Single Action Revolver as Primary Defense Gun?

C

CZ Gunner

New member
Just curious as to how many of you out, if anyone, use a single action revolver -- particularly a "western style" piece -- as their primary defensive weapon?

I just bought a new Ruger Bisley Vaquero (.44 Mag) and love it; however, I would ever use it as my primary defense gun because of its slow reloading speed. (Not to mention over penetration issues with urban situations, polished finish/light reflection, etc, etc, etc.)

Any "cowboys" or "cowgirls" out there?

Gunner
 
I carry a blued Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt. It has a 3.75 inch barrel and shoots real nice. I am not a cowboy, I don't shoot SASS matches, and I do have other weapons to shoot.

I am confident in my abilities with my chosen weapon and feel it fits me perfectly. I would never tell another person that I believed this to be the perfect weapon for anybody else, but it is a viable option.
 
I could use my super blackhawk for a primary defense weapon..I bought some of Garrett's 44 mag self defense loads.....250 gr. FP at 1000 fps with a very wide meplat....but, I use a GP100 357 mag as my primary bedroom handgun.....I would not feel too bad with the 44 though....I also pity the guy I hit with it.....
 
Doesn't Clint Smith teach a course on using the SAA revolvers, lever action rifles and side by side shotguns for home defense at Thunder Ranch?

Not the best gun available but it'd beat some of the stuff I've seen people bring to CCW classes.
 
Gunner, the caliber isn't a problem: there's a ton of good personal defense .44Mag loads that are either "downloaded" somehow, or are frangible, or both. The ProLoad based on the Speer Gold Dot 200grain doing just a bit over 1,000fps is among the better examples, one I'd pick over the Garrett. Cor-Bon has a decent answer too, although if your barrel is longish I'd pick the .44Spl variant of that load.

But the reload speed is admittedly the big issue.

There's a partial solution: Brownell's sells a "cylinder bore honing kit" that can polish the cylinder bores like mirrors. Using new brass (esp. nickle plated shells) at moderate pressure such as the .44Mag "defense loads" discussed, ejection by pure gravity is common. This is a well-known trick in SASS circles where it works in downloaded .44Mag and .45LC just fine (not so good in .38/357, pressure is too high).

OK, so how do you get fresh ones in there?

With a plastic tube that's corked on the "business end", and a string run through the cork. Yank cork with teeth, hold the tube over the loading gate, spin the cylinder :D.

Option two: score a Desert Eagle .44Mag magazine, and thumb rounds in from that :). Or modify an AR mag to get the same effect...a cheap 10rd-er will hold at least six 44 shells...you'd have to alter it, but it'd be cheaper than a DE mag. I'd go with a tube, myself.
 
I'd say YES for anyone who shoots cowboy and pratices regularly. A .45 colt is still an effective 'stopper", as is a .44 special.

It's rather a pain to speed reload a Vaqero without a free spin pawl if you over-index.

I have have kept my Vaquero .44 as my primary defensive weapon, generally while out in the woods anyway, rather than at home.

I practice with "cowboy" loads by Ultramax and "mid range" 240 gr loads by Remington. I stoke it with winchester 240 gr softpoints when I take it hunting. I bought some 240 gr hydra shocks, but those are of little use on game (too rapidly expanding to me). Any one of those is a pretty effective rock against varmints.

Single actions were effective for 60 + years, and still are. There are better "solutions," but the basic problem is the same. Practice makes perfect.
 
Just curious, but how many people know someone who actually has ever had to reload during a gunfight?

If you are one of us normal civilian-types, carrying a gun for defense (no plans to bust up gangs or become Rambo), then statistically speaking, there is no such event as needing to reload in a gunfight.
 
Another option is to have two single action revolvers on you. If the primary runs out of ammo, instead of reloading it (which takes a while), pull out your other revolver. If you need more than 12 rounds in a firefight, chances are you're in for more than you can chew.
 
I've carried by Ruger SA in 45LC as self-defense gun but that was out in the woods and my concern was 4 legged creatures... not 2 legged ones. It was loaded with very hot ammo and I didn't think I could do much accurate shooting one handed with DA revolver shooting 320gr cast bullet at 1,200 fps.
 
This topic has been covered at least three times in the past. Try the search engine under the title topic "single action" and "defense" or "carry", and other variations on that search.

I think the best line anyone has had to say on the subject of Single Actions (for home defense, in his case):

"How many of the people who think it's ridiculous to use a SA .45 for household defense would use a single action (pump) shotun?"
 
I own 3 Ruger Bisley's. A .357, a .44 Mag and a .45 LC.

