Which revolver?

[Ala Dan]

How about a Taurus "Judge", as it allows you to shoot both the .45 Long Colt,
or the 2.5" .410 gague shotgun shells? I have thought a'bout picking me up
one with the short barrel; just to use as a "car gun", placed on the tough
magnet and concealed beneathed the dash of my automobile-well hidden
from view and just in case you ever needed a firearm very quickly. We have
one on display within the store, and it looks like a good idea~?

 

[Shadowangel]

Wow, a lot of good information here. Thanks for all the tips. The home defense portion of my post, since it was noted that I have 1911's, is namely for my fiance'. I would have no problem using a 1911 in the middle of the night, but she's still rather new to shooting, and both she and I think she'd fumble around at trying to get one of my semi's shooting. So I decided to get a revolver to leave home for her to use if i'm away and she needs access to something that she just has to pull the trigger to use. Just so happened that I was wanting one for backpacking and such anyway. Looks like both have a number of pros and cons, so either one would probably suit my purposes well. I'll have to go by the local gun shop/range and fire some rounds out of each and see what I prefer. Heck, I may just buy one of each.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Like others have said, everyone needs a .357, so since you already have a .45acp, go for the basics and get the .357.

Your girl can shoot your new home loaded specials or factory specials to get used to it and I believe a hot loaded special would do excellent HD work with minimal recoil for her if things ever go bump in the night.

I'd suggest loading .357 cases exclusively to avoid the carbon ring issue in the cylinder which can make extraction difficult, plus you won't have to reset your dies between mag and special.

You can load a .357 case with 5g W231/HP38 and top it off with a 148g wadcutter or a 158g SWC, this is the hot loaded special I was referring to, low recoil, low flash if any and hard hitting.

I personally prefer a 1911 for HD work, but training is the key there. Big heavy bullets are my preference.

 

[Novus Collectus]

I for one, and I am sure this will get argued heavily, feel automatic cartridges should stay in automatics....I have never seen the reason to put the slow 45 acp in a wheel gun. .357, while making a smaller diameter hole, will shoot much faster, plus it was made for a wheel gun. I could be wrong but I thought you had to use those special clips (moon clips i think) on the back of the cartridges for shooting auto calibers in wheel guns......making it cumbersome and annoying IMHO.

My vote, stick to .357, .44 mag, 45 LC for the wheel. Stick to your 1911 for the .45.

Those moonclips you find cumbersome, I love because they are so practical, fast and convenient. Reloading with clips you don't have to worry about speedloaders and they are also much cheaper so you can have a dozen loaded for a day at the range and just have at it almost non-stop.

I vote for getting the .45 ACP revolver. I have one and i love it.

 

[S&Wfan]

Hi,

Since you load your own, and since you are obviously someone who puts a lot of rounds downrange win .45ACP, I'd recommend a revolver for active shooters like you . . . namely the S&W 625.

The only problem I've found with my 625 was that it was so "boring" to shoot for hours at a time. It shoots that "big, dumb, slow" bullet we love so much, and has the pleasant, firm push of the .45ACP vs. the sharp, sting of the .357.

Boring indeed too . . . it shoots offhand one hole groups all day long at 10-15 yards. Coke cans at 50 yards offhand? Usually six for six. At 75 yards . . . 4 or 5 out of six. BORING.


REALWORLD SPEED?

Moonclip reloads are so fast with practice, vs. speedloaders, that some of the shooting sport competitions (I won't name the one) finally banned the moonclip revolvers from competing with the guys with their .38s and .357s.

Yep, too many crybabies got tired of getting totally waxed in action revolver matches by guys with their moonclips. It is rare in shooting sports for rules to be made that retard the advancement of better shooting firearms but this was the case. Gunfights ain't fair either . . . so I want the smoothest, fastest system. In a revolver, that's the moonclip!

How fast can moonclip revolvers shoot in the stress of handgun competitions? In the hands of smooth "moonies" a 625 can beat out single stack 1911 shooters sometimes! Jerry Miculek won the Steel Challenge Nationals one year . . . after the final two shooters were him and another top shooter using a tricked out 1911.

Here's TWELVE rounds, in less than THREE SECONDS out of a 625, from the best . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uisHfKj2JiI



ALSO FASTER FOR "MERE MORTALS" LIKE ME . . .

Heck, just for fun, at the end of an IPSC match once, they held a special all-steel match for "any open-sighted" handgun at an area match I competed in. Eighteen steel targets . . . the match started with an UNLOADED gun and there was ONE manditory reload.

Most of the 30 or so shooters went to their high cap. Paras, STIs, etc. in .45ACP. A few went to 9mm Glocks with the 33 round Model 18 clips.

UNLOADED HANDGUN . . . 18 TARGETS . . . ONE MANDITORY RELOAD!

Just to have fun with the bottom feeders, and not expecting to win, I put away my tricked out 1911 and signed up with my chopped barrel Model 25-2 in .45ACP . . . just to get a reaction and have some good-natured fun.

"How do you think you will win with THAT?, one shooter asked. Well, I DO have to reload TWICE, if I don't miss at all . . . and I plan to shoot fast and not miss!

I probably also added something to the effect of "Gee, I'd HATE to get waxed by a wheelgun." You know how much good-natured fun and kidding can go on at a match.

Bottom line, I waxed 'em all, shooting a fast double action and enjoying the fast reload time with moon clips. Heck, I can reload with moon clips just as fast as I can reload my 1911s . . . and I shoot my wheelguns real fast better too in pin matches and such. I don't know why that's so. I guess it just FITS me better.

Here's my wonderful "wax applicator," alongside my Kimber lightweight. I use both for CCW, though the Kimber is MUCH easier to conceal and I only wear the 25-2 when the season or wardrobe is right:

THE WIFE . . .

My wife MUCH prefers shooting the .45 revolver vs. my .357 and .38 revolvers . . . although my Model 65 in .357 is also a favorite of hers (as long as I stick to .38spl. handloaded wadcutters that don't kick hard.

BTW . . . since you are a reloader . . . load plenty of practice rounds with 200gn. LSWC lead bullets over about 5.3 gns. of Unique or its equivalent. Your wife will love the VERY gentle .45 push with that load and she'll be more apt to enjoy shooting vs. those danged hot factory loads that I see non-reloaders bring to the range. You know what I'm talking about!



EVERYONE NEEDS A K FRAME SMITH TOO . . . IN EITHER .38 OR .357!

There are tons of 'em that were once cop guns and they can be had fairly cheap. They make great house guns, car guns, extra guns . . . or primary guns too, of course.

One thing the K-frame Smith .357s have goin' over the 625 is weight and smaller frame size, which makes 'em easier to conceal. Then again, that's not one of your primary needs for the wheelgun which tips the scales in recommending you a 625.

Recoil? I see zero problems with the 625, even in the 3" gun size. Heck, I prefer a full-house, hot .45ACP load in my 25-2 vs. the same in my Model 27 in .357.

MOONCLIP VS. SPEEDLOADERS?

Yes, you can load .45 Auto Rim cartridges for your 625 and get speedloaders to carry 'em in if you wish. I have a few hundred rounds of .45AR. However, I can get a BUNCH of moonclips for the cost of just one speedloader in .45AR.


YOU CAN SAFELY LOAD .45ACP ROUNDS IN A 625 WITHOUT USING MOONCLIPS TOO! I do it all the time at the range. You just easily pluck 'em out with your fingernails, one at a time. No problem.


My 25-2 is my favorite handgun of any type . . . even over my 5" barreled 625. If I were buying a new one I'd probably go 3" in a 625. I love 3" barrels!

T.