photoman
Member
I would edit to add "Full size" semi-automatic hanguns have been used in every military conflict since WW1.
As a rule, the smaller the auto-loading pistol gets, the more likely it is to malfunction.
CCW...Revolver or Semi?
- Thread starter msnbcnnbcbs
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I would edit to add "Full size" semi-automatic hanguns have been used in every military conflict since WW1.
As a rule, the smaller the auto-loading pistol gets, the more likely it is to malfunction.
I had to laugh, as I am 6'1' [although beginning to shrink after 65 years] and weigh 200 lbs, and I think I need to lose 10 or 15 pounds.
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617X10
Member
Get some snap caps, wrap your middle pad onto the trigger, figure out where the staging point is and it's like shooting single action every time. You will eventually get very fast at this with practice. Those who know how to do this can shoot a J-frame as good as any semi-auto.
amazingflapjack
US Veteran
For many years I have carried a Charter Arms Bull Dog .44-.44 SPL. 5 shot-stainless and rubber-21 OZS unloaded-2 1/2 inch barrel, in an Uncle Mikes IWB open top holster-appendix carry. I can retrieve it in a hurry, and you'll never know I've got it. But you have to decide. I would not carry in my pants pocket, unless it was a secondary piece. Flapjack
Ralph G. Briscoe
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I have to play the odds. Most armed confrontations take place at less than 15 feet, in dim light, involve 2 to 3 shots, and are won by the first person to score a solid hit. Such situations are adrenalin-charged which means the fewer things that can possibly screw up the better. All those things say "revolver" to me.
snub56
Member
My advise would be that revolver or semiauto does not matter. What matters more is that you train a lot with whichever you choose. A high stress situation is not the time to have to think about things
Beancounter81
Member
Shooting .357 magnum out of a 13 oz 340 will likely cause you to make noises, but I suspect they will be groans or yelps rather than giggles.
I carry my S&W 396TI .44 special, the wife carries her S&W 640 .38 special plus P. We both have and enjoy shooting semi autos, at the range. We carry revolvers because of the reliabilty of them. No FTF or FTE from a wheelgun.
+1 with one exception - divorced and no longer married. But I am "crazy" about my 642!
Plus, when I pull the trigger, I am convinced it will go "bang" - every single time.
Yah.. I really gotta go with the 642 for what you are looking to do.. 5 pulls 5 BANGS!!
One definite advantage that goes to the revolver has not been mentioned.
It does not leave expended casings at the scene of a shooting incident.
Remember the Miranda warning that anything you say can and will be used against you. Casings on the ground can and will speak in your stead, whether you want them to or not.
For home defense, I'll go with a semiauto every time; no problem. It's hard to beat a .45 ACP pistol.
For street protection, a 642, 442, 66 snubby or in the winter, a 624 3" is the "constant companion of my walks," as Thomas Jefferson put it.
Most of the time, if the shooting is justified, there will be no problem with casings on the ground. But the exception is the rule. Visualize a gang of thugs; you shoot (maybe a warning shot) to protect your life, and need to execute a strategic withdrawal fast. That's the scenario I visualize. They might say "Officer, this guy just came out of nowhere and started shooting at us!" Right. And the litter from YOUR gun is on the ground. Bad news. Their word against yours. With a revolver, that cannot happen. Should you fire a warning shot, no big deal; that casing goes with you, in your control. Think about it.
John
It does not leave expended casings at the scene of a shooting incident.
Remember the Miranda warning that anything you say can and will be used against you. Casings on the ground can and will speak in your stead, whether you want them to or not.
For home defense, I'll go with a semiauto every time; no problem. It's hard to beat a .45 ACP pistol.
For street protection, a 642, 442, 66 snubby or in the winter, a 624 3" is the "constant companion of my walks," as Thomas Jefferson put it.
Most of the time, if the shooting is justified, there will be no problem with casings on the ground. But the exception is the rule. Visualize a gang of thugs; you shoot (maybe a warning shot) to protect your life, and need to execute a strategic withdrawal fast. That's the scenario I visualize. They might say "Officer, this guy just came out of nowhere and started shooting at us!" Right. And the litter from YOUR gun is on the ground. Bad news. Their word against yours. With a revolver, that cannot happen. Should you fire a warning shot, no big deal; that casing goes with you, in your control. Think about it.
