A few ?s on revolver CCW

[benzy2]

I am getting my concealed carry license shortly and am looking to pick up a new firearm to carry. I am fairly sure on it being a revolver. Something about being able to pull the trigger after a dud and have the hammer hit a fresh round really appeals to me.

So now that issue is figured out I am a little lost on what would be the best revolver. I personally am leaning .38 special. I can't see it not being enough energy or a big enough hole to warrant something larger. From there I'm looking for something comfortable to carry. That said I'm decent sized at 6'3" 200lbs. I don't want to carry in a pocket. I would rather IWB. I don't feel comfortable removing anything out of a pocket quickly in any of the pockets I have.

So .38 special in a IWB holster. From there I am in need of suggestions. The snub nose seem too short. Great for a pocket but in a waist band I'm not sure its lack of length means much. A 3" sounds like a good compromise between a little longer barrel without being overly long and still comfortable to conceal. The 4" barrels sound a bit long but having never carried any of them I have no personal experience to know what is too long and what doesn't matter and as such I'm looking for suggestions on barrel length.

Next what frame size? Since I'm not putting this in a pocket I'm not sure how big of a difference frame size makes. I like the idea of a small frame due to size but the bigger frames that hold 6 rounds seem like a better trade off for a little more size.

After that I would rather it operate in SA/DA. I plan to shoot this at the range quite a bit. I want to use and abuse this guy and would like to be able to play with the SA feature. This is where I get a little confused. I see a lot of bobbed hammer guns or those with enclosed hammers for carry. I assume this is to keep them from being snagged and firing a round off. If I want to run the revolver in SA mode and carry would a transfer bar revolver be my best bet? I'm not set on SA/DA and would consider DAO if it be needed but I would rather a system that I could play with a bit at the range is possible.

I have had a real long hard look at the police trade in smiths at jgsales. They seem like a killer price for a great revolver. I just wasn't sure if something else would let me play with the SA option as well yet still be safe to not go off on my hip.

 

[David E]

Single action use for defense is very limited, yet many revolvers owners use single action almost exclusively. This leads to the ignorant assumption that they are "pretty good with revolvers" when they've never shot one double action, much less mastered it.

If I had to make a headshot on a badguy @ 25 yds and had a single action capability, I might cock the hammer. This situation would be very remote, however.

What IS likely is a fast and dirty up close encounter where the badguy is mere feet away, so rapid DA fire on target is what'll win the day.

Consider the 4" K-frame S&W's you've found, but, depending how serious you are about it, you may find it a bit heavy to carry for very long. The out-of-print S&W Model 12 with a 4" barrel would carry like a dream, tho. There are several K-frames made with a 2" barrel, also.

If you insist on 6 shots, then a Colt Detective Special or Agent deserve a look.

 

[Virginian]

The bobbed hammers are to help prevent snagging when pulling the gun, not for risk of snagging and going off. I prefer fixed sights to avoid that snagging issue myself, but I have to have a hammer.
Handle some guns and see which one you like best. I think you are right on track about the 3" barrel length. Everybody will usually come along and give you an informal popularity contest on what to get. I got a Taurus 605 3" last Summer and have been well satisfied with it. It's 257, but I shoot 38 Specials 99% of the time. Smith makes a couple of models that would also fill the bill fine. The Ruger SP is also an excellent gun. I carry inside the waist or in a paddle holster, and on any carry gun I prefer stainless steel. You can use blued surely, that's all anyone used for decades, but you also see a lot of rusty older guns.
Good luck.

 

[Hawk]

Something about being able to pull the trigger after a dud and have the hammer hit a fresh round really appeals to me.

Pretty spiffy feature when somebody is actively trying to kill you.

But, for the benefit of the unanointed that might be surfing the forum, that is pretty much the only time that "just pull the trigger again" isn't among the sorriest pieces of bad advice that propagate on the intertubz. My personal bet is that it accounts for more exploded revolvers than any other single cause.

Every revolver blown up following a squib was the result of "just pulling the trigger again".
/PSA
We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[bri]

If I had to make a headshot on a badguy @ 25 yds and had a single action capability, I might cock the hammer. This situation would be very remote, however.

wow, that'd be quite a shot!

I'd head to your LGS and poke around. Ruger SP 101 comes to my mind, I don't have any experience with S&W, so I'll refrain from giving any advice that way...

 

[Trebor]

Read this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=474991

Based on what you said you are looking for I recommend a S&W .357 or .38 K-frame revolver with a 3" barrel.

The S&W Model 64 is a stainless steel .38 Special. I haven't seen any 3" barrel ones, but they are likely out there.

The S&W Model 65 is a stainless steel .357 with fixed sights. I have a 3" barrel example and it's my every day carry gun. The 3" barrel is fairly common albiet slightly more expensive then the even more common 4" barrel.

If you want a blued gun (not my choice due to corrosion issues for a carry gun) you could look for a 3" Model 13 in .357. That's a fixed sight gun as well and used to be the FBI issue revolver. There's also a few .38 caliber Model 10's with 3" barrels floating around.

I've found that the 3" guns conceal better then the 4" guns. They tend to be a little more comfortable as well. Other people may disagree, but this is what's worked for me.

EDIT: Oh, and any modern revolver is safe. They all have transfer bar or hammer block internal safeties. No need to worry there.

The reason many revolvers have bobbed hammers and are converted to DA only is so that the shooter *has* to fire double-action. You really wouldn't want to get in the habbit of practicing shooting SA and then trying to fire DA under stress in a defensive shooting. There's also a perceived legal liability of keeping the SA mode. A prosecutor could charge that you were "reckless" and cocked the revolver and then accidentilly fired in SA. With the SA feature disabled, that's no longer a concern.

And yes, a bobbed hammer is less likely to snag then an exposed hammer. That's more of a concern in a pocket gun though, I would think.

I kept the hammer and SA mode on my revolver. I mainly practice with double-action, but I occasionally shoot it SA. I also let new shooters try it and I like to let them be able to fire both ways.

 

[benzy2]

Thanks for the comments. The SA issue would just be for playing around at the range. Any SD training would be in DA. I wouldn't want to only know the revolver in SA, just something to toy with at the range or when others want to try it out. I wasn't sure if all revolvers today had some form of internal hammer safety to keep the hammer from firing a live round if snagged. Its good to know I don't have to look at one specific manufacturer for such feature. I have handled a few at the local shop. He has a limited selection which is ok but not what I am planning on limiting myself with.

I didn't mention it before but I do want fixed sights as well. While adjustable sights would be better for range use I want the durability and stream line of fixed sights for this firearm. I figure for range use I can work on loads until they shoot to point of aim.

The K-frame models were what I was looking at most. I have heard good things about the Ruger options as well. The Taurus line seems to have a reputation that many owners disagree with. I don't know if all of the hate for them is deserved or not but at the same time I'm not sure I want to put my life on the line to find out. Seems like most of them are fairly decent handguns for the money if money is tight.

 

[David E]

If I had to make a headshot on a badguy @ 25 yds and had a single action capability, I might cock the hammer. This situation would be very remote, however.

wow, that'd be quite a shot!

Yes, but not impossible or even difficult for a practiced hand.