Are revolvers relevant in the 21st century ?

[Radny97]

Which was exactly your failure with the revolver?
The only ammunition-related cause I know that could turn a revolver unable to shoot is a bullet stuck in the barrel or forcing cone, and this because of a squib load. Judging for your comment on the cylinder locking I suspect you are talking about a bullet stuck at the forcing cone. It's real, in this case you have just a club in your hand. But exactly the same applies in case a bullet get stuck inside of a semiauto barrel, so such problem let both guns at the same level of un-usefulness.

And in case you may experience something like this in a semiauto you cannot clear it by hand neither.

Yep. I’ve had that malfunction in both, and it turned both into clubs. It’s not just a revolver thing.


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[Radny97]

Are golf clubs irrelevant when you can just walk over and put the ball in the hole with your hand?

Are fly rods irrelevant when you can just buy fish at the market?

Is a red sports car convertible irrelevant when you can just call an Uber?

I think lots of people are missing the point- I believe this is a sport website. The number of professionals that actually fire handguns against bother human beings are vanishingly small here. Navy Seals don’t have long discussions about stuff like this online.

Active duty Navy Seals don’t go to the grocery store in rural America at night or fill up their pickup truck at the gas station before heading to the movies for a late show. They are deployed and defending our country. What a Navy Seal uses for his job has ZERO relevance to what a civilian should choose to carry in his or her day to day life.


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[Carl the Floor Walker]

You have to also remember that sales in the long run do not really matter in comparing the two. How many of those sales are to people that do not even go to the range but a few times a year? Or the many new owner sales are from purchasers that have never shot a firearm in their life? So no, they are not buying revolvers in record numbers like Pistols. But the revolver sales are still flourishing and I would bet they are sold to more experienced shooters that have been around firearms for years. Most people that walk into a gun shop these days would not know a J frame from a picture frame.

 

[ccSnoopycc]

The reason why I believe revolvers are relevant and will be for many many more years.

-HAM hunts (Handgun Archery Muzzleloader)
-Thick forest or swamp hunts
-Ultra lightweight personal protection concealed carry (drop a LCR, airweight etc in the front pocket and you have more then enough rounds for most encounters).
-Ease of operation (especially big for people who never shoot or shoot once or twice a year)
-Very restrictive 2nd Amendment states where revolvers are much easier to buy/obtain/comply with laws with (aint no hi capacity mags here)
-The ability to pull the hammer back on most revolvers has its benefits
-Ease of cleaning (no I don't mean faster or simpler cleaning but there is no field stripping guidelines you have to remember. No barrel bushings that need to be rotated, no springs that shoot out after a basic cleaning etc)

As a side note I have a smith 351pd. Awesome little revolver. Light as a feather. Highly recommend it.

 

[geologist]

At contact range, an advantage that revolvers have over pistols is that there is no slide that could be pushed out of battery when physically struggling with the thing that you should be shooting.

In Canada I can legally carry a handgun when I work as a geologist in a remote location. They mostly want you to have a .357 Mag or 10mm minimum cartridge wise.

I carry a revolver.

 

[Carl the Floor Walker]

I do a lot of hunting/scouting/hiking in swamps where I live. A good population of Black Bears. With a good selection of firearms to choose from, I always go with my LCR 9mm. Simple, easy to carry. I do not carry for the Bears, they have never really concerned me, but for any two legged creatures I might encounter in a remote area.
When I saw my Doctor for a annual checkup, he asked me if I needed anything. I told him I needed a water tight container for my spare ammo in the swamps.
He gave me this prescription.
(holds three moon clips, 15 rds)

 

[Centurion]

That container surely may cause dizziness!!

 

[rodfac]

Relevant? Well, there are other uses for handguns along with concealed carry/defense. Here are some of mine:

Concealed & open carry...Civilians, military and police all found them well suited to their needs, 6-shot capacity notwithstanding & short of a full out OK corral type gun-fight, they were more than enough. That little add'l bulge at the cylinder (really seldom more than 1/8"), is in reality no problem to conceal. Most adults beyond the age of 30 have bigger love handles for gosh sakes!
Sport...casual plinking with friends & family
New shooter introduction to handgun shooting...revolvers are generally accepted as safer and easier to teach with due to their manual of arms.
Bullseye, IDPA et. al. competitive shooting games.
Hunting...Capacity is rarely a requirement and for the most part revolvers are available in much more powerful calibers than autos.
And lastly: Nostalgia/historical interest...for lack of better words...many of us enjoy the connection revolvers have with earlier/simpler times in our Nation's history, times that they served our civilian, military & police admirably and most were proudly American built, with quality & care.

