The Round File
Is there a Revolver Resurgence?
No doubt about it, Dave likes wheelguns, especially for the backcountry.
Whether a .45 Colt, like the Ruger he’s handling, or some other caliber,
he’s getting hints of a resurgence in the popularity of the round gun.
Is the revolver coming back? Depending upon to whom one listens, the “round gun” never really left but there does appear to be a noticeable upswing in interest.
Last year, Colt announced — What was it, four revolver models? — and this was after resurrecting the legendary Python, Anaconda, Cobra and King Cobra. Earlier this year, Lipsey’s and Smith & Wesson announced the return of the Mountain Gun, without the internal lock mechanism and keyhole on the left side of the frame.
Taurus offers several wheelguns, and Diamondback last year launched the SDR double-action model in .357 Magnum.
When I recently interviewed three top holster makers, they all indicated much more client interest in rigs for revolvers.
“Revolvers have always represented the majority of guns we’re building leather for,” said Mike “Doc” Barranti.
“I know there’s a push for that,” noted Mitch Rosen. “I don’t know that I see new shooters who are doing that but people who have been shooting a long time are moving that way.”
And Rob Leahy observed, “For me, it’s revolvers for sure. It’s just a revolver world for us (and) I see that reflected in my customers.”
Dave owns “more than one” wheelgun, and this one — a Ruger Blackhawk
with personally-crafted elk antler grips — is one of his “go to” handguns
for testing new loads, which seem to shoot okay.
My own perspective may be a bit prejudiced, as I grew up shooting round guns, from .22 Long Rifle in an old 9-shot Harrington & Richardson and later a Hy Hunter single-action six shooter. It didn’t fare too well as my outdoor demands exceeded its construction.
Nowadays, my preference runs toward Colt, Smith & Wesson and Ruger, and probably not in that order. My personal armory has both single- and double-action specimens in assorted calibers. I am comfortable with sixguns (or “five guns” or even “seven- or eight guns”) and there have been multiple opportunities to shoot them all.
Production Numbers Outdated?
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives annually publishes a report on firearms production in the U.S., for which the most recent data appears to be from 2022. However, it does give us a glimpse of where revolvers stand in popularity.
In 2020, there were 993,078 revolvers produced, against a staggering 5,509,183 semi-auto pistols. The following year, the number of wheelguns manufactured jumped to 1,159,908, while 6,751,906 pistols were manufactured.
Data shows hundreds of thousands of revolvers, like this Colt
King Cobra, have been manufactured since 2018. Wheelguns
are hardly obsolete!
Then in 2022, the data shows 830,889 revolvers were built where 5,012,034 pistols went to market as well. While round guns obviously trail flat guns, they still essentially follow the same production patterns.
According to an industry report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, during the years 2018-2022 — a five-year stretch — the annual average number of revolvers manufactured was more than 845,000, an impressive number no matter how one looks at it. What this tells me is that the public has hardly given up on the round gun for a variety of uses.
Even if the data is from 2022, numbers don’t lie. Anybody reading a eulogy over the sixgun is grossly exaggerating rumors of its demise!
There was one more piece of information in the 2022 data, and this got my attention. Revolvers chambered for the .22 Long Rifle are the most popular, accounting for more than 50 percent of the total, followed by models chambered for the potent .357 Magnum. Then come assorted models in .38 Special, with .44 Magnums trailing unimpressively at less than 4 percent of the total. Apparently a lot fewer people want to be “Dirty Harry” clones than back in the 1970s.
More .22-caliber revolvers have been produced in recent years
than any other round gun caliber, which probably shouldn’t
surprise devoted handgunners.
I’ve owned a couple of 22-caliber revolvers and fired a lot more. I find the little rimfires to be addictive. If I buy another, it will be a Single Six with 2 cylinders, in .22 LR and .22 Mag., with the longer barrel. Always wanted one, never got one as something else always came up. Maybe someday…
Ruger Blackhawk
For what it’s worth, the Ruger Blackhawk has always been my “go to” gun when it comes to trying out new loads. Over the years, in various calibers, I’ve managed to burn a fair amount of powder in my own guns or someone else’s. My Blackhawks have digested some pretty stout loads and never faltered, but those experiences convinced me that “hottest” did not always translate to “best.” These days, I’ll settle for less heat and more accuracy!
I hunted with two different guys who owned Super Blackhawk models with the “Dragoon-style” squared-on-the-rear trigger guard, which I got to shoot. My middle finger may never be the same from repeated poundings under full recoil.
One of my pals has a New Model stainless Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum with the rounded trigger guard. We spent part of a morning one fall shooting that gun with factory and handloaded ammunition. Nothing phased that handgun. Zero. Zip. Nada.
Blackhawk’s cylinder visually defines strength.
Give the Blackhawk cylinder a glance. It’s got thick chamber walls, cylinder stop notches are off-center for strength, and they’re just plain strong.
I own a pair of Blackhawks, and they are definitely not for sale. The 6 ½-inch model was my first .41 Magnum and it’s got a couple of deer to its credit. It has digested a lot of reloaded ammunition, some of it on the hot side, and the cylinder is still in time, there are no cracks, and it is pretty much factory stock. I’ve replaced the grips, but never felt compelled to ship it off anywhere for custom work.
The newer gun has a 4 5/8-inch barrel, and lately it has been my “test tube” for some new loads with which I’m experimenting, using different hard-cast lead semi-wadcutters.
Which is the tougher platform, the Blackhawk, or the Redhawk
like this one? That’s not an argument Dave cares to ignite!
You’ll probably get a spirited argument about whether the Blackhawk or Redhawk is the tougher gun. Again, I’ve shot both and, call it nostalgia, I prefer the single-action platform. I probably never outgrew the steady stream of Warner Brothers evening westerns I watched as a kid, along with episodes of “Wanted, Dead or Alive,” “Gunsmoke,” Have Gun—Will Travel,” “Trackdown,” and I’ve lost track of the others.
Meanwhile, in Chicago
Lightning may not strike twice in the same place, but in Chicago, mass shootings evidently do. Back in 2022, there was a shooting outside the now-defunct Hush Chicago nightclub, leaving one dead and others wounded.
Leap ahead to 2025 on the sidewalk outside of the new Artis Restaurant and Lounge, which happened to be at the same location, 311 W. Chicago Ave. This time around, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, four people were killed and 14 others were wounded following what was described as “an album release party” for local “drill rapper” Mello Buckzz, who had already left.
The first nightclub had been closed down after being called “a public safety threat.” Maybe it’s not the business establishments, but the clients.
If you ever want to keep up on Windy City mayhem, click on HeyJackass.com. This popular website keeps a running count on Chicago homicides, offers details on where victims were wounded, along with other information.
