wheelgun vs semi auto

What is everyones opinion? Do you feel more comfortable with a solis, simple revolver in hand or a clean semi-auto to look down range at? I carry either or, depending on the day, and am just looking for other opinions.

I can't commit. Each has distinct advantages over the other in some way. Revolver has utter reliability with crimped ammo, but autos are slimmer. A revolver can fire its entire complement of ammunition from within a pocket. Autos (good ones) have a better trigger.

You'll notice I don't consider ammunition capacity to be a noteworthy advantage.

I carry both equally often.

Good Ole' Faithful

My 24/7 carry,,,

Ruger SP101 .357 mag with 3" barrel.

ALWAYS ready to go into action !!! :lol:

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[video=youtube;V6UMCydmmZw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6UMCydmmZw&feature=channel&list=UL[/video]

scott58dh said:

My 24/7 carry,,,

Ruger SP101 .357 mag with 3" barrel.

ALWAYS ready to go into action !!! :lol:

View attachment 9021

[video=youtube;V6UMCydmmZw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6UMCydmmZw&feature=channel&list=UL[/video]

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Lol I'll be honest it's hard for me to decide which I'd prefer but I have a ruger sp 101 3 inch .357 and there is nothing I don't love about it and I am happy to hear someone else carry it

I am a luddite and a curmudgeon - just ask anybody!

Being a luddite, I carry a revolver. Other reasons why I carry a revolver are - because I like to.

Being a curmudgeon, I carry .45ACP. In spite of being relatively new, as calibers go, it is God's own caliber. It works just as well out of a revolver barrell as out of a bottom-feeder barrel. Besides, I can count on picking up spare ammo by stripping the dead.:lol::uhoh: Carrying .45ACP in a revolver also allows me to use moon clips - I can match just about any bottom-feeder in reload times, and beat some. Using moon clips I can actually carry more ammo in the same space as bottom feeders - two speedloader cases take up the same territory on the belt as two mag carriers. I can get 12 rounds (2 moon clips) in each speedloader case as opposed to 7, 8, or even 10 rounds in each mag carrier.

Being a luddite who carries a revolver means I am not going to be tempted to trade it in for some new-fangled version with a whiz-bang modification. That means I am going to have more money available for ammo and training that the bottom-feeder who has just spent the egg money to pick up a new geegaw to put on his heater, or traded in his old heater for 25% of what he paid for it towards his new bottom feeder. After a few years of not trading for something newer and better that old saying begins to take on some meaning - "Never mess with a man with only one gun - he knows how to use it."

Being a curmudgeon means that I'm not going to worry about "marks of distinction" on my BBQ gun - it's the same one I carry the rest of the time. (OK, so I did pretty it up with some fancy stocks - but they stay on all the time!)

Now, none of this means any of y'all should go out and copy me just because I do things this way. All I ask is that you not try to explain all that whiz-bang new-fangled stuff and why it supposedly makes your bottom feeder so much better than the old-fangled one was. It would be like trying to get me to understand both how and why the box o' wires works. I don't care - it works and that's what I wanted.

stay safe.

skidmark said:

SNIP Being a luddite who carries a revolver means I am not going to be tempted to trade it in for some new-fangled version with a whiz-bang modification.

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New-fangled, whiz-bang? Like cartridge ammunition, smokeless powder, or double-action mechanism?

Anything designed after 1858 is clearly new-fangled and whiz-bang in my opinion. Gimme my old cap-and-ball Remington 1858 or Colt's navy revolver! Besides retaining old-fashion reliability, they double as a personal smoke-screen generator!

I followed the above video to YouTube and watched several Ruger shooting videos.

I noticed all these revolver men were doing a lot of single-action shooting.

I only shoot single-action to verify point of aim/point of impact. From then on, its double-action all time.

Why?

Because I'm practicing for self-defense. And, the last thing I want to do is spend time cocking between shots in a real self-defense situation. And, because I don't want to have to decock over a live chamber after the self-defense shooting is over. What happens if the bad guy turns his back and runs or falls while you are cocking for your next shot? Suddenly, it might be illegal to shoot again, but you've got a cocked hammer over a live chamber. Imagine trying to decock a loaded gun after the adrenaline rush of a real self-defense shooting.

Thus, all my revolver practice is double-action.

Of course, if you're practicing for hunting, that might be different. Can't see many hunters using that little Ruger, though.

Revolvers. Stove piping isn't a concern. The only disadvantage is you're mostly limited to 6 or 7 shots. I don't have speed loaders so the few times I do carry (being 19 I can only OC when a .060 exception (WA state law) applies) I have to carry a pocket full of singles as reload ammo. But reloading a revolver with singles can be done quickly with practice

I carry two revolvers, 1851 navy conversion, and 2 inch J frame. I have autos, but the Navy shoots pinpoint with only using front sight. The J frame is my backup. I carry two speed loaders and 6 extra rounds for the Navy in a cap pouch.

I have semi autos a 1911, Star Super A, and a PA-63. All accurate but none as good as the Navy. To be fair to the autos the Navy was reworked by the same gunsmith who built guns for Tom Selleck.

