Suggestions for a first revolver invited.

possibly IPSC revolver.
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I will suggest S&W 627 8 shot 38/357 or a S&W 929 9 mm 8 shot

but this raises the issue of what happens if light loads meant for the revolver end up in the automatic - not dangerous, just frustrating.
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If you are going to shoot IPSC power factor is involved so semi-autos should work. I down load my 45 acp to 600 fps. for my revolver and these loads will function all my semi-autos

Reloading 9mm for a semi auto, you may have heard (or had to deal with) "bullet set back". With a revolver the issue is exactly the opposite. Bullet "creep" or "jump" (aka "jumping the crimp")

In a revolver, recoil acts on the rounds like a bullet puller. The gun, firmly holding the case, recoils away from the bullet, which inertia tries to keep in place. The amount of pull varies a lot due to several different factors, which is why we crimp (roll crimp) revolver rounds.
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Good solid crimp will eliminate this issue. My 45 acp and 38 short colt which neither have roll crimp just get a little extra crimp
 
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Thanks all for your input to date.

I will go have a look and see what's in the LGS and then report back. Buying direct from the store will eliminate any potential legal worries regarding barrel length and let me get my hands on the guns for weight and balance. I am very, VERY attuned to the need to know how the gun "feels" in the hand and also on the trigger - I handled several handguns repeatedly before settling on the M&P, which felt the best overall.

The more I thought about it, the more I considered that the only sensible thing to do is go for .357. Given what 44 AMP has said, I realise that it may actually be more complicated than it first appears to handload the same ammo for a revolver and an automatic; best to keep the calibres separate.
 
Sounds like a good plan. .38sp and .357mag are the easiest caliber to load IME. The only thing to be aware of when loading other than full magnum rounds is to be careful not to double charge a round since the cases have a lot of volume and a lot of charges don’t use up a lot of that space. Plus you can use a lot of different powders and get good results, very versatile to load for.
 
686 Plus or GP100 I guess you heard that enough.... My advice is to inspect both closely before purchasing... QC is a thing of the past
 
If you want to shoot IPSC and 9mm, there are really only 2 choices.
S&W 929 or Ruger 5066.

If you decide to go the .357 route, a 627 S&W? I shoot a 627
with short colt brass in USPSA revolver.

If IPSC wasn't in the mix, I always have one suggestion for a first
revolver (and for the "Everybody should have at least one") revolver:

K frame size 6 shot 357 Magnum. 4" with adjustable sights. Ruger, S&W,
whatever. Shoot anything from cowboy bunny fart loads to full house 357.

Personally I'm partial to older pinned and recessed Smith and Wessons.
A nice Model 19 makes me smile.
 
Like most others that got into reloading I started with a .357. Easy to reload in powder puff .38 wad cutters up to powerhouse 170gr.-180 gr hunting loads. Lots of room to experiment Cast bullets help keep the cost down and no scrambling around for the brass. Good luck.
 
Well live and learn I was not aware of the Canadian law on barrel length. Interesting stuff. I guess part of what you get will involve cost. Personally I like the S&W older guns and blued steel but that's just my taste. I also like the S&W Model 19 or the 586 and when a pocket book permits the Models 27 and 28 are both nice heavier frame guns. I also like the Ruger revolvers so what this comes down to is how any given revolver feels in your hands since after all this will be your gun and your wallet.

Ron
 
pathdoc said:
SPECIFICATION

Intended use: Casual shooting, possibly IPSC revolver.

Restrictions: I live in Canada, so ultra-compact revolvers are off the table (minimum barrel length is at least 4 inches IIRC) and self-defence use is not a consideration. The silver lining is that I don't have to be able to wear it all day, it doesn't have to be concealable, and I can carry it holstered openly when on the range.

Considerations for calibre: I have all the necessary gear for reloading 9mm, and have considered a 9mm Parabellum revolver for commonality. I could down-load 9mm for low recoil without cycling issues, but this raises the issue of what happens if light loads meant for the revolver end up in the automatic - not dangerous, just frustrating.

