Revolver vs. Semi Auto for CCW

[coffeync3]

These are just my opinions on something that was actually rather hard for me. You believe something to be true, and after decades I think I may have been wrong. I am an honorably retired police officer, and I am now a professional CCW trainer for a major sheriff's department. Which means I'm still learning to shoot...

While I was still a cop I carried a S&W 342 M&P .38spl off duty in a fanny pack. Just before I retired in 2022, I bought a Glock 43X. I had it cut and milled at the Glock Store in Nashville and had them put on an EPS Carry red dot. I have trained with it for hundreds of hours and became really good with it. I love this gun!
In my classes I teach that many of the civilian assaults happen when you are isolated and most vulnerable. Many don't know they're under attack until they have already been shot, stabbed or hit with a high probability of more than one assailant. If you reach for your weapon, the bad guy(s) may see this, intensify their attack, and try to take the gun from you. At this point there are many things that can go wrong with your pistol. Assuming you are right handed, you are using your left hand to defend yourself until your weapon joins the party, here are seven things that could go wrong:
1. Ammo failure, you now need two hands to clear the malfunction. You can do this with one hand, but you need to train a lot to become unconscious competent.
2. Bad guy grabs you gun and purposely takes it off battery.
3. Bad guy then runs his finger along the trigger guard and drops your magazine. If this is a California gun, you are in big trouble.
4. Bad guy puts on the safety during the struggle,
5. Bad guy grabs the muzzle of your gun and uses it as a lever to either turn it inwardly towards you and you get shot with your own gun, or turns it outwardly and peels it out of you hand.
6. Bad guy holds your arm so that if you get a shot off, you end up limp-wristing and causes a double feed malfunction.
7. Bad guys shoves your gun in a position where if you get a shot off, the slide hits you or something else disrupting the cycle of operation, causing a double feed.

All these vulnerabilities can be eliminated by using a snub nose revolver. The only downside is 5-6 rounds. As my police academy range instructor, Mr. Mumford used to say, "You got what you got, you know what you know. If you go into a gun fight with only three rounds in your magazine, you better make them count!"

For now anyway, my Glock sits in the safe, and my J-frame goes with me everywhere I go, again.

Thoughts?

 

[coffeync3]

My wigrips. 77 years old and has list a lot of her hand strength. She carries a S&W 637 airweight with a crimson trace grip. It's simple and effective, and she can shoot it. I have been carrying a G48 with Sheild magazines. But your post has caused me to rethink that strategy. Thanks for sharing the wisdom.

 

[fatcat3]

Would his car run of gas in Kokadjo on the way?

If he wasn't paying attention and toped off in Greenville. Gas stations are few and far between to non-existent. His bigger problem, most people, even many Maineiacs, don't know, that just north it's paper company land and roads. Pulp trucks have the right of way, use any part of their road they want, they have no speed limit. Pay attention or get squished like a bug.

 

[Rocketmedic40]

Made my choice for what to me are all the obvious reasons decades ago. J-frame pocket carry 'til I ain't carrying no more!

Model 36?

 

[Shibadog]

The problem with "professional training" is that it always has a target audience and that audience is usually not designed around armed citizens.

It might be advertised that way, but instructors marketing that kind of training need tactics to teach and most of those diverge from valid armed citizen defensive handgun use needs.

The counter argument is "yah but you should prepare for the worst case".

The problem with that is all the compromises involved in preparing for the worst case and the effects that has on every day carry.

Revolver or pistol, both will meet the realistic armed citizen need just fine. If a shooters wants a service pistol with two spare mags, etc, they are free to knock themselves out. But the important thing in a self defense handgun use is to just have a handgun and know how to shoot it well under stress.

