Why I like Revolvers Over Modern Autos

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MagnumDweeb

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Last saturday at the range was the epitome of why I like my revolvers better than Semi-Autos. First up my new STI Spartan .45 (got one and loved it, so I needed another) has been giving me trouble since almost day one. Won't run with my Chip McCormick mags without locking up like the mag is empty when it still has round or jamming (but my other Spartan runs fine), so I ordered some Wilson Combat mags and again it had the problem. So I ordered a 17lb spring from Wilson combat and replaced the recoil springs (kept the original just in case).

Again the issue happens. It just happens that nice guy was shooting next to us and he saw what was happening. He handed me a Wilson combat mag with a round plastic follower and after twenty-one rounds I didn't have a single issue. He builds his own 1911s and gave me the low down on what could be causing it and told me I should try using reloads with shorter OAL. And that I should invest in some Wilson Combat mags that use round plastic followers. Later I found that Cylinder and Slide had spare replacement followers for mags so I might try this but they are basically fifteen bucks before shipping (and I have four wilson combat mags).

I could also try taking a file and shaving down the slide catch to help reduce the issue but I'm not thrilled about that as well. I'm determined not to let this gun beat me and see it as a learning opportunity but still it pisses me off.

Then the XDS .45. If I hold the safety grip and release the slide, the gun jams up and a round gets caught up in the chamber funny. But if I press the slide release with the grip safety not engaged it goes into batter fine. But if I accidentally don't release the slide just right the gun doesn't go into full battery.

My Ruger P90 has never had an issue. My Sig 228 has never had an issue. My Glock 23 has never had an issue. My other Spartan 1911 has never had an issue. And none of my revolvers have ever had an issue. I realize that sometimes bad luck is just bad luck but still it was infuriating and killed my zen for the day. My Rugers did everything they were supposed to do and shot great. But still.....It messes with you when your autos don't work flawlessly.

How do you trust them for HD/SD when you know they've been problem children in the past. Sure the XDS only fails in certain rare circumstances and as long as I don't have to reload I should be fine but still, that's messed up. Especially when my LLama Mini Max .45 has never given me a single problem. Or even better my Bersa 9mm Ultra Compact which rides bathroom drawer duty and has seen over a thousand rounds.

It throws me and I don't like it. These guns went from dependable guns to project guns. I think I'm just going to contact Springfield and send the gun back and see if they can deal with it but I've never had to send a gun back to the manufacturer before, not even my Rossis had had to go back and they get carried and abused like crazy, and still function flawlessly. The XDS gets cleaned, oiled, and disassembled slightly after every shooting for cleaning.

Anyone else preferring their revolvers over semiautos because of the issues they've had with their autos? Oh the STI Spartan was another pawn shop find so I don't think I can send it back to the manufacturer. Is there ever a point where you've had an auto fail and you've come to trust it again?
 
I taught myself to smith them because of this. Back in the day, Colt1911's were all you could find. They had horribly small sights, bad triggers, no speed safety, no mag well bevel, no ducktail grip safety tang. The feed-ramp needed work, the front strap needed stippling and they needed heavier springs.

I could fix all that, and reblue the gun, in 6 hours. Even back then, late 70's, smiths wanted $500 to do all that. The gun cost $400. I was clearing about $200 a week at my day job. So, yes, I learned to do the table top smithing that so many shops today charge$2000 to do for you.:) I was shooting 30,000.45's per year back then. So all winter was spent casting and sizing bullets, and getting my 10,000 rds of brass loaded for spring. My ($700) Star reloader would assemble 400 rds per hour. My component cost to fire a rd was 3c. Empty brass, once fired military, was 3c each.
 
I think your problems are have more todo with the high volume many gun companies are dealing with more than a revolver verses semi-auto. I have bought one revolver in the last 20 some years and converted to semi-autos for carry and have yet to see a bad pistol. revolver or pistol it will get 500 rounds thru it before trusting it and today you can by a Purdy s&w custom shop revolver that may not work from round one. Or the barrels not straight or the cyclinder gap is 10ths or , or, . Its more about the luck of the draw and good under standing the minor issues to a design as with mags in 1911's before you drop the dollars.

