SA for regular carry

C

Cowboy Preacher

New member
I was just wondering does any one carry a SA as their main carry gun? My Ruger Blackhawk(.357mag,7.5bbl) is the gun I use for my CCW. Am I hopelessly out dated and out gunned or will this do the job? I sometimes carry the twin of my gun in a crossdraw holster. I sholud say most of the time.
 
Preacher, I think a lot of people are going to tell you a SA revolver is a bad choice for carry. They will say it is slow to fire, possibly unsafe because of the light SA trigger, and slow to reload.

Dont listen to them. A SA revolver works just as well now as it did 120 years ago. Feel confident you are as well armed with that 357 as you are with any auto.
 
Preacher:

You should always listen to your Dr. If you are able to shoot that SA quickly and accurately, you are not "out gunned", under gunned or out classed. Tactics might end up being a little different but nothing is written in stone. Well, almost nothing. There is that story about Moses and those tablets. :)

The only other comment I would make is: If I were to carry an SA, it would have a shorter barrel. Perhaps 4 5/8" like my Blackhawk .45Colt.
 
Used to carry my custom p-12 then it was the glock 27. I grew up shooting single actions and that is what I shoot most at the range. I now carry a sherrif model colt with a birds head grip from loaded with winchester silvertips in .45.
 
Most cops don't require a twenty round burst in the line of duty. How many agressors do you anticipate?

It is the first decisive HIT that counts, not the capacity of one's magazine.

Single Action? Sounds good to me.

Archie. (A real preacher who wants to be a cowboy.)
 
I sure wouldn't feel helpless with 6 rounds of .45 Colt tucked into my waistband. It wouldn't be my first choice (my single action auto, 1911 would be) and I wouldn't recommend it to the neophyte, but I don't see any problem with the man who puts in the time and practices. When I was first starting out, I frequently carried a Ruger Single Six in my waistband with the loading gate open to keep it from falling down into my pants. It wasn't ideal for self defense by any means, but it was all I had, and with a two handed hold I could put 6 rounds of CCI Stingers onto a pie plate at 25 yards as fast as I could work the hammer. First round hits (the most important ones with any gun) become even more valuable when you don't have 15 rounds to fall back upon.
 
If I knew where I could get my 2nd gen civillian converted to a slipgun I'd do it, get to know it real well afterwards, and then carry the thing.
 
As to whether to carry a single action pistol, I think it is just fine to do so as long as you are proficient with it. Practice, practice practice. I have seen some mighty fast people with a SA. And they could hit what they shot at! I think my only reservation with your particular gun is that long barrel. I think maybe a 4 5/8" barrel might be more suited to CCW work. (Quicker to clear leather) Just my 2 cents worth.
 
I'm sure you could do fine in the fight, but... and I hate mention this. If you do ever have to use the gun your gonna get screwed over big time in civil court after the shooting. Nearly everybody who makes a shoot no matter how clean gets sued and not one but two big old hog legs trounced out in front of the jury is gonna look real bad.

In fact it could make the difference in whether your charged crimminaly in the shooting or not. The differnce between two 7 inch cowboy guns and a nice "correct" little 38 snub might be the difference between the prosecutor seeing you as a citizen forced to defend himself, or a wanna be cowboy looking for trouble so he could play Clint Eastwood on the semi-innocent town folk.

I know it's not fair, but fair's got nothing to do with it.

Best wishes, Blue Duck
 
Size and weight aside, the SA is just as fast for the first shot as any other gun IF current PC safety rules are ignored and the hammer is thumbed back while drawing. If one waits until the gun is pointed at the target before cocking the hammer, the SA is way too slow.

It is the difference between life or death reality and range shooting for fun.

Jim
 
I think the "slowness" factor may be over-rated.

Does anyone know of a case where a SA guy got killed by someone because his gun was too slow? Maybe its happened, but I havent heard of such a situation.

