My Time with the Revolver…A More Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Time…
OK, I know that the above is stolen from a Star Wars movie, but it is truly applicable here. There was a time not that long ago, when I remember all law enforcement carried revolvers. Watch any cop show on TV from the early 80’s and back…almost all of them carried a revolver. Any detective or PI on TV carried a snub nose. It was the standard.
Most officers carried a 6-shot revolver out on patrol. Semi-autos were just starting to come onto the duty weapon scene and very few people had adopted them. They were still seen as less reliable than revolvers, which were just about to see their time in the sun come to an end. This impact of the revolver’s capacity played out in police shootings as well. Far less rounds were fired in those times as officers had less opportunity to reload. Even with reloading all your rounds, you only had 18. Conserving ammo was much more a concern, as was the slower speed of reloads. However, as bad guys were starting to show up with bigger guns with more capacity than law enforcement had on hand, the need to change was clear.
Then came the Miami FBI shootout and the crime wave of the 1980’s. Later, the LA North Hollywood Shootout shocked the nation on live TV. The die was cast, and revolvers began to fade away to the more popular semi-autos so police had an appropriate amount of firepower to counter the criminal element who were better armed than ever.
The civilian market followed suit. Today, you go into any gun store and you see a few revolvers, but what do most civilians go to…semi autos. While the semi auto used to be fairly expensive and the revolver quite a bargain back in the day, that has flipped, with most decent duty or self-defense grade revolvers being at around $700-$1000 while a quality semi auto will set you back around $400-$600.
When I began in the police academy mine was one of the first classes to get semi autos, sporting our shiny new Second Generation Glock 17’s. It was here that I saw the true value of the semi-auto as a duty gun. They were reliable, lighter on the hip, and the revolver shooters were on their third reload while I dropped my first mag. So yes, the semi-auto has a lot of advantages over the old wheel gun. But…there is an argument even today for the revolver. As an example, let’s look at my first lesson from back in the 1990’s.
When I went into the local gun store in December 1991 to get my first backup / off-duty gun there were really two options: a .380 like the Walther PPK/S, Browning BDA, etc., or a 5-shot snubby J-Frame. While I was looking through the display case I saw the shiny Walther, and was enamored with the gun of James Bond.
The guy behind the counter, who was also a police officer, was watching me and asked if I was part of the graduating police academy. I told him I was, and he looked at me and said, “get something big enough to get you out of trouble, not so big you get yourself into trouble.” He then nudged a new S&W Model 640 (no dash) towards me. The J frame was almost $200 cheaper than the Walther. He also mentioned, “this thing will go bang every time until it’s empty…way more reliable than the little semi auto.” This was the truth back then. Semi-autos were still getting their footing at reliability, and the idea of “Glock Perfection” was still a ways off, as was their reputation which was still in the process of being proven over time.
That 5 shot went with me everywhere for a long time. I sold it when times got tough many years later in a fit of stupidity that I still regret. I now have the .357 Magnum version of the 640 that I bought in 1995. While I was an active cop I carried it less and less due to my belief I needed more firepower.
When I retired, I still carried my semi’s and was happy. But as time went on I fell into the routine of “civilian life” and I began to look at my concealed carry (CCW) routine more from the civilian side. CCW is a defensive posture, and what firearms fulfilled that role best? In that train of thought, I began to look at the 5-shot snubby again. Was this a reasonable alternative? Since I had nothing to tell me otherwise, I decided I’d try a little experiment. What would it be like carrying nothing but revolvers for one week? Would I feel under gunned? Would it change anything?
So began this little experiment, we’ll call it the Revolver for a Week Project. Is the revolver a good choice for the civilian concealed carrier? I’m going to try to find out.
The 640-1 I have was still pretty heavy, and after 30+ years wearing a gunbelt I decided it was time to look for something a little lighter. Smith makes several lightweight versions such as their Airweight (Aluminum / steel) and Air Light (Scandium/Titanium) series. Since the scandium frame guns are quite expensive, I looked at the S&W 442 Airweight, which can still be had for a reasonable cost in the neighborhood of $500 +/-. My wife actually gave it to me for our anniversary.
Prior to carrying, I’ll do some shooting to get the gun up to snuff for me and then we’ll do the first week. Perhaps it will take over my carry rotation? Maybe I’ll decide the revolver is so outclassed that this is a fool’s errand. I’ll try to be as honest and objective as possible.
I’ll also incorporate some other wheel guns in this too. My 640-1, 19–K Comp, and a 686 may all make their way in. It will depend on my threat environment. The only exception will be when I teach at my local police academy, when I’ll have to use my Glock as my training gun for demo purposes.
Another aspect that doesn’t get a lot of notice is the caliber choices. Revolvers in .38 have options. However, the 9mm, while an excellent defensive caliber, may not give you as reliable penetration and expansion when fired from a shorter barrel. You should test your carry load for reliability in your mini 9mm. In .38 Special (+P), there are loads specifically made for the short-barreled snub nose that are made to perform properly and have lots of street results. They have enough speed to get the expansion they need. I am thinking of the Speer Gold Dot .38 +P 135 gr. short barrel load which was developed with law enforcement (NYPD if my memory serves) for snub nosed revolvers. There are also others just as suitable such as the Federal Hydra-Shok .38 +P 129 grain or the Winchester SXT .38 +P 130 grain loads.
If you’re dealing with four legged problems, you can up the ante with certain revolvers. Many revolvers are built to support magnum cartridges that are effective on big critters. If you want bird / snake shot, there are cartridges that are made to do that and they function quite reliably with a revolver.
So here goes nothing…the great revolver experiment. Maybe the more elegant weapon still has a place today as a CCW?