How Do You Use Your Revolver(s)? Favorite Things?

[Austinpaulster]

I have very few guns anymore, and those I do have are for plinking fun and/ or collecting. I carried for decades and I'm just over it now. I lived in Mexico for a while and got used to not having a firearm, and I have to say, it was oddly a relieving feeling to not have one. My buddy (who had also carried for a living) had moved to Portugal about a year before and told me he experienced the exact same thing. I'm certainly not advocating this for everyone, but for me, and others I've spoken with, it's been a good thing. I had gotten to the point that firearms held no enjoyment, and were nothing but tools, and now that I've stopped thinking of them in terms of defense, but instead as a hobby, some of that enthusiasm is returning.

I go in waves of enthusiasm for getting to the range (fortunate to have quite a few great options here in central TX), but always appreciate the peace of mind that owning them provides me.

More than that, rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers, I truly love all of them. I'm also a sucker for all things historical, though the closest I can get is repros. I also appreciate anything that's well-engineered and robust. For me, revolvers are timeless and will always have a place in my home - same goes with 1911s. I'd really love to have an plated and engraved S&W. Hmm, maybe sell a few and acquire one. Beautiful to fire, handle, and display.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

My M649 is with me 24/7/365 EXCEPT when it doesn't fit what I am wearing or when I go where I see too many targets of opportunity for Tangos and other perps and predators so I switch to a small 9mm with a couple more rounds of firepower and sometimes an extra magazine (revolver thread so I'm not naming or showing the pistol ). M686 3" is my nightstand gun, there's a Ruger Security Six 2.5" hidden in my bathroom, and a customized M15 hidden in a dresser drawer. My home defense arsenal includes readily available pistols, too, and a shotgun, but the prime candidates are those revolvers.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

On a totally unrelated note, seeing that we are all learning how to use this new format, I figured out how to post pictures but not how to post 4 complete pictures. Comments solicited.

 

[BoulderTroll]

On a totally unrelated note, seeing that we are all learning how to use this new format, I figured out how to post pictures but not how to post 4 complete pictures. Comments solicited.

I never use the photo attaching setups on any forums. I always use a photo hosting site for all my pictures (I use Smugmug), and then simply post them using the bracket img backet............bracket /img bracket format. (that's the closest I can describe it, since it tries to make an attachment if I write it out...)

Here we go...

 

[hotshot357]

When I leave the house I put mine in a leather holster. It's my "American Express " gun. I never leave home without it!

 

[ArkRaider]

Carry and training, depending what I'm doing. Good left/brain manual of arms and I think shooting revolvers makes you a better shooter of semi autos. Lie playing multiple sports. One feeds the other.

 

[Garrett-J]

Bowling Pins

 

[Coyote56]

All mine get used in some capacity. Some more than others.

 

[MAUSER888]

Strictly for target practice when I don't fell like bending over to pick up my brass. I'm old!!

 

[Mike LaNier]

Hmmmm.... revolvers are pretty much my gun focus, and have been for sixty years. I qualified with a 1911 back in the day, and I've owned a Browning Hi-Power since about 1966 (in my opinion everybody should have one), but my revolvers are my go-to guns; a 586 next to the bed, an old 66 by the workbench and a 686+ 3" for everyday use. Of course, being a geezer is part of the reason....

 

[BillyKframe]

I shoot mostly revolvers. Black Powder, Single Actions and S&W Double Actions and carry a S&W 638 in my pocket everywhere I go.

 

[Big guy]

I use mine to shoot invasive lizards (K22 or single 6), pesky squirrels (BlackHawk) and for tractor or woods work (a 60-10). I usually qualify with a 4" 686 and whatever semi-auto (Hellcat to G40). I haven't in awhile but I like qualifying with my now old XDs .45. For a little gun it shoots great. Back on track, I've also been known to qualify with a 2.75"69, 6" 686, 5"629 or 3" 629. The only one of those last 4 I actually ever carry is the 69. I do on occasion carry my 60 no-. I like the 5" 629 a lot but it's really just a range toy. I like shooting them all. The only guns I don't actually like to shoot are the tiny plastic 380s although that's the ticket for walks. Well that and the Super Blackhawk that hammers the heck out of my middle finger middle knuckle. I'd trade that off except it belonged to my FIL.

