Revolver Sickness

marb4

With this objective data in my head I still leave the house 9 out of 10 times with the little revolver on my hip. I don't know why. Am I the only one who suffers this affliction? Do I need therapy of some sort?

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Nope, you are not the only one and affliction, what affliction? I have been carrying S&W J frames for longer than I care to remember, even when I have more "firepower" sitting around in the gun safes at home. For me a Model 638 is the just the right combination of size, weight, and cartridge that makes it very easy and quite a bit natural for me to conceal carry it.

I love a good revolver. Manufactured before 1990, even better. Don't get me wrong I own and regularly shoot semiauto's, but revolvers just touch a special place in my heart.

I have an LCP, Shield, SR9c and SP101 which are all suitable for concealed carry. 90% of the time it's my model 638 J frame that leaves the house with me. I live in a small town. One murder in the last 40-50 years. Don't remember ever hearing of a mugging or car jacking. I think there was an armed robbery back in the late 70's. If I was somewhere else I might carry a different gun but I feel perfectly secure with my 5 shot 38 special

You know I always just assumed revolver addictions were a genetic trait that you are born with, that can possibly lead to a condition the medical experts refer to as "happiness". Now I find out it's a sickness?

Dang it. I've always been really careful, and I still ended up with an STD. (Shooting Transmitted Disease)

Your decision should be based on risk assessment on criminal activity where you live.

Up until two years ago I mostly carried a 5 shot stainless steel snubby and would have agreed that is was enough gun for self-defense. Events close to home made me realize that in our violent, mobile society of 24/7 news reporting shootings in the work place, schools, churches, of police officers and in public places like shopping malls caused to reevaluate my capabilities with the snubby.

I find the very features that make a snubby so easy to conceal also make it harder to shoot than bigger guns. Short sight radius, small sights, small grip, heavy trigger pull enhanced by the short trigger reach, limited ammunition capacity has moved my J-Frames into niche guns for fishing and pest control. So for me the move has been to the semi-auto which are the Beretta 92 and SIG P239.

However if I was forced to give up my handguns quite possibly the last one to go is my old S&W Model 10 .38 with a 4" barrel. The square butt K-Frame grip is like shaking hands with a old friend and the size and balance of the gun is just right for me. In fact I modified a couple of square butt Model 10's to round butt back when we carried revolvers. Other Officers talked me out of them when they figured out it is the grip that is the hardest part to conceal.

I carried a revolver for 20 years or so then we transitioned to Glocks. Compared to my Mdl. 36, as you mentioned, the Glock 26 had a more powerful cartridge, 11 of them compared to 5, quicker reload, real sights, night sights even, and had a better carry profile in an IWB holster, no wide cylinder. It also didn't have a hammer that shredded the insides of my suits.

Easier on my hands too, quickly shooting 50 rounds of .38Spl. +P in a J frame at re-qual was painful. More accurate with the Glock, too.

Rationally, the Glock has it all over a J frame, but since when did rationale ever effect gun decisions? Your choice, whatever turns you on.

Personally, retired now, my normal carry gun is an LCP.

460Shooter said:

Dang it. I've always been really careful, and I still ended up with an STD. (Shooting Transmitted Disease)

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Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Some "STDs" are simply unpreventable, no matter what level of "protection" you carry.

I also prefer to carry a S&W J-frame IWB unless I am pocket carrying.

I'll admit an addiction to old school wheel guns. I have acquired several other revolvers and autoloaders in many different calibers for the purpose of making them an EDC but none of those were a permanent replacement for my Colt .38 Detective Special. I'm very comfortable and proficient with it, easily concealed in my old school Bianchi Blackwidow OWB holster and, to me, it just looks good. Throw a speed loader in my pocket and I'm good to go.
I get compliments (usually from older folks like me) on my "Joe Friday" pistol all the time. Yeah, I know, Detective Friday carried a Smith.

marb4 said:

I own two firearms for ccw, a Glock 26 and a J frame (642). By all objective standards the Glock has it all over the Smith. It has twice the capacity (or more). In slow and rapid fire drills I always shoot the 26 better. The Glock has proven itself every bit as reliable as the 642. With this objective data in my head I still leave the house 9 out of 10 times with the little revolver on my hip. I don't know why. Am I the only one who suffers this affliction? Do I need therapy of some sort?

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My only real concern with your situation is whether or not you're effective with the gun you choose to carry. Can you hit where you intend to hit and do so quickly?

Before I started reloading, I didn't shoot nearly as much as I do now. The combined cost of ammo and range time was a big pill to swallow. But during that time I carried a number of different guns, that realistically, I could not shoot well enough, or fast enough, to be effective for SD. To name them; an airweight J-frame, an SP101 with .357s, and a G30 (.45acp) were the guns I really shouldn't have been carrying. Today, I'm confident I could perform much better, but at the time I was not shooting enough to be competent with any of them. In hindsight it was foolish, and admitting I have done this is a little embarrassing. But that's what happened and I've learned from it.

Today, I often carry a GP100, in either a 3" or (recently) a 4.2" barrel. I almost exclusively shoot .357 and .44 mag, out if DA revolvers, and do so most weekends (100 rounds or more). I also shoot some .40 every month or, to keep myself used to my Sigs, which get carried less frequently. And I shoot my LCR every couple months (should be more), weak hand side, because that's where I usually carry it (when I carry it), as a BUG. This is what works for me, in my environment. And yet I know I could be better, and practice in some other ways that are more applicable to SD.

So, IMO, there's nothing wrong with carrying a revolver, just so long as you can make it do what you need it to do, should you ever need to do it.

