Why did you choose a revolver over a semi auto for carry?

[TAC]

Originally posted by TSW Guy:As for the topic, give me a wheelgun any day of the week. No ftf's, no fte's, no bad magazines, no having to replace recoil springs. My nightstand gun isn't my Sig, Nighthawk Custom or Hi Power, it's one of my Model 28 Highway Patrolmans(the one with the higher serial #).
QUOTE]

There have been numerous FTF with revolvers. Especially the newer S&W revolvers such as the Night Guard series.

 

[jag312]

For years I carried a Browning BDA380, until I was told that I should carry something bigger. Actually, I was told that I would not be allowed to carry it anymore, and I should think about a 9mm or larger semiauto. Well, that's when I showed up for qualifying with my 696. A .44 Special is larger than a .380, and our rules did allow a centerfire, double action, 5 shot revolver. I'm authorized now to carry my 696 and my BDA380.

 

[mnhntr]

i was carrying an HK USPc in 357sig. I believe this is the ultimate auto self defense round. now i am carrying a 686 in a 6in barrel. why go from a compact auto to a 6in revolver? easy answer is accuracy. i still to this day would never question the reliability of the USP in 357sig but the accuracy of the revolver cannot be matched. i look at shootings like the kansas mall shooting and think, if i had to take a 60-100 yd shot trying to take a shooter out what gun would be the best for the job? i carry for protection and if you are being pinned down in a public place by a crazed gunman you may need to take the longer shot.

 

[Erik F]

I came back to revolvers after 20 years.

I was raised on rifles, and handguns were considered to be last-ditch, close range guns. Little credit was given to accuracy. Though I did train with revolvers, the two specimens I used were a Nagant and (IIRC) a H&R.

So, when I started carrying a gun as an adult, I went straight to automatics. I perceived revolvers as being inaccurate and having terrible triggers. To be fair, I'd also drunk the Kool-Aid about capacity. I got pretty good with automatics, and I still own a few.

Then I started noticing something. Most of the shooters who really impressed me were shooting revolvers. After talking to a few (and being directed to read Elmer Keith), I picked up a well-worn Model 15 for a pittance.

My first group out of that gun easily matched anything I'd ever done out of an automatic. I learned what a difference a good DA trigger makes.

I've never been a "fast" shooter in the sense people perceive it these days, but for speed work, I find I'm more in control with a wheelgun, and I find that nothing points as naturally for me as a K-Frame. It's easier to acquire multiple targets in succession.

Then there's the issue of reliability, along with the fact that I don't have to worry if a given loading will cycle. All said, I just feel more confident with a revolver than I do with an auto these days. Though I sometimes carry an automatic when I'm feeling randy, I still stick with revolvers most of the time.

 

[sw44spl]

I like wheel guns better also.I reload and its easy to dump the empties in a can than dig in the grass for them.

 

[justbob]

Like many others who have posted to this thread, I, too, started out with a wheelgun--an M19. We trained differently then. IMHO, we paid more attention to our human limitations then, and we did not delude ourselves into believing that new/better/more equipment would compensate for our inherently human shortcomings. "Technique trumped technology." For me, revolvers are the bolt action rifles of handguns.

I revere the venerable 1911, but an old workhorse .38 Spl. stoked with +p LSWCHPs exudes a certain confidence-inspiring comfort.

Versatility and reliability? German "Perfection" is for me my black plastic and ubercoated steel 9mm that I really want to like but absolutely refuses to run on the creampuffy UMC range ammo my local shootery mandates. Not so of any of my revolvers. Anemic .38 Spl. TMJ range ammo, shot loads, and wadcutters; .38 Spl. +p JHP carry rounds; screaming belchfire .357 Magnums: all can be mixed and matched in any order in any of my .357 Mag. revolvers. Pull the trigger and the gun goes bang as many times as there are live rounds in the cylinder. Brilliant.

It takes me longer to clean the smallest of my simplest revolvers than it does to clean the most complicated of my largest semi-autos--always.

For some, the revolvers "limited magazine capacity" is a deal breaker, and I can understand why. Even when I do my best, I still can print only a single pair of clover leafs per cylinder on the target before I have to swap the six empties for six loaded rounds. Bummer.

There are far worse things in life. YMMV

 

[maglvr]

I choose revolvers because, I find a gun that fires every time I pull the trigger to be highly desirable

I would much rather have 6 that will fire over 15 that may!

 

[Curmudgeon46]

I think the revolver chose me. My father, a Marine pilot, carried a S&W Model 15 in the Korean war. It's the first gun I fired at the tender age of about six. The night I left for Korea in 1967 he gave it to me and I carried it for the next two years on the DMZ. A Model 19 with a 2 1/2" barrel was my off duty weapon of choice during eight years in law enforcement.

Now, many years later my "home" and carry gun is a Model 15-3 with a 2" barrel. It just feels right and I've never had a revolver jamb on me. I can point-shoot with confidence that my round will go where I want it to and it will never fail me.

 

[bnewc75]

it goes bang every time

 

[marvin knox]

I like answering the question that always comes up when guys start talking about concealed carry.

"What are you carrying?"

"Snub nosed Smith and Wesson .357 magnum.........and you?"

 

[Dvan34]

I carried a .38spl and .357 for 32 years, mainly since they were the pistols we were issued.Semi-autos were weapons issued until after I retired. In a Self-defense event semi-autos are faster firing, and easier to reload. We used to use speed loaders. Under stress it can be touchy reloading, plus you are limited to 6 rounds. There was a situation here several years ago where two highway patrol officer were in a gunfight at night in the rain. It was a lengthy affair. Both officers were killed. They were using revolvers and their extra ammunition was found on the highway mixed with empty casing. Also the semi-auto pistol in my present opinion, a SW MP .40 Shield is lighter and easier to conceal.

 

[daddy bear]

Started LE career with a revolver. Predicted that they would come back when the agency switched to Sigs. My phrophecy was thwarted by the development of the DAO semi automatic, which I consider inferior to the DA revolver in that there is no choice.

Retired, I carried a Colt 1908, .380, for a lot of years. One of my daughters took a shine to it, so I broke out my old Model 42 again. Holster or pocket, it works.

Best wishes,

Jack

 

[jimmyj]

REAL MEN CARRY REVOLVERS !

***(I carry a Glock)

Jimmy (wimp)

 

[JohnSW]

Another factor: The long, firm, trigger pull of a revolver makes unintended / negligent discharges much less likely.

 

[haywood]

I like Revolvers because they are old school and round, like me.

 

[Donald Paul]

...reliability.

 

[Dillyp]

One simple reason. Dead primers. A dead primer in a semi takes 3-5 seconds to correct. Less than a second in a revolver. Also, I have had a fair number of semi Auto firearms, pistol, rifle, and shotgun, with some very high end guns in the mix. Every single one has had a failure of some sorts at least once. I have never had a revolver malfunction. A glock may only jam 1 out of 1000, but that's just too risky when it comes to my wife and small sons.

 

[Targets Guy]

simple and easy. Point and pull.

 

[saemetric]

Isn't it obvious.

 

[zogger]

I was carrying a Beretta 92 until one day the locking lug broke while shooting at the range. After talking to Beretta, they said the recoil spring should be changed every 6000 rnds or this might happen. News to me and the gun had about 6000 rnds thru it. It got me to thinking about going with something more reliable.

Now I carry a Model 60 3". I am more confident it is always going to go bang and not break on me.