For about $300, the new Armscor Sidekick comes with both a .22 LR and a .22 WMR cylinder, each holding nine rounds of rimfire ammo.
While it looks like an old school cowboy gun, it operates in both single action and double action modes.
I fired the Sidekick in both chamberings and had a blast.
The action was smooth and the trigger was good. I really enjoy shooting in single action while using my left thumb to cock the hammer, and I love the look and feel of a cowboy wheelgun.
At the same time, a swing out cylinder is a lot faster and nicer to load and unload than a side gate. The plunger extractor worked great, too.
When I switched over to .22 Win Mag I took aim at a steel silhouette 100 yards away, and made a handful of hits on it! Lots of fun.
Everybody should own a .22 cal revolver!
Everyone should own a half dozen or more . 22 cal revolvers …. There, fixed it for ya’
Bingo!
That’s a good start.
That’s an odd way the cylinder ratchet is made. I’d like to see how that works.
Put a birdshead grip on it and clone a Colt thunder.
You stop with all that dirty talk đŸ¤¤
That sounds awesome!
Hmmm….revolvers….let me check inventory: semi-auto pistols, shotguns, rifle…revolv…..whut??? No revolvers????!!!!! Somebody gonna get fired over this!!! I want to speak with the manager!!!
Oh…yeah….right…..
Guess I’m going shopping soon.
LifeSavor,
I have a nice selection of semi-auto pistols and seriously enjoy shooting them. My everyday-carry handgun is a semi-auto pistol. My backup handgun is a “micro” semi-auto pistol.
And I absolutely LOVE revolvers. I have no idea why, I just do. I also have one or two (or more?) revolvers. If you do not already own a revolver, make it a priority to get one.
The really tough question is what caliber and which model? For a first revolver I recommend a medium-frame model chambered in .357 Magnum which also allows you to shoot .38 Special. (.357 Magnum is the same exact bullet size as .38 Special–.38 Special cases are simply a bit shorter than .357 Magnum cases.) My second recommendation in a first revolver is .22 LR. Of course if you are going the .22 LR route, it is a nice option if that revolver allows for both .22 LR and .22 WMR cylinders.
LifeSavor,
I think I have some idea of why I love revolvers. Semi-auto pistols seem “sterile” or strictly utilitarian or even “soulless”. Revolvers seem to have a lot more, for lack of a better word, pizzazz.
Furthermore, most semi-auto pistols do not allow dry-fire practice without racking the slide. Of course revolvers have no such limitation and you can dry-fire to your heart’s content–just keep pulling the trigger. And speaking of the trigger, a revolver’s trigger shoe seems to feel a lot nicer on your finger than the trigger shoe of many/most semi-auto pistols.
On the topic of dry-fire–at the risk of being inappropriate–a revolver and dry-fire practice is almost like a “fidget spinner” (if you know what those are). More than once when I have been a bit stressed/unsettled, I have verified that a revolver is unloaded and proceeded to spend a few minutes pulling the trigger, aiming at nondescript features on my walls.
Go buy a nice revolver with a really nice trigger (and trigger shoe) and you will understand what I mean.
The reason we like revolvers? Didja ever see a BHP, 1911, or any other semi-auto on Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Have Gun Will Travel, Hop-a-Long Cassidy, Bonanza, good Lord I could go on forever naming movies, TV shows, and serial movie heroes!! That’s what a lot of us grew up on!
Then there was The Wild Bunch…
Piece needs some revision. The Sidekick is produced by Diamondback, not Armscor. Correct link should be to https://diamondbackfirearms.com/sidekick/. Oops.
grips have “db” molded on there.
Even says it on the frame in the photo.
Expand the pic out on yer smartphone. Easily seen as a Diamondback…cool gun.
Hmmmm… let me check on this cowboy style revolver with Alec Baldwin to see if the trigger needs to be pulled for it to fire.
Good Lord! You’re at SHOT. How about a look at a couple of nice firearms.
I don’t see a cylinder release button. Is this a “pull the extractor plunger” model, like the old H&Rs? I wonder how solidly it locks up.
I believe the cylinder releases with a forward push of the spring-loaded faux ejector rod at the muzzle end of the barrel.
That thing looks like a piece of crap. Maybe somebody might like to hear information on the new Hi Power from FN….
RGP:
What new Hi Power form FN? I thought they had discontinued the Hi Power.
Dave G.,
Yes, it sounds like FN has resurrected the Hi Power chambered in 9mm Luger.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/a-classic-is-reborn-the-return-of-the-fn-high-power-9mm-pistol/
Would be interesting if the frame was steel. But alas it’s not.
I would certainly like something with more than 6 shots. It would be nice if it were aluminum and not zinc though.
Didn’t TTAG do an article on this one recently?
It’s a 9 shot. For the money, go to the gun show and find an old H&R 929, 930, 939 or 940.
i would love one o’ them.
No blued steel, no walnut grips. pass.
Michael,
Some people cannot afford high-end models. This may be a reasonable solution and value for such people.
This is a redux of the old High Standard Double Nine. Great, affordable old plinkers. Glad to see the design back.
Other than an NAA in .22LR/.22WMG, we don’t have any .22 Revolvers in our modest collection. Locally, none to be found in the cheap plinkers, only higher end, and on my retiree’s pension that’s not happening anytime soon.
Lost an old H & R 920 in a house fire. While OK in SA, the DA trigger pull had to be pushing 20 pounds,
So yeah, when the Heritages and Ruger Wranglers hit the shelves again, I’ll look for one. Heritage’s .22LR/.22WMG were selling at $180 prior to Christmas. A good $100 less than this DB. I’m sorry, but loading through the gate is part of the SAA Experience IMO.
I wish some company would buy the patents to the old Hi-Standard Sentinel 9-shot .22LR revolver and start up manufacturing it again. My family has used those revolvers for the last 60 years for hunting, pest control and even a drawer gun for my mom. They came in 6-inch and a 3-inch barrel versions in both blued and chrome finishes. A 3-inch .22 Magnum model would be a good personal defense gun.