First wife got my model 10. traded for the fancy vacuum cleaner. Simpler times. I had other guns didn’t have a vacuum. Both probably still in AZ. Given the crowd she ended up with was pawned or used in crime.
I watched a gentleman explain the reason for a snub nose revolver in simple terms. Up close and effective. You can shove the barrel into their chest and fire the gun and it will work without jamming.
Well said. IMHO, the longer and heavier trigger pull and the limited ammo capacity and slower reloads force you to consider things more before getting into the fight. They encourage good marksmanship, good tactics and sensible risk assessment. You have to consider whether this is a fight you need to get into in case you have to fight your way out. The mantra I use when carrying any firearm is AVOID CONTACT, but if that fails, BREAK CONTACT. It is especially true with revolvers. As David also noted, another advantage is that there is no slide to go out of battery when you end up in a clinch fight and the revolver will fire in contact when you need it to. Also, a 2" revolver is significantly more difficult to take away from someone....there's just less to grab there, so less leverage available for the BG to snatch it from you. As with any firearm, there are advantages and disadvantages to revolvers, but I don't carry a gun as a talisman...it is a fighting tool which can be used very effectively with a little practice and dedication.
A revolver will tolerate six years of pocket lint and still operate as desired. A lightweight, alloy-framed, five shot .38 with +P rounds is quite light and concealable, even in hot weather. Being less square is a bonus for not printing through your clothes.
Lead is, of course, very heavy. Some semi-autos double their weight with the addition of a hi-cap magazine, making it more difficult to walk around in public concealing them in nice weather and light clothes.
I have both and have carried both. One is easier to carry daily and therefore likely to be there when and where you need it. The hi-cap semi might be a better home invasion stopper or vehicle stowed weapon.
Most self-defense shootings are really short distances, inside 15ft, and last a couple of seconds. If the bang is big (and snubbies make big bangs) and there are multiple assailants, the ones not hit generally depart rapidly out of self preservation, in almost every video I've seen. You can always carry a five round speedloader with your car keys in your non-dominant front pocket if you feel the need. Be sure to practice with it.
No defense situation is ideal and no single weapon is ideal for every situation, but the weapon you have is better than the one you don't have. Figure out what you will actually carry everywhere everyday. Anything else is useless.
And the right choice might actually not be the first gun that you buy. Sometimes you have to buy one and live with it to figure out it's not the best choice. And the second one might not be the right one either. Keep refining. Sometimes the holster is the real problem. Sometimes it requires 3 or 4 tries to get it right.
"Oh, crap! My gun's in the car!" or "My gun's at the house!" is not a good feeling. I'll say it again, figure out what you will actually carry.
I still like semi auto. Iwb or owb. Not the pocket. I have clip holsters that cover trigger guard that i can carry iwb in a barhing suit or sweat pants with something like g27 or 26 are even smoother a g43x or clone. In normal everday clothes it just disapears and i will forget it is there comfortable.
However for those of you that are not an experienced concealed carry person you have to take this with a grain of salt. Everyones bodies are different an what is comfortabe for me very well might not be for you. The old saying us that someone that has carried for few years will have drawer full of holsters they rarely to never use. First few years are a big learning curve of what works for you and what doesn't.
Im feeling soap boxy so ignore the good advice 😀 this is aimed at everyone in the world that has or has thought of carrying a gun.
Only thing i will say forcefully is if you carry a gun on your body, in your pocket, or in your purse or bag, and dont have it in a holster that covers the trigger or at least a trigger guard, you are an idiot. I know of a lot of stories of trigger getting hooked on something, whether in pocket, purse or even just sliding under belt like a two bit hood and discharging gun. That's not the worse case. Multiple stories of kids digging in mommys purse accidentally discharging a gun because they were tugging in something hooked in trigger and not realizing it. We wont talk about them pulling gun out and playing with it.
I'm still resentful of the class I took at a range, one that was supposed to be for beginners. I brought my .22 revolver to shoot. The instructor made disparaging remarks about revolvers in the class and ignored me. I didn't take any more classes there and I didn't join the range. I really should look for a new revolver, at least a new to me one.
I don’t know which .22 you have, but a Colt King Cobra .22 can fill a person with 10 holes they will regret for a very long time. Sure, they’re not .357 magnum holes, but most people whine about splinters. 10 mixed .22 rounds to the human face and neck are good deterrent.
