Why would you carry Revolver over Semi-Auto?

[chihuahuatn]

sgt127 thank you for some great insightful comments above average
Mike

 

[tack]

Guns are a tool, and there is a practice versus performance curve with any tool. I think the learning curve starts a little higher and steeper for the revolver; most can get adequate performance with limited or infrequent practice.

I recommend a revolver for home defense unless you plan to practice frequently. Even if you practice, some of the fastest and most accurate shooters in my local IDPA gang are shooting revolvers. I'm an auto shooter myself, but these men and women are good!

May you be so too.
Tack

 

[ironvic]

I daily carry a S&W Model 60 no dash and love the thing. My first gun was a revolver and I spent many years learning the fundamentals of shooting wheelies. That said, I find the semiauto easier to shoot and I truly enjoy shooting the 1911 and the Sig P-226/P-220. Still, the revolver is always my go-to gun. It points naturally, is super accurate and I feel well armed with it. Some people consider the revolver an "entry level" gun. I consider it a deadly accurate expert's weapon that will serve you well if you take care of it and learn to properly maintain it. Some will also say that the semiauto has more springs to take a "set" and render the gun useless but consider that the revolver also relies on springs, and lots of 'em, to get the job done.

I just bought a used Model 60 and thought at first that it had serious timing issues due to the fact that you could close the cylinder and it would skip a few chambers before the cylinder lock engaged. After tearing it down, I found the internal springs to be caked with old, thickened powder residue, like nostrils packed with hard dried snot. The problem was actually caked and baked gunk in the cylinder lock's spring cavity and the spring itself was packed with hardened residue inside the coils, rendering the gun sluggish on cylinder lock-up. So I find revolvers to be just as complex in their lockwork as a semiauto and they need just as much maintenance as any other weapon to keep them running in optimal condition.

I mostly choose the revolver because it's a versatile weapon. With the wheelgun you can shoot anything that fits and it won't care if it's a full wadcutter, semi wadcutter, round nose, flat nose bullet; high or low powered charge or even a mix of calibers-.38 Special mixed with .357 Magnum in the cylinder for instance. The sights remain where they need to be, before, during and after the firing cycle. The semiauto's sights, in large part, move with the slide during the firing sequence, forcing you to reacquire them in 2 stages with every shot due to recoil impulse and back & forth movement as the slide cycles. Unless you're shooting an older military style 1911, the tiny sights and milled sight channel can be a problem with small revolvers, especially the S&W J-Frame. I put a little Testor's bright orange enamel on my front sight to help acquire them in most lighting conditions and find the sight picture easy to use with this simple fix. Even though it's made for plastic models, the Testor's paint is rugged, doesn't flake off and it's not at all susceptable to common gun solvents like Hoppe's No. 9 once it cures, if the sight is properly prepped with alcohol before applying the paint with a fine brush.

There it is, all things considered, make mine a pocket revolver.

 

[doc2rn]

I can put all 6 rd into the size of a half dollar at 25' with my s&w. If I cant stop what I am shooting at with 6 I better be runnin. I dont spray n pray cause each projectile released has a lawyer attached...good enuff reason for me.

 

[bullbarrel]

I prefer the revolver for the reasons cited above, plus I dislike the lump that results in my holster from a mag holding 16 rounds + one in the chamber. I speak of the striker plastic auto. It's like with the old VW Beetle. Drivers would buy it for gas efficiency then load it up with extras to defeat their purpose. With a .357 or .38 Special you can better distribute your ammo. Five rounds in the gun and another 5 in a speedloader attached to the other side of your belt.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

easyg: I expect it is mostly because my 1911 is an RIA nickel plated GI model. Very tiny, very shiny sights. There is also the point that I haven't been able to do as much load development on it because 158gr LSWC is cheap and 130gr JRN (.38 super) is not as cheap.