I Celebrate Diversity

Diversity in firearms comes in many different shapes, colors, calibers and sizes. Some people like them big, some like them small. Some like them short, and some like them long.  Today I’m going to discuss my revolver collection thus far… which is about as diverse as you can get.

Currently I own 7 different revolvers, from 7 different manufacturers, in 7 different calibers. Phew! We’ll start with the smallest calibers and move our way up.

1) Heritage Manufacturing Rough Rider

                This was my first handgun. My father bought it for me when I was about 10 from the Arizona Sportsman gun store in Mesa, AZ. I remember the excitement of that day vividly as I couldn’t imagine anything more exciting happening to me in my entire life. The Heritage brand is now owned by Taurus and as I understand, haven’t changed much in the past decade and a half. The guns are pretty low cost (I think we paid $120, not a significant change from their current street price of around $150) but it has been a fantastic gun over the years. It came with two cylinders for .22LR and .22WMR and a little folding knife in a nice cardboard box. At a gun show in Phoenix I happened upon a wonderfully used cowboy style holster and belt with loops made for .22LR. I used to carry this gun on our numerous father/son dove and quail hunts in the desert. It has been through quite a lot over the years. The front sight currently leans a little to the left, but I’ve been told that happens with age.

Barrel: 6 ½”

Finish: Blued

Grips: Walnut

Sights: Fixed

Well used and well loved. Lots of wear on this baby.

2)  Cimarron/Chiappa Plinkerton

                The Plinkerton came into my collection a few years ago because I wanted a .22LR revolver that mimicked the size and feel of a SAA. The Plinkerton delivers. Again, it was a low cost gun purchased just for cheap plinking purposes, but it works quite well. Unfortunately years of quick drawing and negligent dry firing practice have marred the cylinder pretty badly, but it still works. This Plinkerton also has some sentimental value as my father and I both purchased one at the same time to have matching guns. They do make a model with an interchangeable cylinder, but I opted for the basic version.

Barrel: 4 5/8”

Finish: Matte black

Grips: Black plastic

Sights: Fixed

Same size and approximate weight of a SAA

3) 1887 Husqvarna Swedish Nagant

                This little baby was actually gifted to me by a good friend. It is a Swedish Nagant made by Husqvarna. I’ve tried to date it based on the serial number, and the best I can tell it was made sometime in the early 1890’s. It is a much nicer and smoother revolver than the later and more famous Russian Nagant revolvers. It is a double action/single action but it does not have a swing out cylinder like your average DA revolver. Instead it uses a rotating ejector rod located under the barrel. The caliber is 7.5 Swedish Nagant. Ammunition is nigh on impossible to find. I’ve managed to acquire one round, again thanks to a friend, that will be used to create my own rounds. As I understand they can be made from .32-20 brass and by either shaving down .32 caliber rifle bullets or using .32 caliber round balls. I also have a holster that I’m assuming was issued with it. It is leather and has loops for six rounds of ammunition. I was told that it was ok to shoot .32 S&W Long through it, but the time I tried that the cases split in the cylinder so I decided I wouldn’t do that anymore.

Barrel: 4 ½” Octagonal

Finish: Blued

Grips: Wood

Sights: Fixed

A piece of history

4) Ruger Security Six

                Here is the workhorse of my collection. The old school classic that adorns my hip every time I go out on a hike or just exploring the woods. This baby is built like a tank and hits like one too. In my opinion, the .357 Magnum is the most useful and versatile of the revolver calibers. The ability to shoot lighter and cheaper .38 Special loads for target practice or to accommodate sensitive shooters paired with the ability to shoot hot loaded .357’s for anything else makes for one gun for all seasons. I acquired this one from a guy off of the online classifieds site backpage.com. I traded one of the Glock model 42’s for it, and I have never regretted that trade. This was my first revolver with adjustable sights (a feature I have yet to make full use of) and I’m not sure if I really need them. I keep it for shorter range encounters, should they ever occur. The Security Six was eventually replaced by the beefier GP-100 but I like the older look of the Security Six series.

