revolver guys, i need your reason.

I have small hands so for me the perfect revolver would be a blued Colt D-frame .38 Special with a 4" full-lug barrel (like Colt's short-lived Police Positive Special MK V) and Badger Custom walnut grips, but with S&W's action (before the lock).


nero

Dan Wesson Model 715 .357, with a 4" heavy vented shroud. I end up going back to the stock target grips for some reason, over the factory service, Pachmyr rubber, and aftermarket walnut finger grooved grips I have.

Next would be the SW N frame Model 28 .357, with Pachmyr rubber grips.
I still regret selling mine 25 years ago.

Hello. I reckon that my most favorite revolver from S&W remains a Model 24 in .44 Special.


This .44 Special looks great (to me) and is a peach to shoot accurately at the range or in the hunting fields here in Texas. Using warmer-but-not-excessive handloads, it has "handled" anything I've seen fit to "handle" with it.

That said, the revolvers I actually "use" the most are:


The S&W Model 642 is my "always" gun and the Model 64 is never far from hand around the house. Speaking only for myself, .38 Special +P 158-gr. LSWCHP is the lower limit I choose to tote for "serious" purposes. Both have proven utterly reliable for me and both are revolvers I practice with quite a bit.


When I opt for a belt gun that is a revolver to be carried legally concealed, it is often the 3 1/16" Ruger SP101 along with the "always gun." The Ruger 357 is loaded with Corbon's 125-gr. DPX while the Model 642 is loaded with Remington 158-gr. LSWCHP +P. Both work with the same HKS speedloader but of course, the reload is the .38 Special ammunition, which will chamber in either revolver. In my view, this is a plus for the combination. I also found the Ruger surprisingly easy to shoot with accurately.

For just general fun, general protection or a house gun, in my view, the good ol' Model 10 4" HB is hard to beat.


This would be my favorite Model 10. It is not as old as another one or two I own, but it has a very nice action and groups nicely. In my opinion, these can be loads of fun while serving nicely in other areas of concern.


I also am a fan of the 3" Ruger GP100. The reason is that they seem to be very robust and this one's trigger pull is very, very smooth with fixed sights dialed in such that POA matches POI with 145-158-gr. magnums at 15 and 25 yards. This one's served as both a house gun as well as a companion when knocking around in the woods.

My choices may very well not be yours or the next guy's. This is just something that you will have to figure out for yourself, but I hope that this is in at least some small way of help.

I cannot help with the "perfect" revolver. I've been seeking the "perfect" autoloader, revolver and rifle for over 3 decades and have yet to find it...though many come close in my view.

Best and good luck.

I had the "perfect" Revolvers years ago, but it's gone from my posession now.

The Andy Cannon "Street L" was the perfect gun for me. I was just too dumb to realize what I had back then. I'm thinking of getting another gun and having it done up the same way. The only problem is, Andy has passed away, so I'll have to find someone to "copy" his work.

The other "perfect" revolver is my 22-4 Thunder Ranch Revolver as soon as I get it refinished in something other than blue. I'm tossing between Robar NP3 and "Black T". Oh, I forgot to mention, it would be "perfect" without the lock, but I won't disable a "safety" device on a firearm if it's intended use is preserving my life.

Biker

4" GP100. I have a 6"; my Dad has a 4". I like his better. They've both been about as perfect as can be. No misfires, hits where I aim, my wife can shoot it reasonably well, versatile enough for powderpuff 38 specials or 180gr hard cast 357s... I don't know what else I could ask for.

GP 100. I love it. I trust it.

Another vote for the GP.

My current favorite revolver is a 3" heavy bbl RB S&W M65-2. If it were a 3" medium contour pinned & recessed M66 or M19 it would be better. Next improvement would be fitting the quick change front sight system seen on many current S&W Performance Center revolvers. Front blade choices would be a standard black Baughman style ramp, a Patridge type with gold bead, and a similar blade with a small mirrored bead which I believe was made by King's. If there were a way to quickly remove the S&W micrometer click rear and maintain zero upon a quick re-installation that would be great: It would allow one to switch between the micrometer click rear for open carry or target shooting and drop in a heavy duty fixed rear (like the one C&S offers) for concealed carry or rough terrain. Last, to make it truly perfect, it would need the old long action lock work from an early post war K Frame. That would be my perfect .357 Magnum revolver.

Take all of the above and replicate it on a 696 converted to 45 Colt with a spare cylinder setup for .45 ACP. Then I'd have my dream big bore revolver.

i love my smith 500 & 460 but my fav has to be my cheapy taurus 608 in 357magnum it cost under $450 brand new. 8 3/8 in barrel ported at that. shoots stright as can be and holds 8 yea thats right 8!!!!!! rounds of 357 best gun around for the cash i wouldent do anything to it except replace the stockers with houges.

I love my first S&W - a 625 Mountain Gun in .45 Colt - so much, I got it a brother. You can plink away with 200gr <700 fps soft plinkers - or load it for perfect woods/urban jungle protection with 255gr LSWC/250gr GDJHP at 850 fps. Very controllable - quite traditional look - especially with Ahrends grips. Naturally balanced - and perfect pointer. Lighter springs and broken-in lockwork combine to make it a joy to shoot, too. Of course, without my basement ammo factory, originally started to feed the first one, ammo would be a problem these days.



Upper one is my original - a 2001 production, bought new 8/02. The lower one is a LN '96 version, obrained 4/06. The ammo includes, R-L, a 200gr LRNFP in .45 Schofield, a 255gr LSWC, and a 250gr Speer #4484 GDJHP, all homebrew.

