automatics vs wheel guns

I've used some of both, and have never had a problem with either autos or revolvers,

At work I get to use a Browning Hi-Power thats nearly twice as old as I am and people claim it jams a lot, I've fired thousands of rounds and have never had a jam or misfeed.

My favorite from my collection is my S&W 28-2 .357 revolver 6" barrel, I'm currently working up a load using 180grn hollowpoints, and shooting 38 special has a nice mild recoil and is good for starter shooters too.
 
Lee Enfield said:
This is fairly common. However it is a function of wear (the hand mainly)or abuse (flicking the cylinder closed like you see in the movies & TV bends the crane). Functionally it is not dangerous to the shooter because the firing pin & locking bolt are fixed positions. Bystanders are often not so lucky. Usually the result is just a stinging welt.

When you hear a revolver shooter talking about "shaving" this is what he is refering to. A small amount of lead/jacket material is broken/shaved off when entering the barrel from the cylinder & flies out at an angle to the cylinder. In extreme cases this could result in cracking the barrel "forcing cone" (the slightly tapered area ahead of the cylinder at the face of the barrel).

D
Click to expand...

My understanding is that this is an effect from lack of cleaning your cylinders adequately. When using a .38 special lead round nose cartridges in a .357 revolver, a lead build-up can happen at the front of the cylinder chamber. Firing the .357 round after this build up can cause the "Shaving" of the bullet jackets. My Pop and I love to shoot .38sps. in our .357's all the time to get the economical bang for our buck. One day, Pop took a shot beside me and I instantly felt a stinging sensation on my hand. Pop had a nasty cut on the thumb of his trigger hand. You can bet that I gave his .357 cylinders an intense scrub after that crap! Believe me, shaving is not a problem with a revolver mechanism. All the problems with revolvers are either to do with lack of proper maintenance and cleaning, possibly wear over time (which semi-autos are more likely to have symptoms from), but the biggest culprit is ammo- usually reloads.

regards!

stevr
 
One thing

One thing I love about revolvers which no one has mentioned is casings. How many of you actually enjoy running around the range picking up your ejected auto casings off of the ground? At my range (POCO), people are so friendly, they pick them up for you and bring them to you. Then I have to say thank you for every two shots I take. I think I hate this form of socializing more than the actual picking up my own. :rolleyes: I guess it's better than shooting at a range full of #######s. :p Finally, My S&W M19 was miles more accurate than both my Norinco 1911a1s and never failed. Where my Norcs refused to feed from anything but the original Norc magazines. I just dig wheelguns more. I'm not too worried about combat capability or anything. I shoot for fun, so I shoot what I like. After that, if I really needed a weapon to protect my life, in my world I don't forsee needing more than a 357 revolver. And I like stainless too. Low maintenance surface, less prone to rust. I don't care about my "enemy seeing the glint", paper targets are pretty harmless. In self defense, what would it matter inside my apartment? Those are my thoughts.
 
IMO every gunnar should have both. The only problem that I have with my revolver is my reload too hot , the primer back out just a little and blind the cylinder. I have to go gun smith with a loaded gun because I can take the ammo out. Both semi and wheel gun has its own fun which cannot replace by the other gun. Semi is easy to clean while wheel gun will take you a lot of time to clean the cylinder. I love them both.
Trigun
 
lets run a small list of problems comparing the two.

Auto's
stove pipes
double feeds
failure to fire, resulting in a "tap rack"
worn or broken magazines
failure to eject, requiring an "unload-reload"
Limp wristing
Can be ammo specific
Shooter can become trigger happy(either intentionally or unintentionally)


Revolvers
E rods backing out
Light strikes
out of timing
blown primers, resulting in total firearm failure
over heated cylinder/casings, causing failure to eject
More parts than an auto
usually heavier
usually bulkier
limited(see smaller) capacity
no external safety

Should you have to single load or only partially reload your revolver, do you think you will remember which way the cylinder turns, and where to put your rounds? I'd really like the first trigger pull to be the loaded chamber and not one of the empty ones.

Lets not forget that should you not allow all rounds to fall forward and seat properly then the cylinder doesn't close.

Spare ammo IMO is a lot bulkier as compared to the magazine of an auto(which sports on average nearly twice the capacity ) to carry

Loss of night vision due to excessive blast from cylinder gap(usually on magnums )

You must completely render your firearm useless to execute a reload/tactical reload, as compared to an auto which can be used while performing a tactical reload.

Lights and other accessories are much harder if not imposible to mount.

Limited options in regards to sights(on some models)

Single handed reloads are tough to say the least and much more time consuming.

No indication you've fired all 6 rounds, except hitting on a fired chamber, or is it just a bad round? Maybe a light strike? So do you keep pulling the trigger or execute a reload and possibly dump good rounds with the bad?

Cleaning is much more involved than an auto.

Usually lack a lanyard loop

Heavy double action trigger pull....For every shot.

harder to produce fast pairs

Regular maintenance to ensure proper timing

Gas cuts on the top strap

I might have missed something so feel free to add anything.

CF
 
Last edited:
CanadianPackRat said:
I shoot a S&W 686 which I put 357 mag loads through almost exclusively. I have never had a failure or a problem.

shooting the 686 is a blast! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

Same here,

My S&W 686 that I bought back in 1982 is the most reliable, accurate handgun that I have ever had, I love my Sig P226, and have had Semi auto Berettas, Walthers, Rugers, Para's etc. If I could only have one handgun it would be my 686. The semi's are fun and have more capacity for sure, but hands down the 686 would be the only choice.
 
