semi auto vs wheelgun

S

speedyjerry

Moderator
In my teen years, late 60's, I hung around a gun shop, the owner was an X-Army Ranger that had alot of influence on my firearms thinking then. He was a die-hard wheelgun man and swore by the Mod-19 Combat Magnum. I inherited his philosophy and feelings toward semi automatic pistols as clumsy non reliable pieces of junk. I developed a liking to the Mod 27 as a favorite the next ten years or so until I opened my own gun shop.

One of my regular customers traded in several guns one day on a piece I had just got, one of his was a Bob Chow custom 45 1911, it was beautiful, built recently before that craze started for custom shop 45's, Dirty Harry was big and the Model 29 was at the top of the food chain then. He claimed this Chow cost $1800.00, he knew I had no use for autos and it was worthless to me. He said just take it out and shoot it.

The next day I went to the woods to test fire some repair jobs I finished and took the Chow, when I was done I fired it fifty yards at some debris at the base of the dirt bank not even expecting to hit the pile of dirt, a gallon milk jug flew, lucky shot, fired again at another gallon milk jug and it jumped too :eek: ...... So, I started shooting at stuff and much to my surprise I hit everything I aimed at, this contraption was as accurate as my 6" mod. 27.

When I got back to my shop I disected it and much to my surprise it had parts that I didn't know were made not to mention it was jeweled like a Swiss Watch inside. The recoil spring guide was a shock absorber with rubber pads, I found some from a distributor and put them in an old rattlin trap 1911 Gov. model. After doing some trigger work and tightening the rails and slide, new barrel and bushing this old junker shot almost as good as the Chow did.

Previous to this experience I had it in my head that I couldn't hit the dirtbank with any 45 so it was true, mental block or whatever that was the case. After shooting the Chow all of a sudden all 45 auto's were cool and I haven't been able to get enough of them ever since. I sold the Chow, kept my old clunker and bought a new Detonics Stainless Combat Masterpiece soon after, wish I still had that one.

One thing I learned about semi auto vs wheelguns was usually semi autos were easy to fix and clear when they came in jammed for repair, wheelguns on the other hand usually required tools and extensive knowledge of dis-assembly and assembly to fix them when it happened due to bad ammo or lack of maintenance. When the wheel don't spin your hands are full fixing it.
 
Ruger has solved a lot of the takedown difficulties, esp. with the DA series. The tools to do a complete detail-strip are built into the gun once you take the grip panels off, and the full instructions are in the manual. No warrantee is voided, and they even post takedown/re-assembly videos on their official website, down to the last bolt.

This is in stark contrast to S&W policies and one reason I'm both a wheelgun and Ruger fan.

Overall durability also beats S&W, and basic mechanical accuracy is generally on par. Only the trigger feel will usually be sub-par behind an S&W and due to the easy takedown that's fixable with a spring kit and an evening's mild polishing of internals while watching TV.

The basic, "lowly" GP100 is a hell of a good gun for the money - about $500 these days. For that price it'll hold up to the same loads as an S&W 27 or 28, it'll also shoot light 38s rapid-fire without coming unglued, and the accuracy will almost always top an autoloader priced anywhere similar. It can also digest a wide variety of loads and power levels, and even live comfortably in a holster made for an S&W L-frame, at least in leather as opposed to kydex.
 
I also grew up mostly shooting revolvers. I finally tried a few semi-autos, and enjoy shooting them, too.

These days I'll carry either with complete confidence, with a slight preference towards a revolver for hunting and such.

Down here along the mexican border, I prefer carrying a Glock when out desert bummin' and such. Still stick with revolvers for hunting.

In the end, both platforms generally work reliably and shoot accurately. Just depends on the intended use.

Daryl
 
I shoot both in competition but I carry a revolver in my pocket for CC.

I've used both, a 1911a1 in Vietnam and a Smith Model 28 in LE.

If I was to have to do it again, I don't think I would change, in the military environment and I had a choice it would be the 1911a1, and I'd choose the Model 28 for Law Enforcement.

I have a lot of handguns now and none seem to out do the two mentioned in the same enviroment.

They worked for me and I see no reason they wouldn't work again doing the same thing.
 
Interesting OP and you have to be a certain age to remember Bob Chow's name. Back in those days Chow, JE Clark, Shockey, Giles and Pachmayr were the customs I used to read about in the gun rags. Had a Clark longslide from Keithville that I should never have sold as well as a couple of Giles come and go.

The first gun I ever shot was my uncle's GI issue WWII .45. He put a coffee can on a post in his back yard in Ellisville, Mississippi and I managed to hit it with the first shot. I was about 14 or 15 then. My first gun was a revolver, a S&W model 19. I bought it because it was $120 as opposed to $135 for a Colt government model .45. Talking full retail in the local gun shop in '70 IIRC. I was also influenced by Bill Jordan's "No Second Place Winner" (in a gunfight) to prefer the reliability of revolvers over semi-autos.

