revolvers vs semi-autos

[Crash]

I've owned and shot many revolvers (my first love) and semi-autos for more than 50 years but, believe it or not, I still haven't made up my mind which should be my EDC and my home-defense weapon. I know the advantages and disadvantages of each, but I guess it has come down to the following issues: semi-autos have greater ammo capacity and are quicker to reload, but I never trust one to be completely reliable and as I age (I'm 74), racking the slide is getting difficult. Revolvers are less complex to operate, but they are slower to reload and have limited ammo capapcity.

Opinions?

Crash

[cheezit]

Most days I carry a j frame. If im going out and about were ill be walking around somewere ill carry a g26 with a g19mag. In the coldist months I swich to a 1911 in 45acp. When its under 50 ill carry a p938.
All 4 guns are easy to deal with size wise and all are racked will litle issue.
I dont know if I really awnsered your question but I hope it helps.

[jt88]

Modern, quality semi-automatics used with top shelf ammo are extremely reliable. I have 900 through my Beretta 92fs, 400 through my S&W Shield, and 600 through my Glock 19. I have not had a single hiccup with any of them. I clean and lube after every range trip, where I usually fire 100-200 rounds.

I would not hesitate to trust my life to either of these three guns. The Glock especially is super simple to operate, and pretty easy to rack. 15+1 rounds of 147 grain +P HST is a lot more comforting to me than 5 or 6 rounds of .38 special. If you buy a good semi-auto, take care of it, and feed it good ammo, it will take care of you.

[RJGold]

I think you answered your own question...

Carry what works for you. I carry only semi-auto. My wife has trouble racking the slide on most semi-autos so I bought her a revolver. She is much happier with it. Happy wife... Happy Life!!!

In the end, what you carry is not as important as whether you carry and whether you can comfortably operate what you carry.

Not much of a definitive answer but that's my two cents...

[Weg]

I used to carry an Airweight (.38 spec)as my primary. I trust revolvers more than semi-autos based on experience with both. I have never had a revolver lock up on me with factory loads. Every semi-auto I have ever owned has jammed on me at least once. I now carry a Glock 30 or .45 cal XDS depending how much i'm wearing. I miss my Airweight and someday will buy another for a back-up.

[John Galt]

Years ago I shot mostly revolvers, even though I had 2 1911's. After buying my first glock (a 21) in the early 90's, my love affair with simi-auto's began. Now that is all I carry.

[Excaliber]

I've owned and shot many revolvers (my first love) and semi-autos for more than 50 years but, believe it or not, I still haven't made up my mind which should be my EDC and my home-defense weapon. I know the advantages and disadvantages of each, but I guess it has come down to the following issues: semi-autos have greater ammo capacity and are quicker to reload, but I never trust one to be completely reliable and as I age (I'm 74), racking the slide is getting difficult. Revolvers are less complex to operate, but they are slower to reload and have limited ammo capapcity.

Opinions?

Crash

The answer is easy - use both!

I use semiautos for both home and carry purposes most of the year, but in the heat of the summer I'll drop an airweight J-frame in a pocket holster into my shorts along with a couple of speed strips of spare ammo if I'm just making a run down to the local Home Depot.

If I plan to go to areas with crowds, cities, or at night, I will always dress around an autoloader in .45ACP or 9mm and carry spare magazines.

This article might give you some viable ways of overcoming the slide racking issue and provide you with a greater range of protective arms choices.

[JALLEN]

Years ago, I did a survey of every semi auto I could get my hands on, and determined that the P7M8 was the most lefty friendly pistol, so I bought one, learned to use it and carried it mostly as long as I lived in CA, where an 8 round magazine isn't THAT much of a detriment.

A few years after moving back here, I began to notice that I could no longer reliably squeeze the squeeze cocker weak hand. So, I made a move, ending up with VP9s for carry and nightstand. I have a GP100 that was my nightstand pistol for years, and it may come to that again as the ravages of old age and decrepitude take their toll.

My point in mentioning this is that age and strength and health sometimes force changes, and we have to accede to those as gracefully as we can.

Get some speed loaders, practice and be secure. Make every shot count!

[aaangel]

im with excaliber! for the last 8 years, ive been carrying a glock 27 with an extra 15 round mag and a "new york" reload in my front pocket.(sw442). jan 1st, ill be switching to a full size G17. don't know yet if i'll continue to carry my revolver. maybe on just "special" occasion.

[The Annoyed Man]

im with excaliber! for the last 8 years, ive been carrying a glock 27 with an extra 15 round mag and a "new york" reload in my front pocket.(sw442). jan 1st, ill be switching to a full size G17. don't know yet if i'll continue to carry my revolver. maybe on just "special" occasion.

Semis for me 99.9% of the time. Like Excaliber, I have a scandium j-frame .357 that goes into a front pocket holster on those crazy hot days where I'm just making a run down to the corner store in cargo shorts, tee shirt and sandals. My semiauto choices typically include a full sized double-stack model or its single-stack baby brother of same manufacture. Lately, that has been a G17/G43 combo. If it is freezing weather, I'll go for either a XDM-45 or a XDS-45. For my wife it's a G19/G43 combo, and a 642 .38 snubbie.

