Sold My Only Revolver

[StrikeFire83]

Hello everyone.

After much consideration I sold my 1 and ONLY revolver, a Ruger SP-101 snub nose .357 mag.

I know this is the revolver forum, and I may someday return to the platform, but the truths were simply too glaring to ignore.

1) 9mm is a better self defense round then .38 special, and .357 is un-controllable in this size of weapon

2) .38 special practice ammo is 1.5 more expensive then 9mm, and I can buy 100 rounds of 9mm for the same price as 50 rounds of .357

3) The revolver "reliability advantage" has proven irrelevant in both cases as my Kahr K9 (same size) has not had a failure in over 2000 rounds, both fmj and hollowpoint. Likewise, my new PM9(smaller)...too new to be totally trusted, with 300 rounds through it, has been flawless so far as well.

4) I shoot the PM9/K9 platforms with an incredibly larger degree of accuracy then I was ever able to achieve with the SP-101.

5) The capacity/reloading advantage obviously favors the Kahrs.

So, that being said, I am revolverless for the time being. That said, I haven't totally abandoned the platform. The S&W 642/442 revolvers are more powerful and better built then my current super low profile CCW the Kel-Tec P-3AT. Despite the fact that the Kel-Tec hasn't had a problem yet, it just doesn't FEEL as trustworthy as a j-frame.

We shall see.

 

[bluetopper]

Whatever floats your boat. I can see your points.

I wonder if anyone ever "target" shoots with pistols anymore? I have a Smith model 14, 38 Spl. not 357 with a 6'' barrel that is such a pleasure to go shoot 100-200 of my reloads on a weekend to see how small my groups can be at 25 yds.

 

[MMCSRET]

My favorite target shooters are 50 plus year old 38's,my carry is a colt DS. I own and like semi-autos but prefer revolvers for most everything.

 

[Guillermo]

1) 9mm is a better self defense round then .38 special

ballistically they are quite similar

1) 357 is un-controllable in this size of weapon

lots of folks shoot this firearm effectively with .357. It would be more accurate to say that YOU can't control it shooting .357 rounds

.38 special practice ammo is 1.5 more expensive then 9mm

At my local Wal Mart, Gun Show (SAXET) and Academy they are identically priced

The revolver "reliability advantage" has proven irrelevant

on a good day



A Kahr is a fine weapon and I would not feel undergunned with one on my hip

Feel free to abandon the revolver but it sounds like the problem is with your ability to shop and shoot.

 

[Floppy_D]

Even then, you need a midsize revolver, or bigger. Go get a 686. You know you want it.

 

[Gator]

If an auto works better for you, then that is what you should use. But remember that your "truths" are yours alone and not universal.

 

[.38 Special]

All valid points. None of them, however, negate the simple fact that both the 9mm and the autoloading handgun are incredibly boring.

Carry on.

 

[StrikeFire83]

Floppy_D: Like I said, I will return to the platform at some time in the future, just doesn't fill a need now.

Gator: Very true, I never claim to speak for anyone but myself.

Guillermo: Appreciate the input. But a couple of things.

1) I think if you try to argue that that .38 is the ballistic equal to 9mm, in the vast majority of commonly avaliable self defense loadings, you're gonna come in on the losing end of that debate.

2) Controllability of .357 out of a small frame revolver? Well, you're right, I was talking about my own shooting ability because the point of the thread was my own experiences. If you can put 5 rounds COM in 3 seconds @ 7 yards with a small frame .357 then more power to you, I can't. I can do significantly better then that all day long with my Kahrs.


Kahr PM9 50 rounds rapid fire @ 7 Yards

3) As for cost, you're simply wrong on that account, at least locally in SA:

Monarch 9mm @ Academy: $8.86
Monarch .38 @ Academy: $14.xx

Independence 9mm @ Sportsman's Warehouse: $10.99
Independence .38 @ Sportsman's Warehouse: $15.99

Those of us who don't reload are slaves to ammo prices.

Feel free to abandon the revolver but it sounds like the problem is with your ability to shop and shoot.

Well, I'm pretty confident in my ability to shoot, thank you very much. At least my semi autos.

Listen, I'm not dissing anyone's choice. There are some things that the revolver will ALWAYS do better then the semi auto. Just not for me when it comes to concealed carry.

Shoot on, brothers.

