I only own Revolvers

[PzGren]

I started shooting with a Colt .22 OMM and still love shooting revolvers, particularly rimfire revolvers with my Korth being my most favorite overall gun.

But I would not want to miss my Zella Mehlis made rimfire Walther PP and love to shoot it and my SIG P210 has not had a single hick-up.

I do not restrict myself to wheel guns only but to quality guns that have a utilitarian value.

 

[shockwave]

I haven't owned a semi since I sold off the G23. It was OK, but it didn't have soul. It was just a barking machine that I held onto, rather than being part of my hands.

That's my impression of the autos that I've fired. They lack the soul that a good revolver exudes from both appearance and feel in the hand. It's like the difference between an electric carving knife and a Japanese katana.

 

[MCgunner]

Soul don't kill people, people kill people. The gun is the tool many times.

I don't anthropomorphize my tools.

 

[MachIVshooter]

That's my impression of the autos that I've fired. They lack the soul that a good revolver exudes from both appearance and feel in the hand.

That extends both ways. My S&W 586 is certainly more soulful than a Glock. But in the reverse, there's no comparison between my Colt Combat commander, with it's graceful lines and beautiful blue finish, and a Nagant 1895 or RG pot metal bullet thrower.

There is ugly and beautiful, svelte and downright icky, on both sides of the fence.

 

[Just One Shot]

one thing that never seems to get mentioned, there isn't any spring that will weaken causing a misfeed if you keep a revolver loaded for months at a time.

Springs don't weaken do to compression, they weaken from repeated compression and expansion and it takes quite a bit of that to make them fail to feed.

 

[Eightball]

Pistol-wise, all I own are revolvers and one 1911. Don't see a need for much else in the semi-auto world.

 

[arkansashillbilly]

I'm a mechanical type person which means I collect guns of varying types. I like how so many designers did so many different things to get to the same basic end result.
I also lean towards utility which pushes me towards mil-surp.
I am partial to wheelguns for handguns. I really like blackpowder replicas. I have two '58 remmies, a '60 colt, a walker colt, and a LaMat. All are fun. As far as "modern" goes, I have a webley and two nagants. However I don't neglect the semis. Two CZ52's and a broomhandle. Everything works as long as I don't try to shoot the 32acp cylinder in a nagant.
There was once a time in my gun hobby when I saw absolutely no need for a handgun. Then there was a time I saw no need for a cartridge firing handgun. Then no need for a semiauto. Now no need for... Well I change my mind alot.

 

[Cosmoline]

I don't anthropomorphize my tools.

I think you misunderstand "soul." It's not saying that the firearm is alive, just that it connects with me and operates much more like an extension of me than like a tool I happen to be holding. It's hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it. That doesn't mean I won't sell off revolvers or set a place for them at the table ;-)

a Nagant 1895

The black stone of seven deaths? They have lots of soul.

 

[arkansashillbilly]

I'm with Cosmoline on this one. Most of my stuff is old and believe it or not some things feel different than others. I had a truck once that would run for months on end without replacing parts as long as you sweet talked it once in a while. A pat on the dash didn't hurt either. Had a Ford once too that was a b*tch no matter how you treated it. That car had its good days and its bad days.
I don't get that feel when I pick up a new commercial semiauto.

 

[captain awesome]

Springs don't weaken do to compression, they weaken from repeated compression and expansion and it takes quite a bit of that to make them fail to feed.

so you are saying that what my friend that was in the army told me, and my own findings towards the end of my days as a security guard is nonsense? 3 mags for my xd, one of which was kept full of hollow points the entire time without rest. Guess which mags had a very stiff spring still. I'll give you a hint; it wasn't the one I kept loaded.
Now, I can't say for sure if it would have malfunctioned, because I never shot it with that magazine. Now its gone, but I certainly would not have been surprised if it did.

 

[W.E.G.]

...my days as a security guard is nonsense? 3 mags for my xd revolver,

 

[Cosmoline]

so you are saying that what my friend that was in the army told me, and my own findings towards the end of my days as a security guard is nonsense?

It is actually, though it's counter-intuitive. Some physics geeks have explained why this is the case, though I don't pretend to understand the metallurgy myself. The upshot is that you wear out springs from use, not by keeping them compressed.

The caveat is I believe you can mash the steel of a spring by over-compressing it, so that the steel is pressed hard against itself and changes shape over time.

 

[captain awesome]

sorry there W.E.G., typo. edited.

Say what you will, that mag's spring was not as stiff as the other two at the end of it all.

Maybe as you said, it changed shape from being over compressed over a long period of time.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Say what you will, that mag's spring was not as stiff as the other two at the end of it all

Perception.