Barrel: 6”

Finish: Blued

Grips: Rubber

Sights: Adjustable

With the Hunter leather holster she rides in

5) Charter Arms Bulldog

                This gun gained quite an infamous reputation in the late 70’s as the preferred gun of the “Son of Sam” David Berkowitz. He was also known as the “.44 Caliber Killer” as he struck fear into the streets of New York City. His choice of weapon shouldn’t be a surprise as the Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special was one of the most popular and best-selling revolvers of the time. I bought this gun when Charter Arms reintroduced it as part of their classic series a few years ago. I planned to use it as my daily carry weapon but found out that carrying my Glock 19 was a lot easier and more effective. Don’t get me wrong, this gun is an experience to shoot. It weighs a mere 20oz and bucks like a beast, but it is very controllable. Unfortunately the .44 Special is all but dead in this world, not gaining the popularity of its .38 caliber counterpart. So it definitely isn’t a range gun, but I throw it in my coat pocket every once in a while, and I don’t feel under gunned.

Barrel: 3”

Finish: Blued

Grips: Wood

Sights: Fixed

Looks just as intimidating as the pooch

6) S&W 629

                What can I say about this gun that Dirty Harry himself already hasn’t? The S&W 629 is the stainless steel version of the classic Model 29. It has had numerous small design changes over the years, most notably the addition of a full underlug on most of the recent models. The .44 Magnum is considered by most to be the King of the Revolver Rounds, even though it has been eclipsed several times since its development. Recoil is considerable, but staying on target isn’t hard with enough practice. As I said before, the .44 Special and .44 Mag don’t share quite the relationship as their .35 caliber counterparts do. .44 Special ammunition is considerably more expensive, harder to find, and comes in less variety than its magnum brother.

Barrel: 5”

Finish: Stainless Steel

Grips: Rubber

Sights: Adjustable

Two of the most intimidating words in the English language

7) Colt New Service

                Way back in the day, the military decided to replace all their old .45 Colt SAA’s with .38 caliber DA revolvers… bad idea. The military decided to go back to the good old .45… good idea. The New Service model was adopted right in that awkward period before the 1911 was officially adopted. A few years later during WWI however, they couldn’t produce enough 1911’s so Colt provided New Service’s (now dubbed the model 1917) to supplement the 1911. My New Service was manufactured in 1912 and wears the longest length barrel available. It is chambered in .45 Colt, one of the numerous rounds the New Service was chambered in but also the one it is most commonly encountered in. My gun was refinished at some point in the past diminishing some of its monetary collector value, but I have no intention of selling it. It is a joy to shoot as the only thing I put through it are lighter cowboy loads. I’m sure the gigantic frame could handle some hotter loads but on a gun this old, I’m not taking any chances.

Barrel: 7 ½”

Finish: Blued

Grips: White Plastic

Sights: Fixed

The BOSS. Biggest Old-School Shooter

Well there you have it. Diversity at its finest. I’m sure I’ll add many, many, many more revolvers to my collection in the coming years and just as many new calibers. I've always loved revolvers and the fact that they are chambered in not only their own calibers but in rifle, pistol AND shotgun calibers make them even more fun. Try and collect them all! Yeah... right.

EDIT: Here is a bonus of a few guns I will be adding to my collection. There aren’t too many revolver companies I don’t already own but there are quite a few calibers.

1) Freedom Arms Model 83

                This is a gun I’ve wanted since I saw the movie “Alien Nation” starring James Caan. He’s a police officer whose standard sidearm proves ineffective, so he upgrades to a single action .454 Casull. I know the Casull is one of the hardest recoiling rounds out there (I used to have a lever action Rossi in this caliber, one of two guns I regret selling) but dammit they are awesome to shoot.

2) S&W Model 57

                I used to own an S&W model 57 in .41 magnum (the other gun I regret selling) but I was young and dumb and ammo was hard to find. It was a beautiful blued gun with wood grips and an 8 3/8” barrel that was even Magna-Ported. I want her back….

3) Dan Wesson .445 Supermag

                My first .357 was actually a Dan Wesson Model 15. The interchangeable barrel feature seemed really intriguing but I didn’t have much use for it. As you may know or will come to find out, I like a lot of odd things. I especially like guns in calibers that are either not well known or obsolete. The .445 Supermag is one of those. It is basically a lengthened .44 Magnum case and was very popular with silhouette shooters.

4) Ruger Blackhawk

Ruger made for a short while, their Blackhawk single action revolver in a round called the .357 Maximum. Essentially a lengthened .357 Magnum it developed a reputation as a top strap cutter as the flame in the barrel gap was so intense it actually cut the top strap on some people’s guns. Badass.

5) Webley Mk VI

I’ve gone into detail with this in another article here: A Love Affair Renewed but a Webley Mk VI in .455 Webley would be heaven.