Opinion on nightstand revolver

[StantonCree]

I think you should try and stuff two mortars in that night stand. I know a nice "guy" that has plenty of shells. They fit perfect between the condoms you'll never use, your old dry cleaning tags, a marker, and that book you only read half of.


Now that I've been just as informative as 75% of the posts I'll say.....

Most any IP can get you a great deal on a S&W 642. I also had a governor and, while a BEAST!! I found it was overkill and a bad "investment" You also can never go wrong with a model 10/36/15. The last 3 will not only save you life but you will never lose value on them! I wish you luck in your search!

 

[Boom Boom]

S&W model 66 4" for medium-sized frame. S&W model 442 or 642 if a small-framed snubbie is acceptable.

Either way, put CT laser grips on it. Will be obvious why if you practice with it in the dark.

 

[MikeTF]

I think you should try and stuff two mortars in that night stand. I know a nice "guy" that has plenty of shells. They fit perfect between the condoms you'll never use, your old dry cleaning tags, a marker, and that book you only read half of.


Now that I've been just as informative as 75% of the posts I'll say.....

Most any IP can get you a great deal on a S&W 642. I also had a governor and, while a BEAST!! I found it was overkill and a bad "investment" You also can never go wrong with a model 10/36/15. The last 3 will not only save you life but you will never lose value on them! I wish you luck in your search!

LOL. You're right, we all tend to think very carefully about the 'best' choice.

 

[DutchV]

A 686 is lovely but you might save a buck by looking for a slightly used 66. Either is excellent for nightstand duty, since it seems you're committed to a revolver.

 

[Boondock Saint]

686 or Ruger Gp-100 are both fine choices. The S&W Governor is a copy of the Taurus Judge and a silly gimmick. You want a shotgun, get a shotgun for the house. For a defensive revolver, .357 mag is your strongest easily fed option.

/thread

Seriously. These snake shot revolvers are junk, in my opinion. Shotguns are shotguns. Pistols are pistols.

Both is better than one. The 686 looks better than the GP100. I personally think the GP100 is built better. Both will throw a 158 grain slug slug in a hurry. Point and click reliability.

Tough to go wrong with a wheel gun in the nightstand. But again, pistols are pistols. You're making a compromise in using the hand cannon.

"Pistols are for keeping people off of you. Shotguns are for keeping people out of your house. Rifles are for keeping people off of your property."

Git 'er done.

 

[5.56blaster]

How about one that you will train with, a lot!

 

[Magnumite]

For home defense, many handguns will suffice. In this role the a small frame snub gun is a disadvantage. More blast, recoil and less likely to practice with it. Medium to large medium frame revolvers with a 4" barrel would fill the bill. The Smiths and Ruger guns are good suggestions.

When I was teaching NRA Basic Pistol, virtually every new shooter preferred the medium frame DA revolver in 38/357 caliber.

 

[redeemed.man]

/thread

Seriously. These snake shot revolvers are junk, in my opinion. Shotguns are shotguns. Pistols are pistols.

Both is better than one. The 686 looks better than the GP100. I personally think the GP100 is built better. Both will throw a 158 grain slug slug in a hurry. Point and click reliability.

Tough to go wrong with a wheel gun in the nightstand. But again, pistols are pistols. You're making a compromise in using the hand cannon.

"Pistols are for keeping people off of you. Shotguns are for keeping people out of your house. Rifles are for keeping people off of your property."

Git 'er done.

686 looks better than a GP100?


I disagree.

 

[EODJoe]

I have had many people ask me over the years "What's the best gun for protection?" The answer is whichever gun you happen to have in your hand when you need it most. Find something you are comfortable with and practice with it. A lot. Personally I keep a 3" barrel SP-101 loaded with .357 JHP close to the bed and a Remington 870 loaded with #4 buckshot in the closet. I have trained and practiced with both for many years and I'm confident in my ability to respond to any situation that arises in my home. A good flashlight is also a necessity for encounters in the dark. Surefire 6P is what I have used for many years now. Push button operation so you don't give away your position until you absolutely have to but you also can get positive target identification before you engage. Just my two cents.

 

[traveller]

Any revolver > .22 will do.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Ah, then my group buy S&W 64 fits the bill. What a sweet shooter for, what was it... 275 or something practically free like that?

