What revolver do you use for home defense?

45CalPal

I dont think I have seen anyone in the last 5 to 8 years use a revolver as a CC

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My CCWs are both S&W J frame sunbbies; a Model 649 (all stainless), and a Model 638 (aluminum alloy/stainless). Both are great for pocket carry (though I often go with a coat pocket versus trying to get the gun out of a pants pocket).
They have great DA triggers, are well built, and very comfortable to carry.

I have much respect for the revolver and anyone who carrys one, I get the appeal...
Im personally just not a fan of them. My father was like a lot of you, he swore by them

45CalPal said:

Dont get me wrong, I love me some single shot break action shotguns, but what point does a single shot serve as a HD weapon.
the time to reload is almost worthless in "most" HD scenarios.

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You'll find that some people live in fantasy land and some people encourage their fantasies.

For utterly effortless presentation from a coat or pants pocket…a snag-free enclosed hammer J-frame is pretty darn sweet. Heck, if it is lightweight enough like the aforementioned https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/model-340pd?sku=103061 it could be carried in your pajamas while you brush your teeth before bed. LOL.

Back in the day, my first handgun was my home defense gun. It happened to be a Ruger GP100. Now, it is simply a potential backup to other options.

thunderbyrd said:

The point it serves is that it's what I have. And you would be surprised at how fast I can reload it.

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My favorite deer rifle was an H&R Topper single shot .30-.30 with 16" barrel and open sights. I was faster with that gun than my hunting buddies with their bolt actions and scopes.

.45 Long Colt in single actions at my house. They feel and function like the .22 single actions (Rugers) that the missus and I shoot at the range and dry fire at home. She's a new shooter and I'm an old fart. I think that familiarity with the tools is of primary importance.

My old model Taurus 66 4-inch (6-shot) 357 Mag is always nearby. It's loaded with 125 gr Federal SJHP... 1450 fps at the muzzle, plus two HKS speed-loaders in the drawer. I don't carry it outside the house, but I still see plenty of people packing revolvers for CC.

Beck said:

"…but I still see plenty of people packing revolvers for CC…"

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Dang, in that case they need to conceal their revolvers a bit better! Maybe opt for front pocket carry.

Smith & Wesson 642 with Crimson Trace laser grips.

There are several revolvers that I would use for home defense. If it happened, right now, as I am typing this, the handiest is a 4” Ruger Speed Six. The next-handiest is a 2.25” Ruger SP101. There are others, but these are typically nearest at hand, at this time in the evening, about 11:00 p.m., when I am not dressed to go outside. (Usually, I am asleep, by now.) There is, however, a Benelli M2 shotgun, specifically positioned for defensive purposes, which would be the preferred primary weapon, should that bump in the night be more than just a bump. So, the shotgun is “the” home defense gun, with the SP101 probably being dropped into a pocket, to be its back-up. If I were wearing the sturdier, deeper-pocket VertX trousers, I might drop the 4” Speed Six into a pocket.

The Benelli M2 was my duty shotgun, from 2016, until I retired in 2018. (I used pump guns, on duty, from 1984 to 2016, interrupted by a Benelli M1 Super 90, for a short time, in the early Nineties.) The Speed Six was a carry gun, for a while, then a his-and-hers “house gun,” positioned where we both could reach it, and has returned to being my carry gun, as she has acquired several favored revolvers. The SP101 was my ankle gun, for a number of years, while on duty, from about 1997 onward, and has also been a personal time carry gun. I started liking Ruger revolvers, when I bought my first GP100, in the very early Nineties. I still have it. I had used S&W revolvers as early as 1983. The earliest that I could legally carry them was in 1984, when sworn-in as an LEO. (Texas did not have legal carry, for private citizens, until the Nineties.)

On my wife's nightstand lives this old feller:



Ruger Security Six reamed for .357 Magnum but loaded with .38 Special +P Hornady.

3C

My .38 Special GP100:

By the bed

1911

On my hip, in the pasture

Ruger Blackhawk

Depending on my mood
.22LR
.22WMRF
.30 Carbine
.357 M
.41 M
.44 M
.45 C
.45 ACP

Taurus 431 stainless 4" .44 Special or a Taurus 605 stainless .357 3", both with Wolff spring kits. Love Wolff, BUT you need to make sure you get 100% ignition with the spring you utilize.

.455_Hunter said:

What's a modern semi-auto in your view?

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Anything that is very different from the classic guns that I love, the Swiss P210, P38/P1, 1911, just as I love the classic revolvers. I carry either a SIG P365, Glock 19 or comped SS MR920 Elite for the convenience of the reduced weight and higher mag capacity but also for the robust finish and low maintenance.