Would feel comfortable with any one of them for a primary source of defense if necessary.

One thing to keep in mind is, not to wait until all 6 rounds are expended before reloading, but to reload after firing 3 or 4 rounds.

That's how I did it at the O.K. Corral....or was it The Big Horn?:D

Safe shooting.
 
An old gun fighter I read about said it best "If it takes more than 6 rounds to stop a fight something is wrong with your character".
My character has never been tested thank heavens but I feel really safe with my Ruger 45 LC in my waistband. If I ever find out my character is wanting I will turn coyote and haul arse when my 6 are fired.
 
A .44 magnum or even .357 is way too loud to use as a defensive gun inside your house unless you're wearing some earplugs. It will burst your eardrum. For an indoor gun I go 9mm.
 
Some good ideas here. Personally, I put a sign on the door reading "No More Than Six Intruders Allowed At One Time". That takes care of the reloading problem.

Then inside, I put up a second sign:

"Attention Intruders -
Do Not Attack Until I Put On My Shooting Glasses and Ear Muffs.
You Must Wait While I Press Check My Pistol, Select Proper Ammunition, and Ask The Guys On The Site What To Do."

I think that way I am pretty well protected against a surprise attack. And it works. The last time, the bad guys were still doubled up laughing as the cops took them away.

Jim
 
Psychosword: that's just plain not true, when we're talking about "downloaded self defense .44Mags" - most are SUBsonic and about the same power level as .44Spl, .45ACP or .45LC, none of which are known for shredding eardrums.

There's nothing magically earth-shattering about shells that are marked "44Magnum" if the load is actually watered down to about the muzzle energy of a warm .40S&W. The only reason they're using Magnum-length shells instead of Specials is for accuracy, so the bullet doesn't have to travel a length of smoothbore cylinder bore before hitting rifling.

Same thing in .357 - ProLoad and others offer "tactical light" loads that are somewhere between .38+P and full-house .357, for use in the new TI/SC snubbies.

Now, if you use REAL .44Magnums indoors, it's gonna get ugly when your brains leak out your shattered eardrums. But that's not what we're talking about.

And absolutely, a Ruger SA carried for SD should have a Power Custom Freewheel Pawl or similar mod that allows the cylinder to spin both ways when the loading gate is opened.
 
I carry my .44 Mag Super Blackhawk with me whenever I head up county. I guess that it would count as my primary defense weapon at such times.

I don't worry about reloading because I figure to have either stopped the fight or found some kind of cover to hunker down behind while reloading after the first six. 'Bout that time I'm sure to be cussing not having brought the AR too...
 
If you have one of the convertibles with two cylinders, try reloading that. I can swap a cylinder long before I could reload all six.

Using a super blackhawk I can shoot two and reload those two because they are right by the loading gate.

One of the gun schools does show what can be done with some odd guns and on another board this discussion came up.

Shoot and empty gun one, and stick it in your belt with loading gate open. I forget if you have unloaded the expended shells or not. While shooting with one hand your other firearm, load the one in the belt.

The comment I liked from the instructor was something along the lines of "With single action revolvers you have to cheat."

But the student mentioned that the amount of fire kept up with the students real well due to the amount of practice the teacher had doing this.

A lever action rifle should in some ways be treated like a shotgun, top it off when you can.

If you know your weapon and know it well and use it often, anything works well because you know your limitations.

When a man knows his limitations, he should run when they are exceeded.
 
"No More Than Six Intruders Allowed At One Time"
Click to expand...

Good one.:D

I'm used to SASS rules so I'll have to change my limit to Five Intruders. Might even set pitcher of lemonade by the lawn chairs on the porch. That way the intruders can relax a bit while they are waiting to be shot.
 
Vaquero .44 magnum for home defense

There is nothing wrong with using a Vaquero .44 magnum for home defense. Load the gun with .44 special hollow points or hard cast lead bullets. Ruger single-six revolvers can safely hold six cartridges. Some double-action or semiautomatic enthusiasts might browbeat shooters who use single-six guns for carry or home defense. But when the bad guy breaks into your home and encounters a big bore single-six staring him in the face, is the single-six any less effective in obtaining the desired results when compared with a .380 or .45 ACP?
 
My bedside table 'Things go Bump! in the night' companion is a KP-90 Ruger .45ACP with 3 mags. However, I also have my Sheriff's Model .357 Vaquero handy, which gives me 6 more rounds to use, while fading back to the closet for the heavy-duty artillery...The M-1 Garand.

If I didn't have the .45ACP, then my First Line of Home Defense would be the .357 Vaquero.
 
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