But it is a horrible self defense gun. However if you go down that road, there are several rounds pushing 1500 to 1700 feet per second muzzle velocity and 150 to 200 foot lbs of energy. They will lose 300ish feet per second at 25 yards and be down to 90 to 120 ftlbs. At its best thats 1/2 to 1/3 the energy of a 9mm generic practice round. 1/4 a descent self defence round and that doesnt take into account the actuall engineering for expansion and kinetic energy transfer designed into self defence rounds that makes then 2 to 3 times more effective than a fmj round.
To stop someone right now you need a solid head shot. Hitting someone amped on adrenalin or especially drugs they might feel a little thump when you hit them or even think you missed. They won't stop till the blood loss slows them down. That could take some time. Enough for them to grab you and beat the shit out of you. If your lucky the sight and small bark of the gun intimidates them and they run. Don't count on it. Mostly that doesnt happen to people that are blazing angry, on drugs or drunk or all those combined. If that is case the are even less likely to feel getting hit.
.22 kills more more people most years than any other caliber. Just to be specific, mostly by bleeding out after getting shot. Minutes to hours afterward. Just depends on bullet placement. Some times even getting to hospital doesnt help as one bullet might penetrate rib cage and the bounce around creating bleeding in multiple places that are hard to treat. While fixing one, the others bleed victim out. You will probably be on way to mourge? Bleeding out beside them from knife wounds or in er getting concussion and broke body parts looked at.
Advantage is small size, low recoil and light weight to carry and have at least something rather than nothing to shoot.
Massive disadvantage in semi auto. .22 is one of the most failure prone cartridges ever. Failure to fire due to primer failure. Failure to feed due to gun being slightly dirty or the round not having enough powder in it. Quality control on .22 from all manufactures is worse than for larger caliber bullets. Some are really bad.
Revover for win other than failure to fire on reliability. But revolver is a lot bulkier for nicer quality guns compared to smaller semi autos. Ymmv though. I know there are a lot of offerings out there i dont know about.
H&R 9 shot. I tell myself Jim Brady was shot with a .22. I need to have a gunsmith look at it because it has issues. The gun you have is always better than the one you don’t have.
While I can’t speak to the purpose of this post, when I took up action shooting the slight delay of the double action gave me time to learn to aim. Before that I would just spray and pray. After revo shooting for a number of years I can now shoot anything.
Revolvers are a pros gun. No cases left. Not that fingerprints can likely survive the heat of firing. I love how FBI and Pima county relying heavily on DNA in Guthrie case. Life isn’t like a TV crime drama.
I can change out the firing pin on my pistols in half an hour. Change rifling marks on projectiles with brass brushes same with cartridge face but with revolver all that stays with the firearm. I love crime drama so realistic.
J frame .357 here. Throw it in a holster, coat pocket, cargo pants, whatever. It essentially can’t fire unless you want it to. You can discharge from inside a pocket, you can jam the muzzle up against your assailant’s guts and pull the trigger until it stops going bang if you need to, and once it’s empty it’s just a chunk of metal and you can start bashing your attacker in the face with it.
No, it isn’t sexy and it doesn’t have a double stacked magazine. I’m not looking to get into a gunfight. I’m looking to give the criminal something else to think about while i run away and call the cops.
my primary winter carry gun a 627 snub 8 round revolver in 357 magnum. I have 4 moon clips in my jacket. Alternatively, a CZ 75 b in carry bag with 5 extra mags, other seasons and road trips.
I learned to run them both. My go-to auto is either my Kel-Tecs or a 1911. Sadly, few of my wheelguns are truly concealable. But I won't cry a river if I have my 5" S&W M27 when SHTF. I mostly use wheelguns in the field for hunting.
Two advantages you missed:
You can shoot a revolver from your pocket if necessary
A revolver will function when in physical contact with the target- semi's usually don't
Both scenarios happen more often than what comes up on the interweb.
My common carry is a Model 10. Works every time.
Yes! You’re absolutely right. Thank you for mentioning that.
First wife got my model 10. traded for the fancy vacuum cleaner. Simpler times. I had other guns didn’t have a vacuum. Both probably still in AZ. Given the crowd she ended up with was pawned or used in crime.
