Are Revolvers More Durable Than Autos?

[Confederate]

I recently asked David Valenze at Smith & Wesson how often one should change the springs in their automatics. His reply was: "We recommend changing springs either every five years or 5,000 rounds."

If this is typical for all autos, then it speaks well of revolvers, most of whom never require spring replacement.

I realize there are people who put many thousands of rounds through their autos, but what of someone who keeps and shoots an automatic for many years? I hope this advice is just for high volume shooters and that these springs don't develop any weakness over just being in the pistol over a long period of time.

What's the story?

 

[flyingdeserteagle]

its a subjective question
A 5,000 round revolver is going to want attention payed to its timing as well as forcing cone clearance, right?

 

[pps]

30,000 rounds through my 627 and counting (75% 38's and the balance full tilt .357's) and no timing problems here. I occasionally clean the internals and recoat with a LIGHT drop of EWL gun lube. bc gap is .004"

My Service 6 is older than I am, and had to be rebuilt (new hand and replacement of some other internal parts) after I put in excess of 30k through. The previous owner probably put many more than that through it.

 

[woad_yurt]

I think that 5 years thing is just to be safe in all cases. Springs don't go bad by sitting immobile; they do go bad from flexing.

 

[GRIZ22]

A 5,000 round revolver is going to want attention payed to its timing as well as forcing cone clearance, right?
__________________


That depends. A J frame 38 fed +P+ ammo won't even get to that. Shoot factory wadcutters in the same gun and it will surely surpass that. Full bore 357s in a Ruger GP100 will probably take 20-30K rounds before it needs attention. a K frame 22 will most likely never need attention in your lifetime no matter how many rounds you put through it.

I have seen Ruger Security 6s go 15-20K of full 357 without issues.

 

[flrfh213]

i had a smith 39-2 and i personally bought it used and ran over 5000 rounds thru it and had 0 miss fires but had slide lock open a few times only using the +p jhp ammo, 115 gr fmj never failed once... damn i miss that pistol..

 

[Confederate]

A Ruger revolver won't need attention anywhere near 5,000 rounds. They'll shoot tens of thousands of rounds without needing any parts replacements. You can leave any revolver in a drawer for years and it'll be good to go. I had a friend who shot his Colt 1911 after it had sat in a drawer for years. It fired once and jammed.

I've never heard of a revolver's mainspring crapping out.

 

[John Parker]

I like having durabe things. Durabity is important.

 

[jad0110]

I've never heard of a revolver's mainspring crapping out.

My 1959 S&W K-22 mainspring didn't totally crap out, but it took enough of a set that it was causing light strikes. A $15 replacement and 5 minutes fixed that problem.

 

[Zerodefect]

Like it's so hard to change springs. 30 minutes on a Glock, one hour on a 1911.

Maybe $20 cost. Cheap easy insureance.

Non-issue.

 

[Jim K]

Well, I have fired GI .45's for thousands of rounds without any need to change springs, and I have a Norinco that has gone 8500 with no indication of a spring problem or failure.

I have seen "gurus" advise a spring change every 100 rounds; I can only conclude that they work for a spring manufacturer.

Jim

 

[Walkalong]

one hour on a 1911.

Your doing something wrong...

 

[cyclopsshooter]

springs on a 1911 can be changed in less than 15 min

 

[NG VI]

30 minutes on a Glock,

Glock springs can be changed out in a couple of minutes.

 

[MachIVshooter]

one hour on a 1911.

Your doing something wrong...

I was thinking the same thing. If it takes you more than 5 minutes to change the recoil spring in ANY 1911, put down the beer and focus.

 

[cleetus03]

I think reliability is equally lessened on both platforms as their design becomes smaller & lighter.

Service sized steel revolvers & automatics on the other hand are within a fine line of equality in terms of reliability when comparing the two.

Just my thoughts & opinion on the matter

 

[rcmodel]

30 minutes on a Glock, one hour on a 1911.

Geeze!
As several have already noted, it's a five minute or less job on either gun.

All you need to change is the recoil spring.

Pull the slide off, put the new spring in, put the slide back on.

