Wheel Guns for Aging Gun Toters

I'm only three score and change, but playing brass chicken in the mud and snow is no fun.
There might be other reasons for not leaving brass laying around..............................that we probably aren't suppose to talk about.
My evil twin is a 1911 guy, but here are some revolvers that are sometimes found about my personage:

I hit 50 this year. Been in LE 25 yrs. Began my carrer carrying a wheel gun. A S&W model 36 then a 60 were my off-duty/back-up guns. Went to semi-autos within a couple of years then about 1999 we went to the Glock in .40 cal. Been with those ever since. Dummy me decided I had to get with the times and get me semi-auto for off-duty. Went through a number of them befor I figured it out and went back to a revolver. Bought a S&W 642 and later a 640 in .357. The 640 rides in the waistband and 642 is typically regulated for pocket carry. When I retire, I'll keep my Glock 23. It's a wonderful gun that I may carry when the need arrises. But I'm also quite fond of a Ruger Speed Six with stag grips and t-grip on it. Decisions decisions.

The long discontinued mod. 12 (alloy "K" frame) in .38 Special is my favorite "carry" revolver.

New for 2015 ....

I was on www.Hornady.com & saw they are now adding a new .357magnum Critical Duty round.
The well engineered .357mag round will use the Hornady 135gr bullet. This is a lot like the bullets used for the Critical Duty 9mm & the .357sig pistol calibers.
I doubt Hornady will roll out a Critical Duty .38spl +P defense round since a .38spl is already in the Critical Defense line.

Rusty

TimSr said:

I'm 53, and though I shoot both quite frequently, when it comes to personal protection I want something I can whip out and pull the trigger without ever having to ask myself "did I remember to put one in the chamber this morning?" or "whoever invented the thumb safety?".

Knowing that it would suffer the wear and tear of daily carry, I did not want something pretty and expensive to carry, just reliable. I'be got enough rounds through this baby to have total confidence for daily carry.

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Odd - the only time my G26 chamber is empty is when the slide is locked back. And the safety is off the instant I need it to be.....

I always liked revolvers better. I have a 1911 and a Glock. I still like my Revolvers better. That's all I carry and shoot these days.

Now that I have passed 60 I still carry and love my 1911s during the week but on weekends I carry a Ruger Blackhawk in 45LC. The shot shells are great for snakes and Ruger only handloads are good for 2 and 4 legged bad things.

now you've got me wondering if i'm an old fart before my time...
i'm only half the OP's age but my revolver to semi score is currently 6:1.

Hey there Iggy. I'm with you. Been carrying my old Smith & Wesson flat-latch Model 36 for years. Keep it loaded with BB LWC and have never felt the need for anything more.
Dave

Posted by Huntershooter.
The long discontinued mod. 12 (alloy "K" frame) in .38 Special is my favorite "carry" revolver.

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+1. Usually I carry a PF-9, but when I want a revolver it's a Smith M37. Years ago I ran across a nice M12-2 and if I ever wanted to carry a K frame that would be the one.

In a carry gun I value light weight just slightly less than reliability.

My woods gun I carry a SP 101 with a 4.2" barrel in a chest rig its perfect for the 4 wheeler or hiking with a pack after a hour or so you forget you even have it with you, Out of the way but right there easy to access have grown fond of this 357. Still carry a 40 XD sc for conceal.

71 here and I prefer revolvers. No slides to rack, magazines to keep up with, brass to look for, etc.

I've got plenty of semi-autos but gimmie some wheel to carry and things just feel right.

I can relate.

I can relate to you guys. At 82 I've lost so much strength in my hands that my cute little pocket auto mouse guns have become useless. I started out with revos years ago and have come full circle. Now a LCR lives in my pocket.

Cocked & Locked said:

71 here and I prefer revolvers. No slides to rack, magazines to keep up with, brass to look for, etc.

I've got plenty of semi-autos but gimmie some wheel to carry and things just feel right.

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That's beautiful.

What grips are those.

Very nice looking rig.

I started using my Ruger SP101 .357 with 2" barrel and spurless hammer about 15 years ago as my primary CCW and still love it. While my Sig P239 (9mm) and Kahr P380 (.380) are nice shooters, I just like having that mini-tank on my hip.

After being a Firearms Instructor for a few decades, when asked what type of gun I would recommend, it's always been a revolver. They always asked why! No slide to rack, no failure to feed or failure to eject, (Tap, Rack, Bang? No bang? then Rip, Work, Tap, Rack and Bang?). What bad guy is going to sit through all of that? Turns out you had the safety on, (like a Sig P238)? You won't have a bad finicky reaction to certain brands of ammo or certain bullet styles with a revolver. What about having only 5 or 6 rounds instead of 13-17? Really? When was the last time you fired one round in self-defense more or less 13-17? You carry for self-defense not to quell a city riot without backup!

