Help me choose a revolver

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Wanderling

Wanderling

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I took my son shooting last weekend, and we both enjoyed it tremendously.

The guy in the next lane had a big revolver, and my son commented afterwards that it would be nice to have something like that to shoot.

I've long thought about getting one, but kept postponing it. I don't know the first thing about them, other than they look cool.

The semi-autos I have now are Glocks. Super reliable, accurate, plastic, black, no-frills.

For a revolver, I'd like to go the opposite route. Something classic looking, perhaps stainless or nickel or deep bluing; something I can put a nice, rich wood grip on; SA/DA; a piece of art (which the revolvers look like to me).

I'd like to stay in the $600 range; new (again, I don't know the first thing about revolvers, so I'd rather not risk getting a used one).

I'll use it for plinking, primarily, but don't want a .22. So to keep ammo costs reasonable, I assume .357/38 special ? Or 9mm ?

So, what would you recommend ? Browsing through Buds' catalog, it seems either Ruger or Taurus ? Any particular model ? What barrel length is most useful ? (I doubt that I would use it as EDC, but I don't want to buy a monster that I am guaranteed to never carry, either).

TIA !
 
Ruger. Taurus quality has been falling lately and their customer support sucks.
Can't go wrong with a 4" GP100, though finding a new one for $600 is iffy.....then again these guns really never break or wear out. Save yourself a couple hundred and get a slightly used one. Ruger will still cover it for warranty repairs even if you are not the original owner. The GP is a little big to carry, though.

SP101s are equally great, and a 3" can be useful for carry and the range, also usually a little cheaper. Most are .357, but they run off batches of 9mms from time to time. Not sure if new 9mm SPs are available now, but, once again, a gently used one is nothing to worry about.
 
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Don't be afraid of the used ones. Just read the sticky about inspecting them. Most of the used handguns I've bought weren't really used that much.

I've had good and so-so Smiths, good and so-so Rugers, good and so-so and (one) bad Taurii, two decent Charter Arms, a so-so Tanfoglio, a good Colt, and the jury is still out on the Astra I just got.

Before you choose a brand, there are other questions to be decided: single or double action, fixed or adjustable sights, frame size, and caliber come to mind.

My personal favorite are the full-sized Ruger single-actions with adjustable sights, but that's just me.

A medium-framed 4" 38 or 357 is a pretty standard all purpose revolver.

I think it's Robertson's Trading Post (on Gunbroker) that has some ex Canadian Police S&W Model 10's for around $300 apiece. IIRC they are 4" 38 special with fixed sights. That would be a cheap way to see how much you like revolvers. It would be pretty easy to get all or most of your money back if you decided to trade it in on something else. They are DA/SA. (Sorry that I didn't notice that on the original post.)
 
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You can get a nice used S&W 686 for $600, or a model 64 for between $300-400.Either would be a great first revolver. If you bump your budget up to $700 you could get a new model 67 and I have even seen 686s on sale at around that price. Personally I would avoid Taurus. They seem to be 50/50 as far as getting a good one or a lemon
 
IME, S&W, & Ruger. Colt is priced out of sight. Taurus just isn't an option, for quality.
 
Ruger SP-101
3" barrel
.327 Federal Mag
* You can shoot .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Mag & .327 Federal Mag through it.
 
What kind of shooting do you do? Fast fire simulation of dangerous target? Slow and steady? Do you want to fantasize as Dirty Harry, or Lone Ranger? There’s still a lot of questions to answer here...

But realistically yes, 38/357 is a good place to start. Buy a full sized gun though, not one of the many guns designed for concealed carry. 38 isn’t really a recoil hammer in any gun, but 357 is a handful in any of the carry guns. The only exception to that is the SP101 but i don’t think it’s what you want either. A gp100 or a smith 586, or 686 seems to be your sweet spot. If your into glocks I would assume you probably would prefer the 4” barrel as it handles faster and balances more toward the grip so it will feel a bit more natural than a 6” barrel. But then again, you may want a cowboy gun and they are a lot of fun too. You could stick with 38/357 for about the same money and get into one of the many SAA clones.
 
I agree a .357 magnum is a great one to start with.
If anyone is recoil sensitive, you can shoot .38 specials and it's darn near like shooting a .22 lr.

You mentioned it was a big revolver that he liked.
The .44 mag is another option because you can shoot .44 specials which are about the same power as a .45 acp.
Although .44 special ammunition is rather expensive.
 
