Thanks for joining us for another TFB Wheelgun Wednesday, where we discover the vast world of revolvers. We have been taking an occasional look at revolvers still being issued by police agencies, and this week, we’ll explore the curious current issue Chinese police revolvers, the Norinco NRP9 and the ZLS05. It’s always interesting to see what handguns police agencies decide to issue, especially when it comes to wheelguns in 2023. Let’s take a look at the Chinese police revolvers.

Wheelgun Wednesdays @ TFB

• Police Revolvers In South Korea
• Current Police Issued Revolvers In Chile
• Smith & Wesson Classic – What’s Old is New Again
• Ruger Blackhawk .357 Mag EGW Red Dot Mount
• Current Custom Options

CURRENT CHINESE POLICE REVOLVERS

We previously examined the South Korean S&W Model 60 and their upcoming STRV9, as well as the Chilean Police-issued Taurus Model 82, all currently being issued. In 2005, China began equipping its police force with the ZLS05 revolver, which was chambered for a proprietary 9mm cartridge loaded with 158-grain jacketed hollow point bullets, low-velocity projectiles, as well as rubber bullets. The performance of this 9mm cartridge is most commonly equated with .38 S&W (not Special). The concept was intended to hinder the criminal element from obtaining more ammunition, and from being able to load other common cartridges if they stole an issued revolver from a police officer. The ZLS05 is easy to spot due to the unique oblong shapes cut into the barrel, and the short cylinder.

Image credit: Global Times

In 2014, Norinco introduced the NRP9 revolver, which was based on the previous ZLS05. Interestingly, the newer NRP9 is chambered for .38 Special, implying that the proprietary 9mm concept was either unnecessarily costly, or a solution without a problem, or both. The NRP9 also gained a longer barrel, which was helpful to know when watching a terribly grainy video from a 2019 incident in which an officer fired a warning shot during a riot in Tsuen Wan, near Hong Kong.

Screen capture from China Daily YouTube video.

PewPewPew.work reported that the NRP9’s single action trigger pull was about 4.5 pounds, while the double action pull was around 11.25 pounds, which is comparable to most DA/SA wheelguns produced in the U.S. Both revolvers have six-round cylinders, and share a similar square-butt grip shape in either wood or rubberized options.

Image from Wikipedia

Much like the South Korean approach, the NRP9 and ZLS-05 have several features that are driven by adding extra safety measures, of which the earlier ZLS05 is said to have three (according to an earlier TFB article). The most obvious measure is, well, a manual safety, which is located above the cylinder release. ModernFirearms.net reported that the NRP9 has a transfer bar, which brings us up to two safeties. One other potential safety that’s not been mentioned in other literature, and purely conjecture on my part, could be integrated with the hole in the rear sight, which could accommodate a removable hammer block pin, however, I have no evidence to state it as fact.

While it’s fairly common knowledge that South Korean police are forced to carry their revolvers with an empty chamber under the hammer, it’s been difficult to find any information on any such doctrine regarding China’s policies.

Screen capture from a Global Times YouTube video.

Image credit: China Daily

While revolvers are still very much in use by China’s police forces, they are also being used alongside semi-auto pistols such as the QSZ-92. However, I would speculate that the revolvers are going to stay in use for the foreseeable future, given how recently they’ve been issued, and that the types of officers that are required to carry a revolver have also recently been expanded.

What do you think about China’s police revolvers?