Advantages of revolvers over semi autos

Of course we are all committed to our points of view. And, I don't recall anyone saying one was superior to the other in ALL circumstances.

There are pros and cons to each, in different settings. One system being better than the other in one particular situation can be the exact opposite in another.

Why is the "loose rounds" argument silly, and so, dismissed?? Because most people don't do that for carry? Ok, they don't. That doesn't change the fact that it IS generally slower to reload an auto with loose rounds than a revolver.

Again, I will point out that defensive use of the handgun, military and police use of the handgun isn't the only use of handguns. What can be an incalculable advantage in that kind of situation might be totally irrelevant in a different situation.

IF your world consists entirely of defensive use, then by all means, use what gives you the most advantages. My world has defensive use at the bottom of my list, so I view various "advantages" in a different light than you might.
 
44 AMP my response was to the assertion that there is "no other reason" the semi is better than having increased capacity, dismissing all other positions. Stating that military or law enforcement might need that capacity, but "civilians not so much" seems to indicate defensive use. There may be some that carry a reload as loose rounds in a pocket, but given the choice of a full magazine or an autoloader for a revolver this is a poor choice for self-defense. That is the context. For hunting, target shooting, celebratory New Years shooting or any other use where time is not an issue loose rounds may be perfectly acceptable.
 
I do a lot of hiking on my property with my 2 year old daughter and go between carrying a Ruger SP101 and a Glock 29 which to me are as similar guns across the Semi / Revolver divide as you can get. Admittedly the G29 has become my go to gun because of capacity in a situation where retreat may not be an option - there are enough coyotes around that I am more comfortable with 11 (+10 in a spare magazine) than I am with 5 (+5 in a speed loader).

That being said the Ruger does have its advantages:

(1) At the top end of the spectrum 10MM and .357 are pretty similar (yeh I know the line about "a 10MM is close to a .41 Mag" - not really when comparing top of the spectrum loads). At the bottom end of the spectrum a light .38 fired out of a heavy revolver simply does not have the energy to produce much recoil. Even light 10MM. have far more energy than light .38s. So we will give this advantage to the revolver: A broader selection of ammunition without any feeding issues to be concerned with.

(2) When you happen to approach someone and you are carrying a revolver in a leather holster most people don't give it a second thought. That "evil black gun" not so much. This is especially true when I carry a Kershaw "camp knife" for cutting brush which for some reason throws things a bit more.

(3) One of the biggest advantage often overlooked with a revolver is the ability to load it without hand strength. There is no slide to rack and this can be a big advantage.

(4) The ability to fire from SA. To many people the DA / SA advantage of a revolver is useful. I get that some autos have it. Most current production ones do not.

In the end I do prefer the Glock. I carry concealed except when on my own property so factor 2 has no bearing on me. Factor 3 at this point also is not a concern. For my intended use factor 1 is no issue and as use would be in a defensive situation it is unlikely 4 would matter. That being said I am also not selling the SP101
 
For newer shooters I think a revolver might make a good choice just for the simpler manual of arms.

Case in point, I've taught several girlfriends to shoot over the years, and watched all of them fumble with inserting a magazine and/or racking the slide. More than once I watched one of them drop the mag (after having to search for the mag release button), rack the slide, THEN insert a fresh mag. Both ladies dropped the hammer on the empty chamber, look at the gun with the same puzzled look, point the gun again downrange and pull the trigger again.

One of them figured it out in a few seconds and racked the slide again. The other simply handed the gun back to me.

And I'm not saying this is a women only issue. I've seen men at the range do very similar things with their new semis. But they were strangers, with unknown levels of training. Meanwhile I had gone over the basic operation of the semis at least twice with these two ladies before we had gone to the range. But I also knew from previous experience that the stress as new shooters, unfamiliarity with guns in general, plus the range noise would affect their performances their first time out.

On the other hand, none had any trouble figuring out how to release the cylinder on a revolver, empty the gun, and drop new shells in. I'm not saying they were fast at it, just that they almost immediately understood the basic mechanics of the process.

Anyway, it seems obvious that semis take more training and practice to become proficient than it does with a revolver.

Another issue with smaller/slighter framed people is limp-wristing, or even just racking the slide. I have a friend that had been hit by a car as a young boy and consequently, suffered a life-long weakness in his left side. Add to that his slight frame (5' 5", maybe 130 lbs.) As a result, he has a devil of a time racking nearly all slides on any semis. He simply lacked the grip strength to get it done conventionally. Eventually I had him switch the gun to his weak hand, press it against the front of his hip with the muzzle still pointed downrange (mostly down), and rack the slide with his strong hand. Small wonder he likes shooting revolvers a lot more than any semis. And it goes without saying that he can't maintain his grip with a semi using his weak hand.

As for myself, while I own more semis than revolvers, it's a revolver that usually does night stand duty, again mostly for the simpler manual of arms. No need to remember if the safety's on, or is there a round in the chamber, or what to do if a round doesn't go bang. To some of you that may sound ridiculous, but for myself, I've just reached an age where I occasionally forget what's on the nightstand when I'm awoken from a sound sleep. Just the feel of a revolver in the dark tells me what it is, even if I'm not completely awake yet.

