I’ve really enjoyed spending time working with revolvers recently. So, when the opportunity arose to receive the Heritage Roscoe, I decided it was time to dive a little deeper into the world of revolvers. I reached out to my friend, Mike Barham, media and PR manager at Galco Holsters, who often posts about revolvers and training courses he attends on Facebook. I asked him to share what he would tell someone interested in learning more about using revolvers for self-defense.
Meet Mike Barham
Mike has worked at Galco Holsters for 22 years, minus a year spent deployed in Afghanistan with the Arizona National Guard’s 1/158 Infantry. A graduate of Gunsite Academy, Massad Ayoob Group, American Small Arms Academy, Tactical Response, Active Response Training, American Fighting Revolver and others, he’s also an avid IDPA competitor and a rifle instructor with Project Appleseed. He lives in the picturesque mountain city of Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, Carrie. His first novel, “Many Are Called: The Lion of Deseret,” debuted in January of 2025.
1. The index finger powers the gun. Bryan Eastridge at American Fighting Revolver talks about this a lot, and it’s important. In a semiautomatic pistol, the ammunition does the work for you, with the round’s ignition cycling the slide and resetting the trigger. With a double-action (DA) revolver, your trigger finger powers the mechanism. This is very good in many defensive circumstances, because the revolver isn’t dependent on a perfect, wrist-locked shooting grip to function. Perfect grips can be difficult to achieve and maintain in a close-range fight, and this is why we often see otherwise-reliable semi-autos malfunction in videos of police shootings. The DA revolver circumvents this entirely.
2. Mastering the DA pull is essential. The downside of the trigger finger powering the DA revolver is that the trigger action is long and often fairly heavy, since it is both turning the cylinder and cocking the hammer. Because proper trigger control is required to make hits on target, it’s absolutely critical that the revolver user masters the DA pull on her revolver. Although it’s not as simple as mastering the short trigger on a single-action or striker-fired semi-automatic, it’s attainable with proper practice. The revolver carrier must commit to practice in order to master the DA trigger. Fortunately, with (safe) dry practice, it’s achievable.
3. Smooth manipulations are key. Practice loading, unloading, and especially reloading the revolver until it becomes second nature. While revolvers are, in many ways, simpler to operate than semi-autos, their “manual of arms” is actually a bit more complex. Reloading a revolver’s cylinder takes more time and dexterity than simply inserting a second magazine into a semi-auto. Revolver guru Greg Ellifritz, of Active Response Training, advocates knowing how to load (and reload) from cartridge strips, “2x2x2” belt pouches, speed loaders and singly from the palm of the hand. Purchase a dozen inexpensive dummy rounds and practice with the loading method(s) of your choice. Learn how to do it correctly and practice a LOT.
4. Revolver grips are adaptable. Darryl Bolke, of American Fighting Revolver, makes the excellent point that revolvers are almost infinitely adaptable to both hand size and concealment methods simply by changing the stocks. A shooter with small hands can use the factory stocks, perhaps with a grip adapter to fill the “sinus,” the gap between the trigger guard and the grip frame. A shooter with larger hands may prefer stocks that enclose the backstrap, increasing the distance from the web of the hand to the trigger. Smaller stocks are also excellent for concealment, whether in a pocket, handbag, inside the pants holster or even worn on the belt or in a shoulder holster. Hamre Forge makes some of the finest concealment stocks, especially their Boot Grips (licensed from longtime grip-making wizard Craig Spegal) and the more recent AFR Grips.
5. Revolvers can be more effective in close-range encounters. No less an authority than Massad Ayoob points out that revolvers are often superior in fights that occur at contact distance – literally inside arm’s length. A revolver still fires with the muzzle pressed against an assailant. Often, this same action pushes the slide of a semi-automatic “out of battery” and prevents it from functioning, but the revolver is unaffected. Not only that, the finger-powered revolver can often fire multiple shots in such a scenario, while the slide of a semi-auto will sometimes fail to cycle properly in an entangled fight.
6. Firing a revolver from a pocket/purse is not an issue. Defensive authority Annette Evans of On Her Own has conducted several experiments involving firing from inside a purse in close-range emergencies. While it is an absolutely last-ditch technique, unsighted shooting from inside the purse (or a coat pocket) can work at contact distance. Revolvers tend to work much better for this than semi-autos, since the inside of a purse or pocket provides little space for a reciprocating slide. Once again, that finger-powered DA revolver comes out on top!
As I mentioned at the beginning, Mike is deeply immersed in the world of revolvers and shares his passion for them on social media. Here is a list of great revolver training and resources he recommends:
Now, with all this information to process, I plan to spend time dry-firing the Roscoe before heading out to the range. I reached out to a new acquaintance, Claude Werner, The Tactical Professor. He shared his process for dry-fire and a tool he developed, the SafeSnap Training Disc at The Mingle event I attended last month. Check back for part two of this article on revolvers for self-defense, which includes revolver range drills.
Visit the Heritage website to read all about the Roscoe.
Michelle Cerino, aka Princess Gunslinger, first entered the firearms industry in 2011 as co-owner, president and trainer at a national training company. She immediately began competing in both 3-Gun and NRA Action Pistol, becoming a sponsored shooter. Michelle is currently a columnist and Managing Editor of Women’s Outdoor News, as well as owner of Pervenio LLC. She also manages social media for Vera Koo and FASTER Saves Lives. Michelle encourages others to step out of the comforts of home and explore. View all posts by Michelle Cerino
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