Revolver vs. Semi Auto for CCW

[SW41MAG]

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?

The 1st point and click device. LOL. I''ve always favored wheel guns for CCW. I swtch between a Taurus 85CH in 38SPL and a Ruger SP101 in H&R 32MAG.

 

[DRYHEAT]

daily carry since 1999

 

[Rust E. Badge]

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?

Items 2, 3, 4, 5a, 6 and 7 are near non-existent as a deliberate action but possible as incidental to a close quarters assault. As a LE deadly force instructor since 1989, I have learned that good decision-making and distance is your friend, until its not. At that point, close the distance and fight hard. At the engagement distance inside of elbow reach, the revolver has a distinct advantage.

 

[bph9]

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?

Your worries may have a lot of validity for police work but not for the average civilian where such scenarios are as rare as lightning striking you. I personally like the much better concealability of the auto pistol and its way higher firepower and lighter weight (plasticky pistols) Having to reload a revolver during a breakin to your home or even in a street fight will get you killed way sooner when you run out of ammo with an empty revolver.

I am not alone with this thinking. We have over 1,000 members at our shooting club and the dominate empty cases left on the ground are the 9x19. I cannot remember the last time I found a .38 special case or .357 or .44 mag case lying on the ground or even a .45 acp case.

There is also a reason the militaries of the world trashed the archaic revolver design decades ago, low firepower and less reliability when dropped in the mud or dirt.

I do own revolvers and like them but not for serious social work. Even people who hunt bears are now often carrying for a backup weapon the 10mm auto because of its increased firepower and rapid reload ability.

 

[Mister Coffee]

In both, I fortunately saw what was coming, stuck my hand in my right pocket and bladed off.

Sorry. I don't know what this means. Are you saying that you walked in another direction and avoided the trouble?

Thanks.

 

[smithman 10]

Model 36?

Yes

 

[bph9]

And I forgot to mention attacks from multiple assailants. The revolver is the last weapon you want in your hands.

 

[wileyjackhammer]

The majority of my training was in LE with semi-auto pistols, so my familiarity and proficiency are with those. I can and have qualified with revolvers, but in the real world they are not as good for me. I generally dislike J frames, so they are not a real option. My primary carry gun is a Glock 33 in a Kramer pocket holster, with one spare mag. Not "fun" but likely to work. It has XS sights, and I carried as a BUG in uniform, also with a spare magazine.

The revolver I carry the most is a 296 (.44) in a fannypack with 2 speed loaders. It is my primary dog walking gun because if we meet an attack prone dog, it is likely to be a contact shot and I can see myself jamming into the attacking dog hard enough to push a semi auto out of battery.

S&W 296 is an interesting choice. Nice gun, bought one when they first came out. I have a Kramer holster for it but not a pocket carry. I carry one or two speed strips when I do carry revolver. When I carry the 296, it is usually to show it off at a BBQ or other meeting of friends where ,44's are common.
I have another little S&W .44 spl I carry more often, also a L frame size but also very lightweight with exposed hammer, also a 5 shot & I can pocket carry it better. I also pocket carry a 642. It is registered to carry in Hawaii, so I bring that when I go there.
I always do my HR 218 Revolver Qual's with one or more revolvers and a 1911 for autos, which I carry most often.
Where I am going & mode of dress determines what I carry.
I am to old to reliably run, but not to old to retreat.
When trouble comes, Leaving is always my first option now, as I am no longer the police and no pursuits by me should be necessary....
I have been to "that movie", on duty, a few times with a revolver and I am still upright.

 

[Navy vet]

When I was working my backup was a revolver because I believed any use of it would be up close and in contact with the bad guy.

The bad guy would also be in a dedicated fight for their life and I might need to access and fire with one hand, while my other secured my duty firearm.

Now retired I carry a semi-auto, try not to put myself in dangerous situations and stay alert to my surroundings.

I fire the semi more accurately and if I do my part I should see the problem coming. I will take the advantages of the semi-auto over the revolver at this point in my life.

-easier to hit what I need to hit
-easier to reload and clear a malfunction.
-aging eyes aided by the red dot make distance shots easier.
-less recoil so quicker second shot.

Just my thoughts.


