Why a Revolver?

[ID_shooting]

Riley almost hit on my main point to using a revo for SD or CCW, no mag springs to go weak on you. And like others have mentioned, simpler to bring into service, more ammo choices, not as bulky for the power, and easyer to reload if you are into mag retention.

 

[The Rabbi]

Idiot-proof. Dont discount this either. I have seen very experienced shooters at IDPA pull their 1911's on signal, pull the trigger and nothing happen. Failure to seat mag, failure to rack slide, failrue to click safety off, you name it.
If you took a Smith handejector of 1899 that had been sitting undisturbed since manufacture in a dry place and put new .38 SPcs into it does anyone doubt it would fire? Try the same thing with a Colt 1911.
My biggest thing for revolvers is the double action trigger. When I pull the trigger I am operating the whole gun. On an auto I am only releasing the hammer and the gun is doing the rest. This is why Jerry always says in all his years he has never outperformed his revolver.
I never heard of anyone disabling a revolver by grabbing the cylinder. You'd have to be a maniac to do that. I have heard of people disabling Berettas by grabbing the slide over the top and hitting the take down button. Saw one guy do this in about 1 second. I have also heard of one guy who had trouble pressing the grip safety of his 1911 because his hand was in an awkward position.

 

[buzz meeks]

Anything mechanical can fail and at some point revolvers can have catastrophic malfunctions. I know because I read it on the internet. But trust me, if you shoot revolvers long enough you cease to worry about the what-ifs. They work.

 

[ezypikns]

Well, I asked and you all let me know why....

Yesterday I picked up my second revolver, a 6" blue GP100 .357. I can't get to the range till Friday but I'm really itchin' to try her. And for all of you who brought it up, revolvers are real pretty. Thanks for all the info and opinions. Once again 'The High Road' proves that like its members, it can't be beat.

 

[WEPS]

I like revolvers but i won't carry one. For me they are harder to hide and ammo capacity leaves much to be desired. I wan't to be able to throw many many rounds down range as fast and accurate as i can with minimum reload time. I just don't see this happening with a weel gun, atleast not from me.

 

[triggertime]

While alot of people praise the revolver for its simplicity, don't forget that revolvers can and do malfunction.

Case in point: I took a sparkling clean Ruger SP101 .357, that had been left loaded for about 1 year from its hiding place out to the range to test fire some .38 Special ammunition.

I opened the cylinder and removed 5 rounds of Winchester Silvertip 145gr. .357 Magnum (that had been left in the gun for 1 year) and replaced it with 5 rounds of brand new Sellier & Bellot 158gr. FMJ .38 Special.

I then proceeded to test fire the S&B ammo. 5 rounds went into the target at a distance of 5 yards and grouped fairly well. I quickly dumped the brass onto the ground and reloaded with 5 more rounds of S&B. I reaquired my sight picture and began to pull the trigger. Instantly, I knew something was wrong. The trigger moved about halfway and the cylinder refused to turn!

[***]Now remember, this was a clean gun, with a clean cylinder. And I only shot 5 rounds and the gun suddenly became a 25oz. paperweight...[/***]

After opening the cylinder, I saw what was wrong. The S&B ammo shot so dirty that there was and excessive amount of powder residue all over the recoil shield. This was causing the cartridge rims to bind so badly that the cylinder would not turn.

After wiping the inside of the gun down with a 'Lead Away' cloth, I tried again. Same drill, I loaded 5 rounds, shot a decent group, dumped the brass, reloaded and discovered that the cylinder still refused to turn.

Perplexed, I wiped the gun down once more and took a box of Winchester Super Match 148gr. Wadcutter ammo out of my range bag and hoped that it was just the ammo and not the gun. Sure enough, I shot 25 rounds of Winchester Super Match without incident.

I followed up with 5 rounds of 1 year old Winchester Silvertip 145gr. .357 Magnum and two boxes of Federal American Eagle 158gr. JSP .357 Magnum. No problems.

Lesson learned: 1) Revolvers can and do malfunction. 2) S&B revolver ammo is junk. 3) Revolvers can and do malfunction! 4) S&B revolver ammo is junk!

Now you get to kick the lid off the 'what if...' bucket and think.

 

[The Rabbi]

Lesson learned: 1) Revolvers can and do malfunction. 2) S&B revolver ammo is junk. 3) Revolvers can and do malfunction! 4) S&B revolver ammo is junk!

