Revolver versus Auto

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lizziedog1

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This thread is not about which one is better for defense or target shooting or anything like that.

I want to know which one do you find easier to clean and maintain, a wheelgun or a semi-auto?
 
For me, revolvers are by far easier to clean. Just a quick brushing of the cylinder area, a wipe down, a quick brush through the barrel, and a little oil. Semi-autos require a more detailed cleaning just due to the nature of how semis work. Any little bit of gunk can cause or contribute to a failure.
 
Well at least for Glocks... they are much easier to clean.

I clean my practice Glock 26 about every 500 or so rounds, and then only when I think about it. It's gone way past that before cleaning and still kept right on shooting.

Deaf
 
Well at least for Glocks... they are much easier to clean.
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Glocks aren't any easier to clean than any of the other dozens of similar automatics. I personally find revolvers easier to clean than any of them. There's not even any disassembly required.
 
I started with revolvers, but I find autos much easier to clean.

There is only one chamber to clean on an auto, no forcing cone to scrub around, and I can run the bore brush/patch through the barrel from the chamber end.

Auto's for me.
 
What about a single action revolver versus a double action revolver?
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Personally, I'd say single actions are a bit easier as you can pop the cylinder out in seconds, but it's as close as makes no difference. All revolvers are about the same, and it's not much to deal with. On the other hand, some autos are much more difficult than others to disassemble and clean. And don't forget that magazines will require occasional cleaning as well.
I would also say that if you're at a table or something, a simple auto isn't much harder to clean than a revolver. But if youre out in the woods or don't have a nice clean place to set things down where you won't lose small springs etc, the revolver has an advantage.
 
To me it is much easier to clean an auto. Every semi-auto pistol I have can be field stripped in under a minute (while I have never timed myself I'm pretty sure it probably doesn't take over 30 seconds or so. Reassembly after cleaning is just about as fast.

Revolvers are always annoying to me because you have 6 chambers to clean instead of just one.
 
A big part of why I bought my first semi-auto, and have shot semis much more frequently since that purchase, was because it was such a pain to clean a revolver.
 
I have owned any major service handgun and only a few revolvers. I think autos in general are far more superior. They are easy to shoot, faster to load, require less maintenance.

I had very disappointing experience with revolvers. second hand taurus 85 I bought had light strikes all the time. few time cylinder seized up.

Also revolvers require different handling skills. If you drive a car you can drive a mini bus, all wheel drive, track (shoot SA/DA/DAO, striker fired pistols). But to drive motorcycle you need different skills. The revolvers is in this way compatible to motorcycle. You need another skills. I ll out it straight, semiautos are more easy to shoot, fast and accurate.

Shooting SA in revolver is not a big deal but shooting DA is another thing.

Also it is difficult to clean revolver to the same level as semi auto. I hate to clean each one of the chambers and forcing cone, as well as the front part of the cylinder. Rossi stainless rimfire (my first revolver, secondhand) got absolute mate black front part of cylinder. I thought it was blued for extra protection, but I was surprised but it was burnt powder that just wont go away using chemicals I have for cleaning guns.

Things simplified a lot after I bought special brass brush for cleaning grills.

Now I have a 3 inch Taurus 85 that works reliable but soon will trade it for inexpensive compact semi auto.

Please revolver aficionados dont get angry after reading my post:) I must admit I am not a revolver guy :p
 
Personally, I'd say single actions are a bit easier as you can pop the cylinder out in seconds, but it's as close as makes no difference.
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I'll go the other direction and say that double actions are easier. My single action's base pin gets really gunked up and gets difficult to pull forward so I can get the cylinder out. I don't have to worry about that in a double action.

Either type of revolver is way easier than my 1911, but I wouldn't call the 1911 hard though; especially after you've stripped it a million times.
 
Autos for me. It seems easier to clean a revolver as there is no disassembly required, but like some others here I don't like having to deal with 5-6 chambers plus the forcing cone and the actual barrel.

