The sheriff in question apparently did not shoot regularly or in great quantities, or he was just blowing back out his mouth a catchy phrase he heard once. He probably also would have said, if given enough time, the old phrase, "I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6." Personally, I would rather NOT be tried by 12, and I would rather NOT be carried by 6. But, I do appreciate the sentiment.

If you shoot long enough, you will have a revolver lock up, and when it does, it is not a quick fix. And, a failure can be induced with just a tiny little bit of grit or sliver of lead. And that is if you clean regularly, only go to the range, etc. Imagine how susceptible a revolver would be to the elements of dust, mud, etc. in a combat zone.

I was shooting a Model 27 back in the 70s. The action locked up tighter than a drum. Sideplate removal (with appropriate tools, etc.) revealed a TINY sliver of lead had gotten inside the action. It fell out upon careful disassembly. Once reassembled, the revolver worked like a charm.

I put it away and began using the Colt 1911 in .45 ACP, the light that "Uncle Jeff" had been trying to light, having finally come on.

A "jam" is FAR EASIER to clear with the auto. The 27 required a trip home, to the work bench, gunsmith screwdrivers, a non-marring hammer, a special tool to remove and reinstall the rebound, etc., etc.

The 1911 has rarely failed, and it has never failed in such a way that a quick "rack" of the slide did not bring it back into full operation. Apparently, the military WAS right when, in 1910 or so, it decided the auto pistol was more reliable.

The "jam" with a revolver rarely happens, but when it does, you really are "out of the action" if it happens with your revolver. And, you will switch to the auto for "serious" purposes. It is only a matter of time.

The hammer stud broke on my 442.

I have had several revolver failures in the last ten years or so, all on the range, thank goodness.

The hand snapped off my brand new 37-2.

The hammer nose snapped off my newish 629-4.

The crane cracked and broke on my 66-5 in the middle of an IDPA match.

With these three parts failures, CS at S&W told me that it was a failure to properly heat treat the parts and that I was not the first to report the problem.

Last year, I sent my 686-5 back to S&W with a request to change out the 4-inch barrel for a 3-inch barrel. While taking off the old barrel, they discovered that it had been mis-threaded when originally screwed in -- and they destroyed the frame in the process of removing it.

I must say that S&W made good on all of these misadventures, sending me a new hand and hammer nose, replacing the crane on my 66-5 (on their nickel), and sending me a brand new 686-6 to replace my 686-5 (although I was less than pleased to exchange a IL-less gun for one with a IL).

On the other hand, I have shot my Glock 19 and H&K P30 many thousand rounds more than any of my revolvers -- in classes and IDPA matches -- with not a single failure to eject or failure to feed. With respect to the Glock, I have never had a problem of any kind. With respect to the H&K, I had my first failure recently: the trigger return spring snapped in two. (A cheap and easy fix.)

So although I have great faith in my revolvers (all of which I am very fond), were my life to depend on it, I'd rather have my Glock 19. So far, it's been 15 for sure.

Another good reason to carry "two"!

This is a photo of my friend "Lightload" shooting my J frames at a Cowboy Action match.

Any failures that I've had have been cause by my reloads that had high primers or didn't chamber correctly. I do much better with some experience and plunk test my rounds. I also use a hand primer and inspect each case that I prime. If I load a cylinder of defense ammo, I rotate the cylinder fully to make sure nothing binds.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Revolver failures? I've had three...

1) Model 60 no-dash made in the mid-80s. The hammer pivot pin sheared off. I sent it to S&W and they replaced the pin on my dime.

2) BG38 action locked up and after repair it would misfire. Replaced by S&W.

3) 642-1 trigger pivot pin sheared off. Replaced by S&W.

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

NO not me

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Take my advice Im not using it

NEVER a SMITH! Was shooting with a friend, and the firing pin broke on his Ruger SP101. Bob

Had a Model 15 ejector rod unscrew while firing and a Trooper Mark III trigger snap off at the trigger pivot. If it's mechanical it has a good chance of malfunctioning or breaking

Pinto, that is what my broken bolt looked like except the broken area at the junction was shaped a little different, and I would say was even a little smaller of a connection of the two sections than yours appears to be.

I had a spare part and was able to drop it in later after the sideplate was removed, but the failure at the time it occurred was a full stop.

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Honoring the little pin

And many will recall the now infamous incidents of the Redhawk barrels blowing off among certain early stainless Redhawk units.

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Honoring the little pin

Well said, Nyeti. My wife's favorite handgun for me to leave outside of the safe for her when I was traveling was a Model 34-1 (.22LR) as she was afraid of the recoil of any other caliber. This changed once I allowed her to handle my Model 642-1 (.38 Special). She enjoys the reliability and sheer and utter simplicity of the piece - no exposed hammer, no safety, etc., just point and click.

Regards,

Dave

Just remembered another revolver breakdown - sort of.
Model 67 no dash with the original stocks.
One of the stock's medallion washers fell off and jammed the works.

Never even thought of that as a jam possibility... though I have seen some loose washers on grips before. Will certainly look at them now!

