What is it about revolvers we like so much?
- Thread starter sleepyone
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swalton1943
Member
A pistol is only a pistol, but a revolver is Neat!!
Zaydok Allen
Member
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In no kind of order:
Tradition
Power
Versatility
Class
Durability
Style
Tradition
Power
Versatility
Class
Durability
Style
royal barnes
Member
I carried revolvers as my primary for much of my LEO career and all of it as a BUG. My 1911's go to the range now but don't get carried any more because of back problems and arthritic hands. I still feel safe with a Colt Agent revolver in my right front pocket. It goes everywhere I do.
I love my wheelguns because.... ummm..... ya know. They're wheelguns. They are just cool.
I mean aside from the obvious advantages (easy manual of arms, easy to check if loaded, no safety, etc...)
Depending on the wheelgun, they also happen to point very naturally for me and conceal very nicely on my hip. I can hide my Speed Six nearly as well as I could my Kahr K40 which is significantly shorter and flatter.
I mean aside from the obvious advantages (easy manual of arms, easy to check if loaded, no safety, etc...)
Depending on the wheelgun, they also happen to point very naturally for me and conceal very nicely on my hip. I can hide my Speed Six nearly as well as I could my Kahr K40 which is significantly shorter and flatter.
oneounceload
member
With most folks using revolvers for HD/SD or Bullseye-type shooting, your concerns really aren't applicable.
I have, and shoot, both semis and revolvers. Some of each are more accurate than others, but that is more likely me than the guns
I think there is a few things which draw us to revolvers 1st being able to see the mechanical action is fascinating 2nd and this just might be me its the history behind the design it takes me back to a different time kind of like pocket watches, flat caps, or a well made pare of boots. 3rd unlike plastic guns there is an artistry or craftsmanship which is present. now please understand not ever revolver does this but some like a model 29 or a colt python are the opitimy of this. Just one humble mans opinion
Certaindeaf
member
I remember not too long ago I went into a GS to do some eyeballing. I eyeballed an older gentleman customer, replete with walker, trying to get schooled on how the/a simplest semi-auto worked/was made to work. He seemed pretty motivated but couldn't really get it. I don't know if he was deaf or stroked out but with essentially pantomimes etc., was made way happy with a new revolver.. he bought it and understood what was required to make it work.. every time. I think I muttered something like "revolver" to the clerk before he was shown same.
Pointshoot
Member
I own revolvers and semi autos. Except for some of my 1911s, the semi autos are basically just tools. The revolvers engage my imagination. They remind me of spending time outdoors up in the mountains. Places where I love to go. - - - And when it comes to versatility, nothing beats a revolver. You can shoot from mild to wild in many wheel guns without a hitch. You can shoot all types of bullet weights and shapes. You can plink at cans, punch paper, shoot small game without ruining the meat, hunt deer, hunt big game, defend you & yours - - - all with the same gun if you choose it and your ammo right. You can go with low pressure/low blast chamberings and get the job done with little muzzle blast and little fuss. 45LC, 44 Special, and 38 Special are some that fit in the later category. But you can't shoot them through a semi-auto, only from a revolver.
Arkansas Paul
Member
No chasing brass.
spm
Member
Texan Scott
Member
The total lack of "accessories" and exterior complications. It's not a "Barbie doll for men" 
. A speed loader is "fancy". No magazines or gizmos. A good service 38 and a box of cartridges is an acceptable minimum.
It works. Still, after all these decades, and still every single time.
. A speed loader is "fancy". No magazines or gizmos. A good service 38 and a box of cartridges is an acceptable minimum.It works. Still, after all these decades, and still every single time.
With some of the ammo available in .38 now the round is very acceptable.
The first handgun I bought was a NAA .22WMR.
I now have more S&Ws laying around than I'm aware of.
I love revolvers, they just feel "right"
-Jake
Fast Frank
Member
Wow. Three whole pages, and nobody has said it yet.
All right then, I'll say it.
Precision.
There's something about a well-fitted revolver that just screams precision.
The way the cylinder fits in the frame with no "Slop" at all.
The way the hand comes out of that little slot and grabs the cylinder just so to make it turn.
The way the cylinder locks up tight when it's lined up perfectly with the barrel.
The way the latch locks the crane into the frame.
The way the ejector star is fitted into the rear of the cylinder.
When you pick one up and work it, it makes the right sounds, every time...
Sure, autoloaders are precise too, but it's just not the same.
They make this crunching, dragging noise when you pull the slide back.
The slide on any but the most expensive autos has loose "Slop" between it and the frame.
The barrel is loose and will rattle when the slide locks back.
The sights aren't even attached to the barrel.
Yeah, I like autoloaders and my Kimber .45 is a trusted friend...
But there's just something about the smooth precision of a good revolver that cannot be denied.
