Why don't they make a revolver in 9mm?

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Skillet

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I have yet to find a revolver in 9mm. If it is the most popular round in the world, why don't they make a 9mm revolver? And so maybe they do. but Smith&Wesson, charter arms, Taurus, Ruger, and all of these big names in revolvers don't make a revolver in 9mm.

It would be great for target practicing. Think about it, you can take your 9mm autoloader and 9mm revolver out shooting and spend less money on ammo.

WHY?
 
S&W, Taurus, Charter, and Ruger have all made 9mm revolvers. The problem is that, as with any rimless cartridge, extraction is impossible in a swing cylinder revolver without either using clips or designing a trick extractor. S&W made some on a contract for the French police who preferred revolvers but got free 9mm ammunition from the army. In general, such guns have not been very successful. Not to mention that 9mm factory ammunition is limited due to the parameters of auto pistols, while the .357 Magnum chambering is highly flexible.

Before anyone mentions it, yes, Ruger made a single action convertible in .357/9mm, but that revolver uses an ejector rod, so the lack of a rim makes no difference.

Jim
 
oh. so what caliber in a revolver would have similar ballistics and have similar recoil of a 9mm?
 
Everybody says they want a 9mm revolver.

But every time a manufacture tools up and makes them, nobody buys enough of them to make any money on the deal.

rc
 
Ruger made the Speed Six in 9mm IIRC, ditto the Smith/Wesson 640 and 547, with 640 being J frame 5 shot and 547 being K frame six shot.

The 547 was interesting imo in that moon clips were not reqiured to use the extractor for unloading. Had a small spring loaded arm thay popped into the rimless edge of the Parabellum case and woila!

Other posters said it...they ALL died on the vine for lack of buyers.

Shame though. At the time of their birth and deaths, we did not have nearly the diverse loadings of 9mm that are available today. Today, ALL of those 5 and 6 shooters tend to command a premium on the market.

Hope this helps and as others have noted, Taurus is making them today.
 
rcmodel said:
Everybody says they want a 9mm revolver.

But every time a manufacture tools up and makes them, nobody buys enough of them to make any money on the deal.
Click to expand...

:D

chicken6.jpg


Look for a used S&W 940 or 547, or a Ruger Speed Six or SP101. And good luck.
 
Yep, as already posted, there is no money in it. There is indeed a small cult of folks who do like 9mm revolvers, but their collective buying power is small. I remember seeing ads in Gunlist and Shotgun News, posted by distributors trying to get rid of all the unwanted S&W Model 547 revolvers that nobody wanted. When they were still being made, within my memory, the 9mm Ruger revolvers were s-l-o-w sellers.
 
Everybody says they want a 9mm revolver.

But every time a manufacture tools up and makes them, nobody buys enough of them to make any money on the deal.

rc
Click to expand...

I wonder if what was true a few years ago still is? With the current CCW craze it may be a better market for a 9mm revolver as their main advantage is the better ballistics (than .38 special) out of a short barrel...
 
The 380 wasn't nearly as popular as it is today with this popular pocket pistol craze, perhaps its time for a new 9mm revolver.
 
There's been a few big threads over the past year about 9mm revolvers. And you're not the only one that lusts after one. I'd give up a seldom used or spare body part to get a nice 9mm revolver that used moon clips so that I could use it in matches as well as for fun.

Up here we aren't allowed the "evil" short barrelled gun options but with the short cylinder and frame that would be possible with a dedicated 9mm revolver coupled with a 3 inch barrel I would imagine that the final size of the gun would be considerably smaller than a J frame gun.
 
I own 3 9mm revolvers:
S&W 547 - think of is as an M&P/Model 10 in 9mm
Blue Ruger Speed Six - needs moon clips. They also made it in SS
Ruger New Model Blackhawk - I fitted my 6.5" .357 mag with a spare 9mm cylinder

They all work well, but finding full moon clips for the Speed Six was not easy. Most of the ones on the market were too thick to work in my gun.
 
Why not a .380 Auto revolver?

Superior ballistics to the .38 Spl about half the size- if you could make a 9mm revolver smaller than a j-frame you could make a .380 revolver about half the size as a j-frame- it would be hard to hold onto, though. And there's the rimless clip problem.