John
I think a good shotgun is the best choice for home defense...there is no "perfect" choice, but a shotgun offers a lot of power combined with less worry about over-penetration and less worry about missing. Note I said "less" not "no." The downsides to a shotgun, especially with a long barrel, is that it may not be as maneuverable as a handgun within the home, and the recoil may be hard for some (like my wife) to handle effectively.
For carry, I too have gone back and forth over the revolver versus semi issue...I have several pistols, including 1911s, and ranging from full size to pocket size (like my LC9.) I have .45s, 9mm, and .357/.38 caliber handguns. When it comes down to it, while I enjoy them all, I have come back around to a revolver as my most secure choice...for me. I keep a Ruger GP100 loaded in the bedroom, and I feel confident that my wife can use it if the need arises (she has difficulty racking the slide on almost all my pistols, except the LC9.) For my carry choice, I have settled on a 642.
So far, and pray God that continues to be true, I have never been in a situation that requires the need of a weapon (unless you consider a knife and a fork at Thanksgiving weapons.)
RobertJ.
Member
A Ruger SP-101, in a Galco Combat Master holster, at 4 oclock. I pick my wardrobe to fit my gun, not the other way around.
Whenever anybody asks me why I carry a revolver most of the time I say "cause it doesn't shuck shells on the sidewalk" Of course fool proof operation under stress is important too.
ldp4570
US Veteran
I alway love when folks first con of a revolver is the width of the cylinder. I suggest you hold your auto next to the revolver. You'll find the main body of the revolver to be alot thinner than your auto, and the buldge is very slight, even with an N-frame.
Next is where folks say they can't hit with their J-frames, you need to practice more, thats all there is to it.
I do carry semiautos from time to time i.e. 3913 or 909, there is always a revolver to back them up. Lately I've started carrying my 66-2 2.5" and my 640ND. I also compete with them and my 4" model 10.
Next is where folks say they can't hit with their J-frames, you need to practice more, thats all there is to it.
I do carry semiautos from time to time i.e. 3913 or 909, there is always a revolver to back them up. Lately I've started carrying my 66-2 2.5" and my 640ND. I also compete with them and my 4" model 10.
DevilDog72
US Veteran
I have carried all sorts of guns ...Colt Commander 45, 3913 and my constant companion since '94 a Sig 229. I bought a Mdl19-8 4" bbl to get my Texas CHL Instructors Cert. I fell in love with it. My next purchase was a Mdl 19-4 snubby, it has now replaced my trusted Sig as my primary carry. I shoot both well, I practice with both often, maintain each with care and have every confidence in both. As a side note to reliability, my Sig has never, to my recollection, had a FTFire, FTFeed or FTE. Either type of side arm will do what is needed if or when the time for its use is required. The main thing is to practice, practice and practice again with what you choose to carry. Muscle memory will take over when the adrenaline starts to flood your system if the event of a " fight or flight" incounter occurs.
Knightrider03m
Member
If this is going to be your 1st CC gun, then I would go with an auto. It can be more useful.
I was taught that there is no such thing as "a warning shot". If I pull the trigger, I intend to use that round to stop a threat. In Ohio, warning shots are illegal
This is a quote from a Police Captain in Shawnee after an incident where a homeowner was arrested for aggravated assault when he fired a warning shot to keep a bunch of teen-agers from running away after he had called 911 (the teens were causing a scene in the street in front of his house): "While legal possession of a firearm to protect yourself or another from a deadly threat is permitted, the firing of a warning shot to scare someone, or in this case attempt to keep them from running, is not only inappropriate, it's criminal activity,". "Aggravated Assault is intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm by use of a deadly weapon."
But on the original topic, I like that a revolver has a zero chance of jamming. They can be a challenge to conceal if one wears shorts so I wear long pants summer or winter. I got ugly legs anyway ...
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I mostly had been carrying a 642, but lately this Kahr CM9 goes everywhere I do. This gun just flat out runs.
My 649 is just sexy. Contours and shapely in all the right spots. It loves my chubby little self.
I tried carrying my new Walther 99c IWB. Great gun, but it was like carrying a sawed off section of a 2x4 with spurs. Definatly going to be looking for a hip holster. Prints too easily.
I tried carrying my new Walther 99c IWB. Great gun, but it was like carrying a sawed off section of a 2x4 with spurs. Definatly going to be looking for a hip holster. Prints too easily.
