Best revolver ever....I hope this is not too boring or too general

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Doc Hoy

New member
This is (I think) my first post on the Revolver forum.

I hang around over at the C&R, the BP the Smithy and Handloader forums but my issue may be better addressed here.

Recently purchased a S&W Model 10-5 from somewhere aroung 1963.

I own a total of about sixty revolvers but because of the nature of my accumulation they do not represent a good cross section of revolver technology history. There are a lot of bicycle revolvers, cap and ball clones but very little that is recent quality technology. So I can't compare and thus I come to you.

Is there a golden age of revolver technology? I would be most interested in your reaction to the question and your rationale.
 
I'm sure you could get a lot of different answers... here's mine...

IMO... the best era of revolver quality, would be the time when the arc of highest use crosses with best metallurgy used... factor in a little pre bean counter, & we have, again IMO, the best era of revolvers... to me, that means middle / late 50's - through early / middle 60's
 
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I have shot, owned, and own old revolvers and new revolvers, Ruger, Colts, Smiths, Freedom I own them all, I don't have as many as you but my collection of say 11 would cost over $25K to replace {depending what the snake guns sell for, could be $20K just for one of them, lol}.

And in my opinion the new SW Performance Center stuff is the best. I know people like the older stuff and swear by certain guns, but my Vcomp and my 686 competitor {both 357} shoot better than full custom guns, second would be my freedom arms, I have a pair of premiers 1 in 327mag and one in 357 both are about the best made production revolvers I have ever held as far as fit and finish are concerned BUT I still don't enjoy shooting them as much as my pc smiths...

I shoot 3 revolvers out of all I own, the others are buried in the safes, my PC 625, my vcomp and the competitor, they shoot very very well and they are super reliable, the triggers are amazing... The vcomp has gone back to smith for a little more work, that gun is competition ready for under $2000!!!

Now that is for shooting, if you are talking about looking at a gun, some of the earlyish colts were sexy, most early non blue gun look very nice..
 
DOC... don't sell yourself short... I've seen what you do with those C&B revolvers...

I'm sure there will be those that think the Peacemaker days are the best era... I just look at "best" from a total quality point of view...

you mention the Bicycle guns... I also collect those, & there is so much innovation during that time... it's too bad the steel wasn't as good as later...
 
I don't know what's "best" but I know what I like. Generally speaking I like revolvers, especially Smith & Wesson and Colt, from say the early/mid 30's to the early 90's or so. I can't really say why I like those, I just do.

I don't rule out earlier or later, it's just that I'm not really looking for them.
 
Rifleman

You are probably in a very good position to speak from your experience.

I would personally like to say that the emergence of Ruger coincided with an advance in technology but that opinion would be based on a very narrow field of comparison.

My thought roughly parallel's Magnum Wheel Man's but I can't claim as broad a basis as he can.

I notice that no-one is speaking of the revolver industry outside of the U.S.

As I try to think of the foreign designs that are contemporary to Colt or Remington or Smith & Wesson post 1870 while simultaneously being representative of the pinnacle of the art, I am left with Webley. But that is not because I am certain that quality examples did not exist, only that I don't know about them yet.

It is entirely possible that during the 1870 to 1920 time frame, we in the U.S. made and sold handguns for different reasons from the reasons to be found in Europe.

Europe was almost continually at war in one place or another and hence one might anticipate the emergence of a war focused handgun economy based upon supplying the most sidearms for the lowest cost. Revolvers were being made in lare quantities to turn over to civilian conscripts at a time when individual firearm accuracy was not yet fully developed. (Here I am speaking more of the beginning of the period than of the end of it.)

In the U.S. the accident of history produced the 1911 and the revolver industry shifted to law enforcement or to civilians.

Do I have this wrong?
 
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When it comes to revolvers, I like the Colt Python, and Colt Trooper. I got my Python in about 1980, new. I bought the Trooper like a year ago used.
They are so well made, I can use them for boat anchor too.:D
 
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DOC... don't forget that Germany made many many revolvers over the years, both of good & poor quality ( Sauer & Sons, for example made many of the old Herters company revolvers, which were generally pretty good... but Germany also made the ROM's which were generally pretty bad ) also Russia had the Nagant revolvers, which were not smooth, but I think reliable... I was looking for inspiration for this thread & just saw a Husqevarna revolver from the late 1800's while crude looking, any guns of that era & brand I've seen before were always pretty good "quality"... it does however look like Britton was one of the few producers of revolvers that were made late enough that they could have been built with quality steels... seems most other countries did not make many consumer quality handguns, & most military handguns made the transition to autos by the time metallurgy had gotten to the point that the American made guns had gotten
 
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Doc that feels like a very accurate take on the past, I do believe the 1911 had a big part in automatics "taking over", revolvers had a very small part in the last centuries conflicts, I think the 1917 was about the last of the wheel guns in war, I know some smith 10, 12, and 15's were used in vietnam {mostly air force} and the 1917 was used by both sides, but they don't seem like they have a place in formal military past the early 1900's. I think that has a lot to do with why they aren't as popular as they once were, kind of like carbs on engines vs fuel injection...

I don't know a ton about history and I can be wrong but that is my take on it..

I know some people say new revolvers have gone backwards and they prefer the older stuff, normally make and model specific, but I don't see that, I have never felt as nice of a factory trigger as the SW PC guns, I know the old colts were tighter, but that also lead to some of their issues, the new smiths work and work for many many rounds... In a time when the military isn't pushing for revolver technology with private use fueling the advancement of the product I don't think they are doing too bad.

I prefer a DA revolver and a SA automatic, the reason I shoot my 1911's more is because of the trigger pull and balance, I am more accurate with them and shoot them more efficiently than any revolver I ever held, on the other hand my uncle can shoot his 25-5 custom like a machine gun, he owns 4 of them and has been shooting revolvers for 40 years...

