Why do I shoot my autoloaders better?

[fordtrucks]

I love my revolvers and prefer them , but I just can’t shoot the snubs as well as my glock 26 or sig p365.

With the reminder via the recent Texas church shooting that not all shots are close proximity, I’m back to carrying the sig or glock. I just don’t think I could head shot a bad guy from 40-50 feet with my 2” LCR. Maybe my 3” model 60 or 3”LCRx.

But that’s a maybe. The sig or the glock, yeah most likely.

Why am I so much better on the autoloaders?

 

[JTQ]

I love my revolvers and prefer them , but I just can’t shoot the snubs as well as my glock 26 or sig p365.

Why am I so much better on the autoloaders?

Your revolvers probably have a 10 - 12 lb trigger pull and your striker fired guns probably have a 5 - 6 lb trigger pull.

Edit to add: Chances are good your striker fired guns have better - more visible - sights than your revolvers.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Agree. Trigger weight may be a factor, but even with the nice light and smooth trigger on an LCR, the trigger travel may be farther on your revolvers than striker fired guns.

 

[ATLDave]

Is it going to be easier to not move the sights on a gun while applying X force over Y millimeters of travel, or 3X force over 3Y millimeters of travel?

It may be physics, but it's not very complicated physics.

 

[rskent]

Why am I so much better on the autoloaders?

Plain and simply, because they are that much easier to shoot.

 

[fordtrucks]

Plain and simply, because they are that much easier to shoot.

thats what it seems like to me. I practice with the revolvers a lot more (2-3x more) but the glock and sig just hit the “right spot”, even if it feels like I’m doing everything right with the revolvers.

 

[Pat Riot]

Funny, I was just thinking about this regarding my carry guns and I shoot my Glock 45 better than my G26. But I find I shoot my S&W 442 just as good if not better than my Glock 45 IF I shoot it one handed. Weird, I know, but I have shot one handed for years. When I go to two handed I shoot the Glock 45 better.

 

[sequins]

Snub barrel is 1.87" on an LCR, a G26 is 3.43".

Longer sight radius, single chamber vs. 5 chambers, longer barrel, shorter trigger, lighter trigger...

If you shot the LCR better I'd wonder how

 

[ATLDave]

Snub barrel is 1.87" on an LCR, a G26 is 3.43".

Longer sight radius, single chamber vs. 5 chambers, longer barrel, shorter trigger, lighter trigger...

If you shot the LCR better I'd wonder how

A couple of those things have nothing to do with it. Revolvers are frequently more mechanically accurate than semi-autos - unless there is something wrong with them, the multiple chambers thing is not a problem. The challenge is the ergonomic/human factors challenge. Barrel length doesn't have much to do with accuracy, either.

 

[TheProf]

Not to derail the topic.. I find that I'm a bit more accurate with a striker fired Glock than my hammer fired cz. (Although I prefer my cz's over Glocks.) And in SA mode, the cz's have a lighter trigger.

I wonder if this is related to the OP's question. That the impulse of the falling hammer (of a revolver) vs. the impulse of the striker action have anything to do with it?

Does a falling hammer (traveling in an arc) have a greater tendency to disturb our aim over a striker fired impulse (traveling in a straight line).? Does the hammer of a revolver impart a greater force on the gun vs the impact of a striker on a pistol?

I'm thinking of it's effect on subsequent shots.

I don't know.

 

[Riomouse911]

Is the lock time quicker with the striker fired gun than the hammer fired gun? If so, that may be much more of a factor in the accuracy issue you describe than the amount of centrifugal force Imparted by a falling hammer.

There is also a difference in ergonomics, trigger pull length and movement, the inherent accuracy of the gun and ammo being fired, etc. Lots of variables besides the hammer arc to consider... .

Stay safe.

 

[40-82]

I shoot an S&W with a six-inch barrel better than I shoot a Colt 1908 .25 ACP.

I can reverse it and do better with a Colt Woodsman Match Target with a six-inch barrel than I can with any two-inch barrel pocket revolver.

Some of us may indeed shoot either a revolver or a semi-auto better, but I think you're going to find sight radius, caliber, trigger pull, and overall weight make a bigger difference. The curious thing about the double action revolver is that dedicated users will often virtually give up shooting it single action. They come to the point where the shorter, lighter trigger pull just doesn't make as much difference as you would imagine.

Of all of the factors, weight almost makes more difference than any of them, although, I suppose, this could be argued, as they're all interrelated. Weight means so much that I find it a comfort instead of a burden. Birds sing nicer on the days when I can get away with an N-frame, a New Service, or a 1911 rather than somebody's .32, be it a revolver or a semi-auto.

 

[rskent]

Does a falling hammer (traveling in an arc) have a greater tendency to disturb our aim over a striker fired impulse (traveling in a straight line).?

I don’t think it does (for me) with a pistol like a 1911. For me, they shoot better than any striker fired gun I have ever shot. The hammer falling doesn’t seem to disturb the gun at all.

 

[ATLDave]

Does a falling hammer (traveling in an arc) have a greater tendency to disturb our aim over a striker fired impulse (traveling in a straight line).? Does the hammer of a revolver impart a greater force on the gun vs the impact of a striker on a pistol?

I don't know.

The answer is no, pretty firmly. Bullseye pistol and silhouette shooters use hammer fired guns. They would use striker guns if they were more accurate. They do not because they are not.

 

[labnoti]

Because your revolvers are very poor examples of such. Try a 6" 586 or a 6.5" 27. At the very least, a 4" 66.

The snubnosed LCR is more equivalent to a Baby Browning, Beretta Bobcat, or P32 in shootability.

