Prediction: tactical revolvers next?

I remember when the GP100 was newly-introduced, and gettin’ some hate slung at it, for being too modern-looking. Not traditional. Ugly. I was an S&W fan, and a 1911 fan, so, was uninterested. Then, for some reason, around 1990, I put my hands on a GP100. The original-pattern factory grip was custom-level perfect, for my hands, and, the shape and location of the trigger was a perfect fit for my index finger. I bought that GP100, and still have it. It is in my avatar image, at left. These early GP100 revolvers had grooves machined under the extractor, to accommodate a build-up of unburned powder, allowing the weapon to fire quite a bit of dirty ammo, without causing sluggish operation or binding. This particular GP100 was my duty handgun, for a time in the early Nineties. I have a Wiley Clapp edition 3” GP100, with a tritium front sight, within arm’s reach, as I type this, late in the evening. Either of these two could be my carry gun, tomorrow.

I have a Glock Gen4 G17 near at hand, too. There is a Surefire X-300 U clipped onto the accessory rail. This one was one of my duty pistols, at the end of my policing career, 2015 to 2018. I doubt that I will ever be as accurate with a Glock, as I am with a GP100. Each of these handguns is useful as a defensive tool. Each is “tactical enough,” in its own way.
 
tubeshooter said:
"Tactical" is a charged/loaded term.
And the pun, while not intended, is certainly noted...


Something "non-traditional" just might give the .32 crowd the renaissance they have long been seeking. There have been some good ideas over the years you could incorporate if you wanted. I think the more conventional and popular revolvers calibers would likely be a tougher sell.
Click to expand...

I think you are right. A new generation of revolvers designed from the ground up. Such as the “high capacity” tactical revolver: 32 Super Carry on 8- , 9- or 10-round polymer moonclips, in a short-cylinder, short-frame gun. With a red dot, etc.
 
The Chiappa Rhino is a good example of a major change to the set revolver formula established in the early 1900’s which has multiple non trivial benefits. Having a six o clock position for the barrel not only mitigates recoil and makes the gun handle better due to a power bore axis, but it also gives you a perfect space to situate a red dot system that hardly has to stick up above the line of the iron sights. Imagine a small thumbnail sized red dot sight set on top of the barrel on a 4” Rhino.

Aside from that, top break revolvers arguably have advantages and are worth a revisiting. A lot of us keep saying so, but we just have to hope one day “the market” agrees.
 
RevolvingGarbage said:
The Chiappa Rhino is a good example of a major change to the set revolver formula established in the early 1900’s which has multiple non trivial benefits. Having a six o clock position for the barrel not only mitigates recoil and makes the gun handle better due to a power bore axis, but it also gives you a perfect space to situate a red dot system that hardly has to stick up above the line of the iron sights. Imagine a small thumbnail sized red dot sight set on top of the barrel on a 4” Rhino.

Aside from that, top break revolvers arguably have advantages and are worth a revisiting. A lot of us keep saying so, but we just have to hope one day “the market” agrees.
Click to expand...


The Russians had a .357 breaktop ready to import. Unfortunately, the ban hit right after it's development. If they can build one, we can. But their cheaper labor would have made it affordable. Over here, probably not so much.
 
Screenshot_20230301-195754~2.png
KevininPa said:
The Russians had a .357 breaktop ready to import. Unfortunately, the ban hit right after it's development. If they can build one, we can. But their cheaper labor would have made it affordable. Over here, probably not so much.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure it ever made it into production...

I thought it was kabooming but obviously I have no way of knowing.

Edit: okay, unclear
 
JeeperCreeper said:
Just daydreaming...

Short version: with throw backs being cool again in the endless cycle, when will revolvers get the new century tactical treatment??
Think S&W TRR8 but even more modular, highlighting red dots and weapon lights.
I dunno. Just thinking. I'd like a quick 8 shot revolver with a light and optic that didn't seem like it was retrofit for a light and optic.[/QUOTE]


Something like the S&W M&P R8 maybe?

R8 Sig Rmeo MP Lgt86.jpg
R8 Sig Rmeo MP Lgt79.jpg
Click to expand...
 
RevolvingGarbage said:
The Chiappa Rhino is a good example of a major change to the set revolver formula established in the early 1900’s which has multiple non trivial benefits.
Click to expand...
Hmmm...
SjGSE4J.png

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/63/1141

Such designs come (and go) in, more or less, regular basis. The Russians even made an "underbarrel" free pistol - the MC-3, based on the Margolin (MCM). It was used only in the 1956 Olympics and quickly abandoned after that. The reality is, though some people unfortunately fail to acknowledge, is that such designs are more complicated mechanically, while offering very little compared to the "conventional" approach. The Rhino is the first ever "underbarrel" revolver, from a relatively long list of such handguns, to stay on the market and enjoy at least some interest and not to be looked as a pure curiosity.
 
