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Old June 22, 2013, 02:22 PM   #64
44 AMP
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Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,846
In over 40 years of shooting, collecting and generally playing with handguns as a hobby, the worst guns I had were Llama's. (had two, one a few years after the other, because, one bad gun could be a fluke). Neither one was any good, and one was so "good" it would reliably fire 4 of the 6, and not always the same 4!

Taurus has a poor rep for fixing things that go wrong, not that they won't just that its a major hassle, and apparently they often take two or more trips back to the factory before they finally get fixed (or replaced!).

Rossi? A friend had one of the little .38 snubs, and it was an ok gun. The next one on the shelf might not be.

RG, Rohm, Arminius, and anything Spanish made are to be avoided. The first ones are just basically junk, and Spanish made pistols very widely in quality, from decent to crap, and its been that way since the end of WWII. Astra is the best of the lot, and they have had QC issues from time to time. Autos are generally ok, the revolvers? flip a coin, in my experience.

Colt made good revolvers, but they don't make them anymore (outside of the SAA) and gunsmiths that actually know how to do good work on a Colt are a vanishing breed.

S&W, Ruger, can't get better for the money. And if you do have a problem, they are very good about fixing it. Plus, there are still plenty of smiths that can fix them properly, outside of the factory.

Since you have already decided on the .460, I won't argue that one. You should have a .22, and the S&Ws are fine guns, but expensive. A Ruger Single Six is hard to beat, for both price and performance, if you don't mind the single action style. Personally, I would choose the Super Single Six, because I like adjustable sights.

A mid size gun for recreation and personal defense (including carry) would be a good choice. .357 Magnum (effective and versatile) K frame Smith, L frame Smith (if you don't mind the extra weight). N frame Smith .357 (considered heavy for carry, but pleasant to shoot).

I'm not big on Ruger DA revolvers (love their SAs), but the Security Six (discontinued) is a good mid size gun. The current GP series I don't know personally, but its Ruger, which means its at least decent.

Small frame (snub?) .38 for pocket carry (.357 if you can handle the recoil in a little gun - and it is considerable with magnums). The Colt Detective Special is classic and holds 6 vs the S&W 5.

The new Ruger with the plastic frame might be something that suits you. Not me, but you might have a different opinion.
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