Most of them still went out and bought Wonder 9s. Many have since called me back to see what KIND of revolver I use! It may be age and weaker muscles, I like to think we are just a bit wiser now. If I have to pull my gun.... I want to make sure it will shoot without any manipulation other than the trigger and will absolutely do so until 'empty'. I sometimes still carry the above Sig, a PPK/S & my 1911 but nothing makes me feel as safe as my revolvers do. (On the street I carried a 1911 but off duty I carried a Chief's Special. Hail to the Chief.)

So Jerry4gsd... Don't think it's just an age thing! It isn't. Nothing beats the reliability of the wheel gun!

kvtcomdo said:

That's beautiful.

What grips are those.

Very nice looking rig.

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Thanks for your comments!

The grips are stabilized elk antler made by Ken Driskill.

The holster is a Tex Shoemaker.

The revolver is a custom 1917 Colt .45 with S&W adjustable rear sight.

Late last spring, just after my sixty-second birthday, the retina in my left eye tore across a blood vessel leaving me temporarily blind in that eye for several months. Weeks later the retina in my right eye perforated. My vision has slowly returned but I have a permanent bad "floater" in my left eye and a minor "floater" in my right eye. My competitive shooting (SASS) days are over.

Several weeks ago I took an old friend (Smith 15-2) out to see if I can at least poke holes in paper. I can!!!! Not as good as before but respectably. What joy.

I've sold my SASS guns, semis, L and N frames and SAs. I am in the process of building an assortment of pre-lock K Frame 38s. They fit my hand like a glove, they're balanced, they're amazingly accurate, they don't jar my eyes or ears, they don't regurgitate brass, they hold value, they have history, they're works of art, they're easy to clean and they're easy to load for. I'll keep my J Frames for carry along with my 1911s and a lever rifle to hand down to my son, but I'm forsaking all others for the revolvers that respect me as my abilities diminish.

My favorite concealed carry revolver is a old S&W Model 38 Airweight Bodyguard (shrouded hammer) which I have had and carried - off and on - for almost 35 years. It was my back-up gun during my decades in L.E. work, and since I retired, it is often still my carry gun of choice. I like the old style shrouded hammer that it has, which is a true shrouded hammer which one could cock and fire SA if necessary. (Yeah, I know, not very likely, but still, I like having the option!) And the M-38 with the shrouded hammer is really great coming out of a pocket or an IWB holster. During my LE career, if we carried a "less than 4" bbl .38 revolver" for off duty or "back-up", then we had to qualify with it - or something similar - regularly at the range as well. My M-38 is as accurate as one would expect for this type of gun, but as I got older, it got harder to qualify with it, because of the (unrealistic) distances we had to shoot on our qualification course, and the fact that my eyes weren't quite as good as they once were! So I started taking my 2 1/2" bbl Model 19 to the range when I had to shoot the "Less than 4" bbl revolver" qualification course. I guess it was kinda sorta cheating, but it had better (easier to see/acquire) - and adjustable - sights, and our Dept requirement was only to shoot with a less than 4" bbl revolver, and once I qualified with anything that met that definition, then I could carry whatever "less than 4 inch bbl .38 revolver" I wanted...... which was typically my old Model 38 Bodyguard.

epicurean... So sorry to hear of your vision problems. Best point and shoot gun I've ever owned out of so many was a K frame Model 10. I was young & stupid... I thought shooting running jacks from a moving pickup was all me and not the gun. HA! True to my idiocy, I sold it. Took me decades to find a gun nearly, (but not quite), as perfectly made for me as that one. Pass this story on. I hope others won't make the same mistake I did. What I wouldn't trade away to get that K frame back!

Cocked & Locked... Those light colored grips are gorgeous! Do you know how I can get a hold of Ken Driskill to make some for the 629 I have pictured in this thread? I know he's known as bigmtnman on the S&W forum. I know he sometimes has his grips for sale on Gunbroker, but that's it. Does he have a web site?

Re: Ken Driskill

He doesn't have a web site that I'm aware off. S&W Forum and Gunbroker are the best options.

Here are some other grips I've gotten from him.

S&W 66-no dash and a Ruger Blackhawk

I retired in 2006 after 30+ year in LE. I spent over half my career carrying a revolver on duty ant all my career carrying one off duty. When I retired I sold off all the auto loaders and now am content with 3 J-frames and 4 K frames. I carry a 642 everywhere I go.

I CC my Taurus.38 SPL +P 5 shop revolver i'm 65 years old.

Cocked & Locked said:

Thanks for your comments!

The grips are stabilized elk antler made by Ken Driskill.

The holster is a Tex Shoemaker.

The revolver is a custom 1917 Colt .45 with S&W adjustable rear sight.

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Got to say it again.

That rig has curb appeal.

Real eye catching.

Have to look for some of those grips.