Semi-Auto or Wheelgun. When did you know?

C

ckpj99

New member
I don't want to start a debate about which is better. To each his own. But I know there are a lot of people here who have experience with a lot of different guns, so here's the deal:

I've been around guns my whole life. Over the past couple years, I've decided that I don't care about rifles. My hand/eye dominance and other factors have eliminated them from my interest. I'm still exploring shotguns. But I have always love handguns. Over the past two years I've become more serious about training and learning. I've also started to make my purchases more wisely, and try a lot of guns to find what works for me. I own semi-autos and revolvers, but I fear that I'm veering sharply toward revolvers. I'm not even sure why.

I'm also about to make the next big step in my gun life, a CCW permit. To me (and I know not everyone feels this way), that means mastering a specific gun. I shoot about 300 and 600 rounds a month. If I'm going to take on the serious responsibility of making myself an armed citizen, hopefully an asset to society, I want to be a surgeon with my weapon.

All melodrama aside, I know there are similarly minded people on this forum and those are the ones I want to hear from. What camp did you land in and why did you land there?

Almost all the advanced CC things I come across focus a lot of semi-auto (striker fired, if you want to get more specific). I see these courses spend up to 30% of their time on how to clear malfunctions. I look at my Model 10 and I say, how are you going to malfunction? Then I look at combat reloading techniques and say, I'm not that fast with a speedloader, a mag will always be less complicated.

So to those of you who had the option and to those of you who have the same attitudes toward CC that I do, what was your choice and why?
 
This could be a good thread as long as people stay civilized.

I'll start. I started getting in to guns in march of 2011 for self defense purposes. I started with an old M85 Taurus revolver. I just wanted more capacity so I eventually moved up to a Glock 22 as my primary CCW. I also carry a Glock 27 as my BUG.

I prefer Semi-autos for capacity and caliber choices. I prefer the .40 round and no revolver I know of can hold 16 rounds of .40.

Also, congrats on making the decision to get your CCW permit. Just remember the responsibility it entails.
 
I have a large revolver collection. The first handgun I fired when I was five was an S&W Combat Masterpiece. My first handgun was a .357 Colt Trooper MkIII.

I can draw and fire six, accurate, rounds of full power .357/.41/.44 Magnum in 3-3.5 seconds.

However, I almost exclusively use semi-autos for carry and HD. There is no way I can fire a revolver as fast an accurately as I do a semi-auto and after 30+ years of experience I'm certain of that. There is no way I can reload a revolver faster either. I'll pick a 1911, Glock, etc any day over a revolver.
 
After a .22 LR revolver I thought about my first center fire handgun. Simply based upon the publicity back in the day I opted for a .357 magnum and bought the 4" 686. Terrific revolver that was only superseded by the eight shot 627PC.

I bought a 9mm autoloader, but I really do not like the pistols simply because of the number of 'Accidental discharges' I've experienced. These are premature firings after a shot that send a 'double tap' down range unintended. I have seen this happen to seasoned SWAT officers at club 3 gun matches. It happens too frequently is my thinking.

The revolver has a little more trigger pull required and thus I experience such unexpected 'Double taps' not at all.

I like the .357 magnum round and the .44 magnum round. These work real well for me in the field. With light weight revolvers the .38 Spl +P and the .44 Spl work for me as a carry gun. The versatility of these two rounds has kept me pretty much focused on their primary use, and thus with revolvers.

The big exception is the Desert Eagle XIX I bought simply because it could chamber both of these magnum rounds. It is too heavy for a CCW use, but in the field hunting and on the night stand for HD it fills that niche nicely for me.
 
For CCW I have landed primarily in the Semi-Auto camp.

The main reason though is because amongst the firearms I have chosen to purchase the Semi's are smaller in overall size, making them easier to carry. If I ever end up getting a short-barreled .357 then that will go out the window and I will have to make a real decision. Until then I carry a semi the vast majority of the time for CCW and mostly reserve the revolvers for fun or sport.

Making a decision from scratch, if I could choose only one? It would still be the Semi, but only because I love me some 10mm.
 
