Everyone Should Have At Least One Revolver

[Iggy]

The question was asked "how to load a revolver one handed?"

One method that works is to stick the barrel inside your waist band with the cylinder open and the ejector rod on the outside this will keep the cylinder open while you insert new rounds.

If you are in a situation where you actually have to reload one handed, the thought of where the muzzle is pointing is the least of your worries.

 

[crebralfix]

Not an issue. You clearly have not had self-defense training. Part of any solid SD training includes one handed manipulation of the weapon. I find a semi-auto easier to reload one handed because the magazine holds the rounds together...no cylinder to fall out of. Of course, if you have no idea how to do it, you can: 1) just use a revolver, 2) google around downrange.tv and other sites for videos on what to do or 3) purchase gun training DVDs from companies like Thunder Ranch and Gunsite.

 

[largecaliber]

I own revolvers and auto's and like them both equally as well. My dad taught me when I was young to learn to shoot with either hand and you're correct, it doesn't take a whole lot to be successful with both. I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[psyopspec]

Not an issue. You clearly have not had self-defense training.

Or perhaps, as stated in my post, I'm new to shooting revolvers. While I'm not an expert of all things firearms, I didn't fall off the beet truck last night, either. Is it somehow beyond the realm of possibility that someone can admit a lack of knowledge in a given area, and demonstrate a bit of intellectual honesty in that lack by asking for the answer? Still, thanks for the try dude.

One method that works is to stick the barrel inside your waist band with the cylinder open and the ejector rod on the outside this will keep the cylinder open while you insert new rounds.

Thanks!

 

[Dr.Rob]

Revolvers are certainly fun, and can be serious business. Anyone who thinks they are 'outdated' or outclassed hasn't seen someone who can really handle one. I've never owned a S&W but I have a few Colt revolvers and a Ruger. In fact, my first revolver was a WW1 era Colt that still shoots better than I do.

 

[SaxonPig]

Never owned a S&W revolver?

I... I... don't even know how to respond to that...

 

[wanderinwalker]

SaxonPig A sure sign of middle age is that you are not surprised to find that the revolver makes a fine defensive sidearm. It seems many young people today have grown up in the age of the self-loader and are genuinely shocked to learn that a revolver will do about 99% of what the average person needs done with a handgun... and a few things it actually does better than the auto pistol.

No doubt the auto, with its faster reloading capabilities, is a better choice for combat. But few of us ever find ourselves in a combat situation. I have relied on a variety of revolvers for personal defense and never felt handicapped in the least with any of them.

I exploited the situation a few years when revolvers were dumped in favor of auto pistols by snapping up many good revolvers offered at dirt cheap prices by owners trading them in for Glocks or whatever. I bagged a Model 13 357 Magnum for $135 (gave it to a friend who ws looking for something to carry while packpacking). Paid the same for a nice pre-model Combat Masterpiece. Grabbed a Colt Official Police for $165 and an early 357 Trooper for $200.

I'm sure all the sellers enjoyed their new auto pistols made of plastic. I prefer real guns.

Hmmm... You must have been getting these deals sometime between when I was on training wheels and then learning to ride a dirt bike. That might tell you about how old I am! And I consider myself a revolver guy at heart, as that is what I learned on.

I have a couple of nice S&W wheelguns and a couple of Glocks. Different tools for different needs/situations, same way one uses a 4-weight fly-rod brook trout fishing and a heavy baitcaster bass fishing. (Obviously, I'm no purist! )

I like the S&Ws because they are mostly Magnums (one is a .22LR), giving me more power for the size than an autopistol can dream of. I like the Glocks because they give me more rounds and less weight than a revolver engineer ever imagined. Luckily, I am equally competent and comfortable with both, and use either where I feel they are appropriate.

And the revolvers are handy because they work one-handed, two-handed, weak-side, strong-side, me, my girlfriend, .38 pop-gun loads or .44 Magnum HOLY COW! loads. Plus, I find they tend to be a little easier to shoot accurately than my Glocks, even shooting double action, which I have switched to doing almost exclusively of late. But on the flip side, the Glocks excel at putting A LOT of bullets on target FAST.

