Which revolver for a newbie?

amolkapoor said:
They don't make revolvers in 9mm, do they?
Click to expand...

I've never handled one but there are 9 mm revolvers. Requires a thing called a "moon clip" to hold the cartridges in place because 9 mm is a rimless round. Rimmed rounds are designed for revolvers, rimless for automatics, but there are guns that work around such laws of Nature.
 
to answer your questions,

1. for breathing. I have this all the time following the RO. http://www.amazon.ca/Safety-Works-817664-Toxic-Respirator/dp/B0009XW3ZS/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_i. I don't smell a thing. Now you know who I am when we meet at the club. Lol.. It's not just the ventilation for the smoke, it's also the ammo you will use. My ammo is pretty dirty with black particles land right on my clothes. Not sure any ventilation can blow that right off down range. so, it's better safe than sorry.
2. to use the range gun, it's the same pricing policy for everyone, member or not. the first box is the ridiculous price as you listed(not sure if it's first box for each caliber). then anything after that on the same day visit, the price is their "normal" price which is still higher than everywhere else. So, the range gun is free to use, they make it up with the ammo.
3. yes. location(15-minute drive for me) and 7 days/week access(only Christmas and a few holiday close, not all holidays I think) is a huge plus. And even during reno on the weekends, I only had to wait once for about 15 minutes(during which time I got to know more people and learned a few tricks). So, it's very good.
4. Another benefit is the gun cleaning station. It makes the gun cleaning much faster and cheaper, just hose everything down(don't even need full strip) and blow with compressed air and done in 15-20 minutes. Then just go home, put a few patch through barrel if it's too dirty(or into sonic cleaner if you have one) and oil it. Save time and money.
5. the only downside is it's not really designed for rifles as it's only 25 meters. Before reno, rifles were allowed, but I just find it's pointless to shoot rifle in such a short distance. there are clubs with both indoor pistol and outdoor rifle for year-around play. just too far for me. Oh.. the shotguns, I hate those. just loud. sigh... well nothing is perfect.




amolkapoor said:
Hello Luckey,

Do you find that you're breathing in too much smoke at the club? My first time shooting indoors, and our RO was wearing a mask, so wondering. Also, after you get a licence, do they still charge $10 for 10 rounds?

It is pretty cool to have a club you can shoot at in every season. :)


Thanks,
Amol
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
sailor723 said:
S&W has a couple of 9mm revolvers (north of $1k) and Alfa Proj, a Czech company, makes a lower priced model in both 4.5 and 6" barrels...they run around $559-639 depending on whether it is blued or stainless.
Click to expand...

Ruger single actions too. Just not really for cast 9mm bullets
 
What revolver should I buy my favorite topic. Should I buy a 357 and load my own ammo and make it light or heavy or get a 22 revolver and shoot only light loads so many options...
If you want both find a 617 and then get a 686. If you only want one revolver and plan to shoot centerfire only you got the 686 the GP 100 and the Dan Wesson and the Alpha proj plus various single action revolver's.
Everybody says one trigger is better but with a centerfire all you really need to do is sit down in front of the TV for a couple weeks and pull the trigger in double action several thousand times and you will be used to it.
So what it all comes down to is going to a shop holding a gun and seeing which one feels the best in your hand. Buy what you like then put lots of lead downrange you will get good with it.

Myself I shoot a GP 100 4.2 inch barrel with a wolf spring kit and I load my own ammo with a lee turret press. I load both light and heavy rounds for target and IDPA. I used to shoot a 6 inch model I find I don't get quite the same accuracy with the 4.2 at 25 yards. I'm still happy with it but I also have a pair of Ruger Blackhawk's which I shoot for cowboy action and use for target shooting as well. By the way I don't want to rimfire pistol I feel I can accomplish everything with reloading.
Food for thought I traded a member of my gun club my GP 100 for his 686 for one month. Afterwards we traded back and both had the same comment that we didn't like the trigger of each other's guns.

Pros and cons about the GP 100 and the Smith & Wesson's are The Smiths look nicer to me the 686 feels like it recoils lower in your hand. I like that the GP 100 doesn't have an exposed grip frame so it soaks up Hot loads.
I also have small hands and was able to find a set of compact grips for it. Both are good you can't go wrong with either p.m. if you want to chat.
 