I have found even the diminutive G43 side to be relatively easy to rack.....easier than on the XDS-45. I'm selling my PM9 in part because the G43 is a lot easier to use.

[remington79]

All my wife and I use are semi-autos. When she was shopping for a pistol she found there were some that were hard to rack. I let her try them and dry fire them. She tried a revolver but she hated the way it felt in her hand. Since she's sensitive to recoil it wouldn't have been a good choice anyway. After looking and renting she finally found a pistol she liked and could rack. She found the Glock G19 to her liking. She could rack it, the recoil was fine, and she could shoot it accurately. In addition she liked the way it felt in her hand and that it didn't have a heavy trigger that could cause her to pull her shots. I should add she was VERY picky (rightly so) in picking out a pistol. Off and on it took about a year to find one. Life tends to interfere at times.

I used to have and XD-45 Compact. That is the hardest slide I have ever had to rack. Reputable brand modern semi-autos are very reliable. I have no issue trusting them. I find semis to be easier to control, easier/quicker to reload, and provide quicker follow up shots. Each year as I read the news every time you hear of a robbery or break in there are more and more people involved. Now it usually seems to be 2 to 3 people that go in while one waits in the car. I think having a double stack is very important because of this. Earlier this year there was a video of a gun store or pawn shop getting robbed by two guys. the lady in the back had a revolver and she ran out of ammo while the two guys were still in the store and were firing a couple of rounds as they ran out of the store. Take into account the number of possible people, stress, and everyone moving and I think you need at least two to three rounds per person. The longer you can stay in the fight before you have to try to reload and engage those finer motor skills the better your chances of survival.

[Oldgringo]

I've owned and shot many revolvers (my first love) and semi-autos for more than 50 years but, believe it or not, I still haven't made up my mind which should be my EDC and my home-defense weapon. I know the advantages and disadvantages of each, but I guess it has come down to the following issues: semi-autos have greater ammo capacity and are quicker to reload, but I never trust one to be completely reliable and as I age (I'm 74), racking the slide is getting difficult. Revolvers are less complex to operate, but they are slower to reload and have limited ammo capapcity.

Opinions?

Crash

Crash,

It sounds like you may be a few months my senior but I know exactly what you're talking about. Arthritis and tendonitis in my left grip hand makes racking the slide on my semis uncomfortable to say the least. Furthermore, I'm about to have surgery on my left wrist at the end of the month that's expected to further weaken my grip.

At my age, environment and life style, I don't expect to be in any long, drawn out gun battles requiring many reloads; ergo, I'm seriously considering dropping down to one of my 5 or 6 shot S&W's for EDC. We'll see what shape my racking wrist/hand is at the end of the month and take it from there.

Good luck,

Greg

[baldeagle]

I've owned and shot many revolvers (my first love) and semi-autos for more than 50 years but, believe it or not, I still haven't made up my mind which should be my EDC and my home-defense weapon. I know the advantages and disadvantages of each, but I guess it has come down to the following issues: semi-autos have greater ammo capacity and are quicker to reload, but I never trust one to be completely reliable and as I age (I'm 74), racking the slide is getting difficult. Revolvers are less complex to operate, but they are slower to reload and have limited ammo capapcity.

Opinions?

Crash

Use both. By the time you've emptied the revolver and the first mag, the fight should be over.

[TEX]

Contrary to what some may think, revolvers are not necessarily less complicated mechanically than semi-autos. It’s just that that the revolver doesn’t have to depend on recoil to operate and all of the cartridges are already chambered. Each design has its advantages and disadvantages.

In my opinion, what most people forget is that semi-autos come with extra training luggage. If a revolver fails to fire, which is unlikely with factory ammo, most people, even without much training, release the trigger and pull it again - thus moving a fresh cartridge under the firing pin and more often than not solving the problem. If a semi-auto malfunctions, you must have mastered two clearance procedures to get it going again – and I do mean “mastered”. Semi-autos are more prone to malfunctions simply because there are more things that can cause them to malfunction; unseated magazine, weak grip, weak magazine spring, deformed magazine, light primer strike, failure to extract (often called a double feed), not fully in battery due to slide contact, restriction or target contact – I am sure there are more.

That being said, semi-auto are generally easier to shoot accurately because of less trigger travel, usually offer more rounds, and unless you are JM, can usually be reloaded faster. Spare magazines are easier to carry than speed loaders. Depending on the caliber, semi-autos normally deliver less felt recoil than a revolver. However, the revolver does take, in my experience, more trigger time to learn how to shoot it accurately (if fired in DA, which is the way it was intended to be used if needed quickly).

As with most things, it is a personal choice, and many things have to be considered. How much time are you willing to spend leaning the pistol, how to shoot it well and what to do if it quits on you. What does surprise me is the number of people who carry a semi-auto, but no spare magazine, thus giving up one of the semi-auto's best features – that has always been a puzzler to me.