9mm revolvers - why.

[series guy]

This is a good reason. It keeps me in the top three against the semi auto shooters at our club events.

 

[fishcreekrim]

I have a convertible Ruger Blackhawk, the 115 gr 9mm is about right for muskrat, skunk, porcupine, coyote,badger etc, that you run into on the farm. It seems a dozen 9mms in a pocket take up about the same room as 6 38s. Ammo available and cheap.

Works for me.

 

[Bald1]

Every rationale for a 9mm revolver is defeated by 158gr Buffalo Bore 38spl +P SWCHP GC or 357, a half decent press, a decent revolver smith to cut a cylinder for moon clips. Except "because they made it."

I have a 9mm S&W, I like it.

What he said!

 

[AzShooter]

You can't count out the 929. It's a great competition gun and the 9 mm offers lots of benefits. The case are shooter than .38 leading to faster reloads. Moon clips are faster than speed loaders, 9 ammo is easier to find that .38 or .357 and less espensive.

 

[S-W4EVER]

Ammo shortages have become a part of life and I have noticed 9mm and 5.56 seem to be more available than the others and atmore "reasonable" prices.

My S&W 940, Ruger SP101 9mm, & Ruger Blackhawk .357/9mm Convertibles aren't going anywhere.

 

[Borderboss]

I really like my 940-1. I wanted it because the 9mm will perform better in that package than a .38 Spl +P, and IMHO would be more controllable than a .357 in that package.

 

[John Patrick]

OK, over the top and pricey but my Korth has .357 and 9 mm cylinders and doesn't need moon clips!

Why? Because they made it.

Neither does my S&W 547.

 

[CajunBass]

Back when I was a young fellow, I used to think a Ruger Blackhawk in 357/38/9mm would be just about the best all around gun globetrotting. You could find ammo about anywhere in the world.

Of course at the time I knew nothing about the legalities of carrying a handgun in most places around the world.

I never got one. Never really missed it. I'd like to have had a 547 for the novelty of it, but only for the novelty. I couldn't think of anything it would have been "better" at than any other 38/357 revolver.

I've owned a couple of 45 acp revolvers. Didn't like them and got rid of them quickly.

 

[CH4]

I appreciate all my revolvers chambered for auto cartridges. Not sure why; perhaps I like something different. This past Sunday I found a 940 on GB to go with my 3" 625-3, 5" 625-2 and 6.5" 610-1. Although I reload, 9mm and 45acp are much easier to find on store shelves than 38 or 357; 10mm is also elusive.

 

[sheppard]

For a do it all revolver consider the Taurus 692. It comes with a 9mm cylinder and a .38 special/.357 cylinder. Changing them is quick and easy. I usually shoot 9mm without moon clips as they are a pain to load. Extraction using a short dowel.

 

[s&wchad]

If you were an LEO who carried a 9mm duty pistol, having a back up revolver that takes the same ammo offered advantages.

9mm is also economical for range shooters who like revolvers and shoot factory ammo. It was and probably still is the cheapest centerfire ammunition you could get. Not that long ago, I was able to buy it for $5-$6 per box. The good old days!

 

[S-W4EVER]

If you were an LEO who carried a 9mm duty pistol, having a back up revolver that takes the same ammo offered advantages...

+1. That's why I bought my 940 when they were introduced (as I was issued a Beretta 92F a couple years earlier). I felt having one less cartridge to keep up with in my patrol car was a definite benefit.

 

[ShootMeStraight]

I hate picking up brass. So +1 for revolvers.

 

[Toyman]

I fired 12 full moonclips=72 rounds through my Alfa project 9mm on July 4th. I was shooting white box Winchester no problem with bullet jump.

 

[Screwball]

UMC bulk crimps were good for 4 rounds… never tried more (I don't reload partial clips). Hornady… I think I shot two or three four round cylinders to see if it would creep… and it didn't.

I want to say it was TheYankeeMarshal who did a few videos on crimp jump and which crimps were good to go.

 

[BB57]

I've had a handful of 9mm and .45ACP 5/6 guns. I loved the concept, but never really enjoyed the execution. I hated loading/unloading the moon clips, found them fragile, and found them bulky in the pocket compared to a speed strip or handgun magazine.

The ammo availability point is well taken, and while I never ran out of revolver ammo during the last shortage, I certainly could have. That said, I also found that I enjoyed shooting my 9mm revolvers much less than their .38/357 counterparts due to the hassle of moon clips, and less than the 9mm autos I had already. If I'd ran dry on revolver ammo, I'd wind up just shooting the autos anyways. As far as defensive/carry stuff, I found no benefit to one of the 9mm revolvers I had over an equivalent auto.