EMNofSeattle said:

Revolvers. Stove piping isn't a concern. The only disadvantage is you're mostly limited to 6 or 7 shots. I don't have speed loaders so the few times I do carry (being 19 I can only OC when a .060 exception (WA state law) applies) I have to carry a pocket full of singles as reload ammo. But reloading a revolver with singles can be done quickly with practice

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Look at moon clips - they are out there for every revolver caliber. There are some that will not require you to cut the cylinder, but IMHO it is well worth the small cost to get absolutely proper headspacing. (Another advantage of revolvers - not quite so finicky.)

And if you are not going to go with moon clips at the moment, (or speed loaders) look at speed strips. If nothing else, having all your cartridges facing the same way as well as not having to dig for one that decided to go hiding will be worth the expense.

stay safe.

I own both. Two Glock's. A 21 and a 27. I just bought a Ruger GP100. So far I prefer my Glocks, but I did not fire my Ruger yet. My opinion might change this weekend if I find time to get to the range and finally shoot my Ruger!

cm2624 said:

I own both. Two Glock's. A 21 and a 27. I just bought a Ruger GP100. So far I prefer my Glocks, but I did not fire my Ruger yet. My opinion might change this weekend if I find time to get to the range and finally shoot my Ruger!

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I've carried my 4" GP100 357 quite a bit. I LOVE IT.

I really can't contribute to this thread. I go through moods monthly like my wif--- well, nvm. One week I'll carry a GP100, then I decide carrying 6 rounds is silly and I'll carry the glock, then the next week I want to carry a 1911, then I decide that's too old of a design to be a carry gun i can trust so I go back to glock, then back to the revolver, then the glock, then i'm crazy about 1911s again. Does anyone else do this every few weeks?

Schlitz said:

I've carried my 4" GP100 357 quite a bit. I LOVE IT.

I really can't contribute to this thread. I go through moods monthly like my wif--- well, nvm. One week I'll carry a GP100, then I decide carrying 6 rounds is silly and I'll carry the glock, then the next week I want to carry a 1911, then I decide that's too old of a design to be a carry gun i can trust so I go back to glock, then back to the revolver, then the glock, then i'm crazy about 1911s again. Does anyone else do this every few weeks?

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My Ruger has a 3 inch barrel. I will have to buy a holster before I can carry it. I will probably just end up charging a holster this weekend!

Everything is a compromise, just which compromises you are willing to accept?

Right now I carry a Springfield XD, and looking at getting a Glock 21. That being said, I shot a friends Ruger .38SP snub nose. Very good gun, I would carry it. He got it at a show and only paid 200 for it so, you can't really complain there. I think he carries it as his CCW. I would rock a .357 if I owned one. I think with 4-6", there is a factor of intimidation as a detterent.

skidmark said:

Look at moon clips - they are out there for every revolver caliber. There are some that will not require you to cut the cylinder, but IMHO it is well worth the small cost to get absolutely proper headspacing. (Another advantage of revolvers - not quite so finicky.)

And if you are not going to go with moon clips at the moment, (or speed loaders) look at speed strips. If nothing else, having all your cartridges facing the same way as well as not having to dig for one that decided to go hiding will be worth the expense.

stay safe.

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Funny thing is, my local gun shop (Boerner's Firearms in Gorst) won't sell any of those to me, they require you be 21 or older to buy "handgun accessories" at least that's what the guy working the counter said. wouldn't even let my buy a thigh holster for my airsoft pistol back when I was into exchanging plastic BB fire with my friends....

Citizen said:

New-fangled, whiz-bang? Like cartridge ammunition, smokeless powder, or double-action mechanism?

Anything designed after 1858 is clearly new-fangled and whiz-bang in my opinion. Gimme my old cap-and-ball Remington 1858 or Colt's navy revolver! Besides retaining old-fashion reliability, they double as a personal smoke-screen generator!

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you know the funny thing is, A friend of my dad's from the Air Force was once assigned to Otis AFB in Massachuesitts, well MA doesn't really smile on issuing a permit to carry for self defense, but firearms made before 1899 or exact replicas of such firearms are exempted from carry and licensing laws (MA General Law, Title XX Ch. 140 Sec. 121) So this guy carried a replica of a colt peacemaker concealed for protection in MA, figuring fighting with a black powder single action revolver was better then taking on an armed gangbanger with your hands.

I like my 3 inch GP100. Even haveing used other calibers, I still come back to the .357 revolver. .45acp is my second runner up.

Shipwreck044 said:

I like my 3 inch GP100. Even haveing used other calibers, I still come back to the .357 revolver. .45acp is my second runner up.

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Yep. There is just something satisfying about that nice, firm recoil in the palm of your hand. I'm not being sarcastic here. I mean it sincerely.

Of course, a 5" flame fan around the gun at the cylinder-to-barrel gap just adds to the cool factor (but not after dark).

I like both. I dont own a revolver anymore, but Im the kind of person who would consider a different gun for a different purpose,for example, for carrying around town for self protection,I would carry the semi auto, but if I were camping,hunting, or going out in the woods or a farm I would carry the revolver. I dont have any real reason for my choices, but thats where I stand. It is only my opinion only. They both have their pros and cons.