Are revolvers more accurate than semi autos?

In my experience there are no revolvers that outshoot a Marvel from rest

In my experience there are no revolvers that outshoot a Marvel from rest. For sure there are no revolvers currently claiming or advertising accuracy to match a Marvel or many of the other target .22 automatics. Makes the Marvel a real bargain. As I said above, in a tunnel I'd bet on one of the high grade .32 S&W Longs but at the 50 yard line on a bad day I might prefer a revolver in a bigger caliber -
 
Yeah, I was actually asking, because you seemed to me to grant the critical point when you said:

For the money, centerfire revolvers are going to be more accurate than centerfire autos. That is because there are more moving parts involved in sight/bore alignment in an auto
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(Like you, I specified we're talking centerfire here--rimfire goes to the autos hands down.)

I had noted pretty much the same thing as you state here, in the post above yours, and to my mind this clinches the deal. I also think it's fair to say that precision target sports that do not require rapid fire have shown that when competitors want hard-core accuracy, they reach for a wheelgun. IHMSA comes to mind. Didn't see a lot of autoloaders out there--but plenty of Freedom Arms and Rugers.

To bring it back to the original poster's question: is a Glock (or a Beretta, or what have you) going to be (on average) as mechanically accurate as a S&W or Ruger 357 of comparable value? To me, that's a clear Negative.
 
A revolver is frame-cylinder-barrel aligned with the sights.

Most autos (glocks, hp's, 1911's, etc) have the sights aligned with the slide. The barrel resides inside the slide and slips into a bushing at the front and held with a lower retention pin or bar towards the back end of the bottom. The front of the barrel will have some play in most auto handguns. Wiggle the front of the barrel in a glock or 1911 for an idea of how much play you have.

This means you don't go into battery quite the same way each shot.

In a revolver, the only variable is how closely the forcing cone matches up to the firing cylinder. In a well made revolver, these tolerances will be closer than in a comparable automatic, IMHO.
 
Chris,

It doesn't clinch the deal, because the thread is not "For the money, which centerfire is more accurate..." You throw in enough qualifiers and it completely changes the nature of the question.


And as I said, the money thing is kind of a tough comparison considering autos are currently overpriced. An M10 should cost about 4 times more than a Glock. If you built a Glock to the same standard as an M10 it would be equally accurate - that's what the machine made Sig 210 is all about.


This kind of comparison is also compromised by the all the other stuff that compares poorly between the auto and revolver communities, but suffice it to say that if equal effort is made, equal accuracy will result.
 
suffice it to say that if equal effort is made, equal accuracy will result
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Hmmm. Okay--with the proviso that you're talking at a more theoretical level, using autos that are not representative of the norm to compare with revolvers that are the norm. You're saying the norm is not what it should be--and if that's accepted, then okay.

In the real world as we find it, I still say if you grab 20 random centerfire wheels and 20 random centerfire bottomfeeders off the shelf at Gander Mountain and Ransom them, the wheels win.
 
Sure, but do you buy random guns?

Right now, today, the market is not representative of anything but the current market. If you were to grab a few random guns in 1905, you may well get a very different impression from a Luger and a Star revolver. Would that be wrong?


We can talk about random, theoretical or very specific. I don't buy random guns, can't find any theoretical guns so I only buy specific guns. Of those, the Sig 210, HK P9S and P7s I have are easily as or more accurate than any revolver I've fired. That hardly makes me conclude anything about ALL autos or ALL revolvers.


My point in posting to this thread is that there isn't a correct answer. You can frame the question anyway you like and get any answer you like. Some people like to use centerfires on the cheap to frame the question, but I find those are usually people who preferred revolvers - so it isn't too surprising that they latched on to that way of viewing the world.
 
Varmint,

Take whichever bet gives you a better pay out. Check back here and we'll come up with a gun to win the bet. Unless he's using the highest end .357 Casull, there is an accurate match for any revolver or auto.
 
Varmint, don't worry--this isn't a fight, we're having fun!

Handy knows his stuff, and hopefully you can gather enough from the conversation here to make whatever case will persuade your friend to pay up!
 
