Tag Archives: Revolvers

Weapons

In Defense of Snubs

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The Snubby article Firearms News Magazine‘s page seems to want to sell SIG 365’s. Which is fine. However, it misses some things. Like the reasons to use a Snubby. So please, allow me to illuminate those dark areas of Reason.They are very safe. I don’t know of any case where a Modern Snub Nose Revolver has fired without the Shooter wanting it to be fired. Firing when dropped went out the window when the gun makers ditched putting the firing pin on the hammer. Rossi I think still makes revolvers like that – and I’m not a fan. The new revolvers from S&W, Ruger, Kimber… They simply can’t fire accidentally. Note I didn’t say negligently – if you pull the trigger it will go bang. And that leads to the next reason. Reliability. The gun isn’t going to care if you have premium ammo, cheap ammo, or even no ammo… The action will cycle as designed since it functions mechanically by the trigger and not by recoil. You can fire very light target loads, bird shot loads, and anything up to the heaviest loads… All of them. A recoil-operated semi auto needs ammunition loaded within a specific spectrum of weights and energy in order to cycle properly. Semi Autos also need a bullet shape that will allow it to fit in the magazine and feed reliably from the magazine. Revolvers will work as long as you can fit the cartridge in the cylinder and close the cylinder. In a semi auto, if that round fails, the gun has a stoppage and has to be cleared. In a revolver just pull the trigger again to cycle to the next round.That being said, revolvers can still fail, but the occurrence is far less likely. Size & Weight. The size and shape of a snubby is generally very small and can be carried very easily. These new Subcompact Autos are great, and can even be slimmer. Now, in the Semi’s… You have options of .380, 9mm in these subcompacts, with an occasional .40 cal if you have a Glock 27. For the same size of that .38 Snubby – you could get a .357 Snubby. About the same size and weight (slight differences that don’t make a difference) and then you have the option for all the .357 Magnum loads AND all the .38 Special Loads. Your snubby doesn’t have to be an Airweight, an Ultra Light, a Featherweight… Whatever you want to call it. You can get it in Titanium, Scandium, Polymer, or good old Steel, Stainless or Not. Depending on what you want to load in it, depending on what you like – You can have it your way. Simplicity. A revolver is the casual and classic Jeans and T-Shirt style of carry… It’s never going to look bad, even if it isn’t the popular thing. Mechanically, the manual of arms is as simple as a handgun can get. There’s a latch to open and close the cylinder and there’s a trigger. There’s no slide to manipulate, no slide release lever. And if you get a Hammerless Snubby, you don’t even have a hammer spur to worry about. This makes drawing from deep concealment very easy. Yeah, the felt recoil is sharper the lighter you go in the gun and the hotter you go in the ammo, but you can find loads that balance in a way you like. Another thing I like, is that it’s not spitting brass across the room when you fire it. You can simply dump the empty brass right here where you want them and you don’t need to go around trying to find them all before the police sho… I mean, before you leave the Range. This article says the sights are superior. And that’s generally the case, but you can get good sights on small revolvers too. With standard sights though, I outshot my entire Police Academy Class and took Top Shot using a Snub Nose .38 that I had put bigger grips on. In a class full of Glocks, Berettas, SIG’s and other such pistols… My little S&W Model 10 Snubby did the job. There is no Right or Wrong in what you want to carry if you can carry it concealed and if you can make your hits with it. Sure, the SIG 365 is a cool pistol, as well as the others like it… Hellcats, and the like. They are great. But so are Revolvers. If you can make your hits with it – that’s all that matters, no matter what you pick to carry… It’s not the Plane, it’s the Pilot. My Snubby? A Ruger SP101 in .357 and I use Speed Strips to hold my reloads. It’s accurate as hell and I can make hits with it like folks that don’t know me wouldn’t believe. I load it with 158 grain Semi-Jacketed Hollow Points that cause trauma on a level by which all other calibers are judged by. Only 5 Rounds? I’m confident I can resolve any realistic self defense scenario with this kit. All I’m saying is don’t turn up your nose at a Snub Nose.

