Jeff’s everydaycarry.com pocket dump feature a hammerless Taurus 85 Ultra Lite Special .38 and a speedloader. There are some who’d say that calling the circular bullet holder a speedloader is like calling a Toyota Corolla a sports car. Especially if we’re talking about reloading during a gunfight. That said, I suppose . . .
It’s better to have a speedloader and fumble with it than to not have a speedloader and wish you had it to fumble with. Or something like that.
The rabbi says a snubbie owner with a speedloader is the definition of an optimist. The way I look at it, if you’re carrying a revolver reload, practice reloading eleventy billion times.
Either that or, am I about to say this? Don’t bother.
Speedloaders are clumsy to carry and snubbies are meant for shoot and scoot and what are the odds you’re going to need it? Just sayin’ . . .
A true optimist is the person who carries no gun.
Thinking you won’t get to shoot somebody is optimistic?? My bro Francis Sawyer disagrees.
Thinking that you will never have trouble trouble you is optimistic.
I was kidding and speaking of Francis “Psycho” Sawyer from “Stripes”. My attempt at a joke misfired.
That’s a very classy pocket dump. Great photo too.
As a lefty, I’ve had to get creative in reloading my wheel guns with either strips or cylindrical speed loaders. Looks funny but works for me. Damn right handers!
Would love to know what grips are on the 85 in the picture.
Have you ever tried moon clips?
Left-handed reloading procedure is the same for either a speedloader or a moon clip.
I think the revolver reloading procedure for a left-hander is arguably easier than for a right-hander. The fact that the cylinder drops out the left side can be a positive, if you have your speedloader on your strong side and use the weak hand to hold the frame and the cylinder while ejecting/reloading.
For me, I retain my wheel gun in my left hand and use a crossover technique with my right. My thumb stays out of the way, and as a lefty guitar player, my right hand dexterity gets the rounds home faster. It works that way for me, other southpaw shooters mileage may vary.
Yep, press cylinder release with left index, hold cylinder with right hand, carry reloads strong side. It looks funny I’m sure but it’s pretty quick for me.
It’s not hammerless, it’s a shrouded hammer.
And I’d rather have a revolver like that which is capable of hitting a target 50 yards away than a .380 micropistol that can barely stay on paper past 10 yards.
I alternate pocket carry of a 642 Performance Center with Altamont rubywood combat grips, and a Sig Sauer P238 Equinox (yes, they’re both more jewelry than weapon).
The Sig outshoots the 642 all day, every day. The 642 is downright unpleasant with +P ammo.
I’ve owned a number of air-weight J frames, including 442s and 637s, and I have to agree. They were more unpleasant to shoot with +P ammo and regular boot grips than my full-size .44 Magnums were.
There is a solution, albeit not a cheap one. The best recoil-taming grip I have tried on any J frame by far is a particular model of laser grip from Crimson Trace that features a hollow cushion behind the backstrap, right where the J frame tends to bite the worst. Not all their J frame lasergrips have this cushion:
https://www.crimsontrace.com/products/manufacturer/smith-wesson/01-1680
Their claim of “the LG-405 also features an innovative air pocket on top of the backstrap that effectively reduces felt recoil up to 30%.” is legit.
It won’t be as pretty as your wood grips, but your hand will thank you greatly. You can switch the laser off on the bottom of the grip, if you don’t want the squeeze activation to work. It also increases the distance to the trigger to give you better finger placement (more pad than knuckle) vs. the boot grips if you have man-size hands, which helped me shoot more accurately. Highly recommended if you want to spend more time shooting your 5-gun with less pain.
I completed a fast reload with a speedloader during a DGU. Training and practice….
I still don’t like revolvers as a primary carry gun.
I prefer a full sized auto pistol for double or triple the ammo. So much more blammo before needing to reload. Overkill? Maybe but I’d rather be overprepared, slapping a new mag into my piece than having already run through two reloads and wishing I had a G17 and a single spare mag…
Snub revolvers make great backup guns and great pocket guns. I think there’s always a place for snub revolvers in concealed carry roles.
You’ll note that I didn’t comment on them as a backup but as a primary…
IMHO, the days of the combat revolver, as a PRIMARY, carry gun are over. There are a lot of reasons behind me saying that (which I have posted numerous times before) but it is still my opinion.
As a backup gun, whatever, but I’m more inclined to go with Clint (Thunder Ranch) on this. If my primary takes a shit I want a T-Rex (actual dinosaur) or a pack of Jurrassic Park style raptors jumping out of my BUG holster.
