why the revolver?
One of the issues that come up with certain regularity in gun magazines and Interwebs discussion boards is "Autoloader vs. Revolver". I sometimes contribute to these types of threads against my better knowledge. Sometimes I get approached at the range by folks who see the neat groups the S&W produces, and they are invariably surprised to see they've been made with a revolver...in double-action, no less. Sooner or later, they ask why I prefer to shoot and carry a wheelgun instead of the auto, which has higher capacity and faster reload times.
In this post, I'll consolidate all my pro-wheelgun arguments, and I'll have a neat and handy list to copy and paste into the next "round vs. flat" discussion.
Why I prefer revolvers over semi-auto pistols:
Simplicity: That's the biggie, right there at the top of the list. There are no safeties to manipulate, no slides to rack, and no superfluous fiddle-faddle. The revolver has precisely one external control, and that's the cylinder release. They're easy to teach to novice shooters, and difficult to fudge up under stress. You can see the brass rims of the cartridges at a glance, so you can instantly verify the gun as loaded with a visual check. Simple is good.
Reliability: Semis have come a very long way, but even the most reliable pistol can only ever hope to equal the reliability of a good wheelgun. It'll fire upside down, limp-wristed, or jammed into an attacker's ribcage. The revolver will feed any bullet shape or weight, and it will work with cartridges in a much wider power spectrum than pistols do. A revolver will fire and cycle everything from near-squib loads to maximum pressure barnstormers without the need for changing recoil springs or futzing with feed geometry. In addition, revolver cartridges usually headspace on the rim, which makes the revolver more tolerant to variances in cartridge length than the autoloader, where the cartridges usually headspace on the case mouth.
Look and feel: A revolver looks and works like a mechanical sculpture. It has graceful lines, and you can feel the lockwork when you pull the trigger. Shooting a revolver with a good DA trigger is like therapy. Once you're used to that Zen-like rhythm, shooting an autoloader just doesn't feel right. As a bonus, the wheelgun lets you collect your brass neatly, while the autoloader sprays it all over the place. (I've collected every single piece of brass I've ever shot through my current revolvers...I guess I ought to get that reloading press eventually.) The revolver is simply an elegant and efficient weapon.
Self-contained system: The revolver has no magazines to lose or break, and no mag springs to wear out when left loaded. There's no need to find the kind of magazine your gun "likes", and no need to spend a c-note or two on an adequate supply of spare magazines.
Power-to-weight ratio: You just can't get an autoloader that offers .357 Magnum power in a 15-ounce frame. You also can't get an autoloader at all that offers .454 Casull or .500S&W power.
Ergonomics: There are some very ergonomic autopistol designs on the market, but they still don't match the ergonomics potential of a gun where you can have a custom grip made that is molded off your own hand.
Simpler failure drill: Revolver doesn't go bang when trigger is pulled? Pull the trigger again. A revolver also doesn't have Type II malfunctions (doesn't eject cartridges like a semi does), or Type III malfunctions (has no feed ramp). It's true that revolvers can have their own malfunctions that are tricky to fix quickly, like an empty caught under the ejector star or an ejector rod coming unscrewed, but those kinds of boo-boos are much less common than the various autoloader maladies, and the ones I mentioned can be prevented by proper technique and a dab of Locktite, respectively.
I don't have a problem with autoloaders. I've owned many of them, and they have their own set of advantages. However, I prefer to carry and shoot wheelguns for all the reasons listed above. Having a ppreference doesn't mean that you totally invalidate the other available choices, or that you're "talking bad" about them...if more people got the hang of that concept, we could cut down the onerous "brand fanboy" discussions online by 90%.
Oh, I guess that gives me enough material for one more point for the revolver:
Revolver shooters are a better class of people: You'll rarely ever find another wheelgun shooter approach you at the range or the gunshop counter and lecture you on how their chosen revolver is "the best", that he "carried one like it in the Teams", and that your particular choice is junk. For evidence to support this claim, just go to TFL or THR and observe the discussions in the Semi-Auto Forum and compare them to those in the Revolver Forum. In the SA forum, you frequently find nuggets like "Why Glocks suck" or "Which brand is best", whereas the revolver guys usually exchange pleasantries about each other's guns.
The wheelgun: the weapon of a gentleman. "An elegant weapon, from a more civilized age."
Amen!
I have a copy of your "I lover revolvers because..." posting from TFL in my Treo 650 as I like to be reminded just why I love my wheelguns so...
Looks like I'm going to have to cut and paste this posting to my Treo.
Eric Wayte said...
2:18 PM
I have to agree with most of what you have written; I have a couple of Ruger 22 autos, and a Springfield 1911, but my main love is still revolvers. Some of my favorites are Blackhawks, though most people don't care much for SA revolvers.
