Why do/did you choose a revolver as your EDC over a semiauto?

[Atavar]

Carry both; Revolver for tight spaces like my car, were I have to jam the barrel up on the door or seat, or I need a big Boy .460 or .44 for fishing in Big Foot county. Semi for shopping at Costco or Downtown.

Revolver for tight spaces? How do you deal with the forcing cone blast without injuring yourself?

 

[Mark_Mark]

Revolver for tight spaces? How do you deal with the forcing cone blast without injuring yourself?

don’t know, if a passenger is choking me from behind, I guess I can drive as fast as possible into a light pole and see if that stops the attack.

 

[Bcwitt]

I remember this scene from Drugs Inc. -- evidently any pistol can be a Glock. I vaguely recall another time in this TV series where a different thug was calling his Hi Point a Ruger.

Kinda like a fridgidair. Lol

 

[Tallball]

Manual of Arms. I am not a former soldier or cop. I think if I have to use a gun for defense, it will be one of the worst days of my life. I may be very nervous and scared. I may have tunnel vision, some loss of coordination, etc. A double action high quality revolver is just draw and aim and pull the trigger. Also, loading and unloading, though tedious, is obvious. Is the gun loaded? Easy to check with a revolver. I think I am more likely to be able to run a revolver. And the great reliability due to no magazine problems, failures to extract or whatever, increases confidence and reduces stress that might help me when I am in a very dark place.

Thank you for stating this so well. I agree 100%.

 

[Mark 40]

Manual of Arms. I am not a former soldier or cop. I think if I have to use a gun for defense, it will be one of the worst days of my life. I may be very nervous and scared. I may have tunnel vision, some loss of coordination, etc. A double action high quality revolver is just draw and aim and pull the trigger. Also, loading and unloading, though tedious, is obvious. Is the gun loaded? Easy to check with a revolver. I think I am more likely to be able to run a revolver. And the great reliability due to no magazine problems, failures to extract or whatever, increases confidence and reduces stress that might help me when I am in a very dark place.

So well stated, would have given you a double Like if it was available.

 

[Oninotaki]

I have two additional reasons that haven't been stated in this thread. Both are personal.

1st: The brass flying past my face, and the slide moving back and forth are hugely distracting to me. The flying brass makes my right eye twitch, and the slides movements trigger my "This tool is breaking, Danger Will Robinson!!" Warning system in my brain. I have spent years working with hand tools, and having something so wobbly in my hand just doesn't feel right.

2nd: I have had nearly every single semi auto of any kind that is placed in my hands jam/fail to feed on nearly every magazine. It doesn't matter what I am shooting, from high quality AR-15s, to Turkish Imports Silver Eagle .410 semi auto shotgun, Ruger Security 9s to Glock 42s. People insist that semi autos are all super reliable, then they hand me they favorite most trusted one and it jams/fails to feed almost instantly.

Just this past holiday a buddy of mine was laughing about my terrible experiences and swore his Styr Aug was the gun that would set it all straight. 15 fail to feeds later across 3 magazines of capacities between 10 and 42 and he was dying of laughter. He didn't know if it was because I wasn't bracing the rifle properly into my shoulder, or if the adjustable gas system was out of calibration. He swore he had never seen anything like it, and it always worked 100% for him. I just chuckled with him and we went back to my revolvers that all went boom everytime.

Now that's not to say that semi autos can't function well. My phoenix arms HP22a is the exception to this experience of mine. I am approaching 2000 rounds out of it, and the only fail to feed/jam I have ever had with it has been when I didn't put enough strength into racking it the 1st time using it. It has been crazy reliable ever since(I very strickly follow the manufacturer ammo recommendations however). Doesn't mean I trust it though. I am also incredibly tempted to try Hi-Points .45 ACP Gen 2 auto loader and their .45 ACP carbine. Strictly as range toys however as they are cheap and have good reputations as being good enough for fun, and better than a stick in a pinch. Anything beyond that price range though I couldn't justify with my experience. Spending $2k on a home defense rifle after experiencing every single semi auto rifle I have tried fail on me? Nope never in thousand years.

Thanks for listening to this young old man's ramblings on why revolvers good, semi autos bad for him.

 

[Gork10]

I have two additional reasons that haven't been stated in this thread. Both are personal.