Last edited:
amolkapoor said:
Thanks Silverfox! I'm pretty sure I won't get to shoot something like the 617, but it does look nice and affordable to shoot long term. Now I feel like there should be one in .22 and one in .357, is there no end to how much money you can throw down the barrel of a gun?
Click to expand...

lol no end really once your hooked
 
The model name isn't on that gun. I used it for my probationary shoots at the Grange (club that uses Target's facilities) and shot one of my best groups ever. I find it heavy and a bit unbalanced with that 8" (10"?) barrel but I'd go for a Ruger GP100 or S&W 686 with the 4.2" barrel. Ruger is a bit more cost conscious but one of the performance centre S&Ws would be a nice birthday present.
 
amolkapoor said:
Hello BCRider :)

....One last question, how much importance does an adjustable sight have over fixed sight? ......
Click to expand...

For revolvers where you might be shooting a variety of bullet weights and power levels it does help. A fixed sight revolver is going to be limited to one or two bullet weights that produce the same muzzle rise by the time the bullet leaves the muzzle so they hit at the same point as your sights show. The terms for these if you have not seem them are Point Of Aim (POA) and Point Of Impact (POI).

For example the .38Spl model 10 S&W has fixed sights and it is sighted in for 158gn bullets (any style as long as they are 158gn is fine) shot with a full power load for .38Spl. Shooting 125gn bullets means the bullet will be faster in the barrel so it leaves earllier and does not produce as much of a muzzle rise from the recoil. So the lighter and faster bullets have a lower POI than the sight's POA.

And that is where adjustable sights on a revolver come in handy. They allow you to use whatever ammo you can find and be adjusted easily to suit the new POI of that ammo from your gun.

There is one notable exception to all this. With the fixed sight gun a round which duplicates the muzzle rise of the 158gn regular load will still print at the same POI. This happens to be the classic 148gn target wadcutter bullet. The most classic of these are the hollow back wadcutter. But the double ended "beer barrel" wadcutter also produces the same results. These use a very light charge and are good for even the most recoil shy person. They barely make more kick than a .22.

If you go for a .357Mag revolver you can shoot either .38Spl or .357Mag from the same gun with no changes needed. But you can't shoot .357Mag from a .38Spl gun. For that reason many/most opt for a .357Mag revolver. And for THIS case I strongly urge getting a gun with adjustable sights. You WILL need to adjust quite radically between shooting any magnum rounds and any .38Spl.

For example, I often used to play a little shooting range game I called "Revolver Roulette". The idea was based on the cartridge boxes having neat rows of 5 rounds but my revolver held 6. So what better to keep things even and fill the extra hole than a round of .357mag.... :d I'd give it a spin and stop the cylinder and close it without looking. BOY! Does THIS tell you quickly if you have a flinch! :d But back to the sights issue. With the gun set up to shoot the 125gn .38Spl the magnum round came out so much faster that at 12 yards it had a POI which was about 3.5 inches lower than the rest of the group. THAT is how much it matters.

Most of us do shoot a much higher percentage of .38Spl from our .357Mag guns. I suspect you will too. But even so while I love my K frame S&W's I also know that they don't take nicely to a diet of a lot of .357Mag. A few now and then are OK and especially if the rounds use the heavier 158gn bullets to hold the speed in check. But if you'll shoot more than a few now and then I'd suggest the L frame 686 S&W. Or if you're a fan of blued guns then get a 586. If you want to shoot almost nothing BUT .357Mag then the N frame Model 27 or 28 Highway Patrolman might be a better option. But in that case you may want to just pony up for a Model 29 .44Mag and be done with it... :d

There's a somewhat steady flow of ex-prohib K frame .38's showing up. These have had a new barrel sleeve installed and a button added to the front of the barrel to extend them to 4.2" or a hair more. This has taken some very nice guns out of the prohib pool and allowed us new shooters to join in the fun of shorter barrel revolvers. I've managed to score two such guns and they are staying with me until I'm too blind and decrepit to shoot any longer. Like I say, I REALLY like the compact K frame guns. Most others just buy the L frame 686 and call it a day.

If you prefer blue over stainless look around and get to know the models a little more. It's all good and you don't need to buy one tomorrow. Although I understand how SOS (Shiney Object Syndrome) can drive any of us.... :d
 
HappySoA said:
Not really sure where you get this whole "new" thing with Alfa Proj. They used to go by Holek and have been around for like well over 100-years. Pretty sure they come with a lifetime warranty, too - at least that's what I was told. Honestly, you're 100% right about them not being a Smith. But, I mean, for what you're paying, you just can't do any better. I picked up the 9mm not long ago and haven't a single complaint. Trigger might be a little heavier than I'm accustomed to, but if you get a hold of Rusty Wood you can get that fixed up no problem.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt that the company making them has been around for a long time. But with the world today being what it is the import laws could suddenly change or the distributor bringing the guns in might up and vanish in a burst of bankruptcy or any of a number of things which removes any option of finding spare parts. So those of us with AP revolvers are at risk of suddenly owning orphans. That's all I was saying.

