Can you recommend..?

[WhyNot]

It looks like there are plenty of gun owners here on Spyderco forum.
I know that generally revolvers are recommended for self defense because of their simplicity, reliability and fire power and semi-automatics are best for target practice.
Is there anything that can be a good compromise between those two? Simple and reliable as revolver and good enough to make target practice enjoyable? You favorite brands, models? Web sites with good information?
I ordered a couple of books on the subject and do some internet searching. In the meantime, I am looking for advice from the people I trust.
Thanks,
WhyNot.

[yablanowitz]

That is a pretty tall order. A lot depends on your definitions of "target practice" and "fun" :D

I LOVE shooting IPSC with my Desert Eagle .44 Magnum (except they won't let me use it on the steel targets for safety reasons ) but some people don't consider that game to be target practice, and many don't consider rapid firing twenty rounds of .44 mag to be fun. :rolleyes:

I also enjoy the Glock line of pistols. They are very simple to use and maintain, very reliable and have fewer parts to wear out or break down than anything else I am aware of (including most double action revolvers), but they are not really 50 yard bullseye target guns.

If I were ever forced to sell off my handguns :eek: , the last to go would be my Smith & Wesson 25-5 revolver. Six inch barrel, .45 Colt chambers, action smooth as glass. Mild to shoot, and accurate enough to to hit a man sized target at 200 yards. 255 gr. bullet at 900 FPS should make short work of intruders if it came to that. It took me three years to find one, and I ain't giving it up without a fight! :D

If you haven't figured it out yet, I have pretty large hands and I am not particularly recoil sensitive, so what I like may be just what you hate (I like making loud noises, at least on the range :D )

[zenheretic]

It looks like there are plenty of gun owners here on Spyderco forum.
I know that generally revolvers are recommended for self defense because of their simplicity, reliability and fire power and semi-automatics are best for target practice.
Is there anything that can be a good compromise between those two? Simple and reliable as revolver and good enough to make target practice enjoyable? You favorite brands, models? Web sites with good information?
I ordered a couple of books on the subject and do some internet searching. In the meantime, I am looking for advice from the people I trust.
Thanks,
WhyNot.

Focusing in on what you typed; I say a 4 inch barreled .357 is what you need. Reliable, easy to maintain, and you can shoot .38 wadcutters in it all day long.

[The Mastiff]

Focusing in on what you typed; I say a 4 inch barreled .357 is what you need. Reliable, easy to maintain, and you can shoot .38 wadcutters in it all day long

Zenheretic hit it on the head. I'd further refine it to Rugers 1st, and S&W second. The ruger will handle up too intensive full power loads better with less parts breakage and a longer design life ( I'm a S&W trained armorer too, as well as Ruger and Remington.)

S&W's are very nice too obviously, as are Taurus and a few others nowadays.

In autos there are several good ones. I carry a glock, sometimes a FN 57 when not carrying a revolver, sometimes a S&W stainless compact 45 acp. Get what feels good to you, and practice a lot with it. JL

[zenheretic]

Zenheretic hit it on the head. I'd further refine it to Rugers 1st, and S&W second. The ruger will handle up too intensive full power loads better with less parts breakage and a longer design life ( I'm a S&W trained armorer too, as well as Ruger and Remington.)

S&W's are very nice too obviously, as are Taurus and a few others nowadays.

In autos there are several good ones. I carry a glock, sometimes a FN 57 when not carrying a revolver, sometimes a S&W stainless compact 45 acp. Get what feels good to you, and practice a lot with it. JL

Yeah in auto go with one of the Glock or Glock copies. .40 cal is pretty good all around. If you are feeling spunky you can get a .357 Sig barrel yet still use your .40 cal magazines. Kinda fun option. :D

[The Deacon]

I'd agree with what has been said, and only add that a .357 revolver can also be fed Speer 38 Special plastic ammo, which allows you to practice with right in your home. Zero recoil, very little noise, more like a kid's cap gun than a real one, and quite accurate at 5 yards or less. Best part is that the cost is negligable, since both the plastic case and plastic bullet are reusable indefinitly, and the only "propellant" is the primer (which IIRC can be had for $20 a thousand). A 2' X 3' piece of old carpeting suspended so that it's free to move with the impact is all you need for a backstop. A cardboard box beneath it to catch the bullets is advisable, as they hurt like **** if you step on one in the dark.

