Longevity: Pistol vs. Revolver

[chris26]

I go with the revolver. I own both but I seem to remember Colt aluminum frames cracking after only a few hundred rounds (probably symptomatic to a specific year/material) on the Officer Models. As far as 1911 Competition Models never needing to be tightened, it is a matter of friction/physics that easily allows for normal wear to eventually erode the tight frame to slide fit. After all, don't Les Baer and similar high grade/competition 1911's have to be fired a recommended 500 rounds before they loosen up to function/cycle completely and reliably? Like I said, I have both, love both but I have to go with revolvers, if all things are equal (ie 45 ACP, 40 S&W or 10mm in both guns). Given that the revolver has the fewer moving parts, the recoil is aborbed by the recoil shield, not a spring and battery of action and the fewer moving parts, the less wear. The argument that the pawl, hand and bolt will wear out quicker than an auto seems to hold no water either. As the hammer,trigger,sear engagement surfaces in a 1911 will wear out just as fast or quicker than that of a revolver's trigger mechanism. However, it also matters what these parts are mde of, MIM or the old case hardened steel. All in all, I would invite anyone to disassemble their 1911 and revolver side by side and compare the amount or small parts and or springs in each that would be prone to breakage during prolonged use. I have and can easily tell you that the revolver wins hands down. Just my .02 worth but then again, I am a Smith nut! But honestly, the gun that lasts the longest is the one you take the best care of!

PS To the Ruger fans...although I am a die hard Smith man, it is true that I have never heard of a Ruger DA ever hiccuping under heavy loads. Although, the triggers are like pulling an anchor through swamp mud and the looks are akin to an inbred cousin, they definitely have what it takes to take a beating and come up roses!

 

[obxned]

You'll either be living in a cardboard box under a highway overpass or dead and gone before either wears out.

 

[Phydeaux642]

You'll either be living in a cardboard box under a highway overpass or dead and gone before either wears out.

I sure hope it's option number two, because I'm guessing a guy in a cardboard box with 10,000 rounds of ammo and and a gun safe might draw a little attention.

________________

"Phydeaux, bad dog....no biscuit!"

 

[RPCVYemen]

I have to believe that a revolver design would win out (particularly a modern SA). Implementation may be a different story .

But the various pieces of a revolver move at more or less human speeds, as opposed to bullet speeds. And every piece is in a fixed position when the weapons is subject to the forces of detonation. Except for Jerry Miculik, humans can not pull triggers as fast as slides fly back.

Thinking about my Blackhawk and moving parts:

1. Cock hammer (which also rotates cylider) - very slow movement.
2. Pull trigger - pretty slow, the hammer falls at spring rate
3. Fire round - nothing move
4. A big number of milliseconds later, go to "cock hammer">

Mike

 

[MrBorland]

I have to believe that a revolver design would win out (particularly a modern SA). Implementation may be a different story

This is a good point. Fanning that Blackhawk or doing your best Jerry Miculek imitation on your S&W is a quick way to wear them out, so while the design of revolvers may be inherently robust under normal usage, the same design may render them somewhat susceptible to wear and tear from abusive shooting styles. Because the action is gas-operated, I'd suspect that pistols would be more resistant to abusive shooting styles.

 

[Fishman777]

Ruger DA revolver issues???

All gun manufacturers make an occasional lemon. The blanket statement about all Ruger DAs needing work to function is an absolute load of garbage. My personal experience, and what I've heard from most people is that Ruger DAs usually function flawlessly out of the box.

It is my opnion that out of the box, Ruger DAs revolvers are among the most durable and reliable handguns on the market, period. I fully expect that my GP100 will continue to function long after I'm gone.

Outside of a couple of minor tool marks, my GP100 was flawless out of the box. Butter-smooth trigger (although somewhat heavy), tight cylinder gap, the whole nine yards. I shoot that gun better than any other gun that I've ever shot in my life.

Cosmetically, Rugers might not be the nicest of guns because Ruger doesn't invest a lot of manufacturing costs into polishing their guns. If Ruger DA guns were hand polished, it is very likely that they'd be priced higher than many Smith and Wesson revolvers. According to Grant Cunningham, the polishing process is usually the most expensive part of the manufacturing process, because it is done by hand. Also according to Grant, Rugers are one of only revolvers on the market that haven't cut corners in an effort to reduce cost. They are actually the revolvers that he recommends when people ask him which revolvers they should buy.

http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/448400adaed4f0a82d4961b5b2d91d8b-116.html

The quality of Ruger DA and SA revolvers is just fine. I'm not a fan of Ruger's centerfire semis, but their revolvers are tough to beat.

 

[f4t9r]

Both will out last you and the person you hand them down too.

