The Revolver vs. the Pistol for self defense. Which is better?

[Hydrashock]

I just go ahead and carry them both, since for me personally i cant decide on if i like a revolver or my semi auto...so i just make room in my heart and my pants for both...
Taurus model 82 6shot .38 special +p of course loaded with winchester ranger , S&W sigma .40 4" 14+1 loaded with hornaday z-max same as the red tips just a cooler box for christmas im gonna stagger my mags with red and green tips so my sigma can be in the christmas spirit

 

[dwever]

This thread moved me away from my Revolver and towards Duty Glock 22

OP with responses by me after "-": The revolver advantage is that you don't get confused by the safety in an emergency, - not an issue with a Glock
there is a lot less chance of it jamming, yeah, but just barely
and you can just point and shoot. - Same with Glock
There is a lot less risk of it firing if dropped although automatics now have a safety for that. - Again, not an issue with a Glock

The automatic has a lot larger round capacity, - double to be exact over an 8 shot revolver.
it is easier to reload with magazines, - Yup, but not by much with match grade moon clips.
it has a safety to help protect the shooter with hammer drop, and it can be a lot more compact and flatter than a revolver. - What hammer?
The big drawbacks are a load jamming in the chamber possible making your weapon unusable, - Have not had an issue since first duty block, I am on number 4.
the possibility of it going off it is dropped unless your pistol has safeties for this which many of the new weapons have, - No more likely.
and in an emergency situation less advanced shooters can forget, in a high pressure situation, to load the chamber or take off the safety. - Always carry Condition 1, and safety not an issue with Glock.

Okay, this post has a lot of overly generalized assumptions, and in totality, the thread ended up moving me towards my Glock:

Stuff I use on duty aside, from S&W I have purchased four revolvers and two semi-autos (PC 627 5", 617, PC 629, PC 627 2.625", 1911 Commander, PC 1911 melonite).

I occasionally carry a PC 627 with the 2 5/8 inch barrel in a Galco Combat master holster; I also carry my duty Glock 22 of course in a duty holster, but also in a Galco Cop II concealed. The issue for me carrying concealed with the PC 627 originally was not so much the size, it was the stinking weight, the recoil, and the capacity.

To have reasonable fire power with 8 rounds in the PC627 I carry Speer Short Barrel .357 giving me 290 Lbs. in muzzle energy. This is a manageable load for follow-up shots (unlike say some other Speer and Federal Premium .357 loads with over double the muzzle energy).

Problem is, I look at my duty Glock 22 (.40) with the Federal Premium 180 grain loads at 392 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy, and all of a sudden I have more energy, less recoil, faster follow-up shots, more accuracy, DOUBLE the capacity, better concealment, and my pants aren't being pulled down.

I'm not far geographically from the off-duty OIS that happened up in or around Nashville a year or so ago when he was 3 on 1 in a motel lobby shoot out. The off-duty officer prevailed shooting all three armed robbers, but the difficulty to survive goes way way up if the officer had been packing a 686 or PC 627. Then last month in NYC, there was an armed crew of nine people robbing drug dealers that thank God two arresting officers happened upon just two of the guys when the balance of the crew happened to be at another location, and they learned about the full crew through interrogation, then the rest were arrested with planned overwhelming force.

I carry the Glock more and more, and on duty I wouldn't carry a revolver if I could although I used to think I would. I love my 627 PC, but it is increasingly relegated to a hunting side arm with full load .357 Federal Premium A Frames. And it may eventually be sold and replaced by a Wilson Combat Elite 1911 even with the capacity loss.

My son belongs to the Army, has competed successfully both with long guns and hand guns, he loves M-4's, M-9's are okay, the M-24, and he would love a boutique grade 1911 such as Wilson, Nighhawk, or Baer. Revolvers are not even part of his peer's discussion - revolvers for them are like black powder for us. A cool connection to fire-arm history, but just that: history. They're probably right.

 

[Delta-3]

In the end, it really comes down to what you are comfortable with & what you shoot the best. (that includes reloading & stoppage drills as well).
Don't forget, no one is going to remember what caliber or type of gun was used. They will only remember who won.

 

[s2harry]

Which is better?

Why not ask the FBI, CIA, Navy seals, Army Rangers, Military, and Secret Service, along with a couple million law enforcement officers who depend on their weapon to save their life every day and see what they carry?