Nice range setup Big Guy. Do you have a spot for longer ranges?

 

[Big guy]

I use mine to shoot invasive lizards (K22 or single 6), pesky squirrels (BlackHawk) and for tractor or woods work (a 60-10). I usually qualify with a 4" 686 and whatever semi-auto (Hellcat to G40). I haven't in awhile but I like qualifying with my now old XDs .45. For a little gun it shoots great. Back on track, I've also been known to qualify with a 2.75"69, 6" 686, 5"629 or 3" 629. The only one of those last 4 I actually ever carry is the 69. I do on occasion carry my 60 no-. I like the 5" 629 a lot but it's really just a range toy. I like shooting them all. The only guns I don't actually like to shoot are the tiny plastic 380s although that's the ticket for walks. Well that and the Super Blackhawk that hammers the heck out of my middle finger middle knuckle. I'd trade that off except it belonged to my FIL.

Nice range setup Big Guy. Do you have a spot for longer ranges?

Oink, I can get 50yrds to this back stop from my deck. If I need more distance the county range is just down the road.

 

[heeter3]

My snubs I rotate monthly in my edc and all get a lot of range time both indoor paper and outdoor steel(7 of them).MY 6 INCHERS(3 of them) and 4 inchers(2 of them) get alot of range time again outdoor and indoor and occasional carry the further out I go in the wild.Also the further out the longer the barrel.I enjoy my revolvers(the only handguns I own) immensely.

 

[ameridaddy]

My favorite thing to do is take my Colt SAA and drive barbed wire staples with the butt, jus' like they teached me in Hopalong Cassidy and Hoot Gibson movies. I've wanted to bonk a bad guy on the head and knock him out with it too, ('course that'd be after I shot his gun out of his hand) but haven't had the opportunity just yet.

 

[Biggemmas]

I have 2, a 686 competitor in .357 and a 627 in 38 super, I use both for IPSC competitions, just to be a little different

 

[FivePews]

I carry Centennial J frames for self defense. Have them in my pockets, on the nightstand, in the glove compartments, next to the couch, some in drawers (including my own)....pretty much everywhere. Some only get used at the range. Some are dedicated to dry-fire practice and never get loaded.

After years and years of "carry pistol" experimentation and spending lotsa money on all the popular compact semi-auto pistols (which are literally piled up in a drawer these days), combined with tens-of-thousands of rounds of practicing and classes...a J frame smith just makes sense for me. Small, safe, reliable, and always nearby. Just a good fit.

Lately I've been playing with L and N frame Smiths. Turns out that I like them too!

 

[fatcat3]

I've stopped thinking of them in terms of defense, but instead as a hobby, some of that enthusiasm is returning.

Big thumbs up. Not there with you 100%, BUT there is nothing wrong with having guns just for the fun of it. Plinking, target shooting, hunting, just collecting and gathering dust. I also get tired of the tactacool armchair commando, armed to the teeth to go outside, proponents, on the other hand if thats what lifts your skirt have at it and enjoy.

 

[mtgianni]

General target shooting and woods walks get most of mine rotated. Some are just to be enjoyed and not shot much as I have two that came to me supposedly unfired. I do have others in those calibers so that's fine. I have 3 classes of revolvers, Collectable keepers, nice shooters and rotate-able guns. If I want to trade the rotate-able ones come out.

 

[Pizza Bob]

Competition. USPSA / IDPA / Steel

 

[Buford57]

642 is my daily companion. M38 and 60 are understudies and get range time in turn. M15 and 586 are range queens although I have holsters for both and wouldn't hesitate to carry them if circumstances warranted it. M25-5 punches big holes in paper and Ruger Vaquero .45 is my hunting sidearm. Ruger Super Wrangler is the Verminator. Colt Lawman MK III snub reminds me my wife loves me as much as she did 45 years ago. Couldn't ask more from revolvers.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Of late.......I've been carrying my 60-1 with a speed strip.

 

[jdlii]

I use and shoot mine regularly. This one is a constant hunting companion. It is a 629-5, Classic DX and shoots lights out. Only one deer to its credit so far but, we keep looking for the "next one!" The Mod. 27-2 is an armadillo exterminator.

