# automatic vs. revolver



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

this is just a general question for you fellow gun-fanatics, which do you perfer for fun and pleasure: a semi-automatic or a revolver? this is strictly on what you find more fun to you to play around with. not ballistics, carry, personal defense, etc... so please chime in on what you perfer to shoot when your targeting, plinking, trick shooting, etc. this is a question that has no right or wrong answer just personal preference and opinions. please also detail the gun other than action like 9mm s&w for example. i wanna hear some feedback
thanks in advance
45Sidekick


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

my all time favorite plinking guns are the .22cal hi-standard double nine revolvers..... 9 shot, double action cowboy style gun..... just a fun way to shoot without breaking the bank...... my ruger mkII is a close second.


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

nice i bet theyre fun 22s are an all time favorite of mine for "play-time" but the only 22lr pistol i have is a jennings auto


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

what company are the revolvers made by?


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

hi-standard is a long defunct company that made revolvers, autos, rifle and shotguns..... their auto line has been resurrected as high-standard as of late but the revolvers are gone for good i think.


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

oh ok i am not familiar with hi-standard at all, but i have been considering getting either a 22lr or 22mag revolver for fun as 22 calibers are extremely fun to play with, but i havent picked out a particular one yet, ive kinda been thinking bout a snubbie, but the single six rugers are tempting too but idk if i want a 22 pistol with such a large frame and barrel


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

my hi-standard double nine is a convertible, one cylinder is .22lr and the other is a .22mag.... just pull a pin and swap out the cylinder


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

nice sounds like a fun gun the ones that have been standing out to me are the snubbie s&w's but theyre alil pricey from my view on it being such a small caliber, but thats just me lol


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I've never really taken to revolvers, although Jean and I own a few of them. Mostly it's because they're too thick to carry really comfortably.
However, my stashed-in-the-car pistol is a S&W M1917 (.45 ACP, "moon" and "half-moon" clips), and Jean sometimes carries her S&W Airweight Bodyguard (.38 Special).

I really don't like soft rubber grips on pistols either, but that M1917 sports a set of Pachmayrs (that I've modified quite a lot). So you see that my supposedly strong preferences are modified by firm doses of reality and necessity.


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

nice nice but when you go out shooting whats your favorite play-toy handgun to tear stuff up with?


----------



## usmcj (Sep 23, 2011)

If it goes bang, it's been to the range with me. Semi-auto, or wheel gun, bolt or lever.... it's all good.... carry is a different story, for another thread. In the mean time, here's some of my toys........

usmcj's toys....


----------



## FNISHR (Aug 9, 2011)

I'm a semi-auto guy. My G17, Sig P220 and BuckMark are all my buddies.


----------



## ponzer04 (Oct 23, 2011)

shooting any gun is a good time for me. I enjoy shooting my 1911, however it is always a very enjoyable time to shoot my grandpa's revolvers i guess they take the cake for fun times i get to feel like an old west cowboy shooting them plus I never got to touch them till I was like 18 so there is all that built up suspense to them even 7 years later


----------



## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

I've always liked the feel of a small S & W J-frame. It fits my hand and the ergonomics are perfect. And they feel like "quality". I am thinking of getting a 351C, a 10 ounce J-frame in light alloy for the .22 magnum. The recoil is almost nothing. It carries 8 rounds and the ergonomics are the same as the heavy hitting .357 J-frame. Cheap shooting, light recoil, can double as a back up gun (.22 mag is roughly equal in power to a .32 acp).


----------



## DanP_from_AZ (May 8, 2009)

]


45Sidekick said:


> this is just a general question for you fellow gun-fanatics, which do you perfer for fun and pleasure: a semi-automatic or a revolver? . . . i wanna hear some feedback . . .


Until one week ago, I just generally fooled around with my center-fire stuff. Both revolvers and semi-autos. Just pick a couple, and go have at it.

