Why Revolvers/Wheel guns

[292]

My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six convertible. My screen name is 292. I like bolt action rifles. But right now I'm sitting in a tree stand with an AR leaned against the shooting rail and a Glock 31 on my hip. Pretty much if it goes bang I like it. Life is good.

 

[usmc2427765]

I have always been partial to S&W revolvers. When I started doing serious social work I carried a 19,27,28 58,37 and 57. When the bad guys started getting better armed, I carried a 1911 and for a short time, a Glock. Upon retiring, I got rid of my semi-autos and only interested in wheel guns, primarily S&W's. Call it tradition or a trip down memory lane or whatever. There is something special about the pre 1975 vintage ones and that special feel when it locks up.

 

[Chukar60]

I grew up in a hunting family. Dad never had any use for a handgun. SD was not an issue at the time where we lived.
As soon as I was out from under the at home restrictions I got a Ruger MK1 22. Then it was 1911's.
Finances at the time dictated that I reload every round I fired and I got very tired of chasing and picking up brass.
Revolvers solved that issue and it is much easier or me to hit targets past 25 yards out to 100 yards with a revolver than a semi auto.

 

[gwpercle]

Why Revolvers ?

Over 70 , bad back , fading eyesight , bending over getting hard , getting up off the floor is getting very hard .

1.) I don't have to crawl around on the range floor with a flashlight trying to recover all my spent brass.
The revolver puts all the empties in my hand...that's so nice !

2.) Revolver ammo can be loaded very light , little recoil is appreciated at this stage of the game . Paper targets and tin cans don't need heavy recoiling ammo to penetrate them .

Gary

 

[steelslaver]

Why Revolvers ?
2.) Revolver ammo can be loaded very light , little recoil is appreciated at this stage of the game . Paper targets and tin cans don't need heavy recoiling ammo to penetrate them .

Gary

There is another very valid point. You can load revolver ammo from mild to wild and the gun functions the same. Recoil and point of impact may change. but the gun will cycle. I can shoot a 25-2 45acp with 185 wad cutter (a bullet shape very few autos can handle) at 650 fps or a 255 gr slug. In a 357 I could shoot pop load 148 wad cutters that wouldn't cycle a wonder 9 and 158 grain slug with 14 gr of 2400 that would destroy a 9. Anything from 110 grain from 650fps to over 1500fps and go up to over 170 gr slugs at about 1200fps

Yes there are some robust semi autos like the Auto Mag and the Desert Eagle. An Auto mag round can be ballisticly similar to a 44 mag on the top end (no light loads will function it though) and the gun weighs a ton compared to a 29, a 69 or worse a 329.

The Eagle can't keep up to a S&W 500, close but no cigar and once again it won't work mild to wild with slugs from 350-700gr.

Plus I can;t go buy a brand new one of the big Semi autos for the price of a S&W

 

[dla]

I like revolvers only because they chamber a cartridge not found in a reasonable semi-auto.
I exited the world of revolvers 30+ years ago and never looked back until the S&W329pd came along.

 

[oink]

There may be other reasons but the obvious easy answer is, that's what I trained on in the academy and what I primarily carried most of my LEO career. I currently carry a Gen 1 Shield 9 most often.

 

[crazyphil]

I have had quite a few of both revolvers and semi-automatics over the
years. Now I am down to just one semi-auto. My 1911 Colt Gold Cup.
All the rest are revolvers. The reliability issues I have had, although
few, have all been with the semi-automatics. If I was younger and
chasing bad guys I would probably carry a semi-automatic. But I'm
an official card-carrying old guy so revolvers suit me just fine.

 

[hoc9sw]

I've loved revolvers since I was a kid. My first issue gun was a 1911, so I know them better than the back of my hand, and trust them, but a revolver is still my first love.

I even have a Ruger than runs 9 in moon clips to save a bit on range ammo

 

[sodacan]

I've always preferred wheel guns over semi-autos, but the bottom feeders will always have a place with me. I also have an affinity for the 45acp cartridge. Years ago, when I discovered revolvers that use moon clips, I really found the best of both worlds (for me at least). I shot both of these at the range the other day. Top one is a 625-2. Bottom one is a Colt 1917. They are two of the five I have in 45acp. After the moon clip was invented, why all revolvers weren't designed for them, I'll never know.

 

[Mr.Harry]

My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six convertible. My screen name is 292. I like bolt action rifles. But right now I'm sitting in a tree stand with an AR leaned against the shooting rail and a Glock 31 on my hip. Pretty much if it goes bang I like it. Life is good.