Most citizens don’t need a “combat” handgun. They need a self-defense handgun. Odds are extremely high that a five-shot revolver is going to be fine for whatever most citizens encounter.
Mass shootings, violent gang attacks. Determined attackers who press on after a gun is displayed or after the lead starts flying, they’re rarer than lightning strikes.
If we applied the standards to driver safety that the “I need a high capacity semi-auto pistol and two spare mags” crowd does to concealed carry, I’d be driving around daily in my car or truck with a helmet, five-point harness, fire retardant suit and a crash cage, because accidents that are too severe for standard seatbelt and airbag protections *do* happen.
“Odds are extremely high that a five-shot revolver is going to be fine for whatever most citizens encounter.”
According to what verifiable statistics? People say this all the time but they never produce any numbers to back it up.
Determined attackers who press on after a gun is displayed or after the lead starts flying, they’re rarer than lightning strikes.
Again, according to what verifiable statistics? There aren’t any.
“If we applied the standards to driver safety…”
Non-sequitur, straw man and basically a grabber argument in favor of limiting guns to five shots. Hey, statistically no one needs seven shots like they allow in NYC! Where are the stats to back that up? Well, don’t you worry bout them, they’re out there, trust me.
Sorry, there’s no actual, verifiable reason to believe any of this. It’s some Agent Mulder “I want to believe” stuff.
http://gunssavelives.net/self-defense/analysis-of-five-years-of-armed-encounters-with-data-tables/
“The average and median number of shots fired was 2.”
“Reloading was required in only 3 incidents. One of those involved killing an escaped lion with a .32 caliber revolver, which was eventually successful after 13 shots.”
“The most common responses of criminals upon being shot were to flee immediately or expire. With few exceptions, criminals ceased their advances immediately upon being shot.”
https://thinkinggunfighter.blogspot.com/2012/03/self-defense-findings.html
“A revolver, even J-frame, is perfectly capable of dealing with almost all of the incidents.”
As for “gun grabber” arguments, the second amendment isn’t about defense from criminals.
Two analyses of 482 incidents over five years. 96.4/year. Both of the same data set, one by a guy who has an impressive military career but apparently no formal creds in math at all.
Sorry, if I presented this in my college stats class I would quite literally have been laughed out of the room before being given an F. I would have deserved both.
The sample size is way too small and there are far too many unknowns in this. Unknown distances, a DGU against a LION FFS? Then there’s the data source which isn’t exactly scientific or controlled in any meaningful way. There’s not even an abstract on how the incidents were selected. Is it every incident reported to The Armed Citizen (a section of the mag that I like btw) or a sampling? If it’s a sampling how was that done and how was it controlled? What percentage of total incidents does that cover in terms of the entire country or even a State? If it’s multiple States then which ones? Do we even have a guess at that? What’s the confidence interval on any of this? Where are the full data sets? Has this been controlled for population density (city vs. rural)? Has there been an attempt to control for drug intoxication with in the perpetrator sample? If so, which drugs and what were the controls, testing methods etc? When was the test administered compared to when the incident occurred? Were getaway drivers subjected to this? How many of them were caught and questioned?
No, none of that has been done and as such this data is a clusterfuck and effectively useless other than as a big set of anecdotes. Statistical analysis of anecdotes is still anecdotal.
Sorry, I’m not trying to be a dick about this but this is what I’m talking about when I talk about good, verifiable statistics. We can’t present bullshit like this, which is what this is, and then say we have useful data. We need a collection method similar to the FBI’s collection method for DGU’s/shots fired incidents for cops to even start hacking away at this in a meaningful way. These articles are, unfortunately, poorly put together analyses of what amounts to unreliable data that can easily be said to be incomplete because they didn’t even provide the full data set. Since they don’t even bother to tell us which incidents to look at we can’t even verify that they’re not all cherrypicked from LA County, California or Bumfuck, West Virginia or from suburban/rural/urban neighborhoods.
Again, not trying to shit on these people but it’s clear that guy who did the analysis was trying to be helpful but had no fucking clue what he was actually doing and therefore was counterproductive.
So. Present anything, anything at all, that is contrary to this poor data.
https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/WP-Tough-Targets.pdf
Another study, by Cato. The focus of the study isn’t on number of shots fired, but the study does note that the most common number of shots fired is 0, and from the selection of incidents described near the end of the whitepaper, there does not seem to be any indication that large numbers of shots fired is common.
