Budget revolver review and comparison (5)

[Wolfhound]

I thought I would do a short review and comparison of five budget revolvers. These are revolvers owned by myself and family members and priced around 300 dollars and below. No Colt Pythons etc obviously. The Charter Arms belongs to my wife and is her EDC. I have carried the Taurus 605 on occasion.

Upper left: Armscor M200 38
Six shot 4 inch barrel Weight 28 ounces
Made in the Philippines
Pros: Very inexpensive, purchased new in the 90's for under 150.00
Cons: Kind of heavy

Middle Left: Rossi Revolver 38
Six Shot 4 inch barrel Weight 28 ounces
Made in Brazil
Pros: Wood grip fits my hand nicely.
Cons: Older gun, I bought it used for well under 200.00 and it does not have a model number stamped on it. Kind of heavy.

Lower Left: Taurus Model 605 38/357
Five Shot 2 inch barrel Weight 24 ounces
Made in Brazil
Pros: Rated for 357
Cons: It is light and has a small grip so shooting full power 357 loads is not comfortable for me.

Upper Right: EAA Windicator 38/357
Six Shot 2 inch barrel Weight 28.8 ounces
Made in Germany
Pros: Rated for 357, due to the higher weight and slightly larger grip it handles the 357 loads much more comfortably than the Taurus in my opinion.
Cons: Kind of heavy for carry.

Lower Right: Charter Arms Lavender Lady
Five Shot 2 inch barrel Weight 12 ounces
Made in USA
Pros: USA manufactured, gun is light great for carry.
Cons: Most expensive of the five guns tested.

I fired each revolver at seven yards with a full cylinder. So five or six shots depending on the model. I used regular 38 Special Remington target ammunition. There were absolutely no malfunctions or issues of any kind. Apparently budget revolvers don't have the kinds of issues that budget semi-autos seem to occasionally have. I really had trouble trying to rate the trigger pull of each gun so I will let the shooting results speak for themselves.

I was a little surprised that the 4 inch revolvers didn't really do any better than the 2 inch snub nose. In fact the 2 inch barrels did a little better for me. I didn't have the targets (paper plates) supported very well so a few of the bullets kind of tore the target as they passed through as you can see especially with the EAA and Charter Arms which were the last 2 that I tested. The Rossi shoots low for me. I am not sure if that is normal for these guns or if it is just me.

It looks to me like the Taurus 605 did the best of the five but you can be the judge.

What I take from this is that budget revolvers can get the job done and are acceptable as self defense weapons if that's all you can afford. They won't beat out the Colts and Smith's which are awesome, but they can be a cheap alternative.

YMMV

 

[510picker]

Great comparison! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

[sdb321]

Great shooting & great info !!!!!!!

 

[MCgrease08]

Nice shooting.

Had I been able to get groups like that with my snubbies, I'd still have one.

 

[doddg]

Good read.

 

[Wolfhound]

Thanks for the kind words. I had fun doing the comparison. It's always nice to have an excuse to shoot handguns.

I have always leaned towards the semi-autos but there is no denying the reliability and usefulness of a revolver. While anything mechanical can have issues the revolvers seem to be easier to operate and easier to clean afterwards. My wife prefers her Charter Arms for those reasons and I have no issues with carrying a revolver for personal protection.

 

[Salty]

I'm thinking the Rossi shoots low because the front sight is a little higher than the rest. You could mark the front sight below the top point with some model paint or something to help you aim higher. Thanks for sharing. All of them look like nice groups to me. I love this type of thread.

 

[Wolfhound]

I'm thinking the Rossi shoots low because the front sight is a little higher than the rest. You could mark the front sight below the top point with some model paint or something to help you aim higher. Thanks for sharing. All of them look like nice groups to me. I love this type of thread.

Thanks, I will give that a try with the Rossi.

 

[bigman502]

Nice thread
I love a good cheap revolver

 

[Steel and wood]

This was a good review thanks for having fun and sharing. Not everything has to be the top dollar to enjoy I have fallen in that trap several times.

 

[jones]

Good to see this comparison. I have the Charter Arms. It's a good enough pocket gun. I do want something a little nicer, however when I handle a Smith & Wesson in the LGS I just don't see why I need to buy it. It doesn't seem that much nicer than my Charter Arms. Maybe one day I'll trade my Charter in on the Smith but then again, maybe not.

 

[Magnum314]

Wow...I'm a little surprised at the results too! Nice review and well done on the write up of it all. Thanks!

 

[Leadeye]

A very good and useful review.

