As I mentioned in the first installment of this series, I was challenged to carry a revolver as my primary defensive handgun for an extended period (My challenger and I, by mutual agreement, ended this experiment at the six month mark). As I wrote this installment of the Wheelgun Challenge, I had been carrying a Ruger Match Champion for two months.
Here are a few things I have observed.
First, the most significant deficiency I have found is the lack of a white light attachment. I carried Glocks at work, and after I retired from the FBI, I transitioned to the S&W M&P series autoloaders in 9mm. Both systems have integral frame rails that readily accept white lights; being older technology, most revolvers do not have this feature. While I don’t find this a big handicap when actually carrying the gun, it is a decided handicap when I take the gun off at night. My Glocks and M&Ps allow me to have a high intensity white light attached to my bedside handgun, which simplifies the identification of potential threats. With the GP100, I have to carry a Surefire 6P or Streamlight 1L 2AA Pro-Tac.
Second, my Glocks and M&Ps are equipped with night sights. Night sights have a fairly small window of usability, but it is a capability that I don’t have on my revolver. I became accustomed to being able to access a handgun which carried night sights and a white light not to mention 18 rounds of on board ammunition capacity.
Third, carrying reloads sucks. I use a combination of Bianchi Speed Strips (Whoever named them Speed Strips, like “Near Beer’ was a damn poor judge of speed and distance…) and Safariland Comp III speed loaders. The Safariland Comp IIIs are probably the fastest way to reload a revolver but they are bulky. I will qualify my comments by saying this covers conventional speed loaders. Revolvers using full moon clips easily beat conventional speed loaders in my hands. It is relatively easy to carry a spare Comp III during cooler months, but it will be an interesting task during warmer months. Packing my M&P autoloader and a spare magazine was easy and very concealable. That let me carry 35 rounds of ammo. Doing that with a revolver means I have to carry a combination of 5 speed loaders or strips. Good grief!
Fourth, revolvers are harder to shoot than autoloaders, but this is a two-edged sword. Revolvers, when properly run are shot in double action or trigger cocking mode. The pull weight in DA generally is between 9 and 12 pounds. That requires lots of concentration. My M&Ps are set up with 5 pounds triggers. This combined with a very short arc of trigger travel contributes to an easy to shoot gun. Shooting upper 90s on the “Test” drill is pretty easy with a gun set up like that. Doing that well with a revolver is doable but it takes time and practice. The other side of that two edged sword I mentioned is that knowing you have only 6 rounds before you need to reload reinforces the need to really focus on your trigger control. Double action shooting tends to instill good habits. Habits like smoothly pressing triggers and really watching the sights.
On the positive side of the ledger, training with a double action revolver has the benefit of making you a better shot with other types of weapons. My observations are that if a person can fire a double action revolver well, there is nothing, in terms of firearms, that cannot be mastered by that person. As an example, at one point, I set a goal for myself: I wanted to fire a passing score on the FBI Bullseye course with a 2.5 inch barreled S&W Model 19 shooting double action only. It took a bit of practice, but I achieved that goal. One lesson I learned from that experience was that shooting a short barreled revolver really well requires a laser like focus on fundamentals. The upside to my experiment was that I shot better across the board with other guns.
Part of the reasoning for me carrying a 4.2 inch barreled Ruger Match Champion was that the longer sight radius significantly improves my ability to hit. I figured anything that aided my ability to shoot very precisely would help me if I ever had to fire in defense of myself or others.
I have often recommended a double action revolver for shooters that are struggling with a semi-auto pistol. Initially these folks think you are asking them to take a step backward. What I find, is, even with a bit of double action dry fire, struggling shooters get an intuitive feel for proper trigger manipulation when they have to keep a revolver’s sights aligned during a long double action trigger pull. I routinely use a revolver in my own training program. If I find I am not happy with my level of precision fire, a bit of double action revolver work, sets me back onto the right path.
Carrying a magnum revolver filled with magnum ammunition, gives you magnum level power. Ballistics are the subject of another article, but if I can only have six rounds on tap before I have to reload, I want them to be as powerful as possible. I did a fair bit of shooting with magnum ammo. I had forgotten the amount of recoil and noise that magnum loads generate. I had become accustomed to full power 45 ACP and 9mm Parabellum loads. The reciprocating slide of the autos soaks up some of that recoil. Like any tool, you have to come to terms with the issues surrounding its use. I thought about carrying 38 Special loads, but never felt comfortable doing so. All of that said, because of a misspent youth reading Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skeleton and Col. Jeff Cooper, I had done a fair amount of shooting with magnum revolvers and quickly re-acclimated to the noise and recoil.
Revolvers are a hoot to shoot. There is something fun about them. Shooting them takes me back to a simpler time in my life. Americans were the good guys. Communists were the bad guys. It was okay to win. People weren’t all wrapped up in themselves and good guys carried magnum wheel guns. I find it a worthwhile endeavor to shoot the same courses with a revolver that I routinely easily shoot with an autoloader. Sort of nice being pushed out of my comfort zone.
More to follow.
Bruce