Pistols are more popular, but wheelguns are still effective tools for personal protection. Here are eight top self-defense revolvers for 2025.
by Brad Fitzpatrick
In the early 2000s, I spent several summers working as a range officer in Ohio. This was shortly after Ohio began offering concealed carry licenses, and firearms classes were filled with new gun owners who had little experience with firearms. Many showed up to class with brand-new semi-auto 9mm or .40 S&W pistols they’d just purchased, and much of our time on the range was occupied teaching basic manual pistol operation skills and troubleshooting function issues like double-feeds. The guy who ran the classes was a former LE handgun training instructor with years of experience, and I remember seeing him wiping gun oil off his hands one afternoon as I sat down to eat a ham sandwich on my lunch break.
“It would be so much simpler if these shooters all bought revolvers,” he told me.
“Yeah,” I said, “revolvers are great defensive guns for new shooters.”
He already had the fridge door open and didn’t hesitate when he turned to me and said, “Revolvers are great for anyone. Who are you kidding?”
It was a rebuff of sort, a kind of what-do-you-know-kid moment with a seasoned veteran speaking hard truths in the cramped shooting range instructor cafeteria, but I’ve never forgotten that message. Revolvers are great for anyone.
We tend to think of revolvers as old-fashioned guns or simple tools for beginning shooters, but a well-trained revolver shooter can handle themselves every bit as well as a semi-auto owner in most situations. Sure, a revolver has less capacity and takes longer to reload, but the statistical reality is that most gun fights are quick and close encounters, and in those circumstances, revolvers work well.
Here’s a look at the eight best self-defense revolvers of 2025.
Smith Wesson 632 Ultimate Carry Revolver Titanium
Smith & Wesson’s J-Frame revolvers are simply outstanding, but the new Ultimate Carry .32 H&R Magnum is the best of the bunch in my opinion. Unlike its five-shot .38 Special cousins, the .32 H&R Ultimate Carry Revolver holds six rounds. The .32 H&R Magnum has long been lauded as the most underrated round for carry revolvers, offering modest recoil combined with sufficient energy, and the UCR Titanium model weighs a mere 13 ounces, so it’s easy to carry IWB or even in a pocket holster. The Smith & Wesson is outfitted with an XS green ring/tritium dot front sight and a no-snag black U-notch rear sight — the perfect setup for fast, accurate, close-range shots. Smith & Wesson got everything right on this ultra-light double-action defense revolver. MSRP: $825.
Taurus 66 Combat
The 66 Combat is one of my favorite revolvers to arrive on the market in recent memory. It’s designed from the ground up to be a defense revolver and comes with a tuned DAO trigger, spurless hammer and an unfluted cylinder that holds seven rounds of .357 Magnum/.38 Special ammunition. The overmolded finger groove grip helps keep the gun firmly planted when firing hot .357 Magnum loads. If you prefer something lighter recoiling, switch to standard pressure .38 Special defensive loads and this 36.5-ounce wheelgun is a real pussycat.
My favorite feature of this gun, though, is that it is machined to accept Taurus’ TORO RMSc optic plates (although you do have to purchase the plate separately). That makes it easy to mount a red dot on this revolver, and that makes the Taurus an even better defensive handgun. MSRP: $973.
Ruger LCR/LCRx
Ruger’s LCR/LCRx revolvers are light, reliable, well-constructed, and available in a variety of chamberings ranging from .22 LR to .357 Magnum, including 9mm Luger (with moon clips) and .327 Federal Magnum. There’s also an option for a fully enclosed hammer (LCR) or exposed hammer with spur (LCRx). My favorite of the bunch is the 13.5-ounce .38 Special +P version.
This revolver is light and easy to conceal, and it comes with a fairly good DA trigger and a Hogue Tamer overmolded Monogrip that allows you to control the gun even when firing hot defensive ammo. I’ve also shot the 9mm LCRx. I found that gun to be easy to load and unload thanks to the included moon clips. Accuracy from that revolver was very good in both SA and DA modes. LCR/LCRx revolvers have been in the Ruger lineup for several years, but that’s because they have remained such a popular option for concealed carry and home defense. MSRP: $549 to $859.
