Pistols vs revolvers?

SansSouci---re: reloading speed

That is just my opinion. Not trying to convince anyone they should think that way. In the first place, the probability that I will shoot my revolver in a life threatening situation is probably 0.0001. Then if I consider the probability that I will have to reload it that is probably 0.001 not worth the effort IMHO.

YMMV and I certainly respect your opinion if it differs from mine. By all means, if that is a factor in your decision of what gun to carry, then give it high consideration.
 
I mostly own and shoot only revolvers. My CCW gun is a Ruger SP101 chambered in .357 Magnum. This gun provides me with 5 rounds to eliminate any threat. If I need more than 5 rounds then I have put myself in a situation and or area that I should not be in.

I have owned several semi-automatics and I can not shoot them accurately. I have shot many semi-automatics including 1911 with the same results. All my rounds end up low left. I have practiced with them on my own and had formal training with out any improvement.

Now if you put a revolver in my hand I can shoot the center out of any target out with out any issues. Plus I love the magnum loads that you can shoot in revolvers.
 
OxyGuy,

Absolutely it was defective ammo. However, the result was an inoperable weapon that took about five minutes to resolve.
 
Colorado_Redneck,

That's a fair answer.

It might be a good idea to practice reloading your primary self-defense weapon in various conditions; e.g., darkness, one arm incapacitated, tactical reload, etc.

Jus' sayin'...


Merry Christmas
 
Do a google search on "pistol jams on officer during shootout" and you will definitely consider the revolver a lot more. There are many counts of the auto pistol jamming on the officer during a life and death situation. Way to many in my opinion. And these are not cheap guns either. We are talking about Beretta's, Browning Hi-Powers, Smith & Wessons, Glocks, and etc. There are also many counts of autos jamming on the criminals as well but of course most of those were cheap guns.
 
I have owned several semi-automatics and I can not shoot them accurately. I have shot many semi-automatics including 1911 with the same results. All my rounds end up low left. I have practiced with them on my own and had formal training with out any improvement.
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One difference between revolvers and autoloaders that I don't recall being mentioned in this thread is that, with revolvers, you can adjust the hand to gun interface to a much greater extent. With autoloader, the grip shape and size is constrained by having a single or double stack magazine sunning up through it. With a revolver, all you have to accommodate is the grip frame (or grip peg in a Ruger).
 
FloridaGuy,

Has your self-defense scenarios included more than one bad guy?

Do you carry magnum rounds in your gun? If so, you might want to shoot it at night. Magnum muzzle flash is blinding, not a good thing when trying to retain sight picture.

I have a Model 60. With +P loads, it is a difficult gun to control, especially one-handed.

BTW, when I owned a 586, I carried .38 Special 158 grain SWCHP for self-defense in it.


Merry Christmas
 
My self-defense scenarios contain up to 3 bad Guys.

I train with my CCW gun 3 times a week for at least 1hour. I average 1000 rounds fired every month.

Mostly I carry either one of the following rounds.

Speer Gold Dot 357 Magnum 125gr GDHP
or
BlazerBrass 357 Magnum 158gr JHP

For training purposes I shoot my reloads mostly 125gr RNFT with a magnum powder load.

I shoot a lot at night and really am not worried about the muzzle flash. I am more concerned with the loudness of the round especially in an enclosed space.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. Just looking around for a gun that's fun to shoot and has a defense capability. I just like the style of single action revolvers.
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I think most would agree that you have to be better with a SA than with other types of handguns in order for them to be effective in self defense. Your first handgun is going to be your only handgun for at least a little while, so it may be best to get a more capable SD handgun first and make the SA a second "fun gun" purchase.

Re semi vs revolver: I was a life-long revolver guy until switching to semis a few years back. Capacity was my main reason. Ease and speed of reloads kind of contribute to capacity, in a way. I understand the argument of reliability, but quality modern pistols with quality modern ammunition don't fail very often at all. I can't honestly think of a failure that wasn't related to either ammo (cheap range stuff) or operator error (my daughter limp wristed a couple of times when she was first learning). I don't think the risk of failure is zero, but it isn't substantial enough to change my mind and override the considerations of capacity, either. Obviously, other people feel differently. Ain't it great that we get to choose?
 
I'd say the advantages of a revolver are it's durability and ability to accept 357 and 44 mag. And the advantages of pistols are more rounds per reload. What do you guys think the advantages are between the 2. Which do you prefer?
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I see no specific mention of defensive handguns in the OP. SO, ALL arguments about the advantages of one, over the other, for defense, are only PART of the picture.

Pick a point in favor of one, and there is a counterpoint for the other. Some are better for somethings, others for others.

Lots of broad blanket statements have been made already, and as often the case, not all are fully accurate.

First off, let's make clear the difference between an ammunition malfunction and a firearm malfunction. The only thing they have in common is the failure of the gun to fire. Everything else (the why, and what you do to fix it) is different.

