Am I missing something here?....

D

Dave McC

Staff In Memoriam
I'm relatively new on this BB< but I've been shooting since at least 1956,and have some experience with darn near all firearms activities,from PPC to Combat to hunting to benchrest.

What puzzles me is the lack of interest here in revolvers. While there's threads about even obscure semi autos, there's darn little on the medium caliber,DA handguns that practically everyone has had or has. Several 38 and 357s grace Casa McC,and while an unabashed GM fan, I will admit that a good revolver and a cool head are good protection, and serve very well as HD tools for those that don't like Autos or shotguns,etc.

So why is there so little here on wheelguns? Are they passe, and I the last dinosaur?

Thanks......
 
The only people that I know who shoot revolvers very much are deer hunters. I own a Smith 29, but never shoot it. For me, it really is an anachronism.

------------------
Shoot to kill; they'll stop when they're dead!
 
I've got 2 nice '70s vintage S&W's
A 19 & a 36. :)
Nothing EVER goes wrong to ask questions about them !
You can't beat quality. ;)


------------------
"The Gun from Down Under !"
http://www.para1911fanclub.w3.to/
E-mail hotshot_2000@hotmail.com
Alternate E-mail
HS2000@ausi.com
 
There is a logical reason why revolvers are not mentioned with the regularity of autos.
Autos are more easily portable, while revolvers usually live in a drawer. Of course, there are exceptions, but mostly a revolver just functions without incident.
Many of the posts are concerning why an auto jams or malfunctions or what can be done to improve function or compatibility with a shooter's hand.
Next, look around you. Do you see plastic revolvers, lots of European innovative revolver designs or new revolver calibers?
There are such. Do you know what a Mateba is?
No free press like the cheap autos get. That is the crux of the matter...free press. What gun writer will tell you the merits of the .38 special vs the 9mm wonder nines. Nobody (especially editors) want to hear that argument. Gun magazines sell advertising. Revolver makers buy advertising, but not the tremendous volume bought by auto makers. Get the picture? Forumites are influenced by the popular gun press. They WANT those new semi-automatics.

[This message has been edited by John Lawson (edited November 15, 1999).]
 
Well MY "bedroom gun" is a colt 1917 new service army revolver in 45acp. I do NOT feel undergunned. I'd LOVE to talk about revolvers new and old.

Have owned a 45, 44, and 38 cal revolvers, would like to get a 357 as well just for the heck of it, was looking at colt's magnum carry or a s&w bodyguard. Have nothing but good things to say about ruger revolvers, other than they are a little bulky.

You will also find this group of "pistoleros" often recommends revolvers for novices, esp. women. Buy them boys just gotta have 16 rounds of 9mm. Maybe the girls shoot better ;)

So whatever you'd like to discuss... please please please bring it up.. this is the handguns forum so anything from a Patterson to an expoy resin uber-sig is fair game for discussion.

nice to meet you dave,

Dr.Rob
 
I went to one of the first S&W open houses they had at the new training center. One of the great things about it was the opportunity you were given to try the training ranges you normally don't have access to. When we were on the moving target range (I have never shot moving targets) the instructor laid out three pistols, 2 semi-auto smiths and a model 19. As pretty as the semi-auto's were, and as ugly as a model 19 is, I realised that I can always pick up any S&W revolver and shoot it better than any semi-auto, even those I own. Next 2 guns I bought were a S&W 686 (44 Spec,3 inch barrel) and S&W 696 (7 shot 357, 2 1/2 inch magna-ported barrel. As much as I practise, I can never get as good with my glock as with any revolver.
Long live the wheelgun

------------------
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
 
Thanks, for the input, folks. Agreed on lack of publicity, and that's a disservice to the shooting community.

The 38 Special in a mid frame revolver was the Cop Weapon for decades for a coupla reasons....

First, where the lines on the graph for effectiveness vs ease of operation crossed was right where the K-frame or OP fit in.

Second, when training folks who are NOT gun fanciers,as most Police are now, the revolver was capable of being used by these folks with less time and training than a bigger,badder piece.

Third, during A-S situations, it's quite simple to operate,no slide to rack, no safety to click off,etc.

Fourth, last FBI stats I saw on firefights, still had less than 4 rounds fired by each participant. BTW, that's up from 1.something back around 1981,when I first got interested in the numbers.

When Md's State Police changed from Model 19s to the Berreta 9mm, most of the Troopers I knew kept their private purchase 19s and used them for "backup". I've a hunch they'd have been grasped first when it hit the fan.

I'm a unmitigated fan of the GM in 45 ACP, but I admit it took much longer to achieve proficiency with J Browning's masterpiece than a revolver.Worth it? probably. Would I regard myself as inadequately armed with a good revolver? Heck,no!

For HD, neither Wonderful Wife nor Daughter likes shotguns. The Tactical 870's mine, they have revolver options available, and are well set for trouble.

Thanks and have a good'un...
 
I have owned a blue 4 inch Colt Trooper Mark III in .357 (boy, I wish I had never sold it!), two S&W M640-1s in .357, and a S&W M442 in .38 special. I shoot better at close ranges with the revolvers. Personally, I think the M640-1 with either 110 grain .357 loads or 158 grain +P .38 special loads is about as good as it gets for an up close, in your face, idiot proof self defense piece. But, I have two weaknesses: M1911s and the quest for the "perfect" concealed-carry self-defense auto. It is only now, after three years and nine different autos (various Sigs, Kahr, various 1911), that I am coming home to the S&W M640-1 for concealed carry. And I might take a detour with the Sig P239 before I really get back! :)
 
I love revolvers, that is what I have the most fun shooting. Have you ever taken a 40# cement block and totaly destroyed it with a 44 mag, or ever tried to point shoot with a 357.

