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Old December 5, 2012, 01:06 PM   #101
Hal
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I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, but I have a question for those that refuse to shoot a composite frame firearm.

What do you not like about them?
Someone already mentioned it - no soul.

Oddly, I find that an attribute (having no soul) for a defensive weapon.
No soul = no type of attachment to the tool, other than to appreciate it's ability to perform.

I'd gladly own "tupperware" if it came in a configuration I was 100% pleased with.
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Old December 5, 2012, 01:56 PM   #102
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Not only do revolvers have soul, they have curves and are pleasing to the touch.
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Old December 5, 2012, 03:12 PM   #103
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If you look at the latest IDPA journal, they have a breakdown of the carry guns (not match guns) of the participants at the nationals. While 9mm Glocks are very popular as carry guns - you find J frame revolvers are also very popular.

So practiced shooters still carry revolvers.
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Old December 5, 2012, 03:44 PM   #104
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Not only do revolvers have soul, they have curves and are pleasing to the touch.
I agree...

Look at my signature...

My Model 19-4 is the only revolver that has my heart.
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Old December 5, 2012, 05:02 PM   #105
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Now let's be fair here, not all composite or tupperware guns look, handle and feel like bricks. Many, hell most do, but not all.
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Old December 5, 2012, 05:14 PM   #106
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Without question the most comfortable modern plastic handgun I have ever held is the Walther P99. Good looking too.
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Old December 5, 2012, 05:23 PM   #107
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Oddly, I find that an attribute (having no soul) for a defensive weapon.
No soul = no type of attachment to the tool, other than to appreciate it's ability to perform.
This is my belief. I have no real emotional attachment to my Glock. I bought it simply because, in my eyes, it was the best tool for the job. Really, most any "tupperware" gun would be. I love 1911's. I think they are a work of art. But I wouldn't want to carry one regularly, for a variety of reasons.

It's the same reason I carry my $80 Benchmade Griptilian instead of one of my custom knives. I like knives but if I lose or break my Benchmade, I have no emotional attachment. I'll just get another one. But I'd cry if I lost/broke one of my others.
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Old December 5, 2012, 05:59 PM   #108
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Fun fact:

The only Deputy in my home county who is has been in a gunfight as a lawman and still wears a badge carries a Smith & Wesson Model 13 as his duty gun.

I know this because a younger, 16 year old me courted his daughter for a bit and that gun looked plenty threating on him.
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Old December 5, 2012, 06:33 PM   #109
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I used a Python .357. And it was the best gun I have ever shot. Dependable and easy to clean. Never had a jam. If it didn't fire I just clicked it to the next cylinder. Less problems than a semi auto. Didn't have to worry about loading extra mags. Speed loaders never failed.
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Old December 5, 2012, 06:55 PM   #110
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Interesting thread . . .

I took a CCW class in AZ (I winter there) even though it is no longer required. I am a "revover guy" and have been for 50 years. In talking to the instructor prior to the class, she was going to have us go through 50 rounds in a series of shot groups (for want of a better description). One of them was to shoot a series of 5 shot groups at small corner targets on the main target and we were to do this rapid fire. Out of a class of about thirty, I think there were two with revolvers. I chose to use my SR9 instead of a revolver just because of the number of students tht had to go through and the limited slots at the range.

I primarily carry a LCR though and am very comfortable with it, 5 rounds and even though it is the 357 model, it usually is loaded with 38 spl. as that is what I've comfortable with.

In regards to "new" shooters getting certified, I sometimes wonder if they are steered the way of the tupperware by the LGS? When I purchase a new or used handgun, I do my research - I stopped listening to gun shop clerks years ago whether it was about guns or ammo - everyone has their own opinions and I make up my mind for myself based on research and experience, not what someone tells me in a GS. For a lot of folks though, they have never owned a gun, have very limited knowledge and all they know is that they want to have something for SD and to take the class. They depend upon the advice and recommendation of the clerk that waits on them. I'm not saying that is bad . . . I'm just wondering how much this influences the average individual who has never owned a handgun but now wants one and who doesn't do any research prior to the purchase? I'm guessing that a lot of younger clerks view the revolver as "old fashioned", limited to five or six rounds and therefor convince the first time buyer that they "need" a semi-auto as it has a higher capacity, is more reliable, is lighter, and the list goes on an on. Those are just some of my thoughts . . . . but I could be wrong . . . wouldn't be the first time . . . and won't be the last.
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Old December 6, 2012, 10:30 AM   #111
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I consider myself to be a practiced handgun shooter...

And my primary carry gun is a Smith & Wesson 042.
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Old December 6, 2012, 11:40 AM   #112
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I dont think revolvers are dead at all infact I think they're more popular than ever. The demand is so high right now that it's almost impossible to find certain models. Good luck trying to find a new Ruger Redhawk or GP100. I've been trying for three days online and locally with no luck.
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Old December 7, 2012, 12:12 PM   #113
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Interesting article by Karl Rehn (a buddy and great instructor) on pocket guns

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/ccm...et-gun-enough/


Some take away points (note the samples are small but its from a class and that sample is all you can get).

