Goodbye Revolvers for Defensive Carry

I'd forgotten about this thread. :D

Interesting to see it brought back, and especially interesting that it was brought back by the OP. Glad to hear your decision has proven to have been the right one for you.

Since my last post in this thread there's been some things happening ...

I attended a couple of "officer safety" in-service training lectures. One was for the LEOKA class (Law Enforcement Officers Killed & Assaulted), which travels. The other was also a traveling field class, taught by a retired LASD trainer. Both were great classes, drawing large auditoriums of attendees.

For the purposes of this thread, I found a couple of things fairly interesting in these classes (beyond the obvious ;) ).

Firstly, the presence and usefulness of the ubiquitous 5-shot snub revolver as a secondary/backup weapon has been, and is seemingly still, going strong.

In one of the lectures there were many related instances where a 5-shot snub .38 Spl had been used by cops, in a secondary/backup capacity, to successfully stop attacks by 1, 2 and even 3 armed attackers, saving the lives of the cops. (Yes, the .380 ACP was also mentioned, but the 5-shot snub seemed to receive greater mention.)

The difficulty of using the little snubs, and their obvious limitation of 5-shots capacity before having to be reloaded, doesn't necessarily mean they aren't still being used to good effect in limited roles.

Secondly, the other thing I found interesting was the number of cops attending these events who were armed versus unarmed. Many attendees were there for training while on-duty, and many were attending on their own time & dime. Some uniforms were being worn, but the greater number were dressed in business or casual/off-duty clothing. Both classes contained upwards of a couple hundred or more attendees.

In one class, when the instructor asked for a show of hands of everyone who was armed, approx 60% of the people raised their hands.

In the other class, when the same question was asked, approx 80% of the people raised hands.

Now, granted, these classes dealt specifically with officer safety & tactics topics, so you'd hope attending cops would already have some elevated interest in this subject. It's not like the same number were being polled when they were away from work/training, completely on their own time. On previous occasions when I've attended training over the years, I can remember a lot fewer cops traveling to such classes, away from their agencies & jurisdictions, and choosing to be armed.

It's also that when I've previously attended a couple lectures by another well known & respected trainer (Lt. Col. Grossman, ret), he mentioned statistics indicating that upwards of no more than 20% of active LE reportedly carried off-duty weapons. Maybe we're seeing another cycle of awareness occurring among the next generation of cops. Dunno. Just thought it was interesting.

Something else which has happened since my last participation in this thread ... is that I've bought a diminutive .380 ACP. :eek: A Ruger LCP, to be exact.

While I have more than half a dozen 5-shot J's from which to choose, I've come to find that there are still times when I can't effectively conceal one of them while wearing some of my tighter jeans (due to pocket size variations). I know, I know, I can always choose to dress around whatever retirement weapon I wish to carry. ;)

It's just that I don't always want to have to choose my manner of dress based upon concealing a weapon. (Spare me the "comforting v. comfortable" comments, as I'm well aware of the meaning and broader implications. ;) ) There are times I want to dress comfortably while enjoying the attractions of the local beach communities in warm weather ... and I don't really care for the IWB/belly band/appendix carry/groin holster, etc.

Anyway, a long time friend of mine (more than 40 years), also another firearms instructor, sheepishly admitted one day that he'd bought a LCP. (Sheepishly, because he usually carries a pair of handguns off-duty, and now retired, and has always been a .357 Magnum, .45, .40 & 9mm shooter.)

He'd been listening to a growing number of the people at his agency who were very satisfied with the little LCP, so he tried one. He's been surprised by how handy, reliable and accurate the little pistol has been for him.

I checked around and found other guys closer to home who has also been happy with the little LCP. I finally picked one up.

Handy. Fits where one of my J's won't. Lighter.

I've tried Win 95gr T-Series, Speer 90gr GDHP & Rem 102gr BJHP ... and some Win flat point ball ... and the little gun has demonstrated itself to be surprisingly accurate.

