# Revolver Vs. Pistol



## ARMARIN (Apr 8, 2017)

*Reliability:

Hands down the innate simplicity of the revolver design makes it vastly superior to the pistol in the reliability department. 
No worries about faulty magazines, followers, spring pressure. No FTE issues or feeding problems. Broken ejectors or worries about which ammo the pistol 'likes' FMJ or JHP or any specific brand. 
With a wheel gun "you" decide what ammo type U like not the gun! You may load semi-wadcutters and she will not complain. 
Even if there is a failure to fire the shooter does not have to take 'time out' in a gun fight and clear the dud round manually. With a revolver he simply continues shooting.

Simplicity

For a newbie to the fire arms world i almost always recommond a wheel gun over a pistol. its far more simpler to operate then a pistol

Choice:

The .357magnum can also fire the .38 spacial. My .32 S&W long can do .32 s&w short and in a pinch even .32 acp ( A pistol round) However I can just imagine stuffing my .32 revolver round in the .32 pistol! Boom if I ever were able to stuff it inside the gun!

Safety:

IMHO one of the most crucial differences between the wheel gun and the pistol is that the pistol cycles a fresh round "after" it has been fired. While the revolver completes its cycle "before" discharge.
How does it affect the safety of the weapon?

Well. The safest way to carry a firearm is condition 3 or chamber empty. Unfortunately if the stuff hits the fan. All you have to pull the trigger on a pistol suddenly all u get is a click.. U can go on clicking ad infinitum. Untill you charge the weapon manually u wont get anywhere. 
However, with a wheel gun even when there is an empty chamber under the hammer when you squeeze the trigger the piece will fire. The rotary mechanism will ensure there is a fresh round whenever the trigger is pulled.

Quantity vs. size:

The size of a pistol round is limited to the size of the grip. It is possible to stuff a .357magnum round in a desert eagle, but you would have to be a giant to conceal it let alone fire it comfortably.. if u have normal sized hands that is. It is a huge, heavy chunk of metal. 
A titanium 7 shot .357 magnum Taurus snubbie can easily be dropped in an ankle holster and the owner will barely feel it is there!
Besides, the chances are if you cant do something with 7 or 8 .357 magnum rounds, you probably wont get a chance to do with 17 9mm rounds either.

The two big advantages a pistol has over a revolver is ammo capacity and ease of reloading. Also, if you tend to be finicky over safeties, pistols actually offer a better variety of options to choose from (SAO, safety, safe trigger, decocker, firing pin block, etc). Pistols, in general, also tend to be thinner than revolvers, making them less conspicuous while CC-ing.

Ease of handling:

I have used both as my EDC. But I found the task of unloading the chamber every time I came back home and then re-stuffing the 17th round back in the magazine, odious at best. I stopped abusing my thumb nail and simply shifted to my revolver. I also don't have to worry about spring fatigue anymore.

More tolerance for different gripping styles

i have yet to see a wheel gun fail to fire/extract due to limp wristing or injuring a thumb or fingers because the shooter allowed it to hover close to the slide.

(I made such an error once and am lucky my thumb is intact)

Security

It also does not leave 'calling' cards behind on the scene of an incident. I like my brass with me not strewn all over the road. 

you get what u are promised

one more edge a revolver has over pistol, in revolvers you get exact barrel length you are promised with same length of rifling not like pistols where length of chamber (a feed ramp as well in CZ's case) is deducted from advertised barrel length

There was an incident when me and my friends were driving back from a very big gun deal and on the way back on the Mauripur road we saw a bunch of moter bikers following us. I immediately charged my 9mm pistol&#8230; Or tried to at any rate. I fumbled and the slide got stuck half way. It took me a good 10 minutes to clear the jam. Luckily for me my friends and our money bags the bikers were just a bunch of kids coming back from the beach. But I learnt my lesson that day. From that day I am carying a .38 Colt detective special revolver.

Have a good cigar and regards
ARMARIN*


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

Well, when I started shooting, I thought revolvers were simpler than semi autos. That's because I had never seen the inside of a revolver. BUT, when I first removed the side plate on a S&W, I said, "Wow...look at all these little parts!"

And, in situations where the gun is likely to get really dirty (sand, mud, grit) a revolver will stop working much sooner than an auto & will take much longer to restore to functioning. Revolvers have several openings where things will get in & prevent functioning. However, in non-combat conditions, IMO, they are equal in reliability.


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## Philco (Apr 17, 2012)

I like to deal with real life experience rather than the hypothetical. In my real life, the only gun that I've owned that totally failed to fire no matter what I tried to do was a Smith & Wesson REVOLVER. Fortunately for me it was not during a critical situation that this malfunction happened, but it did show me that revolvers are fully capable of leaving you defenseless, just as any pistol is.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

ARMARIN said:


> ...The safest way to carry a [semi-auto] firearm is condition 3 or chamber empty...


That's only true if you haven't been taught how to carry a pistol in Condition 1, loaded, cocked, and locked.
It can be done quite safely. I know that because I've been carrying one or another of them (mostly M1911s) for about 40 years.