Remember When?
Cars were Steel, Chrome, AM/FM and Class.
Now Plastic, Backup Camera and All Alike.
Remember When?
Guns were Steel, Wood, Blue and Class.
Now Plastic, Black, Red Dot and All Alike.
Remember When?
America Had Class.
Now DRUGS, Hate, Envy and Greed.
 
tws3b2 said:
Remember When?
Cars were Steel, Chrome, AM/FM and Class.
Now Plastic, Backup Camera and All Alike.
Remember When?
Guns were Steel, Wood, Blue and Class.
Now Plastic, Black, Red Dot and All Alike.
Remember When?
America Had Class.
Now DRUGS, Hate, Envy and Greed.
Click to expand...

I really hate this general attitude. Please don't take it personal, its not you its the general attitude that all the new things are bad and all the old thing are good, that I hate.

Modern vehicles are significantly more fuel efficient and safer than anything even just a decade or two older.
XM radio offer way more variety and better sound quality than AM/FM
A Glock outperforms a 1911 in every way that means anything for serious (CCW/LEO) work and does so much more cost effectively.
Blued and wood guns are still plentiful if you want them.
A backup camera has saved more lives than most would realize. I know personally it kept me from killing/injuring a young kid hiding behind my truck in a parking lot. You also see a lot less tailgates with big old dents.
The use of plastic in its various forms has revolutionized medical care in more ways than this thread can contain.
Modern soft body armor is plastic.
We currently live in one of the lowest crime times going back nearly 70 years to find less general crime.
America still has class and there were still drugs, hate, envy and greed in all the previous decades since this country was founded.
Late last night a rocket delivered four astronauts to a space station in orbit around this planet and the first stage landed autonomously on a barge floating autonomously in the Atlantic ocean.
 
mcb said:
I really hate this general attitude. Please don't take it personal, its not you its the general attitude that all the new things are bad and all the old thing are good, that I hate.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I'm also pretty sure I didn't have to sell my blued steel and walnut guns and replace them with plastic. They all live together in harmony. I can spend all day carrying and shooting an engraved SAA and hunt with a hand built flintlock but still have a SIG 320 at my bedside and an AR15 in the corner. The best of both worlds live happily at my house.

If they made a brand new 1955 Chevy (or `69 Camaro) that had an original style all steel body but with air conditioning, power steering, four wheel disc brakes and a modern EFI LS V8, I'd be first in line. I'll take it red with a white top and red vinyl interior with the 6.6 truck engine, please. :)
 
Mizar said:
Hmmm...
View attachment 1137256

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/63/1141

Such designs come (and go) in, more or less, regular basis. The Russians even made an "underbarrel" free pistol - the MC-3, based on the Margolin (MCM). It was used only in the 1956 Olympics and quickly abandoned after that. The reality is, though some people unfortunately fail to acknowledge, is that such designs are more complicated mechanically, while offering very little compared to the "conventional" approach. The Rhino is the first ever "underbarrel" revolver, from a relatively long list of such handguns, to stay on the market and enjoy at least some interest and not to be looked as a pure curiosity.
Click to expand...

My point wasn’t so much that the Rhino is novel for having a 6:00 barrel position, but that it was a marriage of a good conventional design with side swing cylinder, single/double action (sort of. Functionally, anyway.) with the 6:00 barrel position. Also the fact that it has sold relatively well and this due to the fact that it’s a conventional enough design to have wide appeal as well as a price point that isn’t insane (Looking at you, Mateba).
 
Outside of the "gun nuts" community, Rhinos are looked more like a curiosity and not as a viable alternative to the traditional design - it's been more than 10 years since it's introduction and still has a quite modest success without any real following. So, as much as I like (sort of - it's ugly, let us not fool ourselves) the concept, I don't see any signs that this is THE next revolver design.
 
First words, " I really hate.
XM vs Am/Fm. I never compared the two. You did.
I never compared Glock to 1911. You did. "All new things are bad All old things were good. Not my words.
70 years ago if someone walked around with a gun under his belt or hid in his coat You bet he was the bad guy. 70 years ago no such thing as an "Assault" rifle or "Carry gun" "Crack" was something you would find in the sidewalk. Overdose did not kill more people than guns, or cars.
In 1969 man walked on the moon.
I said car and guns had Class.
Drugs, Hate, Envy and Greed things of today.
 
Well, I love my traditional revolvers, but I have wanted an S&W 327 TRR8 for a long time. Unfortunately their prices have gone far above what I am willing to pay. At some point I decided a S&W 327 M&P R8 would suffice, but alas their prices are also too high for my liking. They are what I think of as tactical revolvers considering they were developed for SWAT entry officers - first man in with the shield.
8BE36E85-9866-49AC-8A8D-84353B5BD70E.jpeg
https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/performance-center-model-327-trr8#gallery-1

0F990B41-7963-4FE1-838D-201E2A599572.jpeg

https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/performance-center-model-m-p-r8
 
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