It is only in the past ten years or so that I have begun to have confidence in the semis and have gone over to them for my ccw needs. Old dogs can learn new tricks after all.
 
While I grew up shooting a rifle, I didn't begin shooting handguns much until the early 80s when revolvers were still the police gun of choice but the transition to semi-autos was beginning. For my first "real" handgun, I chose a SW Model 27 that I used as my home defense gun for many years. I shot it at the range but there was no concealed carry back then (legally) so the revolver is still in excellent shape.

I bought a couple of semi-autos but the only ones I really used were a Ruger MK II at the range and a Beretta 950 (.25) when I went to any bad areas of town. It absolutely had to remain concealed and I figured it would be worth the usual $100 fine if I had to use it.

Fast forward to today and my bedside gun of choice is still a revolver, a SW Model 65. I figure simpler is better at 3:00 a.m. For carry, though, I prefer a 1911 when clothing permits. In the summer, I'll most often carry a small .380 or maybe a J-frame due to clothing restrictions.

So, what can I say? I love both revolvers and semi-autos but my preference has definitely shifted over the years to semi-autos, especially 1911s.
 
Before I was old enough to purchase a handgun (or longun for that matter) on my own my father would take me to the local sports unlimited for a look at my dream gun. It was a 4 inch Smith 686 with beautiful wooden grips. I lusted over that Smith for years. Never really had the money to buy the smith as I went out on my own and reached 21. I bought a similar looking taurus instead. Loved that sorry old gun. Anyway before I knew what was most important in gun play I worried about capacity. It was top on my list behind reliability. I sold that old taurus and bought a pt-99 9mm taurus. Then changed to beretta then tried a 1911 or two. Then back to a revolver and back to an auto for a few years. Finally I zeroed in (pun intended) on Glock and found my fighting/defensive/whatever adjective you use to describe a SHTF gun nirvana.

BTW I eventually got my 686 only its a 686plus. What a beauty.
 
I know a guy who used to carry two Astra Terminator snub nosed .44Mags in a double shoulder holster. I think he carries just one Glock (and maybe a pocket .380) now.:)
 
I've owned a number of autoloaders over the years, and over the years I've sold all of them. I've always carried a .357 Magnum revolver, which IMHO is the end-all-be-all of handgun ammo. Yet as others have posted if I were going into a military combat zone, I would opt for a quality autoloader such as a Browing H.P. or Combat Commander.
 
I think the problem for me was being born a little too soon. Just like many of you, I saved my measely salary for years to buy my first handgun as soon as I turned 21. It had to be a 1911--positively. After all, I grrew up watching Vietnam updates every evening. The .45 and the AR just had to be in my collection, and that's the way it was.

Just before my birthday, I had also traded an old Pacific reloader for a Bear bow and then traded that and some cash for a ragged FIE Titan Tiger .38 spl. I ran hundreds of rounds through Bianchi rubber Speed Strips in that POS before I finally got my new Colt I had waited for so long to get.

I drove straight to a field and started shooting at paper plates with some cheap ball ammo I also bought at the gun shop. After running three clips through it at 10 yards, I finally put three rounds into one plate. ***?:eek: I'm used to breaking bottles at unknown distances with a crappy, second hand .38. ......and so it continued all the way through the 1980's, even with a second stainless .45 Commander.

By then, I was helping a gunsmith friend run his shop while he ran errands. I learned quite a bit about accurizing Colts. He shot a custom Gold Cup that had a 2 0z. (very scary) trigger and a Bowmar rib on the slide, comp and all. That thing would outshoot every gun I ever shot against in our pin matches. Not being able to afford an $800 Colt with another grand in custom work just to get it to shoot, I finally picked up a converted S&W Model 10 to shoot pins.

Again, complete with heavy barrel, Bowmar rib and comp, bobbed hammer/DAO 4 lb. trigger, and Pachmayrs. Unfortunately, it was only to be shot with wadcutters and other such "squib loads". It also probably set in my memory a distinct preference for a DAO trigger that did not exist until recently. I'll still always prefer traditional sa/da trigger systems. Combat is one thing, but hitting what your aiming at is totally another.

-7-
 
For me, a sidearm must fit my hand well. Hi-cap 9mm's don't fit my hand well.
So, I have mostly Ruger and S&W DA Revolvers because they fit my hand well.
All of my SA Revolvers are Rugers for the same reason.
All of my semi-auto pistols are on the 1911 and Luger styles for the same reason, they fit my hand.
 
I don't have a preference for one over the other. My two favorites are tied for first place. That's a 1911 and a SAA. As I go down the list of handguns I like they mostly alternate between revolver and semi.