I know there were some revolvers made to chamber 9mm without a moon clip, and if one pops up in my budget when I'm shopping I'd be happy to have one of them, but I think the moonclips just aren't for me.

Moon clips are not for everyone.

Neither are semi auto pistols. Some folks prefer revolvers and others just can't rack the slide on a semi auto. For example when my 80 year old mother decided she wanted to conceal carry and asked me for a recommendation her options were either a J frame sized revolver, a flip barrel Tomcat in .32 ACP or a delayed recoil locked pistol like the Kimber Micro, Colt Mustang or Sig P238 in 380 ACP. She went with a S&W 36 but a similar sized 9mm would have worked for her as well and it would have given her a 9mm option she would not have had otherwise.

Had a S&W 940 for a while. Also had a Desert Eagle (actually two at two different times - and a model 25 'model of 1955' - and a model 625 'model of 1988'- couldn't seem to pass up a "good deal" ). . . for a while. Not trying to be killjoy, but I guess I'm just too dull. After the novelty wore off I examined the practical reasons why I should keep such and sent them on to the next 'curious enthusiast' to enjoy.

I understand the enthusiasm for such. I first caught the bug for a revolver chambered for a semi-auto round shooting with old school 'bullseye' shooters. Seemed like a good idea at the time. But my interests seemed to run in other directions. I saw, I lusted, I acquired, I played, and then . . . . decided they weren't for me. To each his own. Glad for the first hand experience. Variety - the spice of life !

All good points.


——-


The question my post sought to answer is "why would *anyone* want a 9mm revolver?" That's different than "why would *everyone* want a 9mm revolver?"

 

[BB57]

If you were an LEO who carried a 9mm duty pistol, having a back up revolver that takes the same ammo offered advantages.

9mm is also economical for range shooters who like revolvers and shoot factory ammo. It was and probably still is the cheapest centerfire ammunition you could get. Not that long ago, I was able to buy it for $5-$6 per box. The good old days!

You can't count out the 929. It's a great competition gun and the 9 mm offers lots of benefits. The case are shooter than .38 leading to faster reloads. Moon clips are faster than speed loaders, 9 ammo is easier to find that .38 or .357 and less espensive.

[/QUOTE

Agreed.

Carrying a J frame sized 9mm in an ankle holster works fine for me, and when I fly, it's often my primary as a flight suit doesn't offer any concealed carry options other than a pocket holster.

"Full length" ejector rods are based on the full length of a .38 Special and they are 1/8" short on nearly all .357 Magnum revolvers.

It gets worse on smaller revolvers with barrels less than 3" in length. For example the ejector rod on a Model 36 or 60 leaves a lot of case still in the chamber.

With 9mm you get full ejection and then some on pretty much any revolver.

 

[BB57]

Every rationale for a 9mm revolver is defeated by 158gr Buffalo Bore 38spl +P SWCHP GC or 357, a half decent press, a decent revolver smith to cut a cylinder for moon clips. Except "because they made it."

I have a 9mm S&W, I like it.

There are a few more…

- 9mm is still cheaper for casual plinking, even for folks who handload.

- For more or less equal .38 +P and 9mm performance 9mm in moon clips is shorter and more compact than .357 Mag in moon clips; and

- 9mm revolvers have more positive ejection in a short barrel revolver that lacks a full length ejector rod.

 

[BB57]

In case you haven't shot USPSA revolver, ICORE, or a revolver in steel challenge lately, the 8-shot 9mm revolvers dominate. The OKC ICORE had most of their stages set so a 6-shot revolver had no chance to even finish in the par time.

I started shooting practical pistol competition in the mid 1980s. Over the years I watched folks get badly off track pursuing the "speed" aspects of it at the expense of the "practical" aspects of it. They eventually ruined it with race guns. The addition of stock classes hasn't fixed the mess it's become.

Setting stages that eliminate traditional 6 shot revolvers from competing is just more of the same.

 

[GypsmJim]

Why would anybody want a 9mm revolver? Or, for that matter, a 45 ACP revolver? But come to think of it, why a 38 spl, when a 357 is so much better. Or a 380, so little. Or, omg, a 45 colt, when a 44 mag is so much better.

OK, OK, just kidding. Looks like I might have all of the above. Why? I just like them I guess. No real reason and no need to splain why.