I've been contemplating a revolver and after looking at the SP101 in 9mm now I've decided to get one...thanks a lot, now I'm gonna be $550 poorer.
You absolutely MUST purchase another gun!!! I am and have been leary of revolvers with moon clips, some seem to work well, some not so much. If anything may cause the weapon to not be 100% reliable, then it becomes a range toy in my opinion. 9mm bullet crimp is almost none and the .38/.358 has a decent amount of crimp. Lack of crimp can and will in even the most expensive ammo allow bullet jump. If the bullet protrudes for the cylinder, your gun will lock up until you fix it. Not a common occurance granted, but then again neither is needing your gun for a defensive encounter. As a carry gun, the 9mm revolver in WAYYY down the list of my preferred favorites.
I think the concept was and is good, but my 986 had issues of light hammer strikes. I sent it back to Massachusetts for warranty work. They've had it for a week now and no word from them, but S&W CS advises me that the turnaround time is about four weeks.Read that one on his S&W - not the greatest experience........Looking for some insight on shorter barrels.
I have a pitbull and like it. I like the SP a lot more. haven't got to shoot a Taurus 905, but the way they flail them around in self defense videos, it'd be hard to find a more compact bludgeoning weapon.
I have owned a Smith 547 (K-Frame 4" barrel - sold to another OSA member about 3 years ago) and currently own a Charter Pitbull snub nose in 9mm.
The 547 was very smooth and well engineered but as a full size revolver it didn't seem to have a useful niche for practical (to me) use. The Pitbull works well and is sized well to be a BUG for, for example, ankle carry if desired. Notice that in each case I wanted to avoid moon clips - that's a purely personal issue, some others seem to like them.
In my opinion, the 547 is the better made revolvere but is greatly over-valued in the resale market. Again, value is a personal decision - one man's trash another man's treasure.
The Pitbull is less refined but the newest evolutions (5 shot versus the early 6 shot models) do seem to work well (mine is of recent manufacture) and are of moderate price. I still am having trouble finding the exact practical role for this revolver but it works...if one follows Charter's instructions for employing the ejector rod appropriately.
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