Are revolvers better?

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For any type of practical use, I have no use for a revolver. I have several, but they are all vintage collection-type guns. Modern semi autos like Glocks, Rugers, M&P's, XD's, etc. are very reasonably priced and boringly reliable. The only exception (for me) would be a magnum revolver bigger than 357 in a place where I was truly concerned about grizzly bears eating me. My Glocks in 40 and 45 are more than adequate for anything I'm going to run up against. If I end up fishing in Alaska, I'll just borrow a friend's dirty Harry gun.
 
A guns role is to launch projectiles at a target in a controlled fashion. Revolvers do this job well. Semiautos do this job well. Revolvers typically have more powerful rounds and are typically a bit more accurate. Semiautos carry as much as 3 times the ammo capacity of a revolver. Better is subjective to what trait you desire most as they are a trade off.

I prefer revolvers. Always have, always will.
 
This is a discussion that will produce no clear cut winner. Everyone will promote the merits of their favorite firearm and why they feel it's the best.

It really boils down to what works best for the individual.

If your comfortable with a semi-auto pistol and shoot it well, then that's what you should carry.

On the other hand if a revolver feels the most comfortable in your hand and you shoot it well...then carry it.

When the time comes to have to use your firearm defensively..you had better be comfortable with it.

Whatever you use, just make sure you practice, practice, practice.
 
Guns..... and handguns are no exception, are like computers. Feed junk in, get junk out. I had a 40 year career , mostly as a firearms trainer, in law enforcement. I started with 1911s, ('70's) (duty and National Match) then revolvers, (80's) then S&W autos, and 1911's (90's), then Glocks (late 90's to present) and other assorted poly framed guns.

In each assigned "phase" of duty handgun, some absolutes came true: there must be good mechanical function, clean weapon, best ammo available. Other things came with that: dedication to the platform; no bashing the current duty gun, period. Familiarity, understanding the platform and theory, and (way) more than the basic training. That is the only way to believe in the gun in your holster.
Revolvers better than autos? For what purpose(s)? I carry both. Autos in town, revolvers in the woods. I believe in, and understand both platforms.
 
I know you said capacity aside, but that is most definitely the main factor of why semis are better for LEO and military use. And ease of reloading. I’m not Jerry Michulek
 
Another perspective. Taking a step back and look at the numbers. Again I will stipulate a self-defense or duty application.

The sales numbers point to semi-autos being significantly more popular than revolvers.

The participation numbers for defense related/derived practical shooting sports (USPSA, IDPA, etc) shows a massive favor for semi-autos over revolvers.

Very few respected self-defense trainers would suggest a revolver over a semi-auto, even instructors still willing to acknowledge that the revolver is not wholly obsolete for self defense.

I don't think you will find any US LE branches that are issued department selected revolvers anymore. Of the departments that allow officers to choose their duty weapon (as apposed to issued a department mandated model(s)) only a small number of those departments would allow an officer to choose to carry a revolver as a primary sidearm. (BUGs are one of the few places the revolver holds on tenuously in the LEO applications).

I don't believe you will find a single modern military that issue revolvers to regular soldiers.


Sliding out of my initial focused self-defence/duty constraint

Even for woods carry/defense and medium/small game hunting the revolver is loosing ground. Your as likely to see someone in bear country with a 10mm/45 Super/460 Rowland etc semi-auto on their hip for bruin defense as your are a revolver in a cartridge starting with 4. (please do no imply they are ballistically equivalent). I know as many, if not more, hunters selecting semi-autos over revolvers for hunting deer, wild-boar, and coyote.

Can you do any of the above with a revolver? Yes certainly! But the numbers are pointing to the fact that the semi-auto is being chosen far more for any of those applications than the revolver is. The popularity of the semi-auto is almost certainly due to the fact that it is perceive by an overwhelming majority to be the best handgun for their application.

I still like my revolvers, alot, but like the light saber the revolver has become, "Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon... for a more civilized age."
 
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I like, carry and use both. Sometimes the semi gets the nod. Other times it's a revolver. A snubby is nice in a coat/jacket pocket where one can squeeze off several rounds (very close quarters obviously) without having to pull it out of the pocket. In any case, I think both have advantages in different scenarios.

Be well all.
 
''I still like my revolvers, alot, but like the light saber the revolver has become, "Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon... for a more civilized age."

Agreed, I'm not old but was taught the 'old' way with a revolver with my grandfather. I'm of the belief if you can master shooting a revolver everything else is easy. As stated by others it takes more skill and practice to shoot a revolver well than a semi. Also sales and popularity have more to do with what is pushed my marketing and retailers. Just because Ford markets their new line of Mustang's, that doesn't make them any better than a classic Shelby.
Don't get me wrong, I have a fantastic plastic and it serves its purpose well.
 
What ever you shoot better, revolver vs semi-auto, is the better choice.

I think the average number of rounds expended in a shoot out is less than the ammunition capacity of a revolver so for the most part, a reload is irrelevant. But some folks feel that carrying several reloads is important and magazines are more efficient than speed loaders.

Semi-autos can be easier to conceal but for a similar sized cartridge, a revolver is probably just as easy to conceal albeit at a fewer number of rounds.

Revolvers are probably more reliable, i.e. less chance of a problem than a similar cartridge chambered semi-auto.

But, I will revert back to the first statement in my post, what ever you shoot better, revolver vs semi-auto, is the one to choose.

Finally, my regular carry firearm is an H&K P30SK semi-auto but I would not feel under-gunned if I carried my S&W Model 642 when I needed a bit smaller profile.
 