As far as the legal thing is concerned, you may be better off with a cowboy style single action than anything else. If you use a 38 snub the lawyers could argue this was a "saturday night special". If you use and auto, they could accuse you of being a "Rambo Wannabee". Most people arent going to think of a cowboy style gun as a "weapon of mass destruction".
 
I disagree strongly about jury impact. Even assuming they get to view the weapon in a pure self defense case, would you rather have the kind of revolver a baggy-panted hood would use or the kind of revolver the Duke used? As far as handguns, they're about as PC as you can get.
 
Everyones got a right to thier opinion, but remember were not talking about grabbing the old single action from your nightstand (which would probably be very PC) but rather intentionally carrying two 7 1/2 inch barreled guns concealed in public as part of your everyday attire.

Prosecutor or estates attorny in civil trial: "Mr. Cowboy you walked out the door with not one gun but two. Carrying one of these monsterous MAGNUM pistols (waives it in front of the jury) wasn't even enough for you! you had to have two! Just like the killer outlaw's of the old west you so admire. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury your question is to decide whether this man walked out of his house to buy ice cream the night of January 27th or get into a gunfight(waives both pistols around again). What does it look like left his house intending to do?"

I'm not trying to be a jerk here or anything, if you like'em great, carry them. But I spend a lot of time in court and can tell you what you might be looking at if things go bad. No offense intended with this post, not even saying the legal or civil aspects should be your main concern, but still it does no harm to be aware of what might happen.

Regards, Blue Duck
 
Blue Duck:

I must have missed something...

Who said anything about carrying 2 guns? I re-read all the threads here and dont see it mentioned, but it is late and I am sleepy and may be missing it...
 
As to legalities:

You can make the prosecution look like idiots if they don't like your "Cowboy Gun".

Ask how they'd react if you had something ultra-modern and high-cap!

The truth is, they just don't like people defending themselves and would drop red herrings all over the place no matter what. It's a "Goldilocks problem", where the gun will always be "too murderous" or "evil and ultra-concealable" or "ancient junk" or "modern .mil wanna-be" or *something* screwed up.

The reality is, an SA wheelgun is usually particularly accurate and capable of moderate-speed but well-aimed fire if you do your part. As long as you're well-practiced with it, it's the most "bystander-friendly" type of defensive handgun made.

If possible, I would recommend something with a transfer bar or hammer block safety. That means Ruger or FA, or maybe one of the German SAs? You could then explain that it may look like a 19th century gun, but it has modern metallurgy and distinctly 20th century safety features. Failing that, you could explain how five-up carry works.

Blue Duck may be right about a pair of 7.5" barrels though. When I finally score CCW via my current Fed court lawsuit :), I hope to carry a 4.5" to 5.5" barrel .357 or possibly .45LC, plus a .22Mag SA minirevolver as backup. That combo should work pretty well both street and court.

Jim
 
Doc, not sure how to quote here but in the first post Cowboy Preacher states he sometimes or most off the time carries the "twin" of his Black hawk in a cross draw holster. I'm assuming his mentioning carrying his "twin" in a crossdraw referred to the fact he still had his primary weapon in whatever carry he normally uses. I apologize if I have misinterputed his initial post.

Let me clarify that my problem from the perception, was carrying TWO extremely large hanguns not just the fact that they were sigle action. I think you would have the same problems in court with two Desert Eagles or Ruger Redhawks with 8 inch barrels.

Regards, Blue Duck
 
I try to always carry at least two guns. One little-bitty one and one great big honkin' one, like a 5.5" Redhawk. Or a Witness 38 Super LongSlide. Or my 1911. Or a GP100.

Or not.
 
Ok, Blue Duck, I see what you mean...

I am not sure how to interpret what the Preacher said.

Hey Preacher, are you carrying one or two?
 
In ther past I've carried a 4&5/8" .45 Blackhawk ( now owned by a friend), and expect to occasionally carry a similar Vaquero, particularly if outdoors. I do own DA revolvers and pistols, but sometimes I feel more inclined for the nostalgic pieces. The first shot capability is excellent with this type of handgun, and the caliber is major by any definition.
 
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