Resurgence of the Revolver

[1eye]

Even thought I spend most of my time on my 1911's I have always had and carried a snubbie as a back-up. Wheel guns will always be be around as a last resort for reliability.

 

[Glock 'em down]

Revolvers, wheelgun's, thumbbusters, they have been with us since Sam Colt's first in the 1830's i.e. Patterson. The Colt Walker, and later Dragoon were till the advent of self contained cartridges the magnums of their day. From the 1860's on we've had self contained cartridges in SAA's(this includes Remingtons as well), S&W breaktops, Melwin Huberts, British and American "Bulldogs", Enfields and Webley's . At the turn of the 20th century we saw the greatest advancement in revolvers with the swingout cylinders/hand ejectors, making reloading easier and somewhat faster, speedloaders were several decades away. At this same time semiauto pistols were starting to appear, and to some thought the revolver was dead, yet the companies still produced and sold as many as they could make. During the early to mid 20th century alomst every police officer was issued a revolver, and some were even issued in our military up into the late 1980's. Lawmen of the southwest were still known to carry SAA, sometimes backed up with an 1911A1, while others were carrying a S&W or Colt in .44spl or .45LC. Even today the revolver lives on bullet proof vests, ankles, pockets, and for some their offduty carry guns. Civilians who can legally carry make the revolver their choice based on nostalgia, function, reliability. The revolver is long from dead, and for the foreseable future will be with us way into the 21st, and probably the next century. For those that turn up their nose at anything not plastic, or carrying a bajillon rounds in their magazines, thats fine, and its your choice. By doing this you also make it easier on me and my fellow revolverist's to find, purchase, and enjoy what are some of the finest works of art made. If I was told tomorrow that I had to give up all my semi-autos I wouldn't be to heartbroken over it.

Well said Leighton. Pure poetry, my good man.

 

[bigbadge]

It is very nice to see the resurgence among the masses. It helps to ensure that there will be a thriving supply for those of us that like them. However, it means more competition (read: higher prices) for them.

In an only slightly off topic note, the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) will conduct their 2010 Firearms Instructor class this summer - it will be the FIRST class where instructor candidates will not have ANY revolver criteria to meet.

In years past, the instructor candidate had to shoot a 480 (80%) and a 540 (90%) on the PPC course, as well as attend 40 hours of training with a revolver (called Phases 1 and 2).

While many may see this as "reasonable" due to the prevalence of semi-autos, I feel that it will be a great disservice to all of those officers carrying J frames on their ankles, in their pocket or in their car doors. Eventually, the newer officers that carry these guns will have no real training on them. Hopefully, they will never suffer dire consequences during a heated moment due to lack of sufficient training.

Btw, I can readily think of at least 10 officers I know who carry wheelguns as backups (including me).

FWIW,

Don

 

[Glock 'em down]

It is very nice to see the resurgence among the masses. It helps to ensure that there will be a thriving supply for those of us that like them. However, it means more competition (read: higher prices) for them.

In an only slightly off topic note, the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) will conduct their 2010 Firearms Instructor class this summer - it will be the FIRST class where instructor candidates will not have ANY revolver criteria to meet.

In years past, the instructor candidate had to shoot a 480 (80%) and a 540 (90%) on the PPC course, as well as attend 40 hours of training with a revolver (called Phases 1 and 2).

While many may see this as "reasonable" due to the prevalence of semi-autos, I feel that it will be a great disservice to all of those officers carrying J frames on their ankles, in their pocket or in their car doors. Eventually, the newer officers that carry these guns will have no real training on them. Hopefully, they will never suffer dire consequences during a heated moment due to lack of sufficient training.

Btw, I can readily think of at least 10 officers I know who carry wheelguns as backups (including me).

FWIW,

Don

Make that 11!