1st: The brass flying past my face, and the slide moving back and forth are hugely distracting to me. The flying brass makes my right eye twitch, and the slides movements trigger my "This tool is breaking, Danger Will Robinson!!" Warning system in my brain. I have spent years working with hand tools, and having something so wobbly in my hand just doesn't feel right.

2nd: I have had nearly every single semi auto of any kind that is placed in my hands jam/fail to feed on nearly every magazine. It doesn't matter what I am shooting, from high quality AR-15s, to Turkish Imports Silver Eagle .410 semi auto shotgun, Ruger Security 9s to Glock 42s. People insist that semi autos are all super reliable, they hand me they favorite most trusted one and it jams/fails to feed almost instantly.

Just this past holiday a buddy of mine was laughing about my terrible experiences and swore his Styr Aug was the gun that would set it all straight. 15 fail to feeds later across 3 magazines of capacities between 10 and 42 and he was dying of laughter. He didn't know if it was because I wasn't bracing the rifle properly into my shoulder, or if the adjustable gas system was out of calibration. He swore he had never seen anything like it, and it always worked 100% for him. I just chuckled with him and we went back to my revolvers that all went boom everytime.

Now that's not to say that semi autos can't function well. My phoenix arms HP22a is the exception to this experience of mine. I am approaching 2000 rounds out of it, and the only fail to feed/jam I have ever had with it has been when I didn't put enough strength into racking it the 1st time using it. It has been crazy reliable ever since(I very strickly follow the manufacturer ammo recommendations however). Doesn't mean I trust it though. I am also incredibly tempted to try Hi-Points .45 ACP Gen 2 auto loader and their .45 ACP carbine. Strictly as range toys however as they are cheap and have good reputations as being good enough for fun, and better than a stick in a pinch. Anything beyond that price range though I couldn't justify with my experience. Spending $2k on a home defense rifle after experiencing every single semi auto rifle I have tried fail on me? Nope never in thousand years.

Thanks for listening to this young old man's ramblings on why revolvers good, semi autos bad for him.

You sound like my brother in law. I can hand him the most reliable Simi auto I own and within one magazine he will jam it. Including my old Ruger mk II that would eat any garbage ammo I could find. He's good with a revolver though.

 

[Oninotaki]

You sound like my brother in law. I can hand him the most reliable Simi auto I own and within one magazine he will jam it. Including my old Ruger mk II that would eat any garbage ammo I could find. He's good with a revolver though.

Sounds like it! Every time I have shot the Ruger mk IV (haven't tried the II or III) is has been a jam o matic machine.

For people like your brother, and I, it is a good thing that revolvers, derringers, break actions, pumps, and lever action still exist.

 

[gilgsn]

Hello.
Having shot auto pistols for decades and being a late revolver "adoptee," I am not at all surprised that long-time revolver shooters would jam an automatic. You simply can't shoot an auto like a revolver. Unlike the revolver, the auto pistol relies on resistance from the shooter for the slide to move back. It has to move against something, or it simply won't chamber a new round. With a revolver, it is easier to just let the recoil happen, so to speak. You have to effectively prevent the auto from moving while shooting. A few range sessions would probably take care of the issue. I mean a few, not one or two, though for some people that might be enough. Others will do it as a matter of fact and never encounter a problem. I have shot who knows how many thousands of rounds through a Glock 17 with all kinds of reloads, and failures were exceedingly rare. Clearing them with a bit of training can be very fast.
Now, this peculiarity can be an issue in a life-and-death situation if you are somehow impaired and shooting one-handed. It could be argued of course that in that case pulling a double action trigger or cocking a hammer could be hard as well.
I would argue that the advantage of revolvers is that most of them are intrinsically reliable. As to pistols, some of them are just as reliable, but not all, and people might do better with particular models. Finding the right one for you, unless you have lots of shooting friends, can be long and costly...
I don't own a pistol anymore at this time but I will get another Glock for sure, but right now I'm expecting delivery of a new-to-me S&W 586-no-dash and I'm tickled pink
Gil.