Better at what? Handgun uses run the gamut from a boot gun to a bear gun! For most hunting purposes the revolver is ideal. For all other applications the trend of the past 40 years is twords the semiautomatic. For target, SD, law enforcement, and military, the semi auto is King.
 
Defensive encounters can happen up close and fast. Not all but some. If I need my gun to shoot somebody off of me, I would not want a semi auto. I would want a concealed hammer revolver.

One of these will fire until empty even when you have your gun stuffed wrist deep into the belly of your attacker.

That is my reason for carrying a revolver. Maybe it is not a very good one or too far fetched of a scenario.

I want absolute reliability above all else. Generally speaking this means a more simplistic design of construction and operation be it machanical operation or user operation. For example, a simple manual of arms. Some handguns have fewer moving parts, no external safeties which need to be manually manipulated. Ideally no safety lockout devices either.

Your personal protection firearm must be able to make a few shots quickly (a few shots mind you, any more than this is just extra icing) and have appropriate sights for the ranges expected and you as the shooter must have the appropriate eyesight and skill to use those sights effectively at those same expected ranges. Revolvers designed for concealed carry and quite a few small pistols made for the same rarely ever have highly visible large sighting systems. Are they adequate for the ranges you are anticipating conflict?

Could all of these points describe a semi auto just as well as a revolver? Absolutely. Nothing wrong with picking a type (and here is the hard part no one wants to hear) and then practice until it is instinctive. If you do this, then I think you will have quite an amazing defensive weapon independent of action type.

For any other wisdom on the subject read the book down there in my sig line.
 
Springs are big factor in the reliability of any gun, auto feeders have more springs that are susceptible to fatigue that can cause a malfunction than revolvers.
Imho.
 
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WheelGunMan said:
This is a discussion that will produce no clear cut winner. Everyone will promote the merits of their favorite firearm and why they feel it's the best.

It really boils down to what works best for the individual.

If your comfortable with a semi-auto pistol and shoot it well, then that's what you should carry.

On the other hand if a revolver feels the most comfortable in your hand and you shoot it well...then carry it.

When the time comes to have to use your firearm defensively..you had better be comfortable with it.

Whatever you use, just make sure you practice, practice, practice.
Click to expand...

I've spent a lot of time, effort and money, to answer that question for me as an individual. Despite the advantages a semi auto may have over a revolver, a revolver is what I'm competent and comfortable with. So I'm in agreement with WheelGunMan's summary above.
 
I met a guy this week who said he does not like ice cream. I have heard there are folks who pay to be tied up and whipped, for fun. This thread has a guy who thinks a revolver is a superior defensive option to a pistol... can’t ever account for weird subjective tastes I guess. How objectively “right” each subjectively “right” decision might be for each individual is predicated upon the faulty expectation the individual isn’t defective. In many cases, likely most cases, individuals are highly defective, so their subjective “right” decision is rarely objectively so.

I’m a “revolver guy.” Without going to my roster, there are over a hundred of them in my safes, to about 25-30 pistols. I subjectively favor revolvers, and subjectively favor applications for which magnum revolvers have objective advantages over conventional semiauto pistols, so I have much greater use for and interest in revolvers... but other than those few random days here and there where I know I’m not going anywhere populous, I have carried a pistol every day for the last 13years, legally, and allegedly may or may not have had the idea to carry a pistol daily for about 5yrs before that. Why? Because pistols are objectively better civilian defensive weapons.
 
A more appropriate question would be "Are revolvers better for/at ____?"

I happen to prefer them, but that doesn't make them "better". I just happen to shoot them a little better on average, and I enjoy them more.

A pickup truck isn't "better" than an economy car or a luxury car or a minivan. They're just different.
 
The question if a revolver is better than a semi auto depends largely on personal preference; if you like it better and it makes you more confident, then it is better for you.

I carry either a Glock or an old S&W Bodyguard. The Bodyguard is smaller and lighter but a Glock 42 or 43 would cut the difference.
Vanguard_Raven.jpg

Bodyguard-l.jpg

When it comes to target shooting, I love revolvers but there is no perceivable difference in accuracy when top-guns are compared.

Hämmerli_208.jpg

Korth-32320.jpg

So, what I am saying is that I enjoy revolvers and semi automatic handguns alike and do not find one platform universally better than the other but only individual gun models better than others.
 
One area that my revolvers VASTLY outpace my seniautos is in brass recovery.

I love shooting 9mm, 10mm, and 45acp. I despise searching for brass, but despise losing brass even more, especially my 10mm.

I never lose my 38 Special, 357 mag, 45 Colt, 454, or 460 brass.
 
Revolvers are not more reliable than semiautos, at least not for the first shot. That first round out of a semi is already under the hammer and ready to go, but not in a revolver. Maybe if someone comes out with one that can be carried “Cocked and Locked”...
 
FL-NC said:
The only exception (for me) would be a magnum revolver bigger than 357 in a place where I was truly concerned about grizzly bears eating me.
Click to expand...

If you're ever legitimately concerned about grizzly or brown bears, you'll be much better served by bear spray or a 45-70 carbine with +P hardcast than you will with any kind of handgun, especially a piddly little 357.
 
Rudolph31 said:
Revolvers are not more reliable than semiautos, at least not for the first shot. That first round out of a semi is already under the hammer and ready to go, but not in a revolver. Maybe if someone comes out with one that can be carried “Cocked and Locked”...
Click to expand...
? What about DA semis?
 
John Joseph said:
? What about DA semis?
Click to expand...
The first round is still in line with the firing pin, no cylinder needs to turn to move it there. The lock work is about equal, except a lot of DA only semis have a pretensioned main spring so the trigger does a lot less work.
 
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