Are revolvers more accurate than semi autos?
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depends on who's doing the shooting. I shoot revolvers. neck to neck and money to money. I'd say you can do what you want with anything. Since I shoot mostly revo's I would say. REVO"s. but the guy who blast away with his 1911 at least 3 times a week might beg to differ.:eek:
 
no worry

I am happy as a clam, not arguing, not even phaised, just letting everyone know it was a question not a statement, I dont own anything about pistols nor do i have much experience, it was a jovial question and response, you guys aint seen nuthin yet, go to rfc they got some argu-ers over there lemme tell ya whoooff
those guys fight like it was the last argument of their life time, then they cry to admin when they loose or it cuts their thin skin, I have seen it without even joining
Chase
 
in the end

its still a pistol, not to brake a bubble but a pistol is pistol, no long range super sniper, I got my cz for that stuff:D
Chase
seriously, the distances a pistol is required at is not really that demanding in terms of accuracy, as long as it will put shot within a couple inches it fulfills a pistols purpose quite well
 
Theoritically in centerfire rounds it should be the wheel gun. As someone said this is because the sights are fixed solidly to the barrel and the barrel does not move as in a pistol.

But as someone else said no one shoots theoritical handguns.

It's the shooter that makes the difference the gun is a secondary factor. There is no way to conduct a definitive test either. Because there are too many variables involved. The wheelgun has the potential to be more accurate due to it's sights but here it also has to have a properly sized barrel, forceing cone and cylinder mouths and be correctly timed. A human has to use the sights as well and this is the biggest variable of all. Temperature, humidity and wind play a factor. One gun may prefer one brand of ammo over another, etc.

A decent wheelgun will shoot head to head with a decent pistol and vice versa provided that the shooters do their part.

I've seen a 100 year old Colt SAA in .45 Colt outshoot a Sig P210 the difference was the shooters, both were good one was better with the Colt. I've outshot Pythons with a 40 year old beater 1911 cuz on that day I was shooting pretty good and the other fella wasn't.

tipoc
 
Tipoc,

There's more than a few autos with the sights attached to the barrel. Actually, all of the first ones. The Luger is incredibly accurate. But so is the Sig despite having a slide.

Even the theoretical side has problems.
 
All else held constant, a revolver is usually more accrate than a locked breech auto. The reason is the fixed barrel. Most locked breech autos use some sort of tilting barrel arrangement (usually with either a cam like the BHP uses, or a swinging link reminicent of the 1911) wheras almost all revolvers have a fixed barrel. An unlocked breech pistol otherwise known as a blowback is as inherently accurate as a revolver although they may not be wielded as skillfully since most pistols of this type are small pocket pistols. Some locked breech designs such as a Luger or CZ 52 are as inherently accurate as a revolver because while the barrel does move, it only moves directly back and forth. This can all be thrown off, however, if the firearms aren't functioning properly or by variations in ammutition. For example, a revolver that is out of time, a subload fired in a larger chamber (i.e. .38Spl in a .357 or .44Spl in a .44 Mag), or substandard ammunition may or may not make a given revolver less accurate than an auto.
 
I like that..

great answer, very simple and as unbiased as can be, i also appreciate all you other guys responding as well
Chase
I made half the original bet of a box of 22, so half a box of 22 is what i got, my bet was revolvers are more accurate, he stated that a semi was more accurate because each bullet goes to the same spot, he was partially correct so i got a partial amount of the bets earnings
 
I think Webleymkv has a pretty good explanation of how it works. You also have to remember that the length and the quality of the barrel probably have a greater effect than anything. Don't forget to factor in the quality of the ammo. Sight radius is also another difference since revolvers will have a longer sight radius for the given barrel length. If we eliminate that variable by Ransom Resting both guns, then for similar quality guns, the revolver has a slight edge with the fixed barrel over tilting barrel auto loaders.

My Les Baer Thunder Ranch will shoot 3" at 50 yards with a 5" barrel. I'm not saying that I can do it but that is what they claim at Les Baer. I don't have any guarantees for my Ruger GP 100 but I can pretty much put them through the same hole at 7 yards. At 14 yards, I can group under 2 inches. I know the gun is capable of much better than I can shoot.
 
*shrug*
Don't know/don't care.

All I know is that I've spent enough $ on semi autos over the years to buy a nice decked out SUV......

All in the quest to find one that's as accurate as the Smith and Wesson Model 19-4 I paid $330 out the door for in 1975 or 6.....

I did manage to find a gun that came close - -
it was also a Smith Model 19-4that I bought used for $295 a couple/few years back.

OTOH, the most accurate gun in the safe is a Smith and Wesson Model 22/s semi auto. That POS is more accurate than a lot of rifles...go figure :confused:
 
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