 

[Elder Shooter]

I have very few guns anymore, and those I do have are for plinking fun and/ or collecting. I carried for decades and I'm just over it now. I lived in Mexico for a while and got used to not having a firearm, and I have to say, it was oddly a relieving feeling to not have one. My buddy (who had also carried for a living) had moved to Portugal about a year before and told me he experienced the exact same thing. I'm certainly not advocating this for everyone, but for me, and others I've spoken with, it's been a good thing. I had gotten to the point that firearms held no enjoyment, and were nothing but tools, and now that I've stopped thinking of them in terms of defense, but instead as a hobby, some of that enthusiasm is returning.

I have very few guns anymore, and those I do have are for plinking fun and/ or collecting. I carried for decades and I'm just over it now. I lived in Mexico for a while and got used to not having a firearm, and I have to say, it was oddly a relieving feeling to not have one. My buddy (who had also carried for a living) had moved to Portugal about a year before and told me he experienced the exact same thing. I'm certainly not advocating this for everyone, but for me, and others I've spoken with, it's been a good thing. I had gotten to the point that firearms held no enjoyment, and were nothing but tools, and now that I've stopped thinking of them in terms of defense, but instead as a hobby, some of that enthusiasm is returning.

Congratulations on being the only unarmed man in Mexico and still coming back alive. Mexican law and Mexican practice are two different things.

 

[65Whelen]

I carry all the time, self defense. One next to the bed, home defence. Practice to maintain some level of competence and just for the enjoyment of shooting. Reload to support my shooting activities. I also have a cabin in the north woods of WI where bears and wolves are not uncommon. When in the north woods my firearms requirements are much the same as a normal days but I up the fire power a couple notches.

 

[BabaBlueJay]

I use my revolvers for hunting and target shooting mostly. Some I carry for SD. This one (Model 67 first year no-dash) I used when a rattle snake was heading for my 3 year old.


View attachment 754311

That is a heck of a shot! Well done!

To answer OP question, my 686 snub is my home defense gun and occasionally I carry it in a Milt Sparks PMK if I need added peace of mind where I am going. Most days I throw my NAA pocket folder in my front pocket and call it a day. If I wanted a mid-to-full size gun for carry I'd buy a Glock.

 

[seabright60]

For me, it's - classic look and feel, reliability & dependability, accuracy, proven performance, and quality I like.

Nightstand: My Model 10 heavy-barrel, loaded with Crit D, .38 Special +p rounds (and a speed-loader), is my preferred choice for the nightstand. I never know what state I'm going to be in if I'm awakened at night, so if I was in a confused, (panicked? Don't know!), semi-lucid state, reaching for a good ole' six-shooter is my preference. That said, my .44 mag? Too much power & recoil, temp blindness and deafness (if not permanent hearing damage), so that's reserved for other things.

Nevertheless, I do keep a 9mm semi-auto w/ a bright light next to it, but I don't trust myself to keep 'locked and loaded' then end-up accidentally firing it because I'm fumbling around in the drawer, probably in the dark, and accidentally grab a hair-trigger sitting in there. So I definitely appreciate the built-in 'safety' of the revolver, but at the same time, it's always 'ready to rock' with D-A.

Other times, I just like them on display in my office to admire. It never gets old, nor does range time with them.View attachment 754288View attachment 754289

Same here lol,same reasons too

 

[Hawg Rider]

Most of my revolvers are used only at the range and for fondling! LOL! However, I do still put a Model 642-2 in my shorts pocket in a pocket holster for convenient EDC, and have a 686-6 Plus on my belt in an OWB when trekking. As far as the nightstand, a few years ago I switched over to a S&W M&P 10mm with Nightstick weapon light and Holoson RDO. Although I keep flashlights in the nightstand, I prefer to have one mounted on my pistol if I have to check out a "thump in the night".

 

[Rocketmedic40]

I shoot my 642 and Detective Specials at the range regularly. I find, for me,
that if I can stay proficient with them, I can shoot any of my auto loaders much better.

Same. The j frame is unforgiving, but mastering it makes you a better shot at everything.