And yes, every AP revolver SHOULD come with the RWT mainspring swap kit. They are THAT good! It converts a trigger that only The Hulk could love into something nearly silky smooth as a tuned S&W. I only shot my 9mm short barrel AP one time before installing the kit. It was literally a night to day, black to white, soup to nutz change.
 
amolkapoor said:
Thanks Silverfox! I'm pretty sure I won't get to shoot something like the 617, but it does look nice and affordable to shoot long term. Now I feel like there should be one in .22 and one in .357, is there no end to how much money you can throw down the barrel of a gun?
Click to expand...

As mentioned already it IS a VERY slippery slope... :d

I've tried a bunch of rimfire revolvers and bought a bunch as well. Having done all that there are only a few that are worth owning. The rest are poor options that just tease us while not allowing us to enjoy the real thing.

For DA/SA revolvers it's the K framed S&W K22, 17 or 617 or the rather rare and hard to get work done on Colt Officer's Match revolver. The 617 used to be a 6 shot but a few years back they upgraded the same model number to the current 10 shot version. The issues with keeping a Colt running well even if you find one would put me off getting it. It may work for years with no worries at all. But the amount of hand fitting and skill set needed to keep it running means it could prove a serious problem at some point.

Then there's the rather delightful single action Ruger Single Six. Or their new Single 10. A totally different feel and handling from the DA/SA flip out hand ejection style guns. But equally hypnotic in their own way. And of course that leads on to the whole issue of single action center fire revolvers.... but that can wait for another day.
 
BCRider said:
For revolvers where you might be shooting a variety of bullet weights and power levels it does help. A fixed sight revolver is going to be limited to one or two bullet weights that produce the same muzzle rise by the time the bullet leaves the muzzle so they hit at the same point as your sights show. The terms for these if you have not seem them are Point Of Aim (POA) and Point Of Impact (POI).

For example the .38Spl model 10 S&W has fixed sights and it is sighted in for 158gn bullets (any style as long as they are 158gn is fine) shot with a full power load for .38Spl. Shooting 125gn bullets means the bullet will be faster in the barrel so it leaves earllier and does not produce as much of a muzzle rise from the recoil. So the lighter and faster bullets have a lower POI than the sight's POA.

And that is where adjustable sights on a revolver come in handy. They allow you to use whatever ammo you can find and be adjusted easily to suit the new POI of that ammo from your gun.

There is one notable exception to all this. With the fixed sight gun a round which duplicates the muzzle rise of the 158gn regular load will still print at the same POI. This happens to be the classic 148gn target wadcutter bullet. The most classic of these are the hollow back wadcutter. But the double ended "beer barrel" wadcutter also produces the same results. These use a very light charge and are good for even the most recoil shy person. They barely make more kick than a .22.

If you go for a .357Mag revolver you can shoot either .38Spl or .357Mag from the same gun with no changes needed. But you can't shoot .357Mag from a .38Spl gun. For that reason many/most opt for a .357Mag revolver. And for THIS case I strongly urge getting a gun with adjustable sights. You WILL need to adjust quite radically between shooting any magnum rounds and any .38Spl.

For example, I often used to play a little shooting range game I called "Revolver Roulette". The idea was based on the cartridge boxes having neat rows of 5 rounds but my revolver held 6. So what better to keep things even and fill the extra hole than a round of .357mag.... :d I'd give it a spin and stop the cylinder and close it without looking. BOY! Does THIS tell you quickly if you have a flinch! :d But back to the sights issue. With the gun set up to shoot the 125gn .38Spl the magnum round came out so much faster that at 12 yards it had a POI which was about 3.5 inches lower than the rest of the group. THAT is how much it matters.

Most of us do shoot a much higher percentage of .38Spl from our .357Mag guns. I suspect you will too. But even so while I love my K frame S&W's I also know that they don't take nicely to a diet of a lot of .357Mag. A few now and then are OK and especially if the rounds use the heavier 158gn bullets to hold the speed in check. But if you'll shoot more than a few now and then I'd suggest the L frame 686 S&W. Or if you're a fan of blued guns then get a 586. If you want to shoot almost nothing BUT .357Mag then the N frame Model 27 or 28 Highway Patrolman might be a better option. But in that case you may want to just pony up for a Model 29 .44Mag and be done with it... :d

There's a somewhat steady flow of ex-prohib K frame .38's showing up. These have had a new barrel sleeve installed and a button added to the front of the barrel to extend them to 4.2" or a hair more. This has taken some very nice guns out of the prohib pool and allowed us new shooters to join in the fun of shorter barrel revolvers. I've managed to score two such guns and they are staying with me until I'm too blind and decrepit to shoot any longer. Like I say, I REALLY like the compact K frame guns. Most others just buy the L frame 686 and call it a day.

