Revolver question

[zahc]

I'm not well-educated on revolvers. I just want one. This is what I think I want:

Medium caliber--mild recoil is important (38, 357, definitely not 44 magnum or anything)
NOT snubby--at least a 3-4 inch barrel for sight radius
Good sights.
True double-action...meaning can be fired single-action if desired
A really fine single-action trigger pull

So basically, to me my 1911 is what I know as an "accurate handgun", but still, somewhere I have this idea that a revolver with a medium-to-long barrel with good sights, and a trigger pull at least as good as a 1911, should be even more accurate at 25yard+ ranges. I'm talking something you could hunt deer confidently with. At the same time, the hunting revolvers that I am familiar with like the Ruger Redhawk-type revolvers with their pseudo-SAA handling and, well, SA-ness make them undesireable to me because I feel like a full-size revolver should also make a really good bedside gun...double action, mild recoil, and safetlyless operation.

Yet when I go to a gun store I see dozens of snub-nose revolvers, a handful of SA hunting revolvers, a few token 44mag+ 'dangerous game' revolvers, but I don't really see the 38 special, longish barreled, well-sighted, DA revolver in my head represented.

[kgbsquirrel]

Loved my S&W 586. Selling it now though. I don't think it falls into your "hunting" category though as it only has a 4.5" barrel.

[PTK]

4.5" barrel is totally good for hunting, though some state laws may disagree.

[sanglant]

sounds like you need a 50S&W











  but really, can you get 45colt ammo where you are? oh and stay with steel if you don't like recoil.

[mtnbkr]

Based on your requirements, a 586 or 686 (blued and stainless) would be about perfect.  A GP100 would work as well except for the "fine SA trigger". 

I'm not crazy about using hte 357mag for deer.  It'll work if the load is right (no 125gr personal defense loads, you want 158gr or heavier HUNTING loads) and the deer aren't too big (no trophy bucks for you!), but it doesn't leave much margin for error.  Based on that requirement, I would move up to the 41mag. 

BTW, a Redhawk isn't a pseudo SA, it's a large frame DA revolver.

Chris

[kgbsquirrel]

I would move up to the 41mag. 

That cartridge is pretty much a carries a requirement to handload though. Recently helped a friend who shoots .41 Mag. The difference between commercial cartridges and the handloads was nearly $2.00 a round.

I personally found full power .357 pleasant to shoot in my 586. My preferred handload was 158gr JHP loaded to around 500 f/lb (velocity eludes my memory at the moment.)

[PTK]

That's about 1200FPS, for what it's worth. :)

[HankB]

An L-frame S&W .357 would seem to fit your requirements quite nicely. In your case, I'd look for a gently used pre-lock, pre-MIM revolver.

. . . a trigger pull at least as good as a 1911, . . . I'm talking something you could hunt deer confidently with . . .

Custom makers of 1911's wish they could offer a trigger pull as fine as the SA pull on an S&W. The .357 with proper loads is good for deer at as long a distance as you can place your shot properly. (Deer aren't armor plated - humans have been hunting them with what amounts to pointy sticks for millenia.)

[280plus]

I don't know, I have both a Colt and a RRA 1911 and the triggers are quite sweet. The Colt is a Dinan Alton III custom. THAT is a sweet gun. 
I guess one (or more) of you all will have to ship me your S&W SA so I can do some comparisons.

[mtnbkr]

(Deer aren't armor plated - humans have been hunting them with what amounts to pointy sticks for millenia.)

No, they aren't, but you want to do it humanely and going larger gives you more room for error, better penetration through bone, etc.

That cartridge is pretty much a carries a requirement to handload though. Recently helped a friend who shoots .41 Mag. The difference between commercial cartridges and the handloads was nearly $2.00 a round.

True, which is why I would normally recommend the 44mag, but he said he didn't want one.  IMO, a 4" 44mag (m29 or 629) with medium loads for hunting and 44Special for HD would be about ideal.

I personally found full power .357 pleasant to shoot in my 586. My preferred handload was 158gr JHP loaded to around 500 f/lb (velocity eludes my memory at the moment.)

Energy doesn't equal momentum.  You can get higher energy figures with a 125gr bullet going warp speed, but it won't be appropriate for hunting.  I'm not saying the 158s won't work, they will, but don't get caught up in energy figures.  They don't tell the entire story.

Chris

[Jamisjockey]

A 4 or 6 inch GP100 in 44. 

[roo_ster]

If you were biased toward carry, a K-frame Smith & Wesson in.357mag would be the ticket (models 19 & 66).  

If you are biased toward hunting, the SW L-frame (586 & 686) are good-to-go for the heaviest reasonable.357 loads.  I own a SW686 .357mag with a 4" bbl and get an honest 1400fps with my heavier hand loads (.357 case, 158gr LSWC, 2400 a little off max, std primer).  The 686's heft makes such loads no biggie.  For hunting, this is a floor.  You will likely want to go heavier/hotter in.357mag, most likely a 180gr if your revolver will stabilize it.

The large N-frame SW fits me best and it can be had in .357mag (27, 28).

Don't discount the big bore revolvers.  

A N-frame SW in .45 Colt or .44spl firing mild factory/cowboy fodder are very mild as are the .44mag guns shooting .44spl.  If the N-frame fits you better, it is the way to go, if it is in .38spl, .357mag, .44spl, .44mag, or .45 Colt.  

The SW N-frames in .44/.45 chamberings are the most versatile in revolver-dom.  Real mild cowboy loads up to nuclear Buffalo Bore loads & everything in between.  And, frankly,there are very few game animals that can't be taken with a medium load in hte .44/.45 bores: 240-250gr LSWC at 1000fps will cut a hole in most anything, have mild recoil, and have less muzzle blast/drama than a  hot.357mag (and the hot .357mag still isn't as effective on game as the medium .44/.45 loads).

