new carry revolver

[Totem Polar]

That Colt also seems to meet my needs, but it’s still somewhat new (and I read what you all said about it. I won’t rule it out for that reason, but I would like to see some more reviews.) The price may be a deal breaker though - MSRP is about $900. I would need to see a big price drop.

I’d have to dig up the receipt, but the street price was just under 8 bills. It wasn’t much more than 8 out the door, all in, in my area. Considering the night sight, DAO, and *excellent* trigger—along with the ion bond finish—there’s no need for any aftermarket work. Trigger compares ok to my Reichard-tuned K-frame; certainly close enough to call it good to go. If they made the same thing (DAO/ion bond) in 3", I’d get that too, and retire my other wheelies. JMO, OMMV, etc.

[03RN]

I'm afraid that I wasn't very articulate earlier, and the point that I was (poorly) trying to make is that removing the hammer from a Ruger is far less involved that from a Smith, and should therefore be somewhat less expensive from a qualified professional, in comparison. Mea culpa.

There's no liability problem with cutting a spur off the hammer.

As for action work. Your putting the cart before the horse.

Buy a gun, shoot a thousand rounds through it, then decide if it needs any work. I doubt it will. I've handled some 40 year old guns that were meh. Once 40 years of accumulated grease and grit were removed it was a brand new gun.

You keep stating how the action work will be this much extra, etc, etc. It's really not that necasary. After a couple years of shooting you may want to but it's much less imperative.

If you need a new gun than a gp100 3" talo or a m66-8 with 2.75" barrel are the answer. The Ruger will be a little thicker.

[TheNewbie]

I’d have to dig up the receipt, but the street price was just under 8 bills. It wasn’t much more than 8 out the door, all in, in my area. Considering the night sight, DAO, and *excellent* trigger—along with the ion bond finish—there’s no need for any aftermarket work. Trigger compares ok to my Reichard-tuned K-frame; certainly close enough to call it good to go. If they made the same thing (DAO/ion bond) in 3", I’d get that too, and retire my other wheelies. JMO, OMMV, etc.

Do you like the K6 or the Night Cobra better?


I’m really looking at a revolver for my main concealed weapon.


What I want is an external hammer (simply to ride when holstering, no interest in SA), decent sights, 6 rounds, and roughly the size of a Glock 26/M&Pc 1.0 compact.

Seems like that leaves me with the Night Cobra or K6.


Reading a Kimber forum, it seems like the reliability issue posts are from the early release days, and not so much now.

[Chuck Whitlock]

There's no liability problem with cutting a spur off the hammer.

As for action work. Your putting the cart before the horse.

Buy a gun, shoot a thousand rounds through it, then decide if it needs any work. I doubt it will. I've handled some 40 year old guns that were meh. Once 40 years of accumulated grease and grit were removed it was a brand new gun.

You keep stating how the action work will be this much extra, etc, etc. It's really not that necasary. After a couple years of shooting you may want to but it's much less imperative.

If you need a new gun than a gp100 3" talo or a m66-8 with 2.75" barrel are the answer. The Ruger will be a little thicker.

The OP had specified that he wanted the revolver to be rendered DAO, which involves removal of the SA notch from the hammer. That was all I was referring to.

[Dave T]

I am in no way trying to be offensive but the OP has admitted he is over thinking this and this DAO business is a good example. The only thing required to render a DA revolver DAO is for the operator to not cock the hammer. If your thumb is tempted, despite your best intentions, it wouldn't cost all that much to have a competent gun smith bob the hammer. Don't worry about all those little internal parts. They will be fine in there. Just leave them alone. (smile)

Dave

PS: If you can wait, Colt's new 3" King Cobra might just push all your buttons, or take a hard look at a 3" KS6s. Both are reported to have pretty good trigger pulls right out of the box.

[Totem Polar]

Do you like the K6 or the Night Cobra better?


I’m really looking at a revolver for my main concealed weapon.


What I want is an external hammer (simply to ride when holstering, no interest in SA), decent sights, 6 rounds, and roughly the size of a Glock 26/M&Pc 1.0 compact.

Seems like that leaves me with the Night Cobra or K6.


Reading a Kimber forum, it seems like the reliability issue posts are from the early release days, and not so much now.

Can I get back to you on that? I mean, the K6S is a more modern design; reloads faster for me (push latch vs pull latch) and, incredibly, has more aftermarket support in terms of holsters, since the Colt Cobra is a modified new frame version of the old classic. Plus, the K6S has that chambering versatility with all the .357 options on the table.

