Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
While polymer-frame semi-automatics dominate the handgun market, especially the defensive handgun market, the revolver is far from extinct. The revolver still offers numerous advantages to the average civilian concerned with self-defense. With revolvers, we gain simplicity, ease of manual operation, power, and advantages in close-quarters fighting. These strengths make the revolver a capable personal defense weapon.
Today, we are going to look at the best revolvers in the personal defense market.
Table of contents
S&W 432 UC
My favorite personal defense revolver and the gun I most commonly pocket carry is the S&W 432 UC. The S&W 432 UC, or Ultimate Carry, is a Lipsey’s Exclusive and was made with input from revolver experts Bryan Eastridge and Darryl Bolke. The 432 is a .32 caliber revolver, which may turn a lot of people off, but give me a chance to explain.
This isn’t your grandpappy’s .32. It’s the .32 H&R Magnum. The .32 H&R Magnum is a potent little .32 caliber round that flies fast and hits hard. It penetrates deeply and can even expand. It’s adequate for self-defense, offering light recoil and allowing for fast follow-up shots. I can fire six rounds from the draw into an A-zone-sized target in 2.07 seconds. Oh yeah, you get six rounds instead of five in the J-frame layout.
Beyond that, the UC configuration offers a dovetailed rear sight combined with an XS front sight. The sights, combined with an awesome trigger, make the revolver easy to shoot accurately. The G10 grips are fantastic and offer a full-sized grip without additional bulk. They provide a high, secure grip that helps tame what little recoil there is, and they’re cut for deep concealment.
The UC Series also has an “Endurance Package” internally, including titanium pins, which can beef up durability for extended shooting. Plus, these often ship without the internal lock. The 432 UC and the entire UC line are designed to be carried, shot, and trusted when it counts. It’s an excellent series of revolvers, especially for those who are more used to shooting automatics.
Taurus 856 Defender TORO
I’m a sucker for revolvers with two things: good sights and three-inch barrels. The combination of those two makes me a very happy revolver shooter. The Taurus 856 Defender TORO mated both of those features into a capable personal defense platform. TORO in Taurus speak means it’s optics-ready. That’s right, we are sticking a red dot on your revolver.
If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out. It makes tracking between shots intuitive and fast, especially since there is no slide to reciprocate. The dot remains stationary between shots. This is a game-changer for speed and precision under stress. It takes a bit of practice, and the dot sits a bit high, but it’s a capable tool once one has learned to wield it.
Then there’s the 3-inch barrel. That extra inch isn’t just for show; it boosts your velocity, which means better performance from jacketed hollow point ammo over your typical snub nose. It gives you a longer sight radius for better accuracy with the irons as well. The Defender uses a compact frame, but it’s a six-shot .38 Special, and that extra round is a nice advantage.
The full-length ejector rod is another smart touch, ensuring quick and positive reloads – no fumbling with spent brass. The grips might be thin for maximum concealment, and they work with speed loaders. With that said, the thin nature will wear your hand out when shooting hot ammo.
The Taurus 856 Defender TORO isn’t your typical revolver; it’s a modern, capable, and surprisingly shootable personal defense tool.
Ruger LCR 9mm
When most folks think defensive revolver, they jump to .38 Special, maybe .357 Mag. But 9mm in a wheelgun? Yeah, it sounds odd, but the Ruger LCR in 9mm makes for a very competent concealed carry and personal defense revolver. The LCR series is plenty proven and represents a modern option for the discerning shooter.
The ability to use 9mm ammunition is a huge benefit. It’s cheap, it’s everywhere, and modern defensive loads are highly effective. That means you can afford to practice, and you should practice. You can also use low-recoil ammo without reliability issues and generally find a load that works best for both you and the gun. However, I don’t recommend steel ammo. It tends to expand and get stuck in the cylinder.
Here’s the catch: you need moon clips. Since 9mm is a rimless cartridge, those little steel clips hold your rounds for reliable extraction and ejection. I find they make reloads lightning fast, faster than even a speedloader. They are also a bit fragile and can be easily bent when unloading.
The LCR trigger is the best stock double-action revolver trigger on the market. For a double-action-only revolver, it’s surprisingly smooth and consistent. I do wish the LCR series would introduce a proper rear sight; that would make it an over-the-moon option for me.
If you want a reliable, modern revolver chambered in the most popular defensive cartridge around, the LCR 9mm is a serious contender.
S&W 640 Pro Series
I’m admittedly not a huge fan of snubby .357 Magnums. I feel the recoil isn’t worth the extra velocity, but to suggest the best personal defense revolvers, I’ll put my bias aside. S&W put some real thought into making this little snubbie a fighting gun.
As mentioned, it’s chambered in .357 Magnum. This means you can feed it any .38 Special, including +P, and it’ll eat it up. The all-stainless steel construction means it’s got some heft – around 23 ounces – to help mitigate that snubby .357 Magnum recoil. This isn’t a scandium featherweight that’ll beat your hand senseless.
