An intoductory revolver

[bezoar]

Well im finally sticking to my guns and selecting a revolver to sell. Its going to be my first handgun and the first gun i pick out on my own.

I merely have a question to ask of you. I have a girlfriend/fiancee who has never shot a gun before who says she wants to use it. So im wondering what revolver would have low recoil, be useful for self defense, and still be managable for a 5'-6" tall woman with small hands?

Im leaning to a remington in 36, but would like some advice from you guys.

 

[rebelyell62]

My friend.... I am a huge fan of C&B pistols. My favorite and most accurate is a Spiller and Burr made by Pietta and sold by DGW.Colt Navies are good handleing pieces as well. I prefer .36 cal.

With that said......I would SERIOUSLY reconsider useing a C&B pistol for self defence, while they can be reliable sure fire shooters,I would hate to depend on them when my life or that of my loved one's are on the line.
All C&B pistols are pleasent to shoot little or norecoil, even the .44's. Ballistics and energies of the.44's are roughly equivelent to factory .38 special, not a proven fight stopper in terms of modern handgunning. If you are able.....handle a few models, you may find the navies too small in the grip frame for your tastes.
Good luck and good shootin'

 

[rebelyell62]

Well im finally sticking to my guns and selecting a revolver to sell. Its going to be my first handgun and the first gun i pick out on my own.

I merely have a question to ask of you. I have a girlfriend/fiancee who has never shot a gun before who says she wants to use it. So im wondering what revolver would have low recoil, be useful for self defense, and still be managable for a 5'-6" tall woman with small hands?

Im leaning to a remington in 36, but would like some advice from you guys.

I own a 58 Remington police in .36.cal.IMHO it's heavy, and handles like a rock, clumsey.I have small hands and the Colt navies and Spiller and Burr feel as if they were molded to my hand.

 

[Old Ironsights]

My 2p.

If you are intent on buying a C&B revolver to be used for Self Defense, I would strongly suggest a model that can take a Kirst or R&D cartridge conversion cylinder.

That means no brass frames.

Use Cartridges for Self Defense and C&B for fun.

I have a Kirst .45LC cylinder for my Ruger Old Army. Makes a great gun twice as useful... and both the Gun and the Cylinder are non-4473 items. :grin:

 

[Old Ironsights]

Cylinder Conversion Kits:

For .36 & .44 C&B guns
[url] http://www.randdgunshop.com/catalog.php?category=Conversion Cylinder Kits[/url]

for .44 C&B guns
[url] http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=20052&s[/url]=

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I'd go with the Colt style in either .36 or .44, 1851 Navy or 1860 army models. They point and hang much better than the Remington's, although the Remington's are generally considered to be more accurate due to better sights. My own first "bigger-than-.22" handgun was a Navy .36 and it was a fine shooter, as is the one I have now, it will put a cylinder full into a 3" bull at 25 yards and I'd need a scope to do better with any handgun. It would not be my first choice for self defence, but if that is what I had at hand when trouble came knocking, I would not feel unarmed either. :grin:

 

[mikelange]

I own both an 1851 Colt Navy and a Remington Navy. Repros, obviously. I do keep the Colt loaded, but only because it's better than nothing, in the event I can't get to my shotgun.

One of the outfits that advertises in Shotgun News is selling used Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 special revolvers, with either 3" or 4" barrels, for under $200.00. I'm going to buy one as soon as I can afford it. The .38 with +P loads has even the .44 caliber C&B revolvers outclassed as a defensive gun, when you consider the issue of their reliably going off when you pull the trigger.

I'd buy a Colt repro for fun, reenacting, whatever, and one of the Smiths or something of that sort for personal or home defense. I know a lot of men were killed by .36 and .44 caliber percussion sixguns, but life and death is the one area related to muzzleloading vs. modern where modern is absolutely better.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

You might consider an 1862 Colt Pocket police. They have a smaller frame and grip and burn a lighter charge. Conversion cylinders are available for this revolver and its sibling the Pocket Navy.

 

[Slake]

If I introduce a woman to firing a handgun that has never shot one before, I introduce her to hand guns with a 22 rimfire revolver...then lead her up from there

 

If I introduce a woman to firing a handgun that has never shot one before, I introduce her to hand guns with a 22 rimfire revolver...then lead her up from there

AGREED!!!

In spite of love for tradition and the tools of past times C&B guns were abandoned for a reason. There were better guns available. That was two steps in revolver development and two generations of automatic pistol development ago.

It does not matter what fits your hand or what looks cool, I only risk the lives of my loved ones using C&B technology if these is no other firearm left in the neighborhood and the police are on strike.

If you really love this women buy her a .22 revolver of good quality for a trainer. When she can keep all of her shots in a pie plate at the same distance as your living room is long, fast double action fire, step her up to a .38.

 

[Slake]

I bought my bride a Ruger single six in 32 and she loves me powerful...she does not share my enthusiasm for black powder..she says the muzzle is for the escape of the bullet and nothing else..I shoot my muzzleloaders without her...but when time comes for the cowboy guns...she's there

 

[Cmabie]

Any of the main manufactuers of percussion revolvers are a good choice. When I started shooting them there were no replicas. I shot originals like the 1851 Colt Navy, 1860 Colt Army, 1849 pocket Colt, and the 1858 Remington. In later years I purchased an EMF square back 1851 Navy and a Navy Arms 1858 Remington. I think the Remington is the best and easiest to clean as one has to remove the grips on as Colt to clean the crud out of the inside. Thr steel in the replicas is much better than the originals.

 

[bezoar]

RIght now ive decided to go with a colt. Not sure what one to pick. THe 51 is said to point the best, but the small gap between cylinder and rammer area is a concern as i want to use conicals now and then.

I did think of the pocket guns, but they dont have much of a loading lever, and leverage is good when loading.

And as far as converting it, I think i would rather have something that converts to 38 special, sure its not "enough" when compared to say a 44 magnum, but its still better then a 9 mmm. And besides, i have an old event from my grandfathers time as a detective.

Bar fight, victim was shot with a 38 special. The bullet was a hollowpoint designed for highpowered 357, but it was loaded into a rather low powered 38 special load, and it opened up inside his chest cavity and just pinwheeled around inside his abdomen and chest cavity. It sliced everything up, and it literally picked him up off the floor.

well enough of that, guess ill figure out the conical loading.

 

[Charley Hart]

The colts are fine pistols and I hate to be the only dissenting vote, but rems are IMO (no yelling) stronger (the solid frame is big no wedgies!), more reliable and more accurate. (not to mention easier to disassemble)

The colts with that bead sight shoot to high for my liking. Now the rems need some filing usually to get them to my liking, but I think it is easier to file the sight then raise it.

I also agree with other posts that if you ARE using for home defense get a conversion cylinder.

With that said, even though I love c & b revolvers you can't beat a modern wheelgun for home defense.