If springs weakened from months (and years) of compression the way you're suggesting they do, there'd be alot of old cars sitting in garages and fields with the tires jammed way up into the wheel wells.

Given enough time, yes, they will weaken. But so will a solid beam sag under weight. And glass paynes will begin to taper as the silicon flows. This stuff takes a long, LOOOOONG time, though.

And BTW, do you think the springs in your revolver are not under constant tension, if this is the logic you use to dismiss autos as more flawed than wheel guns?

 

[Hawk]

one thing that never seems to get mentioned, there isn't any spring that will weaken causing a misfeed if you keep a revolver loaded for months at a time.

As noted by others the reason it doesn't get mentioned is that, for the most part, it isn't so.

The caveat, of course, being "properly designed and applied" springs. There is anecdotal evidence that full-to-the-gills AR mags, some 8 round 1911 mags and some Glock magazines springs will fatigue. The XD may well be in this number. Equally anecdotally, there are numerous folklore references to WWI 1911 "bring backs" that suffered no magazine spring fatigue after a half century in the hall closet.

Compliments of Wolff:

How often should I change magazine spring? Should I unload my magazines, rotate magazines, load with fewer than the maximum rounds?

Magazine springs in semi-auto pistols are one of the most critical springs and are the subject of much debate and concern. Magazines which are kept fully loaded for long periods of time, such as in law enforcement and personal/home defense applications, will generally be subject to more fatigue than the weekend shooter's magazine springs in which the magazines are loaded up only when shooting.

Magazine design and capacity also affect the longevity of the spring. In many older pistol designs, maximum capacity was not the always the goal such as with the 7 round 1911 Colt magazines will last for years fully loaded. There was room for more spring material in these guns which reduces overall stress and increases the usable life of the spring.

More recently higher capacity magazine have become popular. These are designed to hold more rounds with less spring material often in the same space. This puts more stress on the spring and will cause it to fatigue at a faster rate. Unloading these magazines a round or two will help the life of the spring. Rotating fully loaded magazines will also help the problem somewhat but it is not always practical.

In applications where the magazine must be kept loaded at all times, a high quality magazine spring such as Wolff extra power magazine springs, will provide maximum life. Regular replacement of magazine springs will provide the best defense against failure from weak magazine springs. Regular shooting of the pistol is the best way to be sure the springs are still functioning reliably.

I'd read that as saying you weren't hallucinating with your XD but those of us with 7 round 1911 mags will probably never experience what you're talking about.

...and Wolff is in the business of selling replacement springs.

In the never-ending revolver vs. semi arena the magazine spring thing probably should be retired. If one is going to neglect one's firearm to the point it mgiht be an issue, you're probably better off with a baseball bat.

 

[1911Tuner]

Equally anecdotally, there are numerous folklore references to WWI 1911 "bring backs" that suffered no magazine spring fatigue after a half century in the hall closet.

It's not all folklore. I have personal involvement with one that liad in an attic...magazine loaded...gun cocked and locked...for 62 years and when it was test-fired, it functioned perfectly.

Anyway...back to the topic. Revolvers are good. Love'em. It's not a question of need. It's a question of want. If you don't want an auto, ignore the naysayers and stick to your revolvers. You're not underarmed, despite what you may have heard.

 

[gmh1013]

If the new Revolvers with made like the older ones ....then yeah.
Revolvers are going down and auto's are getting better....i wish it would reverse.
I have a few Auto's (Sig's,Colt and one Taurus 9mm) The only auto I could not live without is a Colt 1911 the rest I could sell off.
I own 9 revolvers and my fav being my 68 Colt Diamondback .38 ...its a safe queen and
only shoot it once every 5-6 years.
All my revolvers are Colts except one SP101 .357 (my carry) and one Model 10
(nightstand gun)

 

[1911Tuner]

Revolvers are going down and auto's are getting better

Sadly, that does seem to be the case...at least for Smith & Wesson. The Rugers seem to be holding to their standards, especially with their single-action lineup. Not to worry, though. There are a blue million older Colt and Smith double action revolvers in the pipeline that are in pristine condition. Get'em while you can.

 

[don95sml]

I think most people will eventually want to own both revolvers and semi-autos, because each have their advantages. But since I'm an old guy, I would only consider handguns made with good old steel and wood - no plastic. For competition such as IDPA I like a semi-auto, and for target work I prefer the revolver.

 

[Hawk]

Anyway...back to the topic. Revolvers are good. Love'em. It's not a question of need. It's a question of want. If you don't want an auto, ignore the naysayers and stick to your revolvers. You're not underarmed, despite what you may have heard.

Well said. It always seems to lend a degree of "level headedness" to a thread if you and/or Old Fuff chime in.

