TRADITIONALISM…

Well Mas, I’m an old guy (62) and I carry a revolver everyday. Right now, a S&W 242… L frame, airweight Ti, 7 shot, hammerless .38+P. I like it so much, I just took delivery of my second one yesterday. They were only made for 9 months, but are just right for me. I don’t expect to face the zombie hoardes anytime soon, so this old “point and shoot” DAO ugly humpback is just right for me. I fitted mine with a “big dot” illuminated front sight and I’m good to go. Just right for me!

Hey Mas,
I guess I’m a little nostalgic when I go hunting. It reminds brings back fond memories of hunting with my Grandpa and Dad. I don’t think I would feel right going into the woods with a plastic gun. I’m 34 and I’ve always harvested my deer with my Browning Lever-Action 243 and birds with my Remington 870. But my EDC is a Walther PPS 9mm. Although I do love to shoot my S&W 637 38 special. It shots so sweet. I keep it by the bed.
Thanks
Matt

I would comment, but I suspect I’m somewhat out of the norm!

Surprisingly your post was not created on a printing press or an IBM Selectric Typewriter…

-Gene

“A museum of revolver shooters”! Love it!

Carrying my Rhino today . . . and you are to blame, amigo.

Wait . . . maybe that should be “mausoleum” . . .

;-D

Well, I do a little with both kinds, have Plastique, will travel and Blue Steel and Wood, to go to the woods with. I like them both and don’t have to side with one or the tuther…. and I know which way a loading gate or a cylinder swings to go along with my 1911.

At a very young 55, there’s an S&W 49 (the *Real* Bodyguard ;P ) comfortably nesting in my pocket.
Happy & Safe Holidays!!

The other part of this is that guns are becoming commodities. Just a black blob… In the long run that does not help shooters, because it does not help dealers. While you may buy at a low prices now, you will also sell at a low price later. Since the guns are so much the same it will only supress prices. Used to be that if you bought a quality gun it would hold it value, if not keep pace with inflation or even better. You could shoot your toy and sell it if times got too bad or give it to the grand kids if thing were good.

Now, a block is a block, is a block. There is no magical blueing or figured wood to say that one is better than that one. That means there is not an extra margin for you or the dealer. It becomes just sell it to me, by being the lowest bidder.

I’m 36, cut my teeth on the double to single action wonder 9’s. I prefer Glock for the last 10 years simply because they’re so simple. However, My ankle adornes a Taurus Ti .38 wheel gun and I love it. With the light weight polymers and compact size of late, it’s just too comfortable to carry the newer, lighter, stuff.

I carry a revolver daily – either a S&W 642 .38 or a Charter Arms Bulldog .44. I’ve even been known to hunt deer with a revolver, either a S&W 686 .357 or a Taurus .44 Magnum, though my preferred Deer gun here in Missouri is a Marlin lever gun.

Well, I am only 76, and I still pack an old Model 19, 2 1/2″ when I am traveling.
The same weapon I carried and qualified with on duty, the last 12 years before I retired in 1990.
I also like and own 1911s as well, but an old tried and true friend is easy to keep around, and fall back on.

I carry a wheel gun but I can see why many do not. Magazine capacity and ease of reloading. My CCW instructor trains law enforcement also and he is finding an increasing number of LEOs who do not know how to unload a double action revolver. One guy had to call his Sgt to help him figure out how to check the 38 special he found on a traffic stop.

But I think there will always be a place for wheel guns. I don’t worry that my little J-Frame will jam or that it won’t cycle with some types of ammo. I just pull the trigger and it works.

I enjoy the best of both worlds here. Springfield XD with a SW442 for back up. Everyday. Planning on a SW640 for Christmas as well.

One of my first guns was a SW 686 that’s about the same age as me. Still love that gun too. I know I should get the hammer bobbed or made DAO for self-defense but I’ve been having a hard time bringing myself to do it.

I may end up retiring that 686 and getting a new 686 to replace it for self-defense. No problems converting a new 686, just not my first 686… yeah I’m attached to it.

I’m now 50 and even as a child, I always saw revolvers as ‘cowboy guns’. I certainly appreciate their simplicity and reliability, but the German Lugers and 1911 semi’s always seemed more grown-up and even elegant to me.

I never understood why the police chose to live in the past and carry what looked like a cheap ‘cap gun’ back in the day, but I’m glad to see they carry ‘big boy’ guns today.

