One shot to live ... Auto ... or ... Revolver

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The typical semi auto malfunction won't occur until after the first round is fired.
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There are quite a few malfunctions with striker fired actions not firing ... period, first shot or 14, without a proper warning even after being broke-in properly! Sometimes these new and unproven types are just not striking, but again this isn't the point either in particular.

BUT, AND THERE ALWAYS IS A BUT IN LIFE ...

Again, this is not a pistol competition, this is about confidence, real or perceived, about your choice of auto or revolver in regard to working with absolute confidence when faced with a real life or death choice, it is as simple as that.

Some folks are not reading, and going on what others have said who have not read the original premise ... or for whatever reason have changed course.

"When faced with danger in a Now moment, which style do you have more confidence in with your life on the line and reliability is the ONLY Factor and not fire power, a Revolver or an Auto ... Period.
 
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In regard to working with absolute confidence when faced with a real life or death choice
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There is no absolute. Fairly certain, yes.. but absolute, never.

Since we are all talking hypothetical here... What happens if you pull the trigger on your most reliable weapon you ever had and you get a squib load? Happens. :eek:
 
"When faced with danger in a Now moment, which style do you have more confidence in with your life on the line and reliability is the ONLY Factor and not fire power, a Revolver or an Auto ... Period.
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Either one that I've tested and neither if I haven't PERIOD.
 
The least reliable gun I own is a S&W DA revolver. Loaded with anything not utilizing Federal primers, it runs about 90%.
Even my worst auto is better 95% reliable, so the revolver is not going to get the nod on that score.
If I had to choose one gun that I own, it would be the Colt M1991A1 that I customized to suit me.
 
I don't see where it matters whether it's a revolver or semi auto. I own very reliable firearms in either category. I don't see why I would favor my model 10 over a Beretta 92, Hi-Power, or Glock 17.
 
RickB - springs? I had a Model 19 like that. It was used and the previous owner had lightened up the springs to such an extent I had weak strikes.

Fixed with new springs.
 
You and your family are on a cross-country trip, and sleeping in a small hotel on the edge of some high crime city, when the door busts open in the middle of the night. The large silhouette in the doorway is holding a knife, a Big Knife, and your kids are still sleeping. You grab your handgun next to you on the bedside table as he enters the room and you only have time for one shot to save everybody.

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF AND US:

Would you feel more nervous and think about if the gun will work more if you had an auto in your hand than if you had a revolver?

Seriously, that last time your handgun failed, was it an auto or a revolver?

Which would you choose with one shot and your family’s life was on the line … PERIOD … NO OTHER OPTIONS OR THOUGHTS … PERIOD

WHICH ONE AND WHY?
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One shot means, it does not matter if the gun cycles reliably for the second shot. Only the first shot matters.

Sinlge action auto. There's less going on to get that first and only shot off.
 
I don't see where it matters whether it's a revolver or semi auto.
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I do. If you're on your last bullet. The slide on a semi auto will lock back. Indicating 'empty.' If the BG is not dead, he now knows your gun is useless, for the time being. A revolver has no indication when it's out of ammo. Sure it's possible to count shots, but the BG doesn't know if you have a 5,6,7,8,9,10 shot revolver. If your last shot didn't put the BG down, at least you still have the implication of a credible threat to him/her. You might get lucky and walk the BG out of the front door, with your gun's muzzle against he back of his/her neck. It's preferable to having an empty semi auto, with the slide locked back, IMO.
 
I would suggest that you participate in the NRA's "don't become a victim" classes. By choosing a better motel in a better location you won't put your family at risk and put yourself in a bad situation.
You get what you pay for.
Cheap motels are mostly in high crime areas, and cheap handguns are unreliable.
 
How about a Contender in 30-30 for just one shot?
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Again: It is not about the one shot

It is about confidence and trust in the gun, the one shot scenario was to take out the firepower comments, which so far most have not heeded.

