Looking Back: When Real Men Used Revolvers!

The revolver has its own unique place in American history. Unlike many European countries the States literally cut their teeth on the revolver. Semi-autos were generally relegated to the military. Police departments by and large stuck with the revolver well into the 1980’s. Calibers such as the .41 Magnum were developed for police but never really took off due to recoil, cost and the size of the pistol. The .44 magnum made famous through the exploits of Clint Eastwood as Detective Callahan was simply an unmanageable pistol for just about all police. Just about every department stuck with the .38 Special. The .357 simply had greater velocity yet utilized essentially the same bullet as the .38 special. However even this increase in velocity while welcomed by some was unmanageable by most others and disapproved by many departments.

In the 1970’s if I am not mistaken some LAPD Officers were allowed to carry .357 revolvers (Smiths & Wesson) but could only utilize the .38 Special round but there were not many of these departmentally approved revolvers floating around out there so that was somewhat unique. There were all manner of holsters designed for the police revolver back then. The clamshell (which opened similar to an oceanic bi-valve), the widow-maker (a full leather flap covering the entire pistol itself), the Border Patrol (which had a single retention device and allowed total purchase on the stocks prior to drawing) and the holster I was issued which was a break-front (The front portion of the holster had powerful spring clips which secured the revolver.) Each of these holsters required slightly different techniques in order to bring the revolver into play. Most Officers settled for the holster they were issued so after about twenty years on the streets the leather was pretty well shop-worn. In fact most probably the only thing holding the holster together in the first place was all the black polish which had hardened to a consistency of fiberglass.

You could tell a ‘shooter’ on the department by the stocks on their pistols. They were either Fuzzy Farrant’s or John Hurst’s made of wood and custom fit to a degree. Our issued revolver came with a one piece rubber stock which fit the hand terribly. Hogue grips were rubber but had finger grooves which were slightly more accommodating. Round speed loaders were either the twist mechanism or a plunger model from Safariland which could really translate into speed when the right technique was employed. Speed strips were either flimsy rubber or spring steel (which was what we were issued) and took some real technique to work properly. In other words, magazines were something we could only dream about.

The prevailing thought back then was that police Officers could not be trained to handle semi-autos safely or effectively. There may have been some truth in this. Despite all of our revolvers being neutered (double action only) there were plenty of negligent discharges to go around. One could (and perhaps still can) observe bullet holes in lockers, ceilings, gas pumps, car trunks and other bullet absorbing structures around the divisions. Even the upper combat range at the Elysian Park Academy had some really errant bullets strikes way, way above the targets. Squirrels were definitely not safe when our men in blue took to qualifying.

While the bad guys had semi-autos and out gunned us on occasion we dutifully stuck to the revolver. It was not a level playing field by any means. Long after the semi-auto was approved some of the old-timers stuck to the revolver. It was a symbol of time and tenure on the job. Essentially it was “Look at the pistol junior… it’s old school when police work was really police work… something you’ll never know about.” Perhaps thirty years from now when less lethal plasma devices are all the rage those of you with semi-autos will be saying “These are bullets kid… ever see one before?”

All the best ‘Uncle Scotty’; #21725 LAPD 1976 (When serial numbers were not as long as Social Security numbers)