The only gun I have ever disliked was a semi. But that was a jamomatic Raven arms which was effectively a single shot.
 
When the NRA was selling DCM .45's my brother got an Ithica 1911A1 Promptly sent it off to Bob Chow had it accurized and when he got it back a buddy borrowed it stuck it in his office safe and then the safe was peeled the next night. He never recovered it.
 
The Chow was just absolutely beautiful, regret letting that one go but I was in the business to sell, not keep. I'm glad others remember Bob Chow to appreciate this story from the seventy's shooting crowd.

The Mod 29 was king of sales for a couple years then, the price doubled if you could even find one, from under $300.00 to just above $800.00 if I remember right.
 
I had the completely reverse with me. I grew up shooting mostly all auto-loaders. I am 35. My father is a vet and swore by the mighty 1911. Though he never owned one in civillian life because he always thought michigan's goofy purchase permit was to intrusive and compllicated We did have rifles and shotguns. All friends of the family would wind up with some wonder nine or .22 ruger pistol. I had never shot a revolver then, just high cap 9's mostly. When I became an adult my first handgun was a gp100. I had developed an interset in the .357 mag revolver and took the dive. Now I am on #4 ruger da revolvers. I have never had any of them ever fail mechanically. I dont believe its possible to even engineer a more relliable side arm. I feel with the relliability and simple manual of arms, In my life I dont need or desire anything more. Just draw, point and shoot. Expect and get a bang everytime. I do practice reloading with speedloaders and strips, and feel confident than ever. Also, with my line of work I feel better knowing that the chances of a N/D are zero with a da revolver. To each there own.
 
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This is a great thread.

When I clicked on I figured I'd see one of those pro's and con's debates instead of personel experiences. Glad that's not the case.

When I was about 15yo my father purchased his first and only handgun. It was a Taurus Model 66. (he still owns it) He and my uncle who owned a Browning .22 Buckmark took me along and we went shooting. This was my first time ever firing a handgun. Ever since I was a little kid I was always facinated with guns and going out shooting in the woods with them was priceless. I knew as soon as I turned 21 I would be buying a handgun or two. I read plenty of magazines and a few days after my 21st b-day I purchased a Browning Hi Power. A few months later I purchased a Taurus model 669. I could fire the Taurus very accuratly in SA but not the Hi Power. I would shoot shotgun groups with it. So I was pretty much a revolver guy up until my 30's. That's when I discovered how well I could shoot 1911's. Now I enjoy shooting both revolvers and Semi's.
 
I like revolvers because they fit better with my ammo. I try to keep my ammo limited to 17HMR, 357 magnum, 45/70 Govt and 12ga.

That said I did just purchase a Coonan Classic which is a semiautomatic 357 magnum.
 
Excuse me, have any of you people ever heard of the Colt "Gold Cup". I used to shoot my 6in Python in combat matches at the range I belonged to in the 80s and the only guy I worried about was a grown up with a Gold Cup, we traded 1st place back and forth. One day he let me try it and I realized that it shot as good as the Python (I just thought he was REALLY good) which amazed me. Engineering says autos should always be the most accurate because the bullets all go through the same chamber/barrel and revolvers have six different holes and a barrel the bullets have to hop into. But, unless the auto's barrel locks up with the slide/sights perfectly every time and the trigger pulls like a 2.5 pound hair trigger on a Colt revolver all bets are off. This is why Gold Cups cost twice as much as regular 1911s.
 
First handgun I ever shot was my dad's WWII 1911, back in 1964 or so. I was eight at the time. When I started buying my own handguns, I started with a 1911. For any number of reasons, I went in a bunch of different directons for a number of years.

These days, I own S&W K- and N-frame revolvers and 1911s. I carry the revolvers in the winter time and the 1911s the rest of the time.
 
As a kid, as far as handguns, it was all revolvers.

With dad shooting competively in mostly LE competitions, we traveled to shoots alot. From bullseye shooting to fastdraw to combat course comp., dad loved it. I'd watch him practice his draw, use his speedloaders, offhand shoot...something everyday.
Of course this was all in the day of LE carrying revolvers.

I didn't really learn of his love for 1911's till I was in my very early teens. He had them but didn't have much time for them I suppose. For me, stiill a kid, it was a big step. Seemed odd being allowed to run a combat course with a 1911.:eek: Didn't have to worry about rd count with 1911 since the course was set up for a 5 shot revolver. Course was later revamped/extended with more hot targets to accomodate a mandatory reload for autos.

Today, my love is for both with a slight edge going to the revolver. I still like using moon clips and speed loaders. Just makes an enjoyable day of shooting that much more interesting for me....and I'm cheap so I usually burn up less ammo.:o.
 
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