Home defense revolver for my wife

**Bull Grackle** · 19-06-2019, 19:38

Just starting the search for a revolver for my wife. Purpose: to hold the safe-room intact until the neighbors, the police or I arrive. And when I'm home: to back up me and my Glock 9mm. The selection of used revolvers for sale seems to be pretty thin: either expensive hand cannons or cheap pop-guns. Looking for a .38 S&W with no preference as to brand. There seems to be more Taurus revolvers on the market at an attractive price than any other brand. What's the reason? Unhappy owners? Unreliable? Poor factory support? Or are there just relatively a lot of them around? Please comment.

**CorditeCrazy** · 19-06-2019, 19:45

Why a revolver?

**Spliffcat** · 19-06-2019, 19:45

Glock 43.

**griffin** · 19-06-2019, 19:48

Are you set on a wheel gun for any specific reason?

As for the Taurus it's a solid enough gun, reliable and spares readily available. There are plenty out there at reasonable prices.
I remember some in the know saying they did not like P+P Ammo.

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**RevA** · 19-06-2019, 19:54

Both taurus and rossi make very nice wheelguns. A revolver is a good choice if the firearm will spend most of its time in safe, but keep in mind a revolver takes as much practise to use well as a sub-compact auto-loader.
Rossi and taurus was a popular choice for backupgun for police, but as most people seem to be buying pistols they sold or are selling their revolvers. With a snubnose just look for a heavy gun, it kicks less.

**Steven001** · 19-06-2019, 19:56

One word: light strike...
Another few words: 5 rounds or 6 rounds
A few words of advice: modern Glock

Technology is your friend, you wont leave your dear wife with an early model Alcatel cellphone for when the shit hits the fan, so why leave her with 1800s technology when it comes to handguns?
CZ, Glock, Train.

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**mikecollinge** · 19-06-2019, 20:01

Originally Posted by Bull Grackle

. Looking for a .38 S&W with no preference as to brand.

Um. If you really meant .38 S&W, I would say no. The ammo is under powered and, I believe, relatively expensive. If you meant .38 Spl, then whatever you feel is best. I think a pistol is better than a revolver, purely because of quick mag changes. Let your wife try some different revolvers and pistols, and see what is better for her. My wife battles to rack the slide on some pistols, but on others, she is fine. Any gun is better than no gun, but if you have a choice, go for what she likes. Then SHE takes you to the range :)

**Andre in Alberton** · 19-06-2019, 20:06

If it has to be a revolver, Taurus makes a 7 shot .357mag. If the firearm is only fir hime use then rather get a 4" barrel and rubber grips.

If it has to be a snub nosed wheelgun, VLT is currently running a killer special on the Ruger LCR snubby in 9mmP for under 5k.

Whatever u select, training is key. U need to make every shot count, more so in a revolver with limited capacity. From a capacity point of view the pistol does make sense but requires more training to be completely proficient with it.

**Piet vWdVries** · 19-06-2019, 20:14

I am waiting for my plotter to cut, so while I am sitting here I may as well take a swing at some of these questions.

There are lots of taurus snubbies available second hand, because the market got flooded with them some years back. They are crappy. Market value for them is whatever someone will pay, but actual value is R0 to R350.

If you are prepared to bin hunt, you can sometimes pick up a free range rossi that is not bad. If you are going to bin hunt, you have to know revolvers. Faking it wont help, as you are very unlikely to luck into a good one.

There are only 4 names in revolvers that are worth betting your life on, and they are Colt, Ruger, Smith, and Wesson.

No 38 snubbies like +p ammo, because they were specifically not designed for them. If you find someone who preaches carrying plus rounds in their snubbie, that tells you something. Some manufacturers specifically advertise their snubbies as plus p capable, and this is technically true. But the reason they say that is not because there is a glut of savvy revolver buyers in the world.

Snubbies have a lot more going for them than the average semi auto fanboi will know about or admit. But, they are really not easy to shoot well, and reloading one under stress...well, that is not going to happen. So as a barricade weapon, they are a very bad choice. They can also not mount a torch or anything else. Once again, sucky home defense weapon. They are pure punch guns, and are unbeatable for a specific type of fight, but not for much else. If the South African licencing system was not so restrictive, snubbies would be great for everyone. They are in fact a fantastic option as a 4th+ gun, and very much because the 2nd hand market for them is so good. But you are going to have to wade through some crap to get a good one as I said.

If you are looking for the best choice for a home defense/barricade weapon for your wife that is easy for her to train and understand fast, get her a Glock 19.

If you truly want her to have a revolver, and it is for home use, and NOT for carrying, then get look at Ruger Speed/Service?Security six series revolvers. They are 357 magnum, but are very comfortable to shoot 38s with, and much more handelable than a 38 snubbie. And because they were frikkin awesome, your chances of lucking into a good one is pretty good. Market value for them is between R2k and R5k. 2 3/4 inch Speed Six snubbies are available. They are decades past discontinued, but as I said, solid guns. Smithy model 19s are also awesome if you can find them.

If you find a Colt snubbie, make sure it is of a later generation you can identify by a full underlug. If it does not have one of those, dont do it.

Oh, lastly, do not buy a 38 S&W (caliber). get a 38 Special. These are two very different calibers. One of them is old, the other is extinct.

My plotter is done :)

**FNBROWNING** · 19-06-2019, 20:23

Availability and price of Smith and other American brands in SA was for many prior years an issue. Especially pre 94. Taurus was both cheap and available. For the most part they work and work well but if you stage the double action trigger pull on the snubbies they will light strike.I had a stainless model 85 for many many years with at least a thousand rounds through it with constant carry and the usual knocks. It held up as well as anything else.