 

[Mr. Designer]

I would say revolvers. Simpler design with less moving parts.

 

[jonboynumba1]

It also depends what you are shooting in them. Ball/HP vs. Ball/HP the semi-auto probably gets an edge as far as "usefull" life as you can swap bbl's quite easily as well as small parts without a great degree of skill needed for proper fitting. Revolvers are less likely to have breakages but tend to be more involved when something does go wrong (my opinion) But if you shoot largely cast reloads with some jacketted ammo occassionally...well depending how you load they both may well outlast any of us and our children with proper maintenance! Stainless bbl's in both platforms have lengthened bbl life for both platforms. Revolvers seem to get shot less on average to me...just my observation...obviously that is "my" revolvers...outside of my single six...it has countless bricks through it! (love that little gem)

 

[CajunBass]

I hope to someday have the time and the money to shoot enough to even think about wearing out a gun.

 

[Surefire]

Unfortunately, its been more than an occasional lemon for me. Since 2000, I've had to send FOUR NIB GP 100s off for repair--all special ordered. IMO, quality control has slipped since 2000. Based on my last 8 DA purchases, I've had 50/50 results. 2 GPs were just fine, my Redhawk is spectacular, and my SP is fine. But the 4 GPs that had misaligned parts were more than unacceptable. The problems I had were misaligned cylinder latche pins in back on 2, and most seriously cylinders that wobbled and caused rubbing / grinding / and complete cylinder locking in one case.

Got them fixed, but it was expensive (I used gunsmiths). I feel that if the factory can't get it right the first time, I don't trust them to fix it.

My philosophy now is no longer ordering special orders with DA Rugers. Only buy something one can examine in advance at a gunstore.

 

[Fishman777]

Special orders...

I'm sorry to hear that you've had such bad luck.

I've got a little theory about special order guns. I think that, in general, the nicer, cleaner guns typically get shipped to gun stores. The cleaner specimens are the guns that would be the easiest to sell. If distributors sent "out of spec" guns to the gun stores, the pieces would probably never sell, unless they were heavily discounted. When you special order the gun, you are a little more locked into the purchase. I could be wrong, but I think that most distributors would reserve the "bad" guns for special orders, because many people would not refuse the guns after paying for the shipping.

I special ordered one gun a few months back. The gun was probably sitting in a warehouse for several years. I popped by before my waiting period was over and asked to see the gun. I guess they didn't have a chance to clean up the gun, but I was really upset when I saw it. It was the first time I bought a gun without fondling it first. The gun was covered with finger prints and rust, and .22lr cylinder had a ding in it. I told the owner of the shop that I wouldn't accept the gun. He returned the gun and ordered a replacment. My guess is that most shops would not have done this for their customers. This shop took a hit on the shipping charges, but won my business for life.

I agree with you, I would not special order any more guns.

 

[Surefire]

That is my theory as well. I've never had an issue with a gun I inspected before buying.

The problem with not special ordering is that it is harder to get rare models.

However, being able to inspect before buying outweighs this.

Its too bad that the distributors just don't send defective guns back to the manufacture, rather than hoping that the buyer accepts it.

 

[Ala Dan]

Longevity

of a firearm is certainly an uncertain gray area, if you will? But, I would bet
that under the same set of circumstances for both a quality revolver and
auto-loader; given the same TLC, that both would out last the user, say if
the user was 50+ years old~!

 

[Noxx]

You know it's funny, I was always in with the crowd that says "six for sure is better than sixteen maybe" i.e., that a wheel gun can be counted upon where a pistol cannot.

After extended sessions however, I have to say that without cleaning or maintenance, my pistols are still firing when my S&W revolver is choking and being generally bitchy.

Overall longevity with maintenance? Hell I guess it's a toss up, old SAA's shoot just fine, but so do 1908's.

All in all, I think it's sort of a moot question. If you take a minimal amount of care for any gun, it will serve when you need it. Hell in 1980 my grandfather shot a burglar with a hundred year old Aetna, that had been sitting on the wall loaded for 50 years with no more than an occasional dusting, and you know it dropped that goblin in his tracks just like a Sig 220.

Guns work. Don't make too much of it.

 

[AZ_Rebel]

This is a difficult question to answer due to the variables of parts replacement. I have a hatchet that is over 200 years old and its in perfect condition. Its had 7 new handles and 3 new heads but its in like new condition! Maybe that's because it has no moving parts!

 

[Slamfire]

One time I was talking to S&W customer service and I asked them about the longevity of their pistols. I was told that they were aware of K frame revolvers being used at firearm arms training facilities. These K frame pistols, and I don't remember if they were 357's or 38's, had around 250,000 rounds through them and they were still ticking. I do remember being told that light 38 special loads were being fired in them.

I think that is pretty good service.