Of course, maybe I'm just old-fashioned...
BobG said...
4:19 PM
I own, shoot, load for and carry both revolvers and semis.
When you wrote Simplicity, I nodded. It's one of the easiest platforms to shoot the first five to eight shots. Beyond that it requires training, training, training to get those reloads up to speed, but who needs more than a few shots in a defensive situation anyway, right?
When you wrote Reliability, I nodded again. I mean, sure, the mechanism is a much more complicated system of tiny parts, but it rarely fails.
When you wrote Look and feel, I wavered a bit. Automatics and revolvers both have their aesthetic appeals.
When you wrote Self-contained system, I started nodding again. The fact that you never lose the "magazine" is a big selling point, even if it slows the reload time.
When you wrote Power-to-weight ratio, I agreed on the extreme end (.357, .44spcl), but paused to consider that it is hard to get a revolver that is lighter and still as powerful as some of the new, tiny pocket-autos.
When you wrote Ergonomics, I didn't agree. Revolvers can feel good, but I've never shot one that felt as good as my favorite automatics, but that's a relative thing.
When you wrote Simpler failure drill I was right back to nodding. Doesn't get simpler than that. It'll automatically index a new cartridge and drop the hammer again. Can't get that in an auto.
And then you wrote Revolver shooters are a better class of people. Rather than simply roll my eyes, I decided to read your justification. After reading it, I was forced to come to the conclusion that either a) you've never been to a gun shop, gun show, or gun forum (demonstrably false) or b) you've got some serious selective hearing problems.
You've never heard the pre-lock, pre-agreement, pinned-and-recessed, Performance Center, S&W elitism? You've never heard the Like-a-Rock, eats-double-charged-loads-every-day-of-the-week-and-triple-charged-loads-on-Sunday-unlike-your-wimpy-gun Ruger afficianados? You just don't hear the Colt snobs, the Taurus bashing, the HE-man big-bore shooters, the Rohm GmbH-are-all-Saturday-Night-Specials group, the S&W 686-was-used-by-the-Navy-Seals kiddies, revolver-shooters-are-a-better-class-of-people supporters, or any of the other adolescent nonsense from revolver shooters?
Since I shoot and enjoy both, does that make me guilty of some bizarre sort of miscegenation?
Ben Swenson said...
9:58 AM
Of course not...read back to the part where I acknowledged that I like both, and that they each have their own distinct set of advantages.
Look, every type and brand of gun has its annoying fanboys, revolvers are no exception. However, eight out of ten times I encounter one of those annoying types, or read one of those heated brand war discussions, they center around flatguns. Maybe it's a maturity thing...the barely-21 crowd seems to favor the semi by an overwhelming margin, and that group is generally blessed with strong opinions coupled with limited experience.
Marko said...
10:57 AM
Don't get me wrong, Marko, I know just what you're talking about with autopistol fanboy silliness and I'm not at all trying to put down your choice or your reasons for liking what you like. However, Revolver shooters are a better class of people is every bit as ridiculous and in the same vein as Glock shooters are serious, hardcore badasses or 1911 shooters are true pistoleros or HK shooters are real operators.
Now, make this right. Go buy a reloading press and reload all that brass you've saved up. Folks who reload are smarter, funnier and make better lovers than folks who just save brass.
*grin*
ben swenson said...
1:59 PM
Amen!
Enough said.
Striker
Anonymous said...
2:04 PM
"Maybe it's a maturity thing...the barely-21 crowd seems to favor the semi by an overwhelming margin, and that group is generally blessed with strong opinions coupled with limited experience."
I tend to agree with that observation; most of what they know about firearms is from movies, and the cool guys ALWAYS have the latest gun-of-the-month autoloader. Those in my generation grew up mainly with revolvers; the only auto anyone bothered with was the 1911. Revolvers were what you carried when hiking and kept around for self-defense. There are also some of us who did hunting with them, and there is a better choice of long-barreled, powerful handguns in revolvers.
Just my opinion.
BobG said...
4:38 PM
I had a old stainless steel S&W model 19 combat magnum. Sweet gun. Sold it, and have regretted it.
Been eyeballing a 3" barrel ruger Sp101.
Anonymous said...
7:29 AM
" I had a old stainless steel S&W model 19 combat magnum."
No, you didn't.
You had a nickel 19. If it was stainless, it was a Model 66. :)
Tam said...
10:40 AM
It was a Model 66. Thanks for the mild spanking, Tam. :)
Anonymous said...
7:36 PM
Another reason for me: I freakin' hate loading magazines. Some more than others. Loading cartridges into a chamber, on the other hand, is almost therapuetic.
Les Jones said...
9:34 PM