Revolver or semi-auto?

Which is more reliable, a Revolver, or a modern automatic pistol?

The reliable would be a revolver. I'd rather a s.auto pistol. Granted it's a well built gun, maybe like my Sig p220. Heres why- Clip capsity, more ammo in gun, more shots. Faster reload time, more easy reload.
I have more reasons but thats enough for now.

I said a revolver was reliable cause they don't jam. But I bet in the right conditons ice, sand, they have a problem to.

personaly i would use the desert eagle but if u want power go for the smith and wesson .500 cal magnum!most powerful pistol in the world
but semi autos are handy for tight stops but revolvers are handy for long drawn out fights

Colt 1911 .45 all the way///// Oh and the Luger!!!!!!

for reliability the Semi auto cannot hold a candle to the revolver. Revolver is by far more reliable and Accurate. my favorite is the .357 Colt Python. great mechanism, action, accuracy.

Accuracy????????????

Alll depends on who's hands its in. 1911 .45 is a great choice.

Semi auto is the way, the West has been won for a long time now. It's all about the Mid East.

I worked was in law enforcement until the middle 90's. I was not in uniform, but was armed during transport and interrogation of suspects. Though not required by office, I trained on monthly firing exercises with uniformed officers.

My choice was a Revolver, a 5 rd. S & W type 44 special w/ 3 in. barrel, low rounded front sight with optic paint on my side of the sight. Here's why.

1. Heavy caliber meant penetration of doors, sheetrock, armor, etc.

2. 5 shot meant the k-type frame fit my plainclothes a bit better than 6 shooter would.

3. frequent loading/unloading upon entering/leaving secure facilities. Cops put a lot of wear on cartridges before they're fired. Worn cartridges have more misfeed/jam problems. Not often, but once is too many.

4. Most people train in a "shooting stance." The firing arm is braced. in exercise or confrontation, most shots are fired with a bent elbow. The bent elbow absorbs recoil, and often causes semi-autos to jam. I was surprised by the high number of "Stovepipe" jams officers had, particularly with barettas. The shell is only partly ejected when the bolt returns and tries to cram the spent shell into the barrel sideways. This happens a lot when recoil is absorbed.
you don't see this type of jam in traffic stops, but in building entries and multi-shooter scenarious. My colleagues wanted the boss to force me to carry a semi, but the firing instructor and boss both refused to make me change my choice of carry.
In all my years of service, my 'wheel-gun' never jammed. not once.

5. A lot of semis have too many moving parts and springs under tension. Until you get used to assembling/disassembling them, cleaning the things are an incredible pain. I sometimes took money to clean people's guns they couldn't reassemble properly. I also never let them cover MY back.

6. Many semis don't wear well. I originally carried a Glock. But the plastic frame was cracking where tracks for the lower receiver meet the plastic. I started looking at colleague's Glocks and every one I ever saw that had fired more than 500 rds had the same cracks. That's when I got a revolver.

7. On a silly note, my gun played a readily identifiable note when fired. Everyone knew by sound which shot was mine.

8. Intimidation value. Always a central consideration for enforcement. I've only drawn twice in a 'situation.' In the one where beligerants had the time to see me, they stopped at the sight of my pistol. One told me later that he could see the hollow point talons in the cylinder. I doubt it, but he definitely surrendered when confronted.

9. Well over 3/4 of all firefights occur with the assailant less than 30 ft. from you. No time to get into a stance, or even aim. If you EVER pull the trigger and something wont come out, you're done.

10. Semis have a larger capacity, but except for SWAT corps, the capacity shouldn't come into play. The only fire scene I visited where the cops had emptied their clips was where two rookies were firing at a target 60 yards away. They were hiding behind a dumpster, scaring the crap out of the taxpayers, and never hit a damn thing, except for various parked cars in front of them . . .

If I ever shoot all 5 of my bullets, and my assailants are still coming, my problems are worse than what a few more shots can fix.

I do have a speed loader that's as quick as another clip, though.

I would say a revolver is more reliable, less subject to jams. However, if a semi-auto jams, you rack the slide, hit the bottom of the magazine and try again. If a revolver jams, you are most likely stuck with an expensive hammer.

Originally posted by Wudman
I would say a revolver is more reliable, less subject to jams. However, if a semi-auto jams, you rack the slide, hit the bottom of the magazine and try again. If a revolver jams, you are most likely stuck with an expensive hammer.

Exactly...a jam is easy to fix with a semi-auto...if your revolved messes up...youve got some problems...and as for the firepower and the reloading time...I prefer a semi auto...revolvers take too long to reload in a high stress situation...

I've never seen or heard of a revolver jamming. I don't think it happens.

Certainly not with anything like the frequency of a semiauto jam.

Originally posted by devilwasp
personaly i would use the desert eagle but if u want power go for the smith and wesson .500 cal magnum!most powerful pistol in the world
but semi autos are handy for tight stops but revolvers are handy for long drawn out fights

Haha, the first time I read about the smith and weeson .50, i couldn't help but wonder how unecessary a .50 revolver was.

The revolver is for sur more reliable.
But is it more useful???
Well consider the long and frequent reloading
Plus if you have a criminal mind, a revolver would leave gun powder marks on the scene

sorry posted it twice

[edit on 21-6-2004 by Bl00D_Th0rN]

ALL firing of bullets leave residue at close range, regardless.

Reloading should be done on the practice range. Not in firefights. You have more profound problems that your choice of shootin' iron.

Revolvers are definitely more "immune" against quality differensis in cartridges.
But in semi-autos clearing of jam is easy.


And just one remark about revolvers.
Their whole recoill strikes "directly" to wrist so especially magnum revolvers can be "wrist breakers"... and only way to counter that in revolvers is increase weight of gun.


About movie's "wonder gun": Desert Eagle:
www.zvis.com...
www.zvis.com...
www.zvis.com...

And about that .50 S&W:
popularmechanics.com...

How about a woman's point of view.

I have a .357 ruger and a S&W 9mm, love them both. I like the feel and the reliability of the ruger, but for home defense I would use my 9. I've noticed when target practicing that after my 2nd shot, my accuracy sucks with the 357. But with the 9 I can stay within the target area no problem.

I would say the the Semi-Automatic pistol is more reliable because you can shoot more rounds alot faster, and you can reload quicker not to mention they are more accurate.

it has to be a modern day semi auto my favorite 45.cal

my hat goes off to dr_strangecraft. elegantly put. This is an argument that has been around as long the auto cocker has been around. personal prefrence is as always the key factor. some people aim more naturally with a revolver, some with a auto cocker. My prefrence is for the 1911 model .45's and .357 magnum double action revolvers. as for ammo as previosly stated if you fire six shots and you are still taking fire you are probably already dead.

I've owned two autoloading pistols, a Ruger P85 pistol in 9 mm para and a Colt 1911 MKIV Series 70 (the last of the single action colts). I liked them both, and I'd kind of like the Colt back, but my wife doesn't like autopistols; she doesn't understand how they work and prefers a revolver. So I got rid of both the Ruger and the Colt and got two Taurus revolvers in .357 mag, which, of course, also shoot .38 spl.

I would never recommend a revolver with a cartridge bigger than a .357 magnum; the .44 magnum is just too painful for most people to shoot and that Cassull or the new .50 caliber is, in my opinion, just plain dumb unless you're planning on meeting with a grizzly bear, of which there are none in Arizona.