Author: Mike

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mike Wood is a bonafide revolver nut, a handgun, shotgun, and patrol rifle-certified law enforcement firearms instructor, and the author of Newhall Shooting: A Tactical Analysis, the definitive study of the infamous, 1970 California Highway Patrol shootout in Newhall, California. He also wrote the "Tactical Analysis" column at Police1.com for 8 years.

Barrel “Clocking” Issues

I was working a shift at the gun club recently, and one of my friends was eager to show me his new revolver. As he was talking me through the details of the new gun, I noticed that the rear sight was pushed far over to one side, and my friend explained that the correction had been necessary to get the gun to shoot straight.

Being a RevolverGuy, I have to admit I was a little suspicious. Continue reading “Barrel “Clocking” Issues”

Comparing Revolver and Autopistol Reliability

My attention was recently directed to an article that was ostensibly a review of a one-day revolver class at ITTS (which I had taken myself, back in 2019), but drifted into a conversation about revolver reliability. The author, who  appears to be new to handguns and shooting, was rather shocked to see 5 of the 14 revolvers in the class (including their own) “had malfunctioned so irreparably that they were unusable” before they managed to get through even 200 rounds. Continue reading “Comparing Revolver and Autopistol Reliability”

The .38 Special Hydra-Shok Deep Journey

We recently discussed the ins and outs of .38 Special ammunition for snubby revolvers here in these pages, and described the challenges involved with trying to make the most special of revolver cartridges perform from abbreviated barrels, which rob velocity and energy from the bullet. As a moderate energy level cartridge, the .38 Special doesn’t have a surplus of energy that it can afford to lose, and when you shoot it in the small guns, it can lose just enough energy to have a dramatic effect on terminal performance. Continue reading “The .38 Special Hydra-Shok Deep Journey”

Dud Lessons

I encountered this dud round in the middle of a shooting competition at the range recently.  Even though it’s from one of those bottom feeders—Eek!—it provides a good opportunity to make a few observations that are universal in nature, and not related to any particular weapon type.

Continue reading “Dud Lessons”

K6s Firing Pin Update

We previously reported about firing pin failures in the excellent Kimber K6s revolver. This situation was troubling, because it represented a safety risk for the defensive user, and also risked hurting the reputation of this strong design.

We’ve continued to remain engaged with Kimber on this issue, and we’re exceptionally happy to report that the problem has been resolved. Continue reading “K6s Firing Pin Update”