I watched a gentleman explain the reason for a snub nose revolver in simple terms. Up close and effective. You can shove the barrel into their chest and fire the gun and it will work without jamming.
A Smith 642 saved my life once and I never took it out of my coat pocket. Let's leave it at that.
Well said. IMHO, the longer and heavier trigger pull and the limited ammo capacity and slower reloads force you to consider things more before getting into the fight. They encourage good marksmanship, good tactics and sensible risk assessment. You have to consider whether this is a fight you need to get into in case you have to fight your way out. The mantra I use when carrying any firearm is AVOID CONTACT, but if that fails, BREAK CONTACT. It is especially true with revolvers. As David also noted, another advantage is that there is no slide to go out of battery when you end up in a clinch fight and the revolver will fire in contact when you need it to. Also, a 2" revolver is significantly more difficult to take away from someone....there's just less to grab there, so less leverage available for the BG to snatch it from you. As with any firearm, there are advantages and disadvantages to revolvers, but I don't carry a gun as a talisman...it is a fighting tool which can be used very effectively with a little practice and dedication.
I like you.
A revolver will tolerate six years of pocket lint and still operate as desired. A lightweight, alloy-framed, five shot .38 with +P rounds is quite light and concealable, even in hot weather. Being less square is a bonus for not printing through your clothes.
Lead is, of course, very heavy. Some semi-autos double their weight with the addition of a hi-cap magazine, making it more difficult to walk around in public concealing them in nice weather and light clothes.
I have both and have carried both. One is easier to carry daily and therefore likely to be there when and where you need it. The hi-cap semi might be a better home invasion stopper or vehicle stowed weapon.
Most self-defense shootings are really short distances, inside 15ft, and last a couple of seconds. If the bang is big (and snubbies make big bangs) and there are multiple assailants, the ones not hit generally depart rapidly out of self preservation, in almost every video I've seen. You can always carry a five round speedloader with your car keys in your non-dominant front pocket if you feel the need. Be sure to practice with it.
No defense situation is ideal and no single weapon is ideal for every situation, but the weapon you have is better than the one you don't have. Figure out what you will actually carry everywhere everyday. Anything else is useless.
And the right choice might actually not be the first gun that you buy. Sometimes you have to buy one and live with it to figure out it's not the best choice. And the second one might not be the right one either. Keep refining. Sometimes the holster is the real problem. Sometimes it requires 3 or 4 tries to get it right.
"Oh, crap! My gun's in the car!" or "My gun's at the house!" is not a good feeling. I'll say it again, figure out what you will actually carry.
Thank you!
All great points 👍
This...
I still like semi auto. Iwb or owb. Not the pocket. I have clip holsters that cover trigger guard that i can carry iwb in a barhing suit or sweat pants with something like g27 or 26 are even smoother a g43x or clone. In normal everday clothes it just disapears and i will forget it is there comfortable.
However for those of you that are not an experienced concealed carry person you have to take this with a grain of salt. Everyones bodies are different an what is comfortabe for me very well might not be for you. The old saying us that someone that has carried for few years will have drawer full of holsters they rarely to never use. First few years are a big learning curve of what works for you and what doesn't.
Im feeling soap boxy so ignore the good advice 😀 this is aimed at everyone in the world that has or has thought of carrying a gun.
Only thing i will say forcefully is if you carry a gun on your body, in your pocket, or in your purse or bag, and dont have it in a holster that covers the trigger or at least a trigger guard, you are an idiot. I know of a lot of stories of trigger getting hooked on something, whether in pocket, purse or even just sliding under belt like a two bit hood and discharging gun. That's not the worse case. Multiple stories of kids digging in mommys purse accidentally discharging a gun because they were tugging in something hooked in trigger and not realizing it. We wont talk about them pulling gun out and playing with it.
I'm still resentful of the class I took at a range, one that was supposed to be for beginners. I brought my .22 revolver to shoot. The instructor made disparaging remarks about revolvers in the class and ignored me. I didn't take any more classes there and I didn't join the range. I really should look for a new revolver, at least a new to me one.
I don’t know which .22 you have, but a Colt King Cobra .22 can fill a person with 10 holes they will regret for a very long time. Sure, they’re not .357 magnum holes, but most people whine about splinters. 10 mixed .22 rounds to the human face and neck are good deterrent.