 

[jstert]

with a revolver i can easily customize grips small to comfy, and ammo mild to wild, while keeping reliability. i can work it weak- and single-handed. i’m not a cop or soldier, so i’m using 5-6 rounds to getaway from the trouble that i’m likely to face in my own places and times. unlikely to need 10+ rounds to take down the unlikely trouble that i studiously seek to avoid. my nongunner wife can pick up and use my revolver if i’m out.

but, there is no perfect answer.

 

[Mark 40]

Hello.
Having shot auto pistols for decades and being a late revolver "adoptee," I am not at all surprised that long-time revolver shooters would jam an automatic. You simply can't shoot an auto like a revolver. Unlike the revolver, the auto pistol relies on resistance from the shooter for the slide to move back. It has to move against something, or it simply won't chamber a new round. With a revolver, it is easier to just let the recoil happen, so to speak.

Your commentary reminded me: When I first tried semi-autos this was an issue for me. With smaller hands and a not so good grip strength, it took a lot of practice to "get a grip" and the resistance required to consistently function with a semi-auto.

 

[Old_Grouch]

I'm curious to hear why some members choose to EDC a revolver over a semiautos

Familiarity, training, experience, confidence (in my ability and in the gun's), and just a wee bit of snobbery.

 

[Rexster]

1. My aging right hand is not what it once was. A revolving pistol does not depend upon a firm grip and a rigid wrist in order to cycle the action for the next shot. I am, actually, sufficiently ambidextrous to shoot with my healthier left hand*, but, then, if I have to run the slide, it would be that gimpier right hand grasping the slide. Notably, however, this does not mean that I cannot use an auto-loading pistol reliably, right-handed, but I am concerned that some of my auto pistols may not be best choices to trust in life-or-death circumstances.

2. I am able to get a really firm grip, on a Ruger SP101, with the factory grip, or an S&W K- or L-Frame, with compact grips installed. This is especially important if the weapon is being held in my aging right hand, and would become doubly important if a struggle happens at contact distance. A gunfight is a fight that happens to involve a gun. 33+ years of big-city police patrol experience taught me that things can happen really quickly, at amazingly close range. Now retired, as a private citizen, I cannot preemptively have my gun in-hand, in as many situations.

3. The Ruger GP100, as seen in my avatar image, has been what I shoot consistently best, on good days and bad days. I have owned that first GP100, in my avatar image, since some time in the very early Nineties. Some other medium and medium-large revolvers perform about as well, with suitable grips installed. Compact grips, on those same weapons, degrade accuracy somewhat, but make concealment easier, so, are acceptable.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, I will continue to carry suitable auto-pistols, but, my normal daily default “primary” handgun is a revolver. Sometimes, the revolver is what I carry for a right-hand draw, while an auto is positioned to be drawn and used by my healthier left hand.

Notably, “tradition” and being “old” have nothing to do with my preference for revolvers. As a kid, I was a history buff, and a fan of the 1911. When I was able to buy a handgun, at age 21, in late 1982 or early 1983, it was a 1911. Today, if I am toting an auto, it could be a 1911, or a Glock. I carried both during my LE career, as duty pistols. As a cadet and rookie, however, I was required to use revolvers, and I learned to like them, too. Tools for the task; choose wisely.

*I was born left-handed, but right-armed. I write lefty, but throw righty. During my police academy days, 1983-1984, drawing the then-mandated S&W L-Frame, from the then-mandated low-slung duty rig, was not unlike throwing. Pulling the DA trigger seemed to work about equal, righty or lefty. So, I developed the habit of carrying on my right side, which hard-wired my brain to reach for my right hip, during an emergency.

 

[Bcwitt]

Manual of Arms. I am not a former soldier or cop. I think if I have to use a gun for defense, it will be one of the worst days of my life. I may be very nervous and scared. I may have tunnel vision, some loss of coordination, etc. A double action high quality revolver is just draw and aim and pull the trigger. Also, loading and unloading, though tedious, is obvious. Is the gun loaded? Easy to check with a revolver. I think I am more likely to be able to run a revolver. And the great reliability due to no magazine problems, failures to extract or whatever, increases confidence and reduces stress that might help me when I am in a very dark place.

Exactly

 

[Zeabed]

I pocket carry and draw ergonomics of the revolver is superior, for me, than that of any autoloader. For the rest, the already discussed reliability and safety considerations are important to me too.

 

[The Happy Kaboomer]

I like and carry both...........Who cares?