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Discussions about revolvers only (my motorcycle forum has this, why not here?).
Someone yesterday asked me if I ever shot a revolver.
Here are the ones I have owned and/or shot (not my pics - found online):
First one (I may have shot a friends revolvers before this, I can't remember as it was 40+ years ago):
High Standard Sentinel Mark IV in .22 LR
Gross trigger, mediocre to okay accuracy, too barrel heavy, the chambers would get dirty way too fast.
Dan Wesson .44 Mag with 6" ported barrel. Most accurate revolver I ever owned. Had a problem at first with too light hammer, but they fixed it. Competed it pin shooting in college for fun. Carried hiking and in Alaska - too heavy, but a pleasure to shoot.
After carrying that around all over the place and being tired of the weight, I went the other way:
Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog. Got some Pachmyer grips for it, but still a bit much in the recoil dept. - not bad, but not pleasant. Carried this when hunting/hiking. Sold it to a friend's son's wife so she could give it to him as a Xmas present.
Ruger SP101 snubby in .357 Mag. I really like the design of Ruger DA revolvers, very stout and modular. Put Wolff springs in this, but the recoil and muzzle blast were not to my liking. I wanted a longer barrel to. Sold it to a friend who begged me to sell it to him, then a year later wanted to sell it back.
But I had already bout this - Taurus "Total Titanium" (model 627) .357 Mag:
Despite it being really light weight, between the porting and the ribbed (for your pleasure ) grips, it is a pussycat to shoot. Came from the factory with less than 0.001" cylinder gap, so cylinder refused to revolve or open after first 50 rounds through it. Trigger is gritty - needs action work.
Taurus .44 Mag model 444 with 6" barrel:
Took this in trade from a buddy who really needed a semi so I traded him an extra Glock 21 I had bought on a whim.
Best trigger of any revolver I ever owned - go figure! Taurus makes crap one day and makes great stuff the next. Mild shooting with a 6" ported barrel, but heavy. Never carried it - too heavy. Traded/sold it at a gun show.
S&W .329 PD. Do you see a pattern here? Mild recoil heavy revolvers to lightweight boomers?
The .329PD will bust your hand - even my SIL doesn't like to shoot it more than a few times. In my old hands it makes them tingle for half an hour after shooting anything in it, including .44 special. Still my favorite though because of how it handles and how light it is. Not for plinking, but a great "field gun" for hunting/hiking/etc. - going to have it ported and some different sights and try the X-frame grips on it from this:
Even with the .460 Mag loads (300 grain Hornady IIRC) it is lighter recoiling than the .329 PD. Oh you know you've touched off a magnum, but totally controllable in comparison. Just a monster of a revolver to carry - very heavy and huge. 454 is ok to shoot and .45 LC is mild in it. Got it on a whim because I wanted something in .45 LC and S&W doesn't make a Scandium in .45 LC (does in .45 ACP). Trigger and action are nice and I will have the cylinder modified to take .45 ACP too.
S&W R8
Nice action and build. A bit barrel heavy - would have preferred it be more balanced. Bought this on a whim too (and paid too much) - but wanted something more reliable in .357 Mag than that Taurus.
That's it for now. If S&W ever brings out a scandium in .45 LC I may get that, but the only revolver left on my list to get now is this:
S&W 317 Kit gun. Wish they made it with a 4 to 5 inch barrel, then it would be perfect.
Someone yesterday asked me if I ever shot a revolver.
Here are the ones I have owned and/or shot (not my pics - found online):
First one (I may have shot a friends revolvers before this, I can't remember as it was 40+ years ago):
High Standard Sentinel Mark IV in .22 LR
Gross trigger, mediocre to okay accuracy, too barrel heavy, the chambers would get dirty way too fast.
Dan Wesson .44 Mag with 6" ported barrel. Most accurate revolver I ever owned. Had a problem at first with too light hammer, but they fixed it. Competed it pin shooting in college for fun. Carried hiking and in Alaska - too heavy, but a pleasure to shoot.
After carrying that around all over the place and being tired of the weight, I went the other way:
Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog. Got some Pachmyer grips for it, but still a bit much in the recoil dept. - not bad, but not pleasant. Carried this when hunting/hiking. Sold it to a friend's son's wife so she could give it to him as a Xmas present.
Ruger SP101 snubby in .357 Mag. I really like the design of Ruger DA revolvers, very stout and modular. Put Wolff springs in this, but the recoil and muzzle blast were not to my liking. I wanted a longer barrel to. Sold it to a friend who begged me to sell it to him, then a year later wanted to sell it back.
But I had already bout this - Taurus "Total Titanium" (model 627) .357 Mag:
Despite it being really light weight, between the porting and the ribbed (for your pleasure ) grips, it is a pussycat to shoot. Came from the factory with less than 0.001" cylinder gap, so cylinder refused to revolve or open after first 50 rounds through it. Trigger is gritty - needs action work.
Taurus .44 Mag model 444 with 6" barrel:
Took this in trade from a buddy who really needed a semi so I traded him an extra Glock 21 I had bought on a whim.
Best trigger of any revolver I ever owned - go figure! Taurus makes crap one day and makes great stuff the next. Mild shooting with a 6" ported barrel, but heavy. Never carried it - too heavy. Traded/sold it at a gun show.
S&W .329 PD. Do you see a pattern here? Mild recoil heavy revolvers to lightweight boomers?
The .329PD will bust your hand - even my SIL doesn't like to shoot it more than a few times. In my old hands it makes them tingle for half an hour after shooting anything in it, including .44 special. Still my favorite though because of how it handles and how light it is. Not for plinking, but a great "field gun" for hunting/hiking/etc. - going to have it ported and some different sights and try the X-frame grips on it from this:
Even with the .460 Mag loads (300 grain Hornady IIRC) it is lighter recoiling than the .329 PD. Oh you know you've touched off a magnum, but totally controllable in comparison. Just a monster of a revolver to carry - very heavy and huge. 454 is ok to shoot and .45 LC is mild in it. Got it on a whim because I wanted something in .45 LC and S&W doesn't make a Scandium in .45 LC (does in .45 ACP). Trigger and action are nice and I will have the cylinder modified to take .45 ACP too.
S&W R8
Nice action and build. A bit barrel heavy - would have preferred it be more balanced. Bought this on a whim too (and paid too much) - but wanted something more reliable in .357 Mag than that Taurus.
That's it for now. If S&W ever brings out a scandium in .45 LC I may get that, but the only revolver left on my list to get now is this:
S&W 317 Kit gun. Wish they made it with a 4 to 5 inch barrel, then it would be perfect.
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