The little J Frames can be surprisingly shootable, assuming the trigger pull is smooth (most are after they break in). A lot of it is mind over matter. Bullets take to rifling in the first 1/2" (or much less) of travel, so they are every bit as mechanically accurate as their larger brethren. Tell yourself that they aren't possible to shoot accurately and you've probably found yourself a self fulfilling prophecy. Though I don't often carry my 642 (I prefer larger handguns like my 3" 686+, 3" 629, S&W SD9VE, 1911s and my CZ-75), I still carry it now and then without concern.

your true revolver affliction starts with your first single action.

My revolver:

kscharlie said:

Interesting that your 938 does not fit in your pocket. My 642 (same dimensions as your 442) is 6 1/2" long, 4 1/2" tall and 1 1/4" thick. My P938 is 6" long, 4 1/2" tall and 1" thick, making it smaller than my 642. Both of them fit perfectly in the same DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster. Fully loaded, they are within an ounce of each other.

I like both of them, but prefer the 938 for carry.

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My P938 is my EDC. I pocket carry it with no problems. That said, I recently contracted a serious case of Revolver Fever...first a Ruger GP100 Master Champion, then a Heritage Rough Rider. I know that others will follow. It is rapidly becoming as persistent as the 1911 Fever which has afflicted me for several years.

I come down with the ''sickness'' every so often. To me, steel wheelguns are sexy. I can shoot them darn near as well as my semi auto carry gun. Less round, but I love them just the same.
I have paranoid days where a wheelgun gets bumped for something else. More boooolits!
I have a 3'' J-frame on it's way. Can't wait to holster it up.

I like Semi auto's,but i find myself packing revolvers 90 percent of the time.

Semi auto for work, revolver for personal carry. Don't feel bad, if I could carry a revolver at work, I would.

I already get teased for the 1911. "If you carried a modern pistol you wouldn't have to reload during the drill." "If you carried a 1911 you wouldn't miss during the drill." You are only outgunned when you are missing.

The first requirement for getting into a gunfight is to have a gun. By carrying a serious caliber gun that you are comfortable and confident in, you have checked that box.

I always have my Kahr PM9 loaded with Speer Gold Dot plus P JHPs, an extra mag, flashlight and a good blade. 90% of the time that is my load out.

If I am going to a sketchy area or on a road trip I add a Glock 26, same ammo, IWB holster and spare 17 rd mag OWB.

If you practice regularly and carry religiously you are way ahead of the game.

My two cents worth. YMMV.

Here's my revolver, a Taurus M85. It's cousin is the J frame... from another country. I didn't pay much for it 6 years ago but its never failed me. I put on a Pachmayr grip for the pinky rest. If its stolen or put in an evidence locker I ain't out much. I can hit pie plate at 10 yards with it. I like revolvers too. I have a Ruger Vaquero and a Smith 686 4"

Yep. The S&W Centennial J-frame is about as dead simple as you can get.

We like what we like, no sense it trying to justify it. I definitely have a revolver sickness but I most often carry a compact 9mm, strictly because they're easier to conceal. Although this thread has me thinking about getting out my J-frame.

ms6852 said:

If there happens to be an active shooter scenario and he or she has a rifle you are still no match for that rifle.

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I hear this quite often and it makes no sense to me. It totally depends on the situation. If the shooter is 50yds away or more and you have a .38 snub, I would agree. However, the shooter could just as easily be 10ft away. A rifle does not make one immune to handgun bullets.

marb4 said:

I own two firearms for ccw, a Glock 26 and a J frame (642). By all objective standards the Glock has it all over the Smith. It has twice the capacity (or more). In slow and rapid fire drills I always shoot the 26 better. The Glock has proven itself every bit as reliable as the 642. With this objective data in my head I still leave the house 9 out of 10 times with the little revolver on my hip. I don't know why. Am I the only one who suffers this affliction? Do I need therapy of some sort?

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You do not need therapy. I would choose the lighter weight gun too.

CraigC said:

We like what we like, no sense it trying to justify it. I definitely have a revolver sickness but I most often carry a compact 9mm, strictly because they're easier to conceal. Although this thread has me thinking about getting out my J-frame.



I hear this quite often and it makes no sense to me. It totally depends on the situation. If the shooter is 50yds away or more and you have a .38 snub, I would agree. However, the shooter could just as easily be 10ft away. A rifle does not make one immune to handgun bullets.

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I totally agree with you, but lets face the facts , unless you happen to go unnoticed and you manage to get within 10 feet of the active shooter by than all means go ahead and engage, I definitely would. I practice for a lot of scenarios and at times on forums have been ridiculed because I mention that I practice with my 1911 to 100 yards as this is my main carry handgun. I am good enough to hit 5 out of seven shots at paper plate targets but I doubt that I would do that good facing someone with a rifle bolt or semi-auto at 100 yards or 50, stress levels are just to high. I still maintain that a gun is no match for a rifle even though I agree with your comments, but I am not willing to try to get close enough to an active shooter armed with a rifle so that I can take him down with a snubbie, and of course it depends on the situation, it always depends on the situation so I do not get why you would make a comment that a rifle makes anyone immune to handguns, unless you just like to play devils advocate.

I didn't say anything about closing the distance. I would be heading the other way if at all possible. I said that because your generalization makes no sense. The presence of a rifle does not render the handgun carrier impotent or the rifle wielder bulletproof. Nor does it guarantee the rifle wielder will be a long distance away. Fact is, you're in the gunfight you're in and that's all there is to it. You fight for your life with everything you have. I wouldn't give up because my assailant had a rifle. Been there, almost had to do that. Unfortunately, all I had was a mouse gun and my antagonist had a rifle 20yds away so he had the equipment advantage. If the distance were halved, I would've have the advantage as far as equipment choice. Luckily, my mindset was the advantage because he had no intention of firing a shot. The Indian is the deciding factor, not the arrow.

Revolvers and Leverguns I’m 59 and not likely to be cured.