Weapons

That Old itch again…

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I’m getting that old timey itch again… for a Cowboy Gun. I’d love a Colt Single Action Army, and for me that means a Ruger Vaquero. The Transfer Bar Safety is the business and that’s a requirement. Because if I am only going to have 6 rounds in the gun, I want to keep all six chambers loaded. A Six Shooter is best with Six. Not the standard Colt load five and carry it with the firing pin down on an empty cylinder.

I know of three cases in the last decade where a person with a single action revolver dropped the gun and it hit hammer first, discharging the firearm and the bullet impacted the person in the lower abdomen. One case was fatal, one wasn’t quite but should have been, and the other the person was luckly and only lost a testicle and has to use a pump to have an erection… Okay, so two of them should have been fatal. But never mind all that… my point is the Transfer Bar Safety is a Must Have item for me.

Ruger makes a fine revolver and their Single Action Revolvers are, in my opinion, the best value for the money. I was also a fan of the Beretta Stampede, which also had a transfer bar safety. Unfortunately, they discontinued those… They were great looking pistols to be sure. I know other makers are putting out fine Colt Clones… and there is nothing wrong with them at all. They are probably better guns than the original Colts were. They are made with the original pattern and some slight upgrades… and they have the firing pins on the hammers as the Colts did. So those are non-starters for me.

I think I am most fond of the 5102 model at this moment. Not sure why, maybe I’m itching for that big fat .45 Colt round. Because that cartridge proves that these guns are just not Outdated by any means. That cartridge is still getting work done, and in a Ruger… it can do even more. I also like the 4.6 inch barrel. Just a little shorter, I think it feels just as good, points just as good, and looks just right to me.

Weapons

Ruger’s LCRX

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Some years ago, Ruger took a risk and did something very different. They made a Revolver out of Plastic. This was a bold move, and a big risk. Revolvers tend to be something for Traditionalists, and plastic guns and Traditionalists don’t really go together. When I first saw the little snub-nosed LCR, I was more than skeptical. Never took much interest in them. For one, the LCR is Hammerless and I just don’t really dig that. And at the time I wasn’t all that keen on Ruger either. And then Ruger did something that caused me to raise an eyebrow. They put a hammer on it, and took the barrel out to 3″. They called it the LCRx.

Now the gun has been on the market for a few years, and they still sell fairly well… So I thought I’d take another look at the LCRX and see how it’s held up. The X Factor of the longer barrel and hammer was really all it needed for me. This pretty much makes the gun the same size as my SP101 .357 Magnum. The big difference though is the LCRx is like half the weight of the SP101. It’s only 15.7 Ounces. For a Revolver that’s chambered and rated for .38 Special +P, that’s a feather. That’s nothing. You can also get it in .357 Magnum, .22 Magnum, .327 Federal, .22LR, and 9mm. That’s some good variety.

At the Range I worked some time ago, we had an LCRx available to rent for those that wanted to try it out. I shot it on a few occasions and even considered buying one myself before deciding to get the SP101 because I liked the weight when firing hot loads. Not that the LCRx couldn’t handle it. It is a Ruger after all. That means it’s built tough. It’s a clever design they have here. Being a polymer frame means they had to get a little creative in the architecture to make it work. And it works very well. It’s more than accurate enough for most anyone looking for a defensive gun. That said, and 25, I could cover my shot group with my hand. Even though it’s light in heft, the gun handles recoil surprisingly well. But better yet, you have an easier time packing it all day long if you chose to make it your EDC gun.

The action is certainly smooth enough to function well, as expected. But what’s not expected is just how easy this gun is to live with. Being as light as it is, and familiar in function to other Ruger revolvers, there is nothing alien about the Plastic Revolver here. Even if it looks kinda different and not what we’re used to seeing. One thing that stands out is the Cylinder. It’s sculpted drastically to take as much weight out of it as possible. Not all of the gun is plastic of course. The frames are made from a highgrade aluminum and the magnum versions are steel. Really the firecontrol house is polymer, and we know this isn’t a problem at all considering the majority of new guns these days are all made of polymer. This is just a novel application of that technology into someplace you don’t expect to see it.

