How I do all my revolver reloads
Revolver Tour #14: Colt Cobra
Today’s revolver tour is the only gun in the safe that isn’t actually mine, it belongs to Shelley Rae. It’s actually been in her family for three generations now, and that makes it special. It would be special anyway, because it’s a Colt, and I have a soft spot for Colt revolvers.
Roadmap to no-lock heaven
Yesterday, we talked briefly about how Smith & Wesson will always have the infernal lock as part of their revolver line. However, there are ways that they could be rid of the lock. The following is pure speculation on my part, but if I was the CEO of Smith & Wesson, here’s how I’d get rid of the IL without ending up on CNN.
First, we have to remember that S&W is currently making some guns with no lock. The best example, and the only one I happen to have handy is the 640 Pro Series. They also did a run of the Model 42 in their classics line which lacked the IL. To my knowledge they haven’t made any medium or large frame guns recently without the lock. When you look at S&W’s lineup there is a perfect place to start the war on the lock, and that’s the Performance Center (and Pro Series) line of guns. The Pro Series/PC guns are marketed as “for shooters” and bring a higher price point than the standard revolvers in their lineup. That makes them the perfect place to start removing the IL. Offer all of the Pro Series and PC guns in “no-lock” configurations for a slightly additional premium. In year 1 of our three year plan, the no-lock Pro/PC guns would represent a small chunk of the lineup, with an appropriate price increase.
The reason they’d have to be more expensive than the lock-equipped PC guns is because the CNC machine doesn’t know if it’s making an N-frame for a vanilla 629 with a lock or a 929 no-lock gun, it’s just following a program. So you’d have to run a special program for the no-lock guns, and that costs money and time. That’s why the no-lock PC/Pro guns would carry a small price increase relative to the other guns in their class.
It’s a solid assumption that those guns would sell out. That gives S&W the financial justification to expand the “no-lock” modification to the entire Pro Series and PC lineup, because the no-lock guns sold so well in year 1. Now in year 2, all guns in that class are sold without a lock, leaving only the “standard” revolvers and the classic line equipped with the IL. Year 2 is the most dangerous part of the operation, because the no-lock guns have to sell well enough that they cut into the sales figures for the lock equipped guns. That in itself is a risk, because if the no-lock guns undermine S&W’s core lineup, there’s a 50/50 chance that they just get killed off. So in year 2, we need two things to happen: the no-lock guns to sell great, and the appropriate corporate people to look at the sales numbers and go “huh, people really like no-lock wheelguns. Let’s sell more of these.”
Which brings us to year 3, when S&W announces their new “Collector’s Series,” a spin off of the Classic series. Here at the end-game, the classic series is essentially discontinued in all but name only, and replaced with the Collector’s Series, which are all no-lock versions of S&W’s historical greats, the Model 10, the 29, etc. After three years, the IL continues to exist in S&W’s “main” production revolvers, however all guns branded under Performance Center, Pro Series, or Collector’s Series are now sold without IL, with these guns making up the bulk of S&W’s revolver sales now. As time goes by, the lock would simply be quietly phased out of all production, citing reasons like “cost savings” – since the no-lock guns were outselling the lock equipped guns.
Sadly, this is all speculative on my part. Would it work? Probably. There are some rough spots in the plan that would need to be worked out, and I know that it likely won’t happen, but it’s healthy for me to exercise my mind. Until then, I’ll keep buying revolvers with the lock, because it’s really not that big a deal. But man…it sure would be nice to be able to buy a factory new, no-lock Model 25 in .45 Colt.
Kory Watkins is a nitwit
When confronted with idiocy I try to be a reasonable man about it, but every now and then you see something so utterly and unforgivably stupid that it would tax the patience of Job himself. This Kory Watkins nitwit and his merry band of fellow travelers who have succeeded in such epic douchebaggery that pro-gun legislation in Texas…Texas…has been imperiled are precisely the sort of people that could make Ghandi pick up a stick and start kicking some tail.
The latest in a long line of unforgivable nonsense is this lovely gem:
…wherein Mr. Watkins yet again opens his gaping maw and swallows his leg all the way to the hip-bone.
Hey, Kory: One of the primary reasons why there is pushback on open carry in Texas is precisely because of your idiotic antics. Going on video insisting that opposing your preferred policy is “treason” and that “treason” is “punishable by death” ain’t helping, sport.
To quote yet again one of the wisest comments I’ve seen on these types of shenanigans, if every time you do something to advance your supposed cause the end result is more gun control, perhaps it’s time to reconsider your tactics. If Texas open carry passes it will be in spite of, not because of, your idiotic behavior. A lot of perfectly sane people are having to work very hard to counter your nonsense because you’re doing a bang-up job of painting the side you supposedly support as a bunch of lunatics.
Of course, I don’t really expect that you’re interested in achieving policy goals so much as you are interested in personal validation. The rest of us who aren’t out of our minds, though, aren’t exactly pleased that you insist on venting your personality flaws in a manner that harms our interests. It’s not really our fault that you’re a social leper so it’s difficult to understand why you insist on being such an obstreperous pain in our ass.
If you really care about advancing the cause, cupcake, the best thing you can do is sit down and shut the hell up. If not, then by all means keep being an idiot and then whine when you’ve screwed up one time too many and the weight of your stupidity comes crashing down on your own head.
