Looks like Ruger has gone all in on Wranglers for the time being - I see on their new release page that they've got longer barrels out for the new year. Both 6.5" and 7.5" options, along with 3.75" in plow-handles. Probably only a matter of time until they're doing 1" barrels without sights in chartreuse cerakote.

Don't know that we'll ever see Bearcats again.

CDFingers wrote:

sikacz wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:59 pm --snrps--
The thing is every single one of my SA/DA revolvers I prefer to shoot SA. It’s just that I was struck by the comment you made, not that I don’t think it’s yours to hold as you wish. I just don’t buy any gun with the idea which will be the last taken from me for whatever reason. I have some semiautomatic handguns, but to be honest I favor the odd revolvers for relaxation. The pace of a revolver is different than the pace of a semiautomatic. I do understand the fascination. I’ve never cared for the “cowboy” type revolvers though. The style appearance is not my esthetic. For reference though, I love my Nagant M1895 revolver, the esthetic is me. It’s archaic hard to reload, it is both SA/DA though even though there are SA versions.

I wish I would have bought a Nagant when I could get them for $79. Alas. To me, the fascination I have with my single action revolver is similar to my fascination with archery--truth be told, I have shot way more arrows than bullets in the last three years. Guns are easy; archery, not so much. I would carry neither SA revolvers nor a bow and arrow for SD, choosing instead my .357 Ruger GP100. I sort of want to "collect 'em all" type of thing. So many desires; so little space in the gun safe.

CDFingers

Yeah, I missed the boat on those too, in 2009 - when they were going for $119 locally. Really regret it - so now I keep a little cash stored by just for interesting, inexpensive, milsurp drops. This past year was my Zastava .32 which I enjoyed at the range 2 weeks ago.

As far as SA vs DA - I love them both. But I highly prefer the Ruger SA to any of the “colt clones”etc. (I really tried to love my Pietta but it went down the road - I can’t abide an inaccurate firearm.)

I generally carry DA revolvers (even in the field - usually my Ruger SP-101 or S&W 66) but I do carry a SA from time to time.
The only way this trio could be more versatile is if I had a 9mm conversion cylinder for the .357. (I have the .45 ACP cylinder for the .45 Colt.)

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I have both. A SA Beretta/Uberti 'Thunderer' and a new to me S&W 686+/6 inch barrel. I like the Uberti not because it's SA but because of the 'package'...Thunderer grip, side load..case hardened, 3.5 inch barrel..Heavy, feels great in the hand.

Same for the 686..for what it is..more modern, taller, better sights..and it happens to be SA/DA, but I shoot it SA almost 100% of the rime.

Altho I really like my SA handguns, great to have a 'revolver day' and just shoot the wheel guns..ammo shot goes slower as well and no...'gotta load my mags' shooting pause.

Are any of those open tops?
I'd love an 1872 open top. Not sure who makes the best one. Doesn't have to be and 1872 or Umberti.
I feel if I had one it may quickly become a favorite.
Speed loaders rock. That's the only thing I don't like about my New Vaquero and Blackhawk. The cylinder has to be loaded one boolit at a time.

Single action are great first pistols, it helps to concentrate on the target and figure out dominate eye or both eyes open when firing. I started with a Ruger SA semi-auto, didn't have to re-cock after each shot and the recoil was lighter than a 380, 9 mm, 45...ultimately it's what each person is most comfortable with at the range. I wouldn't suggest a newbie starting with 357 Mag in an AirLite revolver, they might never return.

My first hand gun was a single action revolver. It was not my last.

CDFingers

tonguengroover wrote:Are any of those open tops?
I'd love an 1872 open top. Not sure who makes the best one. Doesn't have to be and 1872 or Umberti.
I feel if I had one it may quickly become a favorite.
Speed loaders rock. That's the only thing I don't like about my New Vaquero and Blackhawk. The cylinder has to be loaded one boolit at a time.

I think most are Ubertis. I’ve kind of always wanted one of the Richards “cartridge conversions,” replicas of the 1851 Navy model. The modern replicas are chambered in .38 SPL. (I’ve never had the desire to mess with cap and ball yet.) However, with the basically non-existent sight picture; I know I won’t be able to shoot it well at all. My eyes need a nice square front sight and a good rear notch. I don’t buy guns that I know I won’t shoot as a mere novelty. Even my tiny Beretta Tomcat has a small — but clear & functional — sight picture.


