Unless you are a law enforcement or para-military professional who trains with many different types of firearms on a daily basis, I generally don’t think it is a great idea to have all kinds of different guns in your carry rotation. It is probably best that the guns you carry are similar and you train with them often.

That said, as of late I find myself with four very similar guns in my carry rotation. They are all S&W L Frame 357s….a 386NG, 386PD, 686PC 2.5”, and a 586PC L-Comp. Not only is similarity among my carry guns important to me, consistency is also equally important. What I mean by that are variables like trigger pull, type of sights, and how the gun is reloaded. The more consistent these variables are, or the less they vary, the easier it is to train for a time when you might have to use one of your carry guns.

While my carry guns are very similar in terms of size and dimensions, they are a number of inconsistencies among them. The 686PC and the 586 L-Comp both came from S&W cut for moonclips, the 386s did not. The 686PC and the 586 L-Comp also had Performance Center trigger/action jobs, while the 386s did not. All four of them have different sighting systems.

If the day comes when I might have to use one of my carry guns for something other than punching holes in paper, it is probably best that I know exactly what to expect from the gun I am pulling out of my holster. Having four similar, but DIFFERENT guns in my carry rotation can present potential problems or confusion at that critical moment when un-holstering my gun.

To avoid this potential problem I decided I had two options: Either carry the same gun everyday, or minimize the inconsistencies among the four guns. I went with the latter option, and took my first step toward eliminating the inconsistencies among my carry guns...

Since revolvers typically carry considerably less rounds than many semi-auto pistols, and reloading a revolver can be a very slow task, getting the reloading situation straight was the inconsistency I wanted to tackle first.

Moonclips are by far the fastest way to reload your revolver. With some practice you can reload a revolver with a cylinder cut to accept moonclips, just as fast as a magzine fed semi auto pistol. Since two of my four guns had cylinders cut to accept moonclips from the factory, all I had to do to eliminate this particular inconsistency was have the cylinders from my 386NG and 386PD cut for moonclips.

Turns out this is generally not a service provided by your local gunsmith. I turned to the internet and did some research. I found there are a few companies out there who specialize in cutting cylinders for moonclips. After reading this review from American Handgunner about TK Custom, I decided this was who was going to work on my cylinders:

Web Extra: The Rise Of The Full Moon? Clips That Is! | American Handgunner

Welcome to TK Custom.com & Moonclips.com

The TK Custom website says turn around on cylinder work is usually 7 to 10 days. We all know how anxious we get about parting with our firearms and sending them out for work. It is always unsettling. On Monday I sent my two cylinders off to TK Custom using FedEx Overnight delivery. On Wednesday I emailed Tom, the owner of TK Custom, to confirm that he received my cylinders. Not only did Tom tell me he received them, he informed me the work was complete and they would be shipping back to me today! I included a return FedEx Overnight shipping label in the box with the cylinders so I would get them back quickly, So I will have them back tomorrow.

Monday to Thursday is all it took. Four days! That’s pretty incredible customer service. I just sent my 65 LadySmith to S&W to have it refinished and tuned up. I sent it in two weeks ago and I have still not even received an estimate for the work. They told me to expect the work to take 3 to 4 months from when I receive the estimate. I would much rather be on the TK Customs' turnaround program than S&Ws!

Thus far I could not be happier with my decision to use TK Custom to perform the work on my cylinders. When I receive them tomorrow I will post some pics of the work Tom did. If the work is half as good as the customer service I have received from TK thus far, I will be very happy!

Now that I have the reloading situation squared away, next week I am going to have a trigger/action job performed on my 386s to further reduce the inconsistencies among my carry guns. Then I will deal with the sights.

You'll be pleased with your TK custom cylinders, Tom has done a few for me and they were always perfect.

As far as making all your carry guns consistant, would it not be easier to just dedicate one gun for primary carry?

I'm just thinking out loud here and not criticizing, but I don't seem much point in having several very similar guns in a carry rotation.

In fact, it makes sense to me to have a few different guns you carry in different circumstances.

For example, a very small, very concealable gun for when you are wearing light clothing and can't conceal much.

A bigger gun that is you standard carry most days.

Another case, for me, is I have a slightly bigger gun (3" M60 357Mag) that is a bit big and heavy for carry, but I keep in on my livrndr for hiking in the woods and may even carry it in a backpack. Also it's a car gun, where the car does the "carrying", so weight doesn't matter.

I think that people who have a large carry "rotation" are trying to justify owning so many guns by using them for carry. If they only carried one, then why have the others?

This is no problem for me, because I have guns I never carry just because I like them.

I've heard good things about TK's services.

As to CCW consistency, I think most folks here are creatures of habit. I carry J-frames primarily, and occasionally go with something larger for everyday (non-woodland) CCW. It comes downs to comfort and practice ... anything I have on my belt has seen sufficient range time, and I'm confident in having it with me. Anything less would be unacceptable.

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I'm with the banned ...

at the risk of going slightly off topic...
So you could take a .357, send it to tk for relief cutting for moon clips, and have the option of shooting .380, 9mm, 38 Special, and .357 Magnum.

hmm a bit of overlap, but interesting

Of course, but that would be too easy This is my hobby and I need something to do.

The truth is I really like these 4 L Frames and I like to to carry all of them. I am simply trying to get a few key features to be the same across all of them to avoid any possible problems.

Actually while these 4 guns are similar, there are some differences that should be celebrated and justifies carrying them. The 386PD is 18ozs vs the 686PC which is 38ozs. Sometimes a lighter gun with the same features of the heavier gun comes in very handy.

The Comp on the 586 really makes for faster follow up shots.

Looking forward to photos and your thoughts when you receive them back.

I've looked into maybe having it done, but haven't taking the plunge yet.

I have a couple of more that I would like to send off, just waiting to get these back. I'm going to send my M&P340 Cylinder and my other 386NG cylinder.

Let us know how they work.I have a 625 mountain gun coming .and I would like to cut it to take 45acp also.

I received my Cylinders back from TK Custom today. They look absolutely beautiful. The chamfering and lathe work is extremely well done. The titanium cylinder looks fantastic as well.

Fit and function is perfect. The rounds on the moonclips just drop right in as intended.

Not only is the work top notch but the Customer Serive in unreal...instant turnaround...TK had them in their possession for just over 24 hours Now that is service! Kudos to TK Custom.

Here are some pics.

Very nice!

The 386NG is now going to my local Smith to have the trigger/action done.

The 386PD already had the trigger very nicely done by the previous owner. He had the trigger done, installed night sights, shot a few cylinders through it, and put it away and never carried it. It came to me as new. Worked out well for me and was very reasonably priced

I am also going to send out the cylinders on my M&P340 and my other 386NG to TK Custom and have them cut too. Considering sending my 342PD cylinder as well Consistency my friends, consistency...