Post by merc on Oct 17, 2019 8:08:17 GMT
What is a good "starter" revolver?
Joe Buettner, translated gun manuals, tested ammunition, compiled gun laws
Upvoted by Jon Davis, Marine Corps weapons instructor
Traditional double action revolvers all have more or less the same manual of arms. That means the real deciding factors when buying a revolver are what role you want the revolver to fill and quality control. All the revolvers I’m going to suggest are going to be guns you can learn on, become proficient with, and eventually use in a couple different roles.
I feel I should divulge some of my philosophy for revolver shooting. First, the longer your sight radius, the more precisely you’ll be able to shoot. Double action trigger pulls, where pulling the trigger both cocks and fires the gun, are invariably long and require the user to acquire and maintain a steady sight picture. Longer sight radii always help with that process. Accurate double action shooting is relatively easy for a beginner to pick up with a 4 inch barreled revolver and easier still with a 5 or 6 inch barrel. Single action shooting, which is achieved by manually cocking back the hammer so the trigger only has to release the hammer to fire the gun, will also be aided by a longer sight radius, but the difference is more noticeable when shooting in double action.
Next is when to use double action rather than cock the hammer back into single action. Most beginners want to use single action whenever possible because of the shorter and lighter trigger pull. I advise that you only use single action when firing one handed or with the revolver rested or braced against a barricade for stability. Any time you are firing two handed without the support of some type of barricade you should use double action. The two main factors that go into my advice are trigger finger strain and flinching. Flinching is what occurs when a shooter anticipates the recoil of a firearm and tries to compensate for it while pulling the trigger. Flinching throws the shooter’s aim off. Trigger finger strain is the little bit of trembling that occurs when you try to pull on the trigger in a very controlled manner over a long period of time.
When shooting one handed in double action, the trembling from trigger finger strain is likely to spoil your aim because you’re only using your firing hand to steady the gun. Therefore it makes sense to cock back the hammer for a shorter trigger pull. Flinching might occur, but at least you have a better chance at making an accurate shot than when the gun is wobbling around from your straining finger in double action. One handed shooting takes a lot of practice.
When shooting two handed, your non-firing hand can provide support and extra stability. This extra stability allows the shooter to use double action effectively with much less wobbling from trigger finger strain. Since most newer shooters don’t know exactly when the double action trigger pull will fire the gun, flinching is somewhat less likely. Single action shooting would seem ideal in this scenario, but my experience with lots of new shooters firing revolvers is that flinching is more likely since the shooter anticipates the gun firing too early. By contrast, the same shooters seem to get automatically more accurate when they only use double action two handed.
Resting or bracing the revolver against a barricade, a stable object in your environment, does a few very important things:
The barricade stabilizes your revolver and removes a lot of your body’s motion from the process of aiming.
The barricade further reduces the amount of trembling caused by finger strain.
The barricade restricts the gun’s movement and therefore mitigates the effects of flinching.
If shooting off a barricade sounds awesome, that’s because it is. Single action shooting works wonders in conjunction with a barricade; you can almost get carbine like accuracy.
With all of that said, let’s look at some good revolvers for beginners.
Ruger SP101 4″
Source: (Ruger® SP101® * Double-Action Revolver Model 5771)
Ruger has a reputation for overbuilding and over-engineering their revolvers. That makes for really strong guns which can often double as boat anchors. At 30 ounces, the 4 inch SP101 is just light enough for most people to carry in a belt holster. Shorter barreled models exist, but the shorter sight radius of those guns make it harder for a beginner to aim well. The 4 inch barreled models also have adjustable sights, a nice perk that can help a lot. The button style cylinder release is fairly intuitive for beginners too.
I recommend two varieties of 4 inch barreled SP101.
The first is the 5 shot chambered in .357 magnum, possibly the most flexible chambering ever created. You can become familiar with shooting the revolver using cheap, light recoiling .38 special cartridges. As you gain proficiency, you can step up to .357 magnum. This is a time honored practice. .38 special makes a fine cartridge for small game hunting with round nose bullets and works well for defensive use with heavier 158 grain hollowpoint bullets. .357 magnum is a slightly longer .38 special that is loaded to much higher pressures. The much faster magnum rounds have one of the best track records of any pistol caliber for self defensive use and can also flex into hunting large game and bear defense.