What exactly makes this a Pro series gun? You’re getting dovetailed tritium night sights. That’s huge to me. Most snubbies give you rudimentary gutters or tiny fixed bumps. Here, you’ve got actual sights you can see in any light condition, and if you need to, you can even drift them for windage. S&W also cut the cylinder for moon clips, which, while not necessary, makes it easy for fast reloads and consistent extraction and ejection.
It’s a double-action-only (DAO) design with a concealed hammer. This is essential for a true carry revolver. Simple, snag-free draw, every single time. The only thing I’m not impressed by is the grips.
They are the simplest, cheapest grip S&W could toss on there. Why call it the Pro Series and use the cheapest plastic grips on the market, especially for a .357 Magnum, which will try and fight to get out of your hand. Toss some Hogue grips on and you’re ready to rock and roll.
S&W 43C
There are plenty of people who think .22LR has no place in self-defense, and I get why. It has some compromises, but with the right ammo, it can penetrate deep enough to reach the vitals. It’s not optimum, but folks with weak hands deserve good personal defense revolvers, too. The S&W 43C offers you a light, handy, and easy-to-shoot revolver.
This little revolver is ridiculously light; it’s 11 ounces thanks to the Scandium alloy frame. It practically disappears in a pocket or on your ankle and never feels like an anchor on the ankle or like it’s going to pull your pants down. That light weight makes it easy to carry, and a gun you carry is always better than the one sitting in your safe.
It’s a .22LR, so I’m not going to pretend it’s a .38 Special. We do get eight rounds, which is three more than most comparable .38 Special J-frames. That’s a serious edge in capacity, and you might need it with a .22LR. The gun uses an enclosed hammer. That means no external hammer to snag on your clothes when you’re drawing it in a hurry. Simple, snag-free, always ready.
Recoil? Minimal, bordering on non-existent, even with its featherlight weight. That allows for rapid, accurate follow-up shots. For someone who can’t handle the snap of a .38 or the slide manipulation of a semi-auto, this revolver is a godsend. Pair it with high-quality defensive .22LR ammo, and you’ve got a highly concealable, highly reliable defensive tool that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend for the right user. It’s not for everyone, but for those it’s for, it’s pretty much perfect.
Ruger GP100 7 Shot
My primary focus for personal defense revolvers has been concealed carry, but what if you wanted to defend your home with a revolver? There are plenty of large-frame, hard-hitting guns, but a personal favorite for me is the Ruger GP100 in .357 Magnum, specifically the model with the seven-shot cylinder, but the six-shot isn’t a slouch. I’m just a capacity fan.
You still get all the power of the .357 Magnum, which is a premier combat revolver cartridge, balancing power and controllability. And yes, you can feed it .38 Special, which is perfect for practice.
The GP100 series is famous for its legendary durability. This thing is over-engineered in the best possible way. The triple-locking cylinder, the robust frame – you can run thousands of full-power .357 loads through this gun, and it’ll just eat ’em up. I’ve seen these things take a beating and just keep going. That level of reliability is critical, whether you’re carrying it for personal defense or as a woods gun.
Models often come with excellent adjustable sights, sometimes a high-visibility fiber optic rides up front, which makes getting on target fast. The trigger, while still a double-action revolver trigger, is typically smooth and manageable right out of the box, letting you place those shots accurately. The weight, often around 40 ounces for the 4.2-inch model, helps mitigate the .357’s recoil, making it surprisingly shootable.
The big, beefy revolver could be carried, but it’s not the most carry-friendly gun. Inside your home or in the woods, the GP100 shines.
Kimber K6S
Kimber, primarily known for their 1911s, stepped into the revolver game a few years back and didn’t just make a S&W clone and call it a day. I think they stepped in and introduced a revolver with an excellent set of features that deserves a close look for personal defense. It tilts to the concealed carry side, but isn’t a pocket snubby. It’s a bit and a bit heavy for that role.
One of the big advantages of the K6S is that it does manage to maintain a fairly compact size while still packing six rounds of .357. My personal preference would be the K6s with the three-inch barrel. I think .357 Magnum through a 3-inch barrel makes a lot more sense and is a lot easier to control without the flash and concussion of a snub nose. Luckily, you can get a two-inch barrel too, if that’s what you want.
Kimber also nailed the trigger pull. It’s incredibly smooth, consistent, and lighter than most factory double-action revolver triggers you’ll find. This makes it far more shootable, allowing for quicker, more accurate follow-up shots under stress. I was genuinely impressed with how clean it broke.
