Question for Die-Hard Revolver Fans

[CraigC]

I didn't know on the weights. My n frames are bigger hunting guns. My only 686 is a snub. 44/45 and up is my niche. You have forgot more about revolvers than I will know im sure. I know your an accomplished revolver shooter. Ive hunted with handguns for 20 years. Enjoy reading your work.

But Building a fine 1911, precision model 700 rifle, or setting ring gap or bearing clearance to spec on a race 350 Aren't considered engineering either. . The engineering on the model 29 or redhawk or SAA (or small block) was finished many years ago. But aligning the cylinders is still difficult today because it's a manufacturing issue. Not engineering. Ive been involved and around the engineering and manufacture of everything from new threads for BDU to aircraft engine parts to EV, automatic vacuums and automation robotics. The engineer tells you how the first one work and sets specs. Manufacturing has to make it do so. At times Ive been the builder, ive been manager of 50 people doing the work, and ive been the Engineer at times as well.

With semi automatics we still see a lot of engineering. Different locking designs. Different trigger/ transfer bar/ safety designs. With revolvers (excluding the rhino) we rarely even see a tweak.

I still say the revolver was easier to engineer. No dwell times to consider, no waiting for pressure to drop to unlock the barrel etc. The manufacture is harder.

Thanks for the kind words. I don't know how much of it is true but thanks anyway.

I wouldn't say it was easier. Definitely different. The engineering that has gone into semi-autos isn't much newer. They were also developing cartridges and guns simultaneously, which was a huge benefit. There was a lot of re-engineering that went into Ruger's revolvers, the DA's in particular. Ole Bill had the benefit of hindsight, while S&W and Colt are pigeon-holed by their own history. Same for Dan Wesson.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Thanks for the kind words. I don't know how much of it is true but thanks anyway.

I wouldn't say it was easier. Definitely different. The engineering that has gone into semi-autos isn't much newer. They were also developing cartridges and guns simultaneously, which was a huge benefit. There was a lot of re-engineering that went into Ruger's revolvers, the DA's in particular. Ole Bill had the benefit of hindsight, while S&W and Colt are pigeon-holed by their own history. Same for Dan Wesson.

No doubt Bill borrowed. Lol. He even borrowed engineers from other places.

I've read that Browning actually made working mockups from wood. To dream up and make something like that to me is still impressive. To be the artist/designer/builder/ whittler and all is even more so.. And before cad or even much of what we know of internal ballistics that we know today....just incredible that he and Dan Wesson or Smith or any of them had 2 eyes and both hands.

 

[CraigC]

No doubt Bill borrowed. Lol. He even borrowed engineers from other places.

I've read that Browning actually made working mockups from wood. To dream up and make something like that to me is still impressive. To be the artist/designer/builder/ whittler and all is even more so.. And before cad or even much of what we know of internal ballistics that we know today....just incredible that he and Dan Wesson or Smith or any of them had 2 eyes and both hands.

I really don't know how they did it. I imagine it was very time consuming. Something bordering on magic.

 

[UncleEd]

There was a lot of re-engineering that went into Ruger's revolvers, the DA's in particular. Ole Bill had the benefit of hindsight, while S&W and Colt are pigeon-holed by their own history. Same for Dan Wesson.

I tend to believe, without trying to get into
an argument, that Ruger produced the
finest DA revolvers to date. They are for
the "Everyman" to outlast all competitors.

 

[CraigC]

I tend to believe, without trying to get into
an argument, that Ruger produced the
finest DA revolvers to date. They are for
the "Everyman" to outlast all competitors.

I would tend to agree, for the money anyway. The single most accurate handgun I own, which includes several customs and a Freedom Arms, is a Ruger Super Redhawk .44Mag.