Stainz

Favorite

WinchesterAA: Sir; much to complicated for a simple answer
I prefer Ruger revolvers; single action, and double action
I prefer triggers in single action, very crisp
I prefer adjustable sights
I prefer blue guns in single action
I prefer stock grips
I enjoy the different loadings that Ruger can use
I enjoy the basic concepts of the single action
Double actions; standard grips, adjustable sights, blue or stainless
My woods Ruger; needed trigger clean-up
My carry Ruger; needed trigger clean-up
Carry unit
My SW concealed needs trigger clean-up [and a way to shorten the pull]
I spent my time finding what I like/dislike and proceeded.

Craig

These are from a handloaders perspective, so availability and cost of ammo is not a factor.

Medium frame DA: .41 magnum GP100. These can be had from Clements Custom.

Large frame DA: Bowen's "giant GP100" in .45 Colt.

Single Action: Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt. Stock they're pretty nice, but customized they are even better.

S&W 686 no dash. fits me perfect with the wood stocks, shoots like a dream and has one of the best triggers i have ever used.

For carry:
Ruger SP101 or GP100: why? they are both flawless, maybe a bit heavy for pocket carry, otherwise perfect. Accurate, reliable, shootable, love em!

For hunting:
Any Freedom Arms.: again flawless! clockwork is perfect, literally.
or a Smith 29 in .44mag.

I also like the Taurus Trackers in .44mag.

My S&W model 19, 4" barrel. It has everything needed in a revolver, with absolutley nothing you don't need. Shoots like a laser too.

my favorite was a Ruger Bisley Vaquero.
I had the cylinder throats honed to the proper diameter for jacketed ammo since they didn't come sized properly from ruger. I added a belt mountain steel base pin, and had a lighter spring set installed. I also had the barrel chopped to 4 5/8".
I worked up defensive loads for it and wound up carrying it with super hot 350 grain jhp hornadys over 22 grains of h110 (don't duplicate this load). I carried it in the woods when I had a business restoring log cabins, and carried it everywhere else I went.
It was a chunk to carry, but I could (with a lot of fun practice) draw and shoot it as fast as I could any pistol or revolver.
And, it made a serious 45 colt devotee of me and several of my friends.

Nowadays, I carry a Dan Wesson 357 that I really love. It's lighter, more compact, and faster handling than the Bi-Quero. But, it doesn't hit near as hard as the 45 colt.

An ideal wheelgun for me would be a DA 45 colt that holds 6 rounds and is between a GP100 and SP101 size.

My favorite is the Cadallac of revolvers - a 4" Python. Nothing is smoother for DA use.



But I do have some other favorites that deserve mention.

S&W Trail Boss - best single action revolver action



and of course the S&W 500

Man, that's tough because each and every one of my firearms has strengths and weaknesses and a niche to fill in my collection. Overall, I like my SP101 for defense, however, it's heavy and bulkier than my Taurus M85UL which is easier to tote and pocketable. I'd rather have .357 magnum, but then, .38 will do the job, the gun has a really sweet DA trigger, and it's easier to carry. Hunting? Well, neither of those will do. I have Blackhawks for that and for general outdoor open carry on hikes and such? Well, I have a medium frame 4" Taurus 66 that's my fave, but others will work.

A man cannot live with just one revolver, ya know.

I wanted to spend $400 new handgun.

For me it was simple - no other new gun in that price class had an nice a trigger as an SA revolver.

I had rented a number of semi's, and liked them. I had fun shooting every gun I ever rented - I am not a revolver bigot. But then I rented a Blackhawk as more or less of a goof. I was completely blown away - by far the nicest trigger on any gun I had rented. Very low trigger pull (< 5#), absolutely no creep.

I think that I would have to spend lot more than $400 on a new 1911 to get as good a trigger as I get out of a stock Blackhawk.

The other advantage of a revolver for me was load insensitivity. I bought a 45 LC. I can shoot anything from 165gr @ 750 fps to 300gr @1300 fps in the, and not worry about the weapon "cycling". From what I read, auto's have a relatively narrow range of power in which they function well, and when you step outside that range, you need to change springs, etc.

Mike

2 of my favorites with my daughters Sp101.
The blue one is a S&W 13 3" barrel, the only thing I would like is to have the barrel thinned, similar to an intermediate barrel weight like on a 3" 10-5 or 10-7 and a few 3" model 12's.

The Stainless one is just about perfect. It began life as a 3" Model 65 with a round grip, and has been changed to a 4" standard barrel and moonclipped. I also had a Target trigger and hammer installed which makes for it's use as a hunting gun real nice. I wish I had the front of the frame rounded like on a true standard or pencil barrel frame. It is a great gun and the only mod I might do is to have the front sight milled off and a 1/10" black blade with a gold bead installed in a dove tail.

Another Dream Gun is a 681 that would have a 696 cylinder installed and the barrel reamed to .429 and shortened to 3".

I also have a S&W(9)42, a 642 with a 940 cylinder installed, makes for the best pocket revolver.

Revolver

100% perfect = my Colt D-frames; I would not trade 'em, even for a new
younger bride~!

Fav wheelgun

Any one that I have with me at the range or the woods is my favorite at the time. Its like trying to love one of your children over another, it cant be done.

Single action: 1st generation 7.5" Colt SAA. The best balanced handgun ever.
Medium frame double action: 4" Manurhin MR-73, with 4" hollow lug Colt Python as the runner-up.
Large frame double action: 6" Colt Shooting Master, with 6" S&W Registered Magnum as the runner-up.

For a current production build, I would fit a late 3rd generation 7.5" Colt SAA in .45 Colt with a line-bored and custom chambered cylinder with a press fitted bushing. I would also consider USFA flattop target variation in the same configuration.