I love shooting .22
But it is a horrible self defense gun. However if you go down that road, there are several rounds pushing 1500 to 1700 feet per second muzzle velocity and 150 to 200 foot lbs of energy. They will lose 300ish feet per second at 25 yards and be down to 90 to 120 ftlbs. At its best thats 1/2 to 1/3 the energy of a 9mm generic practice round. 1/4 a descent self defence round and that doesnt take into account the actuall engineering for expansion and kinetic energy transfer designed into self defence rounds that makes then 2 to 3 times more effective than a fmj round.
To stop someone right now you need a solid head shot. Hitting someone amped on adrenalin or especially drugs they might feel a little thump when you hit them or even think you missed. They won't stop till the blood loss slows them down. That could take some time. Enough for them to grab you and beat the shit out of you. If your lucky the sight and small bark of the gun intimidates them and they run. Don't count on it. Mostly that doesnt happen to people that are blazing angry, on drugs or drunk or all those combined. If that is case the are even less likely to feel getting hit.
.22 kills more more people most years than any other caliber. Just to be specific, mostly by bleeding out after getting shot. Minutes to hours afterward. Just depends on bullet placement. Some times even getting to hospital doesnt help as one bullet might penetrate rib cage and the bounce around creating bleeding in multiple places that are hard to treat. While fixing one, the others bleed victim out. You will probably be on way to mourge? Bleeding out beside them from knife wounds or in er getting concussion and broke body parts looked at.
Advantage is small size, low recoil and light weight to carry and have at least something rather than nothing to shoot.
Massive disadvantage in semi auto. .22 is one of the most failure prone cartridges ever. Failure to fire due to primer failure. Failure to feed due to gun being slightly dirty or the round not having enough powder in it. Quality control on .22 from all manufactures is worse than for larger caliber bullets. Some are really bad.
Revover for win other than failure to fire on reliability. But revolver is a lot bulkier for nicer quality guns compared to smaller semi autos. Ymmv though. I know there are a lot of offerings out there i dont know about.
.
H&R 9 shot. I tell myself Jim Brady was shot with a .22. I need to have a gunsmith look at it because it has issues. The gun you have is always better than the one you don’t have.
Finally bought a small revolver for my wife. Like our author stated, too many variables in a tight situation with a semiautomatic.
I carry a revolver in each of my vehicles center consoles. Why? It’s ready to fire and won’t require a slide rack for battery. It’s simple. Reliable.
While I can’t speak to the purpose of this post, when I took up action shooting the slight delay of the double action gave me time to learn to aim. Before that I would just spray and pray. After revo shooting for a number of years I can now shoot anything.
“It offers a long, deliberate trigger that demands intention.” - this right here good sir.
Revolvers are not for casual one shooting class wonders.
Revolvers are a PRO'S gun.
.41 Magnum all the way.
Revolvers are a pros gun. No cases left. Not that fingerprints can likely survive the heat of firing. I love how FBI and Pima county relying heavily on DNA in Guthrie case. Life isn’t like a TV crime drama.
I can change out the firing pin on my pistols in half an hour. Change rifling marks on projectiles with brass brushes same with cartridge face but with revolver all that stays with the firearm. I love crime drama so realistic.
J frame .357 here. Throw it in a holster, coat pocket, cargo pants, whatever. It essentially can’t fire unless you want it to. You can discharge from inside a pocket, you can jam the muzzle up against your assailant’s guts and pull the trigger until it stops going bang if you need to, and once it’s empty it’s just a chunk of metal and you can start bashing your attacker in the face with it.
No, it isn’t sexy and it doesn’t have a double stacked magazine. I’m not looking to get into a gunfight. I’m looking to give the criminal something else to think about while i run away and call the cops.
my primary winter carry gun a 627 snub 8 round revolver in 357 magnum. I have 4 moon clips in my jacket. Alternatively, a CZ 75 b in carry bag with 5 extra mags, other seasons and road trips.
Excellent article. Well argued. I guess I need to reconsider my EDC strategy.
I learned to run them both. My go-to auto is either my Kel-Tecs or a 1911. Sadly, few of my wheelguns are truly concealable. But I won't cry a river if I have my 5" S&W M27 when SHTF. I mostly use wheelguns in the field for hunting.
Gosh, I sure love my Ruger Alaskan 454. 2 in barrel. Now that goes bang.