I still hunt with a revolver but carry pistols. kahrs at that. Many thousands of rounds fired threw each and all reliable. Never owned a bad handgun , just a couple some that needed a little understanding when new. One even came used from a owner that had all sorts of issues but none for me.
 
Dweeb, after reading your experience I'm inclined to agree with you. I would have trouble carrying/ relying on a gun I've had problems with in the past unless I got everything squared away.

That being said I have my go to auto loaders that I know won't fail me and those stay on the night stand. But I still have a model 36 as a back up.
 
It seems like you have a whole congregation of semi-autos for SD.

I only have 2:

HK P7M8
Rohrbaugh R9

I have range guns like the Glock 17L and G34 and others that will work fine for HD, but they're not setup for that purpose - they sit in their cases locked up while my HK P7M8 sits in a quick-release safe on my nightstand and the Rohrbaugh R9 goes with me everywhere I go (except to the post office).

I think when you have such a wide assortment of brands and types of guns, statistically you're going to have some that are going to evidence some problems.

S&W and Ruger make fine revolvers but they're expensive. You don't have to search too far to find accounts of other brands where the cylinder locks up or the revolver is too difficult to cock, light primer hits and the like...
 
MagnumDweeb said:
How do you trust them for HD/SD when you know they've been problem children in the past.
Click to expand...


Generally you don't unless they have proven themselves since. Sometimes it's just a slight change in COL or mags and what was once a "jam-a-matic" is now a trusted friend. This is why we practice and practice often with any firearm we may have to rely on to save our life. For some, we can afford to find something more reliable or the reason for a firearms unreliability. Some folks don't have that option. Sounds like you do.
 
Yeah I own a lot of guns, even after making a small mint with the panic (I buy a gun every couple of months if not more often). So I realize part of the issue is when you own a lot, you are bound in to run into the ocassional problem child. It's just irksome when my revolvers have never given me trouble or shot poorly. Heck my old S&W 15-3 can still hit red daisy cups at twenty yards when being shot one handed in double action as long as I do my part.

To trust the Spartan again, after I play Frankenstein with it (probably going to file the slide catch or swap it with the bulletproof one from Wilson) I'm going to have to get a thousand rounds down it without a hiccup. My Ruger P90 in over three thousand rounds only had the hiccup of a brass cartridge not ejecting fully but that was fixed with a quick slap to the side and the gun went into batter and ready to fire. P90s are supposed to be budget guns, they shouldn't run better than a premium product like the Spartan is held out to be (albeit the bottom the premium spectrum).

The XD I think I'm just going to send back letting them know what the issue is with racking the slide with the grip safety engaged. Hopefully they make it right and I can get a thousand rounds down it without a problem.

The worst problem my Rossi 462 ever had was it bound up funny after riding in the pockets of my jeans back when I worked at my carpet cleaning company full time (was waiting to get admitted to the bar). I hadn't cleaned the gun for over a month and I thought it would have to go back to the factory but before I did that I used Remington oil and sprayed the living heck out of the internals on three separate ocassions over three days and voila the gun was working right again. Now that my SP101 is my regular carry it gets cleaned every two weeks to keep dirt and what from building up in the internals. But still that was an easy fix.

It's just a PITA to get these guns running right when my revolvers have never really failed me or required a great deal of correcting.
 
As you've noted, even a revolver can be made to have problems. In the end, though, you should always go with whatever gives you the most confidence it will work.

As a revolver guy, I definitely lean that direction. However, I cannot argue with the overwhelming reliability evidence presented by Glock shooters ... and many other semis as well.

On the bright side, you have a ready-made excuse for shooting more. You know; you have to make sure they're reliable, right?

Good luck, MD, and be sure to let us know how it turns out for you.
 
