My Dad is finally taking my advice and getting a revolver (he bought a SR9 years ago for a bedside gun and never practiced with it enough to use it reliably if he needed it.). Anyway, he's in the Louisville area (Oldham County) and has been to Open Range and Cabella's. What other gunshops in the area are recommended?

Also, I'm not a revolver guy. Any recommendations for a caliber, barrel length, brands,etc. for a home defense pistol that will not be used often? (He'll likely shoot it less than once a year).


Thanks

I've never had much luck with gunshops in Louisville. If he doesn't mind a little drive, Ky Gun Co is to the south in Bardstown. Glauber's is a bit to the north in Carrolton. In Lexington, Buds, Antique and Modern, Classic Arms and Archery, and Evans are all good places.

Iammo/NetBallistics is in Oldham County, but I don't know if they have a storefront or only do online sales.

I agree. There was a shop at I64 and Hurstborn, on the left. I've bought there. if you come to Lexington, stop by Classic and say hi. I help out there twice a week.

I live in La Grange, NE of Louisville. You won't find a better deal on any handgun than Wolf Supply on the 2nd floor of the Louisville Dive Shop, just off the Watterson where it crosses I-65. His address is: 4265 Roosevelt Ave. Louisville. Bill supplys all of the weapons to new Metro Police rookies. A great guy, and absolutely the best price in Louisville. Glocks, Sigs, S&W's, he can order and get anything you want in a week. It's a "Cop Shop" that's available to all of us. Give him a try. Rod

S&W Model 10 4 inch Heavy Barrel. Or Model 64 or 67.

Ky Gun Co. in Bardstown (short drive), Wolf Supply in Louisville although his inventory isn't huge, he can order it and has competitive prices.
Knob Creek Gun Range, has a large selection and is a short drive but isnt as cheap as Ky Gun Co.
111 Gun shop (Hurstbourne and I-64, still has their FFL in limbo from an ATF audit from 2017)
Tilfords has fair prices and an alright inventory.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
S&W Model 10 4 inch Heavy Barrel. Or Model 64 or 67.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This! This!!!

Often overlooked and underestimated.

This is often my recommendation to people entering the world of handguns, knowing many of them will seek little, if any formal instruction.

However, this is not the advice most gun shop personnel will give, based on all of the time I have spent in gun shops over the last 45 years.

I am sorry, I do not live in KY. so I have no recommendation for a shop in Louisville.

Good luck and please let us know what he chooses.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P-220,

I have a 4 inch Ruger GP100 I use to maintain proficiency with revolvers.

Are we sure this is better for dad than a training course with the SR9? Reloading a revolver under duress requires time commitment and is not as easy as semi auto reloading. Additionally, the often times longer and heavier trigger pull may not be as easy to achieve accurate hits with as the semi.

Factory new revolver? Ruger. GP100 or SP101.

Used revolver? Pre lock S&W. Regards 18DAI

quote:

Originally posted by kalford:
I have a 4 inch Ruger GP100 I use to maintain proficiency with revolvers.

Are we sure this is better for dad than a training course with the SR9? Reloading a revolver under duress requires time commitment and is not as easy as semi auto reloading. Additionally, the often times longer and heavier trigger pull may not be as easy to achieve accurate hits with as the semi.

He’s owned the SR9 for about 5 years and shot it twice. Once when he bought it and once with me. He had issues with the safety, racking the slide, limp wristing, pretty much every type of failure you can get due to the user he got in a 50 end box of ammo. He’s just not a gun guy so he won’t work to become proficient. He needs something simple that will go bang when he pulls the trigger and if it doesn’t, he can just pull the trigger again

Thanks for the info guys. I will pass it along

Eh, there are some really good gun stores in Louisville, try Lotus Gun Works and River City Firearms for two...



SB

make sure to call the gunshop and see what they stock. some don't stock a lot of 4" or 6" revolvers.

If your dad is not familiar with revolvers he might want to get a new one. There's a process to check the function of used revolvers (primarily timing) that he may or may not want to go through.

If your dad is visiting Raleigh in the near future I'm sure I can introduce you to one of my shooting buddies that has revolvers and he can at least get an idea of size and options.

While there is a big preference for the older S&W no lock models, any of the current S&W or Ruger pistols will probably meet his needs and will be very dependable. He'll want to decide:

Size - like compact, mid size, 4", 6" etc
Number of rounds (5 and 6 are are the most common but there are S&W revolvers that hold more than 6)

Do you have any friends that have multiple revolvers? Maybe you could meet up with that person and your dad can make a decision on size before he visits gun shops.

Ask around, maybe one of your dad's friends is selling a revolver or knows someone selling a revolver. Always good to have a gunsmith check out a used revolver before you buy it. (Let me know if your dad will be in Raleigh anytime soon. I can introduce you to my shooting buddies that have revolvers if that would be helpful. I'm sure they'd be willing to meet with you and/or your dad.)

S&W 686 plus. 3in. Holds 7 rounds. 38special+p or 357mag.

I am personally quite fond of the Ruger SP101 in 327 Federal Magnum. The recoil is nothing, and some of the loads are apparently quite effective. The only drawback is the cost of ammo, but if he doesn't shoot much anyway, it won't matter. In a standard caliber, the Kimber K6s is a fantastic revolver.

River City Firearms in Louisville. 2915 Preston hwy. Derrick or anyone working on the counter can help you.

Also Try ECC Everything Concealed Carry in Jtown.

They have several revolvers there today.