I like to pull the old revolver out of my holster and try to hit my 8in steel target at 50 yards.
Or have a friend shoot against you for points.

------------------
ACCEPT NOTHING LESS THAN FULL VICTORY!"

General Dwight D. Eisenhower-- June 6,1944
------------------------

http://www.homestead.com/gunrights/Guns_and_Gunrights.html
 
Hi, guys,

A little off topic, but I am reminded of a fellow who complained that the car I drive wasn't "exciting". I agreed. I have had cars that were "exciting": brakes failed on a steep Pennsylvania hill; connecting rod that went through the sidewall; a spark plug blown into the fender; springs that broke and left the body down on the axle; a rear window that exploded when the car twisted; and a few other causes of excitement.

Revolvers are not exciting. Neither is my car. I prefer it that way.

Jim
 
I've used both autos and revolvers and now carry a Ruger SP101 in .357 magnum as my CCW. My favorite pistol is a customized .45 ACP 1911A1 I carried with a Marine Special Ops Capable unit. Why the revolver now? My mission has changed. I'm not shooting thousands of rounds a week - I'm not kicking in doors taking guys out - and my main weapon is not an HK MP5 with the .45 as a backup. I only have ONE weapon, which I probably won't need, but when I do, it MUST WORK. My .45 has jammed on me - the Ruger hasn't. The Ruger is very small and easy to carry concealed. The .45 isn't. My wife can load and shoot the Ruger no problem - she had difficulties manipulating the slide and the safety on the .45 and wasn't interested in becoming an expert pistolero.
I'm a big believer that a double - action revolver is THE best civilian defense handgun, and that a semi-auto pistol is THE best as the backup weapon for military or law enforcement - the primary weapon being a carbine or shotgun.
And now that Taurus is making .45 LC semi-auto revolvers, stopping power is no longer an issue, satisfying those who believe that the .45 is a better manstopper than any other pistol round.
 
I have noticed that there always seems to be more interest in autos than revolvers among the general public. My guess is that it has something to do with the fact that autos have a more high speed image because LEO and military personnel use them and revolvers are seen as somewhat antiquated. I am a real revolver fan, I love the S&W model 13 I have. I am in a small minority of people who choose revolvers for PD instead of autos. I have a S&W 3914 9mm auto and I do have a high opinion of it but I am more comfortable and effective with the 13. To be honest my first choice for home defense would be my Remington 870. I always thought that if you need more than 6 rounds you should have a shotgun or semi-auto rifle, not a handgun. I will qualify these remarks by saying that there are reasonable arguments for LEO carrying autos because they have a much greater chance of having to engage multiple threats. Having said that the most important thing is hitting your target, everything else is secondary. It doesn't matter how many rounds are in your magazine or cylinder if you can't hit anything. Sorry if I wander off the subject :)

------------------
God Bless America
 
The GM is the venerable 1911 Government Model,and still the finest defensive weapon made that can be carried on the person until need.

But, when I started with the Md Dept of Public Safety as a Correctional Officer, the duty arm was a K-frame S&W. So,to keep things simple, for most of 20 years I used K Frames as carry guns.

There was a 2 inch Model 10, and an FBI model 19, the round butt 2 1/2" bbled wondergun. A Model 64 snuck in there someplace also.Never needed it, or the others, but felt and was well prepared for trouble.

There were some J Frames also, a 36, An Airweight or two, and now this mismarked 640, marked 642, which is actually Daughter's Sweet Sixteen present. I get to play with it until she moves out tho.

Coupla Colts were in the mix also, a Lawman that impressed the heck out of me, a 1960s nickel Python, and the First Model Trooper, on the Python frame, with its buttery smooth action and extreme accuracy.

IMO some folks are shorting themselves by going for the crunchentickers. Lots of excellent revolvers are out there,used, at reasonable prices and capable of good service for generations.

As far as accuracy goes, I shoot my GM better than any revolver, but shoot the wheelguns better than the various Glocks, Berettas, Walthers, Tauri, etc, I've tried.

As for CC, I'm a behemoth and can hide anything smaller than a Wheaties box. But, most of the above wheelguns can be carried nicely by an average person, and way easier than a service auto.

Thanks folks...
 
Hello, Dave McC! I prefer autos for most purposes, but still have, like, and "respect" revolvers. My daily concealed "always" gun is a S&W M042 in .38 Special and a favored "house gun" is a Taurus M431 in .44 Special.
I guess revolvers bore some because they don't fire as fast in most cases, but they do seem to work and work and work and work...
Best.
 
I don't know why nobody's mentioned it (or maybe I'm just blind) but there are two other sites I know of that have revolver-exclusive forums.
http://www.shooterstalk.com/
http://www.gunspot.com/

We don't spend a whole lot of time on how to fix the things, as most of them don't need fixing. :D We basically just chat about our favorite models, and why the mfctrs seem to discontinue the best models.

Stop on over, we'll have a blast!
-Kframe
 
Hey,while on the subject of revolvers,how's the taurus 454 raging bull?i have a taurus 44 mag,and it's a great gun.Can't imagine a reason to own any thing bigger other than "i can".Main reason i dont already is ammo price,Just got into reloading,everything available?thanks,Matt
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top