Personally, my "revolver count" has recently surpassed my "semi count" mostly due to a personal view that, once I've gotten something(s) that work, there's scant point in buying more (barring a wonderful bargain) in semi-autos.

Revolvers, in contrast, have a rich history and chasing M57s, pre-17s and the like is just plain good fun.

(GI 1911s are now quite out of my price range, as are Lugers, etc.)

Hence, as much as I've learned to appreciate revolvers, and tend not to "firebomb" revolver "love threads" there's a couple things that simply can't go unchallenged.

One is the "spring" deal - I don't buy it, not even a little bit.

Another is the "limp wrist" issue (which I haven't noticed in this thread but is probably inevitable) - if one's semi gags due to grip, it's time to repair or replace the thing.

Dropping an OP in the revolver forum looking for validation of one's choice is all well and good but it strikes me much like a drunk's relation with a lamp post: more for support than illumination.

Oh and by the way, you were right, a spring steel extractor works better than the gimmicky whizbang I'd inquired about.

 

[joed]

I've owned 42 S&W and Colt revolvers at one time. That alone tells you my feelings about revolvers. I still have at least 14 in the safe.

However, you're cheating yourself if you don't have a semi auto. In the service I carried a 1911 for awhile and despised them. Nine years ago I purchased a Kimber Pro Carry II, and my whole opinion of autos changed. The Kimber is as accurate or more so then any revolver I own. However, I have to concentrate to be a good shot with an auto. It's all in the hold, hold it wrong and it won't be accurate.

Since then I have purchased 2 GLOCKS, a 26 compact and a .45 gap full sized. I sold the GAP but won't sell the 26. I won't own a Berreta, I had a 92 and don't care for an auto without a bushing for the barrel.

Even owned a Sig 220, it was a nice gun but I sold it off because Sig seems to think of guns as cars and comes out with new improved models all the time.

Try a well made auto and I bet you change your mind about them.

 

[captain awesome]

Sorry, I agree this debate should die, but I really can't help myself, this is too interesting to leave alone. @ the op, sorry for derailing your thread. I wont any more after this.

ok, you all seem to take it for a lot more meaning than what I had intended, which was to say, and I probably should have made this clear; It CAN happen. doesn't mean it consistently or even commonly will. And apparently it is (edit) "not" ( just read it over and noticed this, a really lousy typo to make, it kind of changed the whole meaning of the post)as common as I had thought it would be. you all seem to discredit my point then re-validate it. I am just stating a fact, that indeed the spring on my High capacity magazine was not as springy as it once was, and I never cycled it. I had two others to compare it to. For that reason, for any application where a gun might be loaded for a long period of time, I will choose a revolver. You all can do as you wish. there is no doubt in my mind that there are at least a few semi autos out there that this isn't a problem with, for all I know it may be most of them. I apologize if it sounded as though i was stating this as an absolute. Comparing it to car suspension systems and and the spring for the hammer, they are very different applications. I would venture to guess that possibly if you left the hammer cocked on a revolver for a LONG time it might not hit the primers as hard as it did. Who knows? And a cars springs are not extremely compressed ( by this I mean compressed to 1/5 or less than their original length) as a high capacity mag on a semi auto is. And one might also say that, their is no disputing it as you have just stated Cosmoline,

"there's no denying that the semis jam up a lot more"

and if a spring on a magazine is weakened, I would say that certainly couldn't help matters. I obviously am not a semi auto lover, but I can see why some people are. This is just a minor reason among many that I personally am not.

 

[Hawk]

I would venture to guess that possibly if you left the hammer cocked on a revolver for a LONG time it might not hit the primers as hard as it did.

The bottom line is that there's no evidence that properly executed springs will fatigue from simple compression, but I'm sure there's plenty out there.

As Tuner pointed out, feel free to align yourself with revolvers. IMHO, they have sufficient real reasons to employ that the invention of reasons that don't actually exist is counterproductive.

This is the revolver forum - none of us is here because we "hate" the platform or simply to disrupt a civil conversation.

But, I respectfully submit, your experience with the XD may just be atypical - much like a revolver suddenly binding up due to a misbehaving trigger stop is atypical.

Or, not to put too fine a point on it, one can prefer revolvers without bagging on semis. I've personally found that most of the positive attributes assigned to revolvers have been well thought out but the negative attributes assigned to semis probably need updating.

In other words: a preference is not enhanced through the denigration of the alternative but rather the positive aspects of the product chosen.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Well said, Hawk (as always)

Now if you all will excuse me, I think I'll go fondle my 686 in one hand and Witness Limited 10 in the other. Maybe later I'll switch to the Beretta Stampede and the Kimber Stainless Target

 

[yongxingfreesty]

gotta diversify!