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friend,

[quote="zenheretic"]Focusing in on what you typed]

A Smith and Wesson Model 19 or Model 66 is a good choice. Better yet, if you want an absolute tack-driver, choose a Colt Python; it was the most accurate revolver I have ever owned.

--------
Hannibal

[poodle]

revolvers are not as reliable as they are made out to be. glock 17.

[Dr. Snubnose]

revolvers are not as reliable as they are made out to be. glock 17.

Let me recommend a good shrink for poodle first (ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!)

Good advice given by Zen, Doctor Han, Deacon, and Mastiff...I'm in total agreement....Doc :D

[poodle]

not out of my mind, its a fact.

[Th232]

not out of my mind, its a fact.

Doc, better tell the shrink that he's in denial.

[Dr. Snubnose]

LOL...... I am a shrink...I know that!...Doc :D

[uhiforgot]

LOL...... I am a shrink...I know that!...Doc :D

Then be there any merit to fighting crazy WITH crazy? I'd be happy to oblige... :p :cool:

-Jeff

[poodle]

arent shrinks the ones who need the most help?

[peacefuljeffrey]

It looks like there are plenty of gun owners here on Spyderco forum.
I know that generally revolvers are recommended for self defense because of their simplicity, reliability and fire power and semi-automatics are best for target practice.

That is hardly what I would call an accurate assessment. And I wouldn't be surprised if modern semi-autos are carried 2:1 over revolvers, just based on higher capacity preference alone.

Is there anything that can be a good compromise between those two?

Yes. GLOCK pistols.

Favorites far and wide include the .40-caliber model 27, 23, 22 (those are in size order from smallest to largest).

[poodle]

glocks have a better reliability, and longevity record then any revolver.

[Dr. Snubnose]

POODLE:and your expert experience is from where? and you know this how? I'm not even going there with you poodle....you first have to convince me that you have some idea of what you are talking about....Doc :D

[bigkahunasix]

Gentlemen, as a person who spends 6 days a week using, wearing, selling and training others to use firearms I must stick my nose into this. The revolver in its current modern form is the simplest, safest, most reliable weapon for personal defense, PERIOD!!!! I even use the double action revolver to begin training non-gun people for using a Glock, similar trigger manipulation and control requirements make it a safe simple transition and .38 wadcutters make for relatively quiet and less violent mechanical action. I have been doing this line of work for about 26 years in the USMC, federal and local LEO training, as well as private security, bodyguards, foriegn military ,etc... Been there done that. x3 Don't trust what your friend, a magazine, a web blog, or anybody else says, if you do not have the experience to back it up- shut up and you might learn something. By the way I carry either a 3 in. model 28 Smith .357 or a Glock 29 in 10mm or my faithfull series 70 all steel commander .45. Both Doc's, Zenheretic, Mastiff and Deacon all sound a little older and wiser and that usually comes with worldly experience. Poodle, write "I do not know everything!" on your hand and look at it at least 3 times a day. Thus endeth the lesson

[poodle]

simple yes- safest depends on the person- most reliable keep paroting what you heard, but still not true; by the way the last place i would send anyone to learn how to shoot is the government. that is probably why uncle sam sends certain units to learn from the competeing private sector--thus endeth the lesson.

[kbuzbee]

If you haven't figured it out yet, I have pretty large hands and I am not particularly recoil sensitive, so what I like may be just what you hate (I like making loud noises, at least on the range :D )

Y - you would LOVE my .50! Talk about a loud pop! This thing can stop a man purely with the audio. If you haven't pulled one, you really need to. The most fun thing is the speed of the bullet. It's like at the speed of thought. You see the taget, it already has a hole in it.

Ken

AGAIN I SAY - Okay, it may not be practical - but it's FUN