# How NOT to hold a revolver!



## Blue Pike (Apr 24, 2004)

This was sent to me in a e-mail. Just thought I would share it with you folks.

My friend that sent the e-mail knows that I am about to buy a S&W 500, he simply said --- Dan, don&#8217;t let this happen to you. My reply was --- You can bet on it. Blue Pike


A St. Louis, Missouri guy on my AR-15 forum had a bad accident with his S&W 460XVR Magnum yesterday. He was shooting with a two handed hold and got his left thumb up near the lower front of the cylinder. The normal (powerful) gasses blowing out at the barrel/cylinder gap ripped the top of his left thumb off. I've added some of his posts & some pics.











S&W 460XVR Magnum 



460XVR blew my thumb off today! 

No joke, about 1/2 of my left thumb is gone ... what's left is a friggin mess.

It's pretty hard to type, and I'm only posting because you never know, it might save somebody else a thumb. I was using a 2-handed grip, fired off a Cor-Bon DPX 460 and the blast came violently out the side of the gun.

At first my thumb was so covered in blood that I couldn't see how bad it was ... and I was full of adrenaline and felt no pain. And honestly it looked really bad, my whole hand was covered in blood and it was kinda gushing.

The blown-off thumb was on my support hand. I'll re-create the grip tomorrow to see where my thumb was, but it's not like I didn't already know not to get any body part near the cylinder gap. And even if I totally screwed up and did, taking my thumb clean off seems a bit excessive?


Just be careful with those 460's. That case operates at such high pressure, it's just asking for trouble.

BTW, I bought my 460 new and had exactly 12 rounds through it. Info about the gun, it's a full-size 460 with the 8 3/4' barrel and factory installed compensator. It's one of the Whitetails Unlimited models. Ammo was 200gr Cor-Bon DPX. 

The gun only had 12 or 13 rounds of the Cor-Bon through it, and 10 .45 Long Colt rounds through it. So it was essentially still brand new.

Saw a hand specialist while there today. Lots of ways to try and save what's left, but first I just have to hope it doesn't get infected in the next few days ... then surgery early next week. 

The hand specialist I spent a few hours with last night said that in gunshot wounds there is always a lot more damage than is first visible ... same with things like fireworks going off in your hand. A lot more flesh around the wound is dead, and will rot and fall off over the next couple days. That's why it's so important to keep clean, and that's also why they can't do surgery now. If they wrapped new skin over dead skin it would just puss out, possibly turn gang-green, and they'd have to start all over again.










This is an example of how he was holding his revolver. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

This is what's left of his thumb. 










Did a web search on this story. Just to see if it was true.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&&q=How+NOT+to+hold+a+revolver&#37;21+


----------



## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

My God thats a sobering read there, goes to show you can never be to careful.


----------



## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Damn. Who hold a handgun like that though. Man, thats just asking for trouble. Do lots of people hold their revolvers that way?

I still feel sorry for the guy.


----------



## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Here is how you should hold a large calibur hangun.










I'm really sorry for that guy, truley...but dang man, you gotta have some knowledge about hand guns (or any gun) before shooting it.


----------



## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

H2O Mellon said:


> Damn. Who hold a handgun like that though. Man, thats just asking for trouble. Do lots of people hold their revolvers that way?
> 
> I still feel sorry for the guy.


Not me thats for sure...even though one time I did have the slide on a 9MM come back and catch my thumb, took a little hunk of skin off.


----------



## flattiesinohio (Sep 30, 2007)

OOOOWWWWW........that had to hurt!!!im just to understanding y he was holding the gun like that!i know its a over all big gun but even if it was safe to hold as such it dont look like it could or would give you much of a good firm grip on it


----------



## MRslippery (Aug 7, 2007)

If you can't properly grip it you shouldn't shoot, safety is always first " this is the proper grip". I shoot 500 plus rounds a year out of my SRH, and BH, I won't shoot any of the on "steroids" handguns if I can't grip them right. I can remember getting burned from shooting "ruger only" loads out of my 29-2, guess I'm a puss.


----------



## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

bet it didnt bleed much


----------



## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

another accident waiting to happen???looking at the pic...indoors wrong grip AND the hammer is pulled back!!!!


----------



## leckig (May 11, 2005)

I am glad this was posted - I had no idea this could happen...


----------



## ncraft150 (Apr 5, 2004)

A similar thing can happen with a semi auto if held wrong. When the slide comes back to load the next bullet and your thumb is in the wrong place you will rip it up pretty good.


----------



## Orlando (Apr 12, 2004)

The thumb in the picture was done from gases excaping around the cylinder, not from recoil


----------



## redhotbuzz (Dec 2, 2004)

H2O Mellon said:


> Damn. Who hold a handgun like that though. Man, thats just asking for trouble. Do lots of people hold their revolvers that way?
> 
> I still feel sorry for the guy.


NOT ME I hunt deer with an Anaconda That **** dont float..Nada in front of spool........


----------



## Papascott (Apr 22, 2004)

What a coincident, just ordered 2 of the exact same revolver, even the whitetail unlimited, Ohio model. I was very anxious to shoot a few rounds through it, now AI will have that image in my mind the entire time.

Scott


----------



## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Papascott said:


> I was very anxious to shoot a few rounds through it, now AI will have that image in my mind the entire time.
> 
> Scott


hahaha, just dont repeat the image.


----------



## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

shot a 475/480 magum research all the time with one hand. got total control of gun, and hit target 90% of time.


----------



## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-not-to-hold-revolver.html
scroll down watch vid !!!!


----------



## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

its just been luckie i hav,int blowed my finger off. think the 480 would be worse? don,t know the differnt between the smith & wesson, but the magum researt only takes one hand. as unbelievable as that sounds!


----------

