Semi-Auto or Wheelgun. When did you know?

Growing up, my father was a total revolver guy. Being the rebellious youth, I made fun of his sixguns. When I got old enough to buy my own, I did buy a semi-auto, and I was positive that my very modern semi-auto, in its very modern caliber, was the answer to all my handgun needs.

Then I got my CCW. And I learned quickly how much the blocky grip printed under a t-shirt on hot humid summer days. So I examined grip shapes, and decided to give a 3-inch S&W 65, round grip frame, with Hogue bantam grips a try.

In spite of years training with my uber modern semi-auto, I realized very quickly that I shot much better with the S&W, and it was much easier for me to conceal.

I learned a lot that year, including the fact that I wasn't as freaking smart as I previously thought I was, and maybe Dad knew a few things after all.
 
I learned a lot that year, including the fact that I wasn't as freaking smart as I previously thought I was, and maybe Dad knew a few things after all.
Click to expand...

I believe there are quite a lot of us out there that have had that same kind of revelation. :) Though to be honest for me it was my mom being smarter than I had previously given her credit ;)
 
I enjoy the innovation that is more prevalent with semi-autos. There doesn't seem to be much more you can do to improve a wheelgun other than aesthetics - Chiappa Rhino notwithstanding, as far as recent offerings go.
 
i have both, personally i think im not particular to either a revolver or a semiauto it just depends on how that particular gun looks and feels to me. so far that has led me to get more autos then revolvers but i might end up picking up a new wheel gun at this weeks gun show if one jumps out at me.
 
Its an easy decision really. you pick the one that fits what the brain says, and what the hand says.

for me revolvers win. grip is everything. 90 percent of revolvers are "right" for grip/hand feel out of the box. and most of those can be gotten 10-15 dollar replacement grips that will give better results.
semis well, ive only met TWO models that were perfection. taurus pt 92 and a mil pro. all others are horrid, lots of wierd ridges in the wrong place.

it also comes to the classic shootist versus blaster situation. Im the classic shootist, the revolver always feels natural in hand, the semi barely does.

its the brunette versus blonde versus red haired gal down the street, which one do you ask out?
 
A quick note to those who said both. To me it's a matter of mastery. I may change my mind, but I want one gun that I know inside an out.
Click to expand...
You should have a good mastery of your SD weapon. With enough practice you can transition seamlessly between them. IE once you learn true trigger control, the ability to move the trigger without moving the gun, the differences between triggers won't make much difference to you.

its the brunette versus blonde versus red haired gal down the street, which one do you ask out?
Click to expand...
Isn't it better to be able to dance with any of them. :D

I'd hate to not make it home cause I can't drive a stick either.
 
Last edited:
My handgun shooting started with single action revolvers. When I entered the academy I had to buy a 4" DA in 38/357 so I bought a S&W 28-2. Carried it through my probationary year but at the end of that my department gave the option of carrying semi auto, if you qualified with it. I had been reading a lot of Jeff Cooper's stuff so I bought a MK IV, Series 70 Government Model and qualified with a better time and equal scores to the revolver. For the rest of my LEO career I carried one model or other of Colt 45 ACP semi auto.

However, I never forgot that N-frame S&W and have loved them ever since those days in the academy in 1973. I now have a small collection of N-frames and would not hesitate to carry one if required, knowing I can still shoot them as well as I did way back when. That being said, my first choice is still some form of 1911. The reason is because I just shoot them better than any other handgun. I did with that first one and still do. When I pick up one of my 45s it's like shaking hands with a trusted old friend. And for the nay-sayers who claim autos aren't reliable, I've had considerably more luck with 45 caliber 1911s in competition and practice than with even my beloved N-frame Smiths.

YMMV,
Dave
 
I shot & carried wheel guns for 50 years. The single action Rugers are like pointing my finger. They just fit me perfectly. I have several S/W, but don't shoot them as well. About 3 years ago, I bought my first semi in 9MM. I have tried several for CC. I don't shoot the semis as well as the revolvers, but semis carry much better for me. A revolver cannot be any thinner than the cylinder. I had concerns about the reliability of semis, but have shot them enough now to have confidence in them.
 
I grew up in deepest darkest Appalachia in the 70s and early 80s. There wasn't much of a handgun culture there at the time. Most of the folks I knew all owned mostly long guns, bows and arrows and there wasn't a kid that I knew that wasn't armed with a BB or pellet rifle. Sure there were handguns here and there and I shot a few revolvers..... 22s and .38s mostly, but most of the time they were unseen.

It wasn't until I was 19 and enlisted to march off in Uncle Sam's Legions as an MP that I really got into handguns. I never touched an auto pistol until then. Of course our instructors at the MP school at Ft. McClellan, AL managed to convince us that that the 1911A1 pistol and the .45 ACP cartridge was the best combat pistol combination since the invention of gunpowder. While I was in we transitioned from the 1911 to the Beretta M-9 and by the time I got out and went into civilian LE most police departments had already transitioned over to autos....... mostly Glocks so i never got to carry or train on a revolver professionally.