-

For all the same reasons I carry a G19 Gen 5 MOS and soon to be carrying a G43x MOS. (Having slide modified by Glock Store) Both with Holosun optics. Plus the biggest reason, a J Frame just isn't comfortable in my hands. As I have always said, hand gun preference is a VERY personal thing. I know there are Glock haters out there, especially on here. I've shot the S&W simi's and they didn't "feel" right. My moto is carry what you can shoot best with.

 

[Doug M.]

Sorry. I don't know what this means. Are you saying that you walked in another direction and avoided the trouble?

Thanks.

*
Hard to go elsewhere at the point he describes. "Bladed off" probably refers to dropping your non-dominant side leg back for balance, similar to the martial arts/boxer stance, or a Weaver technique stance.

 

[65-2x2]

I wouldn't mind carrying a revolver, and would feel sufficiently armed with one.... if I could conceal it well. I am a holster on a belt kind of guy and that leads me to carry the old obsolete, pistol that is too heavy and that fires a cartridge that isn't even dangerous any more....A 1911. That thin 1911 just disappears under my golf shirt like it wasn't even there.

You can always create scenarios where some expert gun-handling street mugger with an intimate knowledge or your carry piece and the moves of a Ninja, is able to disable your weapon, but in my long life, I haven't run across one yet. Carry what you are comfortable with and can handle well, because, if you avoid trouble and places where trouble brews, you will most likely never need it anyway.

 

[Rocketmedic40]

I wouldn't mind carrying a revolver, and would feel sufficiently armed with one.... if I could conceal it well. I am a holster on a belt kind of guy and that leads me to carry the old obsolete, pistol that is too heavy and that fires a cartridge that isn't even dangerous any more....A 1911. That thin 1911 just disappears under my golf shirt like it wasn't even there.

You can always create scenarios where some expert gun-handling street mugger with an intimate knowledge or your carry piece and the moves of a Ninja, is able to disable your weapon, but in my long life, I haven't run across one yet. Carry what you are comfortable with and can handle well, because, if you avoid trouble and places where trouble brews, you will most likely never need it anyway.

I walk through the mall protected only by the vigilance of Gecko45, which makes my choice of a snub nose J frame revolver, excusable. He fights the ninjas for me, so all I have to worry about are the randoms.

 

[BrettByers]

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?

Now that I'm more low speed high drag I'll choose a revolver 99% of the time
The 1% is a M&P Shield clipped to my belt less scrubs after work late night shopping

 

[jimmyj]

My primary CCW is a Glock 43X with a shield 15 round magazine plus an extra.
Backup is a S&W M638 and a speed strip
(I also wear suspenders and a pants belt.)
I used to carry two hand grenades but the local real estate agent asked me to stop as the neighbors were moving away.

 

[white cloud]

Sorry. I don't know what this means. Are you saying that you walked in another direction and avoided the trouble?

Thanks.

Sorry I wasn't clear. "Blading off" in this context means stepping back with one foot into a more stable stance. I practiced a martial art for a long time and this is sort of automatic for me. I stepped back with the strong side foot in these two events to prevent my "problem" from fouling my draw. Fortunately, I didn't have to draw in either. Does this clear things up a bit?

 

[SW1911PC]

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?

The revolver and the semi-auto are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Mister Coffee]

Sorry I wasn't clear. "Blading off" in this context means stepping back with one foot into a more stable stance. I practiced a martial art for a long time and this is sort of automatic for me. I stepped back with the strong side foot in these two events to prevent my "problem" from fouling my draw. Fortunately, I didn't have to draw in either. Does this clear things up a bit?

Yes. Clear now. Thank you.

 

[Legendarylawman]

Revolver=offensive and defensive weapon. Auto=defensive only. Unless you don't care if you get caught. LOL... I tell that to my shooting buddy all the time.

I have the permit, but don't carry. Too much responsibility. However, my car, truck and home are well secured....

 

[Bald1]

Revolver=offensive and defensive weapon. Auto=defensive only. Unless you don't care if you get caught. LOL... I tell that to my shooting buddy all the time.

I have the permit, but don't carry. Too much responsibility. However, my car, truck and home are well secured....

I don't get it ?

 

[URIT]

A revolver is not a be all to end all. I'm sticking with my EDC model 3953.