Overall, I think the LCRx is a cool little gun. It might not be on your radar, and it might be something you’ve overlooked. But it’s well worth your time to give it some consideration. It would make for a great Concealed EDC Gun for someone wanting something different, or for someone having a tougher time with automatics.

You know, I’d actually love to see Ruger take the SP101 and use a Cylinder like this one it and make something kind of a hybrid. An SP101X.

Weapons

Some thoughts on a Saturday Morning

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I’m a 1911 guy.  I became a 1911 guy when I was a teenager.  My girlfriend’s father, Dave, instructed me on the ways of the Old Slab Sides.  I think I was the only guy that dated his daughter that he liked.  He was a cool guy too. But he introduced me to the gun and how it operated.  Which is good.  Because not very long later the US Government put a 1911 in my hand without any instruction.    I really liked the 1911.  Dave too.   Looking back, I liked hanging out with Dave more than his daughter.     I’ve had a lot of 1911’s since.

1911’s have developed a reputation for being less than reliable.  This is because saying “1911” is like saying “Pickup Truck”.   You can’t say all pickup trucks are unreliable.  Make, Model, Condition, and Maintenance Records are all important, no?  I’ve found 1911’s can be just as reliable as Glocks.  Can.  Not all.    There’s one specific word though that when combined with “1911” that should always be avoided.  That word is “Ultra”.  Don’t get any “Ultra” 1911.  Any 1911 that has the word “Ultra” on it, or even near it – just don’t do it.   Also, any barrel length below 4″ is best to be avoided.  This goes along the same lines as the word “Ultra”.

Continue reading Some thoughts on a Saturday Morning →

Weapons

In defense of the obsolete.

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Working in a gun store again, I get to hear all the old rundowns and complaints about the “Obsolete Old Man’s Guns”.  Maybe they are guns for the Older and Wiser crowd, but one thing they are not, is obsolete.  Windows 3.11 is obsolete.  A 1911 is going stronger than ever.1911ThreadedEnhanced_3QRight_BlkBushing
The 1911 has seen continuous use by the US Military ever since it was first adopted.  Sure, it was replaced in the Mid 80’s by the Beretta, but many units chose to keep their 1911’s in service.  Typically special operations type units.  These are guys who had the option to pretty much get whatever they wanted, and they chose to stick with what has been working.  For example, Marine MARSOC just bought a whole mess of Colt 1911’s… which replaced a whole mess of Springfields, which had replaced a whole bunch of Colts. Now, forgive me, but either MARSOC is staffed by overly sentimental geriatric clowns, or the 1911 is still a fine sidearm.  Given the fact that MARSOC follows an operational tempo that makes Call of Duty seem boring… I’m guessing those guys pretty much define “High Speed, Low Drag”.  Having met many MARSOC Operator, and worked with them on various things… Let me tell you… MARSOC knows their trade.  If a 1911 is so obsolete, I don’t think they would be using them.  On a side note, they also use Glock 19’s for when they are rolling incognito and have to carry concealed.  But that’s another subject.
Competitive shooters are still running a lot of 1911’s as well.  Guy’s who’s paychecks demand that they shoot as well as possible.  They are using those old obsolete 1911’s.   I don’t know about you, but every competition I’ve ever been in, hiccups in accuracy and reliability could pretty much cost you the match.Springfield-M1911A1-GI-45-Explodedv11
Here’s the thing. The 1911 requires a bit more knowledge, and a bit more TLC than other more recent designs.  But too many guys Harsh on the 1911 for the same “problems” that they give passes on the AR-15 for.  You just gotta know your gun. Know how to take care of it. Know what ammo shoots best in it.   The 1911 is complicated some people will say.  No, it really isn’t.  It’s a very simple machine and easy to understand if you will stop holding your breath and pouting that it isn’t a Glock.   Pay attention and learn… and show some respect.  The design is over a hundred years old and remains a top choice for handguns.
For the serious 1911 Operator the rituals of maintenance are part of the satisfaction of running it.  For them, the 1911 breakdown is like a Japanese Tea Ceremony.  It brings them peace and joy, and a belter understanding every time.  The Glock Operator is a crass barbarian in comparison.ruger-gp100-factory-3-inch-adjustable-sight
Revolvers are also far from obsolescence.  .357 Magnum remains the Gold Standard of defensive handgun cartridges.  .45 Colt is no slouch either.  .44 Specials, .44 Mags, always a crowd pleaser and few can shrug off catching one of those.  Loaded Light or Hot… Heavy slugs well aimed, no, that’s not obsolete.  Never will be… until we have a 40 watt Phased Plasma option.
Revolvers offer reliability with uncompromised accuracy and power.  If you call that obsolete, I’m calling you a fool.
The only thing truly obsolete is ignorance.  Yet in this Age of Internet, misinformation is at your fingertips and Urban Legends become forces of nature.  Opinions and facts feud like Hatfields and McCoys.
There is also the fact that like older cars, these Old Guy Guns are just better looking.  The visual appeal is biological… 1911’s, Revolvers… There are no new guns is as Sexy.   Maybe this is where the older and wiser comes in.  We take the time to appreciate the finer things.
Of course, all things considered, I guess Beretta 92’s and SIG 220/226/228/229 guns are Old Guy Guns as well.