I shoot revolvers i like em i think there safer.
All mine are DA and i know when the suckers are ready to fire,
Call me paraniod but Arnt autos a tad more likely to have a acidental discharge (Like that cop on Van Island recently)
Know ones mentioned safty but i think its an important factor.
I only fired Autos a couple times and it was fun but i like the old wheel guns myself.
 
Autos are no more dangerous than revolvers... Provided the user has proper training and uses it. I don't have anything against revolvers either, I think they're fun to shoot and provide a well rounded handgun experience.

CF
 
I think an argument can be made that the revolver is more hazardous to shoot due to the debris which is ejected through the cylinder gap upon firing. This material has burnt more than one tyro's fingers, and has undoubtedly resulted in eye injuries when the piece ifs discharged close to a fellow shooter or bystander. Of coarse once one understands the dynamics of the revolver such problems are resolved.

The safety issue with regards to violent interpersonal contact is best addressed by training and mind set. The operation of the particular firearm - long or short - must be completely understood by the armed individual, and there lies the difference between safe and unsafe. A man who puts his fingure in the trigger guard while drawing his weapon is unsafe with any gun, because he hasn't been trained to be safe. Therefore I would suggest that the shooter is either safe or unsafe, and that this is quite independent of the firearm, be it revolver or auto.
 
i hear ya on the brass issue- i started off with a 1911a1 (mkiv, series 70) colt in 38 super way back in 73 or so, then got a 45 auto( same mk and series btw- just luck) got a beretta 92,- had to get a progressive because i was going through a lot of brass- then i finally got tired of "policing" and got a revolver- it's a lot easier on the back if you're done a lot of hard work- that bend over business gets to be a real pain after you've gone through about 300 rounds or so- which was no big deal back in the day when we had 15 round mags- loing story short, the autos are safe queens now( one of them's tricked out pretty nice too) and the ruger redhawk gets the exercise-
 
Revolvers and pistols

I own both and have had many different ones. Revolvers are defintely more reliable. That is because they are a simpler design. I am gonna cause a controversy here and say that $ for $ they are inherently more accurate than autos. I own and love both types biut I will always pick up a wheelgun first. I have had very few serious problems with either type but I clean them before each trip to the range. Revolvers can shave lead and standing at the line with cylinder flash at your side is not a pleasant sensation. That is my TCW.

Wade:)
 
dingus said:
I shoot revolvers i like em i think there safer.
All mine are DA and i know when the suckers are ready to fire,
Call me paraniod but Arnt autos a tad more likely to have a acidental discharge (Like that cop on Van Island recently)
Know ones mentioned safty but i think its an important factor.
I only fired Autos a couple times and it was fun but i like the old wheel guns myself.
Click to expand...

Speaking of safety... I was at "Reliable Firearms and Tackle" in Vancouver and I was asking about what he generally deals with in handguns-he was very friendly and helpful. NOT LIKE the young go*f at Hunter's in Surrey which I will never go to again! Anyways, he started speaking about guns that he doesn't carry- Norinco. I asked why and he said they are generally they're junk. He mentioned that one time he got the 1911 copy in. He mentioned how he would engage the safety and after 2 pulls of the trigger the gun would fire! Scary!!! I'll stick with my 686-5 and my 686-6. If I need more then 6 rounds (or 7 in the case of my 686-6) then I'm bringing my cell to call 911 and or running. If a guy needs more then 6 rounds it's called a war.

PS I absolutley love Q Island ! I was very close to buying a lot in Kanish Bay. Anything left?

stevr
 
Petriw, your comment about revolvers being "simplier" by deaign and therefore being more reliable is wrong. Check out this link and do the math http://chris.cc/rva.htm . Revolvers can be more user friendly depending on the skill level of the shooter, but part for part, they're as complicated if not more, and the problems associated with revovlers are quite numerous. between an auto and a revolver with the same number of parts, you're still only getting 6 shots vs. 8 in the worst case. probably 6 vs 10 rounds on average.

Stevr,
The fact that the guys at reliable don't like Norincos, and basing your opinion on reliablity based on this fact is quite comical. Norinco could produce a butter knife and it would still fail. Using a Norinco as the benchmark by which all autos are to be judged based on reliability as compared to revolvers is a heavily slanted view.

CF
 
I think that what ever you can hit the target with , and do it safley is a good thing . Each has it`s own graces and faults . Just remember "appinons are like bad pennies , everyone has one in their pocket and can`t wait to give it to some one else . thanks in advance Joe
 
Last edited:
Mr00Jimbo
Revolvers will fire several rounds with the muzzle buried into something on top of you. A semi-auto pistol will jam after one shot if the barrel and slide are touching said thing on top of you. This is my opinion of the only major advantage of a revolver. Having said that a out of battery detonation from a semi-auto from the same scenario is very rare and unlikely but possible. Guess it comes down to your intended use. Ohh and by the way a polymer pistol exploding in your hand makes for a strong argument for revolvers. I think if you are running steel framed pistol you are just as safe and have a better all around firearm depending on your use. If you are comparing a polymer semi-auto to a revolver I would say a revolver is safer. If comparing a steel framed semi-auto to a revolver I believe the safty margin is fairly even except in the above mentioned scenario. This is only my opinion....detonation of your mag in your hand on a polymer pistol SUCKS....my right hand still is not the same.
 
I like shooting both, you must own one or more of each.:D When I go to an outdoor range in the cold of winter, I prefer shooting revolvers. Picking up brass out of the snow sucks. Xray
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom