Your thoughts about wheelguns and semiautos

[Redbeard]

I was out frog gigging last night. (Bear with me--- this will make sense in a bit) I normally use a really cool gig, a spring loaded jaw set that snaps and grabs the little dudes on contact. It has always worked and I've never had an injured frog get away only to live out his hours/days in bloody, desperate agony. Except last night, the thing kinda fell apart on me. One of the rivets popped out and rendered the whole thing useless. If I had been using a standard gig, I'd have bagged several frogs. So that ended that frogging trip.

This anecdote comes into a special focus in my mind because I'm contemplating a "serious" caliber handgun for family defense and CCW. I love semiautos, and I have had the P99 in mind for a long time, as it's just a grown-up version of the P22 I've been shooting for several years. BUT: I know that revolvers just have fewer moving parts, which means fewer chances to break or fail. As in my frog gigging incident mentioned above, the fancy/schmancy tool is great when it works, but a real drag when it doesn't. The consequences are, I dare say, graver when the tool failure is on the part of a CCW weapon.

But is my intuition here correct? Are semiautos that much more prone to failure than revolvers?

Thanks for your opinions and insights!

[1Admin]

For personal defense, I think your better off with a semi auto.

That being said, the big advantage of a revolver that most people miss is when your fighting for your gun. You can make "contact shots" without fear of jamming up your weapon. Most semi autos once the muzzle gets pushed in it won't fire. Rolling around on the ground fighting over a weapon or even standing up fighting over a weapon this does come up from time to time.

But it's nothing that you can't train yourself out of.

I have a Taurus 99 from 1989 that has 30,000 or so rounds through it. I've replaced the rear sight pin a couple times, that's it. Now it will jam when it's dirty and dry though.

[eeyore]

I live in the Peoples Republic of Maryland, but i know people that carry alot. If you going to carry in a "serious" caliber, the revolvers are much wider and harder to conceal. They all carry 45's and they are semi autos.

Revolver can get out of time and can fail also. They have pluses, like not leaving empty shells to slip on, it does not fling them in face when they eject.

In my experience the biggest reason semiautos fail is due to bad magazines and not being clean.

[thereisnospoon]

One of the age old questions.

Find and read a copy of JIm Cirrillo's books...Tales of the Stakeout Squad, Guns, Bullets and Gunfights, Modern Day Gunfighter and Secrets of a Master Gunfighter.

This guy is a no BS been ther- done that street cop that has survived several gun battles.

Very enlightening stuff.

All that being said, I carry a G27 most days, but also have a S&W model 640 .357 Mag revolver as well. Both have there good and bad points.

Most important, it's the training with the weapon than the weapon itself.

[Redbeard]

Thanks, guys. It seems a lot to me- based on the responses thus far- that the biggest thing is just to get one or the other and get good with it.

Still don't know which one, tho...

[Bearman202]

Redbeard, there are plusses and minuses to both, as the people here have said. Semi autos offer larger magazines, along with the possibility of jamming. Wheel guns, if maintained at all, won't jam, and have the additional benefit that if you get a bad round, you've got a good one coming up. More to the point, I have noticed that I will consistently shoot better with a wheel gun. I think it has something to do with fewer moving parts, no slide clanking around, or something. The thing to do is to get one of each, and practice and see what works for you. An eighteen round magazine won't help you much if you can't hit the red side of a barn with the gun, whereas a six shooter is sufficient if you can consistently put two in the bullseye every time.

[Gordon]

I carried revolvers for 18 years while a cop "back in the day". (center fire, not cap and ball ;<) ) Revolvers have a surprising amount of parts compared to a Glock. I believe a person that has but one handgun is not badly served by that being a revolver. A good police trade in wheelgun chambered in .357 mag with fixed sights and a 4 inch barrel is not a bad weapon. Kind of like the hunter that uses a single shot rifle and always gets his limit- he is good with it. I hammered out a lot of .38 reloads with a Lee handloader and shot a lot for little money. A .38 +P round is good medicine for two legged varmints and a .357 good for the 4 legged kind. (Note- some states do not allow handgun hunting with fixed sighted handguns.) Still got the revolvers and still carry one from time to time. They are a lot less intimidating to use for new shooters I think. I would not tell anyone to not get either a revolver or a pistol. I will say get what you feel comfortable with and spend as much time and money as you can practicing with it.

[Redbeard]

The thing to do is to get one of each

I like the sound of that advice!
"But honey, the voices from teh intarwebz told me I had to get one of each..."

Seriously, though guys-- very good food for thought on this matter. Thanks to all for taking the time to read and respond. Many of the points brought up by one or more of you I've thought of but haven't known how much "weight" to give.