 

[Wolfhound]

I thought I would do a short review and comparison of five budget revolvers. These are revolvers owned by myself and family members and priced around 300 dollars and below. No Colt Pythons etc obviously. The Charter Arms belongs to my wife and is her EDC. I have carried the Taurus 605 on occasion.

Upper left: Armscor M200 38
Six shot 4 inch barrel Weight 28 ounces
Made in the Philippines
Pros: Very inexpensive, purchased new in the 90's for under 150.00
Cons: Kind of heavy

Middle Left: Rossi Revolver 38
Six Shot 4 inch barrel Weight 28 ounces
Made in Brazil
Pros: Wood grip fits my hand nicely.
Cons: Older gun, I bought it used for well under 200.00 and it does not have a model number stamped on it. Kind of heavy.

Lower Left: Taurus Model 605 38/357
Five Shot 2 inch barrel Weight 24 ounces
Made in Brazil
Pros: Rated for 357
Cons: It is light and has a small grip so shooting full power 357 loads is not comfortable for me.

Upper Right: EAA Windicator 38/357
Six Shot 2 inch barrel Weight 28.8 ounces
Made in Germany
Pros: Rated for 357, due to the higher weight and slightly larger grip it handles the 357 loads much more comfortably than the Taurus in my opinion.
Cons: Kind of heavy for carry.

Lower Right: Charter Arms Lavender Lady
Five Shot 2 inch barrel Weight 12 ounces
Made in USA
Pros: USA manufactured, gun is light great for carry.
Cons: Most expensive of the five guns tested.

I fired each revolver at seven yards with a full cylinder. So five or six shots depending on the model. I used regular 38 Special Remington target ammunition. There were absolutely no malfunctions or issues of any kind. Apparently budget revolvers don't have the kinds of issues that budget semi-autos seem to occasionally have. I really had trouble trying to rate the trigger pull of each gun so I will let the shooting results speak for themselves.


Images re-added to the thread.

 

[rtfisher1]

Nice!
My Taurus 856's and 942's have become favorites. The 942 (22lr) and 856 Defender triggers are some of the best out of the box I've tried. Love em. I could shoot the 942 all day.

 

[Ark]

I owned an M200 and a 4" EAA. Did not care for either. The Armscor would lock up for no reason and required fiddling with the hammer, cylinder, and trigger to get it to unlock and start cycling again. The EAA was a tank which worked better, but I thought the serrations on the trigger were uncomfortable and the trigger itself was very heavy and not enjoyable to shoot.

No personal time on Charter, Rossi, or Taurus revolver products yet. After the above I bought a Model 10 and that was it for "cheap revolvers" for me.

 

[2A-Hoosier23]

I owned an M200 and a 4" EAA. Did not care for either. The Armscor would lock up for no reason and required fiddling with the hammer, cylinder, and trigger to get it to unlock and start cycling again. The EAA was a tank which worked better, but I thought the serrations on the trigger were uncomfortable and the trigger itself was very heavy and not enjoyable to shoot.

No personal time on Charter, Rossi, or Taurus revolver products yet. After the above I bought a Model 10 and that was it for "cheap revolvers" for me.

Was your Model 10 better or worse than the others? Been looking to buy another 38 special / .357 revolver.

 

[DadSmith]

Nice!
My Taurus 856's and 942's have become favorites. The 942 (22lr) and 856 Defender triggers are some of the best out of the box I've tried. Love em. I could shoot the 942 all day.

I seen an 856 SS at lgs awhile back 2" barrel. They are supposed to come with 3" barrels also. If I find a SS 3" 856 I think I'll buy it if it isn't more than around $325 or so. They look well made. Felt good in the hand. The one I looked at had nice wood grips.



They come with night sight on the front also.

 

[Ark]

Was your Model 10 better or worse than the others? Been looking to buy another 38 special / .357 revolver.

It was one of those NY DoC guns. Very nice shape. Didn't seem to like CCI primers, seems to set off Winchesters better.

 

[rtfisher1]

I seen an 856 SS at lgs awhile back 2" barrel. They are supposed to come with 3" barrels also. If I find a SS 3" 856 I think I'll buy it if it isn't more than around $325 or so. They look well made. Felt good in the hand. The one I looked at had nice wood grips.

View attachment 142210

They come with night sight on the front also.

I have that exact gun and love it. Mine came with the VZ grips which I don't like, so I put the stock standard rubber grip that also came in the box on it and it makes the whole thing smaller and fits my hand better.