Hi Maas,
I have used many semi auto’s, but still love my model 19 best, then my 629. I reload, so I’m not raking shells afterward (or spraying others). At the range, I’ve let younger shooters try ’em (including LEO’s), and I’m usually asked if I’m interested in selling. Many have simply dismissed wheelguns without trying them, but as Jim says “share your sport.”

We have 3 .357s in our house and only one 9mm and one .45 acp. That being said, the classes I’ve taken don’t lend themselves to revolvers. Maybe I should take the 686 next time. I’d like to see just how I’m supposed to do a weak side one handed reload. That’d be worth the price of admission alone.

Mas,

I switched from a 3″ S&W Model 65 to a Sig 239 about a year or so ago. I had both guns side by side and realized I’d rather have 9 rounds of 9mm than 6 rounds of .38 +P for the same weight and bulk.

I do have a J Frame I use as the occassional backup gun or sometimes carry in a coat pocket when my what I’m wearing makes it harder to conceal the Sig.

When I took Farnam’s DTI class awhile back there were no students shooting revolvers in the class. In fact, at least one student didn’t even know how to open the cylinder of a revolver when Farnam brought one out for the “battlefield pickup” part of the class.

I still see the occassional J Frame in the classes I teach for the Michigan CPL.

Rob Reed

You mean there is another method of hunting that does not require chasing the quarry until it runs off a cliff and then picking up the carcass in a ravine?

When did all of that happen?

Mike

ps…I enjoy all types of firearms and attempt to gain at least a working knowledge of as many as I can.

I routinely wear either a 1911, a S&W 586 or a S&W 629. This is, by no means, the extent of my double-digit handgun collection. They are just the guns that I feel most comfortable with, the ones I can shoot best and the ones I am confident will always go, “bang” (call it the Holy Trinity of carry consideration).

When I am instructing students who are totally new to guns, I strongly suggest to them that their first 2 purchases should be a 357 full-size revolver and a 22 rifle. These 2 guns, I tell them, will handle more than 90% of their needs (and in some cases 100%). So far, I have never had a student ever come back to me to tell me my advice is bunk.

Its hard not to be attracted to the sexy, hi-capacity pistols available today. That being said, there is something rock solid in the decision to carry a revolver or to choose to use one for training.

As an aside, is there anything cooler than going out in the woods with a revolver chambered for the same cartridge as your Marlin rifle?

I own both and like both. My cowboy action guns and antique revolvers though, are my favorites, and when I go on the hunt next year it will be with either a wood stocked Winchester 94 or a traditional muzzleloader.

From a CCW standpoint I think both wheelguns and semis have their place. I owned a S&W J-Frame for a while and loved how easy it was to conceal. However I also am comforted by semi-autos and the firepower at my disposal if I chose to carry a Glock or 1911.

Last fall I finally switched from my tried and true Remington 870 Wingmaster to a side by side double for grouse. I’ve always had a hankering for the SxS and got a great deal on a Stoeger Uplander 12 gauge. As for my handguns, my primary carry gun is a Kimber 1911. My secondary is a Springfield XD sub-compact. I DO have one revolver, however, just to satisfy my belief that I was born a few generations too late; a U.S. Patent Firearms SAA in 45 Colt.

As someone who is 34 years old I don’t really understand the appeal of revolvers. I am not a fan. But hey Doc Wesson still likes his Revolvers so you aren’t alone.

For hunting growing up my Dad used 12 gauge slugs for Deer (as rifle’s weren’t allowed in our part of MN), but now he uses a Thompson/Center .50 Muzzleloader.

For me every firearm I currently own is Semi-auto. I don’t see myself ever getting a revolver, I might be willing to go bolt action on a rifle, but maybe only if I were buying a Mosin Nagant or some other historic rifle, for a new rifle I will stick with Semi Autos.

If I buy a shotgun it will probably be semi-auto as well, no interest in pump action even though that is what everyone used when I was growing up.

Might as well chime in, since I turn 30 this month: the first gun I ever shot was my dad’s Ruger Single Six at age 6. My first owned handgun was a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 magnum, bought for javelina hunting by my father and gifted to me.

