What Is Your Favorite Self Defense Revolver? S&W629

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But what I am saying is paired with the right handgun or carbine the 44 Magnum is the most versatile cartridge known to man.
It's certainly in the running. Same could be said for the .45Colt but it really requires handloading. At least with the .44Mag, it's optional.


What is wrong with a Redhawk, now I agree with you on that FUGLY Super Redhawk I am surprised those things even sell. But the Redhawk cmon, beauty truly in the eye of the beholder.
They sell because they are fantastic sixguns! While the S&W N-frame will always be one of the most handsome sixguns extant, it ain't perfect. In fact, I treat my .44Mag S&W's and .44Mag Rugers as completely different guns, suitable for different loads with different missions. I treat my S&W's as slightly stronger .44Spl's but the big Ruger allows one to explore the fullest potential of the cartridge. There's a reason why there are 50,000psi loads for Redhawks and Super Redhawks and few others. Most notably, NOT S&W. As a hunting weapon, the SRH has no peer. Not only does it allow the use of heavier loads but it also allows mounting of an optic, while leaving the excellent iron sights in place. They also have very robust lockwork (a Triple Lock by any other name?), are superbly accurate and tend to have good triggers.

I love my S&W's......

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....but they ain't no Ruger and can't live a lifetime with full pressure loads. Much less push a 355gr to 1350fps.

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The Remington 44 Magnum is a very versatile cartridge, with loadings from mild to wild. I know this is going piss-off many readers but before moving on to your other favorite firearm blogs take a deep breath and continue reading. Keep in mind I am not saying the 44 Magnum is perfect or best suited for a firefight, the best range cartridge or even the best hunting round. But what I am saying is paired with the right handgun or carbine the 44 Magnum is the most versatile cartridge known to man.

Because of this versatility I believe this is the best or “The Ultimate Self Defense Revolver” On the Ransom Rest for Accuracy

What is your favorite self defense revolver?


what?... What?... WHAT!?... I can't hear you, I just fired off my 44 mag revolver with out hearing protection on!... SPEAK UP!!!
 
IMG_1630.JPG Four inch S&W 686 ...... Don't always carry it with .357's. I like the option of using 38 Spl. handloads with 158 gr SWC's loaded to +P+ levels but I'm gonna start experimenting with loading some 357's with 125 gr. jacketed HP's loaded a little warm but not too hot.
 
Keep in mind I am not saying the 44 Magnum is perfect or best suited for a firefight, the best range cartridge or even the best hunting round. But what I am saying is paired with the right handgun or carbine the 44 Magnum is the most versatile cartridge known to man.

What is your favorite self defense revolver?

I don't much think your .44 mag would be necessarily a better stopper than a 3-/4-inch .357 mag w/a 125gr JHP. And though that may sound like heresy to some, consider that any energy spent after a round leaves the body is wasted, and I think your rounds would waste a considerable amount of energy as it flew through someone's body! Also, from word on the street, the aforementioned .357 round (which tends to stay in the body) has about the best stopping power of any handgun round, period, and I reckon there's a point of diminishing marginal return at some point. Would your bullets expand in a human body or would they just blow on through? And if double action shooting only, you have to think of recovery between rounds?

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S&W 66

The .357 has magnificent stopping power in humans, but in animals the .44 mag has it beat hands down. The question raised here is about stopping power in humans, so this is where we need to determine the stopping power question. But there's no way to settle the question as the data just seem to not exist. As for the gun, if you can shoot that gizmo of yours double-action only with 240-gr JHP, you probably don't need to carry a gun at all.
 
OK, the OPs question was 'What is your favorite self-defensive revolver?' But then in a later post he specified that it had to deal with four-legged threats as well as two legged ones, which makes it an entirely different question. I call shenanigans! In normal day-to-day life defense against dangerous wildlife never comes up for me or, I suspect, most of us. When I do go into the woods I carry a very different gun than I do the 95-98% of the time I am in (so-called) civilization.

My favorite defensive revolver for EDC is a custom 3" S&W Model 1902 in .38 Special. It's a good compromise between capability and concealment, has an amazing trigger and I shoot it very well, meaning I can likely put 'em where they need to go in a hurry.
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I'm with you on that! Back when I was young and adventurous - and was paid to do such things legally and rightfully - I killed men with many a variety of weapons. The most impressive and effective which was hand-held by me was the M60 LMG in 7.62m/m. It did horrible things to human flesh. Next up is the 12ga. scattergun loaded with the old military 00 shot. From a Winchester Model 12, at close enough range, it was a right proper defensive weapon. And kind of good at being offensive, too. For handguns, I've only ever used the .45ACP in the 1911A1, .38 Spl. from the S&W Model 10 and a picked-up 7.62 Tokarev dropped by a Cuban Regular who no longer needed it after I emptied the 1911A1 - into him - and struggled to clear the M60. That Tokarev was very impressive from behind the muzzle end but it was hard to control and the fellow I hit twice with it ran off. I been shot twice by 9m/m's and I'm still here - I did shoot a home invasion robber with a 9m/m in my apartment back in the 80's when I foolishly thought the 9m/m was good for personal defense, and he did die, but it took 6 rounds to the chest to bring him down. Lord only knows what drugs he was on but the 9m/m went up for sale and I brought out the .45 again. None of the fellows I shot with a .45 or that old, clunky, .38 Spl with plain old 158gr. lead are so, I think that settles the 9m/m vs. .38Spl debate. I keep a 1917 Smith by the bed loaded with .45 Auto-Rim handloads. 240 grain Sierra JHP's over 9 (thereabout) grains of Blue Dot. It's a hot load I don't recommend to anyone else so I won't post the exact recipe. I shot a wild boar to test it (ate the boar - mighty tasty critters, they are!) and will say there won't be anybody walking away if I do my part and hit them. Somewhere. The Smith's like me - ugly, old, rusty, pitted, and just plain nasty if you aren't used to it - but it's as reliable as anything you'll find new in the box.