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Honoring the little pin

Revolver Malfunctions:
1. S&W Model 36 3"-- Firing pin bushing not fully seated causing cartridge rim to keep cylinder from rotating
2. Colt Agent--Same as #1
3. S&W Model 10 6" cylinder release tip broke off jamming action
4. S&W Model 19 4" Squid round put bullet half in forcing cone and half still in chamber
5. Colt Trooper 6"-mainspring suddenly weaken and began light primer strikes
6. S&W Model 25-2- cylinder suddenly stopped rotating in DA fire (using full moon clips) never found cause
7. Ruger BLK Hawk .45-hammer would not cock--Factory replaced with a new revolver
8. S&W Model 15-cylinder stopped rotating--hand spring broke
9. S&W Model 19 2.5"-cylinder would not close--split forcing cone

Reading recent posts, I just remembered one other revolver failure: a spring snapped in my old Python (I don't recall which spring, as I never got up the nerve to take that gun apart), and the action ceased to function.

Two revolvers.

A Modern Colt double action (1990s) failed to correctly rotate the cylinder hanging up and a J-Frame broke an internal part.

I don't believe current revolvers are built to the same Mean Time between Failure standards that Police Auto are today.

In the 1980's they still were, but today revolvers are civilian guns and cost cutting has started to reduce reliability.

If the revolver is not intended for LEO use or heavy competition or hard use I don't think it is as reliable as a polymer Glock or M&P by design and manufacturing.

I had a Rossi Circuit Judge carbine revolver (45/410) have the cylinder completely lock up after about 8 rounds. Davidson's sent me another within a week, and it was perfect.

My brand new S&W PC 686+ is sitting at S&W right now ...

If this happens there is something wrong with the gun or the primers. Too soft primers have been known to flow around the firing pin and lock the pistol up, especially with hot loads. S&W's 686 and a lot of variations were especially prone to this and they had a recall to fix it with a new hammer nose and bushing.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I had a 649 of the mid-80s era that was a pig. Never worth relying on, and would not fire more than 10 rounds without binding (I think the tolerances were too tight and heat would cause the binding). That was a function of poor build quality, period. I have a 940 that is at a well-known revolver smith's shop now dealing with stuff that is very annoying; less than functional for me, but not "broken". It will be semi-custom when I get it back, but that's my need.

For a really good analysis from someone who has a tremendous level of real world knowledge and has shared the outcome of many years of serious shooting with us, go back and re-read response #45 from Nyeti. He is as qualified as one can be to offer his conclusions and opinions, and most of us would be well off to beat his words into our memories.

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NHI, 10-8.

I've had several revolver failures over the years:
- Percussion caps falling into the action
- Broken mainspring on a Colt M1917
- Cylinder didn't always turn when a H&R 999 was cocked
- Broken trigger pin on a S&W 22-4

I had a TRR8 start giving me light strikes (FTF) on double action shooting. I quick trip to the mother ship and a new firing pin made it good as new. I've not had any stoppages on my bottom feeders that were not ammo or operator caused.

My only revolver is a 460 XVR. It has failed me twice:

1. Once, up north, I shot at a deer and the animal kept running.

2. Another time, I was sighting it in at 100 yards in preparation for deer hunting season. This was after several months of shooting smallbore and air rifle. My revolver jumped and the scope cut a semicircular incision on my forehead. Based on that amount of recoil, it should not have hit the X on the target but it did, making me question its accuracy.

I blame both incidents on the internal lock.

Seriously, I use my 1911s for concealed carry and I've found them to be extremely reliable as long as I use the correct ammunition, specific magazines (not just brand or type but actual units), and proper lubrication.

I've considered buying a 686 as a carry gun but that has been delayed indefinitely by budget priorities.

Based on what I've read in this thread, and on what I've been told in the past, a revolver malfunction, while improbable, could be difficult to resolve in the field. A semiautomatic malfunction can usually be cleared in seconds (depending on training and the type of malfunction, e.g., Type 1, 2, 3.).

Detroit 1974, myself and two partners in toe to toe shootout with armed kidnapper. My SW19 worked fine as did one partners Python. Other partners SW 2 1/2 19 locked up and I recall him shaking the gun to get it to fire. Can't recall if that occurred before or after he made a head shot and can't recall what was the problem with the gun. All ended well for the good guys.

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Metro Man

Been shooting S&W revolvers over 40 years & shot 10's of thousands of rounds. Personally never had a "mechanical failure" that didn't involve a used gun that had a "home gun-smithing job". Of those, 2 come to mind, a 686 hunter that the previous owner had ground the sear notch down to nothing and a 586 that had a "trigger job' where the return spring was cut way to short & the strain screw backed off. Both were fairly easy fixes and became good guns. As for semi auto, I don't shoot many but my Sig & Rugers are very reliably... unless you let someone try to shoot them that limp wrist, then of course they can jam. One thing about a revolver, that don't happen.

This thread has me puzzled.

I was under the impression that anything pre-MIM/lock was godlike perfection and never failed.

For the record, I have never experienced revolver failure.

I've had the odd dud cartridge but that's about it.

All of my revolver function issues have been shooter or ammunition induced.

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .