Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Revolver for Concealed Carry

I have carried semi-autos chambered for a variety of cartridges over the years.I recently managed to break a few bones and pull bones in both the shoulder joint and elbow completely out of their sockets. Everything is currently back in place, but for most purposes, the arm might as well not be there--and this will be the case for a while. I need a revolver that is easy to carry, open or concealed, and which can be shot one-handed.

MY grandson has a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special that he bought from my ex-wife. I could probably talk him into loaning it to me for the duration, but he lives 900 miles or so away. I was wondering what else was available as a reasonable alternative--that can be concealed easily and which packs a bit more wallop than a .38 Special. Thanks for any ideas you might offer.

I carried a Model 13 S&W (three inch bull barrel, with round butt frame) for years IWB in a Milt Sparks VM II IWB holster. Once you get used to it (about a week) you don't even know it's there. You could load it with some 158 grain Magnum rounds. The kick with those isn't so bad. Or load up some light magnums. Another option if you go the .357 Magnum route, if the recoil is too much, is to get some Buffalo Bore, hot loaded, .38 Special +P. Those exceed the power lever of any other brand of +p .38 Special.

Taurus 445 (.44 Special 5-shot) Ultralite. The way people describe S&W quality control now I would be willing to roll dice with a Taurus. Twenty two ounces is about right weight for gun so chambered.

Some years back S&W Performance Center produced small run of short-balleled .45 Colt and .45ACP defense revolvers. It had light Sc alloy frame and stainless cylinder, but used sample will cost well over $1000.

Both Taurus and Ruger offer small short-barreled revolvers in 9mm Luger. Federal and Speer made special short-barreled ammo designed to be used in guns like this. Performance is basically equal to short-barreled .357 Magnum.

a 2.5" Ruger Speed Six .357 magnum would be a good carry revolver. As with everything, the prices on them have escalated,...especially on any carry sized handguns. Their closest competitor in size and power is the round butt, 2.5" S&W Model 19s. But people are asking stupid money for those these days.

Smith and Wesson Mod 66 Combat Magnum 2.75" barrel.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-66-combat-magnum

Look at the new Colt King Cobra with a 2" barrel. It's a small six shot revolver in 357 magnum. Load it up with Remington 125gr Golden Sabres, they are a medium velocity load, pretty controllable.

These kind of fall under the radar, therefore, you do not pay premium for uncommon variant. This has very good specs for .357 duty-type revolver. It's getting increasingly hard to beat these for money spent on classic revolver. A worthy adversary for old: Trooper, Combat Magnum, Service/Security Six.
Charmin' Ole' Constable.....

For lots of reasons, I don’t like to carry concealed a revolver with a barrel much less than 4”. I find a 4” carries and conceals as well as a 2 1/2”, and find that it’s the end of the grip that “prints”.

I have cut down some factory target stocks for my S&W 686-3, and this has significantly improved the gun for this purpose. I have great confidence with this gun, and part of this goes to how easy it is to shoot quickly and accurately. The 4” barrel helps.

Slightly longer barrel really helps with blast of the .357 Magnum cartridge. That old Danny Wesson with 3&3/4" barrel, round butt, and snag-free fixed rear sight is hard to beat.

For lighter gun old S&W Night Guard series is worth a look. They came in .357, .44, 10mm. They had two piece barrel, lock, and MIM parts meaning older guys with lots of money may pass giving better price for more needly gunmen.

This is a very hard choice to beat. They're hard to find, but there are plenty of Model 10s out there, which are the same thing in 38 Special. And I wouldn't shy away from a 38--it has benefitted as much as the 9mm from recent improvements in ammo and packs more punch than it once did.

Also remember that a steady diet of hot 125-grain ammo tends to crack the forcing cones in older K-frame 357s, so stick to 158-grain or heavier bullets.


Okie John

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/875030295

The Governor is bulky but surprisingly light for its size. There are a couple of good holsters available. Plenty of low-kicking 45 Colt rounds combined with .410 rounds for snakes or you can use it with cheaper 45 ACP and moon clips for a speedload without having to buy speedloaders. They're about $200 higher than when I paid full retail for the second one I saw, a few years back, but such is the way of the world right now. Big-bore...which you evidently favor.

The NG 310 was 10mm/40S&W and the 325 was 45 ACP. I don't know how much your hand on the injured side is effected but the moonclips for both of those make a reload easier. They are fairly light so shooting one handed will be peppy but possible.

I'm not a big revolver cc guy for the "main" gun, nothing wrong with it but I prefer an auto. Still, I do like to carry the 310 w/40S&W in a Milt Sparks PMK (https://www.miltsparks.com/products-pmk.php) with a double speed loader pouch that will hold 2 moon clips in each pouch....that's 24 rounds + what's in the gun.

Well that sounds horrible! How did manage to do it?

I hope you have a speedy recovery. Those are terrible injuries at any age.

That's got good reviews. Good choice, likely.

^^^Horrible advice. ^^^

Yes indeed. Get well soon.

I carry a Ruger LCR in 357 pretty much all summer. No holster, Clipdraw. I use hard charged 38 special loads, but you can of course load her up with 357 ammo.

Smith model 36 3” This one is a great carry gun for sale. http://smith-wessonforum.com/guns-sale-trade/624178-36-1-3-reduced.html

Hope you mend up soon...

If you need light and small, anything K-frame/Secuity-Six/GP-100 and up is going to start at 35 oz and work up. The all aluminum AirLite Smiths are expensive and in N-frame bulky.

Would suggest you look at the above mentioned Ruger LCR but the LCRX3" variant in .357 vs. .38 Special. It is only five ounces heavier than the .38, that has an aluminum frame, and only 21 oz. Loaded with Lite Magnums or +P .38 Special it should solve most problems one needs solving with a gun.

https://ruger.com/products/lcrx/specSheets/5444.html

I have two LCRs and an LCRX3" and they are good shooters...


If however you wanted to go a little heavier and larger caliber, the Ruger GP-100 is available in a 3" 10mm/.40 S&W. I have the 4.2" and it is a great shooter. Would like to pick up a 3" one day..

https://ruger.com/products/gp100/specSheets/1780.html

Bob

Yeah, K frame'ish are too heavy for general carry. I have a 2 3/4" Speed Six, that I like very much, but Christ it's heavy.


A 2 3/4 Kframe and 6 shoots or a Glock and a zillon shots, that still ways less.


I'd always pick a LCR, 2 or 3 inch over a J frame, but that's me.