45CalPal said:

I dont think I have seen anyone in the last 5 to 8 years use a revolver as a CC

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Well, a properly-concealed revolver is UNseen.

I typically carry a revolver, and an auto-loader, each day. The revolver is the bigger one, and the “primary,” as the auto is normally a small, sightless Seecamp LWS-32.

The revolver might well be the GP100, as seen in my avatar image*. It was my primary duty revolver, for a time, in the Nineties, and I used it as a “bag gun,” for special occasions, while on patrol, well into this century. (Small bag, up front, with me; not in the trunk.) One of my academy classmates, who has not yet retired, was still carrying revolvers on duty, and during personal time, the last time I saw him in uniform, probably 2019. He trains, regularly, so would out-shoot the typical street cop, who rarely trains, with his auto.

*Yes, finger on trigger. That is a mobile phone image, taken specifically to show my high firing grip. None of the thick foliage was endangered by the checked-safe, unloaded weapon.

thunderbyrd said:

The point it serves is that it's what I have. And you would be surprised at how fast I can reload it.

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I think many people underestimate how fast it can be with speed loaders and regular practice. I keep two boxes of 38 Special under the seat in my car, in addition to the two or three loaded speed loaders I bring with me when I have a revolver. One of the semi autos that carry most is my Shield. It has a little more firepower than a six shooter, sure.But those tightly wound little magazines are many times harder to reload than revolver speed loaders! I mean they are a real biatch and under pressure could be a nightmare. I typically carry one or two boxes of 38 Special under the seat in my car. Being able to just deal with loose ammo with a revolver allows you to just keep shooting indefinitely until you run out of ammo without having to worry about magazines. If you can do this quickly, you will have much more CONTINUITY in your ability to hold off an attacker than someone with a semi-auto who shoots off both their magazines in a matter of minutes.

I know someone's probably going to come on here and remind me how most shootouts are over in a matter of seconds with only a couple shots being fired. However there are occasionally situations much different than that. Recently a Walmart across the plaza where I work had a shootout and one of the shooters supposedly ran back inside the store. If he tried to hold up there you can find yourself essentially held hostage in that place for a while! I would not feel undergunned holing myself up in a bathroom with a 38 special and a pocket full of ammo and a few speed loaders. This could be ideal for suppressing an active shooter in a situation like that until the cops come and take him. Unless he had a personal beef with you his mind would probably be completely distracted by the cops he knew were coming to get him than you being tucked in a cubby hole somewhere and capable of shooting back.

Nope, I don't knock anybody for wanting to carry a revolver, some of the time anyway.

And when shopping at Wally World I actually make it a point sometimes to carry something chambered for ammo that Walmart carries. They should have a sign on their ammunition case: In case of active shooter break glass!

45CalPal said:

I dont think I have seen anyone in the last 5 to 8 years use a revolver as a CC

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That's because when you see me, the revolver is concealed.

45CalPal said:

Dont get me wrong, I love me some single shot break action shotguns, but what point does a single shot serve as a HD weapon.
the time to reload is almost worthless in "most" HD scenarios.

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The post that mentioned the single-shot shotgun also specified that a Model 65, loaded with .38 cartridges, was there, too. I can think of several reasons why that combination would make perfect sense, for some of us, in some circumstances. To be clear, I would not want to fight a battle of maneuver, with only a single-shot long gun, but if my opponents were channeled into what would be, for them, a “fatal funnel,” and I also had a capable handgun with me, too, with which to fight from a concealed position, well, the attackers would be presented with a most serious field problem.

My factory DAO 3" Ruger GP-100 in .357mag.

Blue Jays said:

Dang, in that case they need to conceal their revolvers a bit better! Maybe opt for front pocket carry.

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As was writing that reply I wondered if some "Character" would chime in about the word "See"... and wouldn't ya know...

Ok, I'll rephrase... "I don't carry it outside of the house, but I still know plenty of people packing revolvers for CC." How's that?

Whatever I am carrying at the time, S&W 638, Colt Agent etc. Wife’s Model 10 always at the ready. But yes there is an 870 always about as well.

I really hope I never have to fire a round in my house, between the Army, LE, hunting, etc. my hearing is terrible as it is.

45CalPal said:

I don't think I have seen anyone in the last 5 to 8 years use a revolver as a CC

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The thread was home defense, not CC. But as we speak I just came back from the Walmart and a few other stops and I am CC a Ruger LCR .357 with speed loader. It is one of my favorite CC weapons. Todays load out:



And I often do keep it close around the home place as well.

3C