Thinking About Selling My Revolver

[evan price]

Your gun. Sell it if you want.
If the S hits the fan, I'd want anything I had that could spit lead.
A wheel gun makes a swell backup to that Glock when you are out of ammo.

 

[PlayTheAces]

If you really don't need the money, I'd hang on to the S&W.

First off, someday off in the future you may find you feel differently. You might really regret letting go of it, especially as your tastes and thought processes change with time. Every once in a while a thread gets posted asking about guns you wish you'd kept. Responding to those thread isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Secondly, S&W revolvers in decent condition aren't a bad thing to have you money tied up in. They tend to go up in value over time. While I've lost a buck here and there on a couple of guns, I've never lost a penny on a S&W.

You can always sell it. Finding a replacement down the line could be more challenging.

 

[Leanwolf]

HAYWOOD - "If you sell it you will be sorry. Been there done that."

Brother, you ain't kidding!

Oh how I wish I'd not sold ............

L.W.

 

[Jaymo]

^ This.

You will end up regretting it. I've been down that road.

I got a SWEET 1973 S&W model 15-3 for a sweet price because the previous owner traded it in on a Glock.
That's right. He traded in a Combat Masterpiece on Combat Tupperware.

Not me. I've owned both and would NOT sell a good revolver that I like for a new bottom feeder. I've done it enough times to have learned my lesson (slowly).

NOTHING beats accurate shooting. Not velocity, not diameter, not capacity.
With a Smith .357, you have accuracy and supreme stopping power.
More rounds of an inferior cartridge are not going to make you safer.

If you want the Glock, buy it.
Don't sell the .357 to fund it.
Been there, done that, wish I hadn't.

I often carry a Ruger SR9.
17 rounds is somewhat comforting, but I actually feel better with a .357 or a .44 Special revolver on my hip, because they are fantastic rounds.

Sometimes, the best course of action is no action at all. Stay the course. You're not poorly armed with a .357. Quite the opposite.
Gun magazines, movies, and TV shows have people convinced that revolvers are useless and the only pistols appropriate for self defense are high capacity Tupperware bottom feeders.
It just isn't true.

If you're concerned about being attacked by a mob of determined, fearless, heroic criminals-carry a flamethrower.
Guaranteed one-shot stop.

 

[TheGoldenSaber]

Haha, maybe I'll go the class 3 route and get one of those Serbu Super Shorty shotguns.

 

[Jaymo]

Now, you're talkin'.
I spoke with a local cop who owns one.
He said that, shooting it one-handed, the recoil wasn't bad at all.

Nothing against the Glock, but, a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum revolver is a helluva weapon.
I wouldn't sell mine to buy ANY bottom feeder, not even a 1911, and I like bottom feeders.

 

[cslinger]

If you want another toy, great. If you are looking for a tactical advantage then why not a 17 shot gun.....or a 12 gauge....or an AR15 with 30 rounds....or with a beta c mag ?... Or an explosive..........

See where I am going with this? Your .357 Maggie is fine. Don't piss of the local narcotics exchange or rub another man's rhubarb and you will be fine.

It's easy to work oneself into a what if lather, and I am just as guilty, but let it get away and you find yourself walking around ready to call in a danger close air strike at a moments notice.

 

[el Godfather]

No point in selling if you like it.

 

[Confederate]

I know I'm jumping into this kind of late, but just what model of Smith .357 do you have? The models being sold now aren't as nice as the ones back in the 80s and 90s. If you have the hard chromed hammer and trigger, keep it. Oh, hell, just keep it anyway. If you sell it, I know from experience that you'll never know what happened to the $400 and your gun will be GONE. And believe me, the kicking you'll give yourself alone ain't worth it.

The .357 is a superb caliber, as you well know. It not only takes down the most determined bad guys, it also works against cars and other vehicles and tires while 9mm doesn't always. And before I got a Glock, I'd think hard about getting the Ruger Mark II/III. The thing rapid fires like crazy and yes, a .22lr can be devastating. My 9mm is a S&W 5906 and I love it. Heavier, yes, but I love it much more than my Glock. If I go out the door, my 5906, a few 20-round mags and some JHPs go with me. Also my Ruger Mark II. In my second bag is my Ruger Speed-Six stainless .357, with the sweetest action you've ever seen. Everything else stays. If I only have room for one, it would be the Ruger .22lr Mark II. I can take far more ammo than with any other gun.



Ruger Mark II .22lr. If I had but one gun, this would be it.



Ruger Speed-Six .357



S&W 5906, a fabulous 9mm

.

