first Revolver

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=1430

take read through of this thread at thr so you know what your lookin for in a used specimen. i'd recomend getting an s&w. the prices just keep goin up. get one while they are still in your price range. if you find smiths a bit rich for your blood, get a ruger. don't ask wich model, with those two brands you really can't go wrong, unless you get a really abused shot out example. read the above thread to avoid that. just pick your caliber and frame size. it's difficult for me to recomend taurus. at your $500 price point, there is no reason too. spend the whole thing on a smith or ruger and your grandkids will thank you.

leading the pack as far as availibility and price. gp100, 686.

 

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=152306955

just as an example. bin of $525. comes with two holster and two grips worth $150 alone.

 

Any caliber or action type preferences? Cowboy Bob or Dirty Harry?

22 caliber---Ruger Single Six, S&W 617. You might find a used S&W K
frame in your price range. The old H&R 999 Sportsman is a 9 shot top
break 22 that's actually a pretty nice gun. 22's are cheap to shoot,
but marginally better than nothing for self defense.

357 magnum. EVERYBODY needs at least one 357 wheelgun.
Get one with adjustable sights, and around a 4 inch barrel.
Single Action---Ruger Blackhawk
Double action. My favorite, the S&W model 19, or it's stainless version
the 66. Ruger's are fine too. Some people swear by the Taurus and
Rossi guns--more people swear at them. Colt's tend to be a lot of money for
not all that much gun.

You really need to tell us a bit more about what you want. Just a plinking
gun? Something that will work well for defending the castle? Single
action? Double action? Something the wife and kids can shoot or the
biggest baddest maxi-boomer you can buy for $500?

 

Already been well expressed, the question is what are you looking for as there is a huge range of revolvers. Caliber, single action/double action, barrel length, fixed or adjustable sights. Take a few minutes and better express the intent of the firearm (are you looking for a .22 plinker, something in the middle or a magmum, single action or double action, shooting at cans to ten years or targets to 20+ yards). Revolvers might be even more specfied to intended use than semi aouto's. Hence the need for a basic understanding of your expected use/expereince.

 

Do you want brand new?

For used any pre-lock S&W holds its value well. Even if you spent a little more than they go for it won't be long before it appreciates in value. At the last Expo show I bought a S&W model 57 .41 magnum for $450. The same seller had a nice stainless S&W model 629 .44 magnum for $500. Those are N frames. As the previous posters stated a 686 (L frame) is a fine wheel gun and a model 19 (K frame) is nice. The K frames have a slightly faster and just as smooth double action. It is often recommended to mostly shoot .38 special in the K frames and just use the higher grain .357 when you do shoot it (158 gr).

 

Smith 686 4".
There isn't a better first revolver around. Price is right, reliable as ****, trigger like butter drippin' off a hot biscuit, .38's are cheap, .357's make you feel like a red-blooded American male when you touch them off. The one gun I own I would never part with.
-Curtis

 

.357 is a great choice, as you can use plentiful and cheap .38 standard pressure rounds for goofing, plinking, targetting, beercannin.... go to +P for significantly more power, or use .357 Magnum when you really want to pack a wallop and don't care about recoil or cost.

Personally, I greatly prefer douible action.... rapid fire is possible, easily, and for whan accuracy counts you can hand-cock, then its effectively a single action, just pull the trigger to drop the hammer and say BANG. Double action, the cylinder flops to the side and ALL the spent shells can be ejected in one motion, a speed loader can drop in a new batch, and you're saying BANG very quickly. Single action, you have to roll the cylinder to eject each spent round one at a time, and replace it with a live one. Tedious. But then, there are those who prefer them.. I can't quite understand why. Best is for YOU to go handle both, preferably at a range where you can shoot various kinds.

Stainless Steel is very pretty, and incredibly durable. Never rusts, always shines, wears well. Also a bit more dear. But, in my opinion, worth the small extra cost, particularlyb when amortised over the fifty years or so a good gun will serve you.
As to price, I could not find a Smith at a point with which I was comfortable, but did find a Ruger Security Six, .357, stainless, for four hundred bucks..... and it's hardly been fired at all. To all intents, a new gun.

If target and goofing is ALL you want, I'd recommend .22 Magnum rimfire. AMmo is still relatively cheap (Walmart has Remington for under ten bucks the box of fifty). Half the price of .38. Lots of power, fairly long range.... but not enough to serve well for a home defense weapon. I'd say .38 is about the minimum effective for that.

 

another vote for the 357/38spl. i don't think any other cartridge offers a better blend of usable power, lowest cost, and gpr. i think blued smiths look better than stainless smiths, but the 586 has been discontinued and the prices go up every day. best bet would be a 686. ruger on the other hand does stainless very well while their bluing is, well, blue. stick with stainless.

 

Except me. :thumbup:

 

Thanks for posting that, now you are tempting me to spend more money on S&Ws...

But yeah, the 686 is in my mind the greatest revolver that anyone can own for the price. They are not very expensive, are very well balanced, capable for carry, or home defense, plinking, competition, and light hunting.

If you got a 686, I would suggest going with a 4", and if you're lucky you might find a 686+ (7 round), also buy one without a lock (686, 686-1 to 686-5)

 

no sweat. its a nr starting at 425. it won't last long. if you do end up with it, i'll take that bianchi holster off your hands, help offset your costs a bit. my 586-1 would look real nice in it.

 

I will probably hold out until I find a 4" 686+, since I already have that exact gun on the auction

 

I would also highly recommend a .38/357 DA gun with a 4" barrel, you can't go wrong with that combo and it can be used for home defense to everyday carry use.

 

Taurus Judge Public Defender! Its cool, shoots .45 colt and 410 shot! All your friends will be jealous and no matter what somone's feelings on Taurus they WILL enjoy shooting it if given the oppertunity.

 

If you are new to all firearms, a rimfire revolver is a really good way to go, S&W 617 or an old K22.
If your just new to revolvers, .357/38 is very good option. All the above recommendations are good, but will add Ruger DA to the mix.
An SP101 is small enough for a carry gun, accurate, and heavy enough for .357 and very light recoil with 38's, stainless. 2" and 3" barrels, I have a 2" bobbed hammer one.
Just got a Security Six, 2 3/4" barrel. Ruger doesn't make these .357's anymore, but they are very reliable, and good deals.
My first revolver was a stainless GP100, 4" .357. It is a tank, really great gun, also in your price range.

 

Single action----cock the hammer for each shot, poke the empties out
and reload one at a time.

OR

Double action---either cock the hammer or just pull the trigger, swing
out cylinder ejects all the empties at once.

Do you have a preference?