If you prefer blue over stainless look around and get to know the models a little more. It's all good and you don't need to buy one tomorrow. Although I understand how SOS (Shiney Object Syndrome) can drive any of us.... :d
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it any better, B!
I play the revolver roulette game with new shooters to teach them about the flinch except I load empties and live rounds. Very obvious when the flinch happens!
 
sailor723 said:
S&W has a couple of 9mm revolvers (north of $1k) and Alfa Proj, a Czech company, makes a lower priced model in both 4.5 and 6" barrels...they run around $559-639 depending on whether it is blued or stainless.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sailor723, I'll look them up! Can't tell you how happy and humbled I am by all the support and good advice from you and so many other experience shooters on CGN! :)
 
You're right, now my eyes are automatically going to look for a blue and pink respirator next time I go in.

I wasn't worried about shotgun noise too much though, was too excited I guess. Did .22 rifle, .38 revolver, 9mm pistol and 12ga shotgun in a couple of hours. Need to pace myself and try to spend less next time, or I'll be bankrupt even before my licence comes in the mail! :p


n
luckey said:
to answer your questions,

1. for breathing. I have this all the time following the RO. http://www.amazon.ca/Safety-Works-817664-Toxic-Respirator/dp/B0009XW3ZS/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_i. I don't smell a thing. Now you know who I am when we meet at the club. Lol.. It's not just the ventilation for the smoke, it's also the ammo you will use. My ammo is pretty dirty with black particles land right on my clothes. Not sure any ventilation can blow that right off down range. so, it's better safe than sorry.
2. to use the range gun, it's the same pricing policy for everyone, member or not. the first box is the ridiculous price as you listed(not sure if it's first box for each caliber). then anything after that on the same day visit, the price is their "normal" price which is still higher than everywhere else. So, the range gun is free to use, they make it up with the ammo.
3. yes. location(15-minute drive for me) and 7 days/week access(only Christmas and a few holiday close, not all holidays I think) is a huge plus. And even during reno on the weekends, I only had to wait once for about 15 minutes(during which time I got to know more people and learned a few tricks). So, it's very good.
4. Another benefit is the gun cleaning station. It makes the gun cleaning much faster and cheaper, just hose everything down(don't even need full strip) and blow with compressed air and done in 15-20 minutes. Then just go home, put a few patch through barrel if it's too dirty(or into sonic cleaner if you have one) and oil it. Save time and money.
5. the only downside is it's not really designed for rifles as it's only 25 meters. Before reno, rifles were allowed, but I just find it's pointless to shoot rifle in such a short distance. there are clubs with both indoor pistol and outdoor rifle for year-around play. just too far for me. Oh.. the shotguns, I hate those. just loud. sigh... well nothing is perfect.
Click to expand...
 
Mark-II said:
Ruger single actions too. Just not really for cast 9mm bullets
Click to expand...

I looked into Rugers, as Illve most of their designs, but the only revolvers I like from them in terms of looks are the LCR series and the GP100. Besides reloading, is there another way of keeping ammo costs low for .38 special?
 
Bittereinder said:
I've never handled one but there are 9 mm revolvers. Requires a thing called a "moon clip" to hold the cartridges in place because 9 mm is a rimless round. Rimmed rounds are designed for revolvers, rimless for automatics, but there are guns that work around such laws of Nature.
Click to expand...

I have the Charter Arms Pitbull. It's a 9mm that doesn't require moon clips. It's a decent shooter, the trigger isn't great in DA, I mainly shoot it in SA. Also, it does not like being dirty, it needs to be clean to function properly. And I mean dirty after 100 rounds it starts to lock up.
 
I actually don't shoot my Charter Arms 9mm revolver much anymore. I got it because I have a Shadow and wanted to shoot revolvers but didn't want to bring a bunch of different ammo to the range. Since then I got myself a 357 revolver and just enjoy it more than the 9mm revolver. Not really fair for the Charter Arms though, my revolver is a Python. So now I bring 357/38sp and 9mm on my range visits.
 
I think I might be the latest patient of the Shiny Object Syndrome :p

I'm going to keep my search focused on adjustable sights then, so I can keep it forever. I am still trying to decide between .357 magnum and .22 revolver, or maybe both based on how my budget gets by the time they decide that I'm a good, harmless fellow and send me my licence. Who knows how long that'll be, when I checked on Monday they said they're backed up by 3-4 weeks.

