What do you like about revolvers?

[goon]

I've been thinking about this and I'm pretty sure I'm turning into a revolver guy.
Even though they seem archaic to some and only hold half as much ammunition as a comparable automatic, I really have a lot of respect for revolvers.
The biggest reason I like them is that they just work. I haven't needed as much of a break in period with any revolver - actually every one I've ever owned that worked worked right from the first round. And the ones that didn't work just didn't work. There was never any "try different magazines" or "you need to lube this more" - they either just worked or they didn't.
They also seem more tolerant of ammo they don't like. You might not get 2" groups but the odds are good that if you can get the rounds in the chamber they'll go off with boring regularity. And there is no such thing as a failure to feed because you're doing the feeding. Likewise with a failure to eject - if that happens it's probably because of something you did wrong (but it is harder to clear with a revolver) or because of an ammo problem.
Anyhow, these things are enough to make me think hard on switching completely over to revolvers.
Just thought I'd ask and see what everyone else likes about wheelguns.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

You can run more powerful rounds through them, and load up bullets that are as nasty as you want to be. Don't forget those!

 

[.380awsome]

revolvers are great,everyone else has there big blocky glocks,and there small little kahrs and keltecs,but i think revolvers are much better ,ok so ya they cant hold 15 rounds ,but who needs that much ammo really,if you are in a situation where you need 15 rounds then your probably dead anyway,revolvers can handle more powerful cartidges than autos,they almost always work when you need them ,no worries of jams or misfires because they cant jam like an auto and if you have a misfire just pull the trigger again,they are easier to use especially!

 

[psyopspec]

Revolvers can and do fail on a regular basis - do a search for the revolver failure thread w/ pole. Most regular shooters have seen a failure with a wheel gun at some point. Many of those failures are catastrophic, as opposed to being able to be fixed with a tap-rack-bang.

I own one revolver - a S&W 340 SC. I like it because it's easy to carry in the pocket, on the ankle, or IWB, and 5 rounds of .357 or .38 special +P is nothing to sneeze at. Kicks like a mule, but it is the lightest, easiest to carry gun I've ever owned.

Also, I find a good quality revolver more aesthetically pleasing than most semis. They tend to have better triggers, and it's just plain fun to shoot off powerful rounds from a heavy gun now and then.

I like it as much as my semi-autos, but I it'd be going too far to say that it (or any other gun in my collection) cannot and will not ever fail.

 

[bja5006]

reliability and power. i dont care much for capacity. if i need more than 6 rounds of .357mag to get out of a situation, 18 probably wouldnt help either. if i have time to reload, i have time to run. i'm not an LEO, i dont need to be there.... i'm also fast too

i'd rather there be a tiny chance of catastrophic failure than a small chance of jamming a semi, which increases if it's hanging out in my pocket/belt/IWB/car all day collecting dirt, dust, lint, impacts.

just my $.02

 

[Big B]

The more guns that I get to shoot, the more I like wheelguns. I'm a better shot with revolvers, and the recoil doesn't seem to bother me as much. As far as reliability, all it takes is a little crud under the ejector star and your wheelgun can lock right up.

 

[dbriannelson]

Efficiency and aesthetics are different values. Plastic guns can be efficient, but they are soulless machines. Autoloaders are fine, some, like the 1911 and the Luger, having lasting beauty. But even those are fussy, requiring buttons and levers and magazines and such, along with a narrow range of loads and bullets to be reliable. But they can be reliable - Government Models and issue ball ammunition saved my life twice. Maybe it's more that to me autoloaders smack of aggression.

Revolvers simply work. They can be blown up and like any other machine, can wear out, but in direct comparison they are more reliable and more flexible than autos. Revolvers carry older traditions and are the tools of choice for purposes other than shooting people. They may be used in defense of course, but they don't carry about them the "I'm a mad dog and you'd best be wary" snarliness that many plastic gun fans desire.

But finally, I appreciate the creativity that produced a machine of compound curves, levers and pawls, that oscillate, rotate, retract, lock and ignite, all with one stroke of the index finger; a tool that fits the human hand as fine tools should.