Due to my experiences my autos are for duty/SD except for rimfires. I use revolvers for outdoor utility, trapping and hunting guns. Due to their nature I think they are better suited for those roles.

I feel warm and fuzzy fully buttoned up in my sleeping bag in a tent on a remote Alaska mountain or riverbank with a fire-breathing .45 Colt Redhawk in the bag next to my hip or across my chest. Anything poking it's head into my tent without saying 'Hi" ain't going to be happy. Plus the big-bore revolvers can still be pressed into service against 2-legged vermin if necessary.
 
I got my permit about 6 months ago. At first I went back and forth between revolvers and semis at least once a week, so I bought and shot both. My EDC has always been a Ruger SR9c. At some point I realized that I didn't like shooting the revolvers as much. The triggers were fine, in fact I believe they helped me become a better shooter due to the long heavy pull being practiced early in my career. But the semis were always more accurate for me, and more fun to shoot.

I was sold on them as a defense platform before; capacity and reload speed alone is enough to sell me on semis. But once they got more fun and easier to shoot as well, I really had to start wondering why I was wasting time on revolvers.

I still have a J-frame I use when I can't conceal the SR9c (which is extremely rarely). I don't trust any of the micro 9mms I've seen so far, and they all shoot like garbage. But for anything larger than that I'm sold on semis all the way.
 
i don't see this as an either or thread. i have both pistols and revolvers and love each for the job they do. my tool box has more than one screwdriver because no one screwdriver will work in all situations. i would choose my 44 mag revolver for bear hunting over my 1911 pistol in 45 but i would choose my 45 cal 1911 for personal self defense over my 44 mag revolver. some things overlap. there is nothing more fun for me than shooting my 45 cal cowboy sixguns or my 1911's at the range. i don't think most people look at gun types as an either or proposition but rather on a situational basis.
 
I've recently only got into shooting revolvers as research for a hunting piece. However, based off what i've experienced in shooting both I would have to go for a 1911. I've personally had better experience with a quick and accurate follow up using it vice a revolver. I think that should be key in any carry weapon, concealed or open.
 
Before the past weekend, I would have said "either", or possibly evenly split. But since I came home with a(nother) used S&W revolver, I am going to have to say "revolver primarily".

For me, it's the balance and heft of wood and steel. I don't have any illusions that my revolvers are more reliable than my Glocks, because they're about as close to equal in that department as possible. Anybody who says "6 for sure" hasn't had the displeasure of trying out a new-to-them revolver and finding somebody over-did a trigger job. And an unscrewed ejector rod will make getting any more out of your revolver pretty danged difficult. Or if an empty slips off the extractor on the way out. Or any of a few other things that will stop your revolver when you weren't expecting it.

I find my 4" Model 19 carries almost as easily as my Glock 17. It's more rounded and organic looking, the contours of the cylinder and grips just blend in under a shirt. The Glock just looks like a gun under a shirt.

I will admit to giving up the capacity and reload speed. It takes a full cylinder and 2 speedloaders to make one of my .357s match the round count of the Glock with a fully loaded magazine. And with something like Winchester's +P+ Rangers, the 9mm isn't so far behind the .357 to make me lose any sleep over the capability difference.

Of course, I started on revolvers. The first centerfire handgun I ever fired was a .38 Special, probably a Model 10. The first centerfire handgun I ever spent much time learning to shoot was a S&W Highway Patrolman .357. Followed by a couple of other .357s my dad had, and a 9mm Taurus Beretta-clone.

I'm still on the fence about augmenting my baby Glock 9mm with something like an LCR. I've handled and fired the LCR and am impressed by its low-weight and decent trigger. But I have the Glock, it's paid for and in my possession, is supremely reliable, oh, and carries 10 +1 of those Winchester 127gr +P+s.

Maybe the answer is, I do need an LCR anyway, for a side-by-side comparison! :D

Edit: And I don't have to go chasing over the country side for my empty revolver brass when I'm done at the range either. Big advantage for the reloader. As a bonus, my .357s will shoot powder-puff .38s as reliably as they will run 180gr Hardcast stompers, no spring changes required.
 
both

I started in 1967 (I was 7 yrs old) with a Smith & Wesson 22 revolver, 4 months later a Browning Challenger 22 (semi auto). Now some 40+ years later, I carry a .41 mag "revolver" in the woods and a .40s&w "semi auto" compact in the city. I am proficient with both, so I say get what you are most comfortable with.
 
The first gun I ever shot was a S&W 686 and that pretty much sealed the deal. After that, I but nothing but revolvers for the first couple years of shooting. I still like semi autos but prefer the simplicity and classic look of a revolver.
 
I still struggle with deciding this. I really like revolvers, but I worry about the capacity limitations of a revolver. Still it doesn't get much more easy to CCW than a 642 in a pocket holster
 
It seems to me that with a semiauto as long as you have it broken in and you aren't having any problems, they are reliable enough compared to revolvers. Just make sure the first round is chambered and the gun will pretty much do the rest from there. At least with the ones I have - I maybe have had 3 failure to feeds in total for all guns and those were all in the first 50 rounds or less. After that they have all been pretty boringly reliable. Just keep them clean and lubed.