But autos? Most modern designs can be field stripped by a child in seconds into just a few parts, generally that's the barrel/slide/recoil spring assembly/frame. Even the "complicated" 1911 is a breeze with some practice. From there it's a breeze to wipe everything down, clean the barrel, oil it up and slap it back together.
 
Revolvers for me. And using a bore snake or Otis cleaning kit, they can be cleaned from the cylinder end with no muzzle damage.
 
But autos? Most modern designs can be field stripped by a child in seconds into just a few parts, generally that's the barrel/slide/recoil spring assembly/frame. Even the "complicated" 1911 is a breeze with some practice. From there it's a breeze to wipe everything down, clean the barrel, oil it up and slap it back together.
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I have little or no mechanical skills. I can take most guns apart. Putting them back together, that is a different story.

I do have a box of spare gun parts. If only I could figure out where they go.:D
 
It all depends on the gun. There is no indefinite answer to that question.

I find that usually a semi-auto you can field strip and clean without toolds. Where as a revolver takes tools to take apart.
 
Onward Allusion said:
For me, revolvers are by far easier to clean. Just a quick brushing of the cylinder area, a wipe down, a quick brush through the barrel, and a little oil. Semi-autos require a more detailed cleaning just due to the nature of how semis work. Any little bit of gunk can cause or contribute to a failure.
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A little bit of gunk under the extractor star can leave a revolver in the same state as a hammer.

Semiautomatics tend to push dirt out if the way as the action cycles.

Any gun with ineffective or neglectful maintenance programs will suffer malfunctions. Neither platform has a leg up over the other when maintained reasonably.
 
Semi autos are more difficult because you have to field strip them and clean each part. However, a revolver could take longer to clean overall depending on how much gunk you have in each cylinder hole, the forcing cone, etc. So in the end, they are about the same.
 
it depends on which model you are talking about. The single actions are easier to clean and maintain than the double actions and some autos are easier to clean than others.
 
I think the problem in quantifying this comes from the following:

Which Model? Complexity of autos varies a lot. Complexity of revolvers, not so much.

What environment? Cleaning a gun on a well let table top is one thing. I for one would much rather clean a revolver under unfavorable conditions than to have to worry about losing springs, guide rods, barrels, slide stops, barrel bushings etc. etc.

What kind of cleaning? Are we talking about just enough cleaning to maintain function? Or are we talking about polishing every last little piece? There seem to be a lot of comparisons here along the lines of "It's easier to clean an auto because I just have to spray it out with CLP and run a bore snake through, compared to revolvers where you have to scrape off every last bit of carbon from the cylinder face and polish every chamber."

Levan9X19 said:
Please revolver aficionados dont get angry after reading my post I must admit I am not a revolver guy
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I'm not going to get angry :) But I will point out that in reverse your post sounds a bit like "I don't like autos any more because I owned a couple of Hi-Points and a Jennings and I didn't like them". Try a decent revolver some time, you might like it ;)

To me it is much easier to clean an auto. Every semi-auto pistol I have can be field stripped in under a minute (while I have never timed myself I'm pretty sure it probably doesn't take over 30 seconds or so. Reassembly after cleaning is just about as fast.

Revolvers are always annoying to me because you have 6 chambers to clean instead of just one.
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In just your 30 seconds of disassembly I'm pretty sure I can pull a boresnake through 6 chambers. And guess what...no disassembly required!
 
I know my Dad has a Taurus .22 revolver that requires thorough cleaning every 100 rounds or so, or else it locks up. With my semis, they function fine even if they're a little dirty, and it isn't hard at all to take them apart and clean them.
 
I know my Dad has a Taurus .22 revolver that requires thorough cleaning every 100 rounds or so, or else it locks up. With my semis, they function fine even if they're a little dirty, and it isn't hard at all to take them apart and clean them.
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Ahh yes, a single worst case anecdote (a Taurus and a rimfire). I once had a crappy .22 Semi Automatic that would jam all the time. That must mean that all semi-automatic handguns are unreliable ;)

I shudder to think how many rounds it would take to lock up a decent centerfire revolver due to lack of cleaning.
 
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