Revolvers: Outdated? Obsolete?

[razorburn]

Sure you need one. Look at your collection. You need a high powered handgun for uh... bear country, and whatnot. Only a revolver will fit the bill for a handcannon. What're you going to do if a grizzly spots you, and all you've got is a 9mm or a .45? Why, you'd be lucky to break skin before he eats you. You need some power on the level of the .500 S&W, or a .454 casull, or even just a .44 mag. Does that help?

 

[JohnKSa]

Yes, they are, and no they're not.

There are some things that autopistols do much better than revolvers--there's absolutely no denying it.

But there are also some areas where revolvers outclass the autochuckers.

Do you need a good self-defense gun that is small, yet powerful, that is low recoiling, high-capacity and that can be reloaded very quickly with only a modicum of practice? Sorry, there is no revolver that fits that bill and there never will be.

Do you need a very powerful and accurate repeating handgun with absolutely reliability that is suitable for hunting large and dangerous game? Then you need a revolver. Are you trying to pack maximum power into the smallest possible repeating handgun? That's a revolver too.

There are reasons that the military is issuing few, if any revolvers and that the majority of LEOs carry autopistols. But there are also reasons that revolvers are still around and dominate some activities.

 

[Gary A]

Amprecon stated, "So I'll go to the local gunstore look at a few, pick up a few, consider the price, consider what it is and what it does, look at the price again. Remember that I have 9mm and .45acp semi-auto's at home and that I just can't justify spending around $500 for another handgun that doesn't really hold anything over the handgun collection I already have."
____________________________________________________________

Your reasons for thinking the above notwithstanding, if I replaced the phrase "9mm and .45acp semi-auto's" with "revolvers", our sentiments are the same.
Anyway, after the bare necessities, how many purchases are due to "need"?

 

[fiVe]

I just like the simplicity and elegance of the revolver. I've found that the S&W 642 in a Robert Mica pocket holster is the perfect CCW configuration for me. I see revolvers as VERY up-to-date and light years for obsolete.

Regards,
fiVe

 

[cosine]

Well if they are, I'm planning to buy an outdated, obsolete firearm for my first handgun purchase.

 

[bouis]

I can't believe nobody's said this yet -- because I don't have to hunt for ejected cases!

 

[Sistema1927]

Yes, revolvers are outdated, obsolete, and totally useless. You don't want one, and neither does anyone else.

(That way, there will be more for those of us who appreciate them.)

 

[razorburn]

I really do hate the heavy double action of my gun though. Hopefully, there exists some way to get a trigger job to lighten this thing down to a 5-7lb double action pull. Right now, I'm estimating the DA pull is 12-15 lbs. When the trigger is 3-5 times heavier than the gun, it's practically impossible to shoot quickly and accurately. The DA trigger pulls the gun off target if squeezed quickly.

 

[Jenrick]

razorburn: Yeah know I was right there with yeah for a while. My normal shooter is a G34 w/ polished internals and a 3.5lb connector. Probably right around a 4.5lb trigger.

I looked at getting a revolver for a while just to have one, and all the new one's I looked at had heavy "stiff" triggers. Then I started hitting pawnshops, finding 30+ year old guns that had been fired/dry fired thousands of times let me feel how a good "worn in" DA trigger feels. Probably 8lbs, maybe 9, smooth and buttery take up, then a better break then my glock.

So there is hope, just shot/dry fire the heck out of it.

-Jenrick

 

[RGL01]

Or get Blackhawk/Super-Blackhawk.

 

[Waywardmonk]

I have three revolvers ( two .44 Trail bosses and .357 SP101 ) and my wife has a nice little Scandium S&W .32mag and never have I felt " under protected " when carrying them versus an auto ( though the .32 seems kinda tiny which is why it isn't my gun ) but what I appreciate most for revolvers is the " load it and forget it " aspect. Unlike I would with an auto I can load up my revolvers and not worry about spring fatigue in the magazine or having to deal with any safeties or racking the slide, it's nice to know that barring anything unforeseen you can put a loaded revolver in a drawer and come back in 5 years and it will still shoot. Besides, variety is the spice of life, why not have as many different guns as possible?

