Why I stopped carrying Pistols

In my more than 35 years of shooting revolvers I have yet to have a failure to fire or a timing issue. On my 22lr revolver a 617 S&W which is brand new I have shot more than 1500 rounds in a matter of 2 weeks and have yet to have a misfire using CCI and Aguila ammo. I did have to clean the 617 after 1000 rounds because the barrel leaded up and started to keyhole my shots at 3 yards.

I normally carry a 1911 both of mine are Springfields and I must honestly say that at the range I have had some failure to feed or fire about 6 times since I bought them more than 20 years ago. Luckily it has been at the range. My 686 or python has always worked flawlessly.
 
Can a revolver go thru 5 thousand rounds without a failure? 10k rounds?
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I have a S&W 686 no dash That I bought new in 1985 with probably close to 50k rounds thru it with no problems. Probable half full power magnums. I also have a S&W model 13-2 made in 1982 with probable 20K rounds thru it.

Heck I even have an old High Standard 22 LR from the 60's that has had no malfunctions. I have a Ruger Single six I bought new in 1975 that has many thousands of rounds thru it with no problems.
 
#1. No, actually the crud is to blame. Last I heard, humans didn't have telekinetic power to dictate where debris goes when a gun is fired.
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It is the user's responsibility to do the maint. needed for the gun to function properly. No, we don't have the power to dictate where the debris goes, but we do have the power to clean it and even the power to chose an ammo that doesn't give us enough crud build up to be a problem during a course of fire.

And we have the power to learn approximately how many rounds of whatever you are using, that you can fire before lack of cleaning and/or lube will cause a malfunction. Few people do know, but that doesn't change their responsibility.

#3. How do you define crap ammo? I had a gun jam up on Lapua ammo. I don't consider Lapua crap ammo. Maybe you do. And yet, the gun didn't jam with Wolf and Tulammo. Does that make them premium ammo?
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Aside from obvious physical defects, my standard for defining "crap ammo" is the same one the gun used. if it doesn't work in my gun, its crap. Doesn't matter who made it or how much, or how little I paid for it, if my gun won't run it, then for that gun, its crap.

And some guns are more picky than others about what they like, and what they don't. The pickiest seem to be rimfires, but centerfires have their quirks, too.

A gun that is sensitive to crud and ammo is not neccessarily operator error. Some guns can go thousands straight out of the box with no lube, no break in, no maintenance, no cleaning.
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I disagree, to a degree. :D if the gun won't go "thousands of rounds" without lube, cleaning and any other required maintenance, it is the operator's responsibility to know that, and do the work needed to prevent failure. This is one of the things that should be learned during practice and training with your gun and ammo. Its more than just being able to get rounds on target in X amount of time. Its also about learning how to operate and care for the gun as you do it. Learning how to do things to minimize the negatives inherent in every mechanical system.

Learning how to work the gun so it works its best. In a way its like learning a standard transmission, getting the feel of the clutch, etc. There are several different ways one can operate it and shift gears, but some methods of operation are better than others.

Different cars and trucks have different "sweet spots" where things work their best, and so do firearms.

One time I found a .22 Luger at a gunshop. Gun looked 95% or better, but was priced well below usual market price. The shop owner was looking to sell it because he had briefly used it as one of his range rental pistols, and it was a "jammo-matic" so he was offering it at a discount.

I bit. Took it home, and sure enough, it jammed every 2-3 rounds. Then I OILED IT. Surprise, surprise it ran flawlessly through the couple hundred rounds I shot after that...and, its worked ok ever since. It just needed a little proper care and attention.
 
I’d have no concerns about that G19 as it’s earned it’s bonafides in many of LEO/ military holster around the world.

Your revolver selection suggests you’re more of a casual carrier so anything would serve you well.

I’ve only been a semi-auto guy since 03 and out of the half dozen or so I’ve possessed only a P-11 has given me pause and that was an accuracy issue.

If it wasn’t for my state passing CC in 04 I’d Probably still be a happy clam with just revolvers.


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Your revolver selection suggests you’re more of a casual carrier so anything would serve you well.
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That is quite an assumption on your part. So anyone who chooses to carry a revolver for CCW is not an "operator" in your view and only a casual carrier?
 
Revolvers inherently are more accurate.
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Actually, the reverse is true, mechanically speaking. Revolvers are "inherently" less accurate, because you have 5 or 6 SEPARATE chambers, each one needing precise alignment with the single barrel.

The amazing thing is that revolvers shoot as well as they do, with multiple separate chambers, compared to a barrel with a single integral chamber.

The reason revolvers often outshoot service class semi autos had more to do with the tilt barrel lock up common to most of those guns. The single barrel and chamber move, in relation to the sights, (and the frame), and because tolerances are needed to allow for this, the barrel doesn't return to EXACTLY the same spot every single time.
 
