Running the revolver

Guys, with all the discussion recently about revolvers and J frames in
particular I decided to post this tutorial I did some time back on revolver
manipulation.

I'm going to do this with my J frame with the thoughts that if you can
manipulate a J you can manipulate something larger.

As far as reloading mechanics go auto-pistols are generally easier to

manipulate than revolvers. Why? Couple of reasons.

First is the number of parts that move. The crane swings out from the frame,
the ejection rod moves in and out, and the cylinder itself spins freely on the
crane/ejection rod. Lotta moving parts.

Secondly is the ammunition itself. Our ammo is not encased in a magazine

but held either with a speedloader, a speed strip, a half or full moon clip, or
loose. Each round has to be indexed on each chamber of the cylinder for it to
properly seat, allowing one to close the cylinder and get back into the fight.

So considering the knowns above we are going to do our ammunition

manipulation with our strong hand because it's more dextrous under stress
and there is less of a chance of missing the individual chambers. This means
that the gun is going to shift from one hand to another and then back,
something that we don't have to do with an autopistol.

I will say that there are those, most notably Jerry Miculek, who manipulate
their ammo with the off-hand and are quite good at it, but by and large IMO
this method will work better for most. If you are running a revolver with
rimless ammo and moon clips, such as a 45 ACP, then this method is still
applicable and even more sure.

Okay beginning at extension.

The first thing we do is use the off hand to cant the pistol in our firing hand
which moves the cylinder release to our thumb. When we do this we want to
have our fingers on the cylinder itself.

Now if your hands are big enough to do this without canting the gun then
great but I have little mitts so I have to shift the gun. Try both and see which
works best.

As the cylinder releases we push it outboard with the fingers of the off-hand
and establish a grip on the frame. The revolver is now held in the off-hand by
the fingers which have gripped through the frame, and the base of the thumb
which is holding the cylinder steady. The ball of the thumb is on the front of
the ejection rod to assist with ejecting spent casings and the index finger
assists in steadying the revolver.
The off-hand moves down and our elbow indexes on the midline just like
when we reload an auto pistol. The harder you snap that gun into your torso
the better spent casings will fall out. We use our thumb if necessary to work
the ejection rod and push those stubborn ones out. Simultaneously our
strong hand reaches down for our ammo, in this case a speed loader that
I've just tucked into my belt just for the picture, and picks it up. We should
carry our spare ammunition on the strong side to utilize this technique,
whether it's a speed loader or a speed strip in our watch pocket. If you need
to use the strong hand to pop the ejector rod once or twice to clear any
stubborn empties, before you reach back for your spare ammo then that's
fine and is a good idea.

The off-hand cants the gun level and the strong hand brings the speed loader
up aligning properly. It's important to control the cylinder so it doesn't spin
around, especially if you are using HKS speedloaders, which require one to
twist the knob.

The speedloader releases and the new load seats...

...and then we close the cylinder and re-establish our strong hand's grip.
Don't fling the cylinder shut. Close it with the off-hand thumb until it snaps
closed and locks. Also drop that speed-loader, don't try and stow it.

From here it's nothing more than moving back into extension or wherever.
Okay one-handed rightie. One handed reloading of a revolver is TENUOUS so
make your movement definitive and understand each phase.

At extension I'll push on the cylinder release with my thumb and push on the
cylinder with my trigger finger.

Once the cylinder pushes through I'll use my trigger finger to snake through
the frame and establish some grip.
From the other side, cylinder held steady with the index finger, preferably on
one of the flutes.

Cant the gun and slam index your elbow into your midline. If this doesn't
eject the spent casings, then what you'll have to do is index the ejection rod
on something (a part of your body) and actuate it in and out.
Once the empties are ejected turn the gun inboard, index finger still
steadying the cylinder.

Index the top strap against your torso still rolling the gun inboard.
Turn the gun all the way until the butt is pointing to your left and shove it
down into your waistband so that your belt or pants is between the frame
and the cylinder. Obviously this method won't work if you're not wearing
pants.
Once the gun is stowed I reach back for my speedloader.

And index the rounds in the chambers. Now if you use a twist speedloader as
opposed to a push like a Safariland you're going to see that when you try
and twist the knob, the cylinder will spin with it.

Since I've gone over to the German SL Variant speedloader that HeadHunter
brought to the limelight I don't have to worry about this anymore, but there
are still a lot of HKS loaders in service.
So what I have to do is shift my grip to where I use the thumb and index
finger to turn the knob, my middle to steady the loader itself, and my ring
and pinkie to steady the cylinder. That's a lot of digits shifting around so
beware. You can avoid that by ditching twisty loaders all together.

Once the rounds release into the chambers drop the loader and re-establish
your firing grip on the butt.
Pull the gun up until the barrel pops out of your waistband. Keep the cylinder
pressed against your torso while simultaneously turning the butt of the gun
back clockwise. It should look like this.

Push the gun into your torso until the cylinder locks and seats.
And back up to extension.

One-handed, off-hand.

At extension.
Use the trigger finger to push the cylinder release. Some like to sweep the
thumb over to actuate the cylinder release but I prefer this method as the
grip is more encircling and you’re less prone to pop the gun out of your hand
and drop it.

Since our thumb is tied up gripping the frame, we have to use another part
of our body to push the cylinder through. Here I'll just use the point of my
hip to nudge it.
I'll snake the index finger through once again and cant the gun upwards.
Notice that the shells fall into my index finger. There's a high probability that
you will not be able to clear the cylinder of empties with momentum alone,
which means working the ejector rod in and out by pushing it against
something.

Tuck the gun into the waistband as before.

Pick up your ammo.

Index the rounds on the chambers.

Steady the cylinder and turn the knob.

When the rounds seat ditch the loader, re-establish the grip with the off-
hand and place the trigger finger against the cylinder.
Push the cylinder closed with the trigger finger until it locks and lift the pistol
out of the waistband.

Back to extension.

We'll close out with a partial reload using a speed strip. I was talking to a
forum member the other night and it's funny that everyone reaches the same
conclusions. I personally like to run a speedloader and a speed strip when I
carry a J as a primary (which is rare). The speedstrip goes into the watch
pocket and is configured like so for partial reloads. This allows me to
manipulate two or three rounds at a time much easier.

Starting at extension.
I'll compress my elbows and bring the gun to centerline. This time I won't
cant the barrel upwards though since I want to selectively remove a couple
of spent rounds.

I'll push the ejector rod partially until I can catch the lips of the spent rounds
with the tips of my fingers and flick them out.
Reach back for my speed strip.

Index two rounds and tear out laterally so you don't pull the fresh ammo
back out of the cylinder.
Stow the strip since I don't want to throw my already limited ammo supply
away.

Close the cylinder.

And get back in the fight.

That's it for this one. This is just a guide and what I've found works well for
me and others seem to like these methods also. If you want to change a
thing or two, no biggie.

Enjoy!
SN

Originally posted by Southnarc of ShivWorks and Total Protection Interactive. This PDF file is created to
aid students of self protection, as a tribute to those who wrote the content and is in no way a challenge to
the original author. The format of this document is protected by a Creative Commons Licence. Any
derivative works must give attribution to the original author(s) of the content. The copyright for the
content is held by the original author. I have edited spelling and grammar only.

James Marwood