Safety "Is it a revolver thing"

ccSnoopycc

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I brought my girlfriend to a local gun store to try out a few revolvers and Simi’s the other day and as I looked around I found myself saying "man I feel so much safer when people are handling revolvers around me than semi's." I can see for absolute certainty (on most revolvers) whether they are loaded or not. Once the wheel is kicked out and there is nothing but empty holes I know a revolver is completely empty. I saw several females handling Semi's, pointing them everywhere, and it just scared me in an irritating way. Even with their clips out most autos can still have a round chambered. I hear arguments all the time why revolvers or semi's are better than the other but I have never heard the argument for revolvers say "because they are just simpler in a safety manner." Maybe this is just me what do you think? When you are at a gun show/store and people are handling revolvers and Semi's do you feel safer around the revolver?

Oh ya and a disclaimer I am not stating that females are in anyway clumsy with handguns I am just saying the few that were in the gun store were.;)
 
Oh and one other thought. With the rise of the simi auto pistols I wonder if there is a rise in cleaning gun accidental shooting. It seems like I read about the victim always saying "the clip was out but I forgot to check the chamber". Just my 2 cents
 
Explain to them;

Rule #1 - Treat every gun as if it was loaded.


Complain to the owner / manager that unsafe gun handling is forcing you to BUY elsewhere.
 
females handling Semi's, pointing them everywhere, and it just scared me in an irritating way.

Were said females "handling semis, pointing them everywhere" with the action closed? From you post, I am going to say "yes".

If said females were handling a revolver, and "pointing them everywhere" with the cylinder closed, would it scare you?

No real difference, is there...except possibly, a semi with no mag is capable of NDing once, while a revolver is capable of NDing six times?

Review your prejudices objectively.

It's not a "revolver thing".

Any gun handled unsafely is a hazard.
 
I'll go with the OP. Much easier to AD with a semi. The safeties on Glocks scare the pants off me. Maybe I'm just not ready for this fast-moving twentieth century technology.
 
I hear what you're saying and I what you say makes sense. that being said I think the semi, females, pointing gun thing was just something that made you feel uncomfortable for whatever reason and thats ok. people do this in gun stores. if someone was doing something that was more than what I stated I think someone there or someone working there wouldve said something. they just wanted the feel of the right firearm for them before they made a purchase. I know you were not knocking the women, so dont get me wrong here- there are many women who are much better qualified for firearm use than men. its all about training, experience, good judgement , etc, etc. again, I am not saying you were saying different here. my wife isnt too good with firearms herself. she can handle the revolver much better when its cocked and after some shooting seems to not want to relive the experience. I am confident she can use it if needed for HD though but when she first held it I had to teach her never to point the weapon at someone. to me thats common sense and I learned that very very young and came from a non gun family and non pro gun state
 
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When the NYPD switched from classic double-action revolvers to Glocks their AD/ND/whateverboom rate went up significantly.

I can make a good case that New Model (post-1972) Ruger SA revolvers with a transfer bar ignition (or the similar Beretta Stampede, Taurus Gaucho and Freedom Arms '97 actions) are safer yet. Basically the hammer on these guns acts sort of like a safety - you can't crank anything off until it's cocked and you can't accidentally crank a second round out with just finger pressure. It's as if a safety goes on every time you fire it.
 
I actually like semis as far as safety goes because you can have a full magazine with an empty chamber. Ready to go with just a quick rack of the slide, yet won't fire until you rack the slide.

Revolvers, on the other hand, once loaded will fire each and every time. There's no comfy "middle ground" where the gun is ready and yet safe.

Probably not a popular opinion, but that's my two cents, anyways.
 
Maybe this is just me what do you think? When you are at a gun show/store and people are handling revolvers and Semi's do you feel safer around the revolver?

I don't feel safe when any gun is handled incorrectly. The rule is treat EVERY firearm as if it were loaded.
 
I actually like semis as far as safety goes because you can have a full magazine with an empty chamber. Ready to go with just a quick rack of the slide, yet won't fire until you rack the slide.

Revolvers, on the other hand, once loaded will fire each and every time. There's no comfy "middle ground" where the gun is ready and yet safe.

Probably not a popular opinion, but that's my two cents, anyways.

It still baffles me how people dont trust themselves not to pull the trigger and cause a ND, but some how are completely confident in a complex motor movement(racking the slide) under extreme pressure and adrenaline :confused:.


I like revolvers for the pure simplicity, but I dont necessarily believe they are any safer in terms of a ND. My wife, who shoots with me only occasionally, has a SP101 loaded with .357 110gr JHPs by her bedside. When I work late, I like know she has a "point and shoot" weapon available. Though she shoots my BHP, I do not trust her ability flick off the safety (C&L), clear a jam, etc because she simply has no interest in learning how to do it. She can also load/check to see if it is loaded in a much simpler processes than dropping the mag and racking the slide on a semi. Like anything else, its all up to the individual.
 
It's Not The Gun But The Person Handling It

I've had a couple of NDs with the 1911, but never with a revolver.

I do believe that all are safe if handled properly.
 
I actually like semis as far as safety goes because you can have a full magazine with an empty chamber. Ready to go with just a quick rack of the slide, yet won't fire until you rack the slide.

IMO, carrying on an empty chamber can make a person more lax with safety. Remember that rule about the gun always being loaded, only difference is that mine works when I pull the trigger.

Don't point guns at things you don't want to shoot. Don't put your finger on the trigger unless you want to shoot. Don't EVER believe a gun is unloaded unless you've checked it yourself.

People pointing empty revolvers at me makes me feel just as safe as loaded semis. See above rules.
 
It's software, not hardware, that dictates safety.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a guy who wanted my advice. He'd had an ND with a Glock, so he switched to a Beretta. He had an ND with the Beretta, and now he wanted something safer.

I swear I am not making it up. I have these sorts of conversations with alarming regularity. Plain fact is, he's going to have an ND with any firearm he handles. He expressed a resistance to training, and he took offense to the very suggestion.

At the end of the day, he will be unsafe with any firearm.

On the other hand, a competent, responsible shooter will not have an issue with any sort of gun. While the revolver may be a little more forgiving of error than, say, a Glock, reliance on a machine to compensate for poor practice is a recipe for disaster.
 
I actually like semis as far as safety goes because you can have a full magazine with an empty chamber. Ready to go with just a quick rack of the slide, yet won't fire until you rack the slide.
That quick rack of the slide and a pull of the trigger vs a quick pull of the trigger can get you killed! You don't always have time for the slide racking theatrics of the movies.
 
Any handgun of decent quality, in good repair and made by a reputable manufacturer can be managed safely. It's the responsibility of the user to know how to do so and to conduct himself accordingly.
 
Agree

I actually like semis as far as safety goes because you can have a full magazine with an empty chamber. Ready to go with just a quick rack of the slide, yet won't fire until you rack the slide.

Revolvers, on the other hand, once loaded will fire each and every time. There's no comfy "middle ground" where the gun is ready and yet safe.

Probably not a popular opinion, but that's my two cents, anyways.

I do agree here, no ND no AD, Anything that can possibly go wrong, does.

Better make sure the "wrong" happens to an attacker or an intruder.

If we live our lives in a "lock and load " situation, is like we are waiting to get in a gunfight around every corner, hardly the case in any city, and if this was the real situation, we wouldn't even know what happened anyways.

In any case whether you have one in the chamber or not, is your training and not the weapon what will do the work. IMO
 
It's software, not hardware, that dictates safety.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a guy who wanted my advice. He'd had an ND with a Glock, so he switched to a Beretta. He had an ND with the Beretta, and now he wanted something safer.

I swear I am not making it up. I have these sorts of conversations with alarming regularity. Plain fact is, he's going to have an ND with any firearm he handles. He expressed a resistance to training, and he took offense to the very suggestion.

At the end of the day, he will be unsafe with any firearm.

On the other hand, a competent, responsible shooter will not have an issue with any sort of gun. While the revolver may be a little more forgiving of error than, say, a Glock, reliance on a machine to compensate for poor practice is a recipe for disaster.


Wow! That guys scares the pants off me and I don't even know what state to avoid to stay clear of the idjet.

Your post was also 100% in line with experience. Our hunting group includes people from many walks and ages. Yet, the YOUNGEST one of the group is the SAFEST in handling firearms. He just came out of military boot and shows more respect for the guns he handles than anyone else. Now, us old goats aren't unsafe, but he living the training a lot closer than we are!
 
There's no comfy "middle ground" where the gun is ready and yet safe.

I don't think there is any comfy middle ground with any gun. As the rule states, treat every gun as if it were loaded.

I understand your thought process but I wouldn't term a gun with a loaded mag in it "safe." Lot's of people have been shot with guns that didn't have chambered rounds and were "safe."
 
When the NYPD switched from classic double-action revolvers to Glocks their AD/ND/whateverboom rate went up significantly.

Handguns like the Glock are easier to shoot, but because of that, easier to ND with. It's not a flaw in the design, though. It's inadequate training/carelessness on the part of the ND'er.
 
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