As mentioned above, S&W Model 67 is under $700 new. A 64 is just under $600. (same frame, 67 has adjustable sights). Classic police revolver.
 
I recommend getting something with rear sights. The more your son hits the target , the more reward and fun. For $600 you can find a good used S&W model 15 , 38 special da/sa revolver. The 15 , or "Combat Masterpiece" as the older ones were called , are considered by many to be one of the all-time best all around shooters. (Count me in that group.) Well balanced , and with a (much) better trigger than can be found on a stock Ruger. They can be found in blue or nickel , and look mighty fine when fitted with a pair of factory target stocks , which many were shipped with. A classic "piece of art" , as you said. And , in the unlikely event that you decide to move on from it , the model 15 is very easy to sell.
You boys will quickly "bond" with a 15 , trust me.
 
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Hard to beat a GP100 in 4" or 6".
Waveski has a good point about the S&W 15 too. While its not a "big" gun It's an excellent gun to shoot.
I have a GP100 match champion and a S&W 15 and they are both great guns to shoot.
 
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Thanks to all !

A stupid question - can I fire 38 sp from any .357 mag revolver ?
 
FL-NC said:
Start hunting for a used but not abused K frame S&W, or maybe Ruger.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I know zero about revolvers, and probably wouldn't see a problem unless it was absolutely obvious. And all of my friends that I know of only shoot semis.

Also, I don't sell my guns, and don't foresee ever having to. I might as well buy it new, and hold on to it for life.
 
Ks5shooter said:
Medium sized shoots 38 spl as well, adjustable sights and can be used for ccw ,just bought one and love it:thumbup::thumbup:
View attachment 783861
Click to expand...

This looks beautiful, how long is the barrel ? May I ask you where you got it from ?

Also, what is the value of adjustable sights in a handgun ?

I don't like shooting targets that I can't clearly see, so anything beyond 50 yards for me is rifle territory.
 
Another question - would I see a lot of difference in accuracy between a short barrel like in the photo above (I believe it's 2.5") and, say, 4.2" ?

I know about sight radius, but I shoot my G26 (3.42" barrel) just as well as my G17 (4.48" barrel) and better than G19 (4" barrel). However, this seems to be a somewhat unique feature of G26 due to the way the grip hump fits into the palm of the hand, creating a naturally stable hold. Some other short-barreled guns are more of a challenge.

It's somewhat tempting to get a gun that can be CCW'd in case of emergency (e.g. my G26 is stolen or inoperable) but realistically, I probably won't EDC a revolver, and I don't want to give up the shootability for portability in this case.

Also, I think a 4" barrel is probably the longest I'd want, since anything longer and more barrel-heavy would likely be more difficult for my teenager to aim steady, at least for a couple more years.
 
2.5 but available in 4 in also. Sportsman supply superstore usually the best price,grabagun a little cheaper but is out of stock on this particular gun and free shipping.Personal preference on adj sight because you may want center mass aiming or six o'clock bull. This gun has fiber optic sight from the factory as well.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
A 4" gp100 would fit your needs. You can find used ones for less than 600 bucks. Its the Ideal barrel length for that size/caliber for a general use. Its going to handle the hottest .357's and make 38 specials feel like a pop gun for plinking. I have a 6" for hunting,but a 4" would make a better all around gun. One nice thing is the front sight is a partial dove tail held in by a spring loaded pin so it is SUPER easy to change out (takes less than 30 seconds) which let's you configure the gun alot easier. You can get compact grips if you want to conceal it . Rugers warranty is top notch and the gun is going to outlast your kids kids. Hogue has some nice looking wood grips out there, or you can get some fancy grip panels for the origional style grips. I would avoid the taurus,but that's just me. Or save some extra beans and pick up one of the lipseys special editions with a 5" half lug barrel and wood grips. Man they are purdy!
euFC6xS.jpg Anyways good luck I'm sure whatever you pick will be fun to shoot !

Ps- don't be afraid to look into single actions like a Ruger blackhawk. I just picked up my first one....I think it was a mistake,because I KNOW I'm going to be getting more of them...... Ya know another edition to the Ruger family
KIMG0403~2.JPG top to bottom 6" .357 gp100, 5.5" Blackhawk bisley 44 special, 2.25" sp101 .357
 
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