[Bearman202]

One word of warning: I bought a Ruger New Model Blackhawk in .45 Long Colt. This is a revolver, with the load 'em one at a time, swing-out loading gate. It has a 6 inch barrel. First time out, I was hitting beer cans at 50 yards with the thing. It's a literal and figurative blast to shoot, and so accurate that it's scary. In other words, be careful what you try, because you might find yourself falling in love with it. <G> This thing is terrible from a tactical perspective if you've got more than six targets, but for less than that, somebody got a problem.... Maybe I'll carry it, with the Springfield XD-9 with five 18-round mags as backup....

[rkramseb]

Well..being I'm an ole f@rt, my first weapon was a S/W mod 66....real fine piece...now carry either a Glock 21 or Kimber Pro Carry II. It depends on my thought process at the time I walk out the door to work...or where I am heading. May take both of them. Both are equally fine weapons, and if you can shoot, are comfortable with auto loaders..then you are good to go...an weapon is good if/when you need .

[rice paddy daddy]

Around the homestead I prefer revolvers for one reason: being left handed the controls on an auto are not always easy for me, and with a revolver all I have to do is draw and fire. Handy when one accidentally surprises a rattle snake, or spots a possum exiting the hen house.
I have a few 1911's, a few double action revolvers, but my favorites are single action revolvers, both Rugers and Colt SAA clones.
I don't carry on my person, except on my own property, but here in Florida it's ok to have loaded weapons in your vehicle so the truck has a 357 magnum snubbie in the glove box and a 4" 357 magnum in the console. And under the rear seat is a 12 ga pump.

[BigJohn]

Revolvers or semi-automatics?
This question was supposedly answered decades ago, but it still gets a rise out of people, including me. Here is my two cents.

Automatic pistols are potentially much better combat weapons than revolvers. They hold more ammunition, conceal easier, shoot faster, load faster and may have a slight edge in accuracy. Nobody would EVER choose a revolver over an auto if the auto didn't have a dismal record for reliability. The auto camp will tell you that those problems (from back in the 70s mostly) were due to bad ammunition, poor maintenance, poor pistol design etc. I agree with them on all of these points. But, having fired thousands of rounds out of dozens of designs of both types...I still trust a revolver more than I ever will an automatic.

The two things a revolver has over an auto is simplicity and reliability. Revolvers don't have a safety and you don't have to make sure you have chambered a round, so they are much better for beginners or absent minded people. Even a beginner can load them and see positively that they are loaded or unloaded. The chance of a misfire or unintentional discharge is greater with an auto.

They are also more reliable...but it's not that simple. Both function well under most conditions and I believe the revolver is actually a little more delicate. If you drop both, the revolver is more likely to malfunction afterward. But here's the thing....Murphy's law is strictly on the side of the revolver.

Pistols are meant to be last ditch emergency weapons. When you need a pistol, you REALLY need a pistol. It has to work every time under any conditions.

The auto, because it depends on it's own power to cycle the action, is more sensitive to dirt and crud than a revolver. Even a filthy, rusty revolver will almost always fire. If you are in a dusty or muddy environment, the revolver is less likely to let you down.

The auto is more sensitive to bad or odd ammunition. A revolver will shoot light or heavy or reloaded ammunition with round-nose, hollow-point, pointed, or any other bullet shape without a hiccup. If a round fails to fire, you simply squeeze the trigger again to fire the next chamber. Some automatics are downright finicky about bullet shape or amount of recoil. Revolvers eat pretty much anything you can stuff into the chamber.

Magazines are a strength, but can also be a weakness. If your magazine gets damaged (bent feed lips for instance) it may malfunction. If you leave an auto magazine loaded for years, it might not work when you need it. (Modern, quality magazines are supposed to be immune to spring weakening....but have you tried it? Are you sure of ALL of your magazines?) A revolver can be left loaded forever with no wear or damage. You can leave a revolver in a bedside drawer for 20 years and it will come out blazing....every time.

In the Army, I have witnessed thousands of misfires, misfeeds and other mishaps over the years with the M9 (Beretta 92). Under normal circumstances, you can't jam one of these things. I own one of my own and it's capable of firing hundreds of rounds at a time without a problem.... but stuff happens. Bad ammo or bad magazines or bad maintenance caused most of the problems I have witnessed. The point is, I have very rarely seen a revolver malfunction no matter how it was abused, so I tend to trust them more.

Don't get me wrong. I own and use automatics and trust them...when everything is perfect: Good ammunition, clean weapon, quality weapon etc. But I have a phobia about leaving a magazine loaded, so I don't load my autos unless I plan to shoot them. When something goes bump in the night, I invariably grab a revolver because I KNOW it will fire. For everyday carry, I choose a revolver because I am SURE it will fire even if I haven't cleaned it in months.

Be honest with yourself. If you are the type of person who will keep an auto clean, rotate your magazines, test fire your chosen ammunition and train extensively with your weapon, an auto is your best bet. If you plan to throw your gun in a desk drawer and pull it out once a year...get a revolver.