1-2 minute tops if you know how to even clean your gun!

rc

 

[Confederate]

What I'm trying to find out is whether it really makes a difference? If someone shoots a lot, week after week, 5,000 rounds might be a reasonable number. If you're just going to shoot a few hundred and keep it in a safe, it's doubtful that just sitting there will ruin the spring.

Has anyone had problems directly related to not changing the springs? Magazine springs need changing, too, from time to time. How often should they be changed? Can a spring go bad just from being in a gun for twenty years? How about forty?

I really don't know much about modern springs, but if the government ever decided to ban guns, it sounds like the revolvers might be substantially more long lived than autos for those who might wish to retain them.

 

[BlindJustice]

I've got a full size S&W 1911 as well as a 625 5" Bbl.
both in .45 ACP. THe 625 also gets .45 Auto RIm, they're
both around 1400-1500 rounds I'll replace the recoil spring
at 2500 rds just clean the N-frame, I don't think it's stressed
much with even +P.

Shrug, I'll get back to you in a couple of year or so

If I were in the field, i'll take the 1911.

Randall

 

[rubicon923]

It depends how you define durable.

In terms of high round count, I think a good pistol like a Glock is more durable. Glocks can routinely go over 100k rounds with only minor part replacement.

In terms of time, I think sturdy revolvers are more durable. As someone pointed out, the revolver can be stored for years in a drawer (all springs at rest) and be ready to go.

The revolver also has another advantage. By dry firing the revolver, you can be reasonably sure that it's functioning correctly and will work when needed. Not as easy with a pistol.

 

[AgentAdam]

Maybe more reliable but i wouldn't think as durable considering the Glocks out there with 250,000+ rounds.

 

[loop]

Wait a minute!

adam, are you seriously trying to say that a few Glocks that have survived 250,000 rounds make them superior to a design that has been around five times as long?

Are you nuts? (I'm pretty sure I have neckties older than you.)

Revolvers are sturdy? Since when?

During their first 100 years of existence they were considered a gimmick.

Compare apples to apples. My Colt model of 1911 will go all day without a mishap and fire reasonable groups. My Smith & Wesson, Model 1917 (a revolver) cannot go 200 rounds without a failure to fire and its groups (fired from my hand) suck.

The only thing this proves is an old 1911 is more reliable than an old 1917.

Glock, are you kidding? Come back when you have something approaching a century under your belt.

 

[scythefwd]

Loop,
revolvers very well can be sturdy. If your revolver is having issues every 200 rounds, you really need to get it to a smith. That isn't normal. All of my revolvers have never had a problem, and they all have several thousand rounds through them. My semi also has never had a failure, and I know I personally have several hundred through it... my old man has put several thousand through it.

Revolvers are very reliable IF you get a good one and take care of it. Semis are the same way. I wouldn't put a glock in the same catagory as a ruger super black hawk. I wouldn't put my rough rider in the same catagory as a sig. Since I have only experienced a failure to extract from a semi auto rifle, I can't say which is more reliable.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

generally speaking the revolver will out live a semi by a long shot, that is assuming that your revolver is being misused in some horrible fashion, has a defect from the get go or is a rg.

 

[Zerodefect]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. 1hr to detail strip the 1911 and replace the springs, and a half hour to completly detail strip a Glock. I like to take my time, its a hobby and a needed tool to me.

I replace my recoil and firing pin springs on my 1911's every 2000 rounds.

I change my Glocks recoil springs as needed, and change the extractor, striker, and trigger springs every 2000. I keep a locking block, take down bar, all springs, all pins, and assorted trigger components as spares for my Glock. I use my Glock 23 for pistol classes and like to ensure that it can be repaired should it go down. (I rarely carry my 1911, so I want to train with the Glock.) I like being the guy at class with the pistol that never fails.

I wasn't saying all springs need changed out regularly. My point was that it is so easy and cheap to replace springs as needed on a autoloader that it really isn't even an issue.

I've also had better luck with Glocks and 1911's than with revolver's. Just the way it is for me, could care less why.

Glock>1911>revlovers.