My EDC gun is a Glock 36 45acp. A great size and weight for CCW. I like the 45 acp platform for SD/HD. The 45 acp revolvers are to big and heavy for carry.
Next is a S&W 638 38spl for pocket carry. Next in line would be a S&W mod 60 38/357 with a 3in barrel.

I don't look for semi-auto's anymore but if the right deal comes along I would think it over. To me It's all about the deal/price. I'm on a S&W revolver thing right now and looking for different ones. I did buy a Ruger 38 spl only GP 100 with a 4in half lug barrel not long ago but mainly look at Smiths.

I'm at the age in where I have my need guns and am looking for my want guns. I don't need any of them but still if the price is right.

Again for CCW it's all about size and weight in a caliber you like.
 
"...why should I have to choose...?" (apologies to Willie)

I've been shooting guns since I was about eight (and that was a long time ago) and been carrying off and on since I was 13.

Started with a revolver.

I now have both, have carried one or the other in the past week. If I come down in one or the other camp, I do so on a daily basis, first one then the other.

Each gun has its own purpose and place whether it's a revolver or a semiauto.

I'm also equally comfortable with either.

YMMV, of course.

Will
 
My back ground is in LE and Military. In LE it was Revolvers and in the Military it was 1911s.

Both are heavy, and in my opinion not concealable.

For that I use small snub nose revolvers and that was based on need and availability (meaning access or being able to get to the revolver/pistol).

I did my police work in Anchorage it's been known to get nippy up there. We were issued parka's. The parka had zippers on the side that was suppose to allow access to the service revolver, but, suppose to and doing is not the same thing. My answer was to carry a BUG in my coat pocket. I would walk around with my hand on my revolver undetected.

I figured if push came to shove I could fire the revolver from the coat pocket.

I had read at one time, (don't know if it was true or not) that the non hammer exposed Smiths were designed for Officers in the trenches of WWI to carry and fire a revolver inside their over coats. Like I said, I don't know if its true but it made since to me.

Hard to fire a semi-auto pistol from your coat pocket.

That habit carried forward to my retirement days, only I carry the revolver in my pants pocket. (no I don't practice or intend to shoot from my pants pocket, but if need be I still have my hand on my gun without anyone knowing it.

I've always been active in outdoor activities. Since I was a kid carrying a 22 revolver while trapping to horseback riding now.

I like most people thought a heavier, or longer barreled pistol/revolver was needed while tramping through the woods. I out grew that ideal.

With a heavy pistol/revolver, I found I would shed it, when I started setting up camp or doing camp chores. With my little J fame in my pocket I don't, it stays in my pocket. If I run across a rattler (which I do often in this country) its available. If I run across a cotton tail for my dinner its available.

If I'm setting around the house or fooling around in the shop, its available.

In my days in combat, or in LE, I never ran across an incident where mass fire power with a pistol/revolver was needed.

Anyone who thinks that a revolver is slower to load then an auto needs to take in an ICORE match. You'd be surprised the speed these guys display in loading their revolvers.

I'm not saying one is better then the other, its based on one's needs and uses. For me the little snub nosed revolver fits my needs quit well
 
I started CC in 1989 with a Browning .380. My next handgun purchase was in 1993, a Ruger SP101 .357 with a 3" barrel. Since that time I've carried .45, 9mm, and .40 autos; and I've carried .38 sp., .357 mag., and .22 mag. revolvers.

On occasion I will carry my HK45 but primarily I'm in the wheel gun camp. On any given day I will have the NAA .22 mag in my pocket loaded with Hornady's 45 gr. Critical Defense and that same Ruger SP101 in either an IWB or in my briefcase loaded with 125 gr. Gold Dot.

