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It's 2022 - anyone still carrying a revolver?

It depends on what we're talking about here. If I'm going into town on a summer evening, I'll carry a Glock (sometimes with a spare mag). Driving somewhere, Glock.

But around the house, while moving the lawn, walking the dog, etc? Pocket carry rules for that. And considering that in the winter it's easy to toss a gun into a jacket pocket without a holster, DAO revolver wins over a semi-auto. Ditto for playing with the dog or kids - I like having that long heavy trigger. Also, small semis just don't fit my hand - I hate the tiny little controls.

The chances of me having to draw my gun... and having to pull the trigger... and not resolving the situation in five shots... while getting the mail or going to the pharmacy mid-day, are pretty tiny. It's a personal level of comfort thing.
 
kalash said:
Can you name any civilian self defense shootings that involved a reload?
Click to expand...
Revolvers are still what id call marginal carry guns (overall) but that doesn't make them irrelevant.

They are great in relative terms in the one respect that someone could easily do 1000x worse than a 5 or 6 shot 38 or 357 magnum. That's why they still keep a shred of legitimacy. It's something convenient that can keep some people carrying a decent gun in a situation where they might be tempted to leave it at home.
 
When I carried a single stack P238 or compact 1911 I would have a spare mag. Now that I got the P365x I'm not bothering with th spare mag. Partly initial capacity partly bulkiness of mags.
 
fshalor said:
Yeah, I think I'm gonna pass on 9mm in revolvers. The only real interest is calibre commonality.

Will probably look for something in .357. maybe not a carry wheel gun next. Though the LCRs just feel good. And having a second familiar 38spl would be good.

I am a big fan of exposed hammer, hence the sw 637.

The thing that surprises me most about them is the robustness. If you do your part, they just work.
Click to expand...

The LCRX has an exposed hammer, I have one in .38+P, I like it. Not a huge fan of 9mm in a revolver due to the moon clip thing, just one more layer of complication although I get the ammo commonality if it's your only revolver and you have a few 9mm semis.
 
The best carry gun is the one you'll carry. Can't tell you how many people I know who agonize over the carry gun to the point they rarely end up carrying. Too big, too small for my hands, I don't shoot it well, etc. For me, shootability is the last attribute I look for in a carry gun. If you can shoot one gun proficiently you can shoot the other in that class proficiently. Yeah, maybe you shoot one a little better than the other but you can train for that but here's the thing: People that can only shoot their one binkie gun probably can't shoot that one very well either. They go to the range, have a couple of good groupings and that's the only gun they're comfortable with, the only one they can shoot. Kinda like golf: Striped one 325 down the center of the fairway... the other 12 drives that day were either topped or 50 yards into the woods but they remember that one drive and won't use anything else - that one day they broke 100.

My office manager LOVES her P238, shoots it like she's throwing darts, but doesn't feel comfortable carrying w/ cocked hammer in a belly band. So I took her to the range and we tried the bodyguard .380. She hated it, as does anyone who shoots one, myself included. I can't shoot it, etc. etc. I asked her just how far she thinks she'll be shooting in a defensive situation? If the guy opens the back door of the cargo van once he's brought you to his trailer in the woods, do you think you'll be able to put a couple shots in his face? Or his crotch? Uh, yeah. I bought her a Bodyguard for Xmas two years ago and she carries it everywhere. I bought one for myself when I ride my bicycle, it's tiny and I don't mind if it gets a little sweat on it, I know it'll go bang when I need it to.
 
drgrant said:
Like theres this..... /vomit

View attachment 560554

Vs this:

View attachment 560556


There's no way im not taking the 640. And with boot grip it will fit in the same pockets the first gun does.
Click to expand...
AMT Dao. 380 was arguably the worst gun that I have owned. Closest competition was a Taurus BT-99. Both completely sucked. Fortunately I only had $250 into the pair. Traded them both for a TC Contender 10" bull barrel .22 at Fairground Traders. Score. As an aside, appendix carry the Contender if you really want the women to notice.
I edc a Glock 27 in my right front pocket in a Superfly with two extra mags in left rear pocket. Recently I got a Smith 642 performance center (action and grips). It is amazing but not amazing enough to bump the Glock (5 38s vs 10 extra gay fortays). The 642 is a "Lady Smith" so the level of gayness is somewhat balanced. The 642 would be a perfect second gun in a winter jacket pocket.
I knew a guy who had a 9mm snub (940 ?) that he carried in his jacket pocket. In a questionable encounter, it would be in his hand ready ro fire from said pocket. No need to fire? He would say "God bless you" (although probably not out loud.)
When I questioned why 9mm, he said (correctly) that the 9mm loses much less velocity in the short barrel than the 38 making it more effective than the 38. Moon clips is another bonus.
My 642 is not happy with conventional speed loaders as they hit the grip (which is way too pretty) and don't align with the cylinder. This seems to be a common problem with many grips. I thought I was stuck with speed strips until I found the Zeta6 J-Clip. It is made of the same material as a speed strip and is five sided and very minimalistic. It works great. Two thumbs up. [thumbsup][thumbsup]
 
