Tactically, is the duty sized DA revolver a dinosaur?

[s&w 24]

I don't currently own a self loading pistol and I have no plans for one in the future. Any handgun job that needs doing can be done with the good old wheel gun and done well. For a GP pistol I find the revolver less ammo sensitive, plenty accurate, and just fine for carry, woods use, and target use.

P.S. at the MN THR shoot there were more than a few folks that had weelies for CCW

 

[LeonCarr]

Go ask somebody who thinks revolvers are old if they will volunteer to get shot with a .357 Magnum.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[The Rabbi]

I'm not sure thats the best argument around. I wouldnt want to get shot with a .22 short, but I dont think I would carry one for protection.

 

[Penforhire]

Ank, the point is by calling them dinosaurs in a public forum you are casting a negative light on them as a choice for personal defense. Someone with less conviction than we 'defenders of the revo' might lose confidence in his wheelgun choice. Hence our need to pipe up and argue the merits of a wheelie.

Arguing the wheelgun is a dinosaur because a large population switched away from them feels a little weak. If more new cars come with automatic transmission does that make manual trannies "dinosaurs?"

Words have meaning and power. Dinosaur is too disparaging to apply to revo's.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"I called the revolver a dinosaur in light of the transition that the handgunning society (in general) has made to the semi-auto."

Using that logic, the family-style sedan would be a dinosaur because of the advent of the SUV.

Yet, as with revolver, many thousands upon thousands of family-style sedans are sold every year.

Appearances can be deceiving.

 

[Jeff White]

Auto or revolver..what difference does it make?

I think that you are adequately armed with any reliable weapon caliber .38 special or larger.

My first issue handgun as a police officer was a S&W model 65 .357 magnum. Later when another officer retired I traded it in for his Model 66. I was one of three officers permitted to carry automatics in a test we did a couple years later. Beretta 92F was my choice. In '92 when the dept. went to issue automatics they bought S&W 5906s which I carried until 2000 when we traded them for Glock 21s.

At no time did I feel inadequately armed. Throughout my entire career, I have carried a revolver as a backup, either a Colt Agent or S&W Model 36. A model 36 is in my pocket in a Pocket Grabber holster as I type this.

I think it all boils down to having a reliable weapon that you can handle well.

Jeff

 

[Ankeny]

You guys are a tough crowd. I explained why I made my comments, but that doesn't seem to be good enough for you folks. In this thread I have stated:

Is a wheelgun still a perfectly viable self defense weapon? Of course it is. I would not feel under gunned packing my old 2 1/2 inch model 19.

The remarks I made in the other thread were regarding my personal preference in a shooting platform. Remember the other thread was purporting that a revolver is superior to an automatic. I simply indicated that for the purpose of putting multiple hits on multiple targets as quickly as possible, a revolver was not superior to an automatic for the vast majority of shooters. That shouldn't be a revelation to anyone who shoots.

The fact that I prefer to shoot a 24-32 round field course with an Open blaster because a revolver is a "dinosaur" by comparison shouldn't be cause for alarm. Even the greatest revolver shooter on the planet (Jerry) shoots an Open semi in 3-gun instead of a revolver. The fact that I prefer to carry a 1911 style pistol shouldn't get anyone's panties all tied up in a knot.

Yes, yes, yes, a revolver is adequate for personal defense. In fact, many shooters are probably better off with a revolver than with a 1911, but not because the revolver offers some awesome tactical advantage.

 

[Oracle]

I don't think it really matters. Try a bunch out, see what you prefer, and stick with that. Really, the only thing I'd recommend is to find a gun that has the same trigger pull, all the time. Revolvers are like that, if fired double action, as are 1911's, Glocks, and a number of other guns. Guns have different advantages, revolvers are less ammo sensitive and can usually handle a more powerful cartridge for the same weight gun, autoloaders usually can carry more rounds between reloads. Choose the features you like best for the applications for which you want to use the gun, and go on down the road.

 

[BluesBear]

WT asked:
I have never seen any police officer carrying full moon clips on his duty belt. Has anyone?

Yeppers.
I did it. Carried a 1917 S&W cut back to 4". Carried two HKS model 25 speedloaders loaded with .45 Auto Rim (Speer 200gr flying ashtrays), with a full moon clip stacked quite nicely on top of each one. I found the HKS was easier to dig out of the bottom of the pouch than a second moon clip.

1/3 moon clips could be carried in standard dump boxes.


By the way. A fellow officer carried a 25-2 cut back to 4" with the same ammo setup.

 

[Ankeny]

BluesBear:

Around 1977 I carried a 25-2 in a Safariland holster. Later on I switched to the early Bianchi break front when they became the rage. I can't remember who made the pouches, but they had a plastic insert with a leather shell, velcro flap and the front of the pouch was cut all the way to the bottom. Pretty nice pouches. I carried half moon clips at the time, stacked two layers high. In retrospect, your set up would have been better.

 

[BluesBear]

Ankeny, Sounds like you had a Dade pouch. They were good but I never could find one back in Louisville. By that time Dade was fading away.

 

[earthworm]

I volunteer to help Stealth:just ship them old dinosaurs thisaway.
Seriously;if I owned just one handgun it would be a mid-frame
4 inch .357 revolver.If there is a versitile handgun I haven't seen it.

 

[Ankeny]

BB:

Yeah, I am 99% sure it was a Dade. You know your stuff.