My #1 reason for choosing a revolver for SD

[JJEH]

Unlike a semi-auto pistol, a revolver cannot be knocked out of battery by pressing the muzzle into the target.

You are right, this is a great advantage.

Great people, like Mr. Lauck have thought about that as well and found a solution

1911 Standoff Device

 

[Old cop]

I'm no longer a police officer and cannot imagine a struggle w/someone I was arresting anymore. That said I carry a revolver b/c it is the platform I'm most familiar with, when I had to use deadly force my thirty-eight did the job, and it is all I need in retirement given my mundane daily routines.

 

[deriter]

I just like the simplicity of the revolver. However I do carry a semi auto mainly for the extra rounds, and I think they carry easier without showing as much. Right now I carry either. The ole j frame does hide well though.

 

[Xfuzz]

If that is your NUMBER 1 reason for packin a revolver
you might want to re-think a few things.

If you have allowed yourself to get "pinned on the ground".
your day has gone south. Revolver or semi-auto.

 

[haywood]

I like my Colt 1911. I also like my Glock 26. I have so many extra mags for both guns I can't carry them all. That being said, I carry a 442 in my pocket and a LCR357 in my waist daily. With Speed Loaders and Speed Strips for reloads, I feel comfortable.

 

[Donn]

Ain't that the truth!

The days of dropping a gun in your pocket and going about your business are like a distant memory. Now just to drive down to the barber shop requires a tactical seminar.

A TAC seminar only? Don't forget the two full size, 18+1 autos, 4-5 spare mags, a BUG, and a full tang, fixed blade fighting knife. You never know what you might run into at Dunkin Donuts. Seriously, you can't equate being a legal carry private citizen with what a LEO might encounter on duty, the comparison most guys use to justify carrying half their body weight in ordinance. Sit in front of a computer screen all day, drowning in "what if" scenarios, you'll look like Arnold's team in Predator just to go to the mailbox.

 

[DaGOOSExyz]

Now and then I look at pistols but have never seriously thought of buying one. Nothing against them it's just for me the revolver is the real deal.

 

[6518John]

Dagoosexyz--I agree 100% and was the same way. But I picked up a 1911. Every revolver shooter owes it to her/himself to try out a 1911 at least once in a lifetime. Probably the same is true for the 1911's beautiful first cousin, the Hi-Power.

 

[ironhead7544]

Nothing is perfect. I have had revolvers fail on me. My M581 duty gun broke down in the middle of a major match. Cylinder just stopped turning. Same thing happened with a new M629 after firing 100 light target loads.

I only prefer the auto pistol because it carries more ammo and is a lot quicker to reload when necessary.

A revolver with a reload is just fine. But I like a little edge.

 

[Pef]

Don't oversell a revolver. Yes, if a perp gets a hand on your autoloader and it goes out of battery, the gun will not fire.

But have you ever tried to fire a revolver in DA while gripping the cylinder?

Ain't gonna happen.

 

[66snub]

And don't forget that you don't have to worry about limp-wristing a revolver either!

 

[Fastbolt]

And don't forget that you don't have to worry about limp-wristing a revolver either!

Well, never say never ...

One time when I called to discuss something with one of the revolver repair techs (as an armorer), somehow we got around to talking about the Ti/Sc J's chambered in .357 Magnum.

Seems they'd gotten a little snub back for warranty because the new owner of one of those pocket mules reported that he was experiencing bullet pull when shooting major brand 158gr JHP Magnum loads, causing the gun to seize up.

The repair guys couldn't find anything mechanically wrong with the gun, and couldn't reproduce the condition when shooting it with similar factory loads. Until ...

At some point, it seemed someone thought to try shooting Magnum loads using a relaxed grip (such as might be used by a new owner who might not be an experienced Magnum revolver shooter). Bingo. Bullet pull.

From what I was told, they'd never expected anyone would ever fire one of those little ultra-lite Magnum snubs with anything other than a virtual death grip. However, if a light enough grip/wrist lock were used, it seemed it might be possible to create a condition where the gun jumped back fast enough, hard enough, that momentum & inertia ... and maybe a variable crimp on some particular round ... might come together to result in a bullet jumping the crimp. Even a jacketed bullet.

I was told they were surprised, as that sort of thing had never happened during the extensive factory R&D in the development of the Ti/Sc Magnum snubs. But then, as mentioned, none of the factory shooters had apparently thought to hold the hard-kicking pocket mules with anything less than a death grip, either (when fixtures weren't being used for endurance testing).

At other times I've also been told that occasionally during ongoing factory test-firing, using samples of different major American-made ammo, might sometimes reveal what appeared to be crimping on the lighter end of things for some production lot or other. (Kind of like how some unexpected case rim thickness variations might be observed when checking reported feeding issues using some particular production lot of ammo fired in pistols.)

So ...maybe when you consider the the huge number of different combinations of shooters, guns and ammunition that may occur, it might still be possible to come across just the 'right' combination of influences to create the potential for something weird to happen.

Still seems prudent to check ammo being considered for use in the lightweight revolvers for signs of bullet pull. FWIW, when first testing my first M&P 340 (I own 2), which is slightly heavier than a Sc snub with a Ti (titanium) cylinder, I discovered that at least 3-4 brands of Magnum JHP's exhibited sings of bullet pull, in my snub, when I was shooting it. Probably why they have that warning in the ammunition section of the owner safety manual for revolvers.

 

[Bullzaye]

You're right, my bad. What was I thinking? Revolver shooters are generally better marksmen. They realize that a limited number of bullets to get the job done means that they must make them count. I understand all about adrenaline and and how paper doesn't translate to "the real world" or "the street" or whatever Internet gunfights you've been in lately.

