Semiauto vs. Revolver - which is more popular in the US?

I would think semis are a much bigger seller. Every gun store I have been in has more of them than revolvers, and while I a revolver guy at heart I actually have 15 semi autos and 11 revolvers. There is just more variety in semi autos
 
I think Smiths with locks are selling because that's all that's available but lets say you were in the LGS and had a choice between a used pre lock 686 and a brand new one with the lock, which would you choose? For me the pre lock would be a no brainer. I consider a revolver the best choice for a woods gun.
That being said, I sure would hate to have a locked gun when a cougar shows up.
 
With the present ammo situation, I find myself shooting my 6 shot single action revolver rather than my semis. I can take a semi out with a few magazines and I've shot off a hundred rounds in very short order. I can take the revolver out and it takes much longer because it has to be cocked between rounds and it has to be reloaded every 6 rounds with each shell being ejected individually. REVOLVERS SAVE AMMO.
 
If we are talking only about modern guns and guns in more or less daily use, autos are the winners. But there were millions of revolvers made and sold in the U.S. before auto pistols were ever invented, and many more millions sold before autos became at all common. Of course, many of those guns went on the scrap heap decades ago, but many are still around, as evidenced by the queries on this site about "Granddad's old Young America revolver..."

So, on an overall number of handguns owned in the U.S., I say there are more revolvers.

Jim
 
Depends on how many shots you intend to use in a conflict. One would do, and a revolver is the answer. In outright combat or fun at the range, semi-auto with extra magazines!
 
Depends on how many shots you intend to use in a conflict. One would do, and a revolver is the answer. In outright combat or fun at the range, semi-auto with extra magazines!
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Odd as it may seem, all my revolvers hold at least five rounds. And they're all tons of fun at the range.


Sgt Lumpy
 
Steven Seagall uses an auto.
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Only until the last bad guy is still standing. Then he tosses his auto to his beaten and injured partner and takes on the bad guy with that whirling hands style martial arts.

I think we should all practice that.


Sgt Lumpy
 
Well, if I'm any indication......I've got ONE revolver and a bunch of semis. Don't have anything against revolvers, I just like semis.
 
My guess is that there are more semis being produced today than revolvers.

My other guess is that there are more revolvers out there than semis.
 
I have twice as many semis as revolvers, but I shoot the revolvers much more often. I like not having to chase my brass when I use a revolvers. Finish my cylinder, pop the spent brass into a container and no bending over or crawling around on the ground. Now that I'm older and my body is stiffer, bending and crawling make me cry.:p
 
First, all this 'from my personal observation' and 'in my house' stuff in meaningless. It does nothing to answer the question. It's no more pertinent then saying 'I've never had the flu, so the flu doesn't exist or the flu vaccine is not necessary."

Certainly the data is available; production numbers are public as are sales information either directly or indirectly. A quick search I just did wed me the first reference that suggested semiauto's outnumber revolvers due in no small part to the fact that there are no longer the large number of law enforcement agencies that issue revolvers as there was 15-20 years ago.(They cited other data and reasons as well).

To the OP; the info you asked for is available without having to guess but it might be worth your while to do the search yourself and get a good answer.
 
On another forum production figures for 2011 were posted, showing Ruger, Colt, and S&W; all made more "pistols" (Their terminology) than "revolvers" by a wide margin. Added to that that other manufacturers and importers deal primarily with autoloaders, and production is far and away for the auto loader.

The used gun market, especially among collectors, favors the revovler. Most serious collectors favor the revolver of the Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century revolvers. But even the older autos and especially the M1911 series guns, are becoming increasingly popular.

But neither will completely replace the other.

Bob Wright
 
I don't know, Steve...

The question was "which is more popular".

Not "Which have been more produced".

I don't think it's that simple to just look up "How many autos have been produced", or any other kind of similar blanket statistic. I don't even think, for example, we could accurately look up how many different companies have built 1911s or 38sp revolvers. And for those that we could look up, we may not be able to get any kind of figures.

And "popularity" suggests "what's in use now". And to a secondary point, esp in this kind of forum, I think it suggests "Why", Suppose there's a lot of auto owners with guns on their shelves or in their safes while there's a lot of revolver owners going to the range every week and actually firing them. Or suppose there's a lot of police agencies carrying autos daily but firing them only at quals every 6 or 12 months. Or suppose that six guys shooting revolvers at the range fire a total of 300 rounds one day, while one guy with a Glock fires 600 rounds the same day. I think it's a little difficult to say that one is more popular than the other when you consider that some of them aren't getting fired, some are buried in the prepper vault in the back yard, some are getting fired once a week at the SASS meets and matches.

I think all of those qualifiers like "in my household" and similar are valid and most importantly interesting to read about in a discussion forum. I'm interested in hearing why others like this or that gun. I'm not looking for emperical statistics on how many have been manufactured.


Sgt Lumpy
 
I see more auto-loaders being used at the range than revolvers.

And in my local gun shops I see more shelf room for auto-loaders than for revolvers.
And I see much much more holsters and accessories for auto-loaders than for revolvers.

I think the auto-loader has won over the people of this nation by quite a large margin.
 
My take on it it this.

For the average gun buyer that decides, "hey, I need a gun". They go out and buy a semi-auto because that is what they see on tv/movies and it's what is considered a "modern" gun. Revolver? Nah, that's what they used in the old west. I want a modern gun.

Gun enthusiasts, like just about everyone here, probably have both and that is who buys revolvers in addition to semi-autos.

I'd be interested to know the percentage of people that buy revolvers that don't also own a semi-auto or two. Probably pretty small number.
 
I'd be interested to know the percentage of people that buy revolvers that don't also own a semi-auto or two.
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I'm a "revolver guy". I own an auto but only because it was required of me.


Sgt Lumpy
 
In my opinion, the big change came during the 'Firties (Ninteen Fifties) with the introduction of the S&W Model 39 DA auto in 9mm. Prior to that, the only auto available was the Colt Government Model and Commander, as new pistols. The only other options were WW II souvenirs, as centerfire pistols. The Colt Ruger and High Standard pistols in .22 R.F. were dominating the bull's eye target matches.

But with the choice of a DA auto loader, the choice of "cocked and locked" versus racking the slide to chamber a round was augmented by the DA pistol. Then came DA only pistols and everybody got on the gunwagon. The auto got smaller and lighter with polymer pistols and the race continues.

Bob Wright
 
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