Revolvers in the Modern World – an Old Man Yells at Cloud
This topic has been coming up within the Lodestone circle of instructors for years – last year, Flynn and I did a podcast about the subject, and this year, I decided it was high time we actually put our discussions into action.
As some of you who’ve taken a class with me know, I am a gun nerd. My particular area of gun nerdiness centers around early metallic cartridge firearms, from about 1880 into the 1940s. Like many early technologies, there’s a lot of experimentation to find what works, so it’s a pretty exciting time.
As some of you who’ve taken a class with me ALSO know, I can run a subject into the ground – so rather than teach a full-day class and watch your eyes glaze over as I discuss early developments in metallic cartridges, and why a rimmed revolver cartridge is superior to a rimless cartridge, we decided to make the revolver class into our of our “Skills” classes that has a minimal amount of classroom discussion, and focuses on techniques specific to the revolver. I figured I’d write this blog post as a supplement to the class, so I can go into detail about things I won’t have time to talk about in the class – this also gives y’all a chance to go to the bathroom whenever you like, rather than waiting for me to finally stop and take a breath.
So – do revolvers have a place in the modern world? Like the answer to many questions I’m asked, the answer is “yes, with a but”. You see, handgun choice is very subjective – it can be based on physical abilities, level of training, and what you need a handgun for. So, for the purposes of this article, I’m just going to go ahead and assume that you’ve decided you want a revolver and go from there.
Choosing a revolver brings up some questions – what caliber? Single action, double action, double action only? What barrel length? Steel, aluminum, or polymer frame? While the revolver world isn’t as quite a diverse and filled with choices as the semi-auto world, there are choices out there.
1. Caliber: Whenever somebody asks me about a revolver caliber for self-defense, the first and last words out of my mouth are .38 Special/.357 Magnum. There’s really no argument here – these are the kings of the revolver self-defense world. .38 Special (or 9x29R, if you swing that way) started off life in the wild and crazy closing days of the 1890’s as a solution to the weaker .38 caliber offerings then in existence. .357 Magnum followed some time later in the 1930’s, the brainchild of Elmer Keith, one of the royalty of the revolver world who felt that .38 special was good, but cramming more powder into the case would make it better. .357 is nothing more than a lengthened .38 special case, which means that .357 magnum revolvers will easily chamber .38 special. The extra length means you can’t fit a .357 magnum round into a .38 special only revolver, which is good, because that would ruin your day. Both calibers are widely available in a pretty big choice of loads and bullet weights, so you can pretty much find a load suited to your needs. .38sp / .357 magnum revolvers really shine when you use .38 sp to practice, and .357 for carry.
Are there other calibers out there? Of course - .327 Federal, a plethora of different .38 caliber loads, .41 magnum, two .44 caliber choices, all the way up to ridiculous .50 caliber loads meant to be used against dangerous game or light armor. If you’re worried about getting eaten by a bear, then a Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull is probably a good choice (you can shoot .45 Long Colt in it to practice, thank god). But from an everyday self-defense perspective, .38sp/.357 magnum offers you the widest choice of ammunition types, and the best availability of any of these calibers. Good luck finding .327 Federal in a mom-and-pop sporting goods store in Idaho.
This brings me to the last thing I want to talk about in regards to caliber – rimless cartridges in revolvers. <GUN NERD ALERT> Cartridges come in two flavors – rimmed, and rimless. Overwhelmingly, cartridges that started life as revolver cartridges are rimmed – cartridges that started life as semi-auto cartridges are rimless. What does that mean? Easy – let’s look at the illustration below:
The difference between the two is pretty obvious – and without devolving into a discussion about headspacing and cartridge design, it boils down to the this: the vast majority of revolvers are designed to work with rimmed cartridges. While there are several revolvers designed around rimless cartridges, they all pretty much require the use of what are known as “moon” clips, which come in in a couple of varieties- the two most common being half-moon and full moon.
These clips essentially provide the revolver with the rim that it needs to function. So, while you can indeed use the same ammunition in your revolver that you use in your Glock, keep in mind that without a moon clip, your 9mm isn’t going to work in your revolver – and depending on barrel length, you may be very disappointed in the performance of your particular 9mm load.
