Guns: S&W Model 15 review - The Riot Revolver

Guns and ammunition are getting awfully hard to come by these days, but you might be able to find a used revolver like this S&W Model 15-7 on a store shelf. I picked mine up from a local gun store clearance table years ago for $250, including a leather duty holster, two HKS speedloaders, and a speedloader belt pouch. I thought it was a screaming deal back then, and recent events have only reinforced that belief.

It might seem silly to pack only six rounds of .38 in this era of mob violence, but this Smith still has a few advantages over a modern semiautomatic. The manual of arms is easy, so even your friend-who-went-shooting-with-you-a-couple-times can use it, should you need to loan it out. .38 Special is common enough to be sold in Walmart, but just uncommon enough that there might be a box or two left when all the 9mm is gone. Finally, while there are some people who get the willies from seeing any gun, using an old beater revolver to defend yourself is a lot less likely to get you on national news, as we saw in St. Louis and Kenosha.

The disadvantages of using an old double-action revolver for self-defense? Well, even at +P pressure, .38 Special ranks near the bottom of acceptable defensive rounds, and the gun only holds six of them. Another problem is the heavy trigger - though it's great from a safety standpoint, it increases the risk you will yank or jerk the sights off target. Finally, there's no way to attach a light, so if you ever have to defend yourself, you'll be lining up a black rear sight with a black front sight on what will likely be some dingy street at night.

I thought the S&W Model 15 acquitted itself well at the range - while the outside is scratched to hell from spending too much time in some prison guard's holster, the internals were well-cared for, which showed in the groups. 

At 15 yards, with the right ammo, the S&W 15-7 is plenty accurate:

Don't get me wrong. I'm no Luddite, and I fully appreciate the effectiveness of the ARs and GLOCKs of the world. There's a reason cops don't use revolvers anymore. But when those cops aren't around and your street is getting firebombed, an old dog like the S&W 15-7 can still bite.