 

[westernrover]

I'd like to be sold on Ruger double-action revolvers. My SA's are all Ruger. My DA's are all S&W and I've had a lot of quality issues. My EDC is an L-frame. I have two of them and they each have their issues. I won't get into that here. I'm not looking for a big bore. The Super GP-100 has a lot of nice features, but I don't care for the Korth-like cuts on the barrel shroud or the PVD finish. It's a one-configuration model so far and it just doesn't appeal to me. I can't stand the billboards on the Match Champions and I prefer it not be stainless steel. I have a couple of SS revolvers and I see how it is an ideal material for revolvers, but I don't like it. I think a model 1776 would probably be the most appealing to me. Ruger DA's aren't widely-available at the moment and I'm always tempted to try to fix my S&W instead of starting over.

 

[crstrode]

I am curious to hear what semi-autos you die-hard revolver fans really appreciate.

Real "Die-hard revolver fans" don't appreciate anything but revolvers.

die-hard
also die·hard (dī′härd′)
adj.
Stubbornly resisting change or clinging to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause.
n.
One who stubbornly resists change or tenaciously adheres to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause: rebel die-hards who refused to surrender.
die′-hard′ism n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

 

[aaaaa]

Real "Die-hard revolver fans" don't appreciate anything but revolvers.

die-hard
also die·hard (dī′härd′)
adj.
Stubbornly resisting change or clinging to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause.
n.
One who stubbornly resists change or tenaciously adheres to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause: rebel die-hards who refused to surrender.
die′-hard′ism n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Well I suppose I could have phrased it this way: "Die-hard revolver fans, if there was no such thing as revolvers and you could not invent them, then what pistol would you tolerate?

 

[crestoncowboy]

I tend to believe, without trying to get into
an argument, that Ruger produced the
finest DA revolvers to date. They are for
the "Everyman" to outlast all competitors.

I would tend to agree, for the money anyway. The single most accurate handgun I own, which includes several customs and a Freedom Arms, is a Ruger Super Redhawk .44Mag.

I agree completly. Ive shot several smith loose. Some have been to Smith to be repaired. My first Redhawk (blued 7 inch) is still tight.

I mean no disrespect to the Ruger guns. Simply saying that almost everything about the Rugers was engineered before they started tweaking the design for strength, longevity and ease of and consistency of manufacture.


I think anyone still hanging on to (and using) a revolver who doesn't hunt, is pretty die hard. As in stubbornly resisting "the new" which isn't at this point very new. Lol.

Those of us who hunt big game can be die-hard as well, but there are next to no good outings for a big game semi automatic So we may just have a lack of options. None that aren't heavy, comically large, or bordering on being barely adequate.

 

[Mk-211]

Well, people have killed bear with a 9mm, so what's the definition of adequate?

I think most hunters think in terms of ethical, if it saves your butt, it's adequate enough.

 

[westernrover]

I'm going to shoot out the barrel-to-cylinder gap before I shoot to excessive end-shake. So my nod would have to go to Dan Wesson because it would be easy for me to reset the b/c gap. After that, increasing end-shake will probably wear out the hand or the stop notches first. The cylinder masses on the Rugers are at least as much as other brands, so how would they avoid going out of time any longer? Again, I'd have to give the nod to Dan Wesson for the spring-loaded bearing detent on the back of the cylinder that cushions the cylinder in recoil and protects the ratchet and hand. As for stretch of the top-strap, I'd expect that to happen to a significant degree last of all and other than by sheer massiveness (SRH) I don't see Rugers being universally more resistant.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Well, people have killed bear with a 9mm, so what's the definition of adequate?

I think most hunters think in terms of ethical, if it saves your butt, it's adequate enough.

Ive seen more deer killed with 22 than most any other round. People here used a 22 to kill deer bothering their garden. They also get depredation permits to shoot them in the Christmas trees. Law says you have to leave them to rot too. Don't make it a great deer rifle.