I like the 4.5" size vs 6" too, just based on looks.

BCRider said:
For revolvers where you might be shooting a variety of bullet weights and power levels it does help. A fixed sight revolver is going to be limited to one or two bullet weights that produce the same muzzle rise by the time the bullet leaves the muzzle so they hit at the same point as your sights show. The terms for these if you have not seem them are Point Of Aim (POA) and Point Of Impact (POI).

For example the .38Spl model 10 S&W has fixed sights and it is sighted in for 158gn bullets (any style as long as they are 158gn is fine) shot with a full power load for .38Spl. Shooting 125gn bullets means the bullet will be faster in the barrel so it leaves earllier and does not produce as much of a muzzle rise from the recoil. So the lighter and faster bullets have a lower POI than the sight's POA.

And that is where adjustable sights on a revolver come in handy. They allow you to use whatever ammo you can find and be adjusted easily to suit the new POI of that ammo from your gun.

There is one notable exception to all this. With the fixed sight gun a round which duplicates the muzzle rise of the 158gn regular load will still print at the same POI. This happens to be the classic 148gn target wadcutter bullet. The most classic of these are the hollow back wadcutter. But the double ended "beer barrel" wadcutter also produces the same results. These use a very light charge and are good for even the most recoil shy person. They barely make more kick than a .22.

If you go for a .357Mag revolver you can shoot either .38Spl or .357Mag from the same gun with no changes needed. But you can't shoot .357Mag from a .38Spl gun. For that reason many/most opt for a .357Mag revolver. And for THIS case I strongly urge getting a gun with adjustable sights. You WILL need to adjust quite radically between shooting any magnum rounds and any .38Spl.

For example, I often used to play a little shooting range game I called "Revolver Roulette". The idea was based on the cartridge boxes having neat rows of 5 rounds but my revolver held 6. So what better to keep things even and fill the extra hole than a round of .357mag.... :d I'd give it a spin and stop the cylinder and close it without looking. BOY! Does THIS tell you quickly if you have a flinch! :d But back to the sights issue. With the gun set up to shoot the 125gn .38Spl the magnum round came out so much faster that at 12 yards it had a POI which was about 3.5 inches lower than the rest of the group. THAT is how much it matters.

Most of us do shoot a much higher percentage of .38Spl from our .357Mag guns. I suspect you will too. But even so while I love my K frame S&W's I also know that they don't take nicely to a diet of a lot of .357Mag. A few now and then are OK and especially if the rounds use the heavier 158gn bullets to hold the speed in check. But if you'll shoot more than a few now and then I'd suggest the L frame 686 S&W. Or if you're a fan of blued guns then get a 586. If you want to shoot almost nothing BUT .357Mag then the N frame Model 27 or 28 Highway Patrolman might be a better option. But in that case you may want to just pony up for a Model 29 .44Mag and be done with it... :d

There's a somewhat steady flow of ex-prohib K frame .38's showing up. These have had a new barrel sleeve installed and a button added to the front of the barrel to extend them to 4.2" or a hair more. This has taken some very nice guns out of the prohib pool and allowed us new shooters to join in the fun of shorter barrel revolvers. I've managed to score two such guns and they are staying with me until I'm too blind and decrepit to shoot any longer. Like I say, I REALLY like the compact K frame guns. Most others just buy the L frame 686 and call it a day.

If you prefer blue over stainless look around and get to know the models a little more. It's all good and you don't need to buy one tomorrow. Although I understand how SOS (Shiney Object Syndrome) can drive any of us.... :d
Click to expand...
 
since you already rent from the club, why don't you rent the revolvers in both calibers to take out the guess work? I am pretty sure they have .22 revolver, don't remember the 357mag, but saw one(gp100) on their site in the picture gallery. Or if you are lucky and bump into the members who have the 357s, they could just let you try theirs for free. I had a blast with a 357mag in DA with a fellow member's GP100, and got to shoot full wheel of 44mag as well just by asking "how you do feel between 44 & 357". the gent just replied, why don't you try it yourself and pulled one out of his case(S&W629 I think). That was one of my lucky days. :)


amolkapoor said:
I think I might be the latest patient of the Shiny Object Syndrome :p

I'm going to keep my search focused on adjustable sights then, so I can keep it forever. I am still trying to decide between .357 magnum and .22 revolver, or maybe both based on how my budget gets by the time they decide that I'm a good, harmless fellow and send me my licence. Who knows how long that'll be, when I checked on Monday they said they're backed up by 3-4 weeks.

I like the 4.5" size vs 6" too, just based on looks.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom