The Day a Crime Spree Ended in Hardy, Arkansas . . .

. . . Thanks To Two Brave Men, With a Rock and a .44 Special

The Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce (DJCC) is an organization of young professionals who are engaged in networking and community involvement. They have supported the city through numerous events and activities, since 1918.

One of the Chamber’s activities is especially dear to law enforcement and the law-abiding citizens they serve, because it memorializes the February 7, 1951 line-of-duty death of Dallas Police Department Officer Willis Wood “Johnny” Sides, who was slain just 21 days after graduating from the police academy, as fifth in his class. Continue reading “The Day a Crime Spree Ended in Hardy, Arkansas . . .”

All About The .38 Special +P and .38 Special +P+

The most common question about revolver ammunition right now is, “where can I find some?” The demand-induced shortage which began in 2020 is still very much with us, and finding some ammunition—of any sort, as long as it’s the right caliber—is foremost on the buyer’s mind.

However, when we’re not in the middle of an ammunition crisis, RevolverGuys can be more particular about choosing bullet weights, styles, brands and velocities.  As they ponder the available choices out there, one of the most common questions that arises concerns the “+P” and “+P+” flavors of .38 Special ammunition. RevolverGuys—particularly new ones–will commonly ask, “can I shoot .38 Special +P (or +P+) ammo in my gun?”

Continue reading “All About The .38 Special +P and .38 Special +P+”

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”

The Smith & Wesson L-Frame Story

With a company history that dates back to 1852, Smith & Wesson has seen a lot of milestones and has delivered a host of classic designs to the shooting public. Some of those favorites have come and gone from the Smith & Wesson catalog over the years, but the ever-popular L-Frame family of revolvers remains, and continues to sell strong for the team from Springfield, Massachusetts. Continue reading “The Smith & Wesson L-Frame Story”

Fighting Leather: The Cross Draw

In a previous installments of the “Fighting Leather” series, we looked at some landmark police duty holster designs, such as the Jordan Border Patrol style, the clamshell, and the various front break designs from makers like Berns-Martin, Hoyt, Bianchi, Safety Speed, Rogers and Safariland.  Today, let’s look at another popular option for 20th Century police–the cross draw. Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Cross Draw”

Photo Essay: Lawmen, Actors, and Gunleather

When gunleather designer and maker–and ace “Holstorian”–Red Nichols  shared these images with RevolverGuy for our review of his magnificent book, we couldn’t use all of them in our story. They were too neat to scrap though, so we thought you’d enjoy seeing them in a standalone feature. Continue reading “Photo Essay: Lawmen, Actors, and Gunleather”