Wheelguns for CCW

[JDeko 792]

Opinions on the Chiappa Rhino for personal defense as well as concealed carry in the shorter barrel lengths? Also ease of use in comparison to comparable revolvers. 

[gunfun 3,931]

I'd carry a chiappa rhino. I think they have a lot going for them. Everyone I have ever talked to that shot one had nothing but good to say about it. They are a little bulkier than I would prefer to carry.

 

This guy says most of what there is to say about them, and then keeps on talking: 

 

As for revolvers generally: A lot of it boils down to "shoot what you are confidently competent with." For many people, that's a wheel gun. I prefer autos, but I think I shoot a S&W 66 6" better than some long arms. That's way too big for carry, but then again so is the gun I carry.

 

Also, I can confirm what people have no doubt said above. Specifically, even for a gun of the same size, the shape of a small wheelgun is often more comfortable and easier to keep from printing IWB than an auto. Even with the bump at the cylinder. A J frame is a nice gun to carry, and an easy gun to hide completely.

 

I'll also heartily agree with the stuff about revolvers not being foolproof. I've seen them jam about equally often to autos. When they do, they are generally much more difficult to clear. I would also add that many have a very heavy double action that is not conducive to good rapid shooting. A cheap Kahr does a better long stroke' revolver trigger' for ~$350 than a lot of ~$750  snubbies. Other revolvers are very natural to shoot. I would rather have a DA/SA auto trigger or a shorter striker type trigger that breaks further forward any day though.

 

Contrary to what people think, revolvers typically have more critical parts than most modern pistols. Many of the parts are interdependent which makes tuning an individual problem more difficult, since each part affects several things.

 

Revolver failures I have seen in order of frequency: (+ is serious issue - is fumbly annoyance)

 

-Problems with getting them to lock up, or being certain they are locked up.

-Sticky cylinder release

+ Brass having a clearance issue with the blast shield that prevents the cylinder from turning. Both new and just fired brass. Often makes firing impossible or very difficult until the cylinder is opened and the offending round is extracted or pressed in further. If fired, this will generally be a round that is also hard to eject.

+ ditto but primers causing the drag.

+ brass falling off the star and failing to eject, then becoming jammed under the star.

- speed loaders failing to drop the rounds in without causing a fumble.

+ dud round sticking between the forcing cone and barrel, locking up the gun solid with a round chambered. I've seen this once with old very sketchy factory ammo and once with new factory.

 

 

Many also have a notch sight, which is like a permanent malfunction, and seldom is right on the vertical axis. The Sp101 my dad had was over a foot off at 25yd with every factory load we tried. To hit even close, you had to look over the back sight at the base of the front sight.  

 

Then there are known weaknesses I have heard of but not seen personally.

+ magnum loads backing out under recoil and causing interference with the crane preventing rotation.

+worn or damaged hand, locking pawl, etc.

+ Lightened triggers often come with springs which won't reliably ignite all primers.

- ingress of muck or dirt through the open front of the chambers either prevent rotation or simply fire abrasive grit through it.

+ one or more of the cylinder chambers being out of spec

+ used revolvers with hidden action defects from botched trigger jobs are more common, and not necessarily easy to spot unless you look for it.

 

Revolvers make the ammo choice independent from cycling, so the projectile can be designed based on ballistics without regard for the shape of the feed ramp. Also the ammo can be much milder or more powerful without affecting cycling. You can make rounds as quiet as 22 shorts that are accurate and effective for pests, load ratshot, stuff on the weak side of black bear, or for people, and fire them all out of the same pistol that is comfortable.

 

TL/DR: Buy what you want and practice until you know it likes your ammo and you can easily draw and hit with it. Auto or revolver, it's all good.

Edited April 27, 2015 by GunFun

[Dad2142Dad 6,559]

GF nice post, if ya'll have questions after that and the previous posts.............

[JDeko 792]

That bit about sights made me feel much better.

 

Still probably the most fun pistol I've shot is the .460xvr but my shots are all over the place with it as opposed to semi-autos ranging from .22lr to .50ae. Hell, with even the supposedly awful American Ordnance 1911 I can more or less call organs in the chest at 15 yards but I was just happy to hit the torso with the .460.