For those who have, sorry for the repeated comments, but one must keep on course as some want to go elsewhere for whatever purpose...

Always happens...

How confident are you with an auto pistol vs. a revolver in the original post scenario. Do you worry if it will work when it is needed most, will you, and with which one will you worry more than the other...

A second shot is the Not issue, a shotgun or other gun is not the issue, most shooters here already know all those solutions/issues already. We are not impressed that some keep bringing them up as if we didn't...

You the shooter and how confident you are in one style or another is the issue...
 
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I am with the sentiment that if you are absolutely limited to one shot a revolver isn't the best bet. Despite what OP says, there is VERY little that can go wrong with a semi-auto that is ready to fire.

If you KNOW there will be one bad guy then a revolver might be a good choice. 5 shots for one guy has a high probability of being enough to stop or scare off the threat. If you have a problem you just pull the trigger again and go to the next cylinder. Mauch faster than a failure in a semi-auto.

But when do you only have time for one shot with a pistol?
When do you KNOW there will only be one attacker?
I'll keep carrying my Corolla. I meant Glock.
 
Either one.

As long as the gun is reliable, say a Glock/HK/SIG or S&W/Ruger/Colt revolver I would not care which one.

The top makes of semi-autos are just as reliable as the top makes of revolvers in the short run (that is shot 100 rounds or so without cleaning.) In the long run, many hundreds of rounds without cleaning, the semi-auto starts to show it's more reliable.

Deaf
 
When you talk about just one single shot and reliability, the revolver has no advantage over the auto in that case as a failure to fire is just as likely to happen in either. As far as subsequent shots a revolver may have an advantage but these days with a quality auto it really wont be by much. None of my carry or home defense semi-auto pistols have had a single failure except for a dud primer in a bulk pack of WWB 9mm, and I have put alot of rounds down range with them. On the other hand my S&W 60 revolver had a hammer pin snap when I was shooting and rendered the gun totally inoperable, so just goes to show revolvers have their fair share of problems too. This isn't 50 years ago where semi-autos were not as reliable as they are today. Unless you get one from the factory that just plain wont work right, any quality auto can go thousands of rounds without seeing a single failure with proper maintenance. Aside from .22 pistols, I have seen more failure to fires from people short stroking a revolver in rapid fire than actual stoppages in a semi-auto.
 
In theory, I should want my 1911 .45. It's reliable, I shoot it well enough, and it has the advantages of night sights and .45 caliber.

In practice, I want my M&P 9. It's the gun I shoot far more often than any other. It's the one that's always lubed up and ready to go, since it never goes more than a week with being fired, and subsequently cleaned and lubed. Of all the guns I own, it's the one I have to think the least about - I just have to think "there should be a hole there", and voila! a hole appears.

Real world reliability - the only kind of reliability that matters - is much more complicated than Gun A malfunctions 0.045% more often than Gun B. It's about whether Gun A + Ammo X + Holster Y + Shooter Z can combine to reliably achieve the desired result in a given scenario.
 
Only one shot? You must be talking about something like a TC Contender, because anything else will be going bang more than once.

Seriously though, I'd be comfortable with almost any any weapon I own and have fired. They have all been proven to reliable.
 
No its not about trust in the gun, its about you trying to stir up a heated Auto vs Revolver debate.

So, to answer your flawed OP, I choose either.. I wont own a unreliable weapon. PERIOD. I run 1k rounds of various flavor out of my weapons to see if there reliable. IF not, they get fixed, and another 1k rounds. If they fail again, I get rid of them.

I doubt many here, would intentionally keep in there drawers untested unreliable weapons..
 
Revolver. My night stand is a model 58, Smith and Wesson, M&P 41 magnum, fixed sights, 4 inch heavy barrel. always fires.

Gary
 
Yeah it's pretty obvious the answer you are looking for. The gun I'd be grabbing would be a S&W M&P 9c because in your situation it would be what I had with me.

I trust my life to it, as I do with every gun I own. If I can't, down the road it goes.
 
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