The Firearm Blog

S&W have partnered with the Second Amendment Foundation to produce a S&W “Heller” Model 442 revolver

The Smith & Wesson Model 442 will be laser engraved with an insignia to commemorate the ruling by the Supreme Court. On the right side plate of the revolver, the scale of justice is depicted with the wording “D.C. vs. Heller” across the scale. The balance is in favor of the “Heller” name with the court date of “June 26, 2008″ positioned across the top. Underneath the scale, the side plate reads “Second Amendment” and “The right to keep and bear arms” in white lettering.

S&W Model 442 (the regular version)

UPDATE: GunTalk has photos of the Second Amendment Foundation model. Very cool.

From Reuters

He said the Colt Cobra revolver used by Jack Ruby to kill Oswald in 1963, just days after Oswald was arrested for assassinating Kennedy, could fetch several million dollars alone. The initials of detectives who handled the gun are scratched on it.

Personally I would not want to own a murder weapon, be it a gun, knife, stick etc.

Uberti will be selling the Cattleman single-action army revolver in a matching .45 Colt two gun set. They will also be offering a uniquely engraved Cattleman in .45 Colt.

1873 Cattleman Charcoal OM (not the revolver mentioned above)

Press releases below:

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An interesting revolver I came across for sale at gunbroker.com

There are very few examples of these revolvers known. I know of only two others reported in print. Note the distinctive hammer and grip. Seven shot cylinder, Birmingham proof marks, nickle plated brass frame and butcap. A rare revolver.

Two of these revolvers were reported by W.C. Dowell in his book, THE WEBLEY STORY. See also pages 43 and 45 of WEBLEY REVOLVERS by Bruce and Reinhart. These are the only examples I know of.

From 1864 to 1866 Webley had a licencing agreement with Smith & Wesson to make .22 tip-up revolvers. However, I believe this revolver pre-dates that agreement and thus Webley did not want to be known as the maker. Although the workmanship appears to be excellent.

On page 45 of Webley Revolvers, there is a photo of an almost identical revolver to this one. The revolver pictured is serial number 4 with a silver plated frame. Also mentioned in the text is serial number 2 which was reported by Dowel as having a gold plated frame. Due to corrosion of the front of the cylinder and the face of the barrel, the numbers on this revolver are no longer visible, if it ever had any numbers at all.

Like the two revolvers mentioned in the above books, this revolver has Birmingham proof house markings and nothing else. The lack of Webley markings may indicate that this was made before the licencing agreement was obtained. After the licence was granted, Webley produced several different single action models, some of which resembled Smith and Wesson rim fire revolvers and some did not. Webley soon dropped single action pocket pistols in favor of his successful line of double action Bull Dogs. All of the early single action rim fire revolvers are extremely scarce.

Xavier has written about a guy to got his thumb blown off by a .460 revolver.

It is important, when firing a revolver, to keep all parts of your hand(s) away from the front of the cylinder. Explosive ignition gases exit the cylinder gap as well as the muzzle of the firearm when the cartridge is fired. This safety issue is sometimes illustrated by instructors who place a revolver inside a paper bag with the muzzle sticking out a hole in the bottom.

Xavier has also posted the photo of the thumb itself. It is not pretty.

More here.

If you thought it was only the firearms industry going pink, you would be wrong.

Fishergirl Survival Rod & Kit

The fishergirl range complements pink guns such as the .38 ‘Pink Lady’ revolver.

Charter Arms Pink Lady

At SHOT Show S&W announced their new Night Guard revolvers.

Press release:

Smith & Wesson introduces the Night Guard Series, chambered in .45 ACP, .44 Mag./.44 S&W Special, .357 S&W Magnum/.38 S&W Special and .44 Special. With 2 1/2″ barrels, the revolvers feature a matte-black, lightweight Scandium frame; black stainless PVD (physical vapor deposition) cylinder; Pachmayr Compac Custom grip; XS 24/7 Standard Dot Tritium front sight; and the new Cylinder & Slide Extreme Duty fixed rear sight. The Night Guard revolvers will available in March 2008.

Ruger have announced some new products.

Black Slide Ruger SR9 Pistol

I like the look but prefer the stainless.

The recently launched Ruger SR9â„¢ pistol, the first striker-fired pistol from Ruger, is now available with a blackened stainless slide. The multi-step blackening process improves both the durability and corrosion resistance of the stainless steel slide by creating a surface hardness of 68Rc. The extra hard finish also reduces scratching and holster wear.

Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger

Ruger has finally sorted out the problems they were having with the Redhawk .480

The Ruger Super Redhawk revolver chambered in .480 Ruger, specifically designed with the big game sportsman in mind, is back. Production had been suspended early in 2007 to address a fired case extraction issue. After a complete analysis, it was determined that to provide easy and sure extraction, all .480 Ruger Super Redhawk Revolvers, including the easy-to carry Alaskan, will now feature 5-shot cylinders. Beginning in 2008, they will also feature a Hogue® Monogrip® for added comfort. The Target Grey® All-Weather® version adds a low glare matte finish preferred by hunters.

The .480 Ruger cartridge offers handgun hunting performance without the heavy recoil experienced by other big game calibers. This cartridge offers power without excessively heavy recoil using Hornady’s .475” diameter, 325 grain XTP Magnum bullet. The .480 Ruger cartridge can produce a muzzle velocity of 1350 fps - nearly one-third more muzzle energy than the standard .44 Magnum cartridge, with substantially less recoil than the other big bore hunting handgun cartridges. This exciting cartridge developed by Hornady can be said to effectively “split the difference” between the powerful .44 Magnum and other super-powerful, heavier recoiling hunting cartridges.

M77 chambered in Ruger Compact Magnums

I could be wrong but I think this is the first rifle to be chambered in the new RCM cartridges.

The Ruger Compact Magnum cartridges, developed in conjunction with Hornady Manufacturing Co., are extreme cartridges for extreme hunting. Based on the beltless .375 Ruger, the .300 and .338 RCMs are engineered to offer .300 and .338 Win. Magnum performance in a more compact package. With their short actions and 20” barrels, the M77 Ruger Compact Magnums are today’s “mountain rifles and brush guns.”

The new cartridges are chambered in the compact action Ruger M77 Hawkeye rifles with features that include the smooth and crisp Ruger LC6â„¢ trigger for improved out-of-the-box trigger pull, and a red rubber recoil pad that provides more effective recoil reduction. Other features of the Ruger M77 Hawkeye rifles appreciated by knowledgeable shooters are the Mauser-type controlled feeding and powerful claw extractor, 3-position safety, hammer forged steel barrels and free Ruger patented scope rings. The design of the patented steel floorplate, which bears the distinctive Ruger logo, provides easy unloading and eliminates accidental “dumping” of ammunition.

Two compact-action models of the Ruger M77 Hawkeye rifles chambered in the new Ruger Compact Magnums are available. The matte blued version features the M77 Hawkeye’s slimmer walnut stock with wrap-around cut checkering on the forearm and more rounded contours on the bottom of the stock and top of the pistol grips. The matte stainless version features a synthetic stock with a new recoil pad.

The new cartridges designed by Hornady Manufacturing provide unmatched ballistic performance in compact rifles, less felt recoil, longer barrel life, and superior performance at all temperatures. The .300 RCM is available in 150, 165 and 180-grain SST offerings. Each .300 RCM load exceeds comparative .300 Win. Magnum loads from a 20″ barrel. Muzzle velocities for the .300 RCM are 3,170 fps, 3,030 fps, and 2,900 fps, respectively – from a 20″ factory barrel. The .338 RCM is available in the newly developed 200 gr SST, and 225 gr SST offerings. Velocities for the .338 RCMs are 2,850 fps and 2,710 fps respectively, easily out performing the .338 Win. Magnum at equal barrel length.

This page has a nice animation showing how double action revolvers work.

This is just a screenshot. Click here to see the actual animation.

This 25 minute video shows the operations and ceremonies of the Detroit Police Department. It is in the classic 1950’s style of cinematography. Worth a watch if law enforcement history interests you.

“He learned to use all types of firearms and spent many hours on target practice. Marksmenship might someday mean saving his own life and the lives of other people.”

Watch it here.

Jeffersonian shows you how to speed load your revolver. He has many photos showing the process using his .357 Magnum Ruger GP100 and HKS #586 speedloaders.


Click here for more.

I love watching IPSC wheel gun competitors doing their thing!

I hope no one was shooting next to this person shooting this Colt Anaconda. Half the cylinder must have gone flying left!

Hat Tip: The Real Gun Guys

I came across a great review of the Taurus 44-Ten Tracker .410 caliber revolver/shotgun.

How about penetration? Well, at all distances the shot pellets went through the board. However, logic tells us that they used up a lot of their force getting through the dense material. And, in home construction, there would be another piece of the same wall-board beyond. With the possible exception of the 1-yard shot, the pellets would likely not exit that one.

Getting back to serious business, would the Taurus 44-Ten Tracker be a good “house-gun?” Absolutely! It could be handled well by anyone, and shotshell loads would afford a little “margin of error” in aiming. For the more proficient, you could load it so the first three rounds were shot, then have two .45LC rounds, if necessary. And, we haven’t even considered the camping and hunting applications. The last word: High quality, reasonable price.

Read more here.