I thought about leaving the post with just the title, as that sums it up pretty well. On the other hand, the hundreds of thousands of readers who pay their monthly fee to read this blog might feel like I have maybe left some parts out, so let’s look at why revolvers are awesome. And in case you don’t recognize it, the photo up top is from Jim Cirillo’s book, Guns, Bullets, and Gunfighting. I was very fortunate to train with Jim in the early 2000s, and I consider his books to be must-reads.
I started shooting revolvers at the same time I started shooting. Back then I was on a very limited budget, and a 442 seemed like a necessity for me, so that’s the revolver I started with. Not the best gun to train on, but a great gun to carry as a backup, or for times when I couldn’t carry anything else. When I entered the police academy a couple of years later, I had to turn my guns in the State until I graduated with my credentials. To improve my ability to shoot a NY Plus Glock trigger, I rented a K-22 at a local range and shot that gun at least once a week for the duration of the academy. Time well spent, though a NY Plus trigger is its own kind of special stupidity.
Fast forward to when I was no longer traveling overseas and missing hunting season every year, and I started getting into .44s and .45s for hunting. The big guns were how I spent most of the last 15 years, and my focus was on long-range accuracy and hunting. I also learned that you really don’t need or want full power loads for killing critters. The right bullet (say a 250-280 grain lead bullet) at about 1000 fps will go through both sides of the largest animals in North America, and almost everything in Africa too.
With my recent interest in Action Pistol, I have started putting together a K-frame competition gun for a particular match in Wyoming next year. I will talk more about that as I start to train a bit for it, but that interest has driven me to the performance shooting side of shooting revolvers, though the emphasis is on accuracy and reloading, rather than pure speed shooting. As far as pure speed goes, my fastest splits ever (with hits, of course) are tied between two guns. One is a S&W M64, and the other I will write about soon.
So, what about carrying a revolver in 2023? Auto pistols have it all over revolvers in the professional world, but since most people are not professionals, a revolver will keep you just as safe today as it did 100 years ago. In one or two very common cases, a revolver is a better choice than any auto pistol, but if ruggedness, reliability, capacity, speed and ease of reloading, lights, lasers, optics, etc. are of interest, then the auto is for you.
Does that mean the revolver is useless for those of us who carry autos? Absolutely not. If you need to work on your trigger control, a revolver is a great way to do it. My experience with the NY Plus Glocks is far from unique, and it has long been understood that if you can shoot a revolver well, you can probably shoot just about anything. I know that sounds like taking the hard way. One reason some organizations and individuals choose the autos they choose is to make it easier to get to a certain level of shooting ability. Unfortunately, that is usually a tacit admission that the training staff and recruits are not up to the job. Not always, but often.
Aside from training benefits, I really enjoy using revolvers. They are kind of like driving stick. There is more to do and more often, and it is satisfying to do it well. I usually carry a revolver when I am home and not dressed to go out. A J frame, D frame, or air weight K frame is great to clip into my house clothes, PT clothes, or even PJs. Yes, there is some nostalgia there. Though I never carried a revolver on duty, I did have to qualify with one at one point, and it was a minor highlight of my time at that agency.
Of course, back in the world, some of my most accurate field shooting has been done with various Smith and Ruger 44s and 45s. The combination of power and shootability is tough to beat. If you want to really learn to shoot, which involves pushing your accuracy well beyond “combat acceptable”, a fixed barrel weapon is a great way to focus on the loose nut behind the gun.
Revolvers are very different from auto pistols. They are from an earlier time and require some care in handling if you want to make them last and work well for you. We will look at some of that in the future, as I get ready for some revolver competition. I also have some nice newer guns from a few manufacturers to play with and we will examine them as well.
Until then, if you think revolvers are awesome, as I do, don’t let other people get you down. Just keep shooting and carrying them, because…revolvers are awesome.
I grew up shooting my father’s K-22, an old 4 screw model, the very first handgun that I bought was a used Model 15, belonged to a retired City Police officer, I still have that firearm some 53 years later. I was very slow to add semi automatics to my handguns as my S&W K-Frames were so much more accurate. My first 1911 was a Colt 4″ Commander, it did not help with my negative pistol experience, you couldn’t keep 7 shoots on an 8.5″X11″ sheet of paper at 7 yards. Later in life a Wilson Combat 1911 changed my opinions about 1911’s. My daily carry is the S&W pro-series .45, but my love of S&W pre-safety lock revolvers will always be my first loves with handguns
as my eyes aged beyond 50 I added red dot scopes to my 66 and 617, can still cut playing cards in half on edge at 30 feet, that will give you a smile
Blued SW Model 19 w pach grips and the SP101! Both a lot of fun although I preferred shooting the former. Last boss in Beirut carried the latter daily in a pocket holster.
Nicely said. I prefer revolvers. I don’t debate people who think autos are better. They can like what they like. But .45, .357, or .22 – for multiple reasons that come down to preference, I’ll use a revolver.