Decades of recreational shooting have proven to me that any gun can fail. However, I have personally seen more failures with semi-autos by a huge margin. Some of that is user error by new shooters but not all of it. There just seems to be more that can go wrong in the process.

That doesn't stop me from carrying semi-autos some of the time. The semi-autos I do carry are ones that have performed well for me.
 
HighValleyRanch said:
That is quite an assumption on your part. So anyone who chooses to carry a revolver for CCW is not an "operator" in your view and only a casual carrier?
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The S/A and a 2k+ DA doesn’t exactly fit the daily carry MO, nothing to do about being an “operator”


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I'm missing something. Glock is a world military and police standard. Between me and my sons, we have 3-19s and 2-34s. They have been stellar. We don't shoot any of that steel cased crap and use Glock or Magpul mags. Have you contacted Glock or you LGS about the issues?
 
So I've gone full cycle of carrying Revolvers then to Pistols then back to Revolvers.
Has anyone else have their Pistol jam on them?
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Aside from my Glock 42 all my centerfire semi-autos have been completely reliable even my old school PPK/S 380. I still use a semi-auto most of the time just not the Glock.

As to revolver malfunctions all the ones I have always gone bang when I pulled the trigger.
 
Um, revolvers are pistols....
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Nope.

Not even very many years ago, in many circles, “pistol” was frequently used as a short reference to a semi-auto handgun. A revolver was just a revolver. Both of them were handguns.
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Correct.

Semi-automatic 'pistols' and revolvers are both subsumed under the broader genus of handguns.

'Pistol,' as a species of handgun, is merely a traditional slang usage, or 'range jargon,' for any semi-automatic handgun, like a 1911 or a Glock.
 
I've been there.

I had a Sig P938 that was a very nice looking and somewhat expensive gun but turned out to be a piece of crap. Not only was it not reliable, I experienced parts breaking.

That gun turned me off from semi automatics for a long time. I went revolver only for at least a year after that.

I have since gotten into Glocks. I own 4 of them and find them to be extremely reliable.

Although I am getting back into revolvers these days just because I like them.
 
MoArk Willy said:
Revolvers inherently are more accurate. They do not need multiple rounds to hit a target.
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I think revolvers are considered more accurate by some for the same reason some people consider single shot or bolt action rifles more accurate than semi-autos. Shooters tend to aim more carefully when they know they can't shoot a follow-up immediately and/or they know they have a limited number of shots. I don't think it is a difference the accuracy if the gun.
 
Everything will jam at times. I had a Taurus revolver lock up it's cylinder and a SW 442 with continuing loose ejector rod problems. My 9mm Glocks usually don't jam but with hundreds of rounds through them, yep, I get a jam.

I can shoot both types of guns decently, so that is a non-issue. With practice, I shoot a revolver better, the grip angle, etc. - all washes away except for some real hand sized issues.

My Glock 42 was a horror out of the box - had to go back.

My final word is that, I can shoot either. The revolver due to limited capacity and slow reload time is a one or two (at best opponent) gun. I worry about the rare but intensive interaction that needs more rounds. Thus, it's a semi unless dress demands a J frame pocket gun or as a bug.

The test is to shoot a revolver in IDPA or USPSA and compare to running the stages with a quality semi.
 
I carried a Glock 19 4th Gen for quite a few years, when I worked armed Security, same. Also, the same pistol used in IDPA matches. Flawless.

Last October, my Son and I went to shoot our G licensed refresher course. My spring broke on my extended slide lock! A Glock factory one at that.

I managed to fumble my way through three or four rounds, then borrowed the Instructors Glock 17, to finish. The trigger was terrible on his pistol! Still managed to beat my Son!

Due to the 7ozs lighter pistol, Glock 43X, compared to my Glock 19, and ease of hiding it holstered, I decided to try it for a while. The fifth out of the box round fired, a stove-pipe! Never ever had one in a Glock. Brought two Guys and a 16-year-old out to the range, the teenager? six rounds he was done!
Not his thing.

The other two young Guys! Just kept shooting. All kinds of bag 9mm hardball.
I had these rounds for years. No failures at all, so I have decided to try this new slim pistol for a while, it hides perfectly. I fired a few rounds on the range, shoots exactly to point of aim! Great trigger. Factory mounted night sights. The ones with the red circle around the front green dot? With the enthusiastic fervour of the young! A lot of flawless fire-feed and extract shots were fired. Just one gun used! The 43X By new to shooting young men.

Well, it is a Glock, yes?

When I ran my School in Toronto, mostly Armoured Car/ Security Officers, Revolvers were used for twenty years.
One went down, spitting lead, in that time, used it for training purposes, teaching sight picture. Threw the cylinder, and crane away. The rest were regularly cleaned, and maintained, I think a couple of broken firing pins, in that time.? My reloads, a little less than full power loads.

But countless thousands of rounds fired! Speedloader reloads!
Revolvers vs Semi Auto Pistols? Which were better? No difference to me.
 
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