To me, .45AR is the best all-around nasty-critter-fixer, two legs, four legs, no legs... if it bleeds, you can kill it with a properly loaded .45AR.

My desk gun is an old Colt DS .38Spl. It's been phosphate finished and has some odd markings that tell me it may have been an OSI or air-crew issued substitute standard USAAF or USAF gun at some point. Or, maybe it just belonged to an OSI retrieval expert. ;) Could be either/or. I load up Hunter's Supply 200 grain HCLFN over a mid-range load of Unique to duplicate the old "Super Police Special" load. I'ts not too stout, not too weak, and at close range makes a nasty wound channel.

So, really, to answer the OP, my favorite self-defensive revolver is the one that's to-hand and loaded. Given time and Hershey bars, I'd prefer a 12 ga. over any handgun and a good rifle in at least 30-caliber over the scattergun. But when needs must, a sharp stick is better than a mean look.
 
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The .357 has magnificent stopping power in humans, but in animals the .44 mag has it beat hands down. The question raised here is about stopping power in humans, so this is where we need to determine the stopping power question. But there's no way to settle the question as the data just seem to not exist. As for the gun, if you can shoot that gizmo of yours double-action only with 240-gr JHP, you probably don't need to carry a gun at all.
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I've killed wild boar with .22LR's before. One behind the ear and down they go. The trick is getting behind them.

I've known people to take black bears with .357's 1-s-1-k, and I've known police officer's who emptied their .40S&W's into drugged up criminals and still had to fight them toe-to-toe. Ballistics isn't science as much as it's magic.
 
For those posting the 5 shot revolvers and 38speical I take it these are your 2 legged defense tools and you have no need for 4 legged defense?
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Here in N.FL we get black bears and wild boar in the yard very rarely. Like, never for bears and one wild pig in 30+ years. Mostly we get coyotes and wild dogs who hang around the cow grazes and wander around looking for easy snacks. An occasional whitetail or racoon but deer aren't dangerous and a .22 short handles cranky racoons, no problem. The Smith 1917 .45AR is plenty for a black bear if I do my part but I also keep a 520-30 12ga. loaded with 00 buck by the bed just in case.

Given a decent pistol shooter can hunt wild pigs with a .22LR, I have for decades, what kind of critter are you thinking needs anything more than a cylinder-full of 158gr. LSWC at 850fps? Do you live near Jurassic Park? :D
 
I have seen enough craziness in real life, that I tend to trust a gun with power.

A 4" .357 has that, so that is what I tend to prefer. Notice that I said tend, because right now my go to gun is a .40 S&W, with 4" barrel.

My last defense revolver was a Speed Six .357 mag., which could handle any sitrep, that I can imagine.
 
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I prefer the .44 and largeish hunting blade on top in my pic for carry but I work in an office and go to paramedic school so the bottom carry is what most days go in my pockets. Yes reloads are carried with both, yes I have training, yes I'd rather have an AR that shoots mini nuclear war head bullets for defense. 20201210_105953.jpg
 
I prefer the .44 and largeish hunting blade on top in my pic for carry but I work in an office and go to paramedic school so the bottom carry is what most days go in my pockets. Yes reloads are carried with both, yes I have training, yes I'd rather have an AR that shoots mini nuclear war head bullets for defense. View attachment 961526
What fixed blade is that ?
 
Well, I’m not that good at the math for physics equations, so I’ll try it in words: the two rows of porting on top on the barrel expels the explosive gases up reducing muzzle flip and movement in the hand. The ribbed grip, similar to that on the Taurus Judge, seems to absorb much of the recoil energy of the gun moving backwards from the detonation of the projectile. Note that the Taurus Judge also has very little felt recoil in the hands. So I’ll gladly amend my statement to say; “Almost no perceived recoil.” If you ever have a chance to try the Taurus 450, jump at it.
 
It's not as bad as the .357, especially in an enclosed space, they both suck but I prefer the thunderous boom of the .44 to the lightning crackle of the .357 .
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That’s another thing I like about.45Autorim. It’s a spine tingling “boom” not an ear splitting crack. And I’m not blind for a full minute after that first salvo when it’s pitch black o’clock in the house. Also why most of us load our own I’m guessing. You can tailor the recoil and blast situationally.
 
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That’s another thing I like about.45Autorim. It’s a spine tingling “boom” not an ear splitting crack. And I’m not blind for a full minute after that first salvo when it’s pitch black o’clock in the house.
I do load .44 spls for defense, which is better on sound than either mag, just confused why would you prefer the auto rim when the ACP will do whatever it needs to be done in a revolver.
 
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