https://www.handgunsmag.com/editoria...defense/386911
From my IDPA feed:
Kimber K6S TLE
Colt King Cobra
Taurus Judge
Ruger GP100
Smith & Wesson Model 69
S&W Performance Center M&P R8
Let the games begin. Which of this would you put in Grandma and Grandpa's underwear drawer for the bad times?
Of course, I have an opinion but I don't want to spoil the fun.
Any of them, but if I'm consciously stashing a firearm for bad times, it won't be the Judge. Any of the others would be my choice along with at least a dozen more. If a Judge was literally all there was, I'd grab it in a heartbeat but I'd never put it there to grab if you get my meaning.
GP100. No contest. It is a good revolver. It kilt the bear that kilt me. (Paraphrasing Hatchet Jack.)
In two words: It fits.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
Longer version: The original 1980s factory grip, on the GP100, is a perfect fit in my hand. My trigger finger naturally comes to a resting position, perfectly-placed for a DA trigger stroke. The length of the stroke, and the reset, are as natural as can be, for my hand/finger size, which had originally been programmed with L-Frame S&W revolvers. Having handled S&W revolvers that have gone “out of time,” or been “shot loose,” and one experience with an N-Frame leaf spring that snapped in two, inside my duty Model 58, DURING my duty shift, I appreciate the durability of the GP100.Originally Posted by Rex G
GP100. No contest. It is a good revolver. It kilt the bear that kilt me. (Paraphrasing Hatchet Jack.
In two words: It fits.
I still have my first GP100, which I bought in the very early Nineties, and which I used, in 1993, in the “Gravest Extreme,” in a contest with “No Second Place Winner.” (Credit to Mas Ayoob and the late, great Bill Jordan, respectively, for those quotes.)
Had the Safariland 070 duty holster, for the GP100, not been so darned heavy, I might have continued to use a GP100 as my police duty revolver, until I retired. The polymer inside the 070 is heavy, per unit of volume, and the model for the GP100/Python was amazing heavier than the 070 holsters made to accommodate K-Frames, the 1911, Glocks, and SIGs.
In the Nineties, one cherry-picked among multiple samples of GP100, to find those with smoother actions. Then, someone at Ruger learned how to consistently make the actions smooth. Anecdotally, recent samples have to be closely inspected, for fitting issues, as some at Ruger have forgotten what QC means, but at least Ruger CS still has a reputation for quickly making things right.
The GP100 is not sock/underwear drawer gun, for me, but a normal carry gun. Life is good.
Last edited by Rex G; 12-22-2020 at 03:09 PM.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
I would pick the GP 100
GP100 for me. You can put compact grips on to enhance concealment and those grips have no effect on how shootable the gun is.
Which is very. I can produce on demand shots to an IDPA headbox (not the down zero part) at 20 yards with no warmup not having fired the gun in months. That's about as good as I'll be able to shoot a DAO pistol without significant practice.
Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk
Id pick the R8 with Ahrends grips
Of all of them on the list, about the only one I'd agree with would be the GP.100.
If you're talking about a sock-drawer gun that almost any adult can use, I'd go for a police trade-in Model 10/64. The ship may have sailed on the cheap ones (like the 64s that Southern Ohio Gun was selling three years ago for under $250), but they still can be found from time to time. Slap a set of CT laser grips on them and, for ~$500, you've got a gun that can be used by almost anyone. Maybe take those who would use it to a range every year and change out the ammo and batteries then. Add in a couple of boxes of Winchester Ranger +P or Gold Dot +P and you're good to go.
A Judge would be a last pick, and by that, I mean if the only choice was a mattock. The Model 69 is probably a lousy pick for most people: .44 Special ammo is not always readily available and .44 Magnum is a round for those who know what they're doing (and only a fool who desires to live the rest of their life wearing hearing aids will shoot one indoors).
The others (King Cobra, R8, K6S) are pretty frigging pricey for a sock drawer gun. The price of a R8 would get one two laser-equipped Model 10s and, in normal times, enough range ammo for practice for awhile.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
Kimber K6S TLE - too new/unvetted IMO.
Colt King Cobra - too expensive
Taurus Judge - too Taurus-ey
Smith & Wesson Model 69 - Most older women I know are recoil sensitive, or would be if they were shooters. So 44 Mag for a grandma? Really?
S&W Performance Center M&P R8 - I still don't like S&W for the dumb lock. And what does the extra cost get you over the Ruger?
Ruger GP100 - yes
That's my wife's nightstand pistol. Prison trade in. I hand picked it out of a lot of 14. 4" round butt 64 with Houge Bantam grips and 135 gr Gold Dots. She loves it.
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....65-Restoration
Reply With Quote