[horatio 515]

I'd carry a chiappa rhino. I think they have a lot going for them. Everyone I have ever talked to that shot one had nothing but good to say about it. They are a little bulkier than I would prefer to carry.

 

This guy says most of what there is to say about them, and then keeps on talking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u201jahddeQ

 

As for revolvers generally: A lot of it boils down to "shoot what you are confidently competent with." For many people, that's a wheel gun. I prefer autos, but I think I shoot a S&W 66 6" better than some long arms. That's way too big for carry, but then again so is the gun I carry.

 

Also, I can confirm what people have no doubt said above. Specifically, even for a gun of the same size, the shape of a small wheelgun is often more comfortable and easier to keep from printing IWB than an auto. Even with the bump at the cylinder. A J frame is a nice gun to carry, and an easy gun to hide completely.

 

I'll also heartily agree with the stuff about revolvers not being foolproof. I've seen them jam about equally often to autos. When they do, they are generally much more difficult to clear. I would also add that many have a very heavy double action that is not conducive to good rapid shooting. A cheap Kahr does a better long stroke' revolver trigger' for ~$350 than a lot of ~$750  snubbies. Other revolvers are very natural to shoot. I would rather have a DA/SA auto trigger or a shorter striker type trigger that breaks further forward any day though.

 

Contrary to what people think, revolvers typically have more critical parts than most modern pistols. Many of the parts are interdependent which makes tuning an individual problem more difficult, since each part affects several things.

 

Revolver failures I have seen in order of frequency: (+ is serious issue - is fumbly annoyance)

 

-Problems with getting them to lock up, or being certain they are locked up.

-Sticky cylinder release

+ Brass having a clearance issue with the blast shield that prevents the cylinder from turning. Both new and just fired brass. Often makes firing impossible or very difficult until the cylinder is opened and the offending round is extracted or pressed in further. If fired, this will generally be a round that is also hard to eject.

+ ditto but primers causing the drag.

+ brass falling off the star and failing to eject, then becoming jammed under the star.

- speed loaders failing to drop the rounds in without causing a fumble.

+ dud round sticking between the forcing cone and barrel, locking up the gun solid with a round chambered. I've seen this once with old very sketchy factory ammo and once with new factory.

 

 

Many also have a notch sight, which is like a permanent malfunction, and seldom is right on the vertical axis. The Sp101 my dad had was over a foot off at 25yd with every factory load we tried. To hit even close, you had to look over the back sight at the base of the front sight.  

 

Then there are known weaknesses I have heard of but not seen personally.

+ magn

 

um loads backing out under recoil and causing interference with the crane preventing rotation.

+worn or damaged hand, locking pawl, etc.

+ Lightened triggers often come with springs which won't reliably ignite all primers.

- ingress of muck or dirt through the open front of the chambers either prevent rotation or simply fire abrasive grit through it.

+ one or more of the cylinder chambers being out of spec

+ used revolvers with hidden action defects from botched trigger jobs are more common, and not necessarily easy to spot unless you look for it.

 

Revolvers make the ammo choice independent from cycling, so the projectile can be designed based on ballistics without regard for the shape of the feed ramp. Also the ammo can be much milder or more powerful without affecting cycling. You can make rounds as quiet as 22 shorts that are accurate and effective for pests, load ratshot, stuff on the weak side of black bear, or for people, and fire them all out of the same pistol that is comfortable.

 

TL/DR: Buy what you want and practice until you know it likes your ammo and you can easily draw and hit with it. Auto or revolver, it's all good.

 

Excellent post gunfun, as usual.

 

I've been looking into a s&w 636 (?) maybe two, I want something with some scrollwork.

 

Also, I'm a big walking dead fan. ( though , honestly, I think that show needs a direction and a final purpose, but that's another thread) so naturally , my want for a nickel python has been stoked. One day.

 

Other than that, been looking at the raging judge to crossover my saiga 410.

 

Off point, but nevertheless, wasn't there an article a few years back mentions the Chiapas had a slot in grip for a tracking chip?

 

 

Pretty sure fitty confirmed that with a few pics.

