First step taken on the way to my first S&W Nightguard revolver

I finally pulled the trigger today, so to speak.

The gun-buying frenzy has died down for sure and I got tired of waiting for my two chosen sacrifices to be sold from amongst my small herd of handguns.

My Dan Wesson 22 .22LR 6-Shot DA/SA Revolver 6" Bl. and the S&W 469 Mini 9mm Compact DA/SA Pistol-4 Magazines are both nearing the end of another cycle of 14-day gunbroker auctions with no takers.

So today I took the measly $100 cash I had in hand and make a down payment on my first S&W Nightguard, the Model 396NG .44 Special DA/SA 5-shot revolver.

It's a lightweight L-frame and the more I carry two guns every day I work at the gun shop, the more I appreciate lightweight but still potent handguns.

And though it's light, it's not too light to be a good shooter, with a comfortable rubber grip and a set of C&S sights, U-Notch Rear and Trijicon Tritium Big-Dot Front Night Sight. Even these tired ancient old eyes can see these sights.

And five rounds of .44 Special is far more better than five rounds of .38 Special, all day every day.

That big hole in the end of the barrel means a big old .44 caliber hunk of lead comes out it with ballistics that's even better than that favorite man-stopper, the venerable .45 ACP. Faster ballistics, more foot-pounds of energy, what's not to like about .44 Special? I love .45 ACP, too, but I love .44 Special more better.

On days I work up front in the shop instead of back in the bowels taking photos of guns for gunbroker, I usually wear a .45 and a .44, just in case some idiot decides again that a gun store is a good place to rob.

It's happened at the gun shop before twice, so it most definitely can happen again.

So now all I gotta do is save up or raise another $700 or so and I'll get to take my first S&W Nightguard home.

Ruger Bearcat finally comes home and is going to the range tomorrow

Today I finally paid off a stainless Ruger Bearcat .22LR single-action 6-shooter I had on layaway since May 25 at the gunshop where I work.

Somebody traded in a barely used Bearcat that doesn't have a mark on it and may not have even been fired. Let me quote Ruger on the Bearcat.

Understated Elegance. The Ruger® New Bearcat® is different from other single-action revolvers. Smaller, lighter, and based on older Remington® single-actions of the 1800's, it has a one-piece cylinder frame that also forms its compact grip. It has been described as "a mechanical jewel," and is the smallest and lightest .22 LR caliber single-action made by Ruger.

Compact and perfectly proportioned for .22 LR caliber ammunition, it is easy to carry and fits comfortably in a backpack or tackle box. Fulfilling the ideal of a smaller "kit gun" style .22 LR caliber single-action revolver, it is perfect for hikers, campers, boaters, small game hunters, or just about anyone who needs a dependable .22 LR revolver for the trail.

It's 24 ounces of stainless steel and rosewood with some of the best "understated elegance" I've ever seen. It's probably a bit too small for my big mits, but I think I can manage it. I'm hopeful I'll find out tomorrow at the range, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. Even if the creek does rise.

 

And I'm betting it's gonna be just right for my three grandsons, all of whom are already big enough to shoot, plus my two granddaughters who will be big enough before I know it.

It's been so long since I've shot anything I might have forgot how. Grass to mow tomorrow and no doubt there'll be a poolful of friends and family, but if at all possible I'm gonna sneak off the range sometime. I just gotta shoot the little Bearcat.

Slowly morphing from Pistol Pete into Willie Wheelgun Guy

If you had told me a year ago I'd own eight revolvers from .22 to .44, I'd have told you your crystal ball was cracked. But during the past year working at a gun shop, I've slowly morphed into a wheelgun lover. I've still got a lot more semi-auto pistols than revolvers, but some days I do wear two revolvers to work instead of a pistol and a wheelgun.

Dave Campbell has an article in the current American Rifleman that sort of expresses this evolution I've gone through, titled Wheelguns Still Work.

It took more than a century, but the semi-automatic pistol is now the go-to handgun for self-defense. The revolver, which preceded the self-loader, had a pretty good run—about 150 years. Evolving tactics and modern manufacturing capabilities, along with popular culture, have brought semi-auto pistols to the forefront. Now the question is: Should the revolver be put out to pasture as a self-defense handgun?

The Simpler Choice
A self-defense handgun is an extremely personal choice. Choosing a particular handgun should be based upon reliability, ease of use, power, concealability and cost—in roughly that order.

Semi-auto pistols are great instruments, but they require more training than revolvers to be used effectively. Make no mistake, I am fully aware that all firearms require training and practice to be of any real worth, but the semi-auto is, by its nature, more complicated.