The alternatives, therefore, are .357 Magnum and .38 Special. A .357 Magnum revolver suggests itself due to being able to use both types of ammunition, but can the experienced hands tell me if there is any downside at all with feeding a .357 a steady diet of .38 Special? The only downside of this is the need to buy an extra set of reloading dies, have bullets in the ever so slightly larger calibre, etc.
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Not quite sure what you mean by "bullets in a slightly larger caliber". The bullets are the same diameter and interchangeable. Use the same dies adjusted for .38 spl. and add a .125" washer to the press to switch to .357. Easily done. I vote for the GP100. The only downside is an erosion of the chamber if you shoot thousands of .38, making high pressure .357 had to extract.
 
jetinteriorguy said:
Interesting, I’ve never heard of throat erosion in a revolver from shooting .38sp in a .357 mag.
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Not throat erosion, chamber erosion. Each chamber will develop a bit of erosion at the end of the .38 brass due to gases eroding the steel over a period of time.You can see this as a ring and feel it with a pick. Then when you shoot high pressure .357 the brass will flow (fire forming) into the eroded area of the chamber and cause .357 brass difficult to extract. It will take a lot of .38s to cause this due to their low pressure, but can be remedied by careful use of a mop and paste with fine grit to polish the chambers.
 
It needs some trigger work to lighten it up, but I love my Chiappa Rhino with a 4" barrel. It has no muzzle climb. Strangely, it conceals quite well.
 
Oops, sorry my bad, yes I meant chamber silly me. I’m going to have to check some of my older revolvers with higher round counts to see if any of this is happening.
 
I think you will find this to be a problem in .357s if a lot of .38s have been fired. In my case the .357 brass stuck only if I was shooting maxed out loads.
 
If you have very large hands look at the N frame S&W model 27. I never have owned an N frame because they just felt a bit too large for my hands. If you like how they feel then that opens up other calibers to choose from such as .41Mag, .44Special, .44Mag, .45 Colt, .45ACP and then the hotter ones.

You may not be impressed with any of the triggers on new production guns. If you go to the range where they are competing I'm sure most shooters will love to let you check out the feel of some smoothed out revolvers. I'm partial to the older 586/686 but was amazed how smooth a GP100 can be made.

If you are serious about competing and want to be competitive, now is the time to listen to those who do compete so you pick the right model the first time. Otherwise you may be handicapping yourself. Find out now if you will want 6, 7 or 8 rounds in the cylinder and why.
 
Probably the best revolver I ever owned was my S&W 627. What a sweet shooter, accurate as heck and just an all around beautiful gun. Unfortunately I accidentally double charge an already hot load of Titegroup and blew the top of the cylinder and top strap off of it. Luckily no one hurt other than a scratch on my forehead where part of it bounced off my head. I no longer use Titegroup and even after over 30 years of safe hand loading learned a lesson the hard way about being vigilant. If using a progressive loader and you have a malfunction, take all the rounds out and set them aside and deal with them later, don’t just put them back in rotation the way you think you took them out. Plus I no longer use a progressive, strictly my Lee Classic Cast turret for pistol.
 
Have done a little bit of shopping around and was able to handle a .357 Magnum revolver labelled "ALFA Stainless, Model 3551C", apparently made in the Czech Republic. Does anyone here have experience with these revolvers, specifically with regard to long-term reliability? The gun feels OK, if somewhat heavier in the hand than my S&W M&P, although this is probably a matter of attaining familiarity. Single-action trigger feels very, very nice. Double-action is passable, possibly "heavy", but I have no other recent revolver experience against which to compare.

That was all the shop had in at the time. I will try to handle a couple of other brands before committing to a sale.
 
Grizzly2 said:
If you have very large hands look at the N frame S&W model 27. I never have owned an N frame because they just felt a bit too large for my hands. If you like how they feel then that opens up other calibers to choose from such as .41Mag, .44Special, .44Mag, .45 Colt, .45ACP and then the hotter ones.

You may not be impressed with any of the triggers on new production guns. If you go to the range where they are competing I'm sure most shooters will love to let you check out the feel of some smoothed out revolvers. I'm partial to the older 586/686 but was amazed how smooth a GP100 can be made.

If you are serious about competing and want to be competitive, now is the time to listen to those who do compete so you pick the right model the first time. Otherwise you may be handicapping yourself. Find out now if you will want 6, 7 or 8 rounds in the cylinder and why.
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Bought my GP100 in 1993. After a couple of months decided the action was too hard and gritty. Using stones and files I polished the sear, the hammer strut and the inside of a the strut spring with a fine rat tail file. Smoothed the the sides of the hammer and the frame and did everything I could to polish the inside of the cylinder, extractor and crane assembly that contacts the cylinder wall. That provided a SA pull that is short and not more than a couple of pounds. Double action is smooth but still fairly heavy, moving a lot of mass when loaded. As the man said, GPs can be made very smooth.
 
Revolver choice

Do you have the need for a .357Mag? If not, do not get it.

If you have no need for a .38Splc +P you do not need a heavy frame revolver.

Look at K frame Smiths. Good balance and action is simple to slick up.
 
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