Revolver vs. Semi Auto for CCW

[BE FAST]

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?

 

[326MOD10]

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.


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[Smeckler]

I pocket carry, so depending on what fits in my pocket, I carry either a revolver or an auto.

I've carried a revolver a lot more than the autos though, mainly due to the reliability and the things you've mentioned. A civillian is unlikely to find themselves in a gun battle, and most defensive shootings are well under 5 shots fired, so I don't think that's a limitation at all.

 

[Rule3]

Something may happen, to someone, someplace,at anytime, for any reason, carry what you are comfortable with.

 

[eagle1944]

Glock semi-auto and S&W revolver fan here … about ready to "pull the trigger" on a S&W Perf Center 642, in a DeSantis "Roscoe" cross draw OWB holster, stoked with Winchester .38 Special+P 130 grain Defender rounds. As I age (well over 65!), a J-frame makes a lot of sense. Performance Center trigger makes DAO doable.

 

[fatcat3]

JMHO. Carry what you will carry, not what you want to carry but leave home, are comfortable/competent with. .22 Derringer, tricked out, high speed low drag, light, laser, optic, tactical whatever, or something in-between. Everything else is just noise. For me that's a S&W 638. and a speed strip. YMMV.

 

[white cloud]

Thank you both "Be Fast" and "326Mod10" for your comments. In some ways you both provide "food for thought". It's nice to have opinions from people with a law enforcement background.

Most of the time I live and work on a farm and can carry a very effective handgun. A lot of the time it's a 686+ that I shoot really well. Honestly, the revolver is mainly for pest control. Where I live has less than five people per square mile. There just isn't a lot of crime.

Going into town is a very different situation. If you look at the local news for that town, it's pretty unusual not have a shooting or two every day. My carry gun choices are a 649 which is a great pocket gun and a Shield Plus that is easy to shoot well, has excellent sights and carries twice the ammo. I have had two "events" with the 649 in my pocket. In both, I fortunately saw what was coming, stuck my hand in my right pocket and bladed off. This technique worked like magic with both people rapidly changing direction and leaving. One "event" was at a gas station and I don't think anyone else even knew something had happened.

 

[smithman 10]

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!

 

[Sevens]

Items numbered 1 through 7 are quite detailed.

What about "Bad guy simply gets a hold of cylinder and you cannot possibly squeeze the trigger while the cylinder is frozen from movement."

Not sure how often that might happen, much like items 1 through 7.

Generally speaking, I believe carry is a very personal choice for anyone and everyone who elects to do it. I am happy that a good guy elects to go armed. Some folks think an NAA mini-revolver in .22 Magnum is plenty. Others have 17 in a magazine and two extra mags. Some folks have two handguns and three knives.

Probably more than a decade ago I had a Glock 19 that I was no longer interested in keeping so when a guy on my local grass roots Pro-2A forum offered a S&W Model 60, 3-inch in .357 Magnum, I offered the Glock in trade (with a few boxes of ammo to sweeten) and he liked that deal so we agreed to meet up. He told me what he was driving, I told him the same and he added that he would be easy to spot because he was a huge, huge man.

He wasn't kidding. Something beyond 6'6" and 300. He blocked out the sun when he walked at you. He told me the S&W was a fine revolver but he was over carrying a 5-shot gun. A couple weeks prior, he was approached by three teenagers at a gas station and they were looking to do harm. As in so many of these situations, the mere introduction of a concealed handgun ended the impromptu meeting, but my trading buddy could not get over the arithmetic problem of having multiple adversaries in multiple directions and only five shots on his side. Not to mention that his extreme physical size wasn't enough for these teenagers to select some other random victim.

He was happy with his moving to a hi-cap pistol. I kept the Model 60 for a few years and sold it at a gun show. I never had any interest in carrying it and I otherwise had no real use or love for it.

 

[Doug M.]

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.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

… A civillian is unlikely to find themselves in a gun battle, and most defensive shootings are well under 5 shots fired, so I don't think that's a limitation at all.

I think you need to get Professional Training.

You have a gun in your pocket you can be in a gun fight / battle.

The Police Department I retired from about 20% of our shootings were off duty.

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.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Something may happen, to someone, someplace,at anytime, for any reason, carry what you are comfortable with.

Great point as a Lawman I know that evil happens everywhere.

People who are not aware should watch the Investigation Discovery Channel. Because I am thinking about 50% of Americans are unaware of what happens.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Glock semi-auto and S&W revolver fan here … about ready to "pull the trigger" on a S&W Perf Center 642, in a DeSantis "Roscoe" cross draw OWB holster, stoked with Winchester .38 Special+P 130 grain Defender rounds. As I age (well over 65!), a J-frame makes a lot of sense. Performance Center trigger makes DAO doable.

Great share. What a coincidence.

I have a DeSantis "Roscoe" cross draw OWB holster, stoked with Winchester .38 Special +P 130 grain JHP but I am packing the Kimber K6xs a six shooter.

 

[Guevera]

My go-to comparison photo. I'm a whole lot more likely to hit the target with that Beretta than I am the J Frame. Neat revolver - just not for me.

 

[wrkerr]

What about "Bad guy simply gets a hold of cylinder and you cannot possibly squeeze the trigger while the cylinder is frozen from movement."

Rotate your wrist in the opposite direction the cylinder rotates while pulling the trigger. It will go bang….most of the time.

 

[fatcat3]

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.

Absolutely, however one has a less chance of seeing someone let alone someone wanting to do harm in kokadjo Maine population @ 44 than NYC, DC (until 12 days ago we will see what tomorrow brings) L.A., etc.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

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 agree. When I started with the County our Academy was S&W 38 Special only. When I went to the City I had to do their Academy with the S&W 9mm.

It is about confidence with equipment. I suggest Professional Training for everyone.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Absolutely, however one has a less chance of seeing someone let alone someone wanting to do harm in kokadjo Maine population @ 44 than NYC, DC (until 12 days ago we will see what tomorrow brings) L.A., etc.

Bad guy does the NYC Crime Spree and decides to flee to Canada.

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

 

[Bald1]

Bad guy does the NYC Crime Spree and decides to flee to Canada.

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

Agreed, it can happen anywhere at anytime. My wife laughs at me. We live in the most affluent town in our county. There literally is no crime. Yet we go to dinner and she knows not to sit in my chair. The one facing the door. She also knows my P365 is in my pocket. Situational awareness is key, regardless of location

 

[BB57]

I agree. When I started with the County our Academy was S&W 38 Special only. When I went to the City I had to do their Academy with the S&W 9mm.

It is about confidence with equipment. I suggest Professional Training for everyone.

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.