Weer'd World

Old NFO points me to this video by the great hickok45

An uber-high-end Ed Brown 1911 According to Google they run about $2500 NIB and a plane-Jayne Glock 21 Which runs around $530 NIB. Both guns are considered high quality and good value for their price point.

Still using both guns and the same ammo he shows he can ring any gong on his wonderful playground. When it comes to collecting, possessing , and shooting guns your tastes are the only relevant factor. I own a couple of 1911s, I don’t own any Glocks. Doesn’t mean I think Glocks aren’t great guns, just I never fell in love with one. (I really wanted to love a G20 I found a local shop for a good price, but standing there with the gun in my hand I just knew I wouldn’t shoot it much) Some people prefer revolvers, others semi-autos, others prefer to bother with shotguns and rifles over handguns.

Still when it comes to practical carry guns, which is better? The $2,500 1911, or the $530 Glock? Neither, they’re both effective lead delivery systems at practical ranges….and frankly beyond because unless hickok45 is doing some handgun hunting I don’t see him defending his life from attackers 80 yards away.

BTW when I shoot my 1911s some days my groups are fairly tight, others they really suck. I rarely get a group under 3-4″ on the page, and some days 8″ circles is all I can shoot consistently, what hickok45 shows is this is ONLY me, not my gun or my ammo, and in the end unless you’re going to log the crazy time to become a proficient offhand target shooter, there’s no need to quibble about what gun is better than what other gun.

Pick a gun in an effective caliber that feels good for you to carry and shoot and then practice with it. Doesn’t matter if its a .380 or a 10mm, doesn’t matter if its a used Glock or a NIB Ultra-custom 1911.

Actually scratch that, beware of REALLY tight guns, the accuracy they produce won’t be noticeable in your hands, but the tight tolerances might effect reliability.

Carry your damn guns!

OK I’m a 1911 guy specifically, and a semi-auto guy in general, but I’m hardly anti-revolver. As a matter of fact I’m packing my S&W642 today, and I think ANYBODY who’s serious about carrying should have a small-frame lightweight revolver in their collection. They’re no fun to shoot, and they don’t hold a lot of rounds, or are particularly easy to reload given they’re revolvers, and given the short ejector under that short barrel. But you can load and unload them all day, and they’re light enough to drop in a purse, bag, or pocket at a moment’s notice in case one has to run some unexpected errands.

Still we got talking here about revolvers holding numbers other than 6 shots. I got thinking of various revolvers that hold more or less than six rounds. Obviously I lead with the J-frame, and many small-frame .38/.357 revolvers carry only 5 shots. There are a TON of modern revolvers that carry more than 6 shots like the S&W686+ that is optioned to hold 7, there’s the S&W627 that rocks an impressive 8, and countless 8,9,and 10 shot .22 Revolvers. But that’s modern day.

We all know the SAA and Colt Navy percussion revolver that are best known among several others in the early days of repeating handguns often held an even 6 shots. But even back then 6 wasn’t the standard. Take the LeMat Revolver this Percussion revolver had a 9-shot cylinder, plus a central shotgun barrel. In the metallic cartridge world there was the very first Smith and Wesson revolver made in 1857 held 7 shots. Even into the fledgling days of smokeless powder the Russian Nagant Revolver was a 7 shooter. The famous Webley Revolver was a 6-gun in .455, the updated auto-cocking Webley-Frosbery came with either a 6-shot .455 Cylinder, OR a .38 ACP 8-shot Wheel.

And of course guns in a smaller size would have that 6th Charge hole deleted to further shrink the gun like the S&W Safety Hammerless which gave way to their J-Frame and its imitators.

Of course there are guns that use cartridges so massive they also need to make do with 5 like the S&W X-frame revolvers, or the .480 Ruger Alaskan.

So in the end, while many popular revolvers came standard with 6 charge holes, the revolver was never cemented in that number.