 

[amprecon]

I've seen some interesting replies and you guys are right, it just comes down to "want" more than need. Great being an American isn't it? Geeze we're spoiled. My very first handgun was a Ruger GP100, stainless steel .357, 4" full-lugged barrel, cost less than the auto-loaders, it was a good gun and probably should still have it today if I had any sense at the time. Water under the bridge now though.
But as I ponder the thought of a new revolver, based on my previous revolver experience, I think I want just a medium sized one, not for concealment primarily, just a utilitiy gun. I had considered .38spl only, like a model 10, then thought about SA only maybe .45lc or for economical reasons the .357. Then there is the new S&W 619, a fixed sight 7-round .357, but I don't know. I've owned a S&W 625 once and thought maybe a large caliber would be fitting and considered one in .44spl. I've owned .44mags before and don't have a use for them as I don't hunt with handguns and they are expensive and harder to shoot. I actually prefer blued handguns over stainless, just personal preference. But size is a consideration, a K-frame would be pretty much perfect for my "want's".

 

[Jenrick]

amprecon: Since you like the K frame, go pawnshopping. In one day and 7 pawnshops (in less then 4 hrs), I saw probably 50-60 K frames and their Colt brethren. Most places price them around $200-$250. Bring cash, and be prepared to bargin, can probably walk out for less then $200 (got a Combat Masterpiece with Target grips for $215 cash).

Best of luck,

-Jenrick

 

[Matt King]

Revolvers, outdated, never. Revolvers are in my opinion the best kind of gun in the world, because of their reliability, and simiplictiy.

 

[Nightcrawler]

I keep hearing how revolvers are obsolete and how they just don't cut it anymore. Most of the guards I work with are pining for the rumored switch to semiautos next year. I guess they feel underarmed with our Model 19s and only six rounds (plus two speedloaders). The fact that not one guard has ever needed to fire a shot in anger at my work site is entirely irrelevant, of course. Gotta have those extra rounds!

Other people say revolvers are no good for service use. I would've happily carried a good (preferably seven shot, just to get the most out of the L-Frame size) .357 in Qatar. Again, it was pretty quiet there, but a revolver would've worked well enough for my needs. I'd've been much happier with seven rounds of .357 LSWC over 15 rounds of 9mm ball. In any case, the handgun was but a backup to my rifle, for which I had plenty of ammunition.

If I were a cop on patrol...it'd depend on the nature of my beat. If your ONLY weapon is a handgun and your job is to go right into harm's way, the extra ammo would be nice. But for most situations, I think a .357 would suffice anyway. What's the national average for shots fired in a police encountered? Two or three? Maybe ten or eleven now; you always seem to hear about the ones that just go nuts on the trigger, but I'm sure they're a minority and get undue press.

If I were to take another contracting job in the Middle East, going to someplace hazardous, like Iraq, this time? I'd still be intersted in taking a .357, personally. A fine cleaning regimen would be necessary, but if the M16 can be kept running in the desert sand a S&W certainly can.

But that's ME. For large militaries, where parts commonality and ease of training is a necessity, an autopistol is probably better. Since the military is considering switching from a 15+1 9mm pistol to an 8-10+1 .45, high capacity doesn't seem to be their primary concern.

Revolers are simpler to learn, but are much more difficult to master. (The main reason, I think, most of my fellow guards don't like the M19s is because they can't shoot them for crap, on average. There're only a couple of us that shoot revolvers frequently. LOL)

The revolver is one of those things, like zippo lighters and manual transmission cars, that just hangs in there despite newer things coming along. How many drivers swear by manual transmissions? "I like the control!", they say. Then they can't maintain a steady speed on the Interstate because they don't have cruise control. (Utah drivers, I swear... ) The average driver probably can't shift a stick more efficiently than a modern automatic transmission can change gears, but lordy, don't tell the motorheads that! LOL

But the stick shift isn't going away, and neither is the revolver. If you like one, buy one, shoot it, and to hell with what's on the cover of "COMBAT HANDGUNS" or "GUNS AND WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT" magazines. If you don't like one, there's a plethora of fine self-loaders out there, so you've got your pick!

Personally, I'm glad that being a revolver shooter makes me part of some sort of counter-culture movement. It's like being a beatnik or a hippie, but with more bathing and less communisim...

 

[MCgunner]

Only a revolver will fit the bill for a handcannon.

