versatile handgun

[azmark]

I want a handgun that will fill several roles...home defense, farm gun, fun gun, etc. Cost needs to be in the $400 neighborhood. What say you?


Mark

[3t-]

ruger blackhawk .357mag.

can load with .38 special ammo for fun and hunting. upload for defense.

[Tycer]

A 4" revolver in .357 Magnum

Plink, hunt, personal defense.

.38 Special wadcutters to 180 grain deer loads.

I like Smith & Wesson model 19s

[Pisgah]

I want a handgun that will fill several roles...home defense, farm gun, fun gun, etc. Cost needs to be in the $400 neighborhood. What say you?


Mark

I say the world is awash with likely candidates. .357 Magnum would be my choice for a broad spectrum of applications. Possibilities include the aforementioned Blackhawk, the S&W 19 or 66, Ruger Security Six or GP100, several Taurus models.... the list is long!

[Grizz]

The ruger blackhawk is a good one. Also the SP101 or the Smith 66 if you like double action revolvers. I've heard that Taurus makes good revolvers but I don't have any personal experience with them. I like the 44 spcl Pug design.

I think the Smith 640 is the best packing firearm there is. I put a cylinder full of 185g hard cast thru one and it was fine. Minute of deer at 38 yards. I don't recommend that load in a J frame tho. It's one of the few defense guns you can discharge from inside a pocket. No external hammer makes it very safe for packing. No accidental cocking. They're significantly smaller, slimmer, than the K frames. My favorite play thing.

Shoot 38 spcl in it for plinking and 357 for social work.

Actually, a .22 is a pretty good and fun gun and cheaper to shoot to boot. I don't think it's great for defense, but it's get 'er done if it's what you have. It's kid and wife friendly too. Maybe I need to find one. Yup, see ya later, gone looking..,

Grizz

[azmark]

I had thought about a J-frame because the price is right. Frankly, I was skeptical about accuracy beyond HD distance. Also I've heard they're hard to control beyond the first shot due to their light weight. Of course, this is just from reading or listening to other people. The lightest revolvers I've ever shot were a Taurus Tracker .44 mag and a Taurus 45/.410.

[AmBraCol]

I want a handgun that will fill several roles...home defense, farm gun, fun gun, etc. Cost needs to be in the $400 neighborhood. What say you?


Mark

Well, Mark,

It all depends on what you want to do with it within the specifications you mention. Take a good look at the Taurus 3" - 4" five shot (Model 431???) in 44 spl. You can load it stout for defense or load it light for plinking and fun. In fact, with a regular "cowboy" load of unique under a 240 gr or so SWC I didn't feel much difference between it and the K-frame 38 (model 10) as far as recoil goes - but the thump on the receiving end was noticeably heavier. They're not too expensive and if you shop around you might find an older pre-lock version at a good price.

A 38 spl or 357 can be found in your price range too. A good K frame Smith $ Wesson is hard to beat for general purpose handgun, especially if it's in a 357 mag flavor. Take a look at model 19's in your neck of the woods. I just saw a Model 28 get snapped up for $280, a well worn shooter grade (been packed a lot and shot little). JLF (Honest Arch) on the http://www.sixshootercommunity.com forum (Follow the link at the top of the page) can often find good, solid guns at decent prices. He's an FFL and a good guy to deal with. You might ask him to keep an eye out for you for something specific.

My own daily carry is a Llama 38 made by Indumil. It's a four inch K frame sized sixgun with an interesting action. Anyway, if they'd let me I'd carry a 44 or a 45 but such is life this far south of the border. I'm just glad they let me carry at all.

Anyway, take a good look at the Taurus revolvers. A lot of folks look down on them 'cause they ain't 'merican made. I've owned two and my dad had another - good guns all. So if you can find a 44 spl you'll have a "do it all" gun that's quite packable indeed.

Paul - in Pereira

[Stopper]

I have to go with the .357 Magnum / .38 Special crowd and say you need to get a Ruger GP100. It's about at the price point you mentioned, and you've got a lot of choices with those rounds. I wrote up my thoughts on my site at:

GP100 Review

- Stopper

[PPpastordon]

For the price limitation a GP-100 sure sounds like a great handgun. However, if you can find one (as some of us are lucky enough to find) a 5 1/2" old Redhawk in .44 would be even better. My poor old Red has taken a lickin' and keep on tickin' for a lot of years! My only change is a little trigger work and snubbing the barrel a bit - now only 4 1/2".
PPpastordon

[Rusty]

IMHO the ultimate would be a S&W 27 or 28 depending on what barrel length you can handle. the M28 4" is the handiest. the M27 5" will give you a little more sight radius without being whippy.
If you don't want something quite that large you could go in descending order to a S&W "L" frame, a Ruger Security six or GP-100, and finally to the S&W "K" frames.
I don't include SA's for me cause I just don't shoot them very accurately, but that's me. They are also a little harder to reload fast when you're in a hurry.