 

[spyderdude]

That's funny, I just traded a buddy of mine my Ruger SP101 357 Magnum for the rims off his car. That too was my only revolver. All I have now is 9mm semi-autos, as I am a big 9mm fan and wouldn't have it any other way. Those who preach the "bigger is better", I challenge you to be my target (did I mention I have yet to receive a willing participant).

Shot placement folks.... shot placement!

 

[StrikeFire83]

spyderdude: 9mm is the perfect nexus of price, performance, shootability FOR ME. I agree, I've never seen anyone willing to volunteer to stand in front of one of my targets either.

That said, I'd be deluding myself if I said that 9mm was the balistic equal of .357 Mag or .45 ACP. But graveyards are full of people who were on the wrong end of 9mm.

A couple areas where revolvers CAN'T be beat, though.

1) Long range accuracy.

2) Power/size ratio.

3) Ultimate reliability. (Although this gap is narrowing)

I still love shooting my dad's Colt Trooper and Uncle's Python.

 

[widgeon]

personal preference

I never cease to be amazed at all the talk about the stopping power of various handguns. The fact is, damn near no one who posts on this board is ever going to fire a shot at another human being. So most of the self defense talk is pretty thin, in my opinion.

Likewise I don't think there is much to the talk about recoil--shoot what you are comfortable with, let it go at that.

I own a berreta 92FS. I like it, I like shooting it, and if some sort of civil unrest happened and I couldn't get to my rifle, it would be my choice for defense. I recently purchased a SP101 .357. Yesterday I took it to the range. It is a hoot to shoot, I mean I really enjoyed shooting it. And I figure that because it has a short sight radius which makes it difficult to shoot accurately, practicing with it will improve my marksmanship. But the big point is, it is fun to shoot. Most likely I will shoot it more than the berreta, at least in the near term, because it is fun. And you can dump the brass into a bucket, rather than police up the area when you are done shooting.

PS. I did shoot a couple of .357 rounds out of the SP101. I didn't find the recoil to be all that brisk, but jeez, the fireball!! I will take the SP101, loaded with full house .357 ammo, into the back country, just in case I encounter a cougar, but I don't see any particular advantage in using .357 ammo at the range.

 

[Sunray]

"...more expensive then(sic)..." You need to be reloading.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

StrikeFire83,
You have a right to carry and shoot anything you want but I don't see the reasoning behind posting a thread in the revolver forum which tells us revolver shooters how stupid we are for shooting a round which is either under-powered, over-powered, too expensive or some combination of the 3.

If you like a semi-auto fine but posts like this are more Troll like that a real discussion IMO.

 

[StrikeFire83]

Well, I have posted many times in the past in the revolver forum and this is the culmination of my experiences. I didn't realize that honest conversation represented trolling.

I never said anyone was stupid or that anything is inferior, only that it doesn't work for me.

Are these trollish statments?

A couple areas where revolvers CAN'T be beat, though.

1) Long range accuracy.

2) Power/size ratio.

3) Ultimate reliability. (Although this gap is narrowing)

I still love shooting my dad's Colt Trooper and Uncle's Python.

Oh, well. Goodnight and good luck.

 

[Cosmoline]

.357 is un-controllable in this size of weapon

What? In an SP-101? I think you needed to train or practice more. No nine can pack that punch. And with an SP weight magnum there's no reason you shouldn't be able to slam five home in a few seconds with excellent accuracy. Still, whatever you want. You couldn't pay me to take a Kahr, unless it was to resell it to some greenhorn.

 

[Shade00]

Bah, no need to sell guns... just get more.

 

[cowssurf]

Guillermo said: At my local Wal Mart...they are identically priced.

Really? Not at my local WalMart in Utah. And the prices are the same at all the WalMarts here. I thought WalMart prices were standardized. I bought ammo in a Missouri WalMart, and then when I got to Utah, the price was the same at these WalMarts. I guess the prices in Texas are different.

 

[loneviking]

I can agree with the OP, I wouldn't want to shoot .357 loads out of a short SP 101! I have a Colt Peacekeeper with a 6 inch barrel that is very comfortable to shoot 'full house loads' with---but a short barrel, lightweight frame? No way!

You take and use whatever works for you. I have one autoloader and it seems to be slightly finicky on ammo with occasional jams. My revolver, on the other hand, never jams. I can also shoot out to at least 200 yards with two and three inch groups using hot loaded 38 specials---never mind the actual .357 loads. For me, the big Colt is what works best with a little auto for BUG.