Yes, the studies we have may not be of the caliber you would prefer, but what data people have managed to compile all supports my contention, not yours. I am willing to see data that indicates otherwise.
I carry 4 speed loaders, but mostly just for a counter weight on the right side my shoulder rig. I really haven’t worked much on how to actually use them. From the times I have tried, think they should be called just “loaders”. I handle them with my left hand. I doubt I could do it well under stress. I’d probably switch to my bug an get a whopping two more shots. Then again I can get my jacket pocketed bug in to action faster than my revolver that it might be my opener if speed seemed critical. I am pretty accurate with it and it is a 45acp as well.
Yes, I carry a five-shot snubbie and yes, I carry a reload. My thinking is: shoot, run (or run/shoot), get to cover or cessation of the threat and reload.
Sure, statistically my five rounds probably did solve the problem but I still want a fully loaded gun for the trip back home.
🤠
Oh, and one more thing: “Squeeee!!! Awww! Wat a cute widdle knife! My loves it!” (twitch, squirm…)
Boker makes some nice knives. I like that little one.
solingen, buenos ares, taiwan and china. if it matters, dig a little.
The grip on the knife is just too short for me.
Speedloaders are fine. HK speedloaders are my least favorite, though.
You hit the nail on the head, hks=shit
I really like Speedbeez.
Nice package even though i am not a Taurus fan.
Main thing is putting your roscoe into play with the rounds in it.
Reloading is secondary.
If you truly plan on needing to reload, carry something with more capacity.
I can clear leather faster with a snub than any other weapon.
Gotta count for something.
Even though many people carry a spare mag for their pistol, how many actually practice reloads enough to do them quickly? How many can reload at all under stressful conditions? The point about revolvers is not wrong, but no matter what you carry, if you don’t train enough the gear won’t help you.
I don’t see why the snark directed at Jeff’s carry piece – or his knife. They work for him.
Most handgun uses/encounters will be under 10 yards, and be over in less than three rounds. He’s got that covered. His load-out is so light, he probably carries that piece every day, in just about any attire other than a Speedo swimsuit or a nutslinger. So while y’all are arguing about “which full-sized, 15+ round pistol?” and how to conceal it, Jeff here has a gun that’s concealed and with him all the time.
I carry a 1911 most of the time now, but men not of my size, and not in my climate might find packing a 5″ 1911 to be a real chore. So be it – 1911’s aren’t small, they’re not light, and they’re not especially concealable. If someone is packing a J-frame in .38 Special, good for them, learn how to shoot it well, and well done.
The first rule of concealed carry is “carry something that works for you – so you have it when you need it.” During the summer (which is all of two months long here in Wyoming), there are times I can’t pack a 1911 (not even an Officer’s), and for that reason, I’m looking into smaller pieces I might fit into a pocket.
p938/ recluse. you will forget it is there.
That… is a damn fine looking Taurus. Feels weird to say that.
You mean you wouldn’t reload as soon as possible after the excitement dies down? There are alternatives to a circular speed loader that are easier to carry but the important consideration is to have enough ammunition to bring the gun back to fully loaded. Just in case.
Snubbs are great little ‘belly guns’ to carry in a right (or left) front pants pocket. And with a pocket rig that works for you, you can have one drawn and sending LSWCHP or Short Barrel .38 loads in the blink of an eye.
Their drawbacks are as follows. A nasty recoil. Low round count,. And slow reload
Multiple assailants are becoming more common too so there is that to consider.
Just have to know and accept those limitations.
Thomas Bunner
“Multiple assailants are becoming more common too so there is that to consider.”
Are they?
I really liked this pocket dump until I saw the revolver was a Taurus.
Oh, the speedloader? Always good to have extra ammunition.
After watching many Cowboy movies I’ve decided revolvers are supposed to be thrown at your adversary after running out of bullets. Which makes sense considering Superman would not flinch while being shot, but he always ducked the thrown revolver.
Nothing wrong with carrying a revolver for every day carry. I carry a S&W model 637 with Hornady hollow points and a speed loader. I also have a Benchmade or Zero Tollerance knife for back up.
Is it optimistic to think that you can reload, or is it pessimistic to think that you might have to?
As a long time employee or Leatherman Tool Group, I can tell you all that the PST is not a Micra. Unless that’s really the fabled .9mm ghost gun
I could not agree more with Tom in Oregon. This is one good lookin loadout. I really like the grips on that revolver, just sets it off imo.
