Revolvers

There are three grades of shootability in the shootin’ irons available from Smith & Wesson. The standard production grade has set a standard of excellence...

Jack Pender was a very special friend who died of lung cancer in the ’90s when he was much too young. If we are blessed we make a few very close friends...

The year was 1954. The words “under God” were added to the Pledge of Allegiance and the Dow reached an all time high of 382.74. Elvis was telling us...

In the 1970s the hair was long, the gas was rationed, the interest rates were astronomical and the prevalent fashions could foment blindness if unduly gazed...

In Part I last month I explained change is inevitable and as we grow older, things we do not necessarily desire are forced upon us.

Hey John Taffin, remember a couple years ago when I told you in a column I was sort of eating crow?

Even the most jaded handgunner will perk up a bit when he gets his hands on the new Dan Wesson revolver that embodies some radically new and yet sound...

The lady was being stalked. Encouraged by her husband, she made an appointment with me to learn how to shoot a gun.

An exclusive look at the first engraved new-production Colt Python, beautifully hand scroll-engraved by Dale Bass of Tyler Gun Works.

A daily photo dump of the best sights from the range and show floor of the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

A daily photo dump of the best sights from the range and show floor of the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

My connection to Miss Lilly is through a revolver my father gave me when I was in the 5th grade — a .38 Rimfire. According to markings on the top strap,...

A daily photo dump of the best sights from the range and show floor of the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

Just days away from the 2020 SHOT Show, we can't help but drool thinking about all the new guns we'll get to shoot, handle and see throughout the week.

While loving the simplicity of the strong and reliable single-action thumb-cocker, I’m savvy enough to also appreciate its swinging sidekick, the...

Over the years we've developed a pretty good understanding of what gun reviews, industry news and old-timey stories you'd be interested in reading, but —...

Once ubiquitous, 2-inch revolvers, or "snubbies," have since fallen out of favor with shooters. Host Brent T. Wheat and GUNS/American Handgunner Publisher...

America still loves its cowboys. This is reflected in the number of single-action revolvers offered by current gunmakers. Ruger’s single-actions have long...

Shooting pre-cartridge black powder revolvers is solidly ensconced in worldwide shooting culture.

In 1981 a real workhorse galloped out of the Smith and Wesson stable in the form of the company’s model 686 — a stainless version of their model 586.

If there is a firearm using metallic cartridges that operates without a firing pin, I’m completely unaware of it. In fact, the firing pin is the most...

Driving past New Mexico’s Florida Mountains, traveling over 2,000 miles by plane and hard road, I know it won’t be long. It’s far, but well worth the...

I would’ve been all of 10 years old when Tex Ritter sang the mournful lyrics: “Oh my buckets got a hole in it; Yes my buckets got a hole in it;

My attitude is the major handgun cartridges which saw significant combat in World War II in the hands of infantrymen number seven.

It begins as a 3rd Generation SAA with the so-called “black powder” frame and remodeling it to duplicate an 1880s Peacemaker as closely as possible. Let...

Research has shown the Colt SAA (Single Action Army) has been chambered for about 30 cartridges ranging from .22 to .476 Eley during its on-again/off-again...

In the fall of 1976 when reading an article by writer Skeeter Skelton, I got both good news and bad news. The bad news was Colt had quietly discontinued...

It’s perhaps true more people were killed by Soviet handguns in World War II than by those used by any other combatant nation. At least eight, and perhaps...

For me one of the most enjoyable adjuncts to Colt Single Action Revolvers of all types is their leather gear. It comes in a bewildering variety of styles...

Charles Richards was an assistant factory superintendent at Colt and was awarded three major patents for breech loading firearms, including the Richards...

Some folks hold the Webley Mk VI .455 revolver in near reverence. I’m not one of them. To me it’s big, clunky, ugly, underpowered and worst of all I...

In the last few years of 1st Generation SAA production only about 100 were shipped every 12 months. Then World War II brewed up requiring all of Colt’s...

The .44 Magnum has now been around for well over 60 years and it seems like a good time to look back at this excellent — perhaps even all around —...

In November 1955, Smith & Wesson presented Bill Jordan with the first .357 Combat Magnum. This 6-shot medium-frame revolver weighed 1/2 pound less than the...

Perhaps the British could claim at least a small amount of credit for the advent of Smith & Wesson’s Model 1917 .45 Auto revolver. Just into World War II...

After searching for a good used S&W Model 610 for quite some time, I discovered a couple of things. First, they are not hiding behind every bush —...

Now we get to what can (arguably) be called the “World’s Most Famous Handgun.” Is it? I think so because American western movies have made it to about...

A funny thing happened in 1878. A sleek, futuristic single-shot rifle offering breeching strength beyond the needs of the day’s cartridges debuted just as...

We’re going to lump the last three Colt cap and ball revolvers together in one article because they were simply modifications and adaptations of...

For about a decade Samuel Colt was quiet as far as introducing new revolver models. Obviously they were using all their factory’s production capacity just...

Between 1850 and 1873 the company produced 215,000 .36 caliber ’51 Navy revolvers in America and another 42,000 were made in the short lived London factory.

Without a doubt the U.S. Army’s adoption of Model 1917 .45 ACP revolvers was a “make-do” situation. And also without a doubt it “made-do” very well.

As early as 1848 Samuel Colt realized the military market was going to be finite. After all, the U.S. Army was a relatively small organization and those...

Last year, Ruger — in conjunction with Lipsey’s — released their single-action Blackhawk in 10mm/.40 S&W. The dual-cylindered cyclone was met with...

A statement I’ll make about the British Enfield No. 2 Mk I .38 revolver is one I’m not willing to make about any other British weapons of World War II....

As pointed out in Part One of this series, in U.S. Army parlance of the 1840s/1850s the word Dragoon referred to horse mounted troops. It’s also the term...

Sometimes it seems nobody really likes the .223 Remington. Ever since the inception of the AR15 60 years ago, this little round has been under a magnifying...

Old wheelguns actually still have a lot to offer. Like any other firearm it’s all about knowing how to use them. Even if you’re not thinking about...

For a score of years now, master instructor Tom Givens and his wife Lynn have hosted the annual Rangemaster Tactical Conference. The program is a 3-day...

When Britain jumped into World War I and dragged Canada along, as usual their military outfits were woefully short of weapons. In those days the United...

A few Januarys ago Colt announced the new King Cobra, not their first revolver to bear the name, so a brief history is in order.

When black powder drove patched balls, frontiersmen saved lead by reducing bore size. Rifles on the Ohio and the Cumberland had slender barrels, commonly...

A few years back I got a call from my good friend Jim Martin — a single-action sixgunsmith in Arizona. He’d called to tell me he had a .44 Special New...

Handguns identical to your “serious” sidearm, but chambered for .22 Long Rifle for cheap practice, mild recoil and soft report.