YMMv, Rod

 

[Carl the Floor Walker]

I wonder how many parents started their children off shooting a handgun with a Single Action 22? I saw a article or satistic that Heritage sold more firearms than any other. (I will try and find the link). My LGS told me he sold more of them than any fiream in the store. And I would say that when Ruger introduced the Wrangler it sold like hot cakes
Ruger Blackhawk with Heritage 22

.

 

[pathdoc]

I love pistol shooting; I hate spending more time picking up my brass afterwards than I do pulling the trigger. (Not every range can be an indoor facility or a croquet lawn.) It's the same reason I bought an O/U shotgun that extracts but doesn't eject, and why I prefer bolt rifles to self-loaders.

I'll be buying a revolver to supplement my automatic for that reason.

I'll also be buying a revolver because I've had issues with published minimum handloads not reliably cycling said automatic (the bullets exit the barrel; I make sure to confirm impact before I even consider firing the next shot). This is one area in which manually cycled firearms have the clear advantage.

I'm not going to address the defensive carry issue because I live in Canada and that's not on the table for me. That said, if I had that ability, I'd probably take my M&P with appropriate factory ammo.

 

[pathdoc]

In Canada I can legally carry a handgun when I work as a geologist in a remote location. They mostly want you to have a .357 Mag or 10mm minimum cartridge wise..

That's interesting; I thought the show-cause for that permission had been tightened up to the point of impossibility

 

[dyl]

3 thoughts.

I pocket carry a J frame. In some parts of the pistol it's thinner than a semi-auto with their block-like cross sections. In scandium, it's the lightest centerfire I own with equivalent energy to a 9mm (I keep 38 specials in it)

Second, in political matters people aren't really going after revolvers. It might be handy to stay brushed up on revolver skills and to have a few.

Thirdly, they are great to learn on. Why bother pushing to improve trigger control if you started with a 1911? I shake my head when someone who's spoiled by a nice trigger tries something less fancy and complains like a baby. It's like when my kids occasionally choose to be picky eaters: "but it touched the tomato sauce" "but it got wet".

 

[geologist]

That's interesting; I thought the show-cause for that permission had been tightened up to the point of impossibility

The government doesn't make it easy. You have to be working ie. earning a significant income from working in the remote location where you might have to defend yourself from wild animals. Most of northern Canada meets this requirement.

Your employer has to sign off on the Authorization to Carry (ATC) application.

You have to qualify, usually a test/course given at a certified shooting range with the handgun that you will be carrying.

It is a PITA.

 

[44caliberkid]

They will be very relevant if semiautos are banned, which is the wish of everyone in charge right now.

 

[Electrod47]

Senior Member

Join Date: July 22, 2009
Posts: 390
"Are revolvers relevant in the 21st century ? Really?? If your a Hunter, If your a serious Reloader, Caster, their very important.

 

[105kw]

Love the waterproof, and child proof prescription ammo carrier.

 

[dahermit]

Absolutely right!

That is based on an assumption that there will always be only one perpetrator. However, I remember an incident on a Bus (or perhaps subway) were there were as many as five perpetrators attacking people.

Nevertheless, a choice of a carry gun is always a compromise so I compromise and carry my S&W M36 Chief's Special although it only has five shots and there is always a chance that it will not be adequate... but I am too old to carry anything heavier or more effective like an AR15.

 

[Aqualife]

Once hunting season ends I put the 2” barrel on my Dan Wesson and carry it with 38 spl’s from time to time. It is just easy to carry in the waist band or pocket. Still carry my semi’s but don’t feel like I lose anything carrying a revolver.

During hunting season I carry in shoulder harness with hot .357’s and 6” barrel. Seems gator attacks happen more these days(use to never hear of them). Never know what you’ll run into
out there.

 

[rc]

A simple to load and fire revolver will continue to be relevant for those seeking a safe to carry double action or a newbie lacking training on a semi auto. Many people buy a gun and a box of bullets, put it in a drawer and never try it out like it's a fire extinguisher only to be used in case of fire. A semi auto is fidly for people like that that cannot handle checking chamber, withdrawing and laoding magazines etc. Pop a revolver open, check if it's loaded or drop rounds in, pop er closed, squeeze, pop er open eject all cases, repeat.

 

[shurshot]

Still Relevant?? Yeah, every time I qualify (most recently this spring) and see semiautomatic jams, be it limp wristing, ammo or magazine related issues (never fails, I always see at least one!), I am reminded why off duty I primarily carry a revolver.