I notice now most of us older guys (50+)

[jmortimer]

50 and revolvers only. Aside from capacity and we can now get 8 .357 - Revolvers can kill anything on the earth. Aside from the .44 mag pistols and the .50 AE which are close but no cigar, the revolver goes where no pistol has ever gone. From .22 rimfire to .500 S&W to 45/70.

 

[Throwingdown]

I have been off the forum for a while. I found this post funny.

I don't think age has anything to do with gun choice - or if there were really old people here, it may be swords vs. handguns..............

There are quality semi-autos and turd revolvers - the question is, which do you prefer to carry/collect/shoot?

I shoot and carry BOTH. I prefer the quality craftsmanship of the older made US firearms - and some of the newer choices. Nothing says sexy like a polished blued handgun.

Both are equally reliable if maintained properly. Though the cheaper guns on either side can have reliability issues, especially the cheaper semi-autos.

I use both a Glock 30SF and a S&W 629 5 round 357 for belt time. Zero issues with either - ever.

 

[jmortimer]

It was just an observation that rang true for me. The point was not the old "revolver v. semi -auto pistol" re-hash, it had to do with human nature. For CCW either will do. For serious work out in the field the semi- auto pistols generally blow and are anemic. Many seem to evolve to revolvers. Not all of us "upper-middle aged" men go to revolvers but I think the OP has a valid point. You will get FTF and jams (mostly with Semis) with both but in most cases it would be much less trouble with a revolver.

 

[shockwave]

Automatics just feel like toys. They're fun, and if they're working right you can blast a lot of lead out of them. Much respect to the autos.

A full-size revolver, on the other hand, feels like a weapon. You know it will work.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Um....okay. You stay with the wheelgun - a feller SHOULD know his limitations. Because when I pick up either, I know I've got a weapon - and that either one will do the job. Difference bein', a single-stack semi will tuck into a waistband easier than any wheelgun of comparable caliber.

 

[btg3]

The OP alleges there is a correlation between age and handgun choice, which I think is valid... but there is more than one reason.

I was given a brand new autoloader after the arthritic owner realized that he could neither load the mag nor rack the slide. He already had some wheel guns which will suffice for his needs.

As to functional issues with with autos, I would like to see them categorized as to operator error (eg: limp-wristing) or gun problem. And then by gun type (don't mean to rag on 1911's, but every outing I go on, they are ones that don't go bang evert time). That said, as folks get older, hand/wrist strength to control limp wristing with some calibers could be another reason a correlations exists. And for many or those who are proudly numbered in the "greatest generation", perhaps if an autoloader was even considered, it would have to be a 1911 whose crankiness endeared themselves to their owners just like the less reliable automobiles and airplanes of a bygone era.

Me? I'm past 50 and headed to 60. My revolvers outnumber my autos and my recent purchases have been reviolvers. For reliable, no-nonsense defense, I carry and autoloader and hope I am physically able to do so for decades to come.

 

[F1]

"I would like to see them categorized as to operator error (eg: limp-wristing) or gun problem"

So called limp-wristing IS a gun problem. It's a false issue, a hoax.

 

[fastbolt]

So called limp-wristing IS a gun problem. It's a false issue, a hoax.

Dunno that I'd be quite so sure about that ...

I've listened to more than a few armorer instructors discuss the adverse influence that a grip instability/unlocked wrist technique can introduce when it comes to semiauto pistol functioning.

I've also had more than my fair share of opportunity to observe it occur among other shooters, and even experience it myself when the circumstances prevented me from using a sufficiently stable and supportive grip technique because of the activity involved in some shooting drill or other.

Sure, I'd have to agree that it's far more likely to occur when a less strong, smaller stature shooter uses an insufficiently stable and supportive grip technique than when a stronger shooter does does the same, and especially when a lightweight plastic framed pistol may be used at times, but I've seen it happen when a stronger shooter was using a metal framed pistol upon occasion, too. The pistol frame has to remain stable and supportive of the slide's run to the rear and forward again, especially as it relates to the timing of normal feeding.

Sometimes I've been able to induce it in a particular make/model/caliber of pistols, using a particular load, and sometimes I couldn't get it occur regardless of how hard I tried to deliberately induce it.

I remember when we were conducting some T&E with a number of different make/model .40's & .45's a few years ago. Two female shooters of similar physical stature arrived to try a G22 & G21. One of them was arguably a more experienced shooter than the other (or at least had more interest in it).

Neither had any trouble whatsoever shooting the G22. One of them, however, couldn't get the G21 to run right, repeatedly experiencing stoppages indicative of a grip support/unlocked wrist issue. Nobody else had an issue with the G21 that day, using the same ammo (same case), myself included. Maybe if the grip had been smaller in girth and she could have achieved a more solid grip and worked harder on locking her wrist. Who knows?

It can happen, though.

