One of the reasons a revolver is interesting to me is somehow in my mind I have this thought of a revolver being a little more mechanical in nature in how it works and a semi auto being more like a machine.
This is one of the things that made me enjoy the revolvers. I enjoy handling them. Dry fire practice is simpler and can more directly simulate real fire since you just pull the trigger instead of having to manipulate the slide or otherwise cock the hammer. I enjoy the mechanics of them more than the autos.
I understand the thought about having more ammo and faster reloading for the "fire fight" that people seem to think will happen. I am not sure I go with that idea, I dunno.
This is what I was referring to above when I mentioned the "tacti-cool make believe world of many". Police involved shootings and those of civilians are very different. Often police either have to stop (kill) or apprehend the other person involved. The other person knows this, so a protracted gun battle is more likely. With a civilian SD shooting, you are only concerned with survival. You may have to stop your assailant, but your real motivation is only to see the altercation end so that you can escape and go about your way. Perhaps you will have to "stop" him, but you may just be able to escape. When your assailant is met with unexpected deadly resistance he too is likely to just want it to end so that he can get away and survive. He's not as worried about being arrested and going to jail so his motivation for continuing the fight is probably less than it might otherwise be with the police. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that statistics show that the average number of shots fired in a civilian SD shooting is around 3. That's total, between both parties. So, statistically speaking, the likelihood of needing a high round count or speedy reloads isn't as high as TV and the movies tend to portray.
The one thing that I think about with a revolver is that I can target shoot for fun with 38 loads but carry more powerful 357 mag loads for defense. If I get say a 9mm semi auto, that is all I can shoot. Does that really matter?.....I do not know.
That depends on you and what you want to do. Revolvers do function reliably with a much greater range of ammunition. With .357 you can go from easy shootin' powder puff wadcutter .38 loads all the way to heavy, full house magnum loads. They don't care about bullet profile and they don't require energy to cycle the action like an auto.
Most of the pocket snobby revolvers I have seen has no sights or sights that are useless for target practice at the range and I have not shot a revolver with sights on it.
This could be a point of debate, but in the real world, SD shooting happen very fast, and at close range. Statistics show that most occur from contact to around 15 feet or so. I'm not sure how important target sights really are in this type of scenario. But, many revolvers do have better sights, and many more can be outfitted with better, aftermarket sights. Many J frames can be fitted with the excellent, for fast close range shooting, XS Big Dot sights, for example.
I understand in theory why a revolver could be more reliable than a semi auto.
I am a fan of Glock pistols. Have owned, and still do own several. I have put thousands and thousands of rounds through them and have found them to be very reliable. BUT... Not only is the revolver more reliable from a feeding perspective, but also keep in mind that may SD situations require shooting from less than perfect positions. If the fight goes to ground, for example, you may have to shoot with your gun backed up into your own body, or the muzzle jammed into your assailant's. The first case will cause a serious jam in an auto, and the second could force the auto out of battery and unable to even fire the first time. In a face to face struggle for your life, this could very well mean the difference between life and death.
Why is a revolver so expensive?
I'm not sure this is the case. I bought my last SD revolver, a S&W 638, slightly used, for $299. They can be found new for less than $400. Some autos can be fairly expensive too. If you compare the plastic fantastics to a high quality revolver though, I'd say that they are somewhat comparable in price, depending on which revolver you're looking at. But, in general the plastic autos are cheaper to mass produce and require less labor intensive assembly. In many cases revolvers have more small, fitted parts, and more complex machining as well.
I would be looking for a "do it all" revolver for concealed carry, car protection, and apartment defense. With that in mind, which revolvers would be a good starting point to look at? K frame maybe? I have medium sized hands.
It depends. I like my J frames because, for me, they are easy to carry and conceal. But, I'd really love to have a 3" model 65 (K frame), and think it would be a really good compromise for me. My 625 (N frame) is too large for me to carry but it does reside on my nightstand.
Also keep in mind that for many, the revolver takes a little more time to learn to shoot well. But, also, for many, they find that with a little time, they actually shoot them better than their autos. Most also find that the J frames take more time to master and aren't as easy to shoot well as the larger guns.
