Revolver Or Pistol

darn, I am hopeless then

Many of us feel this way even when unarmed. A .45 will not take the place of a set of cojones ...
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However, brains trumps them ever time. :p

And now on to substance....

I would rather have a revolver because you wouldn't have to rack the slide one-handed. You might be able to do it if you practied though
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Yikes. THAT is one I never thought of. :eek: :eek: :eek: And of all things to consider, I certainly should have... I have occasional troubles working the slide on the Bersa and the XD-40 when my arthritis is bad. If somebody had actually (God forbid) SHOT one arm or hand and it was utterly useless.... there is NO way I could do it (safely). I can just see it now.... BG shoots me in the arm, and I end up shooting myself in the foot trying to insert another magazine....

THIS is going to take some rethinking, at least for concealed carry. At home, at the range, in the woods....different story, but the CCW???? Thanks for the food for thought.

Springmom
 
For close in combat, like arms length, the snubnose revolver all the way. If I'm farther than that, I'm running away. And if I'm not, I'm shooting, then running away!:D
 
Yikes. THAT is one I never thought of. And of all things to consider, I certainly should have... I have occasional troubles working the slide on the Bersa and the XD-40 when my arthritis is bad. If somebody had actually (God forbid) SHOT one arm or hand and it was utterly useless.... there is NO way I could do it (safely). I can just see it now.... BG shoots me in the arm, and I end up shooting myself in the foot trying to insert another magazine....
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SpringMom ~

Don't panic yet. Get someone who knows how to do it safely to show you how to rack the slide one-handed. You might find that it is physically easier for you to manage than doing it the normal way.

pax
 
Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Autoloaders typically have greater capacity, and since 1 handed reloading is going to be a time consuming ordeal either way, that extra capacity could be a lifesaver. But, if you are weakening due to blood loss, and/or if you are having to use your weak side hand that most people just don't practice as much with, you may end up limp wristing. And if you manage to limp wrist yourself into a failure, clearing that failure will be another time consuming ordeal. Also, if you are having to shoot left handed and have a pistol that does not have ambidextrous controls, you are potentially faced with fumbling with those controls in a less than optimum manner.

Revolvers don't have the capacity of most autoloaders, therefore they will face the need for reloading sooner, and reloading speed will be compromised -- and most shooters (like myself), can't reload a revolver as fast as an autoloader even under the best conditions, even using speedloaders. OTOH, they are just not prone to limp wrist failures, or feeding failures at all, hence the need to clear them under adverse conditions like that is just not going to happen. And since revolvers have only 1 "control" to worry about in the first place and that one is only used when reloading, there is less fumbling around.

In summary, while you will have fewer shots available with a revolver, there is a higher probability that you will be able to use those shots effectively when using a revolver. Reloading speed will be severely compromised either way. With that in mind, and realizing that I'm talking about "typical" SD situations facing 1 or 2 BG's, not one of those "Zombie Army" fantasies, I'll opt for a wheelgun.
 
I'll take my auto. I practice reloading one handed, as well as shooting off hand. As far as racking the slide, I do that before I leave home. It locks open for reload, However I usually don't carry spare mags anyway. If 14 rounds isn't enough I will use them to get me to cover or distance to run away. As far as jamming, The chance of needing my pistol is slim to none, and the chance of it jamming at that one in a million time is about zero. I carry to be prepared, but I am not going to worry about it that much.
 
as much as the average citizen probably will be less likely to have to expect one arm to become mashed potatoes than to have to reload.

i'll stick with my autos. use those 6 shots to put them down, and i've still got at least another few to go after their family :D
 
I can rack the slide of my 1911 against my shoe. You cant do this with a full length recoil spring guide rod, but you can do it with the standard/ mil-spec guide rod. Reloading: I would think it would be hard to reload a revolver with one hand.(?) I mean, you either will have a speed loader to deal with , or you will have all of those loose bullets dropping everywhere ; all the while your bleeding and being shot at. I can reload my 1911 with one hand(see Dwight 55's post). I think I'll take my 1911. JMB designed it so soldiers in battle could operate it under extreme circumstances, one of the circumstances Im sure being one handed operation. Thanks JMB ! :)
 
Definately go with the Auto in this situation, for all the reasons mentioned earlier. i know how to operate it with one hand and i'm more familiar with it. I revolver I aint so good at yet. Not to mention the single action on my HK is much easier to fire that that long DA pull on revolvers every shot. i think that would also come it to play if you are so weak you'd be limp wristing an auto than you just might not be able to pull some revolvers DA triggers
 
Either one can be reloaded or even operated one handed if you have been trained properly....and providing the semi auto is a full size 1911.


You can open the cylinder on a Smith one handed by sliding your middle finger into the trigger guard pushing the thumb latch with your thumb and pushing the cylinder to the side with your trigger finger. Set it down, set it between your knees or stick it under your armpit and reload. Some speedloaders using the push button technique and you are good to go.

The standard (and well worn) 1911 can be operated one handed easily. Put a magazine into the mag well, grasp the gun with your thumb on the grip safety back and your fingers on the top of the slide and close your fist. The slide will move forward. Release and the round is chambered. Or you can just stick the guide plug part of the slide against a table top and push it down and load the peice, providing you don't have a full lenght guiderod in it.



Now, the thing is this. In an emergency, either is as good as the other.However one handed manipulation of a revolver is a bit safer. At no time is the hammer cocked over a live round, without the safety on.
Also, remember, when it comes to loading magazines one handed, stuffing rounds into a cylinder with one hand is a lot easier.
Then there is dissasembly and cleaining. Is a lot easier to clean a wheelie with one hand than take apart a semi auto and reassemble it.

So, if you permanantly lost the use of one hand, you would be better off with the wheelgun than the bottom feeder.
 
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