Women's First Handgun Purchase

Chapter Six - Revolver Choices

Book Title:  Women's Guide to Buying Your First Handgun Series:  Firearm/Pistol For Life Series Author:  Ruperto Elpusan Jr. Be sure to look for ISBN #0-9772088-3-4 at Amazon, Powells and other fine online retail bookstores.

Chapter Six:  Revolver Choices

There are more revolver choices available in the marketplace beyond what is presented in this chapter.  What is contained in this chapter are candidate revolvers primarily for personal protection, which is the primary motivation for women in purchasing a handgun.  As such, the caliber is minimum 9 mm or .38 special.  We will focus on calibers of that are 9mm and .38 special only, unless a gun of other caliber has other great attributes, as many women find difficulty with larger calibers.  Large, strong women can feel free to go beyond the guns presented in this chapter.

We will focus on guns with smaller grips.  Again, big women with large hands and a lot of strength are free to consider guns beyond those discussed here.

Recreational shooting, target shooting and some forms of hunting will necessitate that .17 and .22 calibers be considered.  In such cases, please read the chapters in creating your criteria for selection and speak with a firearms instructor about possibilities.

Also, we will assume a budget of some amount.  Obviously, there are expensive guns that cost in the thousands of dollars and we disregard those options here.  Also, we will avoid brands and models that are arcane or archaic, and also old guns that are no longer manufactured although they may still be popular in the used gun market.

Furthermore, we make a bold move with the following limitation on our candidates.

Because of the design of the single-action revolver, it does not lend itself to optimal loading in a crisis.  It is inordinately cumbersome to load quickly as you need to perform the following in order to load all rounds in the cylinder:

1.                Open loading gate

2.                Insert cartridge in a cylinder chamber

3.                Rotate the cylinder

4.                Align chamber so you can insert cartridge

5.                Repeat 2 – 4 above until the entire cylinder is loaded

6.                Close loading gate

Step 4 above can sometimes be problematic, depending on the gun.  In a high-adrenaline crisis, these fine motor skill activities can be extremely costly.

And that’s not even considering unloading.  If you need to reload a fired gun, you need to unload all the spent shells first.  So you need to do the same number of steps above except you eject a shell for step #2 above instead of inserting a cartridge.

Granted, you can pre-load a single-revolver and store it loaded as a personal protection weapon.  However, if you need more than the 5 or 6 rounds in self-defense, you could be in big trouble if you need a reload.

A double-action revolver has a better design for quick unload and reload.  Here’s what you do for a reload:

1.                Press the cylinder latch and pop open the cylinder

2.                Load each of the bullets in chamber of the cylinder (little alignment issues as with single-action revolver)

3.                Close cylinder

And if you have a speed-loader, the process is even faster. 

To unload, you do the same sequence except in step #2, you press the ejector rod and all of the spent shells are pushed out.  It’s not a one-round-at-a-time process as with a single-action revolver.

Double-action revolvers that are appropriate for most women, for personal protection, are now discussed.

Ruger GP-100 Revolver

Manufactured by Sturm, Ruger and Company, which is an American company renowned for producing durable and reliable guns at low cost.  This model is the compact version of Ruger’s larger double-action revolver the GP-100.  This model is ideal for concealed carry.

As a company, Ruger is known for producing high quality firearms that are reliable and durable at an affordable price and actually has several products that are at the top its class.  In the world of revolvers, its single-action revolvers are widely known.  However, double-action revolvers are not as prominent in its product line.  For more information, check company website http://www.ruger-firearms.com .

Smith & Wesson Model 36 Lady Smith

Smith & Wesson is an American company that is the premier revolver maker in the world and renowned for the quality and craftsmanship of their revolvers.  The downside is that their product generally is priced quite a bit more than other products in the marketplace as they are undoubtedly charging for the premium of the brand.

This model is compact and ideal for concealed carry.

For more information, check company website http://www.smith-wesson.com .

Smith & Wesson Model 60 Lady Smith

This is another fine revolver produced by Smith & Wesson.  This is a .357 magnum caliber gun but is included here despite our original 9mm/.38 special limitation, as it has reasonable recoil only.

This is visually appealing gun, not that it matters, but just to inform you.  The barrel and frame are made in glass beaded stainless steel finish.

This model is compact and ideal for concealed carry.

For more information, check company website http://www.smith-wesson.com .

Smith & Wesson Model 642 Lady Smith

This is a .38 special revolver which fits within our stated caliber limitations, and it is another fine gun from the Smith & Wesson Lady Smith series, designed specifically for women.

This is a hammerless model and it is attractive visually as it has an aluminum and stainless steel construction, with an attractive dymondwood stock grip.

Observe the very light weight of only 14 ˝ ounces.

This model is compact and ideal for concealed carry.

For more information, check company website http://www.smith-wesson.com .

All Smith & Wesson J-Frame Revolvers

Smith & Wesson has many offerings of their double-action J-frame revolvers.  These are small sized frames that allows for a smaller grip that many women can handle, and are small and lightweight allowing for easier concealed carry.

There is a wide assortment of these models, including:

·       Model 37

·       Model 60

·       Model 340

·       Model 360

·       Model 442

·       Model 637

·       Model 638

·       Model 640

·       Model 642

·       Model 649

Taurus Model 605

Taurus is a Brazilian company with American headquarters in Florida.  Back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, it was known for producing cheap quality guns but it apparently has turned the corner with substantial improvement.  Today, it has come to be known as an innovative company, continually trying various new features in guns and coming up with a wide spectrum of models.

The 605 is a double action revolver designed for concealed carry.  It is available in either blue steel finish, stainless steel or titanium. 

For more information, check company website http://www.taurususa.com. 

Taurus Model 650

This is another of the concealable double action revolvers available from Taurus.  This one is hammerless and comes in either blued steel finish or stainless steel.

For more information, check company website http://www.taurususa.com. 

Taurus Model 651

Yet another of the concealable double action revolvers available from Taurus.  This one has a so-called “zero profile” which can be manually cocked and decocked in single-action operation when needed.  It is available in blued steel, stainless steel and titanium.

For more information, check company website http://www.taurususa.com. 

Taurus Model 850/851

Yet another of the concealable double action revolvers available from Taurus.  This one has a so-called “zero profile” which can be manually cocked and decocked in single-action operation when needed.  It is available in blued steel, stainless steel and titanium.

For more information, check company website http://www.taurususa.com. 

Taurus Model 85

This is an interesting offering from Taurus in its line of concealable double action revolvers.  It can be purchased in simple blued steel but there is an array that includes a combination of stainless steel or titanium, with various fashionable “bling bling” design features such as gold plated trimmings (hammer, trigger, cylinder release latch, screws) and a wide assortment of grip stocks such as rosewood, mother of pearl and ivory.

For more information, check company website http://www.taurususa.com. 

Taurus Model 905

Another interesting offering from Taurus with this 9mm concealable weapon.  9mm for revolvers is rare although you find it with semi-automatic pistols.  The idea for this product was to provide law enforcement to have both a service semi-automatic and this as a backup using the same type of ammunition.

For more information, check company website http://www.taurususa.com. 

Ch 1 - Introduction | Ch 2 - Why Handguns | Ch 3 - Why Many Handguns Aren't Right | Ch 4 - What to Look for in Handguns | Ch 5 - Revolver vs Semi-Automatic Pistol | Ch 6 - Revolver Choices | Ch 7 - Semi-Automatic Choices | Ch 8 - Used or New | Ch 9 - Internet or Local | Ch 10 - Why Practice is Important