Look....don't get me wrong, I love my autos...and the work...but all you have to do is watch that You Tube vid. of the plain clothes officer in line at the bank when this BG holds it up....his auto jambs and the BG has a revolver....lucky for the cop the BG can't shoot straight and make a run for the door while the cop is on the floor playin' dodge the lead...eye opening for sure.....good reason for a BUG.
 
If you handload, make up 8 or so dummy cartridges.

Remove the recoil spring and load the magazine with dummies (and be sure that's waht they are!)

Hand-cycle the slide and watch what's happening. You may find a helpful clue.

Field strip the pistol, and put the slide stop back into place. Insert the magazine, again loaded with dummies.

Push the cartridges out of the magazine with a finger, while watching to see if a feeding round catches the lug on the slide stop

Last but not least, a stronger slide stop plunger spring might help.
 
Yep, I had an FNP45 next to the bed for a few years. Started having reliability issues. It would stop feeding properly.

Now there's a S&W 686+ sitting next to the bed. Half the ammo, but at least it's 7 rounds that will shoot.

Thinking about trading off the FNP for an HK45, Sig P227, or and XDM 45. I just don't trust it anymore.

I like semiautos and my XDs has been great, but I'll always prefer and trust revolvers more.
 
I prefer revolvers for a completely different reason.

I walk on thirteen screws and three plates in my right heal. I have advanced arthritis in my right ankle. It's simply a pain for me to police my brass, so I shoot revolvers. Since I carry what I practice with, I carry revolvers.

I love my autos. I really do, but since my injury they've seen less and less range time. Except the Ruger Mk III.
 
You shoot it to find out

Magnum,

A friend of mine had a COLT Python that was found to have a warped frame. REPEAT, COLT PYTHON. He found out when he tried to shoot it.

My brother had a S&W model 25 with a cylinder that was slightly off bore. It could fire, but not well.

I had a S&W model 28 Highway Patrolman that I had to send back to the factory and S&W model 10 that needed shims to fire reliably.

This is why you test fire a gun. I have even seen a .22 single shot rifle that did not work properly!

Again, that is why you test fire the gun with the ammo you will be using. You should even test it by drawing from the holster as Massad AYOOB once wrote of drawing a DAN WESSON revolver from a holster and having the cylinder fly open on each draw. The holster caught in the cylinder release which is in front of the cylinder on the DAN WESSON.

I put 300 rounds through my SD/HD guns to start with. If they are not 100%, then they get set aside. I have an old SIG P5, the German police version of the SIG 225. It is 100% with ball ammo and WILL NOT FEED HOLLOWPOINTS FOR ANY REASON. So what did I do, I found an ammo that works like a hollowpoint and feeds 100% in the SIG. The COR BON Powerball feeds like ball and solved the problem. Otherwise, I would have relegated it to a range gun.

S&W fixed my model 28 and my brother's model 25 for free, but neither was reliable until they did. I found that my BERETTA 92/96, GLOCK 17/19, SIG 226, SPRINGFIELD ARMORY XD9 and WALTHER P99 were all as reliable as any revolver that I ever used. They also were quicker to reload and had much larger ammo capacity. So why would I choose a less capable gun?

My BERETTA 96's have never had a misfeed or jam. The only failure I can remember was a round that did not fire on the first try, but did on the second.

Other pistols did not prove to be this reliable, these have and those are the ones I use for HD/SD.

In the end, it is up to you to decide what constitutes reliable.

Jim
 
I'm like 460Kodiak, I've got an 3" SP 101 by the bed, a Colt Trooper just outside the bedroom door, an S&W 629 out in the family room, all revolvers. I've had pistols, they shot pretty good, but once a "jammer", they get relegated to off duty chores, gun range time. Always reliable revolvers, never jam on you, guess they can, and when they do, they get fixed or become gun show fodder!
 
You trust it when it's given you troubles in the past by fixing the troubles. Guns aren't magic, they're machines. Fix what doesn't work, test it to make sure it is fixed, and then live the good life.
 