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I too would love an open top. Uberti makes all the factory open tops, and they're typically available in .38 Special & .45 Colt. .45 Colt seems a bit much for something without a top strap, and even in .38 Special I would want to keep it to lighter target loads. I have found Uberti's to be excellent quality and they hold up very well to significant abuse. Even the original .44 open tops had a power level a bit under a modern .38 special, so the .38 special makes the best modern day analogue to my eye. Unless you want to get very creative in loading .45 Colt to .44 Henry Flat ballistics, but I'm too lazy for that.

FrontSight wrote:I too would love an open top. Uberti makes all the factory open tops, and they're typically available in .38 Special & .45 Colt. .45 Colt seems a bit much for something without a top strap, and even in .38 Special I would want to keep it to lighter target loads. I have found Uberti's to be excellent quality and they hold up very well to significant abuse. Even the original .44 open tops had a power level a bit under a modern .38 special, so the .38 special makes the best modern day analogue to my eye. Unless you want to get very creative in loading .45 Colt to .44 Henry Flat ballistics, but I'm too lazy for that.

.45 colt has a lower operating pressure specification than .38 Spec. I’m sure it’s fine as long as you stick to the spec; and don’t go jamming your “Ruger only” hand loads in there. I use a different bullet type for the “Ruger only” so as to never confuse them.

However, to your point, when shooting any of these “open top” revolvers; I would only fire low end of the spectrum, “cowboy” reloads. Those are what’s fun to shoot out of these types of firearm, anyways. It’s not like anyone is carrying this type of firearm as a self defense pistol since about 1890 anyways & if they were they were probably chambered in the archaic “.38 long colt.” Even then, the .38 special wasn’t invented until 1898. Might be fun to load up some .38 long colts.


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I'm kinda really digging this No 3 Russian

https://www.uberti-usa.com/top-break-revolver

tonguengroover wrote:I'm kinda really digging this No 3 Russian

https://www.uberti-usa.com/top-break-revolver

I agree those look awesome … but again, the sight picture …


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Yeah tis small. Not worse than the New Vaquero I bought recently.
Ya might like the 1875 better though. Looks like a nice V notch front sight on it.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/202 ... ak-review/

$1049 out the door., Cheapest price I can find in a minute. After all it is wheel gun Wednesday. https://ubertigunsusa.com/uberti-1875-n ... ch-barrel/

If you're looking at the S&W's, the Schofield is the one with the better sight picture. The No 3 and Russian have a rear sight that's even smaller than the V notches in the hammer of an 1851 Colt.

Scroll down the article for a good pic of the sight picture on the 75'. I can't seem to nab the pic.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/202 ... ak-review/

tonguengroover wrote:Scroll down the article for a good pic of the sight picture on the 75'. I can't seem to nab the pic.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/202 ... ak-review/

Yeah, that one actually has semi-decent sights.


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INVICTVS138 wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 12:11 pm

CDFingers wrote:

sikacz wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:59 pm --snrps--
The thing is every single one of my SA/DA revolvers I prefer to shoot SA. It’s just that I was struck by the comment you made, not that I don’t think it’s yours to hold as you wish. I just don’t buy any gun with the idea which will be the last taken from me for whatever reason. I have some semiautomatic handguns, but to be honest I favor the odd revolvers for relaxation. The pace of a revolver is different than the pace of a semiautomatic. I do understand the fascination. I’ve never cared for the “cowboy” type revolvers though. The style appearance is not my esthetic. For reference though, I love my Nagant M1895 revolver, the esthetic is me. It’s archaic hard to reload, it is both SA/DA though even though there are SA versions.

I sort of want to "collect 'em all" type of thing. So many desires; so little space in the gun safe.

CDFingers

As far as SA vs DA - I love them both. But I highly prefer the Ruger SA to any of the “colt clones”etc. (I really tried to love my Pietta but it went down the road - I can’t abide an inaccurate firearm.)

I generally carry DA revolvers (even in the field - usually my Ruger SP-101 or S&W 66) but I do carry a SA from time to time.

The only way this trio could be more versatile is if I had a 9mm conversion cylinder for the .357. (I have the .45 ACP cylinder for the .45 Colt.)