Ultimately mine was a decision of pragmatism. A wheel gun is generally simpler to conceal, it has fewer opportunities to fail, and despite the innate sense to prepare for an invasion of the hordes, 5-6 rounds is plenty for a SD scenario. Statistically, the average number of shots fired by a NYC officer in a shooting incident is 3-3.5. I suspect that number is lower nationwide. More realistically for me are the statistics of never having to fire a shot in self-defense with the presence of a firearm being all the deterrence necessary. I've had three incidents in which I found it necessary to draw my CW. In none of these scenarios did I discharge my weapon as it was clear to the aggressors that I was willing to do so, and they made very wise choices in that moment.

None of this is to say that semi-autos are less than wheel guns when it comes to SD or CC. I enjoy my auto loaders and appreciate their strengths. But for me, for EDC it's the trusty revolvers that have won out.
 
I'm split between the two..

first carried .22 revolver for squirrel hunting, then bought a m39-2 for packing.
Lived in Ohio then "Prudent Man" law was in effect.
Since having a CPL, regularly carry a revolver, but when traveling to an overnight week-end hi-power match, upgraded to .45 or 9mm.
When hiking in bear area, either the .357Mag or .45.

Practice in the key.

When shooting bowling pins, will shoot revolver and semi on two runs of tables.
 
Wow, great and thought provoking thread.

My first love was and always will remain shotguns. Nothing better than a round of skeet or sporting clays with a well made, well fitting shotgun.

As far as handguns, whew. I started in the revolver camp, and still keep one foot in it as that is what I typically carry around the house. It was with that love of the ever so simple revolver that I began to look to the semi autos, but when I did they had to be decocker models with a double action first pull - so they function most like a revolver.

As I started down the semi auto road, I realized that I shoot them so much easier and more naturally due to the longer sight radius. I was faster as a result as well. It was with that realitization that I came to say, "how can I NOT carry a semi auto if my life or my families lives come to depend on it?" Thus the choice was made, when I leave the house it is with a semi compact, semi auto. The extra capacity is nice but it wasn't the main decision maker for me. It was the longer sight radius of the semi auto. My Ruger SP101 and my CZ P-07 have nearly the same overall length, but the CZ has a significantly longer sight radius.

I still practice with both, and I have a nice collection of revolvers that I plan to expand. If I just want a fun day of plinking, it typically involves a revolver, but EDC is now with a semi auto.
 
What to carry

I've carried my 1911 colt 45 for 30 years with two clips. That's my on the road gun. It's heavy, hard to conceal and a touch bulky. Switched to a 3" Kimber instead of the colt 5" easier to conceal but still Heavy. Carry 1 extra clip. Planning on buying a S & W chief's Special in 357 mag. Don't plan on going to war or having a shoot out like the cops are forced into. In all the armed citizen reports, how many have emptied their guns to protect themselves. Most of the time they had to fire one or two shots, so why plan on a siege. And the main point that kraigwy made was that when you feel threatened, you keep your hand in your pocket on that gun waiting to see if you need to use it. A auto must be pulled from the pocket to fire the back up shot if needed and it may jam on things in your pocket your not aware of. Try practicing on the range in a close quarter encounter where you can only react and not have time to plan it out and see which one works better for you. My choice is the wheel gun.
 
The preceding responses are interesting not only because of their content, but because each contains a well-articulated set of reasons for their choice.

I have, at different times in my life, been in both camps. I carried a snubby for many years, but unlike some folks you have heard from, I became concerned about the capacity and switched to a semi a few years ago. As I assessed my concerns, I reached a point in my thoughts that the possibility of at least some ineffective shots under stress and the possibility of facing more than one assailant (a trend that seems to me to be growing) combined to make me want more than five shots available.

I won't argue about the simplicity of revolvers - no firearm is more reliable - but I reached the point where I thought the reliability of pistols was satisfactory. I live in a warm climate and don't own a parka, so some of the concerns that kraigwy elucidated, valid as they are to him, didn't apply to me. The possibility of pocket carry for a small snubby is a compelling argument, and the one thing that almost made me stay with a revolver as my primary, but I wound up changing my EDC to a compact semi, so far without regrets.

Most important point: This thread is an excellent demonstration of the fact that well-informed, thoughtful people meet their different needs with different choices. The reasons behind the choice are going to be more valuable to you than the choice itself. You are already on the right track by thoughtfully considering your choice.
 