Not hard to understand why you'd think so....

 

[jimbobborg]

Does that fit in a night stand?

Split the upper and lower My fairly short, not NFA AR tucks in to my nightstand when the receivers are apart.

ETA No need for an HQL with the rifle, either.

 

[Rack&Roll]

Don't think you want to try assembling anything when your hands are shaking.

A nice medium frame S&W (or less attractive Ruger revolver/LOL) with a 4-inch barrel is just right.

I don't like snubnose models in this scenario because you lose the natural aiming/pointing that longer barrels provide.

 

[alucard0822]

A DA revolver is very simple to operate, but very difficult to be proficient with. The long and heavy DA pull requires impeccable trigger control, and the low capacity requires lots of practice clearing brass and speed loading. I own a 686, absolutely love the gun, have competed with it, and even carried it hiking a few times, but the revolver and caliber have serious drawbacks in home defense. First is the high pressure resulting in brutal blast and noise from magnum ammo, indoors it's horrific compared to most any other service caliber, and the reason most choose to carry 38+p as defensive loads, on par with 9mm power, but 1/3 the capacity compared to a full size auto.

Smaller/lighter 38s give up capacity and the short barrels reduce velocity while increasing blast, a 3"+ 6 shot K-frame or larger is much better than a 5 shot J-frame snubby in a home defense role. IMO S&W stands above all other makes still in production, Taurus is rough and lacks QC, Ruger can be decent, but tend to be less refined, and bulkier, good in a large magnum hunter, bad in a defensive revolver, although the LCR is a fine example of an exception to that. Could buy an R8/327, better capacity, far better loading system with moon clips, and the R8 can mount a light. You could opt for a 625/325, 6 rds of 45ACP in moon clips, more power in a comfortable low pressure caliber, probably the easiest revolver to load and shoot at a decent power level as proven by it's dominance in competition.

Then there is the Governor, I would go against most others in that it's probably better than most 357 mag revolvers including the 686 for home defense, provided it is loaded with 45ACP in moon clips(with a few reloads next to it), it is well made, and FAR superior to the Judge in both quality and versatility. Only downside of the governor is the long cylinder for shotshells that adds bulk and weight over a 45 length cylinder, and shallow rifling, good for shot, bad for accuracy with 45 ACP/LC. The only shot load that has the ability to penetrate sufficiently in 410 is 000 buck, federal's 4 pellet 410 is about the only suitable load, but does seem to give impressive gel tests. Shotshells are also supremely slow to extract and reload compared to 45 in moonclips, or even single loaded 45LC, and have a fair amount more recoil.

This is the 5 pellet 3" load, the 4 pellet 2.5" load is actually a little faster, and a crappy #4 buck load for comparison

 

[Kman]

A 4" K frame has been my night stand for almost 30 years. No plans to change.

 

[GrimReaper]

not sure why you would want to limit yourself to so few rounds. There is a good chance you would be facing multiple intruders. I doubt your accuracy would be very good after suddenly waking up in the middle of the night

 

[jaredm1]

The 686+ or similar would be about perfect for your uses. I keep an SP101 in mine.

I'd say no to the Governor/Judge guns. If you want to shoot .45, there are better handguns for that. If you want to shoot buckshot, get a real shotgun.

 

[Rack&Roll]

Winchester makes a nasty .410 defense buckshot/3-disc load just for Judges/Govenors.

Worth consideration. First two rounds in the cylinder can be buckshot/3-discs with four following rounds of .45 Long Colt for close contact defense.

 

[good guy 176]

Find a revolver that you'll want to take to the range every single time you go.

When it becomes like your favorite pair of jeans, that's the one you'll want on the nightstand.

Some good ones mentioned here. Renting a few can be a very good place to start.

Great advice! I prefer a Colt King Cobra .357, 4", but also have a M1 Carbine, a Weatherby Grim Reaper, 12 gauge, and a Colt M4 16" type ready to go. You MUST, however, take every piece to the range, zero it and be comfortable with all aspects of its operation before counting on it to keep you safe. And, then hope that you never have to defend yourself and family with it.

Lew--Ranger63

 

[Traveler]

Ruger GP-100. I sure miss mine. G17 is still my first choice for many reasons though.