9mm Revolver
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Most successful 9mm revolvers for concealed carry
Well the title may be the 9mm revolver, but there are quite a few revolvers out there chambered in a variety of auto cartridges. We wrote about this previousy in an article titled: Return of The Revolver!I chose the 9mm revolver as the title due to my inspiration for this article. Ruger recently released their 9mm LCR revolver. This has brought some interest to the idea of revolvers in auto cartridges and started some debate on the subject.
Most people who think that the idea is foolish point out the flaws in the system. Most say the idea doesn’t make sense since you can get an automatic with more capacity in the same caliber.
Others point to the fact that automatic cartridges are commonly smaller and weaker compared to rounds like the .357 Magnum. This is true, but .357 from most small guns is rather unpleasant to shoot and due to the short barrel you lose a lot of the .357 advantage with that small barrel.
If we focus on small, compact revolvers we can see some definite advantages of the automatic cartridge in a snub nose.
I do have to mention the Smith and Wesson 610 in the 10 mm automatic, a cartridge that can stand next to the 357 magnum, and exceed it with some hotter loads. Horse isle eternal.
One of the earliest and most successful was made by two handgun pioneers, Colt and Smith and Wesson model 1917s. These revolvers were built around the 45 ACP cartridge which had recently been adopted by the US Army and their Colt M1911 pistol.
This 1911 pistol was popular and successful, but firearm’s manufacturer’s couldn't make 1911s fast enough to fulfill the needs of a growing army. Companies like Colt and Smith and Wesson had the machinery and their personnel had the experience of making revolvers, so a demand went out for 45 ACP revolvers.
Both revolvers did require the use of half moon or full moon clips to hold the cartridges and reliably eject them. The benefit was these clips that it made them de facto speed loaders.
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These revolvers served in World War one all the way to Vietnam in limited use with some reserve units and were the preference of some tunnel rats. The revolver is very popular and very much a ‘cult’ gun.
Since then not many revolvers chambered in auto calibers have been made, you can probably count them all on two hands. There are some definite advantages though.
We are purely focusing on the advantages of an automatic cartridge.
First off is size. Revolvers are already very easy to conceal and carry weapons, often being thinner overall except for the cylinder which is the widest point of the weapon. Even so the round nature of the cylinder is easy to conceal. An automatic cartridge is much shorter than a revolver cartridge since it has to fit in the grip of a pistol. This shorter round allows the cylinder to be shorter and decreased the overall length of the weapon.
Next is the price of ammunition. I can find 9mm brass case for around 12 dollars a box and steel case for around 10. For some standard 38 special it’s $23 per box of 50.
This will mean people will be able to afford to practice more and in general, enjoy shooting their weapon more.
Also when it comes to ammo there is often a greater availability for automatic handguns, and therefore more demand for auto rounds. The 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 acp are some of the most popular rounds in the United States and they are often much easier to find, and available to buy in bulk.
Not only is ammo easier to find, but you have a wide variety of different loads to choose from, for both plinking and self-defense. There is a wide variety of different defensive handgun ammo out there and the majority of most modern loads are made for automatics. Any new and revolutionary ammo is going to come out first for automatics and is going to be easier to find in calibers like 9mm.
It’s nice to see a company like Ruger release one of their popular revolvers in an automatic cartridge and it’s not the first time they’ve done so.
With the popularity of the Ruger LCR the idea could catch on if it succeeds. I would love to see more options out there for revolvers in automatic cartridges.
One of the biggest reasons I own only a couple of revolvers and rarely shoot because ammo is both expensive and hard to find. I am heavily eyeing this new LCR and this has renewed my interest in the idea, and I’m considering a S&W 310 Nightguard so I can shoot 10mm and 40 S&W.
Ruger has done just that, the LCR series is one of their most popular revolvers, and with the rise of concealed carry I think this weapon will do well.
We are adding more and more pistols to our holster list take a look here: 9mm Holsters!