Its not what the cops and army carry that matters. The Military has regulations they have to follow and city cops have the police charter or what ever to follow so they won't get sued that much. Your not doing a cop job so you dont need 45 rounds to fight a protracted fight. If you carry 3-4 magazines of 10-15 rounds where you gonna put it? Sometimes all your going to be able to carry is a 5 shot 38.
I believe its better to practice so you can hit anything you need to. Get your gun adjusted to shoot POA You may need to make a single action shot. Cant with a Glock but you can with a SW360. You should have a small stun gun with you for when you cant draw. Always carry a knife too. Remember cops dont always know who the bad guys are you do.

 

[Lost Lake]

Its not what the cops and army carry that matters. The Military has regulations they have to follow and city cops have the police charter or what ever to follow so they won't get sued that much. Your not doing a cop job so you dont need 45 rounds to fight a protracted fight. If you carry 3-4 magazines of 10-15 rounds where you gonna put it? Sometimes all your going to be able to carry is a 5 shot 38.
I believe its better to practice so you can hit anything you need to. Get your gun adjusted to shoot POA You may need to make a single action shot. Cant with a Glock but you can with a SW360. You should have a small stun gun with you for when you cant draw. Always carry a knife too. Remember cops dont always know who the bad guys are you do.

How do you know how many rounds I will need in my gun fight?
I'd rather have ten too many than one too few.

I don't carry spare mags, and with my .380 I have 6 rounds. With my 9mm I have 12, my .40 I have 17. Maybe I'll have enough ammo, maybe I won't. I don't lose sleep over it.

 

[kudzu3]

This has been tossed around so much that it seems like the more research you do, the more confused you'll become. I don't believe I've ever heard of a failure to feed, stovepipe, damaged magazine, failure to dis-engage safety, failure to engage safety with any revolver. I believe the revolver to be more user friendly, easier to maintain, quicker to action and just as easily carried concealed. That said, I carry for my concealment weapon a Kahr CW 9. Go figure.(?)

 

[Lost Lake]

S&W has a video where they dunk the M&P in a pail of mud and pull it out and shoot it. Glock had a demo where they'd fill their gun with sand and shoot it.

I don't think any of my revolvers would like to be dragged through mud, and I wouldn't trust them to work if they were.

A semi-auto is pretty sealed up really.

 

[cwo4uscgret]

round and round

the Mulberry Bush we go...

Dukie - when I went through the Academy we had hours upon hours of Ground Fighting techniques and offensive un-armed attack moves.

It was drilled into us over and over that once we as police officers "fight" the bad guy we've lost. The primary idea, if engaged physically, is to inflict as much damage as possible in 1 minute, disengage, and put the bad guy in cuffs.

The only "real" limiting thing between a revolver and a semi-auto pistol is capacity; most concealable revolvers are either 5 or 6 rounds whereas any "autos" can carry anywhere between 6+1 up to 17+1. I have a sub-compact 1911 that holds 6+1 and another that holds 10+1. My revolvers are older guns and don't hold 7 or 8 rounds as some of the newer ones do.

When your carry gun has less capacity then others then you better be darn accurate. We qualify quarterly at work. Part of our qual course included shooting 2 rounds to the chest and 1 to the head; twice. i.e. the fail to stop drill. If the bad guy is still standing (and attacking) after four rounds to center body mass (no vest) and two solid shots to the head you may want to think about running!

Pistols and revolvers aren't reliable enough for one shot stops (even though they do happen) - so practice marksmanship and defensive tactics on a regular basis; keep your eyes on a swivel as well scanning for threats.

Is a revolver better then a semi-auto? It really depends on who is shooting what gun.

 

[Lost Lake]

cwo4, I just watched a video on 'Dumbest Criminals' or something like that where a LEO took a car off the road for good reason and the perp came out blazing.... The LEO fired at least 8 rounds, another LEO came upon the scene immediately and was firing and the BG was hit 4 or 5 times before he fell, then he continued firing while down.

I think the officers involved wished they had those guns we see in the movies that have never-ending bullet supplies. There was no time to reload, the fight was at 10 feet to 20 feet as the officers backed away, no cover, just keep shooting until the threat stops.

So when I am told I'll never need more than 5 good shots, I can just watch this video with two highly trained and prepared LEOs firing everything their high capacity sidearms had hoping that one shot would connect well enough to incapacitate the BG.

 

[sipowicz]

Depends on which one is loaded.