I also choose a revolver when I'm in the wilderness, again partially because of the simple operation, but more importantly because revolvers offer more power/penetration in a like-sized/weight platform. And they're handier as hunting arms.

And finally, as I get older, the game of chasing brass at the range is getting more and more tiresome. It's just so much more convenient to simply open the cylinder and dump my brass into my hand or into a small ammo box, while my younger range buddies stoop and scuttle for theirs. Sometimes just to make it more interesting for them, I'll kick a couple cases down a few lanes, just to make sure they get their daily aerobic workout for the day. They love that.
 
I would note for some of the more recent posts that this is not a "which is better" thread. So there's no need to get into an argument about whether semi's or revolvers are better. They each have advantages in certain circumstances. The question for this thread is delineating what advantages revolvers have for certain particular situations whether it be new shooter, accuracy, training, carry, self defense, etc.
A "which is better" discussion tends to descend into a pi$$ing match, which no one cares about.
 
I tangented off into comparing things too directly.

To me the greatest advantage of a revolver, and others have hit on it already, is the physical ease of operation. All the mental advantages can be trained out but if one lacks the hand strength to operate a slide a revolver can render that issue meaningless.

Couple that with the ability of a revolver to fire extremely light loads (.32 S+W out of a .327 must have virtually no recoil) and you can come up with countless advantages the revolver has.

Hmmm... now I have decided, it appears, my daughter needs a 632 in 327. This is going to be a very expensive forum to have conversations on.
 
Couple that with the ability of a revolver to fire extremely light loads (.32 S+W out of a .327 must have virtually no recoil) and you can come up with countless advantages the revolver has.

Hmmm... now I have decided, it appears, my daughter needs a 632 in 327. This is going to be a very expensive forum to have conversations on.
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The .32 S&W is very short for the chamber and harder to find. However, the more common and arguably more useful .32 S&W Long has very mild recoil in the SP101. Michelle on the Gun Talk radio program shoots a lot of S&W Long out of her LCR 327 and apparently loves it.

BTW, why the 632? I'm sure it has a better stock trigger than the SP101 and it might weigh less. Aside from cost and rarity though, I always wondered about it being ported. Being a "super magnum", .327 sure puts out a hot mess at the muzzle.
 
"However, the more common and arguably more useful .32 S&W Long has very mild recoil..."

I don't know how many people have told me that their mom or whoever uses a 22 for CC or HD because of recoil. I mention the 32 S&W (or long) and how it delivers way more lead with virtually no recoil... and they look at me like I'm an idiot.

(facepalm)
 
I don't know how many people have told me that their mom or whoever uses a 22 for CC or HD because of recoil. I mention the 32 S&W (or long) and how it delivers way more lead with virtually no recoil... and they look at me like I'm an idiot.
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I think almost everyone has at least heard of .22 LR, even if they don't know much about guns. If someone owns just one gun and it's in a closet somewhere, there's a reasonable chance that it's some kind of .22 rifle. Decent rifles for it were relatively inexpensive and, at least before the market went crazy, the ammo was cheap and widely available.

These older .32s are and have been relatively obscure. Gun people might know them but your average person probably doesn't. Coincidentally, I started buying up dusty old boxes of S&W Long when the crisis hit and there were just empty shelf spaces for the common calibers. Even now, some of my local shops can't keep .22 LR in stock but they always have a few boxes of the Magtech 98-grain SJHP in .32 S&W Long. (I'd take that over a .22 for self defense any day!) While you can certainly feed them to your guns in .327 and .32 H&R Magnum for a low-recoil experience, I still see a lot of older .32 S&W Long target and police revolvers in the used gun cases for bargain prices.
 
Revolver vs semi auto

I switched from semi auto to revolvers, I now have two.
Traded them for my snubnose revolvers.
Maybe a little arthritis in the hands, racking the slides wasn't always easy. I had a ruger p90 and it was easy enough to rack but I wanted something a little smaller and lighter.
One is a smith and wesson m&p 38 special bodyguard and the other is a rossi 352.
Both shoot very good, manageable recoil and accurate.
Sure they are only 5 shots but that is what speed strip are for. And if I need more then maybe I am someplace I shouldn't have been in the first place, besides most self defense shootings are only 2 or 3 shots anyways.
All I want is a good handgun for self defense, defence not offence.
So take it for what it's worth, semi autos are fine for many but I like the old school style of revolvers. And besides that they are just beautiful!
 
Revolvers are more powerful than semi autos.
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lol :D

If you were being serious, then I'd have to say it depends on the specifics. Ex. My 1911 is more powerful than my SA .22 revolver. But then a 500 SW will be more powerful than my 9mm XD. Though shot placement probably is easier for me with the 9mm.
 
Still, not all revolvers are 500 magnums, and most people don't carry 500 magnums, haha. But you're right the most powerful handgun made is a revolver.
 
You more often find the more powerful calibers in revolvers. .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, although they do make semi autos in those calibers most of the guns of those calibers are revolvers. And for guns of the same caliber, I believe a revolver would be slightly more powerful than a semi auto of the same caliber although the difference might be marginal.
 
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