About The Author Travis Pike is a veteran Infantry Marine and a lifelong firearms enthusiast. He lives deep in the woods of North Florida, where he can shoot at his leisure. He has been hunting since he was 8 and has always enjoyed the outdoors. He splits time between writing and working with the Florida Forest Service. He is a vocal gun rights activist. When he’s not writing, shooting, or working he is often found sipping craft beer on his porch. |
In this edition of, we’ll take a look at another of Smith & Wesson’s 9mm revolver inspired by Jerry Miculek, the S&W 929. Miculek and Smith & Wesson have covered their bases when it comes to the 9mm versus, and recently threw in a (again) for good measure. The S&W 929 presents some of the same pros and cons as other revolvers chambered for rimless cartridges, but provides an extra two rounds compared to six-shooters.S&W 929 9MM REVOLVER, DETAILS & INITIAL IMPRESSIONSThe S&W 929 is a unique revolver in several ways aside from its unusual chambering in 9mm. The barrel is 6.5 inches long with two interchangeable proprietary muzzle devices, one of which is a muzzle cap and the other is a single port compensator.The action is tuned by Smith & Wesson’s Performance Center and is one of the smoothest I’ve fired. Smith & Wesson also chose to use a titanium alloy for the cylinder, while the frame and barrel are a matte finished stainless steel. The “N” sized frame allows for eight rounds onboard which feels strange but in a good way. The finger-grooved rubber grip supplied with the S&W 929 took some getting used to since it took more time to get my fingers settled in to it, but with so many different hand and finger sizes of end users, that point is quite subjective.
Which type of grip do you prefer on revolvers?Smith & Wesson lists the intended purposes of the 929 revolver for competition, enthusiasts, and for state compliance. I don’t have any competitions to attend in my area, so my usage fell under the enthusiast category, however, the S&W 929 than the other categories. I was a little surprised that the S&W 929 ships with featureless, black sights, fore and aft. However, I believe it’s because of the wide range of end uses and the vast amount of preferences between each purpose that Smith & Wesson chose to go with a no-frills approach to the front and rear sights, expecting people to tailor it to their needs.Another option for sighting is to remove the rear sight and replace it with a 1913 Picatinny rail to attach any number of red dot sights, or even a long eye relief scope if you so desired. Some readers may recall Jerry Miculek’s impressive 1000 yard shot with the S&W 929 while using a red dot optic. You can watch that video from the Jerry Miculek – Pro Shooter YouTube channel below.RANGE TIME WITH THE S&W 929Sadly, I won’t be showing off any “mad skills” at 1000 yards with the S&W 929, apparently, my skills are too happy(?).
Despite not matching up to Mr. Miculek, I had a great time with the large framed 9mm revolver. This was my second experience using moon clips, and again, that method of reloading proved so satisfying and fast compared to the bulkier and more costly speed loaders. Smith & Wesson provided me with three moon clips for the review. If I were to purchase the 929, or any other revolver that required the use of moon clips, I would certainly buy a lot of them along with a to make range trips more time efficient.
I’ve also seen and unloaders that I would try my hand at making. The longer barrel seemed to help balance the 9mm revolver nicely.As previously mentioned, the trigger and action on the S&W 929 were very smooth. I didn’t have an official trigger weight scale, but I was pleasantly surprised on both the double and single action’s pull, although I spent about 95 percent of my trigger time in double action mode.
I wasn’t able to get super tight groupings, but I was happy with my two cylinder target below from about 15 yards, shooting about once every two seconds. I’m sure there’s plenty of shooters that could show me up in a hurry, but I’m working on it. OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE S&W 929 9MM REVOLVERThe S&W 929 is certainly a fun revolver to shoot, and cuts down on costs by shooting 9mm compared to burning through more expensive.38 Special or.357 Magnum (or any other caliber chambered in revolvers except.22LR). The flip side of shooting cheap 9mm in the S&W 929 is that the gun itself has a high MSRP of $1209.00. Casual plinkers may recoil at paying such a price for a 9mm revolver unless they aspire to compete, or just really want to practice revolver skills without having to expand their “caliber footprint”.
The good news for those that do compete is that there’s no shortage aftermarket support for fully customizing the S&W 929.I’d like to thank for their assistance with the transfer to help bring this review to the fellow out there. You can check out Smith & Wesson’s home website or their S&W 929 page for more information and specs about it. You can also check out Smith & Wesson’s or pages as well.What do you think about the S&W 929 revolver? If you own one, what do you use it for the most? For the competitors in the house, what has been your experience with the 929 if you’ve used one or competed against one?We are committed to finding, researching, and recommending the best products.
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