kalash said:
Can you name any civilian self defense shootings that involved a reload?
Click to expand...

bigbravehog said:
specific to reloads, maybe not, but in my area, there have been several armed assaults with multiple attackers.
Every EDC thread I have ever read refers to carrying multiple magazines.
I would rather be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
Malfunctions could be an issue as well. Tap-rack-bang and still no bang means drop the mag and get a new one in.
 
kalash said:
I actually just swapped out the wood grips on my Model 36 for Pachmayrs. Feels significantly better but I'll have to take it to the range.
Click to expand...

I tried that, and didn't like it enough, but YMMV. I really wanted to like the old-skool Pachmayr Presentations, but nope.

Don't get me wrong: I'm all in favor of using plastic when you want to. Just... it's okay for it to look like plastic. Never try to make it look like wood, because it just ends up looking a little sad.
 
white feather said:
AMT Dao. 380 was arguably the worst gun that I have owned. Closest competition was a Taurus BT-99. Both completely sucked. Fortunately I only had $250 into the pair. Traded them both for a TC Contender 10" bull barrel .22 at Fairground Traders. Score. As an aside, appendix carry the Contender if you really want the women to notice.
I edc a Glock 27 in my right front pocket in a Superfly with two extra mags in left rear pocket. Recently I got a Smith 642 performance center (action and grips). It is amazing but not amazing enough to bump the Glock (5 38s vs 10 extra gay fortays). The 642 is a "Lady Smith" so the level of gayness is somewhat balanced. The 642 would be a perfect second gun in a winter jacket pocket.
I knew a guy who had a 9mm snub (940 ?) that he carried in his jacket pocket. In a questionable encounter, it would be in his hand ready ro fire from said pocket. No need to fire? He would say "God bless you" (although probably not out loud.)
When I questioned why 9mm, he said (correctly) that the 9mm loses much less velocity in the short barrel than the 38 making it more effective than the 38. Moon clips is another bonus.
My 642 is not happy with conventional speed loaders as they hit the grip (which is way too pretty) and don't align with the cylinder. This seems to be a common problem with many grips. I thought I was stuck with speed strips until I found the Zeta6 J-Clip. It is made of the same material as a speed strip and is five sided and very minimalistic. It works great. Two thumbs up. [thumbsup][thumbsup]
Click to expand...
I had a AMT .380 back up. I hated that gun so much that I gave it away years ago just to be rid of it.
 
kalash said:
I actually just swapped out the wood grips on my Model 36 for Pachmayrs. Feels significantly better but I'll have to take it to the range.
Click to expand...
The rubber grips that came on my 642 make the J-frame very comfortable and functional. My old nickle plated M36 Chiefs Special has the tiny wooden grips on it. When that was my edc, I had Pachmyers on it for a while. They made it easier to shoot, but took away from its concealability. I like the wood on the old gun.
 
I have Ergo Delta Grips on my pocket carry 642. They aren't particularly pretty, but they do make the gun less uncomfortable to shoot. If I had a .357 J frame, it would wear those grips. My 36-1 3" wears S&W combat grips and a Tyler T grip adapter. That's more style than function, but also makes the gun shootable.

shootymacshootface said:
The rubber grips that came on my 642 make the J-frame very comfortable and functional. My old nickle plated M36 Chiefs Special has the tiny wooden grips on it. When that was my edc, I had Pachmyers on it for a while. They made it easier to shoot, but took away from its concealability. I like the wood on the old gun.
Click to expand...
 
drgrant said:
View attachment 560556


There's no way im not taking the 640. And with boot grip it will fit in the same pockets the first gun does.
Click to expand...
I wish to hell S&W would put these sights on all of their snubbies, not only to have a halfway decent sight picture, but to actually match POA to POI for whatever load you are carrying.
If they made this gun in a scandium frame with a steel cylinder, I would buy three.
 

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