By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The revolver—aka “wheelgun,” “sixgun,” “round gun,” “six-shooter,” and so forth—is a part of the American historic fabric.
Revolvers have been around since at least the 1840s, and up through the latter half of the 19th Century, as Civil War veterans moved west to find new opportunities, chase new hopes and perhaps live new lives, the handgun may not have “won the West” but it was certainly around for most of the fireworks.
Revolving handguns became major parts of the American lore, associated with such historical figures as James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, Wyatt Earp, John Wesley Hardin, Jesse James, Cole Younger, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and so many more historical figures it is hard to keep track of them all.
While revolvers have been overshadowed in recent years by semiautomatic pistols for personal and home defense, they remain as useful today as they were 50 or 100 years ago. If a handgunner doesn’t own at least one round gun, he/she is not—no pun intended—well-rounded.
This writer’s personal preferences tilt toward big-bore sixguns chambered in .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .38 Special and .41 Magnum. The late, and legendary, Elmer Keith is forever linked to the .44 Magnum, and the recently-passed John Taffin is widely known as an authority on revolvers.
Whether single- or double-action, the revolver is a genuine utility tool. Legendary WWII General George S. Patton, known for his ivory-handled revolvers—a .357 Magnum on one side and .45 Colt Single Action on the other—reportedly was quoted stating that the semi-auto is an “arm of two parts” while the revolver “required nothing other than loose ammunition” to keep functioning.
A semi-auto’s drawback is the magazine. Without the magazine, you’ve got a single-shot pistol which is difficult to reload. This is why it is considered imperative to carry spare magazines when armed with a semi-auto, whether a “pocket pistol” such as the Walther PPK or Ruger LCP, or a full-size service pistol such as the Model 1911 or Sig P220.
The downside to sixguns (or five-shooters, seven- or eight-shooters) is that they are slower to reload than a semi-auto, although many handgunners have overcome this by carrying speed-loaders to be used with double-action revolvers with their swing-out cylinders.
The slowest of all, of course, are the single-action “cowboy guns,” from which empty cartridge cases must be individually ejected and their chambers individually reloaded one cartridge at a time.
My Choices
I’ve got both single- and double-action revolvers, and invariably carry one or the other anytime I venture off the pavement. Out in the Pacific Northwest where I reside, or anywhere in the mountain states, there are “things with teeth.” In recent years not far from my home, one man was killed and two other people have been attacked and mauled by mountain lions.
In Montana, there have been bear maulings usually involving grizzlies, and several years ago, I interviewed an Idaho woman who shot a wolf that was stalking her while she was bowhunting.
My personal armament includes wheelguns in .357 and .41 Magnum, and .45 Colt; all very useful calibers for self-defense which are also formidable game-stoppers. I’ve shot three deer with handguns, and a fair amount of small game.
And, to be honest, when I’ve been on my own in the back country, the weight of a sidearm has been reassuring when I may have run across fresh tracks with claw marks up front. One night sleeping alone in a pup tent on a muzzleloading hunt many years ago, I was awakened by “something” rather large slowly making its way through my campsite. Next to my sleeping bag was a .41 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk, and in the dark I reached over to make sure of its position “just in case.”
Fortunately, the critter was bound elsewhere and didn’t even leave a calling card, and by morning, there was literally no sign of its presence.
There are some very good revolvers today, made by legends in the field, including Ruger, Colt, Smith & Wesson, Freedom Arms, Taurus, Rossi, Charter Arms and even Henry Repeating Arms has an entry. And older models from many of these companies have become classics; my S&W revolvers all date back to the 1980s or earlier, and I’ve got a pair of Blackhawks which date back decades, rather than just years. Thanks to routine maintenance and the self-control to not abuse them with ridiculously heavy loads, they are all in top working order.
Accurate
Contrary to Hollywood, drawing a sixgun from a holster on one’s hip and just firing off-hand usually doesn’t work well for most folks, although some skilled shooters can pull it off. That doesn’t mean revolvers aren’t accurate. Quite the contrary.
Handguns, especially those equipped with adjustable rear sights, can be remarkably accurate. In long-range handgun shoots, I’ve witnessed some incredible shots made with handguns. I’ve even managed to score a few, myself out to beyond 100-200 yards, in front of witnesses.
And, when the shooting was finished, I didn’t have to walk around picking up spent brass off the ground. I simply dumped my empties into a pail or paper bag, took them home, checked them for size and trim length, tossed them in a tumbler and reloaded them. (During ammunition shortages over the past few years, I was never worried because I had plenty of handloaded ammunition at hand.)
Even fixed-sight single-action revolvers can deliver the goods when the shooter has taken the time to practice and learn where to aim. Fortunately, my fixed-sight revolvers all shoot reliably straight enough to keep a tin can rolling around at better than 25 yards, which translates to hitting something bigger at greater distances.
Revolvers with adjustable rear sights really make a difference when it comes to accurate shooting. Most of my long-range handgunning is done with handloads, so guns and loads are essentially tuned to one another. That fact has helped put venison in the cooler more than once.
Handgunners whose sole experience has been with double- or safe-action semi-autos, typically with reinforced polymer frames, might be cheating themselves out of some extraordinary experiences. Those of us who grew up “back in the day” when revolvers still dominated the outdoors admittedly became hooked and maybe we have a touch of untreatable nostalgia as well.
With a belt full of extra cartridges, you’re all set for whatever you may encounter in the wilds. While I’ve experienced jams with semi-auto pistols, no revolver has ever plagued me in such a fashion. That is yet another reason I choose a round gun over a flat one for work in the woods. Use them, and don’t abuse them. Revolvers tend to get the job done.
Nothing beats being able to spin a cylinder, see those fresh rounds properly seated, knowing when the hammer drops, that tool in your hand is going to go “BANG!”
