I know it is beating a dead horse but - A couple observations, the fastest handgun shooters in the world all use revolvers. Why? Also, I was thinking, let's say you left two loaded guns on a fireplace mantle - a revolver and a semi-auto pistol and came back 50 years later. Which one would you grab in an emergency?
Revolver v Pistol or Ford v Chevy
- Thread starter jmortimer
- Start date
GunsAreGood
New member
I would definitely choose the revolver especially if it really was 50 years later. My reasoning is because you do not have to worry about the magazine spring being depressed for such a long time and I just feel that a revolver is much more reliable than a semi auto.
Taxidermist
New member
First thing I would do is do a drive by in my Chevy to see if my wife is home cuz she is gonna be one mad woman. 
But I would grab the revolver because that's what I prefer, and to make sure my wife can't get her hands on it.
John
But I would grab the revolver because that's what I prefer, and to make sure my wife can't get her hands on it. John
Kreyzhorse
New member
50 years later? Well, if I could remember exactly where I left them, and why I left them there in the first place, I guess I'd pick up the revolver.
50 years unattended and I'll assume negelected, I'd feel more comfortable using the revolver.
That doesn't mean I don't trust semi autos, but it does mean that in a neglected state, I'd assume the revolver would likely function better than the auto.
50 years unattended and I'll assume negelected, I'd feel more comfortable using the revolver.
That doesn't mean I don't trust semi autos, but it does mean that in a neglected state, I'd assume the revolver would likely function better than the auto.
SilentHitz
New member
50 years later, I would be 106...I would be lucky to find my damn house!
If I happened to be lucky enough to find it, and it was an emergency, I'm grabbing both!
If I happened to be lucky enough to find it, and it was an emergency, I'm grabbing both!Mike Irwin
Staff
After 50 years of just sitting around I'd be wondering if either of them would operate.
50 years is a long time to ask oil and/or grease not to turn to gum or solidify entirely.
I would also be quite concerned about the condition of the ammunition in either gun. Lubricants out gas volatile compounds that can, over time, significantly deteriorate ammunition.
Years ago I had access to a Browning rimfire pistol that had been stored in a closed box wrapped in an oiled rag for about 25 years. Two boxes of .22 ammo had been stored in the box, as well. The magazine was also loaded.
Of the 108 rounds in that gun, none fired properly, and many were out and out duds.
50 years is a long time to ask oil and/or grease not to turn to gum or solidify entirely.
I would also be quite concerned about the condition of the ammunition in either gun. Lubricants out gas volatile compounds that can, over time, significantly deteriorate ammunition.
Years ago I had access to a Browning rimfire pistol that had been stored in a closed box wrapped in an oiled rag for about 25 years. Two boxes of .22 ammo had been stored in the box, as well. The magazine was also loaded.
Of the 108 rounds in that gun, none fired properly, and many were out and out duds.
Because the speed of a revolver relies only on the speed of the shooter.
A person who's fast on the trigger might have to wait on a semi-auto to cycle. As fast as a semi-auto is, their speed capabilities are limited by design. IOW, no matter how fast the trigger is pulled, the slide will cycle a new round into the chamber at the same speed each time. The fastest shooter with a semi-auto can only shoot it as fast as the firearm will function.
Each time the trigger is pulled, or the hammer is drawn back on a revolver, the cylinder turns a new cartridge into position for firing (until all cylinders have been fired). This happens no matter how fast or slow the trigger is pulled or the hammer is cocked. So, the potential speed of a revolver is limited only by the speed of the shooter.
This might seem like a non-issue to the mere mortal human, but it can be quite a difference in speed to someone like Bob Munden.
As far as the one I'd grab for in an emergency:
I'd grab the one on my hip. It gets shot and cleaned regularly, and I know the ammo is fresh. I'll look the others over, clean 'em up, and load 'em with fresh ammo after the emergency is over.
After 50 years, they probably don't make 'em like that any more. Daryl
We are talking two different tools for two different jobs. In LE I carried a revolver, in combat (SE Asia) I carried a 1911A1.
Two different missions.
In LE I often was task with putting down large animals (moose), I wanted the penetration. As an infantryman I was sometimes (because I was the smallest dude available) I was task with crawling through a muddy hole, and the pistol would be dripping in slime, nothing beats a 1911a1` in those conditions.
So, If I was to go back into LE, I’d want the revolver, if I was to go back the army, I’d want the USGI 1911A1.
But since I wont do either, I’ll shoot both for pleasure.
Having said that, I'll add, there is no subsitute for the Ford Heavy Duty Diesel Pick UP
Two different missions.
In LE I often was task with putting down large animals (moose), I wanted the penetration. As an infantryman I was sometimes (because I was the smallest dude available) I was task with crawling through a muddy hole, and the pistol would be dripping in slime, nothing beats a 1911a1` in those conditions.
