Autoloader vs Revolvers...

Which one do you prefer and why?


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Why do people keep say the semi auto is as old as revolvers? The revolver is much older. Remember the revolver existing before the metallic cartridge. The semi-auto did not exist until well after the metallic cartridge was invented.
I know this for a fact as I am a black powerder fan. Love my smokesticks. But when I read that last quoted sentence I suddenly flashed on some kind of almost Rube Goldbergian contraption that you poured black powder into some kind of hopper and a spring loaded tube of lead balls......

I absolutely swear I haven't had any alcohol since a beer with dinner last night, I'm at work (ssshhhhhh... Don't tell the boss) and certainly not allowed to drink on the job. I came up with that sober. Scary, huh?
 
I know this for a fact as I am a black powerder fan. Love my smokesticks. But when I read that last quoted sentence I suddenly flashed on some kind of almost Rube Goldbergian contraption that you poured black powder into some kind of hopper and a spring loaded tube of lead balls......

I absolutely swear I haven't had any alcohol since a beer with dinner last night, I'm at work (ssshhhhhh... Don't tell the boss) and certainly not allowed to drink on the job. I came up with that sober. Scary, huh?
LOL, I like it. Not quite that rudimentary as your idea but there was the shortly lived Rocket Ball and Volcanica Repeating Arms company (founder later created S&W) where the bullet was the cartridge. It was not a semi-auto but it was repeating using an action very similar to a Henry Lever Action.
 
But when I read that last quoted sentence I suddenly flashed on some kind of almost Rube Goldbergian contraption that you poured black powder into some kind of hopper and a spring loaded tube of lead balls......
There were full automatic matchlocks that were loaded with a column of charges that were ignited one by one....
 
LOL, I like it. Not quite that rudimentary as your idea but there was the shortly lived Rocket Ball and Volcanica Repeating Arms company (founder later created S&W) where the bullet was the cartridge. It was not a semi-auto but it was repeating using an action very similar to a Henry Lever Action.
I wonder about the feasibility of developing something similar in concept, but modern?
 
I wonder about the feasibility of developing something similar in concept, but modern?
Turning a volcanic repeating arms ammunition inside out and you get modern case-less ammo. It works and has several advantages but it also has enough problems as to have never made it a successful military or commercial product (yet).
 
Turning a volcanic repeating arms ammunition inside out and you get modern case-less ammo. It works and has several advantages but it also has enough problems as to have never made it a successful military or commercial product (yet).
Actually west Germany almost adopted the HK K11 Rifle with it's 4.7x33mm Caseless Ammo. The only reason the Nation didn't was due to Fall of Berlin Wall and both West and East Germany reunited. The new Country ended up with large numbers of AK47 and AK74 Assault Rifles and a budget crunch from the cost of the reunion.

There is also(or was) a Bolt Action Rifle that uses caseless cartridges as well.
 
Actually west Germany almost adopted the HK K11 Rifle with it's 4.7x33mm Caseless Ammo. The only reason the Nation didn't was due to Fall of Berlin Wall and both West and East Germany reunited. The new Country ended up with large numbers of AK47 and AK74 Assault Rifles and a budget crunch from the cost of the reunion.

It was slated to go into full production but never did due to the reason you mentioned. I think it would have had a rough life as a military product. The ammo is still not robust enough for the rough handling typical of military operations. The gun works but you have to be relatively gentle with the ammo at least until it is in a magazine. It also has a heat problem. The brass cartridge takes a lot of the heat with it when ejected. On a caseless gun all the heat that would have gone to the brass goes to the chamber and cook off was going to be an issue in long fights. It was a cool gun and very close to prime time ready but I think there are still a few problems to make it really ready.

And to get back on topic, sort of. The HK G11 used a revolving chamber so it was sort of a semi-auto revolver, sort of... :neener:
 
It was slated to go into full production but never did due to the reason you mentioned. I think it would have had a rough life as a military product. The ammo is still not robust enough for the rough handling typical of military operations. The gun works but you have to be relatively gentle with the ammo at least until it is in a magazine. It also has a heat problem. The brass cartridge takes a lot of the heat with it when ejected. On a caseless gun all the heat that would have gone to the brass goes to the chamber and cook off was going to be an issue in long fights. It was a cool gun and very close to prime time ready but I think there are still a few problems to make it really ready.