I own 8 revolvers, including the classics like the S&W Model 29 and Colt Python, but I have about three times that many in semi-auto handguns, to include Glocks, 1911s, and a good number of pocket guns. I can see the pros and cons in each, and in all my time with them the most pros land on the side of the semis.

However, just last night I shot a “wheel-gun hoedown” match at my local range. Only 11 out of the 38 shooters brought revolvers (the rest were party poopers who just brought their regular match guns), and of those 11 I was rare in that I don’t regularly use one in a match (I brought a Ruger Security-Six, 5 speed loaders and full-power .357 magnum factory ammo). I got 6/11 among the revolver shooters and 31/38 overall; you just can’t compete revolvers with semi-autos unless you train feverishly and solely in revolver-craft to such levels that probably would have to surpass the practice rates of most semi-auto shooters.

My two favorite revolver pros are: you can shoot magnums through ’em, and you can’t drop or lose your magazine because it’s built-in to the gun!

I don’t think it’s an age thing, I’m a life long revolver lover and I’m relatively young (29). I gave semiautos a chance, owned quite a few of them, but I just didn’t enjoy them as much as my wheelguns.

All of my handguns are S&W and Ruger revolvers, and I’m enjoying my hunting trips and days at the range more than ever.

Great photo. Was that the Evil Princess, or you?

Ruger LCR w/ Crimson Trace grips is my daily carry. The right combination of new technology and old-school reliability. I’m 46 years old, if that makes any difference. I love autos and revolvers.

35 years old.
First hunt this coming weekend with my Marlin .30-30 lever action.
My carry gun is a Charter Arms undercover snub nose .38 special. My house gun is a Rossi .357 magnum. I just don’t trust semis and that is fine for me.

First gun . . . Mossberg 142K in .22LR

Second gun . . . Savage 220, 28-ga

Third gun, first I bought myself . . . Stevens 311A, 16-ga

First handgun . . . Ruger Single-Six, pre-Supers

First handgun I bought myself . . . Ruger four-digit .41 Mag Blackhawk

I’ll be 68 in a few days, but that might have been sorta obvious.

Oh, yeah . . . and a Glock 26, just because ya never know.

😉

I love revolvers, as a novelty. They are cool looking, shiny, fun to operate, and can handle kickass monster cartridges. But I will probly never own one, for one reason, the way I shoot my autoloaders is with the thumbs forward grip, but REALLY forward, when I pick up a revolver at the gun store to fondle, I always end up with over half of my thumb past the cylinder gap. I don’t want to make that mistake at the range and lose half my thumb.

So, I may own a revolver one o these days, but it will be a huge one that my thumb won’t stick past, and itll be a long time in the future.

At the end of the day Glocks are better in every way, more reliable, simpler, and if the fight goes “long” you might be able to stay in it. If it comes down to reloading you’ll be able to do it faster and with less danger of making a mess of the process than with any revolver. If you have to show a twelve year old girl how to use a gun she’ll be loading her Glock as fast as Jerry Miculek in thirty minutes, Not by firing a couple of thousand rounds a day for 30 years. That said, I don’t like Glocks, and never have. They don’t feel good in my hand. But XDs do and a few years ago I bought one just for grins. That’s right, a few years into the 21st Century I finally journeyed into state of the art 20th Century. However, there was no way I’d ever give up carrying my trusty 70 Series Colt Commander… Right now my family has 7 plus XDs and not one has had a malfunction of any kind through many thousands of rds fired. This past summer I gave the Commander to my youngest who likes to take it out and shoot it, although he carries an XD service model. Looking back even 1911s can’t hold a candle to the “Polymer Kids”, and why I stuck with 1911s for so long is nothing short of mysterious and must have something to do with government mind control and aliens. As for revolvers, sure their fun to shoot, we have some. But I’d never want to fight a war with a Trap Door Springfield or 45-70. Nothing wrong with the 19th Century per say, but I’m not good with leeches and “bleeding” the patient either. things change, so did I… although I have nothing against 1911s or revolvers and would only feel “marginally” disadvantaged with one in a fight.

Not LEO or a daily carry guy, but my go-to for concealed is a 5-rd SP101 hammerless. I figure there’ll be enough pressure if the SHTF while I’m carrying and fewer moving parts is better under pressure.

As far as pistols go, my dad has a .40 caliber S&W (the SD40), but he’s planning on getting a revolver for concealed carry.