Different strokes for different folks. Use what works and ignore the catcalls. I hear it all the time 'big, ol' hogleg-why the heck is he carrying that thing'? Well, I can hit faster and better with that hogleg than anything else I've found!

 

[Stainz]

I love my 4" SP101... but it's a .32 H&RM. Actually, the SP101 was originally a .38 - with later 125gr max .357M added. Only after lengthening the frame opening - and cylinder - signified with an 'X' model suffix - did it become a .357M.

Without a doubt, a 442/642 is a fine piece of pocket protection. Of your 9mm, you can keep your plastic fare - the CZ-75B is fantastic - a definite 'keeper'. I still miss my wife's CZ-75B - three plus years after selling it (I won't have another 'evil bottom-feeder' myself!).

Stainz

 

[jad0110]

1) I think if you try to argue that that .38 is the ballistic equal to 9mm, in the vast majority of commonly avaliable self defense loadings, you're gonna come in on the losing end of that debate.

Shot placement and penetration. Not to get too far off topic, but on paper, the 9mm looks stronger. But the human body doesn't no the difference between 250 ft-lbs and 350 ft-lbs. Energy is just an expression of the projectile's ability to do work (namely, penetration and expansion), and I don't give it any credence is selecting a handgun cartridge. I'm not much into "energy transfer" or things of that nature. Bullet construction (design and materials) has a much bigger impact on penetration and expansion ability than energy. When I'm cartridge shopping, I look for sufficient penetration first, followed by expansion (a nice bonus).

There are plenty of good 38 loads out there that penetrate and expand very well. I wouldn't feel any more or less well protected with a good 38 or a good 9mm, or a good 45 or 357 for that matter.

In the end, I do agree that you should carry what you shoot best and provides the most confidence. I'm glad you have found something that works well for you.

BTW, as others suggested, you might consider looking into reloading. If you go that route, you might come full circle back to the revolver. Few of us reloaders enjoy chasing brass ... YMMV though. I just don't like getting "range knee" .

Happy shooting.

 

[Bopleo]

WHy do you have to justify any of this? Who forking cares? If you like the damn Khars then buy them.

Who gives a rats a$$ on how you did, or why you are justifying to total stangers on why you did x, or y.

If you want to then just do it.

Is the gun owners self esteem that low that you need reinforcement on what, or why you did what you did?

 

[Bearhands]

If shooting 9mm (semi auto) causes one to make statements such as these:

"I've never seen anyone willing to volunteer to stand in front of one of my targets either."

and...

"Those who preach the "bigger is better", I challenge you to be my target (did I mention I have yet to receive a willing participant). "

and....

"graveyards are full of people who were on the wrong end of 9mm."


Then please keep me away from those guns! Talk like that isn't Highroad.

 

[ArmedBear]

Cor-Bon's snubbie self-defense .38 Special +P ammo works well in the J-frame and I sincerely doubt that 9mm is a superior round. I've got both, and I hope I never have to find out first hand.

I've shot .357 from a J-frame and it's manageable, even very accurate. Just don't shoot a whole lot of it at one sitting. A cylinder or two for self-defense, though, works fine.

OTOH I'd probably sell an SP-101 snubbie, too. It's heavy and bulky for a "pocket gun", but it's a bit undersized for a "nightstand gun". If you don't have to carry it in a pocket, a 4" GP100 or 686+ is a much better .357.

 

[Gary A]

StrikeFire83 - I appreciate you posting your experience and final conclusions. My experience and conclusion are different but it's all good information and no two people see everything the same way. I've spent a lot of money over the years looking for just exactly what I prefer to shoot. It's been expensive but also fun. Good luck to you.

 

[22-rimfire]

Kahrs seem to be pretty good handguns. I am thinking of getting one, but not for the reasons you bring up and it won't be a "nine".

Not sure what this thread accomplishes. Get what you like.

I feel the self defense argument is just that, an argument, unless you are a LEO or have a similar profession or need. I need a handgun for self defense about as much as I need a hernia, but I have one or three. If you live somewhere where it is a need, you need to move.

The SP101 is a well liked revolver which I don't own. I always thought it too large and heavy for my tastes for civilian self defense. Get a 4 or 5" Smith 686 and you will like it better to shoot and the 357 blows away the 9mm in capability if that is what you like. The thing is, I'm not looking for the most powerful handgun for self defense. It will likely never get used except at the range. From the perspective, the 9mm is just fine and a matter of personal preference.