All right then, I'll say it.
Precision.
There's something about a well-fitted revolver that just screams precision.
The way the cylinder fits in the frame with no "Slop" at all.
The way the hand comes out of that little slot and grabs the cylinder just so to make it turn.
The way the cylinder locks up tight when it's lined up perfectly with the barrel.
The way the latch locks the crane into the frame.
The way the ejector star is fitted into the rear of the cylinder.
When you pick one up and work it, it makes the right sounds, every time...
Sure, autoloaders are precise too, but it's just not the same.
They make this crunching, dragging noise when you pull the slide back.
The slide on any but the most expensive autos has loose "Slop" between it and the frame.
The barrel is loose and will rattle when the slide locks back.
The sights aren't even attached to the barrel.
Yeah, I like autoloaders and my Kimber .45 is a trusted friend...
But there's just something about the smooth precision of a good revolver that cannot be denied.
I use them for four reasons - trigger, unloading, wife, and aesthetics.
The single action trigger of your basic Smith or Colt revolver has a trigger that I haven't found on any semi-auto (except possibly my late lamented Sig-Neuhausen P-210). Some target autos come close, but they don't actually match the garden variety revolver's trigger.
Many folks don't like to leave a firearm loaded in the house after bringing it home. For a semi-auto with a cartridge in the chamber, that means ejecting from that chamber, each and every time - that means many, cartridges are subject to "setback," in which the bullet is forced down into the case. I prefer not to do this more than once unless the case has a cannelure, and that isn't very common these days. With a revolver, you just open the cylinder and drop the cases back into the speed loader.
My wife doesn't enjoy firearms or shooting as much as I do, and getting her to practice with a semi-auto is an uphill battle, so limp-wrist prevention and malfunction clearing is a non-starter. Those things don't usually happen with a revolver.
Finally, I can see lots of folks coming back to revolvers for various reasons - check the prices on Gunbroker. They certainly aren't as effective as semi-autos in self defense, so there must be other reasons. Maybe it's history, maybe it's blued steel, maybe it's all those practical reasons about not needing magazines, but for me it's a feeling of self-containment. It's all right there - nothing drops out of it, nothing ejects away from it, it's just there, all in one piece. Call it art, history, call it aesthetics, soul, or self-containment. It's all right there and it doesn't always have a practical reason.
The single action trigger of your basic Smith or Colt revolver has a trigger that I haven't found on any semi-auto (except possibly my late lamented Sig-Neuhausen P-210). Some target autos come close, but they don't actually match the garden variety revolver's trigger.
Many folks don't like to leave a firearm loaded in the house after bringing it home. For a semi-auto with a cartridge in the chamber, that means ejecting from that chamber, each and every time - that means many, cartridges are subject to "setback," in which the bullet is forced down into the case. I prefer not to do this more than once unless the case has a cannelure, and that isn't very common these days. With a revolver, you just open the cylinder and drop the cases back into the speed loader.
My wife doesn't enjoy firearms or shooting as much as I do, and getting her to practice with a semi-auto is an uphill battle, so limp-wrist prevention and malfunction clearing is a non-starter. Those things don't usually happen with a revolver.
Finally, I can see lots of folks coming back to revolvers for various reasons - check the prices on Gunbroker. They certainly aren't as effective as semi-autos in self defense, so there must be other reasons. Maybe it's history, maybe it's blued steel, maybe it's all those practical reasons about not needing magazines, but for me it's a feeling of self-containment. It's all right there - nothing drops out of it, nothing ejects away from it, it's just there, all in one piece. Call it art, history, call it aesthetics, soul, or self-containment. It's all right there and it doesn't always have a practical reason.
BlindJustice
Member
In the mid-60s, I had saved up my lawn mowing money and
a family pre-xmas shopping trip. I tlaked my Dad into going
with me to a sporting goods/pawn shop. I had spotted a
Surplus P-38. The shop owner took my Dad aside and they
came back and the ownner presented a S&W Model 18 K-22
Combat Masterpiece 4" Bbl. ramp front & W&E Adj. rear sight.
Dad matched my money and I got it for $78 and a belt holster
with restraining strap.
I wore it on my hip age 14-18 on our 240 + 80 acres farm in
the mid-late '60s. S&W Model 18 was higher quality than
any of my buddies .22s.
Today, I have a S&W 617 6" Bbl. 10 shooter and a
S&W 625 5" Bbl. both with Guy Hogue Coco Bolo &
Rosewood grips. Great range guns. The .45 ACP
& heavier loads in .45 AUto Rim booms away with
moderate recoil on the 45 oz frames.
THe 625 compliments my 1911.