The second is the 8 shot .22 long rifle variant. What .22 long rifle lacks in kinetic energy it makes up for in low ammunition weight, low recoil, lower noise, and lower cost. People tend not to develop flinching when shooting .22 long rifle, another plus. The SP101 is absurdly overbuilt for .22 long rifle, but it’ll still make an effective sidearm for hiking or small game hunting. In a pinch, it works well for self defense as long as the user places their shots well.
You can also take an SP101 apart with a screwdriver and toothpick (or paper clip). The following video is for the GP100, the SP101’s identical scaled up older brother:
High Standard Sentinel
Source: (High Standard Sentinel)
These guns were way more advanced than the late 1950’s market was ready for. The Sentinels used an anodized aluminum frame with a steel barrel and cylinder along with a unique ratcheting mechanism that hasn’t been used since to the best of my knowledge. Incidentally, the Sentinel’s engineer, Harry Sefried, went on to work for Ruger.
If you haven’t figured it out already, the Sentinel has been out of production for a long time now. However, these guns can often be found on the used market for relatively low prices. All varieties of the Sentinel are .22 caliber with 9 shot cylinders. Most of these were made in .22 long rifle, but a few later models were chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire. They were manufactured in many different barrel lengths and finishes. A Sentinel can be used for the same purposes as the .22 caliber SP101, but the Sentinels will have an extra shot and be lighter weight. They make even better hiking and backpacking guns than the SP101 simply due to the weight savings. Long barreled Sentinels make great target shooting revolvers too.
Various Used Smith & Wesson Revolvers
Source: (Smith & Wesson Model 10)
I say various because there are a ton of used Smith & Wesson revolvers floating around out there. That’s mostly because they were a standard sidearm for police officers for over 50 years. It shouldn’t be surprising that these guns keep working for a long time; police officers liked them because there isn’t much to go wrong with them. Notable recommended varieties include the Model 10 (6 shot .38 special), Model 15 (6 shot .38 special), Model 17 (6 shot .22 long rifle), and Model 19 (6 shot .357 magnum).
The reason I recommend used Smith & Wesson revolvers is because new ones are really expensive. They’re well made, but I have a hard time advocating that kind of expense when perfectly good used revolvers are floating around on the market, often for a lower price.
There are lots of other good revolvers out there, but not all of them are ideal for beginners. If anybody wants to ask about revolvers outside of the ones I’ve suggest, I welcome comments and I’ll be happy to lend my advice.
Joe Buettner, translated gun manuals, tested ammunition, compiled gun laws
Upvoted by Jon Davis, Marine Corps weapons instructor
Traditional double action revolvers all have more or less the same manual of arms. That means the real deciding factors when buying a revolver are what role you want the revolver to fill and quality control. All the revolvers I’m going to suggest are going to be guns you can learn on, become proficient with, and eventually use in a couple different roles.
I feel I should divulge some of my philosophy for revolver shooting. First, the longer your sight radius, the more precisely you’ll be able to shoot. Double action trigger pulls, where pulling the trigger both cocks and fires the gun, are invariably long and require the user to acquire and maintain a steady sight picture. Longer sight radii always help with that process. Accurate double action shooting is relatively easy for a beginner to pick up with a 4 inch barreled revolver and easier still with a 5 or 6 inch barrel. Single action shooting, which is achieved by manually cocking back the hammer so the trigger only has to release the hammer to fire the gun, will also be aided by a longer sight radius, but the difference is more noticeable when shooting in double action.
Next is when to use double action rather than cock the hammer back into single action. Most beginners want to use single action whenever possible because of the shorter and lighter trigger pull. I advise that you only use single action when firing one handed or with the revolver rested or braced against a barricade for stability. Any time you are firing two handed without the support of some type of barricade you should use double action. The two main factors that go into my advice are trigger finger strain and flinching. Flinching is what occurs when a shooter anticipates the recoil of a firearm and tries to compensate for it while pulling the trigger. Flinching throws the shooter’s aim off. Trigger finger strain is the little bit of trembling that occurs when you try to pull on the trigger in a very controlled manner over a long period of time.
When shooting one handed in double action, the trembling from trigger finger strain is likely to spoil your aim because you’re only using your firing hand to steady the gun. Therefore it makes sense to cock back the hammer for a shorter trigger pull. Flinching might occur, but at least you have a better chance at making an accurate shot than when the gun is wobbling around from your straining finger in double action. One handed shooting takes a lot of practice.