I carry a government model 1911 45 and a Tauras 357 snubie 5 shot in my left back pocket. The 45 I carry openly on my right side at all times. 2 mags in my left pocket. 2 speed loaders in my right pocket. I am a functioning ambidextrous and practice live fire often.
My wife carries a Smith 4″ model 10 38 + P belted on her right side and is also openly carried with 2 speed loaders on her left side on her belt. All her loads are +P. She could give Jerry M a run for his money reloading fast without looking down, keeping her eye on target. She also carries Colt Mustang in a IWB cross draw fashion somewhat concealed on her left side with two mags in her left front pocket. When she DOES carry a purse, it is a Gun Toting Mama purse with a Bersa 380 and two mags there as well. She is VERY AWARE of her enviromemt around her at all times.
Over kill, maybe. Overly prepared, possibly. We were both taught by LEOs on both sides of our family members and thats how they carry here in Texas. Makes it interesting as we are both almost 60 years old and married 41 years. We do everthing together. Even riding our own Harleys, openly carrying of course.
Open carry has been legal in Texas for less than two years. Contrary to the stereotype, Texas hasn’t until pretty recently been the most gun-friendly state by any means. So, until very recently, that’s not “how they carry here in Texas.”
I was in Texas in the 70s. Outside of the big cities they did, indeed, open carry.
Exactly. And I open carried at work for at least 35 years at the request of the shop owner. Two reasons. One, is that I could not have any loose clothing around the machinery I was working. Two, my shop owner, also a gun guy and carried as well in the open, said that if anyone wanted to carry in his shop was welcome to. Openly only.
Never saw ANY problems in the shop and NEVER had any customer problems. In fact we had more customers than our competiting shops.
Passed in 2015. Became legal on January 1st 2016. This is March 2018. So working on year three. Has always been accepted in the country and in small country towns all my life.
Well, I’m not going to complain at all about small town and country people who have a healthy contempt for pointless laws. I’m one of those myself. 😉
I carry a j-frame most days and my speedloader is another j-frame, one appendix and one off side (either in an ankle rog or pocket carried.) If that ain’t enough then I’m one unlucky summabitch.
If you can’t do fast efficient reloads with what ever you are carrying, the problem isn’t your equipment. It isn’t rocket science; practice reloads, dry fire and be able to rounds where it counts. Speed loaders work fine, if you don’t suck.
Call me old school but between my semi-auto pistols and my snubbie revolvers, 99% of the time I carry the latter with a speedloader. I’ve been carrying for almost 50 years and I have yet to have had to shoot anyone or even display my gun for self defense; and I’ll probably never need to do either – but who knows. And if I ever need to do either I’m sure my revolver will do the job. But that’s just me. As my tailor says, not everyone wears a 42 Regular.
Seriously, anyone who thinks speedloaders (or speed strips for that matter) are hard to use clearly hasn’t tried them very much. Just shoot a couple IDPA matches with a small revolver, it’s not that bad. The Safariland ones are particularly quick and easy, but HKS ones work. I’ll take my chances that I won’t be attacked by 15 ninjas that ignore gunfire next time I’m out and keep carrying my revolver, thank you very much.
I came here to post the guns save lives article
I see cloud buster beat me to it
I don’t know what strych9’s problem is with that analysis
It is the only analysis of defensive gun uses by civilians that I am aware of
I also follow thisainthell.com and they do a daily feature called “ feel good stories” of (mostly civilian) defensive gun use stories
I have never heard of or seen a published report of a civilian d g u where a reload was used
While it is impossible to argue against having a reload, it seems it is almost never needed
Some folks have their ‘feelz’ wrapped up in their choices of carry. I have said that I’m a revolver man many times. I’ve also said that if I was to go soldiering again or somehow become a cop I would want the latest and greatest semi auto.
But as an unsworn citizen the revolver fills my needs perfectly. In a close encounter on the street there is no firearm that can be brought into action as quickly as a j frame revolver. Especially if you’re grappling with the bad guy.
I am not a revolver guy, not my choice of kit. It still head and shoulders above no weapon and arguable more reliable than many of the micro pistols out there. I would take 5 rounds that I am absolutely positive will bang every time over a few more in the gun with less certainty. More rounds is nice of course but its really the time on target for the first couple that make the difference in self defense.
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