 

[TheGoldenSaber]

Dang, very nice. The smith is a newer 686, so not any museum piece but still nice. I've wanted a Ruger MKIII for YEARS. Never gotten around to getting one and now with .22 ammo the way it is it's going to be a while .. I actually used to have a 5906 and I miss it sometimes. Mine had a few issues so I don't regret it too much but I regret selling any gun at least a little bit.

I really do prefer all metal guns with a hammer. I just want a Glock because it's lighter for concealed carry, a bunch of people have them, and they're proven. I figure if the crap ever hits the fan spare parts would be way easier to find also. I would really like a CZ 75 and a Beretta 92 but they're obviously not the best concealed carry choices. The Beretta fits my hands like a glove though.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

OK, for the first time in a very long time I wasn't sure if 5 rounds of .38 Special would be enough. I had to pick up a relative at the bus station tonight in a town that is not a nice place to be at night let alone 1 AM. So what I did was slap my M640 in .357 Magnum on my belt and switched the M442 from my right pocket to the left. Much better!

 

[TennJed]

I'd say that if you were assailed by a 'group' of thugs AND perfectly perforate the FIRST one with a good JHP .357 mag round, you would instantly be in need of a sniper rifle because the rest of the group will be beating feet SO FAST as to be out of sight before you can recover from the recoil.

So, you would run and leave your fellows behind? If not, why think others would?

Probably because the morals and courage of a group of thugs that would attack someone are not as high as the average person here

 

[Ash]

I've seen them run. Think about it, on COPS, what happens when the car stops? They run away.

 

[Confederate]

I've wanted a Ruger MKIII for YEARS. Never gotten around to getting one and now with .22 ammo the way it is it's going to be a while.

A few months before the shortages hit, I began telling friends to stock up on it. Every time you go to Wal*Mart, I told them, buy a few bricks. Get a few boxes of ammo as you can afford it. I followed my own advice and when those school shootings happened, everything dried up and I had an enviable stash. I also had ordered some hi-cap magazines, so now I need nothing. BUT...on the bright side, the hi-caps are starting to make a comeback, so I'm hopeful .22lr ammo will, too.

A major reason ammo components have gone through the roof is because of aggressive government purchases. If those purchases should stop, prices will have to drop if ammo companies want to make money.

So despair not. Why the government is making these purchases is beyond me, but it may be a tactic the government is using to purposely boost prices. But who knows? This administration doesn't seem to be doing anything that makes sense.

I actually used to have a 5906 and I miss it sometimes. Mine had a few issues so I don't regret it too much but I regret selling any gun at least a little bit. I really do prefer all metal guns with a hammer.

What was the problem with the 5906? I, too, prefer guns with hammers and have never liked striker fired pistols with no safeties. I've read all the articles by gun writers and experts who say safeties aren't needed but I think the statistics speak for themselves. When departments and agencies switch from other guns to Glocks, accidental discharges go up significantly.

I can cock my S&W 5906 and have enough play in the trigger that I could probably carry it cocked and unlocked, but I'd never do it. I've unloaded mine and played with it to see if I could carry it and hold it cocked and safety off. It takes a lot to touch the trigger off. Still, I'm sure the manufacturer would not recommend it! And if I did and shot my foot off, folks would justly say I had it coming. As for Glock putting a safety on the trigger is like putting a brake on an accelerator!

 

[TheGoldenSaber]

I was stupid and an amateur at the time and I didn't oil it properly so it got some surface rust. It also had the wrong magazines so they never fit quite right. The gun ran like a champ, it was just my ignorance. I've always wanted another one but they're pretty hard to come by now and I'm not going to pay a premium.

 

[Lj1941]

In the past 5 or so years I have accumilated quite a few semi autos both foreign and domestic.My first hand gun purchase in the early 80s was a S & W Combat Magnum. It is still the weapon that in my hands is the most accurate that I own. I never feel under gunned carrying it. One hit from the SD load that I use will take all of the fight out of most bad guys.Multiple bad guys while always a possibility doesn't bother me.I feel just as safe as I would with my plastic "Wonder Nine" or one of the other semi autos in my posession. Keep the wheel gun and save up for a plastic 9 or 40 or whatever the hot number caliber is that you wish to have.:banghead:

 

[fsarms]

Keep the revolver. I don't know what else you have, but you should have at least one revolver. My collection is small by most peoples standards. I bought all my stuff in the mid-90's when I had my "gun boner". Luckily, I had a natural talent at SHTF prep and ended up with 2 1911's, a semi-auto 223 rifle, shot gun, and a revolver. .357/38 special, .45 and .223 is quite plentiful ammo. Now I want a 9mm, for cheap target shooting, and SHTF plenty of ammo scenario. Just my 2 cents.