Last edited:
Either, for competition a auto works best (for me) and a small auto for carry on the street but a revolver is my woods gun. Some of the people I shoot with (in our action pistol league) compete well with revolvers and are fast on reloads.

The truth of the matter is that the one you shoot the best and practice with is the best for you. Have fun and enjoy, revolvers are not obsolete. :D
 
I'm also about to make the next big step in my gun life, a CCW permit. To me (and I know not everyone feels this way), that means mastering a specific gun. I shoot about 300 and 600 rounds a month. If I'm going to take on the serious responsibility of making myself an armed citizen, hopefully an asset to society, I want to be a surgeon with my weapon.

All melodrama aside, I know there are similarly minded people on this forum and those are the ones I want to hear from. What camp did you land in and why did you land there?
Click to expand...

I own a wide variety of handguns of every style. I consider myself mostly a wheelgunner but I have, love, and shoot ofter four 1911s and am on the hunt for the 5th. I also have 2 polymer frame pistols (9mm and .40S&W) and 2 C&R 9mms (Walter P-1s) and a .380. Though I have 3 revolvers for every pistol. I got my CCW in 2010 but only decided to actually start carrying in late 2011. I spent a bit of time on this issue and finally settled on a revolver, the Ruger LCR357. The reason is three fold. First, I wanted a pocket gun, something small enough I'd really carry it most of the time. Second, the simple reliability was a huge issue. The gun sits in my coat pocket for days on end, collecting lint and who-knows-what-else, and I want there to be no question it will fire when called upon, and a revolver is the most reliable option. Equally important is hand feel. The LCR is an excellent fit to my hand and I could not find a pistol (I initially really wanted a pistol) with any where near as good a fit. And in hindsight it was a great choice - I very much enjoy shooting it and it gets a lot of range time (500 rounds in the 6 weeks I've owned it). None of the pocket pistols would be seeing anywhere near that much time. I also like that it's .357Mag, puts to shame the lighter pocket pistols, esp in .380acp (I own an old model Beretta .380 but I that's a very marginal caliber to bet my life on). I original thought the gun would be too much to handle with full house mags, but I've been very surprised by the LCR. Not only does it have, as Ruger claims, the best DA trigger in the business, it also manages .357 recoil amazingly well. Yes, they are a handful and I don't put more than a box of them down range at a time, but they are controllable. And .38s and .38+P are a joy to shoot.

Capacity was of course an issue, but the difference between the LCR (5 rounds) and pocket pistols (6) is trivial in my mind. And since I wasn't going to carry a full-size pistol that issue mostly went away for me. I keep the LCR in one pocket and a speed strip in the other.
 
I like both revolvers and semi-autos, and have both. I prefer semi-autos for carry and tend to shoot them more than revolvers. They are smaller, slimmer, generally hold more rounds. But, revolvers are classic, classy even. They don't leave casings behind. S&W makes an 8-shot .357 - you'd be hard pressed to find something as powerful, practical and with higher capacity in a semi-auto.

Technology hasn't left revolvers behind either - lots of light-weight fairly compact wheel guns out there. Anyone who claims to like only revolvers or semi-autos are really missing out!
 
Since each has advantages why would I not keep one foot firmly planted in each camp. I am equally proficient with either handgun.
 
Age and choices.

There's one thing I didn't read about in all these thoughtful responses. What gun when you're as old as dirt. I'm fairly new to guns, have a permit, the training and a good bit of practice.

I chose a pistol first, partly for capacity and concealing. And because I was curious to see how they work. So that's what I carry for now.

But as age envelops me, draining my strength, eyesight and hearing (I'm well into my eighties) I look more fondly at that beautiful 3-inch revolver I lucked into.

Pistol for now, revolver for later.
 
I would not say I am in either camp. I shoot automatics much more often. The revolvers I own are set in stone for me. When I find a revolver I like it is a gun that I will probably keep forever. I don't ever seem to become that attached to my autos.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top