I plan on using a Ruger GP100 as my car carry gun once I finalize my CCW permit. I will have a separate gun on my person for extra-vehicular activities (think I just coined a new tacticool gun training video term) which will possibly be the new Remington R51 9mm autoloader.

magnum.jpg

Why this revolver for in the car? Because it's what I shoot the most and am most comfortable with. It's also highly reliable, powerful, and accurate. Not to mention very intimidating. This gun serves as my primary home defense handgun in the meantime.

I know it's not for everyone, but the revolver still has a place in this world for defense work for those who value it's strengths and who are willing to train with them.

YMMV.
 
It sounds like some of your problems may be magazines as much if not more than the guns. I have two semi’s that are 100% reliable with pricy factory mags, but not worth a darn with an assortment of after market ones.
 
If one relies upon an auto-loader for self defense, then one simply MUST practice failure drills.


The good news is that when an auto-loader fails, it can usually be corrected quickly.

But when a revolver fails, it is usually anything but a quick fix.
 
As said above, revo's are reliable until they AREN'T. A semi is a LOT easier to get back to working order (short of a double-feed), than a revo that threw a bullet forward or just hardlocked the clockwork (S&W Bodyguard 38, for instance).

Also, with a revo, you're paying for your reliability in speed and ease of use - a semi is point-and-click. Revo's REQUIRE active training on a consistent basis to harness the heavy DA trigger, very direct-recoil, and more intricate reloading procedure. Also, even with training, a semi IS faster to shoot and reload, NO contest.

So, if both are maintained meticulously, and proper ammunition is selected, both will come up pretty even in reliability.

I keep my revo not for the reliability, but because it's easier to hide than any semi I've found (that rivals the power my revo puts out), it dumps ALL spent brass directly into my hand, it's stupid easy to reload said brass, and the fixed barrel makes it inherently more accurate than most semi's I've played with.
 
It is important to note as others have, that revolvers can jam, and when they do, they usually become useless. A semiauto usually is much easier to get back in the fight.

However, I think your chances of a revolver actually binding up or becoming useless is much lower than with a semi.
 
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Sounds more of a revolver vs. 1911 post. And of those two I'd rather have the revolver, my semi autos tend to stay of the Glock variety.

But as others have mentioned, revolvers can and do fail and when they do (personal experience), they're usually out of the game period, there really isn't a quick fix when a revolver messes up. With a semi auto, the majority of the time you can clear the problem very quick.

But I like both and hope to pick up another GP100 in the future, I shouldn't have sold the one I had.
 
I have been shooting in various competitions for over 40 years. I shot revolvers exclusively for decades. For the type of shooting sports I was engaged in, PPC and the National Shooter's League, revolvers ruled the day. When I got into the early Bianchi type matches, I still shot revolvers. I shot double action only across the board.

As times changed, I migrated towards semi-auto pistols. The Clark long heavy slide, Gold Cup, tuned Wilsons from the early days, etc. As time on the clock was introduced and round counts increased in the newer games, (IPSC for instance), the revolver lost ground. I even stopped packing a 2 1/2 S&W 19 in favor of the 39 and 59, P7M8, etc.

I have fired hundreds of thousands of rounds through revolvers, and yes I have had them lock up tighter than Ft. Knox. I have also had some problematic 1911 style guns that didn't run well. The fact of the matter is, it is relatively easy to produce, trouble shoot, and tune 1911s so they run like the Energizer Bunny. I don't understand why anyone would own a semi-auto that won't go tens upon tens of thousands of rounds without a hitch.

Where the problem arises is with quality control. It really irks me to spend over a grand for a 1911 only to have to tune the extractor and ejector, do a trigger job, etc. Fortunately, we do have guns like the XD, M&P, PPQ, Glock and the list goes on that run very reliably.

I also get really tired of the go to an IPSC match mentality and watch the race guns puke. You folks do know that the vast majority of feeding issues you see at IPSC matches are shooter induced with crappy reloads don't you?
 
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