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I am starting to understand the 'collect 'em all' thing, given that I have a semiauto SA/DA, a semiauto DA, and now an SA revolver, so it makes a weird kind of sense that I am looking at SA/DA revolvers just at this moment. You guys are light years beyond me in terms of technical/historical knowledge, it's really cool learning about some of these older pieces.

It's horrible the way I get with collecting. This will have to stop for a while after my next purchase, if I even make that one. Three guns is a lot for me, and I have no idea how I'll tell my wife if/when I get to four. I can't wait to get back to the range.

I actually did give that particular Wrangler another look as well, since the options for smaller revolvers are so limited here... maybe someday, but 8.85 inches overall length, and I'm thinking 7.5 inches or less for my next pistol. Heritage is now making an 8.85-inch Rough Rider with a bird's head grip as well, which is weird, because they have a Barkeep that's the same size. It's like the same gun without an ejector rod.

It is funny, because they say that the series "Yellowstone" (and 1883 and 1923) has brought back Western fashion (and probably interest in SA revolvers.) For me, it went the other way around. I didn't pay any attention to the TV franchise until I got the RR, which put it on my radar. And man, 1883 was excruciating, can't believe I watched all 10 of those.

As for the hats and the duds, ever since I spent a summer in Benson AZ when I was seven years old (where I learned to ride horseback) I've always had bolo ties, cowboy boots and belts with big buckles. 7 years old, 17, 27, or 57, I'd wear all of it, too, on the NYC subway-- I was a hippie and a punk with a vivid imagination, so every day is always Halloween for me. I had kin in Arizona, and rode a real damn horse at a full gallop out in the desert, jumping over logs and doing all kinds of crazy stunts by the end of the summer, so I figured I'd wear what I wanted when I wanted.

I will update my ongoing saga on my other thread, but I think actually, (besides the unobtainum Taurus 942s), the only sub 7.5 inch .22-anything (LR or WMR) on the roster are the 3-inch Ruger and the S&W 317, the S&W 63-5, the Ruger LCRx (3 inch barrel only) for .22, and for .22 mag it's only the S&W 351PD. Everything else is either bigger or doesn't have a hammer. Unless I missed something, guns.com has it wrong, the smaller LCRx is NOT California compliant in either caliber.

I'm sure if I ever find my 942, or settle on the LCRx in 3-inch (only the .22 LR is on the roster, not the .22 mag), how do you think I'll shoot it at the range?

Yeah. Probably SA. I'll say this for the RR-- it put me off hammerless for good. And I'm not stuffy about tradition, it just seems crazy not to have the SA option, and hammerless revolvers look... neutered.

Ha ha, how does this DAO Rhino .357 revolver look? Neutered? Double action only revolvers do serve a purpose as a purely defensive use weapon. Not designed for plinking, the heavier/longer trigger pull requires positive intent to fire the weapon. That is a good thing for a defensive shooting situation. No glock leg. No explaining to the jury why you cocked the hammer if you didn’t have intention to shoot someone. As for snagging the hammer on clothing, well one less thing to worry about in a stressful situation which requires unholstering a firearm.

You’re right. We aren’t living in Benson or Tombstone, nowhere to cosplay cowboys or carry pistolas in Los Anjelease anyways. What’s the use of DAO revolvers if we can’t poke bullseyes from 15+ yards (and controlling our breathing and squeeeeze the trigger finger). I for one hope never to have to live with shooting a human being (like what recently happened at the taqueria). That Rhino is just a big lumpy paperweight in the safe.

sikacz wrote: Fri Dec 23, 2022 7:02 pm I guess I don’t understand the fascination with a SA only revolver. All DA/SA revolvers that I have are just as easy to shoot single action, which I prefer to do. But, a single action only can never be shot double action. Somehow, I don’t get why defending a SAO on the basis that it will be that last gun confiscated is somehow a redeeming quality. Yes, I agree shoot what you enjoy. Revolvers are among my favorites and the only gun I carry for protection and five rounds at that.

Then do what I did, and get both. I have a really nice Uberti Thunderer, SAO and just got a really nice S&W 686+...Both are great, for similar and different reasons.

Of course get both. Handguns are small compared to a stand up safe. ;-)

CDFingers