The Elegance of a steel revolver.

[jonsidneyb]

Many that shoot a modern autoloader will bash me for this most likely even though I carry an automatic.

There seems to me to be some kind of had to explain elegance to a classic steel revolver that I cannot find in an automatic.

I have owned so many different types of guns in my life but instead of owning more and more I own less and less.

I will someday get more guns but will likely get rid of others at the same time.

I only want to keep those that I will use and that speak to me in some way.

There are many good revolvers out there and so many are fantastic classics.

There are some that are just a pleasure to shoot and just have something that I cannot discribe that is missing from all of the autoloaders I have shot.

I really love the 4 and 6 inch M-19 and a 6 inch M-29.

I don't know why.

Does anyone else see this elegance that I am talking about?

If you do see it can you describe it?

 

[ugaarguy]

The guns are balanced, proportional, have classic lines, are well crafted with quality walnut stocks & deep polished blue. I think that's what you're getting at. However, it exists in an automatic too;
http://www.usfirearms.com/html/90.htm
http://www.usfirearms.com/html/98.htm

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

well said sir, I will never carry anything that is not a revolver, I do own automatics but only serve as part of a collection, nothing seconds my revolvers in their appearance and feel.

 

[cslinger]

Well said. Count me among the revolver faithful. I really have a thing for 3 inch .357s. They just do so much, so well. They also do it while being elegant and a bit of a throwback to simpler times.

There isn't much a seven shot .357 with a couple extra speed loaders cannot accomplish.

Chris

 

[lawboy]

I agree

That revolvers have something very special about them that is very appealing. Just the mechanical process of loading, unloading and firing a revolver is satisfying and interesting. The sounds they make, the shapes they have, All of it is magical. I am a devotee of the K frame magnums, especially the 2, 2.5 and 3-inch guns. I am a devotee of the Ruger Bisleys and Superblackhawks, and really like the latest version of the Vaqueros also. I find the N Frames very sexy as well.

Having said all of that, there are two classes of semi-autos that also have soul stirring qualities -- the 1911 and the Browning Hi-Power. The BHP is particularly visceral to me and I cherish my Belgian made BHP as much as I do my model 19, model 66 and custom Ruger Bisleys. Still, I shoot the revolvers A LOT more than the autos these days, especially the big bore single action guns.

 

[jonsidneyb]

I have had 1911's

The good ones are fantastic but they are not my favorites and I no longer have any.

Of autoloaders I like the CZs very much but they are just not the same as a revolver.

The revolver does not have to be polished blue. I like both polished and matt blue.

 

[Checkman]

The Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" and the Naval (long barreled) Luger are beautiful semi-autos. But IMHO those are the only two semi-autos that move me. There are others that I own, like and want, but they are tools. Tools that I appreciate, but they don't have that "soul stirring" quality.

Revolvers well those are something special. A deeply blued S&W M27 with the 8 3/8 inch barrel, a Colt Python with the 6" barrel, the very tough S&W Model 28 with a 4" barrel,an older S&W M&P with the 6" pencil barrel, well I could go on all day. Revolvers just have something about them.

Funny just ten years ago I could have cared less about wheelies. It was all about semi-autos and selective fire autos (I was still in the Army). Somewhere during the last five years I've changed. I'm 39 now. Perhaps it has something to do with age or maturity.

 

[Ala Dan]

Good thoughts my friends~! Revolvers are what I grew up learning too shoot,
so they will always be a mainstay in my stable of fine firearms. I prefer the
old, standard blued models with the "classic look" and feel of yester year.
A also own [and carry] many different semi-auto's; including some 1911's,
but the revolver remains my favorite by far~!

 

[yongxingfreesty]

i like the smith wesson 627 with that satin silver finish. kinda like the model 1006.

 

[PzGren]

I learnt shooting with a club owned Colt Officers Match and it started a long love affair. I particularly like S&W K-frames, blued or stainless.

Only my old Walther P88 gives my the same pride of ownership and accuracy.

 

[jonsidneyb]

I remember shooting the wheelies before I think there was such a thing as
Stainless guns. At least I was not aware of any that existed.

I moved to automatics but kept going back to the revolver over and over again.

My favorite auto has changed a bunch of times but my favorite revolvers still do it for me.

There are soooo many good revolvers from the past.

 

[Stainz]

I thought that the introduction of the SS revolvers was a positive step. I loved blued revolvers - they looked better back then, and it wasn't just the pre-EPA blueing... prep work, ie, polishing, was better. Sadly, you could see the finish wear or degrade - the SS is more utilitarian - and I love it! Another roundgun attribute is their polite shooting nature - they don't rudely cast their empties assunder! My only bottom-feeder now is a Ruger MKII.

