Are we with the times?

S&W M10 Snub Nose .38 Special vs BAR

My Grandfather was a Treasury Agent. In 1936 he and his partner tracked 4 bank robbers to an abandoned farmhouse. As they approached it one of the robbers came up out of a ditch with a Browning Automatic Rifle. My Grandfather shot and killed him with a S&W Model 10 "Snub Nose".38 Special.
 
Of course not.

But, what difference does it really make?

Revolvers are out of fashion in this era of high capacity tupperware. That in no way makes them less effective or inappropriate as self defense weapons. I'll admit right here and now that my favorite handguns are my Colt 1911s. And I own and enjoy shooting a number of other semiautos in various calibers. But my HD piece is a S&W Model 13. And I frequently carry my 642. I always feel well armed.
 
My signature says it all. Those things are in order of importance. So this entire conversation takes place in the realm of the least important factor, the gun.

That said, the most common fallacy promoted by defensive revolver shooters is that if they just make their shots count they will be fine. We like to assume we will get one or two bad guys who cease their felonious acts as soon as they start leaking. That may be the case, or it may not be. There may be 6 guys or there may be one guy on drugs, or you may miss 6 times and still have time to shoot a 7th.

It's a game of scenarios and probabilities, and by far the most common outcome is that we won't ever need to shoot a gun in defense. The same logic that brings you to the conclusion that you should carry a gun should also bring you to the conclusion that you should carry the most gun you can. If you think you need a gun but that 6 shots should be enough, you are picking and choosing the logic you want to follow.

But, ultimately, those toting around 5-shot J-frames are better prepared than 95% of the population, and in reality it will likely be all they ever need, since they won't ever need anything.

And most importantly, you are best served focusing on Mindset, Tactics, and Skill before worrying about what gun you have.
 
With regard to reloading times I mean I don't see a difference between a revolver and an auto. I can reload either <moon clips> as quickly. I think having good strategy and tactics is much more important then your choice of carrying an auto or a revolver. I think caliber and bullet choice are much more important then platform as well.
 
I have had semi's stove pipe or otherwise malfunction during the first few rounds. Everything in life is a compromise. I can't guarantee that a Semi will not jam, nor can I say that 5 rounds will be enough, but most gun fights are over in 3 shots. I think the revolver is still the most reliable for the first 5 or 6 rounds. I have both semi and wheel. When I carry the auto, I never take a spare magazine. When I carry the wheel gun, I maybe take one reload with me. I don't plan on having shoot outs with gangs or bank robbers. My stuff will most likely be up close and personal.
 
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With regard to reloading times I mean I don't see a difference between a revolver and an auto.
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But there is a difference for most people. And, for most people, the difference in terms of speedy reloads favors the semi-auto-like it or not. And, as I've mentioned several times before, I, personally, like revolvers for use in self-defense.
 
Outmoded / old fashioned / latest & greatest are nice ideas for discussion. I think the more important question is what is needed for the anticipated situation.

Revolver – when I take the Mrs to downtown and have to park in high rise ramps I put a 44 cal snubby revolver in a jacket pocket. When riding the elevator to ground level I don't want to get into problems with someone 1/3 my age at wrestling range. I will hold my cane with the left hand & shoot from the pocket.

When going to summer events where there are thousands of people and gangs are visible, I like my 16 round bottom feeder just fine.

For reloading a revolver during a crisis, I like my keltec P32 as the NY reload.

In golf we don't use only one club, we use the right club for the situation. Same for guns. Now I just need to find the right holster for my 3.5” barreled Ruger Vaquaro 45.
 
yes you can give the nod to the semi auto as far as reloading and capacity. however..

under stress, honestly how many times do you try to install the magazine backwards?
If your using an ar for home defense and install the magazine backwards, it normally takes 5 hands to get it back out.

Sure the ability to share 15 rounds in one gun between 2 or 3 attackers can give any potential victim the warm fuzzies and a silly grin. However a single well placed shot can end the situation in seconds.

i dont know where i heard or read it but it could be considered unneccessary to shoot a wannabe car jacker 10 times in the chest with your semi auto but completely normal and acceptable to empty 2-5 shots from your j frame into them because you were simply protecting the kiddies in the back seat..
 
bezoar said:
i dont know where i heard or read it but it could be considered unneccessary to shoot a wannabe car jacker 10 times in the chest with your semi auto but completely normal and acceptable to empty 2-5 shots from your j frame into them because you were simply protecting the kiddies in the back seat..
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Why does it matter what kind of gun you're shooting?

If it takes 10 shots in the chest to stop them, you're going to be feeling pretty stupid watching them attack your kiddies after emptying 2-5 shots into them from your J-frame.

