As usual, shortly after the end of another Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction, the list of prices realized was published and we examined it to find out what lots were the most appealing in collectors’ eyes and were sold at the highest prices. Like any RIAC auction, the December 2019 Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction was full of unique pieces of firearms engineering and history many of which were sold for over $100K. Below we’ll present you the list of most expensive lots sold during this auction.

When we talk about upgrading our carry guns, there’s always the debate of swapping out various parts and carrying it daily on your person. Whether it’s a new set of sights, new barrel, magazine release, or aftermarket trigger, there will always be benefits and disadvantages with changing out parts on your carry gun. The biggest issue with changing parts on your concealed carry gun is the liability if you ever have to use it to defend yourself.

Today on Wheelgun Wednesday, we are taking a quick look at the Ruger Single Six “Convertible” in .22WMR.  A “New Model” beginning production in 1973, this revolver came with both .22LR and .22WMR cylinders.  Unfortunately, this revolver was missing the .22LR cylinder by the time I got it.  I bought it at an estate auction years ago for practically nothing.

The Twitter account for  KommandoStore just revealed that in 2020 they are going to be the exclusive importer of Mateba Firearms into the US. No details have been provided so far on how many models may be part of the import deal, however, it is clear that the 6 Unica Autorevolver, presumably in .357 Magnum, which KommandoStore posted with their announcement, will be amongst the first.

Time has flown by and we are starting another winter cycle. Depending on how you feel about colder weather, you’re either excited to carry a larger firearm or you’re trying to figure out how to conceal carry with the extra layers. Now some people will be safe from the great northern cold. Everyone in Florida or Arizona will be safe from the struggles of layering up. Carrying in winter months can be a great thing for some people, but can also be challenging to others. Let’s dive into the challenging and positive aspects of carrying during the winter months.

Welcome back to another edition of TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday where we feed your addiction for revolvers! For those who are first joining us, this is a weekly reoccurring series where  TFB  discusses new wheelguns, potential modifications, old wheelguns, shooting opportunities, and everything related to double-action/single-action goodness. Chances are there is someone here at TFB who can offer you advice or simply new information regarding revolvers you might not have encountered before. This week I will be offering everyone a more intimate look at the newly reintroduced Colt King Cobra Target!

TFB reader, Steve, contacted me after seeing my recent review of the Smith & Wesson 625 JM .45 ACP revolver for the TFB Wheelgun Wednesday series.  He had purchased the same model for his wife, but ended up doing several modifications to customize it to their liking.  Steve gave permission for me to share his photos and process with you.

Small carry guns are about as polarizing as the new Star Wars movies or which way the toilet paper roll goes when its time to refill. Depending on who you talk with, small guns will either be a great resource or completely useless. There’s plenty of arguments for and against carrying an extremely small gun for concealment. Whether it’s for exercise, carrying when it’s difficult, or just finding something comfortable there are plenty of realistic reasons to carry a micro gun. So Boomers and Millenials, grab your black coffee or Kombucha probiotic drink and let’s dive into this.

While browsing the catalog of the upcoming December 2019 Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction for putting together one of TFB’s articles about most interesting firearms seen in largest US auctions, I came across a couple of rather rare yet interesting Colt revolvers that were specifically made for exhibition shooters back in the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries. What sets these guns apart is that while being chambered in one of the most popular cartridges of the day, the .44-40 Winchester, these revolvers are smoothbore!

The new Kimber lineup for 2020 has just been announced, to include new offerings for their 1911’s, K6s revolvers, Micro 9’s and EVO SP’s.  Since Kimber’s introduction of the K6s DASA revolvers several years ago, Kimber has become a do-it-all handgun manufacturer that brings everything to the table.  Kimber’s 2020 pistol offerings are also quite varied between hammer fired and striker fired carry guns, and 1911 based pistols in full and subcompact sizes.

