Single Action as Primary Carry?

[pete2]

I think a 3" Ruger SS in .32 mag. would be a good carry gun. CC is about self defense not a fire fight. Kidding yourself with the reload bit.

[arch308]

Hope so!

[Jim March]

The only problem I can see with a SA revolver is the slow reload. They can be shot just as quickly as a DA.

Yup. Which is why my New Vaquero has magazine feeding and a gas-operated auto-shell-ejector setup.



I carry it five-up in the cylinder, plus a loaded 2rd "carry magazine" about 3" long. Additional mags are a foot long, 9rd each of 9mmPara ammo. I can actually stack a 9rd mag onto the 5rd cylinder and get 14 shots with no reload, but it's a bit nutty for carry. (However, if I suspected trouble was coming I could swap the 2rd for a 9rd pretty easily, and without drawing it from the holster.)

Almost got the holder for the pair of 9rd mags and the new mag latch setup perfected...may have pics and a better video this week. Turned out to be a tougher problem than expected but I have it licked.

[L_Killkenny]

YEP, COCK IT!

Cock it once or cock it six times?

[Bob Wright]

As to handling a single action revolver one-handed, this happened to me many years ago, around 1963~1964:

I had been fishing alongside a creek in southeastern Georgia and had a Colt Scout .22 Single Action on my hip. I was about ready to pack it in when a half sheet of plywood, 4' x 4' came floating down the creek. Coiled in the middle of that plywood was a fat cottonmouth. I drew and fired one shot, one handed, and nearly cut that snake's head off. At the sound of my shot, a second cottonmouth tumbled off the bank to my right, maybe ten or fifteen feet away. I fired off my second shot nearly severing his head also. Then suddenly between my feet a third cottonmouth slid by headed for the creek. I shot him less that a foot ahead of my toes, blowing his head off and also blowing a large hole in the mud between my feet and showering me with muddy water. That was three shots as fast as any DA revolver could have done, or auto either, for that matter.

A single action slow? I think not.

The rapid fire stage in bullseye target shooting was five shots in ten seconds I believe, all fired single action with either a Colt Officers Model Match or a Smith K-38 in those days.

Bob Wright

[Bob Wright]

And, incidentally, never fan, or try to fan a Ruger Blackhawk or a Colt New Frontier.

"Why?" you may ask. Just look at that rear sight!

Bob Wright

[seeker_two]

I knew a lawyer who carried, depending on his mood, a 3-screw Blackhawk converted to .44Spl or a Bearcat converted to .22Mag. At first, I was skeptical of his choices....until I saw him shoot them....

....it's the cook that makes or breaks the meal....

[Cheap 870]

I think the biggest problem would be conceal ability.
Other then that I wouldn't have any problems using a single action for self defense.
It's more about where you put your shots then how fast you put them there.
As far as most gun fights, theirs usually no fast reloads needed.
http://thinkinggunfighter.blogspot.com/?m=1

[Nanuk]

For modern times I think it is nostalgic and will get you hurt unless you are very, very good. The loads you will carry for SD are way more powerful than what the trick shooters use. Forget a reload, it is not gonna happen in a fight. It beats nothing but that is about it.

[deerslayer303]

Cock it once or cock it six times?

I think you misunderstood my point for the post I made. My statement was in response to this post,

I would advise not using a SA revolver for regular defense. The fact you may have a AD or be falsely accused of threats or cocking a revolver hammer in a critical incident are great.

I just don't think charges could be brought on by simply bringing a SA pistol into battery. Or can they?

But with that said moving on to another opinion of mine. I don't personally believe a reload will be required in a SD situation and from literature, shots fired rarely exceed the capacity of a wheel gun. One center mass shot from a 250 grain slug, at SD distance is more than enough to defuse an attack. IMHO

[Texshooter]

JMO:

S/A wheel gun:
- power to weight ratio, already mentioned, +
- for a LOT of people, ergos +
- S/A wheel with transfer bar +
- accuracy seems to be at least, if not better, for people I shoot with +
- Safety? I think it could easily be shown (unless not careful with cocking hammer) that a S/A wheel is much safer than say a Glock.


Negatives:

- reload. Ok, but, honestly, have you seen most people at any range trying to reload with a speed loader, much less strips? Can be done, with LOTS of practice.

I have just always been taught, carry what you can BEST defend your life with.

[shafter]

I personally think the western style pistol is one of the best designs ever made,
to me it is very pointable, very comfortable ergonomics, which is of prime importance in self-defense-you must be able to hit your target reliably,
however difficulty in reloading, esp. one without a swing-out cylinder, and typically single action, slower cock-the hammer first makes it less than ideal in a fire-fight,
however some people compensate in various ways, for instance some are able to shoot fast and accurate by fanning (if that's the correct term), etc.,
I am wondering if there are people on the forum that do in fact carry a western style single action for protection, and why,
thanks

sunaj

If open carry was legal here I'm sure I'd be wearing a single action quite frequently. In experienced hands they can be fired quite quickly and I'm not that worried about reloads.