As to the OP, I wish you a swift and full recovery. I know several people currently recovering from shoulder surgeries.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Probably won't either unless it's a 1917.

 

[bstump2]

SaxonPig, I've had far more failures from revolvers that my "plastic" weapons. Ever had an ejector rod bend? Pick up a spare for a replacement then bend the one on your revolver JUST A BIT and fire six rounds, reload and fire six more. It's a real treat. You'll end up with a real gun paperweight.
Yes I still own revolvers, they're just not my favorite.

 

[skoro]

You make a very valid point.

Revolvers are reliable, simple, and effective. I really like my 1911s, but I keep a revolver loaded for home defense. It's practically fail-safe.

 

[colorado_handgunner]

After emptying the cylinders, you still have the difficulty of reloading one handed. While I see the point, I personally cant hit the broad side of a barn with a wheel gun. :banghead: For me, the choice for HD would be to leave a few semis locked and loaded until the arm healed. A single mag from a semi I can hit with is better than alot of rounds from a wheel gun into the wall!

 

[kmrcstintn]

welcome to the lair; hope your recovery from surgery is quick and without complications; +1 on your thinking and application of multiphase training; I try to shoot with my weak hand 25% to 30% of all shots fired when at the range; I even swapped out a few handguns from my current inventory due to difficulty trying to cock, aim, and fire a few single action revolvers with my weak hand; replaced them with a double action revolver and a da/sa 9mm semiautomatic

 

[left hand]

Thanks for all the kind words folks, the shoulder gets a little stronger everyday! California bow season will be shot, but I should be in full effect by the last week of rifle season (long recovery on these shoulder deals!).
Lots of good and interesting points made on this thread. I'm sure there are folks on this forum that could shoot their pistols one armed, blind folded and handcuffed in a chest on the bottom of a lake. I am not one. I understand that there are techniques that enable one to load a magazine and operate the slide of a pistol with one hand. That's super cool. If you are fluid, have at it. For me, in my suburban one bedroom condo, having six rounds of 357 in arms reach is plenty. It would literally be impossible to have to shoot more than eight yards. There would be no cover or time to reload in a truly extreme situation regardless of weapon choice. I enjoy my pistols, but in this time of physical vulnerability, I appreciate the point/shoot simplicity and reliability of a well maintained revolver.

 

[Brian Dale]

Good stuff, left hand. Can't go wrong with a Trooper, either. Take good care of that shoulder, and thanks for the reminder about the importance of weak-hand practice.

 

[easyg]

I shoot both revolvers and auto loaders. I find it much easier and faster to operate and reload the autos than the revolvers using the one hand drill. I think anyone who has had training in this field would agree. All assuming one can shoot support or strong hand only without limp wristing in the first place.
str1

Remember, the autoloader is only faster IF you happen to have another pre-loaded magazine on hand.

See which is faster to reload using the one-hand-drill with just a box of ammo and no pre-loaded extra magazine.

 

[easyg]

SaxonPig, I've had far more failures from revolvers that my "plastic" weapons. Ever had an ejector rod bend? Pick up a spare for a replacement then bend the one on your revolver JUST A BIT and fire six rounds, reload and fire six more. It's a real treat. You'll end up with a real gun paperweight.
Yes I still own revolvers, they're just not my favorite.

Let's be fair here....
Ejector rods just don't bend of their own accord while shooting.
Clearly, bending an ejector rod is an operator error.
You certainly can't blame the gun.

I say that anyone who has never experienced a failure-to-feed or failure-to-eject stoppage with an autoloader is someone who has not been shooting very much.
But some folks shoot a revolver frequently their whole lives without ever having a single failure.

No matter how you slice it, revolvers are simply more reliable than autoloaders.

