Best revolver instructors?

[BehindBlueI's]

I don't know where you are located, but if you're in the Midwest check out the offerings at Sand Burr Gun Ranch. I think I've got an AAR of the snub nose class on this forum from a few years back.

I did, it's here: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....Burr-Gun-Ranch

[Wondering Beard]

Denny is a great guy and does great work (gun smithing and instructing)

[Rex G]

I'm with the Chief...I own a website called, "Revolver Science," and although I'm a revolver fan and consider myself, "revolver capable," I carry striker fired pistols as EDC. Tom's class will show you all you need to know to help you make up your mind that while revolver skills are useful, a modern service pistol is more useful in a crisis for a hundred different reasons.


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A double-action service pistol does make a decent back-up weapon, when carrying a good sixgun. Actually, I am more-or-less paraphrasing the late, great sixgunner Elmer Keith, who was referencing the S&W Model 59, and perhaps the Model 39, when he was writing about this, if I recall correctly.

I am certainly no Elmer Keith, but have commented multiple times that a compact Glock is a good "tactical reload" when carrying a revolver. In the 2002-2004 time frame, I actually tended to carry a G29 and SP101, together, during personal time, and it was not clear which was the "back-up."

I remember Tom Givens' mini-class at the Snubby Summit, in which he certainly did make a good case for the Kahr PM9 as the better choice, than the small-frame snub-gun, for a back-up weapon. I had, before that time, already tried a Kahr K9, to see if it could displace the SP101 as my favored compact handgun. The K9 had gone away, and another SP101 soon joined the first one.

I will admit to having been neglecting my revolvers, lately, while concentrating upon building my skill with G19 pistols. My revolvers have been relegated to house-gun use, as I have not yet renewed my qual with any of my revolvers since they lapsed last October. (PD rules apply 24/7/365.) I do plan to remedy that, soon.

To be clear, I am not biased against auto-pistols. My first handgun, in late 1982 or 1983, was a 1911, and at the time, I thought revolvers were quaint relics. I had to use revolvers, however, 24/7/365, during my rookie year as a police officer, 1984-1985, so made a diligent effort to learn the weapon system I had to carry during what was Houston's violent boom-town era, competing with Detroit for murder capital of the USA. I learned to love both revolvers and autos.

Officers Debbie Lokey and Phil Bankston guided me through the process of learning DA sixgunning, in the Houston PD academy. (Debbie Lokey used to teach privately, too, but have not heard that she still does so.) I also diligently read the words of the late Bill Jordan, the late Jim Cirillo, and Mas Ayoob.

The only private revolver-specific live-fire instruction I have attended was Michael de Bethencourt's mini-class at the Snubby Summit. I do highly recommend him.

[vcdgrips]

Tom Givens & Clint Smith based on my training and direct exper. with them.

Wayne Dobbs, DB and Claude Warner based on reputations.

[DAL357]

A double-action service pistol does make a decent back-up weapon, when carrying a good sixgun. Actually, I am more-or-less paraphrasing the late, great sixgunner Elmer Keith, who was referencing the S&W Model 59, and perhaps the Model 39, when he was writing about this, if I recall correctly.

I am certainly no Elmer Keith, but have commented multiple times that a compact Glock is a good "tactical reload" when carrying a revolver. In the 2002-2004 time frame, I actually tended to carry a G29 and SP101, together, during personal time, and it was not clear which was the "back-up."

I like that idea! I hate that idea! Know why? If I follow it, I'll end up buying another gun, likely a single-stack 9, maybe a Walther PPS M2. Naw, not gonna do it! (I can already feel my resolve dissolving.)

Of course my rational mind tells me I should probably just end up carrying my faithful 642 as a back-up gun, albeit with a left-hand orientation, in a belly band for my Smith 19 when I get it back from Robar.

I wonder which side will win.

BTW, on the original topic of this thread, excellent question!

[jlw]

A double-action service pistol does make a decent back-up weapon, when carrying a good sixgun. Actually, I am more-or-less paraphrasing the late, great sixgunner Elmer Keith, who was referencing the S&W Model 59, and perhaps the Model 39, when he was writing about this, if I recall correctly.

I am certainly no Elmer Keith, but have commented multiple times that a compact Glock is a good "tactical reload" when carrying a revolver. In the 2002-2004 time frame, I actually tended to carry a G29 and SP101, together, during personal time, and it was not clear which was the "back-up."

I remember Tom Givens' mini-class at the Snubby Summit, in which he certainly did make a good case for the Kahr PM9 as the better choice, than the small-frame snub-gun, for a back-up weapon. I had, before that time, already tried a Kahr K9, to see if it could displace the SP101 as my favored compact handgun. The K9 had gone away, and another SP101 soon joined the first one.