[Old Grump]

Well sir, I likes my single actions and I likes my double actions but I am a hand gun hunter first and it matters not if its a 22, .357/38 or a 44 magnum. all my hunting guns are single action. I am used to carrying them drawing and shooting rapidly at everything from squirrel to rabbits to deer. Not saying I hit every time but I hit most of the time and if I need more than 6 shots in a gun fight then a 9MM or 45 ACP probably won't do me much good either, What I would need is back up, preferably somebody with a rifle or shotgun because I am obviously in the wrong place. Since I only practice double action once in awhile its obvious that I cock every gun I have except for the pistols so forgetting to cock is ludicrous on the face.

I leave the fanning to the Hollyweird types for showmanship purposes. I'm to old and crippled to wear a uniform again and my chances of getting into a multiple opponent gun fight is awful slim. One good shot at a time out of any gun is all that is required, If he stands and presents a danger still then you shoot again, but fanning?

The winners who worry about what it would look like to the court also worry about the bullets they have, (are they politically correct), and the size magazines they have, (are they politically correct), and look for ways to cut and run rather than stand and fight. If its a righteous shooting the cops and DA won't care what gun you had or what round you fired from it unless it was illegal for you to have in the first place, (ie. it was to short, an unregistered automatic, or you are a felon). If the DA is going to get you he will get you no matter what gun you had because some just don't believe in citizens defending themselves no matter what. Think New Jersey.

With this caveat, if you purposely walk the bad streets of town late at night and into the early hours of morning carrying a shotgun loaded with flechettes and dragons breath they may look at you with a jaundiced eye and will look to protect the public from you either in a cell with prisoners or a locked room with other crazy people.

[popbang]

I carry a single action revolver daily and have for quite some time. It is either a Birds head Vaquero with 3-3/4 barrel or a Blackhawk with a 4-5/8 inch barrel both in 45 Colt.

They are not hard to conceal with a good belt and pancake holster. Keeping the gun high is the trick.

It all comes down to what you like and shoot well.

[ChrisTx]

How many bad guys stopped in a gunfight to examine the weapon they were being shot at with, to determine whether to flee or not?

[treg]

I CC my 4 5/8" BH Flattop .44 Special whenever possible. Very accurate and hard hitting.

Friends, including LEO, with thier autoloaders, are easy prey in side by side speed drills that emphasize accuracy and can be accomplished in 5 or 6 shots.

[Blue Duck]

I don't feel too vulnerable with a single action, I would rather have one then a 5 shot J-frame in a gunfight for sure, and a lot of people thing the J-frame is enough.

[oldgunsmith]

My first handgun was a 4 5/8" .357 Blackhawk before there was such a thing as the "New Model". Now I have 11, all 3 screw because the new action never felt right to me. I think my hands are spoiled on the action of the old. First choice for CC is the right hand 4 5/8" .41 or the original which is a .44 spec. now since the .357 cylinder wore out.

[Grant D]

I was thinking about getting a 1873 cattleman birdhead grip with 4" barrel for CC
I like Bob Wrights holster.Bob, was that custom made??

When I was a kid I was pretty good with my Fanner 50!! lol

[Poindexter]

I am 98% confident this is the holster you are asking about. Looks at first blush like a belt from the same shop too.

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/ps/bwcc_saa.html

[ClydeFrog]

I'd snoop around www.imfdb.org for the model/caliber but the SA wheelgun Sly Stallone(Barney Ross) uses in the popular action films; The Expendibles I & II was cool.
I'd still strongly advise against using a SA cowboy type revolver for armed citizen concealed carry or home protection. Field or range use, yes.

ClydeFrog

[newfrontier45]

I'd still strongly advise against using a SA cowboy type revolver for armed citizen concealed carry or home protection.

Even for someone who shoots tens of thousands of rounds per year with 80% of those being with single actions? If a person does 80% of their shooting with single actions, 10% with rifles, 5% with double actions and 5% with semi-auto handguns, which is he really better armed with?

How much single action shooting do you do? I'm not trying to put you on the spot or pick a fight but it's been my experience that most of those who share your opinion have a very limited interest and experience with single actions. You have four times as many posts in the semi-auto forum and 50% more in the general handgun forum as you do the revolver forum. What may we infer from those numbers?

[Bob Wright]

To answer a couple or three questions, my holster is indeed a Bob Mernickle PS-6SA, and it is as custom as you can get unless you design it yourself, which I couldn't have done better.

The belt I picked up on one of our treks west, Texas or Arizona, don't remember which. The buckle is from a Navajo trading post near Tuba City, Arizona.

The cartridge case holds six rounds and is from Galco. Here is the case opened:



As to my ability with the Single Action, I used to shoot, when I was gainfully employed, around 10,000 rounds a year, usually slightly more, 100% of that was revovlers, and maybe 95% of that in Single Actions. My log book totals over a quarter million rounds fired.

Bob Wright

[shafter]

I think Bob has the best sixguns and gun leather on this entire forum. Great looking setup Bob.

[WildBill45]

I have carried Colt S.A.A. and my F.A. 454 Casull everywhere for anything for years, but mostly in the field, but, and there always is a but in life, in going back and forth to the mountains in Colorado and home I still carried the S.A. in stores, shopping, and moving about. Very compact for high power levels. Be it a lion, which I carried my 454 in Africa for when hunting with a bow, or a rattlesnake while longbow hunting for antelope in Yoder Colorado, or keeping thugs off of me in the back alleys of Denver...