Just because I like to argue, but lets say you have a 1911. What about the .308 Winchester caliber Pachmayr dominator??? And, I'm not even mentioning Thompson-Center arms, the company for whom the term "hand cannon" was coined.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Just because I like to argue, but lets say you have a 1911. What about the .308 Winchester caliber Pachmayr dominator???

What about it? I'd much rather get shot with a .308, especially out of, what, an eight or ten inch barrel? than a .500 S&W....that much bore diameter, that much velocity, and that much mass is going to hurt...

 

[MCgunner]

I'm sure if they shot you in the head with it, even with a NATO armor penetrating round, it'd bounce off.

I don't lack power in my .30-30 Contender for what I hunt, frankly, and it's 1 moa accurate. If I wanted more power, I could get an Encore. I think it comes in .300 Win Mag? I don't know, but some really hot rifle calibers.

.308 is quite good out of shorter barrels, BTW.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Yes, but with a single shot, the whole "faster to reload" and "higher capacity" arguments kind of go out the window, don't they?

Besides. This is a revolvers vs. autopistols debate. You single-shot iconoclasts can take your blaspheming somewhere else.

 

[MCgunner]

Yeah, that's why I mentioned the Pachmayr Dominator. Just take your autochucker slide off and install it, two guns in one. Neat concept.

Besides, it's smaller, lighter, and easier to carry than either a M1A or similar sized Smith .50 cal revolver, even with optics! And, at 200 yards I can hit it with one shot.

 

[Harve Curry]

Revolvers are PC they don't litter, autos do. Any enviromentalist should NO that. Auto's polute and miss or miss fire unless it is a fine tuned Colt 1911

 

[RyanM]

Revolvers are about as outdated as walking.

 

[dogngun]

You are obviously not a revolver guy, no offence intended. Don't buy one if you are happy without one. That's one more that a revolver guy will be able to buy and enjoy.
Why buy a revolver (or any other type of gun) just because other people say you "should have" one ? Why spend the money on something you won't enjoy having ?

And no, revolvers are not obsolete - they are still being developed, carried daily by many people, and in demand. They still work, too.
I currently have 7 of them, going back to 1917.

Mark

Buy another Auto.

 

[Coronach]

If I were a cop on patrol...it'd depend on the nature of my beat. If your ONLY weapon is a handgun and your job is to go right into harm's way, the extra ammo would be nice. But for most situations, I think a .357 would suffice anyway. What's the national average for shots fired in a police encountered? Two or three? Maybe ten or eleven now; you always seem to hear about the ones that just go nuts on the trigger, but I'm sure they're a minority and get undue press.

The majority of shootings still have pretty low round-counts, but it is climbing. There are several reasons for this. One is the fact that cops are now trained to shoot until the threat is stopped (none of this shoot-two-and-reevaluate stuff), another is the fact that you have more rounds on tap to do so. And, of course, as PDs continue to slash training budgets, you pretty much ensure a high round count by making the first few shots misses. I know a lot of cops who are stellar shots, and I know a lot of cops who fall into the category of "I only shoot when I have to qualify." The latter group will continue to crank off rounds because the BG will continue to be unhit. But hey, at least they're following half of their training.

I would not feel under-gunned with a quality revo...in fact I carry one OD sometimes. But I train with it. Training is expensive. Buying hardware solutions to software problems is cheap- if you ignore the costs of lawsuits, burials, insurance, etc...which government entities routinely do. It's maddening. You can say things like "wrongful death suit waiting to happen" and the paper pushers look at you like you're speaking Klingon. Then, when the lawsuit comes down the pike, their eyes bug out and they ask "how could this happen????"

Gee, I dunno, Einstein. But I think I know why you couldn't keep a job in private industry.

/threadveer

Revos work just fine, but you need to be proficient with them. They are, oddly enough, a perfect beginnner's gun (Dead simple to use), and a perfect expert's gun.

Mike

 

[R127]

At least half of all violent encounters involve more than one attacker. As fear and stress go up your accuracy will go down. Capacity is your friend.

With that said, I do believe there is still a niche for revolvers. I would love to see a 7 or 8 shot multicaliber a la Medusa revolver, styled ofter the old 1860 Army blackpowder revolver, but double action. I think it would make a very beautiful survivalist piece that would also be worthy as a primary carry. .357mag is plenty powerful enough for self defense and many hunting applications.