I've also killed more deer with a 10mm (1911, Glock, and p-220) than many have killed total. (We have unlimited doe tags). for 75 or so yards ill say its adequate if the shooter is ok. But for fun and challenging hunting the 44 mag- 460 Smith has the range to be both ethical and fun. I have one 44 mag semi auto and its a great gun but heavy and big. One of those purchases that I just thought I had to have but afterward it gets shelved and comes out for conversation. Lol. And I'm hunting in hilly mountain terrain. Never hunted in anything flat or plains. Id imagine the shots would be longer in those conditions.

As far as saving my butt, ive hunted and stalked many miles and never needed to. But I'm not hunting musk ox or Buffalo either. Black bear would be the only thing that may bother me but they haven't yet.

I'm going to shoot out the barrel-to-cylinder gap before I shoot to excessive end-shake. So my nod would have to go to Dan Wesson because it would be easy for me to reset the b/c gap. After that, increasing end-shake will probably wear out the hand or the stop notches first. The cylinder masses on the Rugers are at least as much as other brands, so how would they avoid going out of time any longer? Again, I'd have to give the nod to Dan Wesson for the spring-loaded bearing detent on the back of the cylinder that cushions the cylinder in recoil and protects the ratchet and hand. As for stretch of the top-strap, I'd expect that to happen to a significant degree last of all and other than by sheer massiveness (SRH) I don't see Rugers being universally more resistant.

I don't even know what Goes wrong in the smiths but you shoot and the cylinder will no longer be locked up and sometimes spins backward. Every time ive got a paper back with the gun that simply says "replaced yoke". One time the cylinder release was even broken off. The gun was fixed and had the new release and the old one in the box in a bag. Note simply said "replaced yoke". So idk. I know more gets done than "replaced yoke" though that one didn't even have an issue with the yoke. Even the last smith I bought was a 610, had light strikes often as many do, I swear the paper came back with it said replaced yoke. Lol. The gun had a new cylinder in it but only "replaced yoke" They fixed all 3 though. No issues. Lol

Not bashing Smith either. Only one of them broke with a low round count and it was a 329 which is a scandium frame that completely batters itself and I believe will never hold up to much 44 mag ammo. But ive never had a Ruger do anything like that. I did have a Ruger 22 light strike. They too fixed the gun.

 

[CraigC]

Real "Die-hard revolver fans" don't appreciate anything but revolvers.

I don't agree with that. I consider myself "diehard" but I only have 107 of them. So the person who only owns 10 guns but they're all revolvers is somehow more "diehard" than the person that owns 107 but a variety of other guns? Okay. Even John Taffin has automatics and rifles. Personally, measuring contests are a turn-off.

 

[aaaaa]

I think anyone still hanging on to (and using) a revolver who doesn't hunt, is pretty die hard. As in stubbornly resisting "the new" which isn't at this point very new. Lol.

Ha ha, I still resist those new-fangled automatical transmissions in buying a personal vehicle. Proudly say I have had a stick ever since 1977 and refuse to have an automatic. Unfortunatly the wife has an auto and my motorhome is an auto. Ugh. Now there were some cool automatics, the kind that were vacuum assisted shift so you could at least control the shifts by finagling the accelerator (way better than paddle shifters, which I refuse to paddle). Those I liken to the 1911 pistol, which is IMO the coolest autoloader out there.

 

[mcb]

Ha ha, I still resist those new-fangled automatical transmissions in buying a personal vehicle. Proudly say I have had a stick ever since 1977 and refuse to have an automatic. Unfortunatly the wife has an auto and my motorhome is an auto. Ugh. Now there were some cool automatics, the kind that were vacuum assisted shift so you could at least control the shifts by finagling the accelerator (way better than paddle shifters, which I refuse to paddle). Those I liken to the 1911 pistol, which is IMO the coolest autoloader out there.

The problem is you can no longer get a full size truck in 4WD and a manual transmission. I love driving stick but need the full size truck and 4WD.