MMy other wheelgun is a Model 60 Chiefs Special .357 Mag
3" bbl. ramp front/W&E adj rear handy and nicely balanced
I'd like a 610 in 10mm AUto/.40 S&W
Randall
a family pre-xmas shopping trip. I tlaked my Dad into going
with me to a sporting goods/pawn shop. I had spotted a
Surplus P-38. The shop owner took my Dad aside and they
came back and the ownner presented a S&W Model 18 K-22
Combat Masterpiece 4" Bbl. ramp front & W&E Adj. rear sight.
Dad matched my money and I got it for $78 and a belt holster
with restraining strap.
I wore it on my hip age 14-18 on our 240 + 80 acres farm in
the mid-late '60s. S&W Model 18 was higher quality than
any of my buddies .22s.
Today, I have a S&W 617 6" Bbl. 10 shooter and a
S&W 625 5" Bbl. both with Guy Hogue Coco Bolo &
Rosewood grips. Great range guns. The .45 ACP
& heavier loads in .45 AUto Rim booms away with
moderate recoil on the 45 oz frames.
THe 625 compliments my 1911.
MMy other wheelgun is a Model 60 Chiefs Special .357 Mag
3" bbl. ramp front/W&E adj rear handy and nicely balanced
I'd like a 610 in 10mm AUto/.40 S&W
Randall
ApacheCoTodd
member
No parts flying at our faces...
... only to be stopped abruptly before being buried in our brain-buckets.
Really - half or near half of the mass of the firearm whacking back and forth with extreme energy on the axis of your shooting eye? It's a wonder these semi-auto fad guns are still around.
I expect it'll pass soon - the fad - then I'll be scooping them up as the mechanical curiosities that they are rather than valid platforms for safe and reliable shooting.
That silence that you don't hear is me holding my breath.
... only to be stopped abruptly before being buried in our brain-buckets.
Really - half or near half of the mass of the firearm whacking back and forth with extreme energy on the axis of your shooting eye? It's a wonder these semi-auto fad guns are still around.
I expect it'll pass soon - the fad - then I'll be scooping them up as the mechanical curiosities that they are rather than valid platforms for safe and reliable shooting.
That silence that you don't hear is me holding my breath.
aka108
Member
I shoot both wheel guns and semi autos. Believe I enjoy the revolvers most. At the range revolvers, while not rare, are not seen nearly to the extent of semi autos. All my semi autos are all steel. I just can't get plastic into my head.
Answer
Surprisingly, I shoot better with a double action revolver. I think maybe because I keep an even pressure on the gun through the pull. Also, I hate looking for brass in mud puddles, under leaves and just plain all over the place. All the cases are still in the gun when you're done.
Surprisingly, I shoot better with a double action revolver. I think maybe because I keep an even pressure on the gun through the pull. Also, I hate looking for brass in mud puddles, under leaves and just plain all over the place. All the cases are still in the gun when you're done.
Hardtarget
Member
Funny...I was just looking at my safe. Six revolvers and two semis.
Colt diamondback .22 and .38 spec. A Colt Trooper .357.
Then there are the S&W guns. A 686-3 .357, Mod. 19 snub, and a K-.22. Then there is the S&W semi (dao) in .45 acp.
There is also a Ruger .22 "standard" semi auto.
I try to give the semis a little range time when I get to fit in a trip.
Mark
Colt diamondback .22 and .38 spec. A Colt Trooper .357.
Then there are the S&W guns. A 686-3 .357, Mod. 19 snub, and a K-.22. Then there is the S&W semi (dao) in .45 acp.
There is also a Ruger .22 "standard" semi auto.
I try to give the semis a little range time when I get to fit in a trip.
Mark
Revolvers
I have plenty of Semi Auto's; Love them all (steel or plastic).
But I will always be fond of a good revolver.
Reliable, attractive, versatile a true work of art.
Manual of arms couldn't be easier and it reminds me of a different time and place; a feeling of security.
Maybe as I age I long for an attachment to my happiest days as a kid with a gun in the woods. Great memories.
BTW, still very capable of performing the duties of protection as well.
Love them.
I have plenty of Semi Auto's; Love them all (steel or plastic).
But I will always be fond of a good revolver.
Reliable, attractive, versatile a true work of art.
Manual of arms couldn't be easier and it reminds me of a different time and place; a feeling of security.
Maybe as I age I long for an attachment to my happiest days as a kid with a gun in the woods. Great memories.
BTW, still very capable of performing the duties of protection as well.
Love them.
I've REALLY trimmed down my herd of semis to the pretty special ones I've been fortunate enough to acquire in favor of the wheelies that fulfill all of the CHL duties with authority.
They just "feel right." Always have...always will, at least to me and a bunch of other old guys I know.
They just "feel right." Always have...always will, at least to me and a bunch of other old guys I know.
xXxplosive
Member
Because they are reliable ..............
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