Lemme see if I understand you:

You loaded ammo in a Ruger SP that fouled the gun so much it bound the cylinder. When you used different ammo it worked just fine. If you had used the same ammo in a different gun it might have worked just fine. And your lesson is that "revolvers" malfunction?? Someone needs a course in logic here.
I am not arguing the revolver never malfunction. Hammers probably malfunction on occasion too. But if someone posted the same comment about, say, Kimbers, the obvious lesson is that Kimbers dont do well with some kinds of ammo so use different ammo. Not that Kimbers can and do malfunction (like anyone needed reminding).
Yes, revolvers do fail to work. But they fail to work a lot less often than autos. And btw, I carry two.

 

[Oracle]

I'm not downing revolvers here, I have them and like them. A stoppage in a revolver, unless it's caused by something like a primer not going off, is usually more difficult to clear than a stoppage in an auto. A "tap, rack, bang" drill usually clears most auto stoppages, while a revolver stoppage usually requires more work.

But, reliable revolvers and autos generally have so few stoppages anyway that it's not something to worry about.

 

[Marshall]

I wan't to be able to throw many many rounds down range as fast and accurate as i can with minimum reload time.

Although I carry semi-auto's also, I'll take 5-8 (before reload) stone cold reliable, well placed 357 Mag revolver shots in a defensive situation over the spoken thought of point and spray and day.

 

[triggertime]

Rabbi: I need a course in logic? Lets examine this again. I took a clean revolver, with a clean cylinder, with no fouling present what-so-ever and I shot 5 rounds of Sellior & Bellot ammunition that shot so dirty that the fouling bound the revolver to the point that it became unusable.

The gun was cleaned on the spot and 5 rounds of the same ammunition was shot again, with same result, binding. Yes, Rabbi, from that experience it is logical to say that revolvers do malfunction and that the ammunition that I was shooting was garbage. I don't need a course in logic, perhaps you need a lecture on denial instead?

BTW, why is it that you have the chutzpa to attempt to make people look like a shmegege when they disagree with you? That's not the high road, sir. The high road is to relay a personal experience that one has had with a revolver so that people do not succumb to a false sense of security out of the desire for 'simplicity'.

And for what its worth, Rabbi, the remainder of that S&B ammunition was later tried in a Smith & Wesson model 64 with the same result, binding.

Lastly, this is not the first time that I've had problems with revolvers malfunctioning. It is just one experience of many that I felt like sharing so that someone would perhaps learn from it, instead, I get you kvetching about my logic. Feh.

 

[The Rabbi]

You had a bad experience with a particular revolver and a particular kind of ammo. You could reasonably conclude that you shouldnt carry that ammo in that revolver and it might be a good idea not to carry that ammo in any revolver. But to conclude that "revolvers malfunction" based solely on your one experience (altho now you allow that there are more) is not logical.
I dont think anyone ever said revolvers never malfunction. I wouldnt say that. They have a number of weak points and well-known patterns of malfunction as well as the weird, off the chart event. Like any other mechanical object.
But I would maintain that revolvers malfunction less than autos. This is especially true when factoring in operator error (e.g. failure to seat mag). It is even more so when one considers failures caused by ammunition. In fact, the S&B is the first time I have heard of ammo that did not function well in a revolver (altho yours is not the first story about it). I have to say I have shot S&B in different calibers (.45 and 9mm) and never had a problem.

But this brings up the bigger issue of stories like this. I have heard way too many like yours that end with "so you see pistol X or ammo Y is total junk" based on nothing other than one experience and sometimes even that is hearsay. If someone believed all those stories they would decide to carry a rock instead. But then my cousin's brother in law carried one once that......

And I dunno what all them ferren words are. When it comes to other languages, b'klal I am just verblunget.

 

[zeke]

When started shooting pistols, went with SA semi (45 acp). There were a couple of mistakes made starting this way, but was easier to be accurate with the sa trigger pull, as compared to DA revolver pull. Was more than a couple years till purchased fiirst revolver. While certainly not an expurt DA wheelgunner, have found my accuracy improving with all handguns, while practicing DA revolver trigger.

Wished now had started on 22 DA revolver, concentrating on acclimating to the DA trigger. Once this had been learned, the trigger control may have transferred to almost any type of pistol, fairly quickly. As it is, am starting to appreciate the advantages of DA revolver, especially for house.

For some, it may be better not to have a medium or light sa trigger, in stressfull situations, especially when just waking up from sound slumber. No safety to disengage. Less to go wrong.

This isn't to say there aren't advantages to semi's. These may be include better recoil control and capacity, as compared to similar powered rounds from revolver.

As it is, bedside pistol is now 696. Used to be 45 acp semi.

Am also a handloader, who saves brass. Nothing beats a revolver when there is snow on the ground.