I am working on a short story about a police detective, and I need some help figuring out which service handgun he should carry. I know that police officers and detectives currently use Semi-Automatic pistols. But I want my detective character to carry a revolver, but not just any revolver I want his revolver to be very unusual looking something that would not normally seen carried by a lawman. The story idea is set in 2014 and the detective carries his weapon in a shoulder holster.
Did a quick google, but I know revolvers aren't used much because of the reload time required. However, that doesn't mean they can't be used. Some departments don't issue weapons and as long as the weapon the cop buys falls within guidelines, they can use it.
How unusual do you want it to look? S&W and Ruger make a hammerless revolver that is very popular to carry concealed because it does not snag on clothes and is very compact. S&W only carries 38+p which is just a hot .38 round; Ruger's model is available in .357 mag which carries a lot more knock-down power.
Garball: I want it to be very unusual with fancy ivory or pearl or wood grips lots of engraving, I want it so unusual so fancy looking that the officers and detectives are very jealous of my character's gun. In terms of manufacture and caliber I am thinking S&W .357 magnum but its loaded with .38 special ammunition for really good recoil control.
Sounds like you can pretty much make up a custom model. Keep in mind though, most police dropped the .38 because of it's inability to drop the bad guy.
I own a Ruger SP-101 (2 1/2-inch barrel stainless revolver) which fires .38 Special or .357 Magnum rounds. It could be fancied up with engraving and special grips. It also comes in a hammerless version (double-action only). Two things, though: 1) no working cop would carry it in a shoulder holster. They're heavy and uncomfortable. and 2) the other cops would not in any way be 'jealous' of your MC over his fancy gun. It's much more likely they would see him as some sort of goofy fop. BTW, the .38 Special round is at least as powerful, stopping-power-wise, as the currently popular 9MM, with the proper bullets.
if you want something different look at the Chippa Rhino, it comes in 357 and fires from the lower most chamber of the cylinder. The TRR8 is also a little different, it has an 8 round cylinder. if you want to make people jealous just give him a Colt Python granted revolvers are odd enough to see on officers now, him just still carrying a model 10 or something similar might be enough to raise some eyebrows