I'll take my Vaquero(s), my 625 or even gasps a j frame against ANY trench coat wearing keyboard commando or ne'er do well and BANK on the fact that my coffee will still be HOT when the "engagement/scenario/tacticool situation" is done. Too many rounds on board and not enough emphasis on hitting the center of the target makes Jack a dead body.

No offense, but that was spoken like a true "keyboard commando"!

Seriously, though...is it absolutely necessary that someone has to explain why their caliber choice is better than mine, or their firearm of choice is better than mine? Even so, that would be fine, if it were just, "Here's what I prefer to carry, and why". But no, that's not enough...someone then has to call someone else a wimp because their caliber doesn't begin with a "4", and anything less is for women and boys, or some such nonsense (no offense intended towards women...or boys!)

And, inevitably, regardless of the topic at hand...it could be the weather, or the price of tea in China, but SOMEONE will have to turn it into a caliber-debate. WHY? For those who haven't been paying attention...the caliber of your handgun is probably the LEAST important factor in deciding whether you will survive a violent encounter. As others have mentioned, situational awareness is paramount, shot placement, tactics, etc...all are more important, generally, than what caliber you're carrying.

Sorry for the rant.

By the way...I too have heard tell of close-range shootings involving a revolver where bone and other debris were thrown into the front of the cylinder, rendering the gun inoperative. Actually...didn't one of the FBI agents involved in the Miami Shootout have his revolver malfunction because some bone and/or other debris (from his own injuries) fell into his cylinder during a reload attempt? I may be mistaken, and/or I may be recalling a fictionalized version of those events...I'm not certain.In any case, revolvers are not the end-all be-all, never-malfunctioning machines that many seem to believe them to be. Anyone who has never experienced the ability of revolvers to malfunction...likely has not fired very many rounds through them!

FWIW...I love my revolvers, and I often carry a M.642 as a BUG. But...I have no delusions about the infallibility of revolvers.

Tim

 

[Frizzman]

I don't think it matters very much if one prefers a revolver or pistol. I carry both and can run both adequately. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. It's nearly impossible to predict how a serious social encounter will occur. I generally carry a lightweight J whether the primary is revolver or auto. The quality of the weapon, type of ammo and competence in using it as well as being alert and in good physical condition are factors that are as important as choice of gun type. Having a light is as important. Good footwear, not flip flops is important. It's a package and having a focus on nothing but the type of gun is too narrow in my opinion.

 

[KJS]

I think revolvers are a lot of fun to fire on the range. Though the idea of a defensive gun with only 5 rounds simply doesn't appeal to me.

Each has advantages & disadvantages and you have to decide which you want to bet on. I'll agree a revolver is better when you're literally touching the bad guy.

 

[rwsmith]

Everything's a compromise......

One is better for this, one is better for that. It's good to analyze the variables and possibilities to keep from being unpleasantly surprised. Other than that we make our choices and hope for the best.

 

[Triathloncoach]

Because in my sheltered middle class world the odds of needing a gun is close to zero. So having any working gun checks that box. So I like to carry something cool. Plastic isn't cool.

Now if I really was in harm's way and was limited to a handgun, (and couldn't stay home) it would definitely have more than 5-8 rounds.

 

[Harkrader]

Out of Battery-ish for a revolver

I did see a demo, with an unloaded gun, of grabbing it over the top strap, preventing the cylinder from turning.

Hope I never have to try either one.

 

[PALADIN85020]

A double action revolver (unless the hammer is cocked) can be put out of action simply by grasping it so that the cylinder is immobilized. If the hammer is cocked, a lot more skill will be required to insert the web of the hand or a finger in front of the hammer.

Best defense is never let the perp close enough to do this. But it's good to know if you ever are in a last-ditch fight with someone armed with a revolver. And good luck. It's easier said than done.

Avoid confrontation and put distance between you and the perp. Not having to do this or be presented with this circumstance is the best course of action.

John

 

[shawn mccarver]

Why do you think this strength of the revolver isn't mentioned more often?

I think the idea that the inability of the revolver to not be knocked out of battery when you shove it into someone's mid-section or screw it into their ear right before you "splatter their brains" is not a big strength of a revolver or a real weakness of a semi-auto.

That "advantage" of a revolver over a semi-auto is more imagined than real, and it falls in the same category as the argument that revolvers are bad because a strong person can squeeze the cylinder and stop you from firing or can put the web of their hand in the space between the hammer and frame just in time to stop the revolver from firing, right before they disarm you and beat you senseless.

That same category of "imagined" disadvantages includes that one about some punk reaching out and removing the top half of your Beretta while you have it pointed in his mid-section.

Everyone has "heard" of all of these happening, yet no one seems to really be able to nail down to whom and when, with supporting statements in a real-life incident, as opposed to a training video where everyone is standing around watching the "instructor" show off. One hundred years ago, we were all amazed by a show-off who demonstrated the "road agent's spin." Anyone remember that one for you people concerned about being disarmed?

And, even if any of them have happened (out-of-battery rendering weapon inoperable when shoved in someone's mid-section, stopping a revolver action by grabbing the cylinder or putting the web of the hand in the frame space just before the hammer falls, or a punk disassembling your Beretta), it has happened so infrequently as to be a non-issue.

If these things bother any of you (not necessarily the OP, who was merely asking), then find a semi-auto with a FLGR (full length guide rod) that also requires a skate key for disassembly. If it helps any of you sleep better at night, then it is worth it!