how to shoot a revolver

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emmie

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after 40yrs of shooting autos I have feel in love with wheel guns. but can't hit the barn with them. different grip-angle of grip,has me all over target.
I'm reloading 148 DEWC for practice but need instructions,on how to grip these pistols.
all the books and DVD are about auto shooting,anyone know of any info on revolver instructions?

thank you for your time

emmie
 
I haven't noticed any particular difference after 25 years of auto only. I guess if you've been using the same platform all those years your muscle memory must really be in tune to a specific grip setup. I have small hands and do have to make an adjustment to shoot double action only. After reading some advice to shoot double action using the joint at the end of the finger instead of the pad, I found that I need to rotate my hand around to make that reach and still get a straight pull on the trigger. I do shoot much more accurately in double action that way. Single action I shoot the same way with either system.

There are a tremendous variety of grip shapes and sizes on revolvers as well as frame sizes too, so maybe you need to experiment to find combinations that give you a familiar feel.

Don't extend digits down (finger or thumbs forward grips often used on semiautos) the frame of a revolver. Very hot gases come through the gap between the cylinder and barrel.
 
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I made some suggestions to someone else the other day on this subject, 2nd post in this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=471606

Cliff Notes version: hand-filling grips like 420stainless mentioned, fore-aft tension (like Jack Weaver instructed), and dry-fire practice. Lots of it.

When I was much younger I used to modify my guns to become more accurate. Now I realize it's about modifying me, not the guns. ;)
 
I'll just throw this out that when any of my 1911 friends shoot my revolvers it's a mess. They're not used to a long trigger pull and pull through it much too quickly. After I tell them to shoot a few cylinder by pulling the trigger VERY slowly until they hit what they're aiming at, then very gradually start to pick up the pace and do fine.
 
If you like shooting the old style revolvers, buy a copy of 'Sixguns by Keith'.
In that book he tells a wealth of information about how to shoot revolvers.
 
Trickshot, can you check that title? When I plug it in to Amazon, I can only find out-of-print copies. And some of those used copies cost as much as a good sixgun!
 
Revolvers are very different from many autos, especially striker fired autos. I'm a young guy with small hands and still manage to shoot a Ruger GP100. I will admit it's quite a bit of defensive gun for me, but I've learned to shoot it well. That's after learning on a DA/SA auto (mostly SA shooting). You can learn one of two ways:

-Stage the trigger, as in pull slowly (at first) to feel when the sear engages so as to know when the hammer is just about to fall. Adjust your sight picture before the hammer falls.

-Pull through the entire length smoothly without staging. You have to have an iron grip to shoot real accurately this way.

Also a snub will learn you quick, if with some frustration.
 
Checking in here.

Have not read suggested threads
but only because shooting a revolver
was intuitive, much like shooting a lever gun.

Suffice to say, I traded in a semi-auto for a revolver
and never looked back. (See sig line.)
 
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Shooting has always been second nature to most of us so it comes as no surprise that its harder to explain than anyone first thought. Point and click doesn't quite do it...
 
To see how you are doing, trigger-wise, leave an empty chamber or two. When you get to it, you'll see the 'jerking' of the muzzle as you 'yank' the trigger. Kinda hard to do with a rude-case-tosser.

You'll notice your lower back appreciates a revolver, too... no leaning over to pick up empties. Also - empties stay in nicer shape... no extractor/ejector scratches (... or footprints!).

Stainz
 
ESP, welcome to THR. But with all due respect, it might be helpful to read all the posts before adding one of your own. (Scroll up to see the 2nd post)

Scott
 
Today I took my very first AR build to the range for the very first time. I was proud to print 10 of the 20 rounds I fired into the 9 ring or bull at 100 yards - after a few rounds to sight it in of course. To be honest it felt good to have a rifle back in my hands.

Much to my dismay, I fired 20 rounds out of my main super blackhawk 44 mag into a 25 yard target and only punched 2 holes in the black! The fact that I refer to it as "my MAIN super blackhawk" should be an indicator that I'm no stranger to revolvers.