hand-of-god-4x3-600x481

No… they are not Obsolete.  They are Classics.  Classics never go out of style for good reasons.  It’s why they are Classics.

Weapons

Beretta and Uberti

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Take a quick look at these.  A pair of SAA Clones.

At first glance, they look identical save for the Beretta’s little medallion in the grips.  There is a good reason for that.   Both are made by Uberti in Italy… Both are Spaghetti Westerns here.  However, the Beretta is imported by Beretta and the Uberti is imported by Stoeger for some reason.   What’s interesting is that the Beretta marked gun is less money.  What makes that so interesting?  The Beretta is the better gun by far.  Let me show you why.

Here you can see the grips if the Beretta very nicely. The way they should fit.

The wood grips on the Uberti have a bit of overlap that you can see and feel. Less comfortable in the hand too.

The Beretta uses a pretty standard, but well executed, Transfer Bar Safety, allowing you to easily load and carry in all six chambers.

The Uberti's firing pin on the hammer set up means you pack it with the hammer down on the empty chamber. Which is a good theory on safety, but leaves you will one less shot to fire.

You can see the seams between the panels. Not bad at all. That's a good fit and finish here. And that little medallion looks sharp.

Huh... Not so good.

What you can’t see in the photos is the FEEL.  The Beretta feels like it’s a much nicer gun.  It feels that way, because it really is.  I’d buy a Beretta easily over the Uberti, every day, every time.  The Uberti’s… not so much.  I like the clicks in the action as you pull the hammer back.

And here’s the kicker…

The Beretta is about 40 bucks less money.

Weapons

Relevant Revolvers

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I’ve heard a lot of people scoff Wheelguns lately. Saying that the revolver was dead. These are guys that worship at font of High Capacity and think good shooting is a 1.5 second mag dump. That’s all fine and well. Drilling at target mulitple times in the blink of an eye is fun. And in a gunfight, it would do the job.
However not all shooting is a gun fight. I don’t have to look over both shoulders before I safe my weapon and reholster every time I shoot because I tend to think that in an actual fight, that instinct is still going to be there.
Back the wheelguns… I think revolvers are actually seeing a resurgence of popularity. Not just the Snubs or the huge magnum .500’s… but in the mid sized guns in .357 and .44. Which used to be the main stream of handgunning. People are appreciating that great balance of power and controllability that 686 and 629’s have.
I’m still itching for a .44 myself.