Sadly I think from here on revolvers have 2 places in production, high end target pistols and compact carry power both of which are going to be declining as automatics continue to take over the market place...

NOW that being said to comment on the non domestic revolvers, I can not think of one that I would like to own... :D Although my father has a nice pair of type 26's from japan and I wouldn't mind adding them to my collection someday, but no time soon, since there is only one way he is giving them up, he also has a type 14..
 
I have to agree with Magnum Wheel Man and second the vote for S&W's PC lineup. At one point I had about two dozen revolvers, single and double action, old and new. I've pretty much sold most of them and the remaining one's collect dust in the safe except for two which are both PC revolvers from S&W, a M629-4 Scope Only Master Hunter .44 mag and a M627-5 8 shot .357 mag. Both are far more accurate than I am capable of shooting.
 
Revolvers of today are lighter, stronger and more powerful than anything that came before.
Beautiful finishes I fear are pretty much a thing of the past though.
 
time for some pics ???

I have many revolvers I shoot more often, but it's a real treat to be able to pull this out of the safe & dust it off...

to me, this is the pinnacle of revolvers... nicest balance of trigger, of any gun I own or have ever shot... S&W & Colts of this era were simply the best...

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BTW... again, this is my opinion... & to RIFLE... my 2nd best double action trigger is on a "newer" S&W 610... unfortunately the revolver had to go back to S&W 3 times from my new purchase, before it was safe to shoot ( excessive headspace, & S&W customer service told me to send it back, as it was unsafe to shoot )... but it now has an even nicer trigger after the 3rd time it came back...

& not to poo poo the Rugers, because I likely own more of them than other brands, but they lack the refined feel & action of a vintage S&W or Colt

the gun pictured above came from my FIL, it was purchased from his buddy, a retired MN State patrol officer, & it may have been his service weapon, ( but is not stamped any way, so it may have been his personal gun ) but, of which he used to win most all the local practical shooting competitions of that time... I only take her out every once in a while just to keep her fresh... she has honest service wear, but her beauty is in her pedigree & condition on the inside :)
 
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I would put my 686 competitor {has been sent in for master package} against any revolver ever made, I was once told the freedom was a better gun, wel I spent $2500 and ordered one and STILL the vcomp and 686 feel better to me, and shoot better, for $1000+ less...

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heres a pic of the 2 guns I shoot every week, I own many but I never go to the range with out these 2, the vcomp has been sent back to S&W for the master treatment {I think it cost me $165 shipped both ways}, the 1911 unrelated is a baer bullseye, I have fired SO SO many rounds through these two guns, the bullseye gets low power semi wads and the 357 gets what ever I feel like loading, 38, 38s, 357, all lead wadcutters and semi wadcutters, I cast a few lifetimes of revolver ammo in my short years...

I urge any revolver "guy" to look into 2 of them sw pc guns, the 686 competitor and the vcomp, pick the one that feels best to you and then send it for the $165 master treatment, the gun is amazing out of the box and a little better never hurt anyone...
 
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My list is not about the best ones but about the ones I'll buy if I had enought money:
1) Korth;
2) Manurhin MR73;
3) Ma.Te.Ba. (any .38Spl and .357Mag model);
4) Armi Olmi 963 MF;
5) Dan Wesson (any .38Spl and .357Mag model);
6) Colt Python;
7) S&W 27;
8) Chiappa Rhino.
 
5-Shots and Rifleman...

I have a problem which is the opposite of yours. Everything I see, I want to buy.

Has nothing to do with quality, features, reliability, history, or the weather.

I am not a collector, I am an accumulator.

Additionally I did a little reading about European revolvers and there are plenty of examples of average quality specimens from France, Belgium (I don't call the Nagant 1895 a Russian revolver), Germany, England etc.

Maybe it is my patriotism, maybe it is my ignorance but I see none which are the equivalent of the Colt 1873, Remington 1875, or Smith and Wesson 1917. Perhaps a retired BRITISH officer would feel differently.

Anyway to recap, there are presently two general trains of though in the responses. One if that the revolver golden age was 1950s to 1960s give or take. The other says that the golden age is now.
 
Thank you magnum..


Doc- I am not sure if I would word it that way, "golden age" to me would imply something different, I think 50-60's since that is when the guns were really in their prime when it came to sales and being used {non military}... I think the quality and precision is now better, I think the sw pc guns are just the end all to all revolvers, and they just happen to be very affordable...

I can't understand why guys are seeking out python snake guns when the smiths that are in the gun shops cases are available and will shoot better and last longer {collectors aside}....


I am still in the camp that I don't care what anyone shoots as long as they are shooting, if you enjoy a ruger single action, smith 357, colt python, old ball gun, ect just get out there and shoot it, thats all that really matters...
 
one more comment... ( TMD... you guys are going to make me have to go buy a new S&W aren't you ;) )

actually today we have the ability to make the "best" revolver... we have the equipment & alloys needed to do remarkable things ( I have a 6 shot Ruger 454 Casull Alaskan, that has very thin chamber walls, yet it safely contains the brutal pressures dished out by 454 Casull cartridges )... I also have many custom revolvers, a lot of the machine work done by master machinists on very accurate equipment...

company's like S&W in their performance center retain the right people to do "master packages" on their guns internals

unfortunately, I feel that a wide cross section of revolvers produced are much lower quality than a wide cross section of revolvers produced say in the 50's & 60's...

that doesn't discount though, that the best revolvers made ( or capable of being made ) aren't being made today... they just aren't the average gun... however I do feel the potential for the best, certainly does exist today...
 
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