 

[auburn2]

So when I am told I'll never need more than 5 good shots, I can just watch this video with two highly trained and prepared LEOs firing everything their high capacity sidearms had hoping that one shot would connect well enough to incapacitate the BG.

Bet they were shooting 9mms.

 

[18DAI]

"Bet they were shooting 9mms." Hehe....

Oh, now you have done it!! That argument is a whole nother can of worms on the gunboards auburn2. Regards 18DAI

 

[NKJ nut]

Okay, this post has a lot of overly generalized assumptions, and in totality, the thread ended up moving me towards my Glock:..........I carry the Glock more and more,

Well then, aren't you glad that you came to this thread

S&W has a video where they dunk the M&P in a pail of mud and pull it out and shoot it. Glock had a demo where they'd fill their gun with sand and shoot it.

I don't think any of my revolvers would like to be dragged through mud, and I wouldn't trust them to work if they were.

They wouldn't like it at all. it only takes a little filth in the barrel/cylinder gap or some at the rear around the ratchet or under it and the revolver cylinder wont turn. If it wont turn it wont shoot even one round. That is why the world's armed forces left them behind decades ago. yeah I know most of us here are not going to war but i've seen mud and grit right here in the States. ideally all of that junk shouldn't be in your carry; of course ideally you shouldn't ever have the need to shoot anyone. Murphy should keep his sorry butt out of out guns but he'll slip in if he can.

Bet they were shooting 9mms.

probably; those things wouldn't kill a sick tofu munchin' hippie, and probably wouldn't leave more than a slight bruise on a big strong young man who had used his food stamps wisely. 9mm is very harmless, that's why it was used in both world wars; in the second one it saw widespread use on both sides in pistols as well as SMG's. But today almost 110 years after it was introduced everyone knows that it is harmless

 

[Lost Lake]

Exactly NKJ,

Gabby Giffords was shot in the head with a 9mm, and she is doing just fine. They really are just for plinking and young kids.

 

[everReady Rob]

[QUOTE
Gabby Giffords was shot in the head with a 9mm, and she is doing just fine. They really are just for plinking and young kids. [/QUOTE]



Certainly a unusal definition of "doing just fine".

Pathetic

 

[shep854]

People have been shot in the head with .45ACP and recovered.
Placement, placement, placement!

 

[Kavinsky]

People have been shot in the head with .45ACP and recovered.
Placement, placement, placement!

indeed and I remember them mentioning something along the lines of that in an old Lee Marvin film called "Point Blank" about a small caliber rifle

and those officers were probably under stress and well when you've got 15 in the mag you tend to forget that bullet placement is the priority, not spraying him till he's dead and also you are far more likely to spray than a guy with a single stack pistol if you have a double stack, as you know that fact and its always in the back of your mind when using one.

basically its a psychological thing not a caliber failing and that happened in Kingston Texas when they first switched over to the glocks in the early 1990's or atleast thats what my father told me he remembered reading in the paper there when he was working there all those years ago.

but anyways thats contrary to what this thread was started for, simply put I'd say a revolver as long as you can master DA shooting, once you do that and learn to reload it proficiently a revolver is the go to gun of choice and you can handle anything if you can master DA revolver shooting after that.

not the semi auto as you dont have to worry about an extractor breaking, following the tap and rack procedure if the mag isnt seated properly, jamming or anything else that can go wrong with a semi auto like a little sand jamming up the slide or any of the mechanisms, I mean there was a reason why even though people had semi autos in the early 1900's revolvers were still the go to choice in the west and were the go to choice until the 1970's

plus the speedloaders are bulletproof as well unlike a well used magazine, its just that if you cant handle the DA trigger, having a little extra bulk and living with the fact that you only have 5-9 based on the revolver (10 to 18 if you carry two of them, negating the need for a speedloader) its not for you, its that simple

for me though I'm an archaic guy anyways so its the revolver as the more I go in the opposite direction of the curve the happier I get with most things, except computers, thats the one place the latter model is 9 times out of 10 better than the old one.

 

[Lost Lake]

Certainly a unusal definition of "doing just fine".

Pathetic

Well, comparatively anyway... She could be a heck of a lot WORSE off than she is.... She did take a bullet to the head.

 

[blujax01]

Depends on which one is loaded.

This. ^^^

Or maybe what I'm wearing may factor into it. Gotta properly accessorize, you know?

 

[auburn2]

People have been shot in the head with .45ACP and recovered.
Placement, placement, placement!

"The head" is as good as it gets in terms of shot placement.