In this edition of TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday, we’ll be reviewing the Smith & Wesson 625 JM in .45 ACP.  Some may question why, in the year 2019, would someone want to shoot .45 ACP through a “six-gun” when you could shoot 7 to 13 of them through a semi-auto?  Well, it’s kind of like how people use bicycles even though motorcycles exist… because it’s good for you.  Okay, so it may not be the subject of a Men’s Health magazine article, but from a historical, entertaining, or perhaps even a defensive sense, it’s good for you.  I’ve been wanting to get my hands on the S&W 625 JM for a while, so I was holding back some giddiness when I picked it up from Mr. Guns gun shop and shooting range for the transfer. The S&W 625 JM revolver has its ups and downs, and I’m happy to be able to share my experience with you.

Last week, I was walking around in a local gun shop and they had an extremely blown up Smith & Wesson K-38 Combat Masterpiece (Model 15) in the case. I was immediately interested in the story behind this classic wheel gun. When I picked up the old Smith, I saw it wasn’t for sale sadly to see the overall damage from the explosion was rather impressive.

I didn’t quite understand how polarizing the BUG gun ( Back Up Gun) debate was until I was out to dinner with six or seven friends a few weeks ago. My friends all had extremely strong feelings and reactions to a very simple question. Regardless of what you think about back up guns, there’s no denying the idea is pretty well known. It’s so well known among the gun community that there are even IDPA shooting stages where you need to transition to your back up gun halfway through the stage. There are both positive and negative aspects to carrying a concealed handgun and a backup gun so let’s dive into it.

Today we are looking at an early double action from Sturm, Ruger & Co: the Police Service Six.  The Police Service Six is a line extension of the Security Six model marketed towards law enforcement in the ’70s and ’80s.  They are rugged and inexpensive, made from an investment casting and with fixed sights.   The Police Service Six made for an attractive option for budget-conscious departments, being cheaper than Colt or S&W’s options at the time.  Police Service Six models were chambered in .357 Magnum, .38 Special and 9mm.  The 9mm model had a cylinder designed for use without moon clips.  Barrel lengths for the Police Service Six were 2 3/4″ and 4″.

As we promised in our article about some of the most interesting and rare lots seen in the online catalog of  October 2019 Morphy Extraordinary, Sporting & Collector Firearms Auction, after the auction ended and the results were published, we put together the list of five most expensive firearms sold during the auction.

For this week’s TFB Wheelgun Wednesday, we’ll explore some revolver drills that focus on using only one hand to shoot and reload your defensive revolver.  The whole premise of one-handed revolver drills is that one of your arms or hands have been injured, or that it’s being used in another capacity.  Statistically speaking, armed encounters last only seconds, with an average number of rounds fired being roughly two. The law enforcement community has had noted cases of officers having to reload their revolvers with only one hand.  However, it does take time that is rarely afforded in the close, one-on-one (or several-against-one) encounters that concealed carriers may face.  Regardless, if you regularly carry a revolver, or keep one on your nightstand, these one-handed revolver drills can make you better prepared for the worst.

The 1895 Nagant revolver is a unique wheelgun that stands out from many designs.  The Nagant revolver is well known as a Russian revolver, however it was actually designed by Emile and Leon Nagant in Belgium in the early 1890’s.  In 1898 the full production began in Russia.

Befuddled old men are fond of saying that revolvers are “six for sure” and insist that they cannot ever fail. But are revolvers really more reliable than self-loading handguns? Let’s find out by gettin’ dirty.

Honestly, one question I get fairly often when talking about concealed carrying is whether or not to have multiple guns to carry depending on what you’re doing that given day. There are benefits of carrying different guns at different times of the year, but it’s also important to be proficient with one gun. Does that mean you should find one gun and master it before trying something else? It’s definitely a valid question that people ask fairly often. I’ll dive into both and we will figure this out.