But there is just something to be said about that classic Colt DS vibe. I'm really digging it. Both guns came with mediocre stocks on them; slick and round in profile. I ditched the K6 stocks in favor of textured compact VZ grips-which really made the gun. Ironically, the Night Cobra ships with VZs, but they are low-texture and round, like the original K6 altamonts, so they're a little more squirrely than I'd like.

Right now, I'm all excited about the Colt, but I don't have a decent way to carry it, and I'm thinking the retro vibe calls for a set of pachmayr compacs to take this one over the top. If I had a good, minimalist AIWB rig and sorted grips for the Colt--plus another couple hundred rounds through it--I'd probably lean that direction, but it's too early to tell.

I'm glad I have both though. I will say this about the K6 in 3" form: it is darn close to 3" K-frame shootability (eg. with Remington GS 125 mid range .357, or Winchester 145 silver tip) and darn close to all-steel 640 ease of stuffing into a belt. The K6 easily meets the SP101 for concealment and exceeds it a little for range capability.

They're both cool guns. If I had to sell one today, I'd probably keep the Colt though. I like the night sight, exposed DAO hammer (same as you) and the proven, vintage form.

I dunno. Here's to America, where I can have one of each to back each other up.


ETA: I should say that they'll both work well, as is, and are GTG out of the box, IMO. I'd take either one, and both are functionally ahead of comparable offerings from Smith or Ruger, for the niche that they compete in. Especially Smith, for the money. Those clowns need to rethink that lock, and put some real sights on their basic models, or get left in the dust. If someone gave me a typical new Smith, I'd trade it in on another of these current Colts, and I have, shall we say, more than one older Smith (and Ruger, though they're working a lot harder than Smith to stay current, so that's tangential..) in the safe; it's not like I wasn't a huge S&W wheelie fan before the whole world started offering more bang for the buck.

[TheNewbie]

Can I get back to you on that? I mean, the K6S is a more modern design; reloads faster for me (push latch vs pull latch) and, incredibly, has more aftermarket support in terms of holsters, since the Colt Cobra is a modified new frame version of the old classic. Plus, the K6S has that chambering versatility with all the .357 options on the table.

But there is just something to be said about that classic Colt DS vibe. I'm really digging it. Both guns came with mediocre stocks on them; slick and round in profile. I ditched the K6 stocks in favor of textured compact VZ grips-which really made the gun. Ironically, the Night Cobra ships with VZs, but they are low-texture and round, like the original K6 altamonts, so they're a little more squirrely than I'd like.

Right now, I'm all excited about the Colt, but I don't have a decent way to carry it, and I'm thinking the retro vibe calls for a set of pachmayr compacs to take this one over the top. If I had a good, minimalist AIWB rig and sorted grips for the Colt--plus another couple hundred rounds through it--I'd probably lean that direction, but it's too early to tell.

I'm glad I have both though. I will say this about the K6 in 3" form: it is darn close to 3" K-frame shootability (eg. with Remington GS 125 mid range .357, or Winchester 145 silver tip) and darn close to all-steel 640 ease of stuffing into a belt. The K6 easily meets the SP101 for concealment and exceeds it a little for range capability.

They're both cool guns. If I had to sell one today, I'd probably keep the Colt though. I like the night sight, exposed DAO hammer (same as you) and the proven, vintage form.

I dunno. Here's to America, where I can have one of each to back each other up.


ETA: I should say that they'll both work well, as is, and are GTG out of the box, IMO. I'd take either one, and both are functionally ahead of comparable offerings from Smith or Ruger, for the niche that they compete in. Especially Smith, for the money. Those clowns need to rethink that lock, and put some real sights on their basic models, or get left in the dust. If someone gave me a typical new Smith, I'd trade it in on another of these current Colts, and I have, shall we say, more than one older Smith (and Ruger, though they're working a lot harder than Smith to stay current, so that's tangential..) in the safe; it's not like I wasn't a huge S&W wheelie fan before the whole world started offering more bang for the buck.

I know you like the Colt night sight, but do the three dot sights work well on the K6?


It's hard to find a Glock 26 sized DAO or DA/SA (HK is not an option for me). So I am looking at these two revolvers at the moment.

One thing I like about the K6, as you mentioned, is the ability to chamber .357. As an all around gun, this sounds like a nice option. CCW, backpacking, etc.