I'd been meaning to get a .22LR semi-auto for quite a while. Like a Ruger Mark whatever. Then I saw pictures of a Browning Buck Mark. Instant lust for the deluxe model. NIB.
After months of searching, it arrived last Tuesday. In "our" Browning Forum here's my current post with two pictures.
http://www.handgunforum.net/browning/28424-finally-got-my-buck-mark-fld-plus-rosewood-udx-grips.html

And if you open my first range report post above this one, it will direct you the Rimfirecentral.com Browning subforum.
My post there details my first 150 rounds through the gun, using NRA Bullseye rules. Done yesterday. With three pictures. That was a lot of fun. The gun is a lot of fun.

This is going to be my "go-to" gun to take along with one or two of my other guns for practice sessions. I never did "Bullseye". Thought it would be boring. 
Standing one-hand shooting at 25 yards is not boring. Unless you are a totally non-competitive metrosexual. :mrgreen:

I'm considering getting into our local Sportsmen's Club again. They have monthly "Club Rimfire Pistol Matches". Using "Modified NRA Camp Perry Rules".
That means 25 yards for all courses of fire. Using 25 yards instead of the "50 yard slow-fire". Yesterday was hard enough at 25 yards. Forget 50 yards for while. :smt1099


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

Sounds like fun guys but it don't sound like many of you have a favorite tho


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

45Sidekick said:


> nice nice but when you go out shooting whats your favorite play-toy handgun to tear stuff up with?


I see guns as tools, not toys, so I don't really "tear stuff up" with them.
When Jean and I go shooting, we exercise what we have been practicing, all of the previous week. Actually, Jean does most of the shooting, since I am teaching her. I get only the minimum amount of practice, as a result.
We both mostly use semi-autos: She has her Kel-Tec P3AT and her M1911, and I have my AMT .45 Backup and my own M1911.


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

oh ok so you dont really take time to plink or trick shoot at all?


----------



## specops (Oct 25, 2011)

For just fun it is real hard to beat a good .22. My current favorites are a Ruger SP101 and a Smith K22 though my Ruger Mark II bull barrel is a real tack driver. If you don't like the Single Six try one of the Bearcats. I've had S&W 22/32 Kit guns and a Combat Master M18 (K-frame in .22 rather than .38) as well as a couple of Colt SAs converted to .22. The SP101 is wearing a Fiber Optic front sight which makes it far easier to see than the K22 but S&W trigger is soooooooo smoooooooth. The Mark II is wearing a 2X scope so it is much easier for old eyes to still find the mark.


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

nice nice


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

45Sidekick said:


> oh ok so you dont really take time to plink or trick shoot at all?


Nope.
Been there, done that. It isn't fun any more.

But I do remember with pleasure setting a TV's CRT on its face in a dump, and hitting its neck from 50 yards away with a .22 LR.
While the CRT crumbled, its neck shot straight up into the air like a Cape Canaveral rocket launch.
Of course, that was more than 40 years ago...


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

Huh that does sound like fun. Its too bad to hear that I love shooting for the challenge that it presents I hate to hear that you could lose the fun out of it


----------



## davidjames911 (Oct 26, 2011)

If you wear clothing where a concealed weapon is going to be noticeable, I would suggest the thinnest of your options. I would love to carry a Glock 19, but wear a tucked in shirt every day which makes it hard. Easy as heck with my Bodyguard 380 though...slip it right into my pocket (with pocket holster). PS> Dont buy it for the laser.


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

45Sidekick said:


> Huh that does sound like fun. Its too bad to hear that I love shooting for the challenge that it presents I hate to hear that you could lose the fun out of it


Oh, I have lots of fun at shooting.
I'm teaching my wife to be a defensive pistol shooter. Teaching someone how to do something well is lots and lots of fun.
More fun, for sure, than blowing up CRT tubes, anyway.