The sights are rudimentary & minimal, making the thin black post & notch of the older J's look generous. Not the easiest to pick up and use, especially using on an outdoor night range, in & out of light & shadow ... but when I took a moment to acquire them, the little gun cut ragged little cloverleaf groups at 5-7yds. Indexed nicely at closer ranges, too. Respectable groups out to 20yds.

Given a choice, I'd still rather have one of my .38's for the heavier bullet weights, and I can shoot them better at greater distances (meaning out to 40-50yds).

Beats being unarmed, though.

First .380 I've owned in more than 25 years.

BTW, I didn't choose the Bodyguard 380 because it was just a bit larger, and I didn't need (or want) the integral laser.

Now, when I take another driving trip in the near future, I'll probably leave the larger 9's or .40's I normally take along at home ... and take a J-frame and the LCP. The larger .45's & 6-shot steel revolvers stay behind, too.

Things keep changing ...
 
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I went in the opposite direction. I started out carrying a S&W 908 but wanted something that was lighter, easier to conceal and would allow me the option of pocket carry. I chose the Ruger LCR and haven't looked back. The biggest factor is that I shoot the LCR much better.
As far as capacity, I'm not in law enforcement. I will never have to chase a perp down a dark alley, kick in the door of a crack house or take someone into custody. I also have an option that LEO's don't, I can run away from a bad situation! I also avoid bad areas and seldom even go out after dark.
This all goes to show that there is no one perfect carry option for all, carry what works best for you. Maybe when I get more experience with different weapons I'll change my mind again, but for now I say snubbies rock!

I echo this....except for the going out after dark part.
I've tried them all(carrying) and the 642 is on me to stay.
 
To each his own. I currently carry a 1911A1 and am starting to look at BUGs. I was in my LGS looking at a 3 inch barrel Model 10 they had. When I told the gentlemen behind the counter why I was considering it(though it was a tad long for my purposes), he tried to pull me down towards the alloy-framed "more modern" revolvers. I politely told him "no thankyou" and moved on. I like feeling my weapon is there, knowing when the weight is missing, I like steel. Some people like autos, some like revolvers. I, like the little girl from the Old El Paso comercial, say "Why not have both?"
 
So the point of all this is... Revolvers are old fashoned, out of style and not just untacticool, but don't deliver enough rounds downrange. Got it.
 
This is an interesting topic.

I have been packing a handgun (and other firearms) most of my adult life.

Carry on and off duty for the last 20 years.

As far a CCW goes , I feel just fine with my three inch model 65 (and a couple of speed loaders).
 
For what it's worth, sometimes capacity, by itself, is meaningless.....

I do better with some handguns/rounds than with others. And there are legal considerations regarding what I can or can't carry. And medical issues. And so on....

Pistols: revolvers, autoloaders, TC Contenders, derringers - whatever - each has strong & weak points.

Rounds on target count. Different guns for different reasons. Use whatever works best for you.

My two cents and worth every penny........
 
I am a civilian. Ex- military but still a civilian since the 1980's. So my choices are made strictly for self defense or sport as far as ownership. I live in a semi rural area with very little crime. I still carry most of the time. Always a J frame in pocket or ankle and sometimes a 3913 or 4513TSW...whatever I pick out that day...I really like my Sig P239 in 357 sig...all on the hip.
In reality I expend a lot of time training at the range and reading on self defense...but my true need where I live is probably a J frame in .38 spl or .357 at best.
I personally love guns and the sport of shooting.
As far as SD I prepare for the worst and pray I never encounter anything.
I respect and admire all of you in LE that carry your weapons as a service to protect. Your posts are always interesting and informative. Thank You.
 
This is an interesting topic.

I have been packing a handgun (and other firearms) most of my adult life.

Carry on and off duty for the last 20 years.

As far a CCW goes , I feel just fine with my three inch model 65 (and a couple of speed loaders).

Couldn't agree more!!
 
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