Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Anybody carry a med-lrg revolver daily?

Reading the Korth thread got me thinking- why would anyone carry a revolver of that size (629, python, etc) on duty? Or even concealed?

For less weight, you can get equal reliability and twice as many shots and faster reloads. Moreso, with the advent of the modern polymer pistol, why would a cop ever choose to carry a wheel gun, ever?

I carry my Governor in the vehicle with me, routinely. Carry it on the tractor too sometimes. I like the 45 Colt and I like the .410. I got Supers, 9's and 45 Autos, but I just like a revolver and the aforementioned rounds.

My old man carried a S&W 66 for 24 years as a police officer. While we all know the benefits of higher capacity and what not of a SA, Dad always harped on the reliability of a revolver. He believed that 6 reliable shots were better than a magazine of 15 that may or may not go off when you need it to. He also said that if you pulled the trigger on a revolver and it didn't go bang when it was supposed to, just pull the trigger again.

Then again, Dad was an old head. When he retired a few years ago he was pretty sure he was the last cop in the department (about 1500 officers) to carry a revolver. He also carried his old wooden night stick from when he started the year before I was born. I remember as a child that stick being painted black. Now it is completely brown and beat to hell. A good weapon though, apparently.

I live in a very low crime rate area of Alaska,the threat from four legged critters far surpasses any from the two legged.I also carry a 629 in my truck,and on my hip when I head out away from "Civilized" areas.Kinda nice to live in a place I don't feel a need to carry about town.Brownies in my yard when I get home is a different story...........

I routinely cary a revolver.....and switch between a 2.5" 66 and a 629 Mountain Gun depending upon my destination.

I carried a king cobra every now and again. With 18 rounds, I don't think it weighted more then my Glock 21 with 3 mags. Hell we spent most of our time in the car anyway. I walked out the door, checked in, patrolled. The most walking most of the guys did was on traffic stops. The sidearm is one portion of the weight issue. Leather versus nylon, one set of cuffs or two, portable radio, taser, asp, pepper, knife,gloves, flashlight......you get the picture.

You don't get equal reliability. Shooters like to argue the vagaries of semi-auto vs. revolver, but the 600 lb. gorilla in the room is ammo sensitivity. I can take a random sample from dozens of types of factory ammo and reloads and mix them in a bucket, throw in some empties, some snakeshot, some blanks, some primer-fired wax bullets, and load them in a revolver and start pulling the trigger. If the gun doesn't fire I just pull the trigger again. Revolvers aren't subject to set-back or ammo-related 3-point jams, stovepipes, and phase 3's. They aren't sensitive to OAL unless the cylinder can't be closed. Ogive and bullet type simply don't matter.

Yep, the semi-auto can provide more capacity and faster reloads, and using ammo within its design parameters can be incredibly reliable. The only ammo parameter a revolver needs is a bullet that leaves the muzzle without blowing up the gun.

I would but I can't. Years ago I bought a Smith and Wesson 646 in 40 S&W mostly for grins, but always thought that if I became chief in the little town that I live in, I would carry it. I turned down the job (strictly due to monetary reasons) and it sits in the safe. I would carry it right now if allowed, but its Glock only for us on the department I work for still.

When I'm out and about in the field, its a revolver for me, a S&W 396 mountain lite in 44 special, and a ruger LCR 22 under the seat of the pickup. Like stated earlier, pull the trigger again if it doesn't go bang.

CF

My 329PD wasn't bad to carry at times, and for about ten years my daily carry gun was a Charter Arms 44 Special. My issue with revolvers, for my needs, was and is the large diameter of the cylinder and keeping it well concealed without haveing to wear really oversized and terribly loose fitting clothes. That caveat expressed, they ARE uber reliable and can be pretty light these days. Carryin a semi auto 99% of the time now for the slimmer profiles.

.....I'll respectfully disagree.....but with only 1 or 2 fibers of my being :-)

In the mid-late 70's in the early days of IPSC----almost all of the 1911's were customized and few, if any of the revolvers were. I was starting the Kansas Section and we were trying to promote the sport so we'd go to Police Departments, shooting ranges, even Bullseye and PPC matches to hand out fliers and request their participation. I can't tell you how many stoppages with revolvers I saw (I didn't keep track)---but it was frequent---especially with the few tightly tuned PPC revolvers that we let shoot with duty ammo (had to break the rules and allow their holster, but we needed participants). It was not unusual to have poorly crimped cartridges suffer bullet-jump (opposite of set-back) and tie up the cylinder. Also had alot of loose ejector rods unscrew themselves into the barrel shroud and FREQUENT light primer strikes generally caused by loosening the mainspring screw on smith's.

Granted, these were operator error and not generally the fault of the design or manufacture of the gun, but you may be overstating the reliability of wheelguns just alittle IMO.

The other issue to consider is that most autoloader stoppages can be cleared by the operator during the fight if adequate cover is available---with a revolver most stoppages are terminal events for the firearm without recourse to a gunsmith. I'm not anti-revolver---frequently carry J-frames and occassionally shoot either revolver division in IDPA----I just don't find them as "bullet proof" as you indicated. Of course, JMO, YMMV.

I can live with "just a little".

I figure a good example is .22 semi-autos vs. revolvers. Which one will jam first firing bucket-o-ammo?

Granted, there is a larger performance window with centerfire ammo, but the same issues apply.

Carried a security six (concealed) on a regular basis.

Still do when the weather permits more clothing.

All that is true, but get a revolver in the mud or sand and it�s game over LONG before it�s game over with a semi-auto. Now, how that applies to us mere mortals who carry concealed? Unless we tend to spend all out time in a gravel pit, its rather irrelevant. For most people, they will experience greater reliability from a revolver than they would get out of an auto pistol. But there is a strong reason why revolvers are not used in military service any longer, and it has little to do with ammo capacity.

Not work related, but for a couple years I routinely switched between a 1911 and a Ruger Blackhawk with 6.5" barrel for daily carry. Maybe it's my build, my belt, or the routine of carrying, but I didn't really feel the Blackhawk was any different overall. I figure the difference (really, in almost any situation) between six shots and eight is negligible.

I'm surprised by that. Fewer working parts between the revolver and 1911. Seems most revolvers will go longer without cleaning than most semis. I'm no expert, but I'm surprised by your comment and wouldn't mind reading up a little on how you come to that conclusion. Why can't I just dip the revolver in the creek to rinse out the mud/sand and run a few patches through the barrel (I'm giving a lame example, but how is the semi less likely to foul)? Just wondering as I don't often drop any of my firearms in the mud and sand.

In what universe is an M9 more reliable in adverse conditions than a S&W 1917? You would think that if the military was so worried about a weapon functioning in sand and mud their standard issue weapon wouldn't be the M16/M4, which jams when the magazine gets farted on or when a dust particle gets caught in the bolt carrier group.

I carry a 4" 586 quite bit. With a Safariland pancake it conceals pretty well.

The last sentence says it all !!! How many of us are crawling around in mud and sand dunes ? Matter of fact,can't even think of the last time I've ever dropped a weapon.Even in the Army,daily carry,fishing,duck hunting............

Complete bullschit.



Travis

I often carry a revolver. I like revolvers, enjoy carrying them, and enjoy shooting them...not really any more/less than auto's. Shot shells are the main reason for me carrying revolvers on the farm.