 

[raskolnikov_22]

Everyone should have at least one revolver...from Colt, S&W, Dan Wesson, Ruger, Freedom Arms, and don't forget about the Webleys too, in .22, .38, .357, .44, .45, .475, .500, with a 2" barrel, 4", 5", 6", 8", a Buntline, blue, stainless, nickel, case-hardened, single action, double action, fixed cylinder, swing out cylinder, top break, one of those neato revolver/rifle setups like Lee van Cleef...

 

[shooter1]

Remember, the autoloader is only faster IF you happen to have another pre-loaded magazine on hand.

See which is faster to reload using the one-hand-drill with just a box of ammo and no pre-loaded extra magazine.

WHAT? You mean there's someone somewhere using an auto loader for a defensive weapon with only one loaded magazine!!!!
Surely not!!!!!
Yeah, it's pretty slow loading a magazine with one hand! Of course I wouldn't need another magazine until I'd fired the dozen or so rounds in the first one.
str1

 

[David E]

I agree that everyone should have at least one revolver. A 4" .357 rating high in the "all around versatility" category for most folks.

That said, I think a revolver is a poor choice for weak-hand only use. It's difficult to shoot well or accurately at speed double action, it kicks significantly and is empty in 5-8 shots. Reloading a revolver one handed isn't what I want to do in the middle of a firefight.

My choice is a hicap 9mm. Kick is minimal while remaining a decent defensive caliber. The revolver would have to be reloaded 3-4 times before the 9mm needs to be reloaded even once. It's faster and easier to reload a 9mm than a revolver, and then you're good for another 3-4 revolver loads before you need to worry about it again. This part is moot, as the situation should be resolved long before then.

Viable choices are the Glock 17/19, the M&P 9mm, or the XD/XD-m.

 

[David E]

Remember, the autoloader is only faster IF you happen to have another pre-loaded magazine on hand.

If someone doesn't keep a spare magazine loaded and ready to go, then they simply don't understand the semi-auto very well. Or defense, either.

See which is faster to reload using the one-hand-drill with just a box of ammo and no pre-loaded extra magazine.

A more practical drill would be to see who can fire 20 shots on a 7 yd IPSC target FIRST, starting with a loaded gun. (who carries around an empty gun for defense with loose ammo in their pockets?)

You select your revolver of choice, I'll go with my XD-m.....

.

 

[easyg]

Of course I wouldn't need another magazine until I'd fired the dozen or so rounds in the first one.

Not necessarily....

You could have a damaged or defective magazine in your pistol right now.
And then you would only get off the single round in the chamber before it became useless.

 

[easyg]

That said, I think a revolver is a poor choice for weak-hand only use. It's difficult to shoot well or accurately at speed double action, it kicks significantly and is empty in 5-8 shots. Reloading a revolver one handed isn't what I want to do in the middle of a firefight.

This is also not necessarily true....

With practice revolvers are not hard to shoot double-action at speed.

And only the really light-weight snubs shooting powerful rounds kick hard.

 

[Hammerhead6814]

A good revolver can be a lot of things. I've never actually seen a revolver fail to fire, cycle, or overheat. Not saying it's impossible I'm just saying it seems rare.

I've also never seen an inaccurate revolver. Mind you I've never seen a .454 Casul or one of those S&W .500's, but anything in .38 or .357 has been accurate enough to put down a Glock snob now and then. Then again .38 is kind of under-powered these days.

 

[David E]

You could have a damaged or defective magazine in your pistol right now.
And then you would only get off the single round in the chamber before it became useless.

Then you have a high primer that won't allow the cylinder to rotate, or the second round up has a loose crimp and jumps forward out of the chamber, tying up the gun, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Let's stick with the probabilities instead of citing an obscure possibility so you can attempt to make some kind of point.

 

[David E]

With practice revolvers are not hard to shoot double-action at speed.

Depends on the load, and what we define as "speed," doesn't it.

A full load .357 in a 3" or 4" S&W Model 66 WILL kick enough to matter.

If you can shoot a .357 with full loads just as fast as a 9mm weak handed only with the same accuracy at the same speed, you're shooting too slow.