 

[tark]

This does it for me. I revere revolvers, but there is nothing more fun to shoot than a broomie! Not this one, however, it's never been fired after proof. I Have a shooter grade gun that I shoot a lot.

sorry about the sideways pics.

 

[lightman]

I'm another "N" frame lover. My first thoughts were of a 1911 maybe followed by a Browning HiPower. Those were my very first thoughts but given time I may think of some others.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Ha ha, I still resist those new-fangled automatical transmissions in buying a personal vehicle. Proudly say I have had a stick ever since 1977 and refuse to have an automatic. Unfortunatly the wife has an auto and my motorhome is an auto. Ugh. Now there were some cool automatics, the kind that were vacuum assisted shift so you could at least control the shifts by finagling the accelerator (way better than paddle shifters, which I refuse to paddle). Those I liken to the 1911 pistol, which is IMO the coolest autoloader out there.

The 1911 is even more impressive given its largely unchanged yet still viable (just not my choice but the trigger is still my favorite semi) for over 100 years. Your truck at that time was a model t. A horse Carriage with a small 20 hp engine. No windows. Edison was still writing about electricity. Lol.



Obviously that's my 10mm hunting colt. And a series 80 (I believe). But that's no joke for something made that long ago. A model T has about the same number of parts. I was swapping out the incredibly ugly rattly black trigger. If Browning really made a wooden test mule of that.... I'm amazed.

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

I enjoy shooting the Steyr GB over my 9mm Colt Combat Commander.
Have never had any sort of failure with it whatsoever.



These should have been more popular, but the GB went to Austrian trials alongside the new model 17 Glock and the rest is history.

JT

 

[crestoncowboy]

I enjoy shooting the Steyr GB over my 9mm Colt Combat Commander.
Have never had any sort of failure with it whatsoever.

View attachment 1119519

These should have been more popular, but the GB went to Austrian trials alongside the new model 17 Glock and the rest is history.

JT

Never seen one. Decocker looks very p97 ish. Slide lock looks hk/sig hybrid.

That's my luck.... have a nice design and here walks up an unknown Gaston with a Tupperware box. Lol

 

[defjon]

From my own experience, the hi power, the 1911, the ppk and tph

 

[JohnKSa]

I would tend to agree, for the money anyway. The single most accurate handgun I own, which includes several customs and a Freedom Arms, is a Ruger Super Redhawk .44Mag.

Somewhere I have an old Gun Digest book of Handgun Reloading, in which Grennell and Clapp did an extensive test of a huge number of handloads using a Ransom rest.

They tested 30 different handguns in calibers ranging from .380 up to .45 Colt. The smallest group shot by any of the 30 guns in the testing was shot using a Ruger GP100. It was 0.472"--6 shots, at 25 yards using a Ransom Rest.

I'm not saying every Ruger revolver is super accurate, but I thought it was interesting that a GP100 aced that particular accuracy challenge.

 

[CraigC]

Somewhere I have an old Gun Digest book of Handgun Reloading, in which Grennell and Clapp did an extensive test of a huge number of handloads using a Ransom rest.

They tested 30 different handguns in calibers ranging from .380 up to .45 Colt. The smallest group shot by any of the 30 guns in the testing was shot using a Ruger GP100. It was 0.472"--6 shots, at 25 yards using a Ransom Rest.

I'm not saying every Ruger revolver is super accurate, but I thought it was interesting that a GP100 aced that particular accuracy challenge.

That is interesting. John Taffin had a blurb on one of his most accurate guns. It was a stainless Vaquero 7.5" .45Colt. I was shocked more that it was gun with those sights than the fact that it was a Ruger.

 

[bigpower491]

I'd have to tip my hat to my Smith M&P40, an LE model.
It's trigger is about the best I've ever felt on an automatic, and I am totally lights out with it at 15 yards.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I am particularly fond of my Colt New Service in .45 Colt. My two favorite automatics are the M1911 (my favorite carry gun) and my 1938 Colt Woodsman.