Why a Revolver?

[jtcarm]

I've fired many thousands of rounds through a combo of an S&W 5904 (an excellent handgun), Sig P229, and H&K USP .45 ACP. I've never, ever experienced any sort of malfunction. However, I have experienced catastrophic malfunctions with revolvers.



The MOST reliable handgun I own is Sig P229, and I'm including S&W & Ruger revolvers.



A semi is simplistic in operation with fewer moving parts than a complex double action revolver with more moving parts.



A revolver as more reliable than a semi is a HUGE fallacy.



When one of your beloved revolvers freezes, trigger won't move, cylinder won't turn, and cylinder won't open, you'll wish you were holding a Sig P series handgun.

Well, you have much better luck than I do. My very first Glock was a LEO trade-in 22. It averaged 15% FTF with all three mags and different factory loads till I replaced the mag & main springs.

My LEO trade in S&Ws have all gone bang with no mods.

Doesn't prove anything, but making a blanket statement that one is more reliable than the other is the real fallacy.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Serviceable - and ugly as a wart hog.

Serviceable - and beautiful.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury - I rest my case.

John

 

[.357 lvr]

I'll offer my view of why someone may choose a revolver over a semi-auto in some cases. I carry my department-issue Glock 22 nice and clean in my holster everyday. I know it's going to function. However, I carry (as a backup to my Glock) a 442 that I've also practiced with to make sure I'm at least proficient. The revolver is most certainly going to fire every time I need it to. I may worry a bit much, but, I'm always wary that I may have forgotten to chamber a round in a semi-auto backup, or, that (Heaven forbid) it's gummed up with pocket lint or something else that may jam up the works. It's been said before; a revolver can fire from the pocket reliably lessening worries of FTFs or FTEs common with pocket semi-autos. Just my $.02.

 

[steelslaver]

Revolvers can

Fire heavier bullets for any given bullet diameter

Get higher velocities for any given bullet diameter

Reliably cycle with any given bullet shape

Can be made in a lighter framed high power round.

Better for long range applications

Brass recovery is much easier

Cycle reliably with low power rounds with no modifications.

Resale value is usually higher.

No need for a bunch of magazines of loading magazines

No safety to mess with

No magazine disconnects

A revolver actually can be fired more rapidly than a semi auto.

They are not nearly as ugly.

 

[Al W.]

Esthetics for one.
Accuracy for another, I can shoot a revolver more precisely than I can shoot an auto.
As it happens, apart from one auto I own that is specifically a 25 yard target gun, my revolvers are more accurate.
For me.

 

[ger42]

I currently have a Taurus 992 22LR/22 Mag , Smith & Wesson 351 C, Smith & Wesson 442 Pro am looking for a revolver with a 4+ inch barrel in 9MM.
I have arthritis in my left thumb joint it hurts so bad I can't grasp a slide. I don't think I could clear a jam if I were under stress so I am getting out of semi autos. So my answer to "why revolvers" is old age.

 

[BigBill]

My seven year old grandson says he wants to become a ninja. I told him when he's old enough I'll buy him a kantana. Of course he's going to ninja school. He also likes Batman too. Fight crime........

I perfer magnum revolvers.

 

[tlawler]

A couple of answers to the OP's original question:

1. Under stress, revolvers are generally easier to operate.
2. Typically easier to operate with weakened or injured hands or compromised gripping ability.
3. Inherently more accurate (slights attached to barrel on a revolver; aligned with the barrel but attached to the slide on a semi-auto).
4. Ammo, #1: Precise overall length of the round not as much of a factor as with semi-autos (revolver rounds headspace on the rim, semis on front of the chamber)
5. Ammo, #2: Major revolver calibers (.38, .357, .44, etc.) have larger case capacity than major semi-auto calibers (9mm, .40, .45).
6. Ammo, #3: More variability possible in ammo; rounds can be very low to very high power, and will work; unlike semi-auto, where rounds have to be within a certain range of power to operate the recoil-driven mechanism properly.
7. Ammo, #4: Bullets of almost any design will function in a revolver, whereas most semi-autos require a properly ogived bullet of the right material, for proper feeding.
8. Ammo, #5: Higher power rounds are more practical in a revolver than a semi-auto.
9. Ammo, #6: Revolver ammo will not suffer bullet setback from repeated loading, as bullets in semi-autos can if chambered repeatedly (this can lead to dangerously high pressures in rounds, esp. 9mm and 40). Bullet setback can occur in revolvers from recoil, but is less dangerous (see para 5, above).
10. Revolvers have more choice for grips, in terms of fit and aesthetics.
11. Greater functional reliability than semi-autos, especially small semi-autos; fewer malfunctions and stoppages than semi-autos.
12. Easier to operate from inside a jacket pocket, especially "hammerless" models. Hard to operate a pistol with a reciprocating slide inside a pocket.
13. Revolvers don't leave shell casings on the ground.
14. Revolvers have a soul; semi-autos are tools.* *Certain semi-autos designed by JMB may be an exception to this observation.
15. Long, heavy DA trigger press makes handling most revolvers safer in practice than most semi-autos, especially striker-fired, pre-cocked, light-triggered semi-autos.
16. Revolvers are more amenable to mounting of scopes (an advantage that is lessening a bit with new technology, e.g., RMR sights now available for many semi-autos).