If a bullet jumps crimp and ties up your revolver, that is no more a revolver malfunction than when a flat tire stops your car. There is nothing wrong with the design of your engine because a flat tire stops you from driving.

"Revolver come in .357 and .44" Guess what kids, so do autopistols. I have some.

"Autos don't jam (because mine never has)" A wonderful belief, but one without any factual basis.

Remember that unless you are specifically talking about defense guns (which the OP was not) then autos includes all the .22LR autos out there, and as a class, .22s jam, or otherwise malfunction more than anything else, period.

A lot is made of the speed of reloading an auto pistol. It is nice, and convenient, but outside of playing games where a reload is required, just how important is it to practical self defense? (which is a different matter from duty use by law enforcement or military)

Take any revolver and any auto, without a spare magazine or speedloader, just a box of loose cartridges, and reload. Which one takes longer?

Autos have their drawbacks, so do revolvers, and while some are the same, some are different, and need to be addressed differently.

Neither one is perfect in all matters or in all situations. My handgun collection is split about evenly between revolvers & autos, with a couple of single shots included as well.

When comparing autos vs revolvers, there are only a few points where it is a true "apples to apple" comparison. All the other points, while interesting are, essentially, irrelevant.
 
I thought of an important difference between semi-autos (I stand corrected now that I know pistols include revolvers) and revolvers--the ability to rack the slide. For older folk or for people with weaker hands, the slide on the semi-auto may be impossible to rack. For those people a revolver is their only choice.
 
...revolvers are more reliable due to fewer moving parts and less dependence on tight tolerances.
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While revolvers may be more reliable, it is not due to fewer moving parts or less dependence on tight tolerances. In general, revolvers tend to have more moving parts than semi-autos and are more dependent on tight tolerances.
For older folk or for people with weaker hands, the slide on the semi-auto may be impossible to rack. For those people a revolver is their only choice.
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The problem is that the people I've worked with who have serious hand strength issues generally have problems with the DA trigger pull of revolvers. In addition, they often find the recoil of revolvers intolerable or extremely unpleasant.

Finally, there are autopistols out there with very easily operated slides, as well as a few that don't require operating the slide at all.

The main advantages of revolvers that I see are:

They are less dependent on ammunition quality.
They are typically simpler to operate.
 
If I may caveat off the two above posts, in regards to revolver, if the ammo quality is poor and the round fails to fire on demand, I consider it an advantage (with the inherent risk of a cooking round in the chamber) to simply squeeze the trigger once more to rotate the next round to be fired, verse having to clear a semi-auto and do remedial action, that could potentially be within arms distance of an assailant.

BigBlue stated that some may not be able to rack the slide

True, and a DA snubby might be a credible option

JohnKSa stated some may not be able to squeeze the double action revolver

I also consider the lighter trigger pull and higher capacity of semi-auto to be a distinct advantage as well

This I feel everyone here has properly identified the distinct advantages of the two, and it goes back to the personal preference dept, and what ones physical limitations are, to answer the original question from the OP. My 2cents
 
Big-Blue said:
For older folk or for people with weaker hands, the slide on the semi-auto may be impossible to rack. For those people a revolver is their only choice.
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In my experience the vast majority of people can rack a slide if they're taught to do it correctly; most of us use an incorrect technique to rack a slide but we get away with it because we have enough arm strength that it doesn't matter. Every instructor I've ever talked to has told me they've never encountered an able-bodied person who couldn't be taught to rack a slide with the proper technique.
JohnKSa said:
The problem is that the people I've worked with who have serious hand strength issues generally have problems with the DA trigger pull of revolvers. In addition, they often find the recoil of revolvers intolerable or extremely unpleasant.
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Exactly. If someone can't rack a slide even with the proper technique, it's HIGHLY unlikely that they're going to be able to even pull the trigger on a DA revolver, let alone handle its recoil.
 
here's my two cents

Both.... shoot both. Love each platform for different reasons. But if it has a trigger goes bang and throws a projectile, im interested.
 
bledsoeG19,

I was sent to NASA yesterday in search of a platform. It said it needed the ones it has.

I can't find a platform store in the phone book. However, we have a few gun stores in our neck of the woods.

I never was much for the politically correct crowd.
 
SansSouci said:
I can't find a platform store in the phone book. However, we have a few gun stores in our neck of the woods.

I never was much for the politically correct crowd.
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SansSouci (from another thread) said:
But cyber gun talk (platform talk for the politically correct crowd) is fun.
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That's the second time I've seen you mistunderstand the term "platform" as being a politically correct term. It has NOTHING to do with being politically correct, it's a term used to describe a general type of gun. For example: an AR-15 is not any one specific gun, it's a core design that many companies build off of, hence the term "platform".

If you don't understand the term, that's fine. But your uninformed sarcasm on this and other subjects in other threads is starting to wear on me.
 
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