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In the final installation of this topic we’ll examine the two pistol camps; revolver and semi-automatic. Both of these style of pistols have their place in the shooters collection. They were designed to fit a need and the marksman must weigh the advantages of one over the other for a given application or situational requirement.
It seems that these days many are so gungho for a caliber, brand, wheelgun, or semi-auto that they miss the forest for the trees (or the target for the dueling-tree). The dogmatic lover of all things six-shooter hails the reliability on the one hand, and on the other, the “semi-auto-only-camp” praises the capacity and ease of reloading. I’ve seen some of these arguments get downright acrimonious! I’m left wondering, can’t we all just get along? Admittedly, I am a semi-automatic fan. I shoot semi-auto’s much better than a revolver and they normally fit more comfortably in my hand. For me, using a revolver is like trying to drive a nail with a screwdriver. It can be done, but there are much more effective tools in the toolbox. Notice my bent for the automatic is based on fit and nothing else—find the one you shoot the best, and use it as your primary gun (mostly).
The Old Six-Shooter
Ever since pistols moved from ball and powder being shoved down the muzzle, the revolver has stood steady. I’m not going to bring up the same tired arguments about why they’re the best thing since the cartridge except to say that when you hit a dud, it’s nice to be able to squeeze the trigger and move onto the next round in the chamber. It’s also pretty certain that if you drag that old .38 Special out of the box on the top of your closet shelf… you remember…the one that hasn’t seen the light of day since your grandfather left it to you?…and drop ammunition into it, the old sucker is going to go off. So what makes the old six-shooter an ideal weapon?
Let’s set up this scenario. You are a CHL holder who happens to be 5′10″ tall and 130lbs soaking wet. Living in the Great State of Texas, you know that the summers (and even the winters) can be less than cool. In fact, they can be brutal. Walking around Austin in jeans and a heavier overshirt to hide the pistol on your hip is a very bad situation to be in. In the best case, the sweat-soaked shirt will make you the city pariah. Worst case, you will have a tough time drawing that weapon in a self defense situation. This leaves you only a handful of options. Leave your weapon at home or in the car, or deal with the heat and misery.
There is another option. The Smith & Wesson Model 438 is a lightweight 5-shooter that is chambered in .38 +P. So what? Well, the Model 438 is light and will fit right in the front pocket of your favorite cargo shorts, and it only feels like you have an extra set of car keys! With the 438 rated to handle the very nice, but hot +P loads, you have ample stopping power to deal with many threats. Your only major drawback to a revolver is the amount of lead you can put down range. The point is, make sure you carry a few speed loaders if you carry this kind of weapon for self-defense.
Semi-Automatic
The converse is true of the semi-auto. Most of these wünder-pistols carry more ammunition than you can find on the shelves of your favorite sporting good store. In a protracted gun fight, the fewer times you need to reload is better. Either you score a hit and end the fight with a few shots, or you have enough to last a while and chase the bad guy off. There is something to be said for having a lot of on-board ammunition. In the movie The Untouchables, Jim Malone (Sean Connery) instructs Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) in the Chicago way to fight. Malone remarks if someone pulls a knife in a fight, you pull a gun; if they send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue. According to Malone, your job is to win by one-upping your attacker with a better weapon. Many aggressors these days carry plenty of on board ammunition. The high capacity magazine afforded by today’s semi-automatic pistol will help level the playing field if you’re involved in a fight for you life.
But what if we’re not concerned about concealed carry, or self defense? Does it really matter if you have a semi-auto or revolver in the gun safe? Not really. This goes back to your preference. I’ve mentioned the limitations of the revolvers’ capacity. If you’re just plinking, this limitation may not be a big deal to you. But there are those times when less reloading is better. A year ago I visited a class offered by another Central Texas firearms school. It was two days of great training, and the class went through nearly 1600 rounds in two days. After jamming magazine after magazine full of ammunition, my fingers really started to feel the adverse affects and I began to wish I’d brought my magazine reloading tool! While there was not a single student that fired a revolver, it was clear they would have spent a lot of there own class time reloading their weapon. If you are planning to take a Saturday afternoon and go plinking with your buddies, and you’re carrying a revolver, be prepared to reload…a lot!
So Which One?!
The only thing I’ve mentioned about these two weapon styles can primarily be found in the amount of ammunition each can carry. And as much as I hate to say it, fit (see parts one and two of this series) is going to be the best indicator of which style works for you. Your decision should take into consideration ease of use, reliability, maintenance, and durability in addition to your ability to fire the weapon properly. Some have thrown “safety” as a consideration, but to me this is irrelevant. If you always believe that your weapon is loaded, and treat it as such, you will have minimized potential accidents (see Gun Safety: A Moral Decision). When you decide what kind of gun is in your budget, you will want to compare the different styles by putting them in your hand and firing the weapon. Most will have similar features along the same price points.
Ask yourself how the revolver or pistol answers those four questions above. Reliability? How concerned are you about this? The Sig Sauer P229 was torture tested by an outfit in upstate New York. They wanted to see if Sig’s claim of “To Hell and Back Reliability” was true, especially since the Navy SEALS awarded a weapons contract to Sig. These guys did everything from drag the guns through mud, to drop them from scaffolding, to setting them on fire, to blowing them up with a small C4 charge. The gun continued to fire accurately after all of that! Is this the kind of reliability you need or want? If so, it will cost you upwards of $1200 to $1300. If you don’t plan to set your weapon on fire, but do want a good one, there are brands like Glock and Springfield that build very reliable semi-automatic pistols. You can find the same reliability in Smith & Wesson revolvers too. There are a ton of manufacturers that build quality firearms so don’t get too hung up on the label.
What about maintenance? Smith’s M&P was a pain in the neck to try and break down for cleaning, and finding aftermarket parts for the Springfield XD is just as frustrating. A revolver—with its minimal parts—is much simpler to keep clean and fine tune. While on the topic of cleaning semi-autos, field stripping the Glock is much easier than the 1911 pattern pistol, especially if you have minimal experience with either.
Finally!
If you look back over the previous newsletters one idea should stand out. Once you have determined why you want your weapon then caliber, manufacturer, revolver or semi-auto makes very little difference in your choice. You have to find the one that fits you best, the one that you will enjoy shooting, and the one that you can control. I have used several examples on the self-defense side, but the decision to pick a weapon for plinking at the range is just as important. If you decide you just want to fire off rounds at the range, you want a gun that’s fun to shoot! If the gun doesn’t fit, or the caliber is too large you will have zero fun. Revolver or pistol is really a non-sequitor to the overall argument of what gun is “best.” In reality, the question is “what gun is best for you.” Find the fit and primary purpose, and you’ll love your shooting experiences. If you need further advice, feel free to contact the staff. We’re more than happy to help you make sure your shooting experiences are enjoyable!