17. Can't be pressed out of battery during a struggle.

 

[Citiboy289]

For some reason I cant add the previous quote but it regarded NJ wanting 5 round revolvers ------------------ If I lived in NJ I would have more concerns about the amount of toxins that they allowed everyone to put in their landfills over the last 30 years You wont need at revolver or anything else to kill you other than the water

 

[Riverkilt]

I carried a S&W Model 10 as a young LEO...survived two firefights with it. Still my best gun. Owned S&W 642s, still have S&W 351PD and 686P - both have been to the gunsmith for action jobs. Just bought a new Colt Cobra last month. Liked it so well bought another one this week... sold off all my pistols except the 1911s...tired of all the problems with striker fired pistols. Love revolvers for self-defense. Use them bedside, car gun, and concealed carry. No worries about whether they will work or not.

 

[Mister X]

...tired of all the problems with striker fired pistols.

What kind of problems have you had?

 

[Riverkilt]

Depends on the pistol....have owned dozens...mostly little parts inside go bad or twist or break or they're a nightmare to disassemble or reassemble...turned into much more of a gunsmith than I wanted to be...doesn't seem right to pay so much for something that doesn't work out of the box. Glocks were the worst - all four threw brass to my face... Had a couple FN's with small part problems. Two Springfield 1911s - yeah not striker fired - but ejector problems, sent to factory, sent back with same problems. Soon learn which companies sell junk and act like its perfection. Just sayin' I got tired of it all and went to revolvers and quality 1911s.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

I currently have a Taurus 992 22LR/22 Mag , Smith & Wesson 351 C, Smith & Wesson 442 Pro am looking for a revolver with a 4+ inch barrel in 9MM.
I have arthritis in my left thumb joint it hurts so bad I can't grasp a slide. I don't think I could clear a jam if I were under stress so I am getting out of semi autos. So my answer to "why revolvers" is old age.

Welcome aboard from Wyoming.

S&W Model 947 is what you need. I carry a 3", and I like it a lot. They're not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I guess there are more modern 9mm revolvers, but I've never seen the point.

 

[PMWIZARD]

As was said before, the hands are getting arthritis and it will be hard to rack the slide. I am more accurate with my 686+ than my glock 19. So I am selling the pistol to my son and getting a snubbie for carry. Not sure what model, any suggestions?

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

The OP is obviously a troll. This thread should have been locked the minute it was put up. Why waste space on this clown?

 

[Riverkilt]

Trolls are bronze contributors??? Who knew?

 

[sw282]

At Shooters the other day store guy tells me of a customer inquiring

about a ''Klippazine'' for a Gee Lock 9 mmm mmm. :-(

Revolver guys know better;-)

 

[Gary M]

I'd never willingly give up my 6906 but if I had to choose, it is the 64-3 that stays.

 

[dwever]

They belong to a period other than the one in which they exist, they are conspicuously old fashioned, they are generally a significant compromise to self-defense relative to other select platforms, but I own them anyway.

 

[haggis]

If any of you folks want to believe that modern semiautos are as reliable as most revolvers, spend little time at a USPSA match. It is incredible that $2K-$3K custom autos can experience as many failures to feed, failures to eject, and failures to fire as they do. The few revolvers you see, nada.

Buck