Done with Autos

S

stubby

New member
I traded away the Kimber ProCarry yesterday, after having had it for several months and having at least a couple of malfunctions eveytime I shot it. I have said this before and I am saying it again, no more autopistols for me. I have owned most brands, Beretta, Sig, Colt, and Kimber. None of them have been 100% reliable. I purchased a new 686 SW and intend to never look back. I grew up with revolvers and carried one as a cop for nine years (Model 19). I never had any malfunctions with any revolvers that I owned.:D I think I will go see my buddy, George, and kick his butt for getting me interested in auto pistols in the first place. He has cost me thousands of dollars in gun trading in the search for a reliable auto. ;) Don't tell me about that GLOCK either. It is so ugly, I wouldn't carry one if it was given to me:mad:
 
Guess I'd have to ask what your doing wrong. I've had some autos that were not 100%, but I got rid of them. All of my current crop of autos are 100% reliable, they include a Colt XS (post break-in), a CZ75, a Makarov and a Glock (of course).
 
Well, I sure would not want to have to carry an UGLY 100% reliable firearm! Heavens forbid! I personally like the looks of my Glock 27, but you may want to reconsider or at least rename your thread - "Done with good looking autos". Cause there are absolutely autos that are just as reliable as revolvers. Maybe not as purty :-), but they are reliable...
 
I know what you mean . . .

I haven't had any problems with my new BHP in .40 . . . yet. Revos always seem to work, don't they?
 
The difference for me is that when an auto misfunctions it's usually quick and easy to clear and get back "into the fight". If/when a revolver does misfunction you'll probably need a very quick gunsmith if you want to avoid a trip to the E.R. or worse, the Coroner.

Personally, the only failures I have experienced with auto's or revo's has been ammo or shooter related.

As for the looks of the Glock, heaven forbid you save your arse or that of a loved one with an ugly gun!! I mean, looks always outweigh function in the case of selecting a self defense handgun!!

Geez!

R6
 
Stuby,

All the autos you mentioned are very reliable. I'm just curious if you were feeding them reloads when they malfunctioned? A limp wrist will make the best autos jam as well. Just my $.02
 
stubby; If you're done with semi-auto's there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Revolver's are great! I've had some incredibly reliable pistols both past and present. An older Sig P-220 I used to have and currently a new one are stone cold reliable. I had a H&K USP45 full size that was extremely reliable. I had it about two years and don't remember a malfunction of any kind. If you want to have alot of fun the 10mm Witness is a blast to shoot. Powerful and controllable...it don't get no better than that. I only have about 150 rounds through mine but so far so good. Concensus is there're extremely reliable however. I'd be perfectly happy with revolvers but semi-auto's are pretty cool too. Good Luck, J. Parker
 
I've had over half-a-dozen semi's. Never had a malfunction.

That said, have fun with your revolvers! We all have our own tastes.
 
Stubby, I'm with you. I've been watching a thread over in General Handguns called "When It Absolutely, Positively, Has To Fire" that's been running for about a week now. The question is basically, which one handgun would you pick if your life depended on it functioning with absolute certainty. Surprisingly, at least to me, after counting the first day or two of replies, it seems like about 55-60% would choose a revolver over the semiauto when the chips are down.
 
No, I am not limp wristing the guns. I have been shooting for more than 40 years. In all fairness I must admit that the Sigs and Berettas were much more reliable than the 1911 models I have owned. But in all honesty, I did have some type of trouble with all of them. I am not saying that there were constant malfunctions, only that the occassional malfunction cause me to have doubts about the gun. Cetrainly a mainstream auto will function most of the time, but I can't live with those nagging little doubts that creep in everytime that I dropped the slide on a magazine full and the slide locks up befor the round is chambered. I have owned many 1911 models as I love the way they handle and look, I just could never find one that was 100%. I found myself dreading shooting for fear that I would have another malfunction, further eroding my confidence in the weapon. I am not a reloader so it was factory ammo. I am not saying that you shouldn't have confidence in your auto if you have one that has been 100% for you, hell I am jealous of you. How many of you auto defenders, have one that you really have never had a malfunction? Not one? Not even during the so called "break in period"? We come up with all kinds of excuses for the autos, "bad magazine" "limp wristing" "bad ammo" "rough feed ramp" "bad recoil springs" bad ejectors" "improperly lubed" . Ever used one of these excuses for that "perfect" auto you own? If so, it is not perfect. In all honesty I must admit that I did have a colt detective special malfunction after a local "gunsmith" had attempted to reduce the marking of the cylinder by the cylinder locking bolt. It stopped locking up!! That was the gunsmiths error though, not the revolver. If you do have a perfect auto, hang on to it because they are rare. The glocks may be the most reliable auto ever made but I am just too old to accept such a radical departure from traditional materials and appearances. I have tried to convince myslef of their value but when I pick one up, I always lay it back down. I have gone to gunshops with the intention of buying a Glock but when I see it beside a Beretta, Sig, Smith, or Colt, I always have walked out with something other than the Glock. That may well be an error on my part but I know what appeals to me and what doesn't. :(
 
Stubby,

I own and shoot reguarly a Sig P220A in .45 ACP.
I have had 0 problems with this weapon, dating
back to March of 95. Do you think it might be
the shooter, and not all these weapons that you
mentioned?