As for hunting? I think I’m using a gun that’s older than most hunters. It’s a huge, 1928, four-foot-long Mosin-Nagant 91/30. It’s got an abnormally good finish for a Mosin, but it’s FAR from tacti-cool. Kicks like a mule. My dad is also picking up a bolt-action – leaning towards a Savage.

Now I’m gonna ask for some advice – can you speak as to .308 vs .270 for whitetail deer hunting? My dad’s leaning towards the .270, I’m thinking .308, but I’m not an expert by any means.

Revolvers are/were my first true love for handguns. Only hav 4 right now, love them and shoot them. The few times I’ve faced trouble it has been with a revolver in hand. I do have and shoot autos, generally steel and bluing, the “newest” design is as modern as the 1950’s.

Newbie gun nut here, and my first (and only, so far) gun is a revolver. Which is unfortunately on its way back to Ruger today to deal with something gone wrong in the action… it makes me very sad.

Although my next purchase is probably going to be a semi-auto for carry, after handling the new LCR I don’t know why anyone would pick one of the failure-prone .380’s over it as a pocket gun.

Well, I just came in from the field, unsuccessful I might add. I head out to hunt Whitetails here in Nebraska with a Marlin 336, in .30-30, of course, sporting a Williams’ peep (what?) and my side arm in the woods is my trusty S&W 28.
Had to laugh this last weekend when I came across a fellow hunter sporting a nice big caliber bolt action with a scope you could view craters on Mars with, we were hunting the same corner of a 20acre parcel of land, I’m not sure his scope could ‘zoom out’ to focus at that close of range.
As my younger brother puts it, stomping thru the woods with a lever gun and your wits is hunting. Sitting in an elevated blind with your super scoped sniper rifle, over the top of your food plot and mineral licks, that you’ve been watching over with a camera, is simply a HARVEST of the buck you GREW throughout the year.

in august i bought my wife a S&W 642. i like it so much i may buy one

we’re in our early 40’s

tim

My wife carries a Ruger LCR with a CT laser grips, and I carry a Glock 32 with CT laser grips. Between us we own 4 revolvers and 3 Glocks. Love both styles, but our bedside guns are both revolvers.
We are both over 60.

Mas, I carry a Glock 31 24/7, and I am good with it. But when hunting, or just casual walking, I carry my favorite gun of all time, a S&W model 28 6 inch Highway patrolman. It was my first duty gun, and I can hit an eyeball at 100 yards with it! Jack

Well with the hunting, I got you all beat. On the 28th I’ll be after a Red Deer hind with a longbow. Since retirement I’ve kept the freezer full with that ancient weapon. More to the point of the discussion, I still love my early Nickle plated M37 stubby tho spend more time with the XDs

I have my share of Glocks, but find there is simply no substitute for a enclosed hammer snubbie revolver for use as a close range pocket pistol. For the average Citizen, most real-world self-defense scenarios are going to up close & personal at muzzle contact distances and the revolver will function in these sitautions much more reliably than a semi-auto will.No tap-rack-bang needed in the event of a failure….simply pull the trigger again plus a shrouded hammer revolver can even be fired from inside a pocket,purse or if entagled in clothing which is a very real possiblity during an attempted rape or any other CQ grappling or disarm attempt.
My Mother recently took a basic instruction course & got her CCW and spends her Winters in Florida alone since my StepFather passed away and was wanting a gun to keep around for self-protection .I recommended a S&W 442 for it’s relative lightweight,reliability and ease of maintenance & simplicity.She is not a “gun person” and won’t be shooting much nor pay her gun a whole lot of mind, but she wanted something on hand “just in case” and a revolver makes a lot of sense.
Most of these points made come from Mas’ various writings & articles that I’ve read over the years and there is no expiration date on good solid ideas.I can go back and look at Mr.Ayoob’s articles from magazines 20-30 years old and find his advice & recommendations just as practical & relevant today as they were then.The revolver is not going away anywhere soon since it is simply without peer for the uses I described as well as for Hunting/Large Predator Defense. Also, I’ve found that although just about everyone takes tricked out high capacity semi-automatics to classes or the range, in their real everyday life many opt to actually carry small lightweight revolvers.

I love winter, because it means I can switch to my 325 Night Guard. It will always feed those 230gr +P JHPs.

The rest of the year? Old-school single-stack S&W 908.