And to get back on topic, sort of. The HK G11 used a revolving chamber so it was sort of a semi-auto revolver, sort of... :neener:
I'm sure both the Ammo and Rifle would had many improvements made during its lifetime of service. Hell the M16 when first issued to to grunts on the front line had multiple issues.
 
I'm sure both the Ammo and Rifle would had many improvements made during its lifetime of service. Hell the M16 when first issued to to grunts on the front line had multiple issues.
Well the step up from the HK-11 would be a magnetic "rail gun".
 
Well the step up from the HK-11 would be a magnetic "rail gun".
Wouldn't that be going way back to single shot rifles? Would the the caliber be tiny needle size that go straight though a solder doing very little or anything at all?
 
I voted for semiautos, because that's what I end up carrying, but I love revolvers, too. I only have four, but am always looking for another quality wheel gun to add to the 'collection'. I prefer S&W's over all else, and specifically model years "pinned and recessed". I'd love also to have an older Colt Python, but not for what people demand to get for them.
 
I love revolvers. At work I carry a 1911. For years I was forced to carry an issue Glock.

They are all great guns.

I still occasionally carry a 3” 65.

For all the love and greatness about revolvers...

One box of full house Magnums out of a .357 Magnum revolver and, my hand hurts for three days.

But, I can shoot 200 rounds of 357 Sig out of my Sig P239, comfortably.

The auto fits my hand better. The action absorbs some of the recoil. And, I’m shooting dang near the same round.
 
Wouldn't that be going way back to single shot rifles? Would the the caliber be tiny needle size that go straight though a solder doing very little or anything at all?
Depends on the velocity and bullet construction whether or not it goes through a soldier or not, and it doesn't necessarily need to be a tiny needle like projectile, as long as the jacket can be subjected to a powerful magnetic field.;)
 
Depends on the velocity and bullet construction whether or not it goes through a soldier or not, and it doesn't necessarily need to be a tiny needle like projectile, as long as the jacket can be subjected to a powerful magnetic field.;)
Rail gun??? Are they basically the size of large tank cannons?
 
Not a litteral "Rail(road) gun", more like a "magnetic rail gun", they could be as small as a pistol and/or a carbine.
Show me a picture of one that actually exist... Rail Guns are the size of large tank and ship cannons.
 
Man, this is like asking me would I rather have Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider or Kate Beckinsale in Underworld... HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE!

It depends on the circumstances and there are a lot of them here. Are we talking pocket carry, IWB, open carry, are we talking home defense, go to war, woods walking... there are too many variables with this question.

There's also the issue that I'm finding in that revolvers being made today are just not the same quality they were decades ago and in terms of performance I've become more and more suspect of revolvers over time. Semi autos have better QC these days, they're cheaper to make and don't require as much skill or machining to make right.

I still love revolvers, but I'd take them over autos only if I knew they were of good quality. Problem is that means you'd have to spend a grand on one and I'm not willing to do that for every revolver I buy.

So, my answer is I don't have one.
 
Show me a picture of one that actually exist... Rail Guns are the size of large tank and ship cannons.
They don't exist in a "man portable" size except in SciFi films and in video games, however as technology progresses they will be a reality at some point because the concept behind them is sound, because all they are is a projectile propelled via a powerful magnetic field, well a linear partical accelerator is sort of a kind of "mag rail gun".
 
I have both types that I use for conceal carry. I personally like a lightweight J-frame but favor the Sig 938 when I can. The J-frame with a sticky holster for the front pocket. Sig 938 for the belt.
 
Not a litteral "Rail(road) gun", more like a "magnetic rail gun", they could be as small as a pistol and/or a carbine.
Have you any idea about how much electrical energy would be required to fire one effective shot?
 
Have you any idea about how much electrical energy would be required to fire one effective shot?

Probably something around 2000 joules. Of course dumping all that energy in a fraction of a second, well, it depends on the desired bullet speed and weapon length but figure 2,000,000 watts for 1,000th of a second isn’t out of line. So you need an energy source that can deliver 100 amps at 20,000 volts for a 1000th of a second without exploding. “No big deal” lol (and yes that’s sarcasm).
 
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