I'm a wheel gun fan, but I would not recommend one to a novice who does not plan on training with it extensively. Revolvers are reliable guns. But that is only 1/2 the equation. The other 1/2 is that one has to hit the target one aims at; and the harder the trigger pull, the more a novice will throw the gun to their weak side when jerking the trigger. A near miss is still a miss.
I agree with this, but believe it's a lot more than 1/2. Revolvers, semi-autos, shotguns, machine guns, it's really apples and oranges. You must learn about your weapon, then practice and train with it, whatever it is. A revolver is a great weapon to start with in some respects, but is different in so many ways than an auto and can be just as complicated as an auto without training and practice. It's probably better to know the functions and capabilities about different weapons, but what's most important that no matter what you own, starting out or otherwise, you are completely proficient with it, which also indicates the level of safeness and effectiveness. Negligent discharges can occur with any weapon, and most likely occur due to lack of knowledge, training and practice and not weapon design. It's a rare event that a modern weapon is the cause of an ND; it is invariably some failure of the operator. One of my least favorite excuses of all time is "the gun went off while being cleaned". Yet, pick up a newspaper and you will see that often. Ignoring for one minute the complete obsurdity of that action, anyone that would clean a loaded weapon should instantly be considered negligent.
I've seen some strange posts of late, mostly in the semi-auto areas with opinions on carrying rounds in chambers and "un-safe" weapons like Glocks. I actually saw one post defending an individual that negligently shot another individual in a church, no less. The poster claimed that the shooter had an "accident". Many seem to get
accident confused with
negligent it seems. Weapon safeties are only as good as the operators understanding and use of them; the safety
is the operator via safe handling by qualified operators/shooters. The Glock is inherently no less safe than any other modern weapon in good condition as long as the operator understands how to use it. No weapon is more lethal than the other; a .22lr is just as capable of killing and individual in a situation of negligence every bit as much as a .460 Weatherby. All firearms must be used by competent, physically capable and trained operators or disaster can or will ensue.
I don't care what one starts out with, or purchases later, training is the number 1 consideration with any weapon. I have carried a Glock, and found it to be as easy and safe to handle as any other firearm that I've used, but it took some education and practice to use, like all other firearms I have used. It starts with simple exercises like reading the manual, basic operation (to include clearing procedures), dry-fire and range use, and maybe even more formal training by qualified instructors.
