The Realities Of Running a Revolver In a Semi-Auto World

    Some forty years since the mass migration of the police community from revolvers over to semi-automatics, the wheelgun is still with us. Outside of contract security guards that are mandated by their companies to carry a revolver or some dinosaurs in the law enforcement community who carry it in preference to anything else, the revolver has lost the prominence it once had. Given current developments in technology, tactics, training and practice; it’s a safe bet revolvers aren’t going to unseat semi-automatics.

    I like revolvers, having come to them late in my shooting career; I have come to appreciate them not only as a viable tool for defense but also as a statement of values by the person who carries one, which is to say practical and romantic all at once. Running a revolver is akin to driving a standard transmission in a road full of automatics; you can do it, but you need to ask yourself why?  As a tool, a decent semi-automatic pistol has it all over the revolver. The obvious points of, ease of reloading under stress, usually larger magazine capacity can also be coupled with simplicity of maintenance and ease of repair.

    The argument that the revolver is more reliable is true up to a point. Guns like the Beretta 92F, Sig P226, and any of the Glock series are more than reliable enough and far outstrip the original Mean Rounds Between Failures criteria of 5,000 rds that the original 1911 had to meet. Realistically speaking, most malfunctions with semi-autos can be prevented with a modicum of preventative maintenance and most malfunctions, failures to extract, eject, feed, are easily remedied by the immediate action of Tap, Rack, Bang. Semi-automatic service pistols can be run hard and shake off most neglect, short of outright abuse. Revolvers being run hard will have their problems, bent ejector rods, timing issues, high primers; which is to say that anything that can tie a revolver up is not going to be easily remedied in field and will require tools and knowledge to fix and will render the gun inoperable for the duration.

    The Revolver is more accurate, by virtue of the barrel being fixed into the frame is another evergreen, which is sort of true, mostly. The average revolver may edge out the semi-auto in terms of mechanical accuracy, but the real world difference isn’t enough to worry about. Factors like superior ergonomics and lighter single action triggers negate those differences in the real world.

    In light of the earlier critiques, the revolvers deficiencies: lack of ammunition capacity, relative to semi-autos, the perceived difficulty of mastering the Double Action trigger and the lack of speed and difficulty of reloading under stress one has to wonder why anyone would carry or use a revolver for defense. The simple answers are because we can or because we have to. I think the revolver still has a place for personal defense, both for the novice and the veteran shooter but we need to be clear eyed about it and practical. Most people aren’t going to be Jerry Miculek and that’s fine, because you don’t have to be. It means optimizing your situation: learn and master the double action trigger and don’t rely on the crutch of cocking the hammer back for single action. Don’t get a gun that’s too small or too big for you to handle; for most folks this means K or L frame S&Ws or Ruger 6 series or GP-100s in calibers .357 Magnum or .38 Special. The smaller J frame Smiths or Ruger SP-101s are really guns for people that are going to take the time to master them. Use good speedloaders, which is to say, stay away from HKS and go with Safariland Comp 2 or 3, the effort to learn how to use the Safarilands will translate to faster reloads. Having your revolver cut for moonclips isn’t a bad way to go, but be aware that a bent clip will possibly tie the gun up. Practice reloading and accept the fact the you will need to do so more often than someone running a semi-auto. Accept the fact too that you won’t have as many rounds as a semi-auto operator and that you won’t be able to do things like “covering fire” with only 5 to 7 shots, so marksmanship is your friend here.

 Two inch Model 15, flanked from l-r by Safariland Comp 2 and Comp 3 speedloaders.

 From l-r, the Safariland Comp 2 and Comp 3 Speedloaders. The obvious difference in size aside, what isn't apparent is that the Comp 3, mostly meant for competition, secures the rim of the carridges slightly differently and is spring loaded and pushes the cartridges into the chambers as opposed to the Comp 2, which simply drops them in.

 In this closeup you can see the brass teeth that engage the rims of the cartridges in the Comp 2.

 Another shot of the Comp 2 with the brass teeth retracted.

 Closeup of the Comp 3, the rims are engaged by the plastic teeth of the Comp 3. While initially a concern; I have run this particular speedloader for ten years with no discernible wear or looseness having developed.

 A closeup of the Safariland Comp 2 in a position to be reloaded, also to note the relative size difference with the Comp 3.

 A closeup of the Safariland Comp 3 in loading position. The blue tape is to help ID it on the Competition field.

A closeup of a slightly compressed Comp 3 in an attempt to show the plastic teeth and column that retain the rims securely.