Now the fact that someone as utterly tone deaf as Kory exists doesn’t surprise me, really…human nature being what it is there’s always one. What I cannot fathom is why anyone willingly associates with this jackwagon.
“He supports our rights!” No, he doesn’t. Every time he opens his fetid suck it sets the cause back. He’s not on our team, he’s on his own team and couldn’t give a tinker’s cuss about the real consequences of his puerile, churlish, contemptible behavior. Somebody who shoots you through unforgivable negligence isn’t any better of a friend than somebody who shoots you on purpose, folks. We owe numbskulls busy tearing things up no loyalty just because they claim to be on our side.
This kind of idiocy needs to be called out in no uncertain terms for what it is, especially by pro-gunners. These yutzes damn sure don’t represent me and I’m guessing they don’t represent you either. So it’s on us to make it abundantly clear that knuckleheads like Kory aren’t “gun rights leaders” or “activists” on our behalf. He represents himself…and even that pretty damned poorly.
Don’t make any excuses for this type of idiocy because you think Kory or similarly-inclined yahoos is on your side. Follow that perfectly reasonable instinct objecting in your mind and shun them like the village idiots they insist on being.
Revolver Tour #13: Smith & Wesson 638-3
You know what I think are just great? 5 shot revolvers for carry. You know what are really hard to shoot well? 5 shot revolvers for carry. This Smith & Wesson 638 Airweight is about the perfect example of the pocket j-frame; it has an alloy frame and shrouded hammer, gutter sights, but a pretty good trigger. It’s hard to shoot well. But it’s easy to carry and conceal.
Why Smith & Wesson will never be rid of the internal lock
As a revolver guy, this conversation happens a lot. It usually goes like this:
Dude 1: I really like S&W revolvers, but I hate that stupid IL. It’s pointless and makes the guns look dumb.
Dude 2: Yeah, I hate the IL. Is there anyone who likes it?
The answer of course, is no. No one likes the internal lock. But S&W, who are no longer owned by the company that insisted on the damn thing in the first place, still puts it on their guns. But! Not all their guns. Some guns, like my excellent 640 Pro Series are issued sans lock. So we know that they can make guns without it, and it can’t be that expensive to reprogram the CNC machines making wheelgats, and any expense would likely be wiped out by the deluge of S&W fans whipping out their credit cards to buy no-lock K-frames.
Why then does the lock persist? It’s actually a pretty simple equation, which I’ll detail here: Lawyers + publicly traded company = the lock stays. Regardless of how it would play out in terms of sales, there’s basically no way to convince a publicly traded company that walking back a “safety feature” would play well on the NASDAQ. Even though it would actually increase sales, publicly traded companies like S&W tend to be risk-adverse, and for good reason. They have a duty to deliver returns to their shareholders, which is harder to do when CNN is running hit pieces on “gun manufacturer makes guns less safe.”
Make no mistake, that’s exactly what would happen. If tomorrow morning, S&W said “screw it, ditch the lock” by that evening you’d have Anderson Cooper on CNN talking about how “A major American gun manufacturer has decided today to remove a critical safety feature from their popular line of revolvers, making it easier for children to shoot themselves on accident.” Then the reputable gunblogs would spend the next week writing thoughtful articles about how the IL doesn’t make anyone safer, but provides a crutch for people unwilling to follow the 4 Rules, and then the lunatic fringe gunblogs would write articles about how they’ll still never buy S&W because of the Clinton thing, and the whole exercise would be just exhausting and stupid.
Bottom line, the lock stays. If we lived in a different political climate, I’d probably fight harder to get rid of the IL, but considering the world in which we live, the lock staying is probably in all of our best interest. Because I don’t really want to hear Chris Matthews interview Michael Moore about how the gun lobby wants children to die, do you?
Revolver Tour #12: Ruger Security Six Humpback
If I had any kind of timing, I’d have saved the post for the Ruger Security Six “Humpback” for hump-day, but I refuse to kowtow to popular internet trends in the name of cheap jokes (that is a lie). However, it all works out in the end, because this is, to a fan of revolver history, a very interesting gun.
Revolver Tour #11: Smith & Wesson 986
As it turns out, I like revolvers chambered for autopistol cartridges. I have three right now, a 625, a 929, and this – the Smith & Wesson 986 Pro Series. This a seven shot L-frame chambered in 9mm, and in my opinion it’s the best of the 9mm Smith guns.
Revolver Tour #10: Ruger Vaquero .45 Colt
I’ve only had this gun for a couple of days, and I already love it. There’s something deeply satisfying, something good and right about a big steel revolver chambered in .45 Colt. It looks nice. It feels good in the hand. It provides those wonderful clicking noises as you slowly thumb the hammer back, and you feel a connection with the cowboys of old as the gun thumps and rolls in your hand as you send 250 grains of lead downrange.
Revolver Tour #9: Ruger Match Champion
You knew this one was coming. The Ruger GP100 Match Champion – the gun I’ve dedicated more pixels to writing about, and trigger time behind on this blog in the last two years than anything else. Ruger’s answer to the 686SSR, and one of the best all around 4 inch revolvers on the market.