I will admit I’ve looked long and hard at the Walther PPS in .40…

I will be using my Remington Model 11 (Remington’s version of the Browning Auto-5), produced in November of 1936. Handed down from my father, it is almost exactly 6 years older than I am (another child of the Cretaceous period). Although certainly a family heirloom and my pride and joy, the old 12 gauge auto sees action several times a month during clay season. Taking the limit is never a problem but the darn things are only good for soup.

Every handgun I own- and most of the ones I have owned are Revolvers. I’m one of the few traditionalists my age- I’m 32. I refuse to own a polymer frame gun, an AR of any type, or any gun with a synthetic stock. My idea of a proper shotgun is a Browning Auto-5, Ithaca 37, Winchester Model 12 or Model 50. I’m not a fan of “modern” designs. The old tried and true designs work just fine.

Pax, I think it was The Evil Princess’s interpretive portrait of me…

Drake, .270 versus .308 (and .30-06) is one of the all-time great debates that has been argued through the night at many a hunting camp and never resolved.

The .270’s higher velocity gives it a flatter trajectory for long shots on deer size game, and seems to anchor whitetails quite decisively. The .308 gives more options for the shooter who might be hunting larger game with the same rifle. The all-time great .270 proponent was the late Jack O’Connor, and being that he hunted largely in the West at longer ranges than us Easterners, I can understand why. I personally went more to the .308, but will never claim that I know more about deer rifles than Jack O’Connor. Bottom line: either one should do a fine job of bringing home the venison.

I’m 50, and my first CF handgun was a revolver, followed by a 1911. The rest or my purchases have all been wheelguns. I love the simplicity, and the fact that my wheelguns handle whatever I feed them. My revolvers digest light target loads, stout hunting loads, hollow points, soft points, jacketed, or hard-cast lead bullets. There are no stovepipes, or failure to feed issues, and no complicated safeties or de-cockers to fumble with, and a lot less small parts to lose or to have fail. There few things that an auto can do that an appropriate revolver can’t. And, for fun and nostalgia, it’s hard to beat a cap and ball revolver!

Don’t get me wrong, I like both autos and revolvers. I have yet to find a handgun that fits me like my 1911 does. But, if forced to choose, for me, the revolver wins, hands down.

Mas,
I do tend to migrate back and forth as my days have me growing longer in the tooth!! One month it may be a .327 3 inch revolver, nex month the Detonics in .45 or maybe the S&W 642. I never feel at a disadvantage with any of them. Shot placement is the order of the day and all of the above are capable. As for the turkey or venison, what time are we eating!!!!!!!!!!!! Semper-fi MIke (in the Smokies)

Mas that poor cylinder in Dino’s mouth is well shamefully filthy! Not the way to treat a well used trusted bit of hardware 🙂

Mas

there is a place for both. I note Grant Cunningham made an appearance in this thread, but didnt really comment, but Ill secon what he was likely thinking.

I just came home from work, took off the Colt Officers Model .45 ACP I have been carrying since 7 AM and changed into my ” bum around the house” clothes. This includes putting on a Colt Detective Special that Grant DAO’d and slicked up for me. With Speer Gold Dot +P’s and a speedloader of same, it is plenty for any likely task. Yes, I know I carry the 1911 most days, but with good ammo I do not feel “badly armed” with the DS. 12 rounds of properly applied Gold Dot will solve almost any tactical problem… if they wont, I should have brought my AR.

Reloading requires a speedloader, but thats just ” revolver drill”.

A good, solid, uncomplicated revolver is what I recommend to students who dont want to become” gun-ninjas”. Smith and Wessom Model 10 with a heavy barrel, a Model 64, Ruger Security-Six, Speed Six or Service Six, GP 100, or Colt Diamondback if you an find one. Simple to shoot, simple to load/unload and plenty , far more than merely adequate , – with the right ammo -for home defense. And those folks never have to worry about a misfire drill-just pull the trigger again.

Even the Glock is not as simple as a modern revolver.

There is indeed a place for the wheelgun.

Let me here also publicly note-Grant Cunningham did a really fine job on my two Detective Specials-he made a couple of outstanding guns into even better sidearms.

Regards

GKT

Started LEO career with a S&W 64. Still carry a S&W 442 nl or Colt Cobra off duty. M&P 340 rides shotgun on duty.

Randall