Stainz

 

[steveracer]

I couldn't agree more!

I have many autoloaders, and love them for what they do, but if asked about what one gun in my current collection I couldn't live without, I'd say S&W model 19-2 with 4" barrel and round butt.

 

[vicspank]

I think all of your post's just defined it.Great thread.I feel the same.I 've had every semi-auto or at least tried,that are on the market.Being a Instructor,I get everything through my classes.Steel snubbies are my passion.I too keep nothing I don't use.That is the same reason I also shoot only Recurve bows and hunt with Traditional muzzleloaders.Technology is good,but it will never replace a REAL firearm.Kinda like the sun commin up on foggy mnt morning,with a good cup of coffee,when theres nothin you have to do today just thinkin of what you want to do today.Thier's not a cnc computer avalible that can make a firearm,and put the charm in it like a good ole 1905 4th change M&P.

vicspank

 

[Iggy]

I don't think there is a more satisfying feeling in dealing with firearms than the silent little click of the cylinder locking in place in a quality revolver.

I carry a pistol, but the slam, klunk of a slide going into battery doesn't feel the same.

 

[armoredman]

Reliable, accurate, dependable, elegant.

 

[armed85]

Well I'm 22, so I'm among the newest generation of handgun owners. I'm enlisted in the USAF and most of my shooting buddies gravatate towards the Beretta 92 (M9), Sig Sauer P226 (M11), and Glocks.

My first handgun, predictably, was a Glock. As reliable as it was, I didn't enjoy shooting it as it was an uncomfortable gun.

I chose revolvers because I can have ANY grip I want. The grip can be big or small, thick or thin, with finger notches or without, wood or plastic, and so on.

Revolvers may not hold 15 or more rounds, but I can shoot one a lot more accurately than the Glock, M9, or M11.

I don't know if I have what you would call "elegant," but I own a 6" Ruger GP100, 4" Smith & Wesson 686, and a Smith & Wesson 642.

My Smith & Wesson revolvers are new and have MIM and internal locks. Some may cry foul, but it doesn't bother me. I think my revolvers look quite nice as I've had them customized.

 

[Silvanus]

I'm a huge Glock-fan. I like the way they feel (crazy I know), like how they shoot. I also love the 9mm caliber. I even like the look (more crazyness).
But if I look at my S&W model 19...It's a work of art. I couldn't part from it. My uncle gave it to me (yes "gave") a few months ago, since he doesn't shoot anymore and I'm in love with that gun. Blued (and stainless) revolvers definitely have that elegance you speek of. And they are as reliable and accurate as it gets. And they (usually) shoot undoubtedly powerful calibers which is why you can use them to hunt, too. I think I might be a revolver guy after all

 

[texas bulldog]

nothing beats blued steel...

 

[JohnL2]

As with anything, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's like the low-slung lines of a sports car, or the curves of a pretty lady.
I have to say, a revolver is no different.

Will be owning this soon:

 

[Litlman]

There is just something about Blued S&W's, you know , that old deep blueing with wood grips that just calls you from the gun shop case. I do have to admit that I get the same feeling from my old , mint High Standard and my T Series Hi Power too!

 

[.41Dave]

A revolver is like a beautiful woman. An autoloader is like an East German female shotput champion. She might beat the beautiful woman in competition, but really, which one would you rather have?

Blue is beautiful:

Nickel is too:

Even stainless has it's attractions:

 

[Feanaro]

I'll have to be the sole dissenter. I like revolvers but I find most of them to be of indifferent looks or even just ugly. For example:

A hunk 'o steel in the center and a pencil of a barrel hanging off it.

Now for the other side of the spectrum.

The Diamondback and Python trade in a too-thin barrel for one too big. And that Trooper is an unholy union of the ugly side of the previous approaches. Looks like the Dardik(or the Dardik looks like the Trooper, your choice).

Now, the number of autochuckers as striking as a Smith and Wesson 27 with a 3.5" barrel and magna grips or the 6" with target stocks, well, I can count 'em on one hand.

 

[Iggy]

Those are "gross" aren't they.

Pack'em up and send them to me. I'll put them in a proper place where nobody has to look at them!!!

 

[Sistema1927]

Yep, those chunks of steel with pencil barrels hanging off of them sure are ugly, aren't they?

You do have the original boxes for those, don't you? If so, then pack them up and send them to me so you don't have to look at them anymore.