In 2005, Smith and Wesson came out with a hot rod revolver with an unfluted 8-shot cylinder, the 327sc “Jerry Miculek” edition.  (Honestly, I think competition had a lot more to do with the development of the 327 series than SWAT or FBI wanting a gun for use close in to ballistic shields, despite what marketing about the TRR8 claimed). Building off the good reception of the eight shot .357 magnum platform, the next off the line was the Performance Center 327sc with 2″ and 5″ barrels.  Around mid-2007, they released a pair of their most recognizable .357’s with eight shot cylinders, the 327 TRR8 and R8.

After introducing the .357 Magnum version, Taurus has decided to inject some serious power in the Raging Hunter line by introducing a .454 Casull version. This addition gives more purpose to the hefty yet aggressive lines of the revolver and it surely broadens its appeal to hunters.

My good friend John Lyons is a big fan of American Old West history and a collector of percussion firearms. I remember when his collection started several years ago with an acquisition of a Uberti replica of Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver. Fast forward a couple of years and now he has about a dozen old Colt wheelguns – both replicas and real ones. His latest purchase was a Uberti Colt Dragoon replica. Shortly after getting this gun, he told me that he is thinking about sending it to an engraver to recreate a Gustave Young engraving. That sounded like a really exciting project and a perfect Wheelgun Wednesday story!

Ah, Pumpkin Spice season – My favorite time of year. While the rest of the world is asking for an additional pump of high fructose corn syrup, hold the nutmeg, I feel the urge to retreat into the woods towards peaceful isolation – black coffee in hand. Strangely enough, I’m not alone in my need to go deeper into nature; the woods are full of animals scrambling to fatten up before the lean months of winter. So, before we venture out, let’s take a look at some ammunition choices for a fall woods gun.

Shortly after my previous Wheelgun Wednesday article went live, I received an email from Michael about his interesting conversion of an M1917 revolver.  The famous .45 ACP revolver is getting plenty of attention right out of the gate with TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesdays.  However, considering that the M1917 was designed over one hundred years ago, specifically to supplement the U.S. military’s supply of M1911 of all things, it seems worthy of some love.

If you follow our series covering the major US firearm auctions, then you probably remember that about a month ago, we took a look at some of the most interesting, rare and unusual firearms consigned to the September 2019 Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction. As usual, shortly after the end of the auction, RIAC published the list of prices realized. And as always, we browsed the list to find out what lots were the most expensive firearms sold during the auction.

The Colt snake guns have been one of the most desirable and sought after revolver series in recent memory. There were a number of variations from the basic Cobra revolvers to the massive Colt Anacondas. My personal Colt revolver is a Colt King Cobra. My grandfather was obsessed with big bore handguns and enjoyed using them for hunting and just recreational shooting. I’m extremely thankful I had the opportunity to go out with my grandparents and shoot revolvers with them before they passed away. My grandfather had a number of different Colts including the King Cobra, two Pythons and an Anaconda along with a few other large caliber handguns. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away in 2009 from brain cancer, but in his will, he left me his King Cobra along with the factory box and owners manual.

Welcome to another Wheelgun Wednesday, where I swear it’s purely a coincidence that I selected a 1917 this week!  This week’s revolver is a Colt 1917, as opposed to the previously featured S&W.  It has the added distinction of not only being carried in combat in WW1 (Cue Sabaton’s new album Great War) but also at the tail end of the Korean War and was in Southeast Asia for a decade during the United State’s involvement in Vietnam. (“One war, one police action and one undeclared conflict” didn’t sound as good for the title).

Photo Of The Day, with a history lesson from the Wild West: Microtech Ultratech Knives and the revolver is a Colt Single Action Army .45.

Revolvers are pretty straight forward firearms. They are “ simpler” to use and are all mechanical wonders. However, there are some that buck the norms of conventionality like the Chiappa Rhino. Shooting a Rhino is not completely different than your average revolver but you do have to be careful with them. It can be dangerous being a bottom cylinder revolver like the Rhino.

In this episode, Miles goes to a local gun shop in Amman to check out what the local laws, trends, and interests are in the legal firearms market in Jordan. He interviews the store owner and is able to really get some hands-on time with the various handguns and shotguns in the store, seeing what Jordanian gun owners like and appreciate.