I've got some armorer manuals from different gun manufacturers who list grip problems and shooting with an unlocked wrist as a common cause of functioning issues, too.

There must be something to it, you'd think ... since it does seem to be an issue for some folks upon occasion.

 

[OldCavSoldier]

First "personally owned" handgun was an S&W Highway Patrolman. Second was Colt Combat Commander. Boocoo many years training with the Army and the old M1911A1, then Beretta 9mm. Own half a dozen semi-autos, and the rest of my two-dozen are wheel guns. Love shooting them all. Carry a snubbie wheelgun but also have a Sig .40 available in the house if needed. Bottom line for me (at this time in my life) is the extremely good ergonomics FOR ME of the S&W and Ruger wheelgun. Bought my 20-something son an S&W M686 with 4-inch barrel for his 21st birthday several years ago. He shoots my semi-autos well, but, WOW, he shoots his 686 like it is an extension of his arm......at ranges out to about 50 feet, he just doesn't miss with it!

 

[jmortimer]

"Limp wristed" semi-auto shooters - "don't ask, dont tell."

 

[Scrapperz]

Limp Wristing video

This makes me wonder about limp wristing...personally I think guns were designed to shoot with a firm grip.

Limp wristing videos...YouTube

 

[W.E.G.]

...almost 50

 

[BHP FAN]

51...and MY favorite hand guns are the BHP,followed, and somtimes TIED with the 1911.45 auto,and the 1917 S&W .45 acp revolver...go figure...

 

[carbineguy]

well im 20 and i like revolvers but autoloaders arent any worse than A revolver as long as u clean it and shoot it to get used to it but the main reason people over 50 want revolvers is because someone mentioned before they are getting older and cant load the clip or work the slide and then it tends to jam more on them cause they limpwrist and blame the gun

 

[TexasRedneck]

main reason people over 50 want revolvers is because someone mentioned before they are getting older and cant load the clip or work the slide and then it tends to jam more on them cause they limpwrist and blame the gun

Speak fer yerself, son! Ah'm over 50, have 37 semi-automatics, an' mebbe a half-dozen wheelguns!

Oh - and while ah may be over 50, an' type with a southron accent ah kin STILL figger out how ta punctuate AND capitalize!

 

[gizmodog]

i carried the combat masterpiece as a military policeman.
then used the 1911 on the army state pistol team.
always felt ungunned as a M.P.
i told myself i would never own a revolver ....just to delicate and only 6 rds.

after shooting, taurus,glock,XD-9 & steyr M-9 i have gone back to the revolver for target shooting.

i find it very relaxing cocking the hammer and letting it fall.......

gizmodog

 

[MCgunner]

They might make single stack autos that carry well, but they don't make an auto that ends in MAGNUM.

I've heard rumors of the return of the Coonan. I don't care. I prefer the revolver.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Wrong, moosebreath....Coonan .357 M A G N U M....Desert Eagle .357 M A G N U M....AMT Automag II 22 M A G N U M....MAGNUM RESEARCH INC. DESERT EAGLE - .44 M A G N U M....MAGNUM RESEARCH INC. DESERT EAGLE .357MAG....

How's that crow taste, son???

 

[Mp7]

a big revolver is like a sword.
Your instinct tells you it is a mighty
and reliable weapon.

the first 357 i saw, held and fired was a Dan Wesson 8inch
in black. ... compared to the comlicated look of an auto
... the revolver is a symbol.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I'm 51 and prefer autos.

I told him one good .357 in the right place beats 10 spray and pray 9mm

I disagree that it must be an "either-or" situation. Why can't one be accurate with the 9mm, and have more ammo left in reserve, or for multiple attackers?

 

[Surefire]

Over 30 and have a revolver to semi-auto percentage of about 50%.

With this said, I prefer revolvers and want to get more.


Want to add the following once the budget allows:
Alaskan (.44 Magnum)
Super Redhawk .44 magnum 7.5"
Redhawk .45 Colt
More Bisleys in any chambering, and finally:
GP 100 6"
SP 101 in .327, and also one in .357

 

[Old Shooter]

I'm 63 and gravitating towards the revolvers now because I get tired of forgetting how many rounds I've loaded in the magazine!

 

[Cocked & Locked]

I'm 66 and in spite of my forum name, I'm a die hard revolver fan. I have semi's and revolvers

I could get rid of all of these kinds I have...







And stay with this kind and be a happy old codger

 

[MCgunner]

How's that crow taste, son???

The coonan is dead, the desert eagle is a pig that would make you look like the most well hung rapper in the crack house (and you'd have to be on crack to try to carry it), the AMT (thank holy GOD) is dead and no .22 is a true magnum, anyway.

So, try again bozo.....

Oh, yeah, and you forgot the Grendel P30.

 

[MCgunner]

Hmm, come to think of it, left out some other dead autos like the LAR Grizzly and the Auto Mag, real practical guns, too, if you can find one.