Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan ShidelerЧитать онлайн книгу.
is also available chambered for the ever-popular .45 Colt/.410 shotshell combination, which offers a lot of versatility in a handgun.
NORTH AMERICAN ARMS
The North American Arms mini-revolvers are well-established in the market place, being in production for a long time now, but they seem more popular than ever. These little fi ve-shot miniature revolvers are more often than not bought as a deep-concealment handgun. They’re small enough to fit into most any pocket, and are handy enough to always be with you, no matter what the attire or climate. Chambered for the .22 Short, .22 Long Rifle, or .22 Magnum cartridges, these little jewels are easy to carry and surprisingly accurate within their intended range. The small sights and short sight radius makes hitting at a distance a challenge with most of them, but there is one model – the Pug – available with a really good set of high-visibility sights, and now LaserLyte makes a laser sight just for the NAA revolvers, adding to their usefulness and versatility.
ROSSI
Rossi has been producing reliable and affordable revolvers for decades. These double-action sixguns are available chambered for the .38 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges, in either blued steel or stainless finishes. Rossi was acquired by Taurus a few months ago, and all of the Rossi revolvers are now produced by Taurus in Brazil. They are quality, reliable revolvers built for concealed carry or as a duty/hunting gun. Available with short barrels and fixed sights for concealment or longer barrels and adjustable sights for precision shooting, the Rossi line still means a quality product at an affordable price.
The oddly-named and somewhat angular Windicator .38 Special.
RUGER
Sturm, Ruger builds some of the strongest and most reliable revolvers available today. The company’s Single-Six and Blackhawk lines are running strong, with the welcome addition of the New Model Flattop Blackhawk introduced a couple of years ago. Ruger now offers as a regular catalog item the Flattop .44 Special. This is a long-awaited .44 Special built on the frame that is sized like that of the original .357 Blackhawk. The .44 Special Flattop is also available in a Bisley model this year, with a blued fin-ish, and also as a regular Flattop made of stainless steel. These new Flattop models have proven to be wildly popular among single action sixgun enthusiasts.
Ruger has also taken the .327 Federal cartridge that they introduced a couple of years ago in the SP-101 compact revolver and chambered it in the Black-hawk. This stainless Blackhawk has an eight-shot cylinder and is strong enough to exploit the full potential of the .327 Federal cartridge. This little cartridge really performs, offering high velocities and deep penetration. The Ruger’s cylinder is long enough to handle the long 120- and 135-gr. .327 bullets (which actually measure from .312 to .313 inch diameter).
In their double action revolver line, Ruger also chambers the relatively new .327 Federal in their GP-100 revolver. This revolver is also built from stainless steel, wears a four-inch barrel, and has a seven-shot cylinder. Of course, Ruger still has the GP-100 in .357 Magnum. This is one of the strongest, most reliable, and most durable double action .357 Magnum sixguns ever built. Ruger got started in the double action revolver business with their excellent Six series guns back in 1971. My first handgun was a blued steel four-inch .357 Magnum Ruger Security-Six. I learned to shoot with that superb sixgun. It was strong, reliable, and just the right size and balance for a .357 Magnum revolver.
The Six series has given way now to the GP-100 series, and the GP is a worthy replacement, probably better in many ways than my old Security-Six. The GP-100 has proven itself already, selling in large numbers since its introduction in 1986. This year Lipsey’s, a large Ruger distributor, has a special high-polish blued steel GP-100 that is the best-looking double action .357 Magnum to ever leave the Ruger factory. Moving up in size a bit is the Ruger Redhawk, chambered for the .44 Magnum and .45 Colt cartridges. The Redhawk is bull-strong and as reliable as an anvil. Though it has been around for over thirty years, I have never seen a worn-out Redhawk. They can withstand a lifetime of shooting and never miss a beat. At the top of the heap, at least in size, is the Super Redhawk, chambered for the .44 Magnum and the .454 Casull. The .454 can also chamber and fire .45 Colt cartridges – as long as the shooter takes care to scrub the chambers clean afterwards – and is a very versatile handgun. Built for hunting, the Super Redhawk comes supplied with scope mounts and is a superb choice for hunting large game with teeth and claws.
At the other end of the size scale, Ruger introduced their polymer-framed LCR fi ve-shot .38 Special revolver last year, and it has been a runaway success. Ruger has sold many thousands of these little pocket revolvers the first year, and demand is still outpacing supply. Mine has proven to be strong, reliable, and accurate. Look for other additions to the Ruger defensive revolver line this year. They have some promising new handguns in the works.
SMITH & WESSON
Smith & Wesson has been in the revolver business for over 150 years. No longer producing any single action revolvers, with the one exception of their Performance Center engraved Model 3 Schofi eld, S&W is probably the most pro-lifi c producer of double action revolvers in the world. From the .22 Long Rifle up through the formidable .500 Smith &Wesson Magnum, if a revolver cartridge exists, chances are that S&W has at least one revolver chambered for it. The small J-frame fi ve-shot .38 Special revolvers are some of the most popular self defense guns ever produced. The Model 642 is probably the best-selling revolver in the S&W line. It is a compact, reliable fi ve-shot revolver with a concealed hammer and a lightweight frame. It’s easily slipped into the pocket, where it rides comfortably, day in and day out, ready for action when needed. While not my first choice if headed for a fight, I often carry a lightweight .38 S&W in my pocket. It can just be placed there and forgotten, but is always ready should a need arise.
Smith & Wesson Performance Center .460 S&W Magnum revolver. This may be the largest production revolver currently built.
Moving up in size, the S&W K&L frame revolvers (K = medium frame; L = “medium-plus”) are the mainstay of the Smith & Wesson duty line. These revolvers have served well for generations of sixgun users, both for defense and for hunting. The larger N-frame guns are the epitome of what a Smith & Wesson revolver should be. The classic Models 27 and 29 are back in the lineup and are beautiful and functional examples of the timeless double action revolver. The N-frames are now available in snubbie configurations, something unimaginable even a decade ago. Large but well-balanced, these .357 and .44 Magnum six-guns define the double action revolver to many shooters; with their typically crisp single action trigger pulls and butter-smooth double action trigger pulls, they are reliable and accurate.
Moving up again in size to the S&W X-frame gun, we find the most powerful double action revolvers ever produced. The .460 and .500 S&W Magnums are at the upper limits of what most would ever consider possible in a hand-held revolver. Just thirty years ago, the .44 Magnum was considered to be the “most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off,” as Dirty Harry Callahan phrased it. The .44 Magnum now pales in comparison to the power of the .460 and .500 Magnums. Of course, even back when the Dirty Harry movies were made, that was not a true statement, but it made for good theatre. However, today there is no doubt that the big S&W Magnums are powerful enough to take any game animal on Earth.
On the other end of the scale in both size and power, Smith & Wesson has just introduced a small polymer-frame revolver. I have only briefl y fired two examples of them, but both shot very well. The Bodyguard 38 is a five-shot .38 Special revolver with a built-in laser sight. The cylinder release is ambidextrous and rides at the top rear of the frame. Just to the right of that is the activation switch for the laser. I am a firm believer in laser sights for defensive weapons. At night, it is hard to see the regular notch and blade sights on a handgun. Tritium sight inserts are good, but in a conflict, your attention will be on the target. The laser sight places the dot on the target, making solid hits much more likely under stress. The built-in laser sight is a good idea. In addition to the integral laser on the Bodyguard, S&W also offers the excellent Crimson