What's a good smallbore revolver?

8

87IROC

Inactive
I am looking for a good small caliber revolver to get for home protection and to teach my fiance her way around a gun. I already have a .45 1911 but want to start her small to get her acclimated to them.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking .22 but wouldn't mind something a bit bigger. I'm new to gun collecting so I am not sure if anything even exists.

Thanks,
 
Just a bit bigger?

I would suggest a .357 revolver, such as a police trade-in. They're solid, cheap, reliable, and simple. Lots of avaliable, good-quality brands. (Colt, Ruger, S&W, Taurus, etc.)

You start out with .38 Specials. All .357's will be quite mild to shoot with .38's if they're not snubbies, and Specials are quite inexpensive, although not as cheap as .22's.

And the added bonus is you get to move up to +P's, and then full-house .357's in a gradual progression. and at the end, you still have an excellent defense/target gun to have around to protect you and provide years of enjoyment.
 
Since you have a 45, I would suggest supplementing w/ a 22lr revolver. Great CHEAP practice and lots of fun. People will always go back to something they enjoy and 22's are FUN to shoot. I've seen some people really dislike 38 specials and never want to touch a gun again. 22's are all day fun, then as you progress, you can shoot light loads through your 45 and progress on from there.
Good luck!
 
Greeting's All,

I wouldn't think of any caliber smaller than .38 Special, for
home defense.:D In today's society, filled with dope addict's
and pill head's even the largest of caliber's will fail in
some instance's.:eek: I perfer the old .45 ACP for home
defense, with it being a big, fat, slow moving bullet with
plenty of punch.:)

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
PERFECT CHOICE

S&W offers their stainless J-frame in 22LR with a three-inch barrel and adjustable sights.

That is a 'buy'.
 
$$$

I wasn't thinking much about cost...but if I go .22 LR pistol I don't think I'd spend much more than a couple hundred on it...I'm looking for used, not new. I haven't done much pricing on them though, so that could be too low.

If I go larger...I'd be looking to spend less than 400.

Thanks,
 
My girlfriend is wanting a homedefense gun, so we went shooting, too see what she liked and could handle. She's a wuss, she complained about recoil from light .45, VERY light .38spl, and even the 22/45. The only one she liked was a single action .22. People talk about a false sense of security from a .22, but not one of them will volunteer to put an apple on their head and let me shoot it off, What's wrong? It's only a .22.
I'd say take her shooting and see what she's comfy with then be good with it.
 
87IROC.......might consider a police turn in blued K frame Smith. Between two and three hundred usually. .38 or .357. Would be pre-agreement and probably last for a couple of generations of shooting. K frame grip small enough for small hands yet adequate for anyone else too. Enough meat in the gun that recoil will be very modest with all but the stoutest of loads.

Sam
 
As a dark horse choice, .32 H&R Magnum is making a comeback. You can shoot .32 *&* Long from it for low/no recoil familiarity sessions, you get 6 shots in a J-frame size platform, and there's both 85gr Federal JHP's and spicier Georgia Arms 100gr JHP's (same velocity as the Federals, but 15gr heavier). I have a Taurus 731UL and a Ruger Single Six in the caliber, and think the "poor man's magnum" might finally be getting more attention.
 
I was at a pawnshop today and I saw a S&W "Victory" model revolver chambered in the .38 S&W cartridge. This was used by the UK in WWII when they could not make enough Enfield and Webley revolvers for their troops.

The .38 S&W has no recoil nor blast to it at all. Anyone that can shoot a .22 or .32 will be able shoot a .38 S&W revolver.

The S&W Victory model revolvers can be found for sale in many gunshops for about $200 or thereabouts.
 
Thanks for all the help!! I am going to the Indy gun show tomorrow night and plan on doing some shopping. We'll see what I can find. I will probably wait til' the march 1500 to buy though.

Greg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top