If I were still in the military, I'd certainly want huge magazines, and in particular, light weight, but I'm not. I left that behind 26 years ago.

-Don

P.S. I also really like not having to chase brass.

 

[armoredman]

I like my wheelgun, simple, effective, hits exactly what I aim at.

 

[glockman19]

I like the simplicity of them. No Safety. Just pull the trigger and boom.

 

[msb45]

Soul

A revolver has a soul. It is a precision machine where some of the older (I have a Brazillian M 1917) models were crafted by hand, fitted by hand, and made with a sense of pride and accomplishment long before CNC equipment. You don't get that chunkin' Glocks out of a mold.

 

[highlander 5]

I'm getting lazy in my old age and hate chasing empty brass all over creation. My 610 and 625 revolvers give me a nice balance of power and accuracy.

 

[goon]

Revolvers can and do fail on a regular basis - do a search for the revolver failure thread w/ pole. Most regular shooters have seen a failure with a wheel gun at some point. Many of those failures are catastrophic, as opposed to being able to be fixed with a tap-rack-bang.

OTOH, to me a tap-rack-bang could very well be catastrophic in the sense that it could get you killed.
Sure, maybe you can clear it at the range without the help of a gunsmith. But if your gun is in need of tap-rack-bang on a regular basis, it's time to get it fixed anyhow.
Not saying revolvers don't break - for your "average" revolver it might even be more likely because there are a lot of moving parts.
They do have more complexity and can get out of time but the odds are good that a good revolver will either work or it won't.

I kinda just like that.
And I've been told by a couple gunsmiths that you've got your work cut out for you if you set out to get a DA ruger out of time. I'm sure it could be done, but the fact that none of the smiths I know have ever seen one out of time says something for them. (I also had one OLD smith tell me he'd never had a BHP in his shop so this probably rings true for most quality handguns).
FWIW, I've put two S&W's out of time but I really don't hold that against them. They're still good tools for their intended use.

 

[Hawk]

Liking revolvers is easy but it's somewhat less easy when one pays too much attention to the intertubz.

1. They're not simpler. The manual of arms may well be but nobody that's detail stripped both a 1911 and a Python would ever say revolvers are simpler or have less parts.

2. "Six for sure": horse puckey. It's more like six for almost for sure if you've gotten an older one that hasn't had the strain screw molested or a newer one that hasn't been overly drop-test compromised.

3. Can shoot anything - so long as it's not too weak. Ask anyone shooting CAS about tie-ups against the recoil shield. Hopefully, that'll go away once the "power factor". such as it is, goes into effect.

4. Subject to some of the sorriest advice to be found on the internet: to wit: "just pull the trigger again" - routinely spouted off in front of those that don't know any better and may have a bemused expression on their face the first time they blow up a revolver from a squib. But mantras and slogans are more important than sound advice, right?

5. "Craftsmanship from a bygone era" Unh hunh. Sometimes. Maybe even most times but some of those eras benefit from being bygone - darkest '77 Bangor Punta will disabuse anyone, eventually, that short cuts weren't taken with "pinned and recessed". P&R is no guarantor of quality any more than mim is a guarantor of suckage.

Amble on off to American Handgunner and read the old issues released as PDFs - specifically the parts about S&W ramping up production, producing suckage galore and still getting bagged on due to dealers charging black market prices.

I like revolvers for a number of reasons but "revolver love" threads are so full of bovine scat it sometimes comes close to ruining it for me.

Carry on.


Oh, yeah: the SA triggers are to die for but you can't use 'em. Double action only if used for serious purposes, if you please. Of course, the double action trigger sucks which opens up a cottage industry where suckage is balanced against reliability and folks actually think normal humans only keep Federal primers on hand.

There's a reason these threads only show up in the revolver section: easier audience.

Sorry, bad night and I'm feeling contrary.

Actually, they have sufficient real advantages that I feel they are ill served by having bogus advantages invented from whole cloth and trotted out in "love" threads - the last one was only a week or so ago - couldn't we necro that one?