 

 

Jmho but fuck Chiapas

[Dad2142Dad 6,559]

That bit about sights made me feel much better.

 

Still probably the most fun pistol I've shot is the .460xvr but my shots are all over the place with it as opposed to semi-autos ranging from .22lr to .50ae. Hell, with even the supposedly awful American Ordnance 1911 I can more or less call organs in the chest at 15 yards but I was just happy to hit the torso with the .460.

Okay I carry a 45XD with a Rowland barrel. It kicks so hard that I do not practice very much with Rowland 460. I practice all the the time with 45+P or super. That is what I carry for ammo with a spare mag of the .460 if it is needed.

 

Now don't take this wrong way, but if you can put .22lr in the eye at 26 yards on a consistent basis. Then that would be a good carry gun. I you can find a 9mm that you can do the same even better.

 

People die from "my gun is bigger than yours" when they can't handle it.

 

Whatever the highest caliber you can effectively fire like the 22lr, than that is what you should go with imho. Doesn't do any good to get one shot off in a gun fight or struggle.

[JDeko 792]

I've never gotten a chance to speed-fire a pistol since the indoor range I go to to rent pistols to shoot for fun doesn't like people doing that since their ceiling, floor, and fluorescent lights already get shot up enough already by new shooters. I can put a shot a second into the heart area at 15 yards or so with .45acp. I in no way mean that to be a bragging accomplishment so much as I mean that I think I could defend myself with that caliber based on how I dealt with the recoil.  

[gunfun 3,931]

For chiappas, the chip was eliminated almost immediately as well as some initial QC problems.

[Dad2142Dad 6,559]

I've never gotten a chance to speed-fire a pistol since the indoor range I go to to rent pistols to shoot for fun doesn't like people doing that since their ceiling, floor, and fluorescent lights already get shot up enough already by new shooters. I can put a shot a second into the heart area at 15 yards or so with .45acp. I in no way mean that to be a bragging accomplishment so much as I mean that I think I could defend myself with that caliber based on how I dealt with the recoil.

That's good, if you can find a .45 ACP that you can work on a range out doors. Please do that.

 

Get it so it's an extension of your arm.

 

I know that's a lot to ask, but it just might serve you well on the future.

 

My youngest daughter is going in the corp. she has a AR-15 M2A and a Beretta M9 to get her comfortable with the look and feel of what she'll be using. Money well spent imho to make sure.

 

I keep harping on being comfortable with the tool of choice. If it comes down to my life or yours. I practice more and know my tool of choice better than you do. That's my only advantage when it counts.

[ktcm7271 999]

I like revolvers and I'm a fan long and short guns in the same caliber. I just picked up a TNW 9mm carbine and my wife got a Charter arms 9mm 6-shot revolver. It's pretty neat: no moon clips (the extracter holds the rounds), perfect size for her, and same ammo for the carbine. We have a lot of dual caliber long/short gun combos from .22 up to .44mag. The primary reason some people choose the revolver over the semi is that the cases stay in the gun. For reloaders, that's a plus. Sadly, criminals like them for that same reason.

[magsite20 1,664]

while I like semi autos for shooting matches I like a good double action revolver .357 preferred or .38 Spl ok for protection

granted you can or not have problems with either, to me the revolvers have always had an edge on reliability and ease of getting going without a lot of thought, pull trigger = gun goes bang which may be a good thing when your scared shitless

in a world of small .380s and 9s semis the revolver is going to be harder to hide, but it can be done

generally speaking a carry gun used for defense is going to be used in a big hairy ass hurry, at too close of a range to screw with looking at sights, with only a few shots fired so if your 5 or 6 shot gun goes click you where in way too much trouble to begin with.

anyway that's my $0.02 and good luck with it.

Edited April 29, 2015 by the 4th Doctor

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

True, I could do with a bit more discretion. I often try to remind myself of the statement "if you have an idea that you don't say out loud it doesn't mean that thought was wasted." ^___^;; 

 

I think she's got it!

[RedChallenger 149]

I most often carry my Ruger LCR .38sp off duty. Super light weight @13.5oz with excellent trigger.

[gunfun 3,931]

Those are good. Surprisingly so.