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

Well that's good and does sound like fun. And David it seems like your alil off subject from the op


----------



## Cat (Apr 12, 2011)

Both types are great.Amen.:smt083


----------



## 45Sidekick (Oct 18, 2011)

Great point cat but particularly which is your favorite to play with?


----------



## jtguns (Sep 25, 2011)

For fun and just being cheap, my old Ruger single six is great though i had to buy a new one with a convertble cylinder for 22 mag. Just plain fun to shoot also my ruger mark 11 is fun but for tack driving its my S&W 41 can't be beat
just my thoughts
JT


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

My favorite 'fun' gun is a Springfield Loaded Champion, in .45 ACP. I get a big kick out of shooting the flop-down steel silhouettes in the head, at 20 yards. It can be fairly challenging when you try to speed it up.

A close second, and much cheaper, is the Walther P-22. I have to scoot up to about 10 yards for semi-rapid fire, and it won't knock the steel silhouettes down, but it is still great practice.

I like revolvers, especially my old S&W Model 66, but I only shoot them when I'm in a more 'deliberative' mood.


----------



## bergoff (Sep 15, 2011)

My favorite gun is my Ruger mkii with a 10" barrel and houge grip. All my friends love shooting it also and its been super dependable.


----------



## Russ (Aug 19, 2011)

I enjoy my Ruger single six 22lr revolver 6 inch barrel. My 16 year old daughter is a dead eye with the weapon and the small kick makes it a great way to introduce children to the sport.


----------



## dondavis3 (Aug 2, 2009)

I'm left handed 

So for years I mostly shot revolvers.

Auto's didn't have ambi safety's back then

As we came through the 1980' & after there are lot's of ambi safety guns.

Or now there are excellent high quality guns like Sig Sauer / Glock / S&W M&P that do not use safety's at all.

So now I mostly shoot auto's and really prefer auto's.

:smt1099


----------



## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

The firepower advantage of an auto can be mitigated by the use of moon clips. Almost any revolver can be converted to use moon clips and they load as fast as a magazine.

See: Welcome to TK Custom.com & Moonclips.com


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

Packard said:


> The firepower advantage of an auto can be mitigated by the use of moon clips. Almost any revolver can be converted to use moon clips and they load as fast as a magazine.


this is not true, its MATH...... 
i have a pt92 with 18round magazines, 2 mags would be 36rounds.... to change from an empty mag to a full mag takes 2 seconds.....

a 6 shooter of any kind would take 3 seconds to reload with moon clips AND 6 reloads to equal the 36 rounds..... so 3x6=18 seconds IF each reload went off perfectly.

2 seconds vs 18 seconds...... not the same, advantage NOT mitigated.... just opinion based on nothing


----------



## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

TedDeBearFrmHell said:


> this is not true, its MATH......
> i have a pt92 with 18round magazines, 2 mags would be 36rounds.... to change from an empty mag to a full mag takes 2 seconds.....
> 
> a 6 shooter of any kind would take 3 seconds to reload with moon clips AND 6 reloads to equal the 36 rounds..... so 3x6=18 seconds IF each reload went off perfectly.
> ...


Realistically, for civilians who are not supposed to get in gun battles, but are supposed to use their weapon for defensive purposes only, five rounds is probably enough. Ten rounds almost certainly is; and the second moon clip will certainly enough.

I am certain that there is some circumstance that could be imagined where a civilian would require 36 rounds, but I've not seen that in any news account in the last 30 years that I've been carrying.

And the moonclips I am talking about carries the full cylinder worth of ammo; I think you are over-estimating the time differential. The only time difference will be the amount of time it takes to swing open the cylinder--1/4 to 1/2 second should do it. So for the first 15 rounds would be more like 9 to 10 seconds differential.

However if you are in disagreement with the Crips or the Salvador Maratrucha, then that amount of fire power makes sense.