Family members who may not be enthusiastic about guns and shooting but still want to be able to defend themselves will often find that a double-action revolver is more to their liking. Tactics and prior contingency planning come in to play, of course, but all potentially life-threatening events induce a great deal of trepidation. In these types of situations would it not be better to have a loved one using a simpler tool?

Power, Baby
Another reason I often prefer revolvers is that they continue to win the power race, at least in terms of handguns that can be easily carried. There are numerous compact snub-nosed revolvers that can do the job including some in power-punching calibers. While most people only need a .38 Spl. for typical use, a .357 Mag. snubby provides the versatility to choose between .38s and more powerful .357 rounds if there is a need.

And in the same issue, a left-handed revolver, the Charter Arms Southpaw is featured. Being a lefty shooter I've entertained thoughts of adding the Charter Southpaw to my modest arsenal.

Like the S&W Airweight .38 Special revolvers, the Charter Southpaw is only 12 ounces empty. And it just so happens we have one in stock at the gun shop. Somebody stop me before I buy my ninth revolver.

Rhino replica revolver promises .357 Magnum with .38 Wadcutter recoil

From GunsAmerica.com at the SHOT Show, here's a video from Chiappa Firearms about a new 1886 Winchester replica lever-action and a new revolver replica called the Rhino.

"The Rhino - Chiappa reinvents the revolver. Shooting from its bottom chamber, it features a lower barrel virtually eliminating muzzle flip. Comes in both full size and snub-nose concealable models."

What's promised is a 6-shot .357 Magnum snubnose or 6" vent-rib barrel revolver with the recoil of .38 Wadcutters. It shoots from the bottom chamber of the wheel, which Chiappa says eliminates muzzle flip and felt recoil. Sounds good to me. If this is true, they're gonna sell a lot of Rhinos.

An unsettling experience with a Russian Nagant revolver

Went shooting at the range Saturday with one of my "Sharpshooters 'R' Us" buddies, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, who brought his Russian Nagant 7.62x38Rmm revolver, an ancient single-action design dating back to 1895.

My buddy Leon is a reloader as well as military arms collector and I save my brass for him if he's not at the range when I shoot. And he found to his delight that brass from my Charter Arms Patriot .327 Federal Magnum works very well for reloading the 7.62x38R for his Nagant revolver. He said brass for the Nagant is hard to find and expensive.

So he was trying out some of his .327/Nagant reloads and we had a very unsettling experience. I shot his Nagant and found it to be quite accurate at 10 yards despite its rather stiff trigger. I put 2 out of 3 rounds in the black of an 8" bulls-eye target.

I was shooting my new Sig Sauer P229 and my fairly new S&W M&P Compact, both .357 Sig caliber, while Leon was popping some more reloads in his Nagant.

When we paused to reload, he said his Nagant had sounded odd as well as having quite a bit of blow-back around the cylinder, so he suspected a squib load, a projectile stuck in the barrel. Blow-back around the cylinder is usually minimal with the Nagant due to its tight locking design.

"The Nagant M1895 was chambered for a proprietary cartridge, 7.62x38R, and featured an unusual "gas-seal" system in which the cylinder moved forward when the gun was cocked to close the gap between the cylinder and the barrel, providing a (theoretical) boost to the muzzle velocity of the fired projectile."

Leon got a bore rod out of his tools and inserted it down the bore and sure enough, it was blocked. He also had a brass hammer so with me holding the Nagant, he began tapping the rod down the bore to clear it. Imagine our surprise when one projectile is tapped out but the bore is still blocked! Leon keeps tapping and another projectile falls out. But the bore is still blocked! He keeps tapping and a third projectile finally falls out and the bore is finally clear.

Three stuck bullets in the barrel and this ancient revolver didn't blow up in his hand! Don't tell me the Russians don't know how to build tank-tough firearms. And after the bore was cleared, we examined it carefully and there was no swelling or any apparent damage.

Close examination of the jammed projectiles showed deep indentations from the lands and grooves of the barrel, much deeper than normal. Leon said this indicates the .311-size jacketed rounds he was using for reloads are a bit too large for the Nagant's bore. And being cautious with his first reloads for the Nagant, he had used a light powder load. The combination of slightly too-large projectile and a light powder load results in a squib load. If the powder charge had not been light, the second and third projectile would no doubt have caused the barrel to explode.

Leon says he's going to drop down to about .308 bullets for future reloads with a higher charge. The .327 Federal Magnum brass can certainly handle about any powder charge you want to put in it as the cartridge is factory loaded to handle up to 45,000 psi, which is a truckload of psi's.

So all's well that ends well, but if Leon had kept on shooting, who knows what would have happened. That Nagant would surely have blown up if he had fired another round or two.

The Good Lord looks out for fools and drunks and members of "Sharpshooters 'R' Us" too!