On the other hand, if it only takes 2-5 shots to make them stop, why would you shoot more no matter what kind of gun you're carrying?

Depending on the circumstances of the shooting, it could be considered "unnecessary" to shoot them even once. That will be up for the prosecutor and /or court to decide. There's no such thing as a "completely normal and acceptable" shooting.
 
You have to ask yourself are you looking to defend yourself? Then even a small revolver can be very useful or are you going into battle in which case you should of brought a rifle instead. Different tools for different jobs.
 
ive watched alot of those dateline "murdered the spouse" episodes, and all those other fun ones one investigation discovery. There is one that really stood out to me, and it all has to do with how many times the person was shot.

A woman went to see her estranged husband at his place of work. they talked at her car, she was sitting in the car he was standing outside. for some reason she pulled a gun and shot him 10 times in the chest and head.
when it went to trial, she claimed self defense because she claimed he was going to do something to her at the moment.
she was only convicted of murdering him for hte insurance money, because she shot ten times with a 5 shot snub nose. having to reload the gun to keep firing made it unnacceptable number of shots fired. as well as the reloading.
 
Revolver

My wife's old model 36 is about perfect. Small, heavy enough to handle recoil, and no safety or complicated manual of arms to screw up under stress. Open the cylinder and I know that it is 100% safe. She also has a model 19 2.5".

My ideal self defense line up would be a .357 revolver, a lever action "trapper" with a 16" barrel, and an 1970's or earlier Remington 870 shotgun.

My sole nod to high capacity modernity is a Browning HP. I don't own a "tactical" anything.
 
With regard to reloading times I mean I don't see a difference between a revolver and an auto. I can reload either <moon clips> as quickly. I think having good strategy and tactics is much more important then your choice of carrying an auto or a revolver. I think caliber and bullet choice are much more important then platform as well.
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There are less steps to reload a semi than there is to reload a revolver, with that said it is quicker to reload a semi, hands down. I will go as far to say that the average shooter can drop a mag and insert a new one before or in the same amount of time as it takes someone to open the cyilnder and eject the spent shells.
 
Yep, and as I've said plenty of times before, I like revolvers. But their forte is decidedly not speed of reload, at least when compared to a typical semi-auto pistol.
 
ya know... one thing I've not seen, is just how much fight does someone who has been hit COM say, even twice with a 5 shot revolver have left in them??? I'm guess I could certainly out run / maneuver someone with 2 holes in their lungs... I'm betting even if they are holding a gun or knife, if shot twice already, their aim is not going to be true, & their knife skills severely compromised...

yes I know that there may be more than one attacker, but honestly, how many buddies are willing to die for their friends cause weather that be the few dollars you had in your pocket, or because you're dating his ex wife ( for example )

by all means, if you are fighting Taliban or working national security, you may need that high cap, but most probably for us regular Joes, 2-3 shots is going to end even a multiple attacker situation... I still feel more comfortable with my double stack 10 mm when I'm down town "big city" but my compact 380 or 5 shot revolver gives me plenty of comfort in 99% of my travels
 
Was just thinking... I remember years ago when Dallas PD went to the wonder nines. A suspect was fired upon by several patrolmen with the new 9mm. They expended like 140 rounds, of which they hit him 9 times, including 6 upper body hits.

He was on TV the next day giving an interview.

I cannot say, but I think shot placement may be more important than volume of fire. I recollect there were more than 100 misses in that engagement.

This is from memory.
 
I cannot say, but I think shot placement may be more important than volume of fire.
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I doubt that anyone would disagree with this premise-but there's no such thing as having too many rounds on-board when bullets are coming your way.
 
Shot placement is the key factor in defending yourself. if someone cannot bring a bad guy down with five well placed rounds forget it. I do not care what kind of drug the dude is on. You hit him with 5 well placed rounds of 357 hollow point ammo, head, scrotum, and center of mass he is done. That is just my opinion.
 
Shot placement is the key factor in defending yourself. if someone cannot bring a bad guy down with five well placed rounds forget it. I do not care what kind of drug the dude is on. You hit him with 5 well placed rounds of 357 hollow point ammo, head, scrotum, and center of mass he is done. That is just my opinion.
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You are assuming you are going to hit him with all 5 rounds in your snub. Out of all the guns I have shot, snub revolvers are some of the hardest to shoot, and I carried a S&W 60 and 640 for 3 years and trained with them frequently. Throw a moving target and adrenaline into the equation and your target suddenly becomes that much harder to hit. Even with that said, it's possible to take a cylinder full of .357's to the chest and live if you happen to miss vitals, there is no such thing as a sure thing with terminal ballistics.
 
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