I will admit to having been neglecting my revolvers, lately, while concentrating upon building my skill with G19 pistols. My revolvers have been relegated to house-gun use, as I have not yet renewed my qual with any of my revolvers since they lapsed last October. (PD rules apply 24/7/365.) I do plan to remedy that, soon.

To be clear, I am not biased against auto-pistols. My first handgun, in late 1982 or 1983, was a 1911, and at the time, I thought revolvers were quaint relics. I had to use revolvers, however, 24/7/365, during my rookie year as a police officer, 1984-1985, so made a diligent effort to learn the weapon system I had to carry during what was Houston's violent boom-town era, competing with Detroit for murder capital of the USA. I learned to love both revolvers and autos.

Officers Debbie Lokey and Phil Bankston guided me through the process of learning DA sixgunning, in the Houston PD academy. (Debbie Lokey used to teach privately, too, but have not heard that she still does so.) I also diligently read the words of the late Bill Jordan, the late Jim Cirillo, and Mas Ayoob.

The only private revolver-specific live-fire instruction I have attended was Michael de Bethencourt's mini-class at the Snubby Summit. I do highly recommend him.

I like that idea! I hate that idea! Know why? If I follow it, I'll end up buying another gun, likely a single-stack 9, maybe a Walther PPS M2. Naw, not gonna do it! (I can already feel my resolve dissolving.)

Of course my rational mind tells me I should probably just end up carrying my faithful 642 as a back-up gun, albeit with a left-hand orientation, in a belly band for my Smith 19 when I get it back from Robar.

I wonder which side will win.

BTW, on the original topic of this thread, excellent question!

It's Swayze approved.

[Dagga Boy]

Scotty Reitz still does a revolver class. Obviously Clint Smith is a go to as well. At HiTS, we are highly dedicated to keeping the art alive. No matter what you think as far as usefulness of a revolver, the reality is that if you can run a revolver well, you can likely run anything well. Want to learn trigger control....this is how you do that. Want to learn to run a snub....dedicated practice on the bigger guns helps. Live in a highly restricted area for firearms, you should know how to run a revolver. Non-dedicated firearms folks not willing to master administrative functions of an auto loader....revolver. I could go on and on.
As mentioned, Dobbs and I still love the guns and love teaching them. The Pat Rogers memorial revolver Round up is our favorite class. We have brought in folks like Chuck Haggard, Claude Werner, Michael deBethancourt, and Tom Givens to teach. We want people to get different takes and outlooks to truely educate them on entire dynamic of revolver shooting. This year (Nov. 18-19) we are bringing Mark Fricke out to teach at the revolver shoot. While not a household name, Mark is an incredibly gifted instructor and is one of the foremost folks in my mind of encyclopedic revolver knowledge....especially when it comes to the k frame S&W's. I have also watched Mark shoot small frame S&W's to a level I have never seen. It took me till 225 yards to drop Mark on a walk back Drill.....I was shooting a G19 with Heinie sights, and he was shooting an old S&W Terrier in .38 S&W (short and weak....not .38 Special). A day with Mark on the range with Revolvers should be an amazing experience.

[BN]

A double-action service pistol does make a decent back-up weapon, when carrying a good sixgun. Actually, I am more-or-less paraphrasing the late, great sixgunner Elmer Keith, who was referencing the S&W Model 59, and perhaps the Model 39, when he was writing about this, if I recall correctly.

I remember, back in the early 1980's, when I was doing academy, we had an instructor from a federal agency. He was required to carry his duty weapon, a short barrel S&W model 19. They were allowed to carry any weapon as backup, so he carried a S&W model 59 on his strong side and the 19 on his weak side.

[Dagga Boy]

The semi auto back up was super common in the revolver days. I know it was big in Chicago, including running the back up on the actual duty belt. I always had a hi-capacity 9mm between the seats in a bag with spare mags in my black and white office. We had an officer who came to us after retiring out of a specialized unit at LAPD. Very established gunfighter both at LAPD and in the Army in Vietnam. He got in a shooting one night where deployment speed was critical froma patrol unit. He went to the S&W 669 that was under his left leg in the patrol car rather than the holstered 6" .45 Colt N frame revolver. Killed he bad guy with a 147gr. Subsonic that clipped the guys heart. Crook had already taken an entire magazine of .45 ball through the abdomen area with no effect from another officer.

[Lost River]

Ken Hackathorn can run a wheelgun like nobody's business too.

I hear he is a pretty darn good instructor as well.