 

[trickyasafox]

different ergonomics- I believe with some of the grip styles on revolvers are just more conducive to 'working' with some shooters.

not chasing brass is nice.

 

[loneviking]

What do I like? Well, Hawk can say what he wants too, but in my almost 40 years of using them, I've found they either work or they don't. And if they don't work, get 'em fixed!

I like the SA and I would guess that most of the failures are from either disabling the SA or going hammerless. I had it drilled into me by a bunch of old timers who were very good with revolvers to 'always spin the cylinder when you reload'. I don't know how you do that with a DAO revolver, and if you have a high primer or some crud under the extractor star you could be in trouble. I clean my guns on a regular basis, and have never had a failure. I'll also use the SA whenever I think it's warranted, and I don't give a darn what anyone else thinks. If someone can't use what's between their ears to figure out what mode to use for a particular purpose---find a different hobby!

Back to what I love---cocking the hammer back and hearing that 'click, click, click'....which any bad guy can tell right away what it is, just like hearing a pump shotgun racked.

I love the graceful lines and the way the butt of a revolver fills the hand, as opposed to the square, blocky butts of the semi-autos.

Using a revolver connects me to a whole lot of my ancestors and a bunch of American history where the revolver was well used to protect and to serve.

 

[Rokyudai]

There are certain 'clock work' sounds a revolver makes when operating that a non-revolver cannot. All that metal has a resonance that leaves me with a smile at the end of each pull on the trigger.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

Sure I have less rounds but at 8 shots of .357 I hope I never see a situation that calls for more. Plus I love my wheel gun it takes targets at a very good distance. Also no clip replacements.

 

[Sylvan-Forge]

What do I like about 'em? The magazine never gets lost or trampled and brass retention is easier.



.

 

[JCMAG]

Revolvers are fascinating little machines. I was fascinated by the workings of the revolver before I was fascinated by shooting.

Their aesthetics are also key with me. A blued wheel gun is a beautiful thing.

Revolvers also have variety. If you don't mind buying used, you're about half guaranteed to find what you want. You'll have to hunt, you might pay more, but you'll find what you want.

Take the S&W m24 for example. 4" barrel, P&R, blued, wood stocks with blued Tyler adapter... Now there is a gun to get excited about! You just don't get excited about auto-guns the same way you do about the spinners. Autos have too much utilitarianism. Only the old Browning guns can compare with the revolvers for seducing the imagination.

But that's my opinion

 

[Meeteetse]

They just look better than the modern black semi-auto, especially the half-plastic ones. Revolvers are a work of art. Semi-autos are tools with all the grace and style of a hammer.

I believe they are more reliable and for me they seem safer. The long double action pull makes me feel better than a chamber loaded semi with an easy-off safety or perhaps no manual safety at all. Don't know why the revolver seems safer but I feel better with one.

I like the power range of revolvers. I can load a .357 from soft to WOW and a .44 from powerful to incredible. That factor alone would mean I would need four semi-autos to do the same thing and still not get to the power levels.

Yea, there are super skinny semi's available that conceal well and I like a couple of them, but I'll take a J-frame and feel very comfortable. And last, I shoot them better, and for me that is the real difference.

 

[LukeP]

They are simply beautiful and user friendly!

@armoredman, Please, can you say me wich model is you revo in the pics, the right one? Thank you, bye.

 

[Pure Kustom]

They always go boom.

 

[MCgunner]

A dud can just be passed over, no tap/rack/bang. But, I like autos for carry, too. I have examples of both. I won't limit my choices.

 

[19-3Ben]

Jeez Hawk, why don't you tell us what you really think? Don't hold back so much!

 

[Hawk]

Jeez Hawk, why don't you tell us what you really think? Don't hold back so much!

I actually like and appreciate the things. But being contrary is fun sometimes, too. Usually it's just being contrary for the sake of being contrary - more rarely it's irony overload from the juxtaposition of contradictory threads on the same page.

If an "integral lock" lock thread pops up in close proximity to a "wonderfully reliable" thread I sometimes suffer from irony overload. That seems to be happening less these days.