 

[epoletna]

Lots of good replies in this thread, but what I haven't seen (and perhaps I've just overlooked it) is with a .357 you can use .38s for inexpensive practice. And I mean A LOT of practice. If you shoot 100 rounds a week now, you won't need 19 shots to scare off a gang -- the first shot between the nipples of the leader will discourage him and his followers in a HURRY. And if you get into reloading you'll be able to shoot .38s cheaper than .22s.

Oh, and BTW, I've sold two Smiths. Years ago. And I'm still kicking myself and thinking wistfully buying replacements.

 

[MR.G]

The last gun I would let go is my S&W .357 Magnum. Have a few high capacity semi-autos, and they would go first.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

The whole thing about needing fifteen shots if you are attacked by a gang is silly. If you shoot the first guy with the revolver, the rest of the gang aren't going to hang around waiting for you to shoot your other five.

 

[TheGoldenSaber]

The whole thing about needing fifteen shots if you are attacked by a gang is silly. If you shoot the first guy with the revolver, the rest of the gang aren't going to hang around waiting for you to shoot your other five.

Usually, but not always. There's some crazy and stupid people out there and when you mix alcohol and/or drugs things become unpredictable. Logic goes out the window and a lot of gang bangers have at least 9mms, if not shotguns and "choppers" aka AK-47s.

I plan on keeping the Smith for now but is there any way to lighten the double action trigger? I don't know if that's legal but I would feel much better with an 8lb trigger, if not a little less. It's not so much the capacity that bothers me, it's the heavy double action pull. In a gun fight I strongly believe that whoever get's the first shot off will be the winner, much like a fist fight. If a gang banger has a Glock they'll be able to get a shot off twice as fast theoretically.

 

[Ash]

If you have a crowd show up with AK's, you're Glock or other high capacity pistol is already undergunned. You'd need something belt fed, preferably full auto. Do you own anything so valuable that such a group would single you out and press the attack despite their losses? If not, then such a scenario isn't worth worrying about.

Even so, at this point, sell your Smith and get an auto of your choice. I have both and like both. It seems like you really want an auto and are trying to justify its purchase. Some guys are auto guys, other revolver.

After Katrina, I thought I would feel most comfortable strapping on my 15 round CZ-75. It turns out, I preferred 10 rounds of 45acp to the 15 rounds of 9mm, so I strapped on my Tanfoglio. After a day, when nothing bad happened, I left it at home because there was too much work to do. It took two weeks for me to find out what was happening in New Orleans - in our small Mississippi town (folks seem to forget it was MS, not NO, that took the brunt of the storm) mass chaos did not reign.

I discovered when S really did HTF, capacity was trumped by caliber choice, and I prefer a 45acp to a 9mm. I then gravitated back to revolvers (my first handgun was a Colt revolver which I still have) when I realized that 6 rounds of .357mag gave me that same warm-and-fuzzy feeling of security as 10 rounds of .45acp when doing work in the swamps. Yeah, guns and swamps, Piers Morgan wouldn't be all that comfortable there.

The point? You obviously don't feel comfortable with only 6 rounds of .357 thunder and want to justify going high capacity. It matters little that I am just peachy with a mere 6 rounds, I am not you. If 15 or more rounds give you that same feeling of security, then go with it. It ain't wrong.

If selling the Smith gives you that justification, then do so as well. You may find that you never look back. And if you look longingly back (I did so for a Ruger Police Service Six I sold and a few years replaced with an identical one - it really is my favorite revolver), then you'll buy a Smith again. With both purchases you'll gain wisdom & experience and eventually end up with something that does the job for you.

 

[Bob M.]

Here's another thing to think about. Drop the first BG and then go get HIS gun. Don't worry, he won't mind. He ain't gonna be using it no more.

 

[j1]

Why all this talking? What model and condition? How much do you want for it?

 

[TestPilot]

You need to study group behavior.

Criminals by large are cowards. They select victims who appear to be too weak to defend themselves (sheeple). The last thing they want and expect is resistance. You displaying your gun may deter their attack. If you do use to use deadly force pick the individual that presents the most immediate threat. Your unexpected and violent response to their attack will destroy their plan of action, cause confusion among them and send the rest of the group running out of the line of fire and the area.
...

Counting on opponents running is not a tactic. There are plenty of cases whre 2~3 stayed around to fight, and also plenty of cases where 6 shots were not enough for even 1 or 2.

..
If you are facing a organized armed street gang most gang members do not know how to shoot properly (but holding the gun sideways looks so cool so return fire would be of little concern to me.
...

Counting on opponent's incompenency is not a tactic.

...
You don't need 15 rounds of "spray and pray." A resolute person using good marksmanship will end the attack quickly with only a few rounds fired.

A person capable of making accurate shots with 6 shot gun is just as capable of making accurate shots with 15 shot gun.

A person cannot make accurate 15 shots with 6 shot gun.