I have a 642 and it was my first CCW basically because of the ease of carry and reliability. But the 5 rounds and limited range of the gun are concerns (to me at least). They are great CC guns as long as you don't have to use them. But as Clint Smith wrote somewhere, they really aren't for beginners, to use them right you should be an experienced shooter or become one with lots of practice.

The small semis really don't have enough extra capacity (6/7 vs 5) to realistically matter except that they are much much easier to reload if you ever had to. In a stressful close encounter you may as well throw the 642 and run as try to reload it (or at least count to 5 and run to somewhere where you can reload).

So I have went from a revolver to a semi as my carry gun (at least for now - it's still a work in progress - but a fun one!). Which semi I'm still working out - I go from a Beretta Bobcat which you will literally forget you have to a full-size 1911.
 
I started with revolvers some 30+ years ago. My reason? I like to hunt, and semi-auto cartridges that were suited to hunting were few, the firearms that shot them were expensive, and at least some had a reputation for breakage from heavy recoil.

That, and the fact that even the mighty 10mm is nearly identical to a heavy loaded 357 magnum. The only advantage to such a firearm was capacity, and hi-cap was a fairly new concept in 1980.

And in hunting, hi-capacity serves little or no purpose. I shoot once, sometimes twice to kill an animal. I've never in my life emptied a 6-shot revolver in any hunting situation, so I've seldom felt a need for hgher capacity in that undertaking.

So I learned to shoot with revolvers. The grand ol' model 10, 686, GP-100, and Blackhawk were some of my favorites.

Over the years, I've experimented with various semi-autos with various degrees of success. Most were ultra reliable, but I've definitely owned a few jam-o-matics in my time; enough to have developed some skill at clearing jams, if nothing else.

But right now, I find myself owning mostly revolvers. In fact, they're all revolvers if you exclude a .22 pistol that once belonged to my grandfather. The action type means far less than the memories that go with that gun, so it hardly goes towards a "preference" on my part.

I've nothing at all against a semi-auto handgun, but my preference goes to the revolver for a variety of reasons. Above all, I simply enjoy shooting them more.

Daryl
 
I habe both but only had semi-auto till about 4 years aho.

Which was about 40 years semi-auto only.


Snake
 
I've been at the hand gun game for 50 years this summer...a lot of water under the old bridge...here's some thoughts...

As a young pilot in Vietnam, I carried a S&W M-15 .38 special until I got the Army guys I bunked with to get me a 1911A1...I carried that piece in a shoulder tanker rig for most of my first tour, with an issue 782 gear double mag pouch on my belt. (Also carried for a time a Browning Hi-Power but felt that the 9 mm was less than a good stopping round).

The thought was that if the L19 (high winged Cessna) I was flying stopped running, my only equipment available, if I survived the crash, was what I had on my person...a survival radio and that old Colt. Too, the 1911 was was very good in a trench/fighting position in the Special Forces camp that I lived in. The Smith was too hard to reload and didn't have the smack to put down a sapper at arm's length before he pulled the det cord. I slept with that Colt and hung it in its holster under my towel when in a shower point...it was reliable to a fault, and accurate enough for the job at hand...

When I got home and had a family to look after, I found that the multiple safeties, magazines and complexity of an automatic were too much for my wife and she'd be the one needing it when I was TDY or gone. I got a series of S&W's over the years to protect her and for her use. The manual of arms with any revolver, (where you don't need 40 rounds to stop the encounter as in a wartime situation), is childishly simple...pull the trigger until the gun is empty....

Now, in retirement, she and I both still have the Smith's (albeit updated)...a 637 with Crimson Trace grips for her, and a M-36 for me, with a 3" barrel and adj. sights. They reside on the night stand, travel with us in the glove compartment or center console, and ride in a belt holster or fanny pack when we carry.

To be honest, we don't carry that much...she walks daily along our farm road, and I've been hounding her to carry when she's out there...if we get 10 cars a day down that road it's a banner day...so she's pretty much on her own if someone stops to check her out. I carry as needed if we go to dinner in the big city's west side..but not as a general rule...we live in a safe small town and it's a choice I've made.

As to practicality, I've found that the small S&W J frames are good, light and pack well. With today's good defensive ammunition, they're all I feel I need. Your needs may differ depending on your home, travel, and work environments. If you have a partner who's not into guns, then simplicity might be the route to go. And training is good too, I've found that if someone other than my self does the "insisting", my wife of 42 years is more apt to listen...especially if there is another woman to "share the fun" with.

Revolver or auto? If you're wedded to the increased fire power of a big mag auto, I'd go with the simplest available...a Glock....My experience with the G-19 has shown that the gun I have is about as reliable as anything mechanical can be...(and I'm a 1911 man through and through).

HTH's...Rod
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top