 

[94045]

The question is, "Can you hit an orange at 40' while going through the single most massive adrenaline dump (assuming you haven't been in close combat) in your life?

In single action shooting it would be a hard run thing between my DW M15 6" and my DW Valor 1911 as to which I would shoot better.

Given the shot you are talking about I would prefer either over my striker fired guns although my new Canik TP9SF wouldn't be far behind.

Given a choice between my LCP Gen 2 and my M60 it isn't even a contest. M60 and despite what everyone has been told (you would never use single action in a self-defense situation) I would be taking that shot with the hammer cocked.

The more I read about real defensive shootings (especially involving third parties) the more I think that people that insist "You would never really do that" about 125 yard rifle shots, 15 yard head shots and cocking the hammer on a revolver are fools. You are already in an encounter that defies the odds, want to bet it can't defy them again?

PS I'm assuming he took that shot DA (and didn't have a DAK) but I would have been tempted to rack the slide while waiting for a firing lane to clear for the lighter trigger pull (assuming I could think clearly which is highly debatable).

 

[LiveLife]

Why am I so much better on the autoloaders?

In a 2" revolver, bullet has to jump from the cylinder, jam through the throat and engage the rifling to obtain rotational stability while chamber pressure is dropping fast as high pressure gas from powder burn is leaking through the cylinder gap and may not fully efficiently burn within the 2" barrel.

In a semi-auto with 3.5" barrel, expanding case neck/mouth seal with the chamber and bullet simply moves forward leaking likely less gas and powder burn continues as bullet engages the rifling and most powder granules are burnt before bullet exits the muzzle and bullet rotational stability likely benefits from better engagement with longer barrel.

So if muzzle velocity has less extreme spread/standard deviation, this will help improve accuracy on target.

As others already posted, using 4" to 6" revolvers change powder burn efficiency and muzzle velocity may become more consistent. My bullseye match shooting mentor with 4"-6" 686 outshot all the semi-auto pistols we both had. (His 50 yard revolver groups were better than my 25 yard semi-auto groups)

And as other members already posted, there are other factors that affect accuracy.

 

[94045]

While I see your point about the gap don't forget that a 3" pistol barrel is actually shorter than a 2" Revolver barrel once the chamber length is considered.

 

[tipoc]

Well the fella who made the shot in the church shooting had a range in his back yard where he shot several times a week. He did this with a variety of handguns including his Ruger revolver which he used for concealed carry. This, the experience of shooting, is a lot more conducive to accurate shooting than what type of gun or action is used.

Shoot for yourself over the years and these questions are answered.

 

[labnoti]

There is nothing inherently inaccurate about a 1.87" LCR. The jump through the throat, cylinder and forcing cone, the shortness of the rifled portion of the barrel... none of that results in poor consistency, damaged bullets or low accuracy. The LCR is capable of very good accuracy/precision when shot from a rest. Put it in a Ransom Rest and it will amaze you with tight groups at 50 yards -- better than most tilt-barrel semi-auto's that aren't hand-fitted.

Practically speaking, I highly recommend a K or L frame or a GP-100 if you want to stick with Ruger. Or try one of the new Colts. Get a 4" or 5" barrel. If you can shoot the double-action trigger, the gun will easily outshoot a 26 or 365.

 

[Jonesy814]

Which do you shoot the most? I shoot my side right j frame way better than my LCP. Had a Buckmark, got rid of it after but a S&W 617. Both 10 shots and the revolver was more accurate...Long range my 5 inch m625 will out shoot my 1911. That being said, My SR9c is probably the gun I shoot best all around

 

[Tallball]

I'm a revolver guy.

Snub revolvers are hard to shoot well. I can shoot my full-sized or compact semiautomatic service pistols better than my snub revolvers.

Give me a 4", 6", or longer revolver, and the tables turn. I shoot the semiautomatics well enough, but I definitely shoot my full-sized revolvers better.

 

[Pat Riot]

I should have mentioned in my post above that I attribute my ability to shoot my S&W 442 well with one hand to practicing with it. When I first got that gun years ago I nearly sold it because I couldn’t hit a darn thing with it.

Regarding Glocks or other striker fired guns it’s the same thing. You have to practice. There may come a time, though, when you realize that you just do better with a certain platform or style of handgun. For me it’s Glocks or S&W revolvers shot double action. For you it might be something completely different. Only practice and familiarity will tell.

 

[bikerdoc]

I have 4 revolvers and 6 autos. I'm OK with revolvers, but I shoot autos better and carry a 14 shot CZ 75 compact.
I'm fully confident I could stop a bad guy at 40 feet.
I pray I never have to!

 

[tallpaul]

Snub barrel is 1.87" on an LCR, a G26 is 3.43".

Longer sight radius, single chamber vs. 5 chambers, longer barrel, shorter trigger, lighter trigger...

If you shot the LCR better I'd wonder how

a glock 26 barrel is only 3.43 inches when considering "legal" descriptions etc... the reality as a later poster states is it is a lot shorter to get to the same practical barrel use of the revolver when you remover chamber and the throat which is contained in a revolvers cylinder... Also not all snub nose revolvers are fired only double action either... and for a longer shot a single action trigger on a da revolver is usually better all around compared to un modified semi auto pistol triggers... and if gone over by a good smith the revolver is still usually better SA... I know for a fact a good Smith 2.5 model 19 0r 66 can shoot knots at 25 yaards... I dont see many compact autos shooting that well- especially in 9mm

sight radius's are not so different on a snubnose vs a model 26 either.... and this is fact... I have been shooting this stuff since the eighties... own revolvers n semi auto's... I find proper grips and a larger gun tend to beeasier to shoot accurately at distance but even the smaller guns can often shoot great with practice and younger eyes