When shooting two handed, your non-firing hand can provide support and extra stability. This extra stability allows the shooter to use double action effectively with much less wobbling from trigger finger strain. Since most newer shooters don’t know exactly when the double action trigger pull will fire the gun, flinching is somewhat less likely. Single action shooting would seem ideal in this scenario, but my experience with lots of new shooters firing revolvers is that flinching is more likely since the shooter anticipates the gun firing too early. By contrast, the same shooters seem to get automatically more accurate when they only use double action two handed.
Resting or bracing the revolver against a barricade, a stable object in your environment, does a few very important things:
The barricade stabilizes your revolver and removes a lot of your body’s motion from the process of aiming.
The barricade further reduces the amount of trembling caused by finger strain.
The barricade restricts the gun’s movement and therefore mitigates the effects of flinching.
If shooting off a barricade sounds awesome, that’s because it is. Single action shooting works wonders in conjunction with a barricade; you can almost get carbine like accuracy.
With all of that said, let’s look at some good revolvers for beginners.
Ruger SP101 4″
Ruger has a reputation for overbuilding and over-engineering their revolvers. That makes for really strong guns which can often double as boat anchors. At 30 ounces, the 4 inch SP101 is just light enough for most people to carry in a belt holster. Shorter barreled models exist, but the shorter sight radius of those guns make it harder for a beginner to aim well. The 4 inch barreled models also have adjustable sights, a nice perk that can help a lot. The button style cylinder release is fairly intuitive for beginners too.
I recommend two varieties of 4 inch barreled SP101.
The first is the 5 shot chambered in .357 magnum, possibly the most flexible chambering ever created. You can become familiar with shooting the revolver using cheap, light recoiling .38 special cartridges. As you gain proficiency, you can step up to .357 magnum. This is a time honored practice. .38 special makes a fine cartridge for small game hunting with round nose bullets and works well for defensive use with heavier 158 grain hollowpoint bullets. .357 magnum is a slightly longer .38 special that is loaded to much higher pressures. The much faster magnum rounds have one of the best track records of any pistol caliber for self defensive use and can also flex into hunting large game and bear defense.
The second is the 8 shot .22 long rifle variant. What .22 long rifle lacks in kinetic energy it makes up for in low ammunition weight, low recoil, lower noise, and lower cost. People tend not to develop flinching when shooting .22 long rifle, another plus. The SP101 is absurdly overbuilt for .22 long rifle, but it’ll still make an effective sidearm for hiking or small game hunting. In a pinch, it works well for self defense as long as the user places their shots well.
You can also take an SP101 apart with a screwdriver and toothpick (or paper clip). The following video is for the GP100, the SP101’s identical scaled up older brother:
These guns were way more advanced than the late 1950’s market was ready for. The Sentinels used an anodized aluminum frame with a steel barrel and cylinder along with a unique ratcheting mechanism that hasn’t been used since to the best of my knowledge. Incidentally, the Sentinel’s engineer, Harry Sefried, went on to work for Ruger.
If you haven’t figured it out already, the Sentinel has been out of production for a long time now. However, these guns can often be found on the used market for relatively low prices. All varieties of the Sentinel are .22 caliber with 9 shot cylinders. Most of these were made in .22 long rifle, but a few later models were chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire. They were manufactured in many different barrel lengths and finishes. A Sentinel can be used for the same purposes as the .22 caliber SP101, but the Sentinels will have an extra shot and be lighter weight. They make even better hiking and backpacking guns than the SP101 simply due to the weight savings. Long barreled Sentinels make great target shooting revolvers too.
Various Used Smith & Wesson Revolvers
I say various because there are a ton of used Smith & Wesson revolvers floating around out there. That’s mostly because they were a standard sidearm for police officers for over 50 years. It shouldn’t be surprising that these guns keep working for a long time; police officers liked them because there isn’t much to go wrong with them. Notable recommended varieties include the Model 10 (6 shot .38 special), Model 15 (6 shot .38 special), Model 17 (6 shot .22 long rifle), and Model 19 (6 shot .357 magnum).
The reason I recommend used Smith & Wesson revolvers is because new ones are really expensive. They’re well made, but I have a hard time advocating that kind of expense when perfectly good used revolvers are floating around on the market, often for a lower price.
There are lots of other good revolvers out there, but not all of them are ideal for beginners. If anybody wants to ask about revolvers outside of the ones I’ve suggest, I welcome comments and I’ll be happy to lend my advice.