I love S&W wheel guns- the actions are just so sweet- my favorite CCW one is a Mod 37 with a bobbed hammer-

My carry gun is a .380 Kel-Tec, though. Like a mini-Glock.
 
Cylinder length would be reduced but part of the reason for the position of the cylinder on a wheel gun is so that your fingers are not anywhere near the gap when the gun fires. Taking advantage of the short round would require some sort of moving guard or an awkwardly forward lock mechanism.

The diameter of the cylinder would remain unchanged, .357 vs .356
 
But every time a manufacture tools up and makes them, nobody buys enough of them to make any money on the deal.
Click to expand...

this is probably only partialy true

alot of great ideas in firearms arent successful not because people arent will to buy them but moreso are not bought in mass histerical numbers and preordered to death to the point that some pencil pusher justifies them continuing production
there have been multiple designs that have a cult following but no one will produce new models because its not the latest whizbang that will make the companies millions
ive been dying for a .45LC 5 shot snub well guess what the only company to make one was taurus and they didnt feel a need to continue the model for "lack of interest"
now every 450 owner i have spoken with thinks its the greatest revolver since bread was sliced
and thanks to the judge they dont feel a need for another .45colt revolver in the lineup

ive never been interested in 9mm revolvers but i know alot of folks are but the gun companies want to produce what sells and thats simply .38 .357 .45ACP .40 and 9mm almost every other hand gun is a specialty deal

companies make 100 .357s to every .44 they manufacture because thats what they think everyone wants
problem is more people would buy these other calibers if they gave us a chance
but if the pistols dont sell 100000 in the first six months they pull the model and retool for yet another 357
 
i was fortunate to pick this up last year from a friend, fun little revolver has a nice kick for a 9mm

409.gif

413.jpg
 
Why would anyone want a 6-shot revolver that's a pain in the ass to load and unload, when they could have a decent auto that shoots up to 20+ rounds?

If they had cases with good rims, fine, but no one except the crazy military and police of countries like Egypt and Sudan ever request them. What's next on the list, a 15-round .25ACP pocket pistol with a red-dot scope or laser grips?

A .38 +P should do nicely, and one that takes .357 would be even better.
 
Why would anyone want a 6-shot revolver that's a pain in the ass to load and unload, when they could have a decent auto that shoots up to 20+ rounds?
Click to expand...

The problem with thinking like this is that not everyone feels that they need 20 rounds, and futher more alot of us do not like thick grips on our pistols. In fact since getting into 1911's I have got rid of all my double stack pistols but one. I have large hands and shoot narrower pistols better, and revolvers as well.

FYI I find my 9mm revolver to be one of my favorites, and the speed of moonclips is amazing, I cant understand why people dont like them (moonclips).
 
Why not a .380 Auto revolver?
Click to expand...

This is the only 380 revolver I know about:

.380 ACP Russian Tula R-92
View attachment 117049



It was also made in 9x18 Mak


P.S. note the position of the cylinder, the flash often burned the user's hand and the russians advised against powerful ammunition.
 
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Why would anyone want a 6-shot revolver that's a pain in the ass to load and unload, when they could have a decent auto that shoots up to 20+ rounds?
Click to expand...
Reliability, simplicity, and fit in a smaller hand.

If (and it's never happened yet in over 2000rounds so far) I had a FailureToFire in my little J-frame snubby...
I don't have to do an extraction/rack/tap/BS/etc....I simply pull the trigger again.
Also, I've NEVER had a FailureToFeed jam, stovepipe, etc.
I Don't have to worry about magazine spring pressures wearing out, etc.
Reliable simplicity (especially for my wife). Point/squeeze. She doesn't have to remember anything complicated (extraction drills) under pressure.

5 reliable (easy to CCW) shots, ON TIME and UNDER BUDGET.
 
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Agree with Arizonaguide

I've owned a representative number of handguns. Small hands didn't allow the 20 round monsters to be comfortable. My 1911 feels best, but the girlfriend doesn't want to learn how to keep her running.

I'd repeat what Arizonaguide said. This gun (686) can sit on a shelf for 10 years, fully loaded and go bang till empty, when picked up again.

I don't like the paranoid feeling I get when I think of my mag springs, being under pressure for 3 years.

:uhoh:
 
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