koch USP Match pistols (appearing as RPG Mach-5) with silver slides and black frames.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
The Dual Pistols are the first weapons the player uses aside from the Spear and Remote Mine, and therefor are the first weapons that appear in the players inventory. They are the weakest of all the weapons found in Lara Croft and the Guardian Of Light, however, they also happen to be the only weapons in the players inventory (not including the Spear or Remote Mine) that don't drain from the Ammo pool. This makes them incredibly useful during times where you may unexpectedly run out of ammunition for you're primary gun. It's a good idea to keep the dual pistols assigned to the D-pad, so that you always have them as backup.

Tomb Raider (2013)
Lara again uses several pistols, although only one of these will be in her inventory at the time: The Semi-automatic pistol (Beretta 92 variant chambered in 9mm, upgraded to an M93R when the "burst fire" mod is added); Tactical pistol (Remington 1911 R1 Enhanced, chambered in .45 ACP) and Magnum Pistol (Desert Eagle mark XIX, Chambered in .357 Magnum).

Rise of the Tomb Raider
Lara will have access to several pistols. She still has one of Roth's Tactical Pistols, it sports a new muzzle brake. She also acquires a revolver whilst in Siberia.

Trivia

 * Oddly, when Roth has the Tactical Pistols, they have all upgrades, but they are stripped away when Lara acquires them, until they are made by the player.
 * Being naturally ambidextrous is somewhat rare, with only one out of every one hundred people being naturally ambidextrous.

Gallery
Dual Pistols