2. Barrel length: Well, what are you using your revolver for? Since we’re talking about self-defense in this post, I’m just going to go ahead and say that 4-inch or below is a great barrel length. I like 3- or 4-inch, personally, but understand some situations call for a snubby. Just keep in mind that the shorter the barrel, the harder that revolver is going to be to shoot.
3. Trigger: Again, this is subjective, and honestly, you’re going to need to practice with whichever you choose, because they’re all different. I own examples of all 3 types (single active, double action, double action only), but I would honestly only consider carrying a double action only with either a bobbed hammer or a “hammerless” model. Now, 10 years into the collapse of society, when I’m carrying my Mk. VI Webley and sporting blue hair and tire armor, I’ll probably be telling you differently, but for now, that’s my opinion. Practice that double action trigger and you can’t go wrong.
4. Frame type: I don’t like polymer framed revolvers. At all. This comes from experience. Avoid them. Aluminum is fine, but expect them to be snappy little monsters with full power loads. Steel frames are great, until you have to lug them around 8 hours a day. Pick one that’s the best compromise for your application – as long as it’s not polymer.
So you’ve picked your revolver to suit your application, and are ready to start figuring out how to use it – great! Because revolvers, like shotguns, are super simple to use, right? Yes…… But……
Just like there’s a difference between playing chopsticks on the piano and playing Chopin, there’s a difference between using a revolver and using a revolver well. Come to a shotgun class and I’ll show you the difference between using a shotgun, and REALLY using a shotgun – it’s the same with a revolver. Our upcoming Revolver skills class is going to go into this in depth, but let’s just have a quick look at what I’m talking about in three particular cases.
1. Trigger pull: Yikes – this is a big topic. So basically, you have three different modes of operation. Single action, double action, and double action only. The most versatile is going to be double action, because that will allow single action and double action use. Single action and double action only work in the modes advertised – single action, or double action. I prefer double action only, because it’s the same trigger pull every time, and there’s no temptation to try a single action shot. As I talk about in the Pistol class, you put a lot of effort in finding where to put your finger on the trigger, so make it the same every time – that way, under stress, you don’t have to think about it. I’m not going to get into the mechanics of working a trigger in this article, but if you come to the revolver class, expect to hear terms like “straight pull” and “trigger stacking”.
2. Sight picture: If you currently have a snubby sitting in your collection somewhere, you know what I’m talking about here. As revolvers get smaller for concealment, their sights become more and more rudimentary. At some point, you end up with a front sight and a rear channel to look through. This takes some practice, and is certainly not a recipe for easy hits. Just like the baffling front sight on the Berthier rifles made by the French and used up through the early part of World War II, it takes some practice figure out and get right, and it’s one of the things we’re going to be working on at our Skills class.
3. Reloads: There’s reloading, and then there’s reloading fast – we’re going to be working on reloading fast in our Skills class, and to do that, we’re going to be talking about a couple of things:
a. Reloading aids – I’m talking about speed strips and speed loaders here, and we’re going to be demonstrating how to use them correctly. We’re also going to talk about reloading from a pouch, or cartridge holder on your belt.
b. Strong hand/Weak hand reloads – how you manipulate the revolver is as important as how you manipulate the cartridges, and you basically have two choices – you can manipulate the revolver with your weak hand and the cartridges in your strong hand, or you can do the opposite. I personally prefer to keep the revolver in my weak hand and load with my strong hand, but again, it’s a preference thing. We’ll go into more detail with the steps needed for each method during the Skills class.
The revolver was the first of the repeating metallic cartridge firearms, and if politicians have their way, it may in the future be the last that you, as a law-abiding citizen can own. It’s possible that magazine restrictions may make six and eight shot revolvers far more appealing than they are today – there may come a time to have the conversation as to whether a revolver with six rounds is more appealing than a semi-auto with six rounds. Learning to properly utilize a revolver is a great tool to have in your toolbox. The Revolver Skills class is September 8th, 2023, so you have plenty of time to get ready – come on out and we’ll make sure you leave with everything you need to become a competent revolver shooter.
— Kirk