Small 9mm Revolver - Last week I posted some thoughts on the age-old question of whether or not revolvers are still relevant for self-defense in the world of reliable and affordable revolvers. I close with a promise to delve into the topic over the next few months, which will take the form of Wheel Gun Wednesday. Every Wednesday from now until… well, whenever I feel like quitting, our lounge theme will be about the role of personal safety. If you're not a fan of revolvers, you'll have to wait until I do a Glocktober or something. In the meantime, watch Dirty Harry a few times and try to enjoy the ride.
This year's SHOT show didn't have an impressive showing in the camouflage department. There were a few types of old releases (some of which will be covered later this week), but almost nothing on the design of compact weapons. One special case came from an unexpected source; German arms manufacturer Kort. They are known for their high-end range of revolvers with price tags that are usually no less than $3,000 and often much, much higher.
Small 9mm Revolver
A week before SHOT began, Court announced a new affordable revolver, estimated to be priced between $900 and $1,000. The Korth Sky Marshal is a 6-shot 9mm revolver that, unlike most 9mm revolvers, does not require moon clips.
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The 9mm cartridge is designed for semi-auto, so it doesn't have the large arc found in standard revolver calibers like the .38 Special. Aside from that arc, the 9mm cartridge needs a little extra help if it's intended to be used in a revolver. Most 9mm revolvers include a "lip" in the cylinder chambers to properly seat the cartridge. This bow grips the front or “muzzle” of the 9mm shell to hold it in place – the same principle used in the chambering of many 9mm semi-automatic pistols.
Look closely in the chambers and you will see where it has been reduced to a small diameter to hold the 9mm case in the muzzle.
Another challenge is abstraction, and this is where Cort is a bit different. The traditional solution for most revolvers that fire semi-automatic cartridges is to use moon clips - small round pieces of sheet metal with holes cut out to clip the cartridges together at the base. Most of the time they work very well, but if the clamps are even slightly twisted or bent, they can prevent the cylinder from turning. It also tends to be very painful to remove the spent shell from the clips and insert new rounds.
Instead of moon clips, the Korth has small suction loops built into the ejector rod. These spring-loaded tabs fit into a groove in the base of the cartridge when the chamber is loaded. When it's time to release the spent shells, the small lugs push the shells out of the chamber when the shooter depresses the ejector rod.
Best 9mm & .45 Acp Revolvers
The Sky Marshal is not the first revolver to work this way. Smith & Wesson came up with a very similar solution in 1980 with their Model 547. Unfortunately, the Smith was expensive to make and didn't sell very well, so they discontinued it after only five years.
Recently, budget revolver maker Charter Arms released the 9mm Pitbull with the same type of pull lugs on the ejector rod. Based on the scattered reports and reviews I've seen, Pitbull doesn't seem like a credible quote.
So what makes Cort think they will be more successful with this idea than S&W or Charter Arms? I'm not entirely sure, but one thing they did differently than the Sky Marshal was build the revolver from the ground up with the 9mm cartridge in mind.
As far as I know, all other revolvers designed to fire semi-automatic cartridges - with or without moon clips - are based on existing designs. From a performance perspective, this shouldn't be a problem, but it does mean that these turns are often larger than they should be.
Best 9mm Pistols
The overall length of the 9mm cartridge is about 0.4 inches shorter than the .38 Special and almost half an inch shorter than the .357 Magnum. Using a shorter cartridge allows you to use a shorter barrel and therefore a shorter frame. In the past, gun manufacturers didn't find it cost effective to go back to the drawing board and redesign everything from scratch for a 9mm revolver that may or may not sell.
But if you're from Corta, you can pay $1,000 per gun to recoup some of the R&D costs. And that's exactly what they did. The Sky Marshal is almost the same size as the S&W K frame, compressed in the middle to be very short. The end result looks odd, but in theory it should make the Sky Marshal more comfortable to carry than a traditional revolver with the same ammo capacity and barrel length.
I like this way of building a 9mm revolver in theory, but I'm not ready to drop eleven Benjamins just yet. First, I want to know if it actually works. I got to shoot a few cylinders at the Cort SHOT range and it fired those 12 rounds just fine, but I've heard the same isn't the case for everyone else who went to try the Sky Marshal. Did Court staff properly clean and store the gun at the residence? Did the shooters know what they were doing? I'm not sure, but some additional testing seems warranted.
In addition to the performance issues, the Sky Marshal isn't exactly designed for concealed carry. For starters, there are two picatinny rails mounted on the right side of the frame. Yes, they are part of the frame, not removable. So unless you're crazy with a hacksaw or Korth has another display under the rails, your Sky Marshal has extra built-in spikes to attach to the armor.
Model # 69920
And speaking of deals, there's also an open hammer. There's no good reason for a self-defense revolver to have an exposed hammer, and especially not one with a trigger as light and smooth as the Sky Marshal. On the other hand, Cort is certainly not the only revolver maker who insists on this practice, and they at least had the decency to move the hammer bar closer.
Then there is the question of holding. It is great. I'm not even talking about the disgusting finger grooves on the rubber Hogue grip panels. When it comes down to it, you can always touch them up with a Dremel. But the actual frame holding part is another matter. Designing the gun shorter overall was a big step, but they didn't do anything to reduce the mass of such a difficult to conceal part of the gun.
I attribute all of these factors to the fact that no one at Cort's company has ever carried a concealed handgun, nor do I know anyone who has. I don't mean this as a cruel knock on their product - I just think it's true. None of the Kort representatives at SHOT seem to speak English well, and I'd say it's unlikely that any of them have a good understanding of the American concealed carry market.
And that's a shame, because there's a lot to like here. At just under 20 ounces, the Korth would be easy to carry around all day. Rebound is very manageable. The double action trigger is amazing. The scopes aren't my favorite style, but there are enough of them and they're easy to use in good light. With a shortened frame length for a 6-shot revolver, the Sky Marshal may give me a reason to want a 9mm wheelgun for something other than the sideways ballistic advantage the caliber offers over the .38 +P. But with Sky Marshal in its current form, it is doubtful that the force will be possible. It's Tire Wednesday! Today's review is part of a series of articles focusing on the role of the handgun in modern self-defense.
The Smith & Wesson 547: Ahead Of Its Time?
Throughout this series, I've talked about the techniques, tools, and practicalities of carrying a revolver in today's world of affordable and reliable semi-autos. But another popular issue that I haven't paid much attention to is lightweight compact revolvers.
It is not dangerous. While snubs are the most popular wheel guns today, they are also largely responsible for the negative impression many shooters have. Difficult to control and shoot accurately. In defensive situations, they create withdrawal and almost without exception have terrifying visions. I would like to focus more on revolvers with a larger size and height that are both fun to shoot and easy to shoot well.
But if there's one exception to the rule of user reliability in the lightweight snubnose category, it's the Ruger LCR series. When the first .38
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