I think when you get the feel of a weapon, it clings to you. Spend time with a weapon you want to be proficient with and it'll grow on you. Makes me think of the old adage "Respect the man at the range with one gun because he knows how to use it".

-MW
 
When I worked as a public range RO, I often had 'down time' when I plinked with a revolver. This would include my 2" 10, 4" 625 (.45 ACP), and a 4" 625MG (.45 Colt), shooting DA from a standing 2 hand hold. I could hit a 16" steel plate at 110yd 2-5 times out of 6. This was especially disconcerting to the hunter day-shooters trying to ring that plate with a new scoped rifle fired from a rest. Of course, making my own ammo, I did get some practice in. It is all in your familiarity with the trigger break, etc.

I tried a few shots with my 625MG last week when I was out there - it had been a while. The safest place to stand on the range was in front of that plate!

Stainz
 
Does anyone know what model SW the first revolver Jerry is shooting in the Grip video. Looks like 627 but with a gray barrel and unfluted cylinder?
 
You want to get your strong hand as high on the grip as possible. Wrap your weak hand around the left side of the grip. Apply down-ward pressure onto the strong hand thumb web with the weak hand thumb. Make sure your grip is firm. The pictures that I am including help show you understand better than I can explain.

p1070672.jpg

p1070673.jpg

p1070674.jpg

p1070675.jpg
 
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I watched those revolver shooting videos a lot when I got back into handguns. I purposefully developed the over the top support thumb grip that Jerry recommends when I took to shooting a J frame as my primary carry gun and a J frame as my normal back up.

I have one semi auto - a little Ruger LCP. I use it for those times when I just can't make the J's work for comcealment.

Occasionally I take the LCP to the range with me a put a clip or two through it.

The J frame thumb grip has become so ingrained that I usually find myself using it for the first shot with the auto. I hurt my thumb every time. But I've never drawn blood. Lucky it's a little gun.

Such is life for a J frame revolver shooter.
 
When I was young I was taught that if a handgun was meant to be shot with two hands they would have been made with two handles on them.:confused:
 
When I was young I was taught that if a handgun was meant to be shot with two hands they would have been made with two handles on them
Click to expand...

Isn't it funny, the pearls of "wisdom" that we bring with us from the hazy memories of childhood?

"Gems" like that make you really appreciate having grown up and gone on to learn better techniques from more accomplished mentors.

Still, you have to give the Dads, Grandpops, and other old-timers props. They often gave the best advice they could, from the limited training they had. And most of us wouldn't have started down the road to learning if they hadn't taken the time to share what they knew -- however limited.

-Sam
 
Apply down-ward pressure onto the strong hand thumb web with the weak hand thumb.
Click to expand...

Watch Jerry's videos closely. He does recommend this for shooting the smallest revolvers (J-frames), but it isn't optimal for any full-framed gun.

Listening to what he says on the use of the weak hand: 70% of his grip strength comes from the weak hand. He wraps it tightly around his strong hand, and then folds his thumbs down hard on the left side of the gun. Very similar to the "thumbs forward" grip you (should) use with an autoloader, except tightened down more.

He uses the same grip for everything from his K-frames up to the .500 Mag.

The "thumb-over" grip is only for the J-frames.

-Sam
 
There is the Mastering Revolvers DVD which I just ordered from Fishing Books and Videos/Striped Ostrich. I'll tell u if it's ne good. The 6 Guns book is by Elmer Keith and is at $42 thru Bookfinder which I might order myself.
 
I've been wondering about this of late, and the videos did little to clarify for me: is one method of reloading with a speedloader better than the other?

Right now, I'm accustomed to Jerry's first method, of holding the revolver with the weak hand and using the speedloader with the strong hand. I've also practiced doing it the other way as well, holding with the strong hand and loading with the weak hand. The only problem I have with that is loading with speed strips with the weak hand is a pain. Any thoughts?
 
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