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

Packard said:


> Realistically, for civilians who are not supposed to get in gun battles, but are supposed to use their weapon for defensive purposes only, five rounds is probably enough. Ten rounds almost certainly is; and the second moon clip will certainly enough.
> 
> I am certain that there is some circumstance that could be imagined where a civilian would require 36 rounds, but I've not seen that in any news account in the last 30 years that I've been carrying.
> 
> ...


well using your like for PROBABILITY then, you shouldnt carry a firearm ever because based on probability, you will never have to use it.

use anticdotal evidence to refute math.... argue against the numbers based on your recall of 30 years of news.... justify it however you want, wrong is wrong everytime.... and you assertions about the equality of the styles of weapon are wrong. everytime


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

Quote Originally Posted by Packard "

However if you are in disagreement with the Crips or the Salvador Maratrucha, then that amount of fire power makes sense."


btw.... 2 of the 3 times i have draw my weapon , it wasnt at crips or Salvador Maratrucha.... once was a Pagan, the other was a Warlock..... make fun or belittle it all you want, but sometimes there is a very bad guy on the wrong end of your gun, and they DO have friends.


----------



## JBarL (Sep 15, 2011)

My favorite is my Dad's Old Service revolver he carried for many years on the police force It's a Smith&Wesson 357 mag model 28 highway patrolman 4 inch it was made in 1969. I absolutly love that gun its a sweet shooter and I carry it concealed In winter time It's big and bulky but I know where it is exactly gonna hit the target. and infact it was made the year I was born so I am really fond of it.

JbarL


----------



## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

TedDeBearFrmHell said:


> well using your like for PROBABILITY then, you shouldn't carry a firearm ever because based on probability, you will never have to use it.
> 
> use anecdotal evidence to refute math.... argue against the numbers based on your recall of 30 years of news.... justify it however you want, wrong is wrong every time.... and you assertions about the equality of the styles of weapon are wrong. everytime


I've been following news accounts (in newspapers and in gun magazines) since I first got my carry concealed permit in 1979. I don't recall ever coming across a legitimate self-defense account where more than 10 rounds were spent. In almost all cases 2 or 3 is all.

I would challenge you to show one actual account of a legitimate self-defense situation where more than 10 rounds were spent. (This would exclude gang warfare which would not fall into the "legitimate" category.)


----------



## usmcj (Sep 23, 2011)

hmmmm, I wonder why the vast majority of IDPA, or IPSIC shooters use semi auto's? Perhaps it's because they can reload faster, and require reloading less frequently than revolvers.


> Realistically, for civilians who are not supposed to get in gun battles, but are supposed to use their weapon for defensive purposes only, five rounds is probably enough.





> Handguns are used in an estimated 2.5 million self defense situations every year


.... _Targeting Guns, Dr. Gary Kleck, Criminologist, Florida State University

_With that frequency of *civilian* use_, _I'll take a semi-auto_..._Any bets on whether revolvers or semi-autos are the most popular carry guns in the United states? I wonder why?

There's no right or wrong here, it's all personal preference.


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

Packard said:


> I've been following news accounts (in newspapers and in gun magazines) since I first got my carry concealed permit in 1979. I don't recall ever coming across a legitimate self-defense account where more than 10 rounds were spent. In almost all cases 2 or 3 is all.
> 
> I would challenge you to show one actual account of a legitimate self-defense situation where more than 10 rounds were spent. (This would exclude gang warfare which would not fall into the "legitimate" category.)


and yet you carry more than 2 or 3 rounds every time you carry..... hmmmmm?


----------



## draak (May 28, 2011)

I have a Ruger Mark II that is fun to play with. My favorite for just fun shooting Is a S&W 686 .357 and a Ruger single 6 revolvers. This coming week end, there is a gun show and I will be looking for a DA .22 revolver, either a Ruger SP-101 or a S&W 617.


----------



## Desertrat (Apr 26, 2007)

For just plain fun....love my Ruger Single Six with 9.5 inch barrel....accurate and a real gas to shoot out in the boonies.


----------

