revolvers primarily in .38 Special and .357, with larger snubbies available in .44 Special, .45 Colt, and even .41 Magnum.
Rossi also sold a lot of snub-nose revolvers. So did Charter Arms in its various incarnations from the 1960s to the 21st Century. Charter’s most memorable revolver was the Bulldog, a five-shot .44 Special comparable in frame size to a Detective Special.
Beyond Classic
Each of the combat handguns described above remains in wide use today in many sectors of armed citizenry, and/or security professionals, and/or police and military circles. Some consider them still the best that ever existed; others put them in second rank to the guns of today. Certainly, those classic revolvers remain in the front rank for those who prefer that style, but in autoloaders, there are many more modern choices. Who is right about what’s best today? Let’s examine “the new wave” of combat autoloaders, and see for ourselves.
Purchasing Used Handguns
Buying a used handgun isn’t as fraught with peril as buying a used car. It’s a smaller, simpler mechanism. If it has been well cared for, you’ll be able to tell.
Buy from people you can trust. It’s a sad commentary on human nature that so many people will deal with a lemon product by simply selling it to someone else. Most reputable gun dealers will stand behind the guns in their second-hand showcases. They may not be able to give you free repairs, but if something goes drastically wrong with it, someone who makes his living from the goodwill of the gun-buying community will take it back in trade and apply what you paid for it to something else you like better.
Though pitted and ugly with its badly worn finish, this S&W Model 15 was clean inside and tight. It would shoot 1-inch groups at 25 yards with match ammo.
Some gun shops have a shooting range attached. With a used gun, you can normally pay a reasonable rental fee, take the gun right out to the range, and give it a try. If you don’t like it, you paid a fair price to try a gun. If you do buy it, most such dealers will knock the gun rental off the price, though it’s not fair to ask them to knock the range fee off, too.
The thumb rotates against the muzzle of an empty 1911 with the slide closed to check for sloppy fit.
Checking the bore without bore light. A white card or paper is held at the breechface and a flashlight is shined on the white surface, lighting up the bore so the interior can be easily seen from the muzzle end.
Universal Examination Points
As a general rule, a gun in pristine condition outside has probably been well cared for internally. This is not written in stone, however. Accompanying this segment are photos of a vintage Smith & Wesson Model 15 Combat Masterpiece .38 Special. It was found for sale among several others in a North Dakota gun shop in 1998, bearing a price tag of $130. Externally, what blue hadn’t been worn off had been pitted. It looked as if someone had left it out in a field for the last couple of years. However, when the buyer examined it, he found the bore to be perfect, and the action so smooth and in such perfect tune it felt as if it had just left Smith & Wesson’s Performance Center. He cheerfully paid the asking price, took it home, and discovered that it would group a cylinder of Federal Match .38 wadcutters into an inch at 25 yards.
It can go the other way, too. One fellow left the gun shop chuckling that he’d bought a fancy, premium brand .30/06 rifle, without a scratch on it, for at least $300 less than what it was worth. Then he got it to the range, and discovered it was less accurate than a Super-Squirter. Only then did he check the bore, to discover it rusted to destruction. The previous owner had apparently burned up some old, corrosive WWII surplus ammo in the expensive rifle and neglected the necessary immediate cleaning chores. The gun needed an expensive re-barreling job.
Testing a revolver’s timing. With the free hand thumb applying some pressure to cylinder as taking a radial pulse, the trigger finger starts a double-action stroke…
Before you do anything else, triple check to make sure the handgun is unloaded. I have seen people work a firearm’s action at a gun show and freeze in horror as a live round ejected from the chamber. Don’t let your natural firearms safety habits grow lax because the environment is a shop or show instead of a range.
Have a small flashlight with you, and perhaps a white business card or 3x5 card. (The Bore-Lite made for the purpose is, of course, ideal.) With the action open, get the card down by the breech and shine the flashlight on it, then look down the barrel; this should give optimum illumination.
Testing for “push-off” with cocked Colt Official Police. Hammer stayed back, passing test.
…and the cylinder has locked up tight even before the hammer falls, showing that this Ruger Service-Six is perfectly timed, at least for this particular chamber.
If the bore is dirty, see about cleaning it then and there. The carbon could be masking rust or pitting. What you want to see is mirror brightness on the lands, and clean, even grooves in the rifling.
Watch for a dark shadow, particularly one that is doughnut shaped, encircling the entire bore. This tells you there has been a bulge in the barrel. Typical cause: someone fired a bad load that had insufficient powder, and the bullet lodged in the barrel, and the next shot blew it out. The bulge created by that dangerous over-pressure experience will almost certainly ruin the gun’s accuracy. Pass on it.
Try the action. If everything doesn’t feel reasonably smooth and work properly, something is very wrong with the action, and unless home gunsmithing is your hobby, you probably want to pass on it.
Now, let’s branch into what you need to know about function and safety checks for revolver versus auto.
Drawing the trigger or hammer back slightly to release the cylinder locking bolt, slowly rotate the cylinder to analyze barrel/cylinder clearance.
Checking the Used Revolver
Double check that the gun is unloaded, and keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Check the bore and action as described above.
If it has both double- and single-action functions, cock the hammer. Keeping fingers away from the trigger, push forward on the cocked hammer with your thumb. If it snaps