1. For skilled shooters - the difference in performance between pocket guns (snubbies) and primary semis was not great.

2. For low skill level shooters - give the limited capacity of the gun and their skill level, the pocket gun wasn't so hot and the probability of good hits was 40%. Karl points out that this is better than no hits if you don't have a gun.

The semi primary is best but the pocket gun is a bug or for situations where it is the only practical option. Karl concludes you should train with the snubby - good point.

The article isn't about full sized revolvers, I note. But most carry revolvers seem to be snubbies, I would think - as the IDPA survey indicates. I've done the Claude class with my 642 and shot that along with a 632, 642 and snubby Colt Cobra in matches. You can shoot decently but there is the ammo limit (for the more intense - oh, poop, Black swan, incidents).
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Old December 7, 2012, 12:47 PM   #114
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Revolvers are not dead, nor are they obsolete. It takes more skill to run a revolver. I still carry a revolver as a BUG and its a J frame 357.
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Old December 7, 2012, 03:59 PM   #115
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Revolvers are here to stay and rightfully so,,,for pocket carry or for hunting or for protection against dangerous game,,,I prefer a rifle or shotgun but a big bore handgun would be my next choice.

Some Folks just prefer them to semi-autos,,,more power to them.
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Old December 8, 2012, 05:43 AM   #116
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If you need to carry 3 hi cap magazines you also need to go to the range and learn to shoot.
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Old December 8, 2012, 02:23 PM   #117
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If you need to carry 3 hi cap magazines you also need to go to the range and learn to shoot.
Funny......

Maybe you just like to be prepared. It is funny, with my Glock 31 I carry almost as much ammo in the gun as I did on my belt when I carried a wheelgun.
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Old December 8, 2012, 04:59 PM   #118
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Honestly I have both, but one thing that I love about revolvers is how fast they are to draw for me. The shape of the grip lends itself to being scooped into the hand, whereas the way a semiauto grip fits to most holsters makes it hard to get a good grip from many common holsters for me.
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Old December 8, 2012, 05:54 PM   #119
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Originally Posted by coldbeer View Post
I dont think revolvers are dead at all infact I think they're more popular than ever. The demand is so high right now that it's almost impossible to find certain models. Good luck trying to find a new Ruger Redhawk or GP100. I've been trying for three days online and locally with no luck.
More popular than ever? Seriously?
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Old December 8, 2012, 06:39 PM   #120
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It's the same reason I carry my $80 Benchmade Griptilian instead of one of my custom knives. I like knives but if I lose or break my Benchmade, I have no emotional attachment. I'll just get another one.
My Leopard Cub fell apart....I loved that little knife and they aren't made any more
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Old December 8, 2012, 07:11 PM   #121
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From a technical standpoint, revolvers have been obsolete for over a hundred years. However many obsolete objects and practices retain their place in society when that object or practice has a significant enough impact on the culture. There are many that still practice blacksmithing, homebrewing, digging holes with hand shovels, framing with a claw hammer, driving a carbureted automobile, and many other antiquated and obsolete practices and tools that have long been supplanted by technological advances. Yet they remain prevalent and probably always will. Maybe 100 years ago folks woed the decline in popularity of cap and ball revolvers at the shooting range, but I know some people that still enjoy theirs.
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Old December 8, 2012, 07:34 PM   #122
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I sold all my semis. Now i have an all revolver line up.
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Old December 8, 2012, 07:55 PM   #123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coldbeer View Post
I dont think revolvers are dead at all infact I think they're more popular than ever. The demand is so high right now that it's almost impossible to find certain models. Good luck trying to find a new Ruger Redhawk or GP100. I've been trying for three days online and locally with no luck.
More popular than ever? Seriously?
Yes, I happen to agree with that sentiment. A LGS buddy of mine called to tell me that a 3" S&W Model 36 was sitting there waiting for me to look at and perhaps purchase. I got there two hours later...only to find it was sold in less than one hour.
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Old December 8, 2012, 11:51 PM   #124
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From a technical standpoint, revolvers have been obsolete for over a hundred years.
I think folks would have disagreed with that 1912. In fact, they would have disagreed in 1942 or 1972. Many of us disagree in 2012.

The official definition of "obsolete" is "no longer in use or no longer useful." I don't think we can say either of those things about revolvers.

An acquaintance who went from not owning one a couple of months ago to shooting one exclusively in IDPA would also disagree.
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Old December 9, 2012, 01:16 AM   #125
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"More popular than ever? Seriously?"

Judging by some of the sales figures that are available from previous years... yes.

Not as popular as semi-autos, but not anything even remotely resembling a dying breed, either.

When I worked for American Rifleman back in the 1990s, at the height of the Wonder9 craze, I did an article on the small-frame revolver options that were then available.

While none of the companies I talked to (Smith, Taurus, Ruger, among others) would give me solid sales figures, all said that even then their revolvers, especially their smaller revolvers, were consistently breaking yearly sales projections.

Most telling is what the companies were doing at that time...

They weren't scaling back revolver production, they were coming out with new models every year, adding to the lineups already in production.

You don't do that if they're not selling.
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