It's also not true if you carry a double-action-only (DAO) pistol, with no safety lever, in Condition 1. Its "safety" is its long, firm trigger pull.
I know about that, too, from carrying a pocket-size DAO .45 pistol for about 20 years.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Yeah, every time I see some _motor bikers_ following me, I get my semi-auto pistol out and charge a round. :smt033


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

paratrooper said:


> Yeah, every time I see some _motor bikers_ following me, I get my semi-auto pistol out and charge a round. :smt033


I only do it when there is this many following me......


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

paratrooper said:


> Yeah, every time I see some _motor bikers_ following me, I get my semi-auto pistol out and charge a round. :smt033


Different parts of the world, different occupation, different cargo.


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## Doogan (Apr 14, 2017)

I have owned, and still do own both semi-autos and revolvers. Of the revolvers, I have owned both .44 magnum (S&W Model 29-2), and .357 magnum (Colt Python and S&W 686). While most would treasure the Colt Python, the only safe position is for the hammer to rest on an empty cylinder. That means, I only have 5 rounds at my disposal, rather than the 6 for which it is chambered. With the S&W revolvers, there is a built-in safety that prevents the hammer from hitting the primer of the loaded round until the trigger is pulled or the hammer is cocked (the rebound seat and the hammer block.) In bear country, I prefer to have the 7 rounds available to me, especially if a black bear is charging me at 25 mph! Normally, I use 180 grain .357 magnum rounds when photographing in bear country. 

I fully agree with you when it comes to malfunctions with semi-autos. It's of no importance on the range; however, in a gun fight or an encounter with a bear, a malfunction could result in being wounded, mauled, or killed. Having spent a career in the Army, I love my .45 semi-auto. I say that with some reservation. The 1911 design leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to safety. For those of us who use pistols with the 1911 design, the thumb safety with cocked hammer is the norm. The only 1911 design I own that has a flip-up safety is the S&W Model 439 9mm.When I was in Vietnam, we were issued Colt .45 1911s left over from WWII and Korea. Many of these had not been well-maintained. On one occasion, as I was clearing my .45, I had released the magazine, and was in the process of clearing the chamber when the weapon fired. The round hit right underneath of my Operations NCO's butt while he was sitting on an inverted pickel barrel playing cards with another NCO! The thumb safety was too worn to maintain its locked position and fell during clearing. From that moment on, I only cleared my firearm outside where no one was present. Today, I own a Kimber .45 1911 Super Carry +. While I love the weapon, I don't carry it concealed because I can't see the hammer and safety.


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

Doogan said:


> I have owned, and still do own both semi-autos and revolvers. Of the revolvers, I have owned both .44 magnum (S&W Model 29-2), and .357 magnum (Colt Python and S&W 686). While most would treasure the Colt Python, the only safe position is for the hammer to rest on an empty cylinder. That means, I only have 5 rounds at my disposal, rather than the 6 for which it is chambered. With the S&W revolvers, there is a built-in safety that prevents the hammer from hitting the primer of the loaded round until the trigger is pulled or the hammer is cocked (the rebound seat and the hammer block.) In bear country, I prefer to have the 7 rounds available to me, especially if a black bear is charging me at 25 mph! Normally, I use 180 grain .357 magnum rounds when photographing in bear country.
> 
> I fully agree with you when it comes to malfunctions with semi-autos. It's of no importance on the range; however, in a gun fight or an encounter with a bear, a malfunction could result in being wounded, mauled, or killed. Having spent a career in the Army, I love my .45 semi-auto. I say that with some reservation. The 1911 design leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to safety. For those of us who use pistols with the 1911 design, the thumb safety with cocked hammer is the norm. The only 1911 design I own that has a flip-up safety is the S&W Model 439 9mm.When I was in Vietnam, we were issued Colt .45 1911s left over from WWII and Korea. Many of these had not been well-maintained. On one occasion, as I was clearing my .45, I had released the magazine, and was in the process of clearing the chamber when the weapon fired. The round hit right underneath of my Operations NCO's butt while he was sitting on an inverted pickel barrel playing cards with another NCO! The thumb safety was too worn to maintain its locked position and fell during clearing. From that moment on, I only cleared my firearm outside where no one was present. Today, I own a Kimber .45 1911 Super Carry +. While I love the weapon, I don't carry it concealed because I can't see the hammer and safety.


There is no reason to leave an empty chamber under the hammer on a Colt Python because the Python has a rebounding hammer (similar to the S&W).


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Doogan said:


> ...While most would treasure the *Colt Python, the only safe position is for the hammer to rest on an empty cylinder*...[emphasis added]


While that's true of the Colt M.1873 Single Action Army, it is *not* true of the Colt Python.
The Python has a hammer-block safety attached to its trigger, which permits the hammer to hit a primer only if the trigger is fully to the rear.



Doogan said:


> ...The 1911 design leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to safety...


The 1911 is perfectly safe if it has been well maintained. Its safety device is much better than most other pistol designs, since, if it has been properly fitted, it securely wedges the gun's sear into a position in which it, and the gun's hammer, cannot be released accidentally.
Basing your statement and your preference upon your experience with an overused and poorly-maintained military sample is, I suggest, unfair to a very capable piece of self-protection machinery.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

"you take care of your tools, your tools will take care of you"
I have carried a 1911a1 since Dec. 1969 and have found no good reason to change. I own several and know that when it comes out it will do the task at hand.


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