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

PS: I'm with you on the S&W 686 though; I just
purchased a 686-5 NIB w/6" barrel, and it's
quite a shooter.
 
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What I know: With revolvers, you pull the trigger and the gun goes bang. No bang, you pull it again. Always seems to work...
 
I'm with you Stubby! Yeah, I have an auto right now that's pretty much 100% reliable and that I would and do trust my life with. But I trust my revolver MORE. Different strokes for different folks, to each his own, blah blah blah. I now prefer revolvers over auto's ANY day of the week. But mere 6 months ago I would not even look at one. Not "modern" or "cool looking" enough for me. Now it's almost the other way around. Yeah, I'd still like a loaded Springfield or Kimber, but there are at least 3 or 4 revolvers I want first. I also agree with you on the Glock thing. To me they're just UGLY. And NO... at this time I don't want to spend that much money on a gun that I think is UGLY. (Waiting for rabid Glock owners to empty their magazines into me...) They are totally reliable from what I've heard. Great! But I don't like 'em. And aesthetics play a big part in why MOST people purchase any big ticket product. Function is not the ONLY consideration for most people -- it's Form that catches your eye in the first place. So when I want a reliable gun, I buy a revolver that I like the looks of. I may never own a Glock, or I might fall in love with them and own 10 of them next year. So what, that's my choice for my reasons. It's a big and varied world out there... ;)
 
I have 2 autos that I have never had a malfunction with. One is the S&W 3913 I bought my wife 14 years ago when she had our first child. The other is my duty weapon, a S&W 4586 DAO 45. Both have been shot extensively and neither has ever hung up on either one of us! BTW, she shoots hers in IDPA matches and I train regularly (monthly) with mine.
 
The only FTF I've ever witnessed with a revolver was caused by a small amount of rust. Don't let your revolver rust and it should be 100%, I think. I wish I lived in a state that had concealed carry, then I might have the problem of using a handgun for self defence. All my handguns are used strictly for the range and FTF may be irritating but not life threatening. For defence inside my own house I would choose somthing a little more powerful than any handgun or rifle... 12 guage.

BTW, I absolutly hate glocks too and would much rather carry a revolver than one of those butt ugly plastic toys. But I'm in ohio and not allowed to carry anything except a pocketknife with a less than 2½ inch blade.
 
It's always seemed a bit odd to me over the years as I read dozens of books, magazines, owner's manuals and so forth concerning the care and feeding of semiautos, that the authors seemed to devote an unusual amount of ink up front discussing how reliable the autoloaders is. It's almost as if they feel they have to convince us. Having done this, the remaining chapters are filled with instructions on how to clear stovepipe jams and other feed failures, advice on polishing the feed ramp and selecting magazines, what type of cleaning solutions and lubricants are best, the possiblity that you might have to swap the recoil spring and tinker with the extractor or ejector, or enlarge the ejection port before the gun will work properly. Later chapters cover the evils of a limp wrist, and the absolute necessity for test firing your carry ammo to make certain that it will function in your particular gun. At the same time, the ammo makers spend inordinate amounts of effort trying to engineer an effective bullet that will feed in at least most of the popular self-defense pistols, while at the same time have enough "oomph" to cycle the slide.

As I look around TFL, I also note the number of threads concerning feeding and functioning of autoloaders, what ammo works best in which brand pistol, how to decide whether the fault in question lies with the magazine, the ammunition, the pistol itself, or the shooter. I own autos, including Glocks, and love shooting them. But when that occasional feed failure occurs, or the slide doesn't lock back after the last round, or I pull the trigger and it just goes "click," I may be surprised, but it happens to my 100% reliable pistols just often enough to stick in the back of my mind.
 
The only auto I've had real problems with was a Walther PPK/S, unfortunately made in the USA. It jammed quite often no matter what ammo was used. Needless to say, I got rid of it quick. I have 2 Kimbers, and have never had a failure to feed or fire, even with reloads. I have a Colt Officer Model which took about 200 rounds to break in, but after that it was 100% reliable. Maybe I've been lucky....:D
 
Ignoring your encouragement not to tell you about the "ugly" Glock. Mine have been flawless.

I used to hate the Glock. That is until I gave one an honest try.

Too bad for my pocketbook :(. They are extremely addicting.

So if you haven't tried one, maybe you should. Or then again, maybe you shouldn't, depending on the status of your bank account.
 
"...cause me to have doubts about the gun...."

That is manufactured reasoning. Every gun is likely to malfanction at one time or another. Hell, I use revolvers enough and have seen enough failures, and just remember that the ammo also has an element of "doubt".

If you want to use revolvers fine. You don't need to justify it! :cool:
 
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