When I was a child, we had many types of dogs for pets. Some were pure bred, and others were what you might call a mutt (stay with me here. I’m going someplace with this.).
Now, what do a I mean by a mutt? Simply, a mutt is a cross between more than one breed of dog. So, a mutt may be smart like its German Shepherd father but have short legs like its mid-sized terrier mother.
It’s a hybrid dog, if you will. You get the idea.
Taking that analogy over to the firearms world, should you get a gun that is a cross between one type of firearm and a different type of firearm? Sure, Glock has been accused of doing that with new models having the slide length of one model and the capacity of another older model.
That’s not the exact type of hybrid that we’re talking about with today’s gun. No, we’re talking about a hybrid revolver today.
Now, when thinking of revolvers, most people think of ones shooting .22LR, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or .45 Colt.
Do you know what popular hand gun caliber people don’t usually think of with revolvers? 9mm. Yes, 9mm, but that’s exactly what Taurus decided to do. Elwood Shelton writes,
It comes as no surprise Taurus has had a 9mm revolver for some time. After all, the gunmaker has wheelguns chambered for nearly everything under the sun. The 905 has been a mainstay for many for the past decade or so and is a more than capable defensive gun, along with about anything else you’d want out of a 9mm.
Granted, the steel-framed handgun is on the lower end of capacity holding 5-rounds, but that’s fairly standard for a majority of concealed carry revolvers regardless of caliber. The 905 makes up for this by coming in lighter, 21 ounces, and slightly narrower, 1.4-inch width, than other 9mm revolvers. Plus, it’s fairly streamlined with a built-in rear sight (ramp front) and all its edges fairly smoothed down. The only hitch, at least for some, is the spur on the hammer, though it’s not a dealbreaker.
Handily, the 905 utilizes Taurus Stellar Clips (and moon) to hold the rounds in place, a neat bit of engineering that makes loading the clips easier than traditional moon clips. Like any 9mm revolver using clips, the gun itself is quick to reload with practice. The one hitch in the 905’s giddyap is a substantial double-action trigger pull, out-of-the-box flirting with 12 pounds.
I’ll also pitch in one more thing. Taurus makes a concealed hammer model of the 905, however, it’s only available with a 3-inch barrel. It’s definitely still a carry option, but it’s disappointing the company hasn’t come out with a similar feature on its 2-inch barred model.
You can see this revolver in action in the video below.
So, is a Taurus 905 the right firearm for you to carry as your everyday carry? Should you go with a “mutt” gun?
That will, obviously, depend on you, your preferences, and your needs. Not everyone is a fan of revolvers, and not everyone likes 9mm.
If you’re someone who likes 9mm and revolvers both, though, the Taurus 905 may be a gun to take a look at.
When we last spoke some time back, I told you I have my Dad’s walther PPK. But a 9mill revolver? Now this is nice. A 3″ barrel? Well, this has to do for now though, I like it:)
Taurus has had another ‘mutt’ revolver for a while – it is the same (more or less) gun chambered in .380ACP. The overall specs read very similar to this one. It could be just what someone who needs less recoil to deal with.
A “mutt gun”, like a 9mm or 380 revolver, make sense as a back-up gun. As far back as the 1870’s, a rifle/handgun combo, in the same caliber, was commonplace. Back in the day when LEOs carried revolvers, it was commonplace to carry a back-up gun in the same caliber as the primary issued revolver. Now, as the 9mm or 380 pistol is the typical CCW handgun, the “back-up” gun is more likely to be a “pass-along” to a companion who is unarmed. Revolvers have many people feeling they are obsolete, but DA/SA revolvers are ideal for anyone who is not familiar with how to handle a handgun as a “pass-along”.
I have never held a revolver that fit my big hands. Every one I have ever shot, the trigger guard assaults my knuckles on every shot. I’ll stick to my semi-auto pistols for primary or backup