Good luck.

[sanglant]

and jfruser got close to what i was hinting at. IF you can get 45 ammo(can't here out of stock everywhere i've looked in the last 6 months ) 454 casull, from 45 schofield up. or there is the .460S&W

[Tuco]

A 686 is pretty much the bomb, meets your criteria, and everyone I've handled had a nice, crisp trigger.
I like them in stainless with rubber grips.

[geronimotwo]

i would agree with chris, if the gun is for hunting only go with the 44 mag.  personally i have two k-frame .357's.  the 65 in 4 inch is my daily carry, and the 66 in 6 inch is my woods gun.  i prefer the k frame as it doesn't have the full under barrel lug that the 686 does,  but if i planned on shooting it a lot i would get the L frame for durability.  i would also recomend pre-lock, although i have not heard of anyone locally that has had problems with them.  ruger makes an excellent revolver and i have always wanted a gp-100, but the triggers on my smiths are soooo nice!  the 66 in particular is timed perfectly so that in double action you can feel/hear the cylinder lock and the next little squeeze will drop the hammer.

[zahc]

It's not for hunting only, in fact hunting would be only a side use. The main use would be range/watermelon shooting, around-the-farm anti-critter carry, and bedside duty.

I have been going to buy my wife a handgun she can wield. It's hard. The AWB brought us slews of compact, pocket guns, and all of them recoil too much. Although the grip is small enough for her hands, she can't handle the recoil of my PF9. I want a revolver for her for simplicity reasons. She can shoot snubbies, but poorly. I have been going to buy her a .38 snubby revolver, but the recoil and muzzle blast from a snubby is intimidating, and the guns just aren't versatile at all. My reasoning was that a larger revolver in .38 would have much milder recoil, plus be more useful for shooting at medium distances.

[sanglant]

in that case, i would suggest a trip to the gun shop. both of you, see what fits. (rent the top 3-5 if you can. )

[mtnbkr]

A 4 or 6 inch GP100 in 44. 

No such beast.

Chris

[red headed stranger]

From your criteria, your best bet is the 586/686 or perhaps a well used GP100 that has a smoothed out trigger.  

For around the house or for carry, I would consider a K frame in 38spl.  The FBI load is nothing to sneeze at and is plenty controllable for follow-ups.  Police or security company trade-ins can still be found pretty darn cheap while at this point, while k frame .357 revolvers keep getting more and more expensive.  

I'm not sure what the barrel length requirements are for hunting where you are at, but that is something to take into consideration as well.  I like a 6"-8" for hunting purposes.  6" would obviously be a more versatile.  

I personally use different tools for the job at had rather than trying to make a revolver do everything.  If I carry a revolver as a primary, it is a model 65 with a 3" barrel. My wife's night stand gun is a 686+ with a 4" barrel.  For hunting deer, I am partial to my 7.5" barreled Blackhawk in .44 magnum.  

By going with a very inexpensive .38 k-frame, you might have money left over for a pretty nice hunting revolver.  

[41magsnub]

Don't discount a used Ruger Security Six if you can find one.

[red headed stranger]

Don't discount a used Ruger Security Six if you can find one.

Agreed.  However, they are starting to garner collector type prices. 

[charby]

Don't discount a used Ruger Security Six if you can find one.

yep

[Jamisjockey]

I've got a Security with the adjustible sights and the 2 3/4" bbl.  Its a great gun, the front sight post is huge!  Doubles as a club when you run out of bullets.

[41magsnub]

The only hunting I have done with my blued 4" security six was at near contact distance on a unaware muley doe Chinese execution style.  I'm never doing that again by the way...

I love the sights on it and of all my pistols, if I had to keep only one, that would be it.

[AZRedhawk44]

A 4 or 6 inch GP100 in 44. 

They don't make it.

BTW, a Redhawk isn't a pseudo SA, it's a large frame DA revolver.

Yeah, but the factory grip that they ship it with, is very SAA-like.

zahc, I'd recommend finding a Smith K-frame magnum.  Models 13, 19, 65 and 66.  13 and 65 are fixed sights (blued and stainless), 19 and 66 are adjustable sights (blued and stainless).

If you must go new, then I feel the only thing to get any more is the Smith models 619 or 620.  These are larger L-frames with 7 shot cylinders, just like the 686.  I feel these are better than the 686 since the 686 has a full barrel underlug that shrouds the ejector.  All that steel adds unnecessary weight.  The 619 and 620 have a slimmer barrel profile.  I think both the L-frame and the Ruger GP frame are just too big for a proper carry .357 sixgun, but the 619 and 620 at least make an effort to tip a hat to the problem.

I've got two .357's:  A Ruger SP-101 (5-shot .357, 3" barrel) and a Smith K-frame model 65 (stainless, fixed sights, 4" barrel).  The length of trigger pull is much shorter on the SP than on the m65.  That's something else you should examine:  How long of a DA trigger pull are you willing to accept?

The Redhawk probably has the longest DA trigger pull out of any revolver on the market.

If I had to spitball a guess on DA trigger reach from face of trigger to grip backstrap, the order would go:
Redhawk
X-frame S&W
Super Redhawk
N-frame
L-frame
GP-100
K-frame
Security/Service Six
SP-101
J-frame

Interestingly, this also would correlate to bore height in relation to the shooter's grip.  The larger the revolver frame, the higher the cylinder goes above the shooter's wrist, resulting in more flip and less direct force back into the palm.  If you favor 1911's then you want a lower bore axis.  This is a LARGE reason why I have a K-frame instead of an L-frame... I wanted a lower bore axis.