Shooting Illustrated by Sheriff Jim Wilson - Thursday, May 20, 2021
An interesting question was raised just the other day as to what have been the greatest law enforcement revolvers. I suppose you could look at it from several different perspectives. You might consider those guns that were the trend setters or you might tally up the guns that have had the highest production numbers. Or, you might just go with your favorites. And I suppose that there is nothing wrong with any of that.
When I first put on the badge of a Texas peace officer, the revolver was king. So I have a bit more than just academic interest in the subject. For my list, I have combined durability, longevity, and trend setting to come up with what I consider the seven greats.
Colt Single Action ArmyHaving been introduced in 1873, the
Colt SAA enjoys 148 years of popularity although it is no longer considered a premier fighting gun. But, for about 75 years, it was the gun that most savvy lawmen chose and with good reason. Chambered in over 30 calibers (can you name them all?), the Colt was accurate enough to get the job done. And, just as important, it was a robust handgun that could often, in the old days, be a substitute for a billy-club. After all this time, it is still considered one of the iconic American handguns.
Smith & Wesson Model 10The revolver that we call the
Model 10 started life as the .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899. Then, along came some military contracts and Smith & Wesson decided to call it the Military & Police model before finally settling on the Model 10. In its lifetime, some 6 million of the guns have been produced.
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Smith & Wesson Triple Lock The .44 Hand Ejector New Century was only manufactured from 1908 to 1915, with only about 15,000 guns made during that time. However, it showed the shooting world what Smith & Wesson was capable of building in a large-frame sixgun. And it created a line of descendants that are still with us today.
The Triple Lock became the foundation for the development of the .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, and the .44 Magnum. If an officer had hands big enough to manage the large frame, he was well armed with just about any of the big frame Smith & Wessons. As an aside, though, I wonder just how many lawmen would have ever chosen the gun in .44 Magnum if Dirty Harry had not led the way.
More:
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2021/5/20/7-best-law-enforcement-revolvers-of-all-time/