I like to sit in a stand or blind with a Marlin 1894 on the rail, and a 629 on my hip. Both in .44 mag. So theres's that....

 

[Birdgun]

Arthritic hands can load cartridges into a cylinder a lot easy than loading cartridges into a magazine.

A revolver's spent cartridges are easier to find.

Revolvers are more appealing to the eye.

I get an inexpressible joy shooting a fine vintage S&W revolver that I never get with a magazine fed handgun.

I shoot my S&W Model 19-3 "Combat Magnum" better than any other handgun I've shot.

My nightstand handgun is a S&W Model 625-9 revolver in .45 Colt or a S&W Model 25-5 revolver in .45 Colt.

My wife's nightstand handgun and her automobile travel handgun is a S&W Model 15-4 "Combat Masterpiece" in .38 Special.

For every day carry (EDC) and automobile travel, I carry a reliable S&W Shield in 9mm and an extra magazine.

Go figure????

 

[Flattop5]

I've never had a jam in a revolver. Never.

But semi-autos? I've had too many jams to count -- even in good guns like my old 1972 Browning Hi-Power, which I no longer have for that very reason; I traded it for a CZ-75 that has never jammed, so far anyway


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[RRH]

I often marvel at people complaining about long trigger pulls on semi automatics. Revolvers prepare you for such things. Practice, practice.

 

[MajorDude]

I've been dallying with semi autos quite a bit over the last couple of years, but I really consider myself a revolver guy. One thing I have learned is that for whatever reason, I can hold a lot harder with a revolver. Also, my revolvers have better triggers than my semis. If I absolutely wanted to put a hole in something for sure, I would use a 6 1/2" N frame S&W.

 

[otis24]

Nostalgia/history, simplicity, reliability. But, at the end of the day, a handgun is a tool and it is about utility. "It's better to have a gun and not need it than to need it and not have it. It's better to have more ammo and not need it than to need it and not have it.". Most of my life I have been in the wheel gun camp. I was all about all steel, wood grip wheel guns. To be certain, wheel guns have their place. My tastes and needs have evolved. Name brand semi-autos today are pretty reliable, have increased ammo capacity, and generally are quicker to reload. For self defense, I currently carry a S&W Shield 9mm. A couple of years ago, I saw lots of talk about Shields on this firum. I didn't know what it was and didn't care. I never cared about Tupperware guns and wouldn't give one a second look. When I looked at them realistically and from the lens of utility, it just made sense. I still love wheel guns and would use one as a field/trail gun or a home defense weapon. It all depends on your environment, your habits, and your risk factors.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Because Revolvers fit the hand better, point more naturally, as a class , are twice as accurate as semi's .


I Won't pull out the reliability thing . Revolvers CAN malfunction . BUT , semi's have a longer check list of prerequisites to reach the same level of reliability as revolvers .

Traditionally, Power ! was an advantage of revolvers . Today, it's a little more ambiguous , least ways with some parameters along the lines of more or less belt carry- able , and reasonably controlable , and not very painful , for a fairly competent shooter . i.e. disregarding Desert Eagles , Automags, and X Frames as outliers .

The 4in medium frame .357 mag is still the handgun with the widest amount of absolute versatility . But .357Sig , .45Super , and full power 10mm all reach very credible levels of power and performance .

 

[otis24]

Another perspective: I wouldn't feel under gunned with a revolver. I would just feel better prepared for the unknown with a semi-auto.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

I love the revolver, I took $150 revolver and shot with the 32 long auto's and some times I would beat them shooting Bullseye. You can fire your revolver more than once from a jacket pocket without a jam. You can lay on your back and shoot more than one round without watching your round fall to the ground in front of you with a auto. I have built races guns for a retired Washington D.C. LD that was in six major shoot-outs in his career, and never used all six rounds. Can't figure out why the new LD need 19 round in gun with four mags on their belt. I asked one LD why? I got told "WE ARE OUT GUNNED" , what about Bonnie and Clyde time? 99% LD's carried a revolver. I'm not busting the new LD's we need them big time, but SMART! I know two State Troopers that carrey a Revolver in the car and take it with them on a code 3. Just be safe Ladies and Gents.

 

[fishcreekrim]

Quote:

"After the moon clip was invented, why all revolvers weren't designed for them, I'll never know."

My take on this:

It is a pita to use moon clips on a hunting/ trail/ranch carry gun that you wish to top off before it is empty. JMHO