This. Statistically just having a firearm will diffuse most situations. If it goes past that point whatever you carry should be accurate enough (for YOU to shoot well) and powerful enough be a serious deterrent. That means doing sufficient damage per hit to discourage the aggressor. I believe it was Jeff Cooper who stated "never, ever, carry a .25 auto. If you do, you May be forced to actually use it. If you use it, you. may actually hit the bad guy. If you actually hit the badguy he May notice. If he notices, you May make him mad and he May hurt you". All firearms are potentially lethal, lethality is not the issue. The issue is discouraging an aggressor right now. If a hit doesn't persuade him to stop his assault NOW, who cares what effect it may have hours or days from now after you've already been done in? A J frame .38 carries (for me anyway) better in a pocket holster than pretty much everything else. For OWB I want. Something with more capability (power, capacity, or both). Bigger calibers make bigger holes, bigger holes allow more leakage. A .22, a 38, or a 9mm MAY expand. A .44 or .45 will never shrink

 

[Harv 24]

Thoughts...

I carry a gun for one reason, as insurance for a day I hope never happens. And because I am not going to be at the mercy of some one else. I practice and stay proficient because I know, if that day happens, I'm on my own, no one is coming to save me. And I want the best possible advantage I can have, with a gun that I can fight and win with. A gun with enough power and capacity.


That gun is not a snub nosed .38. This is 2025. There are better choices.

 

[BE FAST]

BE FAST TOP THREE RULES
1. The only way to win a gunfight...is not to be there.
2. Movement is your friend.
3. Distance is your friend.

I am not advocating to sell your pistols and buy a snubby. I am merely saying you should not have a false sense of security thinking a pistol is the end-all-to-be-all. It has some major vulnerabilities against an assailant who has been trained in the bad guy academy (prison). Know these areas and TRAIN to prevent a bad guy from exploiting them. The best way to do this is to remember BE FAST Rule#1. Become a situational awareness expert.

 

[S-W4EVER]

I've been carrying a S&W J Frame, either CCW or Backup Weapon all my adult life. I started out with a M36, then a M649, a M940 and finally a M442-2. I'll dance with the girl what brung me…

 

[STCM(SW)]

Even though I was first trained with the 1911 45.ACP I still CC a revolver. Weather temperature makes a difference,
M638 with BB +p .
Colder weather Kimber Pro carry II 45acp or M696 44 Spl....
Never had to draw or use one yet but better ready then sorry,

 

[gym cat]

S@W 640 pocket carry, S@W 65 cross draw.

 

[Bald1]

There's something to be said for the mere presence of a gun defusing s situation. I've never pulled a gun in a self defense situation. But I have had one pointed at me. A Beretta 92. About 5' from my face. I was in my early 20s. Two guys pull out of a bar in a jacked up Blazer cutting me off. If I didn't swerve I'd have hit them . If someone was in lane next to me I'd have hit them. Some hand gestures were exchanged. Eventually they pulled in front of me and stopped. I was absolutely going to beat the hell out of that driver. Like I said. Early 20s. Well my girlfriend was grabbing me trying to not let me out of car. This gave the passenger in Blazer a chance to get out and pull a gun. As I finally got out he was standing there pointing it at me. Fat slob that I would have taken great pleasure in dropping. He says "back in the car big boy, you don't want to do this". Like an idiot I said something to the effect of, did you get out to fight or threaten me. Well my girlfriend is now historical and screaming at and tugging at me to get back in car. And I did…… as a side note. I discovered that Blazer sitting in an apartment complex lot later. Every window , mirror and light mysteriously got smashed. Hmmmmmmm

 

[03hemi]

Pontificating on which is better, a revolver or a pistol, is akin to stating which is the best defense ammo.
All those circumstances, with the exception of just a few, could still happen with a snub nosed revolver.

 

[Norton 750]

In most situations you run out of time before you run out of ammo. Time is essential, which is why you must always be alert and be planning in your head what you will do if a guy pops out of that upcoming alley....

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

Carried a J frame as BUG then as main duty gun working planning and training even though we had moved to Sigs. Since retired my standard EDC. I do have a 365 and G42 but I'm much more comfortable with a Airweight or Air Lite. Well over 50 years of training, practice and carry.

 

[N4KVE]

The big advantage to carrying a revolver is if one has to unexpectedly use it, & can't stick around, you don't have to look for the empty shell casings to remove.

 

[Smeckler]

You could be in the safest village in America but a fugitive is heading to a "hide out" and cross your path or the "hide out" may be where you are staying.