[Moonshot]

Again, the gun is the platform. I’m actually more interested in what round to carry in it that will meet my perceived needs for a primary CCW revolver - controllable for rapid follow up shots and able to meet the FBI penetration specs after passing thru 4LD or AG.

I have assumed that’s at least a +P bonded HP with minimum bullet weight of 130+ grams. I could load any of the +P bonded .38s in my 642 (and have in the past), but IMO that platform is too light for that much power - as I have stated before, when I loaded my 642 with SBGDs my split times increased and my groupings opened up. Not dramatically, but enough to notice.

A heavier platform (640 PRO, SP101, GP100, K6, Cobra, used K-frame, etc) would allow for far more control with the hotter round than that same round if fired from my airweight.

I need more than a 2” barrel if I want to help ensure reliable expansion, but as much as I would like the round to expand, I am more concerned with control and penetration. Therefore, I want the platform to have enough weight to dampen recoil without being so heavy I find excuses to not carry it, a smooth (but not necessarily light) trigger to aid in accuracy, descent but solid sights for the same reason, and loaded with a round that will meet the FBI penetration specs thru the 4LD test and the AG test.

As far as I know, my WCs will meet all these requirements except the autoglass test. That’s why I’m looking at carrying a hotter bonded round in my primary gun, and that's why I’m looking at a different platform in which to load it.

As for getting an action job from the get go - I’ve shot too many revolvers over the years with only so-so triggers. After getting a NIB 642 and having Denny Reichard work his magic on it (all stock parts but smoothed and polished) the difference is dramatic, and I think well worth the expense.

Regarding my having a conventional revolver converted to DAO - I understand if I don’t thumb cock it than it will be double action, but I want the gun to be incapable of being thumb cocked. That way, should I ever need to use the revolver in self-defense, no one can make the claim that I thumb cocked the gun, intentionally or unintentionally, creating a hair trigger situation and then fired unintentionally. Bobbing the hammer is not enough. It has to be rendered incapable of being cocked into single action.

I understand there can be advantages to being able to fire in single action. For other people, with other operational needs, other forms of training, and other rules of engagement, retaining the single action feature may indeed be well worth it, but I feel they are not worth the added liability risk. You can disagree with that philosophy all you want. In that case, don’t do it to your gun, but for me it’s a non-negotiable requirement.

And so we come back full circle to my OP. I am looking for a revolver to replace my G26 as a primary CCW carried on my belt. Why I might need to do this is irrelevant. I want the option. My shoulder injury last year is a good case in point. One day I was fine, and the next day I had limited use of my right arm. Luckily, I had a holster that would accommodate my 642 on my left side, and I had already trained with shooting it left handed.

It was all I really needed, but I felt the round it carried (Federal WCs) left a little bit to be desired if I needed to employ it from inside my car. This event is what began the process that led to my OP.

If I am going to load a primary carry revolver with a hotter bonded round (whether +P .38 or magnum), I need a platform with enough weight to make it controllable without being so big or heavy that I find reasons to not carry it, and enough barrel to make it meet the performance specs thru 4LD or AG.

Action job, carry melt, DAO conversion, different front sights - these are all available once I have the platform. I can do them if I want, or not. They won’t decide the platform. I have a number of choices, and I see from the responses to my post that some of those choices I had at first not really considered - the K6, the new Cobra, the King Cobra, even some used K-frames.

What I end up buying may ultimately be decided by what round I end up carrying in it as well as how it carries on me, with my lifestyle. Again, I appreciate all the advise offered. I’ll just have to keep looking, and hopefully I can make an intelligent decision.

[Alpha Sierra]

OP you are drowning in a sea of indecision brought about by irrational fears of liability. 99% of the issues you're worried about exist in your imagination. Nobody is going to sue you, prosecute you, or even use against you the fact that your revolver is capable of being fired in single action just to mention one of your obsessions.

Have it your way, but it's difficult to give advice to someone who on one hand admits to being inexperienced but on the other had a retort for everything you're advised to do.

Good luck.

[03RN]

Alpha Sierra covered that point we'll.

The other point on action work.

It makes sense on a j frame. K frames have inherently better actions.

As for loads.

130 grain Winchester Rangers. +P and bonded. After that golden sabers.

For Magnum I use 125 grain golden sabers.

Barnes 125 grain bullets going 12-1300 would be perfect as well. I think I'm going to load some to just that and switch over for EDC. Buffalo bore sells some loaded, I'm not sure who else down loads them.