Which is faster, Revolver or Semi?
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Guy B. Meredith
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Bob Munden demonstrated firing, I believe, three shots from an SA so fast that it seemed like one. He uses two different fingers to trip the hammer after the initial shot as he fans his hand rearward. Most people would barely have cleared the holster if that much.
I don't know how his accuracy compares to Jerry Miculek's. They are both amazing.
I don't know how his accuracy compares to Jerry Miculek's. They are both amazing.
Ed McGivern could fire five shots in two fifths of a second. That's a rate of 12.5 shots per second.
A Glock 18 (the full auto 9mm Glock) has a cyclic rate of about 1200 rpm. That's a rate of 20 shots per second, which is probably very close to the cyclic rate of a Glock 17.
So it appears that someone would have to be 50% faster than Ed McGivern to exploit a revolver's speed advantage. Most of us aren't nearly that fast, so the question is largely academic.
And, of course, if the issue is the time taken to draw and shoot with a holstered gun, then the human factor is much more important than the type of weapon used.
A Glock 18 (the full auto 9mm Glock) has a cyclic rate of about 1200 rpm. That's a rate of 20 shots per second, which is probably very close to the cyclic rate of a Glock 17.
So it appears that someone would have to be 50% faster than Ed McGivern to exploit a revolver's speed advantage. Most of us aren't nearly that fast, so the question is largely academic.
And, of course, if the issue is the time taken to draw and shoot with a holstered gun, then the human factor is much more important than the type of weapon used.
I saw Bob Munden on "American Shooter" once compare the speed of his Colt single action 45 with a 1911. After shooting each, they did the slow motion and he discussed how he was faster with the single action because he could manually cock the hammer, and the semi-auto 45 had that slow slide cycle. He actually sped up the rate of fire with the semi-auto by speeding up the slide cycle rate using his hand on the slide! 
Not something I'd want to try!
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The first step is registration, the second step is confiscation, the final step is subjugation.
Not something I'd want to try! ------------------
The first step is registration, the second step is confiscation, the final step is subjugation.
BIG difference tween max cyclic rate for autoloader and full auto hand guns. Full auto does its thing at its own rate while you hold the trigger down. Autoloader does its thing each time you pull and release the trigger. Revolver goes bang as fast as you can cycle the trigger which is same speed as autoloader cept the autoloader has to also do its own thang tween trigger pulls.
Hence double action revolver faster than autoloader, cause less goin on.
.357sig.....full auto revolver should be doable, start with Webley-Fosbury, screw up sear, and hang on.
McGiveren's six shots in 3/5s second were all into a standard sized playing card, he did it more than once. That be tough with a full auto. He always stressed accuracy first, then speed comes naturally. Easy for him to say.
Sam...everything has to be somewhere, just not where I'm lookin.
Hence double action revolver faster than autoloader, cause less goin on.
.357sig.....full auto revolver should be doable, start with Webley-Fosbury, screw up sear, and hang on.
McGiveren's six shots in 3/5s second were all into a standard sized playing card, he did it more than once. That be tough with a full auto. He always stressed accuracy first, then speed comes naturally. Easy for him to say.
Sam...everything has to be somewhere, just not where I'm lookin.