Author: Mike

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mike Wood is a bonafide revolver nut, a certified law enforcement instructor in handgun, shotgun, patrol rifle, less-lethal, and diversionary device disciplines, and the author of Newhall Shooting: A Tactical Analysis, the definitive study of the infamous, 1970 California Highway Patrol shootout in Newhall, California. Mike wrote the "Tactical Analysis" column at Police1.com for 8 years, and enjoys teaching both armed citizens and law enforcement officers.

The Janz Revolver: The Best Gun You’ve Never Heard Of

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines serendipity as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”  Serendipity occurs when you unexpectedly bump into a long-lost friend, or find a $20 bill under the sofa cushion when you’re fishing for the nickel that just fell between the cracks.

Serendipity also occurs at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show, when you blindly stumble into a quiet, non-descript display booth, and discover the world’s most highly-engineered and precisely-manufactured wheelgun—The Janz Revolver. Continue reading “The Janz Revolver: The Best Gun You’ve Never Heard Of”

The Aker Model 160A IWB Holster

I didn’t want to like this holster.

It wasn’t a question of workmanship or materials. It was obvious from the start that this holster was made of good stuff and had been assembled with care and attention to detail. This was not one of those holsters (and there are many out there) that missed its calling as a chew toy for a large dog. Continue reading “The Aker Model 160A IWB Holster”

DA Revolver Function Check

If you read the field report on the K6s, then you know that one of our test guns had a firing pin failure that rendered the gun inoperable. The RevolverGuy who owns this gun detected the problem during a routine inspection and function check, and it’s an awfully good thing that he did, because the gun was being carried as a defensive arm. Nobody wants their gun to go “click” when it should go “boom.” That’s the kind of surprise that we’d all like to avoid. Continue reading “DA Revolver Function Check”

A 2018 RevolverGuy Christmas Story

The crunching sound seemed to echo for a second when his boots came to a stop at the edge of the dry wash. He took in a deep breath of the cold desert air, and it burned his dry nose a bit, reminding him to reach for his canteen and take a swig. Continue reading “A 2018 RevolverGuy Christmas Story”

RevolverGuy Versus “That Guy”

You guys are probably with family, or have been recently. While we love our families, we’re also, dare I say, “stuck with” them? Here at RevolverGuy we can commiserate and empathize. Trust us, we’ve been there. When “That Guy” shows up around the punch bowl, we RevolverGuys all moan and look for the exit. But sometimes, we’re not fast enough, and the conversation usually sounds something like this: Continue reading “RevolverGuy Versus “That Guy””

Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part II

In Part I of this series, we discussed the birth of the breakfront holster with the Berns-Martin design, as well as the development of competing designs from popular police holster makers Hoyt and Safety Speed.

We now pick up the breakfront saga where we left off  . . .

Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part II”

Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part I

While some of the nation’s oldest uniformed police departments trace their roots back to the mid-1800s, it wasn’t until the early 20th Century that the majority of American police sidearms moved from tunic pockets to openly-carried duty holsters. The earliest rigs were generally substandard in materials and design, and it wasn’t long before the search for the perfect police duty holster occupied the minds of uniformed lawmen from coast to coast.

Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part I”

Kimber K6s Holster: The DeSantis L-Gat Slide

I’ve always treated my snub revolvers as pocket guns, but when the time came to review the Kimber K6s DC, there was something about it that screamed for a belt holster. It was probably the 6th round that got me thinking about it as a legitimate “belt gun,” but the excellent sights and trigger helped seal the deal. Even though it’s a small-frame gun, the K6s shoots like a medium-frame snub, and it deserved a good belt rig.

Continue reading “Kimber K6s Holster: The DeSantis L-Gat Slide”

The Kimber K6s DC: Notes From The Field

The Kimber K6s revolver was introduced at the 2016 SHOT Show, and while I got to handle it in the Kimber booth, I didn’t get to shoot it until the following year’s Media Day at the Range. That first cylinder full convinced me that I was holding a very special gun, and would need to spend more time with it in the future. Continue reading “The Kimber K6s DC: Notes From The Field”