Charter Arms Undercover
The Undercover is a prototypical “snubbie” revolver that’s made in America and chambered in .38 Special. It’s a basic gun with gutter-style sights, a two-inch barrel, five-round capacity, and rubber grips. Yet despite the Undercover’s basic design, these are robust and reliable guns that can be counted on to perform when needed. I appreciate the Undercover’s austere design. It’s nothing particularly fancy, but it’s an affordable and well-built gun that’s fun to shoot and surprisingly accurate. I’ve tested a handful of Charter Arms guns and have never had any reliability issues. The 17-ounce Undercover is light enough and small enough to carry all day, and its black nitride finish is durable and will stand up to years of hard use. With an MSRP under $500, this revolver is also an exceptional value.
Smith & Wesson 69 Combat Magnum
The 69 Combat Magnum is chambered in .44 Mag and is built on Smith & Wesson’s L-Frame. Traditionally, Smith & Wesson uses the larger N-Frame for their .44 Magnum revolvers like the 629, so the 69 is smaller, lighter, and easier to carry and conceal than other .44s. Since it will handle full-power .44 Magnum loads, this gun is suitable for stopping large predators like grizzlies, making it a fantastic backcountry bear revolver. Recoil and muzzle blast are fearsome with full-power .44 Mag loads, but the beauty of the 69 Combat Magnum is that it’s perfectly capable of firing mild .44 Special self-defense ammo. Loaded with .44 Special ammo like Federal’s new Punch load (180-grain bullet at 815 fps), the 69 Combat is a soft-shooting revolver that’s also suitable for stopping any two-legged threat you may encounter. The L-Frame limits capacity to five rounds, but that’s a fair tradeoff for the 69’s compact size. MSRP: $999.
Kimber K6s
Kimber shocked the firearm world when they launched the K6s. Best known for their hotrod 1911s, Kimber was stepping into uncharted waters when they released a wheelgun, but the K6s is a solid performer with some class-leading features. The all-steel model with two-inch barrel weighs just 23-ounces, which is ideal for a concealable .357 Mag because it’s light enough to carry all day and still enjoyable to shoot at the range. Everything about the K6s revolver family is first-rate, from the fit and finish to the usable sights and the comfortable grips.
My favorite feature of these guns, though, is their trigger. The DAO trigger breaks around 10 pounds, but it’s smooth and stack-free. Most revolver triggers take some time to master and make it difficult for new shooters to hit their target; however, the K6s trigger is smooth and manageable and may very well be the best DAO trigger in any factory .357. MSRP: $1,061.
Henry Big Boy Revolver
Most shooters are familiar with the Henry brand name, but not everyone is aware that Henry offers American-made double-action revolvers. That’s a shame, because their wheelguns are simply outstanding. The .22 LR Golden Boy revolver is great fun to shoot, but for personal defense you’ll be better served by the .357 Magnum Big Boy revolver. With its blued steel finish and American walnut grips, the Big Boy is a throwback in the tradition of classic twentieth-century revolvers like Smith & Wesson’s Model 10 and Colt’s Police Positive, both of which were great combat revolvers. Like those guns, the Henry is not particularly light or small (with its 4-inch barrel, the Big Boy with either bird’s head or full grips weighs just over two pounds), but for home defense it is a formidable wheelgun that’s reliable and very accurate. The Big Boy is Henry’s first revolver, yet it’s certainly a home run if you like the look and feel of a classic double-action .357. MSRP: $928.
Ruger SP101
One of my first carry guns was a Ruger SP101 revolver in .357 Magnum. I traveled many miles with that gun on my belt and shot several hundred rounds through it and it has never let me down. My SP101 is the model with a spurless hammer (shown here), but there are eight different SP101 factory models and several dealer-exclusive versions from which to choose, so you can certainly find one that fits your needs.
All SP101s are constructed from stainless steel and require minimal maintenance. These guns are also easy to work on even if you aren’t a gunsmith. I swapped out grips on mine and installed lighter aftermarket springs, which cost less than $100 and took less than an hour to complete. But even in standard factory form, the SP101 is a rugged and reliable revolver. MSRP: $919.
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