I'm a retired LEO. Already had training. Thanks for your concern.

 

[Hair Trigger]

These are just my opinions on something that was actually rather hard for me. You believe something to be true, and after decades I think I may have been wrong. I am an honorably retired police officer, and I am now a professional CCW trainer for a major sheriff's department. Which means I'm still learning to shoot...

In my classes I teach that many of the civilian assaults happen when you are isolated and most vulnerable. Many don't know they're under attack until they have already been shot, stabbed or hit with a high probability of more than one assailant. If you reach for your weapon, the bad guy(s) may see this, intensify their attack, and try to take the gun from you. At this point there are many things that can go wrong with your pistol. Assuming you are right handed, you are using your left hand to defend yourself until your weapon joins the party, here are seven things that could go wrong:
1. Ammo failure, you now need two hands to clear the malfunction. You can do this with one hand, but you need to train a lot to become unconscious competent.
2. Bad guy grabs you gun and purposely takes it off battery.
3. Bad guy then runs his finger along the trigger guard and drops your magazine. If this is a California gun, you are in big trouble.
4. Bad guy puts on the safety during the struggle,
5. Bad guy grabs the muzzle of your gun and uses it as a lever to either turn it inwardly towards you and you get shot with your own gun, or turns it outwardly and peels it out of you hand.
6. Bad guy holds your arm so that if you get a shot off, you end up limp-wristing and causes a double feed malfunction.
7. Bad guys shoves your gun in a position where if you get a shot off, the slide hits you or something else disrupting the cycle of operation, causing a double feed.

All these vulnerabilities can be eliminated by using a snub nose revolver. The only downside is 5-6 rounds. As my police academy range instructor, Mr. Mumford used to say, "You got what you got, you know what you know. If you go into a gun fight with only three rounds in your magazine, you better make them count!"

For now anyway, my Glock sits in the safe, and my J-frame goes with me everywhere I go, again.

Thoughts?

Items #1-7 presuppose you let the perp get within arm's length to begin with. Situational awareness is paramount to prevent that. If I'm "isolated and most vulnerable", my head is on a swivel and I'm looking for the very things that I would be armed against. Even better, if you expect to be in such a situation, don't go there; you're asking for the opportunity to have your arse kicked, shot, stabbed and your gun taken away and used on you. With multiple attackers your chance of survival drops exponentially as the number of attackers increases, no matter how proficient you are. Avoidance of the need is the best plan. You don't walk into a den of snakes just because you have knee-high boots on.

I don't disagree the revolver negates some of what you describe, but if the perp can simply grasp and squeeze the cylinder, you can't pull the trigger in DA against his grip. He's going to be doing other things to disorient you, knock you down and disarm you while you're fighting to hold on to your gun. Unless he's alone and you're stronger and more adept than he is, you're screwed. Once he gets in close enough to grab something, I'd worry as much about a knife in his hand as I would losing the gun in mine.

 

[Maccabeus]

...
The only downside is 5-6 rounds. ...

Carry two. 10-12 rounds before reloading.

 

[JcMack]

Most of the crims around here are 50 yrs younger than me. They travel in packs of 3-4 and would be more than happy to kick the crap out of an old fart like me just for grins. Half of these kids carry a Glock with switch on it. I carry an old Colt Cobra with the grip wrapped in friction tape wrapped to fit my hand. It's loaded with 158 gr LSWCHP's. If I'm jumped I'll make sure 1 maybe 2 won't live to enjoy the $0.59 they take off my body.

 

[Hatch47]

I used to work at a sporting goods store. One day, a customer and his three year old daughter left our store headed for their car in the parking lot. Three teenagers approached and demanded his money and stuck a gun in his face. He said "OK, be cool..........i'm reaching for my wallet" at which point he slowly put his hand in his right rear pocket and quickly pulled a NAA .22. He shot the one holding the gun in the face and killed him, the other two ran. The police came, did their report, and didn't even take him downtown.
And i know that this is just one instance. But i believe you should carry what you are comfortable and competent with. Personally, i carry both, depending on the circumstances.