Beyond that, the K6S boasts actual useful sights – a rarity on snubbies. Many models come with real three-dot, sometimes even tritium night sights, that you can see and use for precision aiming. I’m a big fan of a proper rear sight, even on my concealed carry revolvers. Most K6s models feature an enclosed hammer, but they also produce various exposed hammer models.
Kimber makes plenty of options for the picky revolver aficionado. While Kimber might be a company known for their automatics, the K6 series are excellent personal defense revolvers.
READ MORE HERE: Choosing Between Semi-Automatic and Revolvers
The Personal Defense Revolver
Revolvers aren’t just relics from a bygone era. Modern revolvers have evolved, offering better triggers and useful sights while maintaining the classic strengths of the revolver. They provide simplicity, consistency, and reliability that still resonates with folks interested in personal defense. The best defensive firearm is the one you train with, understand, and can confidently put rounds on target with. For many, that’s still a wheelgun.
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Travis Pike is a dedicated firearms writer, a Second Amendment Advocate, and a subject matter enthusiast for all things firearms. He is an amateur competitor with dreams of one day not coming in 4th place at a local defensive match. If he’s not putting text to word processor, he’s likely spending time with family, enjoying Florida’s Nature Coast, or drinking hipster beer. As the resident Florida man he has a preference for obscure guns and calibers.
Experience
- Hunter – Long time deer and hog hunter in the swamps of Florida
- Instructor – Volunteers to teach basic firearm safety classes to kids, adults, and cats
- Wannabe Competitor – Has recently dipped his toes into competitive shooting and has happily discovered an expensive hobby.
- Marine – Served five years with the infantry before transferring to the First Civ Div.
As a S&W “J” frame fan, and now a “senior shooter”, I read over and over about the enclosed hammer model “J” frame size revolvers. The model 642 versus the 638 debates, as example, is where senior shooters should ignore the “experts”. An ultra-light DA only revolver may be too hard for almost anyone to shoot accurately. With current ammo prices, the level of shooting required to become proficient is cost prohibit.
Wish some of those “experts” would contact some average sooters, and then have them shoot a model 642, and then a model 36. Same ammo in both guns, and at targets at (7) yards. Wonder if they see the same results as I have?
What about the Taurus .327 Defender T.O.R.O.? .327 Federal Magnum power, ability to fire 5 different rounds (.327mag, .32H&R mag, .32Long, .32S&W, and .32acp), a 3 inch barrel, and the option to add an optic with the factory-supplied plate. My personal daily-carry and currently holstered and on my person right now.
Also, the Ruger SP-100 is a fantastic choice, available in a variety of calibers and barrel lengths, particularly in .327mag with barrel lengths ranging from 2.25″ to 4.20″.
Notice that both of these I am showing in .327mag (and its 4 different sister rounds) for the purpose of giving performance in the .357 range while giving significantly reduced recoil.
Most people scoff at the .32Long, but it is easily available in wadcutter format. Gel penetration rivals that of 9mm with substantially less recoil and noise. This is what I use in my EDC.
And, I have a Henry Big Boy Steel in .327mag that, even with the hardest hitting range of rounds I could find, has about the same recoil as my Mossberg Plinkster loaded with typical .22lr. And please note, my Henry will also fire .32H&R mag rounds.
In my own humble opinion this combination of qualities makes the .32 family of cartridges the superior self-defense revolver round, even considering the .22lr, the .357mag, and especially the .38spc.
There is a reason that the .327 Federal Magnum is making a comeback.
Y’all have fun.
My Ruger Wiley Clapp GP100 would be my personal defensive revolver. The only thing it lacks is that extra hole to get 7 instead of 6.
Well done Travis, thank you, my own favorite are GP-100 and Kimber K6S. I will nevertheless add 2 comments. First I have no interest in factory 38 spl of any flavor, having seen it “at work” myself with “popular recommanded loads” ; way too long for the threat to stop and on another occasion couldn’t penetrate a windshield at point blank to get rid of another threat. Second, moon clips (9mm, 10mm, 45 acp in revolver) are very likely to provoque loading failure under high stress encounter. I have read some experiences of Border Patrol agents who have been issued 45 acp revolvers before WW2 and there was not much love for this kind of “platform”. My 2 cents
I’ve carried several different snubbies over the decades and in my opinion the S&W 432 UC is one of the finest ever made. The Lipsey sights are very easy to pick up, the trigger pull is smooth and crisp, and lite recoil. Plus 6 rounds instead of 5 within the same overall size. Ballistics have improved over the years and the .32 mag is very capable of getting the job done. A gut shot is definitely going to change a thugs agenda.
The only issue I had was with the grips. Nicely made, but they didn’t fit my hand very well. Too thick and I wasn’t crazy about the non-stippled texture either, and I have large hands. So I ordered a set of Hamer Forge Low Horn boot grips that fit like a glove. Non-slippery texture, retains the clearance for a speed loader, and still doesn’t get hung up drawing from a pocket holster.