Revolvers are Old Fashioned

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A while back, I went into a LGS and checked out their consignment cabinet.

There was nice looking snub in the case, so I asked to see it.

The sales guy took it out, handed it to me, and said this is a really "old school" weapon.

It turned out it was a pristine Model 36 Smith and Wesson 2" snub.

I told the sales guy, you are right, this gun is old school.

But I'm old school myself, so I'll take it.
 
No sense in getting worked up in semantics in this case. Whether they're current production or 100yrs old, it's a fact revolvers became popular for a specific application, after which, the advent of the bottom feeder drove the revolver into obsolescence for said application. In today's world, it's almost impossible to envision how a single action revolver could work for a law enforcement officer, but a DA revolver is still a reasonable option. Is a bottom feeder better for the task? Yup.

An abacus will still work for many mathematical functions just as well as it ever has - an iphone does more and is a lot smaller and a lot more versatile though. Leverguns and revolvers still work fine for many applications too. It's pretty fair to say carrying a revolver is old fashioned though.

Said as a guy who hunts every winter with leverguns (and revolvers), and regularly carries a DA revolver - even an SA revolver for SD. And my wife has a DA SP101 on her nightstand.
 
I have been through collecting vintage revolvers, selling them off after a couple of years and now buying certain new big ass revolvers as actual shooters. Guess I came full circle...
There is just something cool about a big mass of shiny stainless steel.
 
I own many semi-automatics and many revolvers. I definitely like shooting revolvers better. I always bring three of each to the range. Lately not all of the semi-automatics even get shot.
 
It's hard to beat sending 100 rounds of 357 down range for a fun day. Of course more is better! Shooting my 686 in my avatar picture.
 
The U.S. Military said that in 1911. :eek: I was not surprised to see a leader in semi auto pistols offering an up graded Mdl. 36 2". Yes, Kimber's newest offering is a small revolver. And yes it is on backorder. :D
 
What I like to say to people is that there are many purposes for which the revolver is adequate. It makes no sense to say, in such cases, that an automatic is "more adequate": A thing is either adequate or it isn't.

My small self-defense handgun is a J-frame Smith. My full-sized one is an L-frame. I think they're...adequate. I am thinking of switching at some point to a mini Glock and a big Glock, but I find I am in no hurry. I might never get around to it.
 
A nice assortment. What do I see there? An SP101, a J-frame, looks like a Model 10 and a Model 64, a 686 and is that a Model 29?

Driftwood, how many revolvers do you have, anyway? I don't think I've seen that many in one place outside of a museum!
 
The Air Force used S&W M15s all the way up to 1992 for it's gate guards.

That wasn't that long ago really. Kind of a shame how no police or militarg units in the US issue revolvers as standard anymore, but it's also not surprising. Too many good and reliable semi-autos now and those folks would be at a severe disadvantage these days.
 
As a teenager I had a Ruger Single Six and shot thousands of rounds through it. In my 20's I "graduated" to centerfire DA revolvers and semiautomatics. But now in my 50's things have come full circle. I enjoy shooting a plow handle SA revolver more than any other firearm.

Here is one of my favorites. It's a 357 Blackhawk that I was lucky enough to get for $300 used. It has been shot plenty, but is still very accurate. I really like the way that they "roll up" with the recoil. It feels better to me than any semiautomatic, or even a nice DA revolver. I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but the loading gate is a nice plum color.

Blackhawk20357_zpstt55vpkx.jpg
 
There is at least one other old geezer here who dispatched a few NVA with a 357 on the SE Asis senior field trip. If we are hucky he may pop into this thread.
 
Sergei Mosin said:
A nice assortment. What do I see there? An SP101, a J-frame, looks like a Model 10 and a Model 64, a 686 and is that a Model 29?
Click to expand...
I guess I should have said what is pictured. The top blued gun is a 6 inch Pre-model 28 Highway Patrolman (1955) that I just got. Below that is a 4 inch 686 no dash then a pre-model 10 from 1955 and a model 64-3, both 4 inch. Bottom left is a 2.25 inch Ruger SP101 in 357 and then a S&W model 638. The 638 spends most of the summer in the front pocket of my cargo shorts.
 
Funny what we consider old fashioned.

It seems the first mass produced revolver was patented by Samuel Colt in 1835, 181 years ago. The first commercially successful semi automatic pistol came out in 1893, 123 years ago.

Both are well over a century old. Heck, my kids think I'm old fashioned, and I'm nowhere near that old!
 
Fair enough; pardon my impertinence in asking. I sure do enjoy seeing your collection though.
 
I can't remember the last time I've seen a younger person at the range firing a revolver. Usually the revolver shooters are old men. The young guys are all decked out in 511 clothes, Oaklies, sport tactibeards whenever possible, and love to obnoxiously dump magazine after magazine into their zombie targets from 5 yards away.

Sadly, this is no exaggeration.

I truly do think that when the older generations are gone, revolvers of all types will end up like black powder guns. Still used at the range, but not often.
 
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