So, If I was to go back into LE, I’d want the revolver, if I was to go back the army, I’d want the USGI 1911A1.
But since I wont do either, I’ll shoot both for pleasure.
Having said that, I'll add, there is no subsitute for the Ford Heavy Duty Diesel Pick UP
FreakGasolineFight
New member
That depends what kind of revolver and what kind of semi-auto.
But I know that afterwards I'd hope in my Toyota to drive away ...
But I know that afterwards I'd hope in my Toyota to drive away ...
I look at it this way. If god forbid you are ever in a position that you need to draw your firearm, chance are it is a matter of life and death. I don't care what is the fanciest, what looks best, or what holds 14 rounds. I want something that will go boom when I pull the trigger with the least chance of something going wrong. Sure I only have 5 or 6 rounds, but how many citizens take on a platoon of enemies in everyday life. Most SD situations require no more than two shots, so I don't feel a need for a 14+ round magazine.
This is true, to the extent that the revolver can hold together under the force applied. Fanning a revolver can operate the action very rapidly but the mechanism will not be able to tolerate the stress unless it's been modified to handle it.
I have seen no reliable data that indicates that a human can fire a typical semi-auto pistol faster than the pistol can cycle.
The very fastest shooters can't fire faster than about 10 shots a second (barring techniques like bump-firing and fanning) and yet there's hard evidence that indicates that a typical semi-auto pistol can cycle faster than 15 times a second.
Jerry Miculek's revolver record is 8 shots in a second. Considerably slower than the theoretical top speed of a typical autopistol and slower even than the top speeds achieved by top-level shooters using autopistols.
Again, barring techniques like fanning, a top-level shooter with a semi-auto is going to be able to beat a top-level shooter with a revolver in terms of putting aimed shots downrange faster.
Theoretically speaking a revolver can be "driven" faster than a semi-auto can cycle. However humans are not capable of driving a revolver that fast unless we allow techniques like fanning.
I guess I'd be hoping a Toyota would start and drive too. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll still have good 'merican made wreckers in 50 years
In the 50-year sit on the mantle prospect, I think I'd go with the revolver. Both guns would have a fair amount of cobwebs and maybe even mud-dauber nests (my wife would go with me, leaving the house empty). This could cause problems with the open spaces in a magazine but not in the cylinder of the revolver. And even if the first shot bulged the barrel the revolver would still be functional if not accurate. A bulged barrel will stop a semi-auto in its tracks.
We've been down this road before...
Ed McGivern (the fastest shot in the world, for generations) said he used DA revolvers because he was faster with them than with autos. And I believe him.
This is not to say that even an exceptional human is faster than the cycling of an auto pistol, they are not. But there is more than just the speed of cycling involved. Its things like trigger reset, and feel as well. Once the slide closes, the trigger group has to move enough to reset, and the shooter has to time the release and next pull differently than on a DA revolver. The top speed shooters are not faster than the auto is mechanically, but they are faster than the auto is functionally, compared with a tuned DA revolver, in their hands.
As to the 50 year thing, I would choose the revolver, not because of concern about the magazine spring (there have been many examples of modern mag springs being left loaded for decades and working fine), but because of the other moving parts, notably the slide.
A few years ago, my father passed away. While going through his things, I found his 1911, loaded in a drawer. It had been probably 6-10 years since it had been touched, perhaps more. When I cleared the gun, the slide only closed about 3/4 of the way, due to the oil having thickened, turning to sludge. The loaded magazine worked perfectly when tested later.
SO, I would choose the revolver, because, even if the oil had congealed, as long as I could still pull the trigger through DA, I believe it would work. And if it worked the first time, it would work the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th!
Ed McGivern (the fastest shot in the world, for generations) said he used DA revolvers because he was faster with them than with autos. And I believe him.
This is not to say that even an exceptional human is faster than the cycling of an auto pistol, they are not. But there is more than just the speed of cycling involved. Its things like trigger reset, and feel as well. Once the slide closes, the trigger group has to move enough to reset, and the shooter has to time the release and next pull differently than on a DA revolver. The top speed shooters are not faster than the auto is mechanically, but they are faster than the auto is functionally, compared with a tuned DA revolver, in their hands.
As to the 50 year thing, I would choose the revolver, not because of concern about the magazine spring (there have been many examples of modern mag springs being left loaded for decades and working fine), but because of the other moving parts, notably the slide.
A few years ago, my father passed away. While going through his things, I found his 1911, loaded in a drawer. It had been probably 6-10 years since it had been touched, perhaps more. When I cleared the gun, the slide only closed about 3/4 of the way, due to the oil having thickened, turning to sludge. The loaded magazine worked perfectly when tested later.
SO, I would choose the revolver, because, even if the oil had congealed, as long as I could still pull the trigger through DA, I believe it would work. And if it worked the first time, it would work the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th!