Considering a revolver
By MARJ LAW
Marie is visiting the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range. She is new to shooting.
“I’m confused,” she tells me. “Uncle Vic said that the best handgun for me to have, in case Mr. Bad breaks into the house, is a .38 Special. That’s a revolver.”
“Why does he like the .38 Special for you?” I wonder.
“He says the .38 is the most simple gun to handle. If someone were to break in, all I have to do is to point and shoot.”
“Did you get a .38?”
“No,” she replies. “I don’t think it’s quite as simple as Uncle Vic says. I did some reading up on the .38. It might have more recoil than I can stand. Also, it only takes five rounds. Five isn’t many, especially as I’m pretty new to the sport. Will I be able to defend myself with only five rounds?”
“What did your uncle say about your concerns?”
“He says he doesn’t have a problem with the recoil, so he doesn’t see that I’ll have any. He doesn’t realize that he’s a big, strong guy, and I’m a female with tiny bone structure.”
“And what did he say about the five rounds?”
“He isn’t worried about five rounds, but then he’s a pretty good shot. Since I was most interested in a 9mm revolver, he says most 9mm revolvers require the use of things called moon clips. These clips secure the rounds in the cylinder and help to ensure proper head spacing. But I’m thinking here’s one more thing for me to do. So, I buy these clips.
“But this means that when I have to load the gun, I have to first insert the rounds onto the moon clip. That seems like an extra step to me. Uncle Vic said that this will shorten the time to load the gun, because the rounds will be in the moon clips already, but loading the moon clips will take time. Also, I don’t have any pockets to hold them. Where do I keep the filled moon clips?”
“OK,” I reply. “That’s a hard one to answer. Maybe in your carry purse, along with the revolver? Also, can your purse handle the width of the gun? Because of their cylinders, revolvers tend to be wider than semi-automatic handguns. What other concerns do you have about revolvers?”
“Well, the guy at the store said I could ‘dry fire’ a .38 and a 9mm revolver. So, I pick up one of the handguns. Pointing it in a safe direction away from people, I pull the trigger. Wow! Both guns had triggers that are pretty hard to pull. When I told the store owner, he said many revolvers have heavy trigger pulls.”
“Did he explain why trigger pulls are so hard in the revolvers?”
“Yes, he said it provides safety for the owner and those around him/her. Since revolvers are primarily used for defense, a hard pull will mean that the guy who owns the gun really does intend to fire it. He also said something about single and double action; apparently, it’s much easier to pull the trigger in single action. That means I have to pull back the hammer to cock it before firing.”
“What don’t you like about that?” I wonder.
“If I have to remember to cock the hammer first, that’s an extra step: just like putting the rounds in the moon clip first. It’s not just pointing and shooting. Cocking the hammer puts the gun in single action. That’s when the trigger has the one job of releasing the hammer. Usually, in single action, it’s an easy pull.
“The way I understand it, if I don’t cock the hammer first, then the trigger has to both cock the hammer and then release it. Now it has two jobs instead of one. This makes the trigger work harder, and therefore so do you. This is why you have such a strong trigger pull, and it is called ‘double action.
“If I end up getting a revolver, I might first have to load up moon clips, then insert the clips into the chambers. Then, if I want an easy trigger pull, at this point I’ll have to cock the hammer. If I don’t cock the hammer first, then it will be difficult to keep shooting because the trigger pull is so hard.
“I’d also like to put a red dot sight onto the gun. Most revolvers I looked at do not have red dots. Most don’t even have the cut out at the top to accommodate one. I think I can find someone to mount a red dot, but it could cause problems if I want to sell the gun later. So, if I want to sell the gun in the future without the red dot, then the gun will be worth less since I’ve ‘boogered it up.”
“It’s beginning to sound like you’re really not interested in a revolver after all,” I commented.
“Well, Uncle Vic told me all I’d have to do to defend myself is to point and shoot. Now, it seems like there are several other considerations to make. Cock hammer or not? Put on a red dot or not? Moon clips or not?
And is there a 9mm revolver that doesn’t take moon clips?”
“Yes, there’s a Charter Arms 9mm with a 4.2-inch barrel. It’s called a Pit Bull Target gun and fits in a low price range. Although it doesn’t require moon clips, you still want to decide whether to shoot it in single or double action.”
“I guess if I get one, I’ll shoot it single action at the range. Trigger pull will be light. Then, when I’m used to the gun, I can build up trigger pull strength by shooting in double action.
“Shooting revolvers doesn’t seem so simple anymore.”
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.
