NRA Exhibits, Personal Defense Revolvers
Among the most popular items at the NRA exhibit hall were the new offerings in personal defense revolvers. Here are some of the most notable.
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Pros: Light-weight, accurate, compact, low-price
Cons: Specialized caliber, 5-cartridge capacity, thumb-cocking single action
Calibers: .22 magnum, .22 long rifle
Price: $ 289.00
This lightweight single-action ‘cowboy’ revolver in .22 magnum/.22 long rifle comes priced right and is useful for those who want an accurate .22 caliber revolver in a compact package.
Bonus points to North American Arms for their rhinestone mini-revolver:
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Pros: Fast-shooter, accurate, proven caliber
Cons: Price, large size
Calibers: .357 magnum, .38
Price: $ 1,659.00 *gulp*
This is specialized personal defense revolver will find favor among those who are believers in the combat-proven .357 magnum cartridge. This weapon plays to Smith and Wesson’s strengths (it’s revolver series) by improving the action, trigger and stocks to create a revolver that shoots like a semi-auto with the superior accuracy of a revolver. This revolver is offered in a two-tone matte finish which I prefer to the shiny stainless and in with an 8-round capacity.
For those that doubt the speed and accuracy of a revolver…
No misses
Jerry Miculek offers shooting lessons to folks on the Smith and Wesson Performance Center partner ‘My Outdoor TV’.
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Pros: lightweight, concealable, lifetime warranty
Cons: Sights
Calibers: .38 special, .38 special +P
Price: $ ?
Cobra Enterprises is known for their derringers and their ‘Patriot’ series semi-auto pistols. They have recently shipped the ‘Shadow’ a hammerless revolver capable of firing .38 Special +P ammunition with power approaching the .357 magnum cartridge. The aluminum frame makes for a lightweight revolver (15 oz. empty).
The Shadow is produced in three finishes titanium, black and pink. Pink was my sentimental favorite. The good people at Cobra Enterprises plan to ship with optional ‘rosewood’ and ‘ebonywood’ stocks that might add elegance but I found rubber stocks make for a superior shooting grip particularly when shooting +P ammunition. Although the price of the Shadow was not known at the time of this writing, we expect the same excellent pricing we have seen from Cobra on their ‘Patriot’ series pistols.
Having carried the J frame for years as a secondary weapon, I found the compact, hammerless revolver both highly concealable (e.g. as a pocket pistol) and easy to shoot one-handed. The one weakness of this platform is that the sights have to be reduced to a low-profile front post and rear notch to maintain the concealability. People with less than perfect eyesight may find it challenging to acquire a strong sight picture with the low-profile sights.
The folks at Cobra Enterprises distinguished themselves in customer service. Wil Gentry, the president of Cobra made himself available directly to customers at the show and demonstrated an enthusiasm seldom found with some of the larger manufacturers.
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Pros: Light-weight, compact, laser feature
Cons: Price, laser feature
Calibers: .38 special, .38 special +P
Price: $ 525.00 (Hogue model), $ 792.00 (Crimson Trace model)
Ruger’s new LCR, .38 caliber revolver has the features we like in a small-framed revolver…concealable, light weight and capable of firing a +P cartridge. The Ruger LCR comes in two configurations, the Hogue Model with excellent rubber pistol stocks and the Crimson Trace model with integral laser sight built into the pistol stock.
Ruger demonstrated innovation at utilizing different metals…aluminum, polymer and aerospace grade stainless steel to produce a strong, concealable revolver that is among the most lightweight in it’s class.
I will reserve the debate over the utility of laser sights to a different day but for those that find laser sights useful, the feature is built into the Ruger LCR in the Crimson Trace model.
Ruger produced a video to showcase LCR features.
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Hog-leg
