In the modern era of semi-automatic handguns that are affordable, reliable, and easily hold as much as three times the amount of ammunition, the question must be asked why do revolvers continue to prove popular enough to see continual production, purchase, and use for defensive purposes? The technological developments involved with revolvers has not truly advanced since the late nineteenth century, while semi-automatic handguns have advanced significantly in every category. It cannot simply be a matter of reliability, as even revolvers can experience significant failures that interfere with their functionality. Squib rounds, debris from pockets finding their way into the mechanism through the various opening ports, recoil causing projectiles to come loose from their casings and obstructing proper rotation, the list just goes on demonstrating how problematic they can be. Yet they persevere. Why precisely?
Revolvers are natural aim handguns while most pistols are not natural aim. Explained at 4:45 in the video below.
The reliability of revolvers, despite your grasping at straws to prove otherwise (especially since most of those same issues exist for semi-automatics), is the reason. The basic simplicity of a revolver also enters into the argument. Finally, revolvers are more suited for very powerful rounds than semi-automatic handguns, and magnum revolvers are much smaller than equivalent magnum semi-automatic handguns. Look at a .44 magnum Desert Eagle in comparison to a Model 29 revolver.
Revolvers aren't as scary looking as pistols so liberals tend not to lump them with black scary looking assault weapons.
Safety issues. It's easier to make sure a revolver is unloaded - less likely to forget the one in the chamber. Had a relative accidentally shoot his favorite dog while starting to clean a Glock - simply forgot to check the chamber. Guy had been safe with multiple guns for 50 years - it only takes one mistake. A mistake a little less likely with a revolver.
I think revolvers still have a place in the modern shooter's arsenal. Admittedly, I grew up learning on revolvers, so I suppose I'm a little biased; my grandfather was a cop when revolvers dominated law enforcement, and thanks to the autos of the time he tended to dismiss most autos as "jamamatics". Of course, modern semi-autos are about as reliable a machine as you can make and the old arguments about the superior reliability of revolvers tend to fall by the wayside when one compares them to modern pistols. So, why revolvers? Revolvers are also about as highly refined a machine as can be built today. The good ones are like tanks; durable and reliable. They are also self-contained: there is no magazine to lose. Lose an auto's mag in the field and you've got a very fancy and complex single shot. The revolver is very basic and simple to use. Point, pull trigger, repeat as necessary until empty. For people looking for a reliable defensive weapon they can use halfway competently with minimal training and rare practice the revolver is the way to go. There are no springs to fail; you can throw a loaded revolver in a drawer and leave it for years and it is far more likely to fire than a similarly neglected self-loader. A revolver can be chambered in more powerful cartridges without having to be bulky and unwieldy. A Desert Eagle .44 Mag looks good in the movies but is clumsy and awkward to handle in real life and a brick to try and carry in a holster; a similarly chambered Smith & Wesson model 29 with a 4-inch barrel is a relatively light and comfortable gun to carry, with great balance and generally better intrinsic accuracy. I personally still like and use revolvers partially because they are actually easier to fit to the shooter. They tend to balance exceptionally well, and with custom grips made to fit the shooter a revolver tends to "point" much more naturally than most autos, which contributes to more consistent accuracy when fired instinctively, such as in a crisis situation. True, modern revolvers tend to ship from the factory with what I jokingly call "lawyer-proof triggers" - i.e. heavy and gritty - but the ministrations of a proper gunsmith can make a revolver trigger buttery smooth and easy to use. In the end, I think there are a lot of things revolvers bring to the table today. Yes, they hold less ammo and are slower to reload than an auto; but such things can be compensated for through training and practice. Just my .02$
That's something that drives me crazy with some people; even those who should know better. Just because you've removed the magazine does NOT mean the gun is unloaded. You still have to clear the chamber, and too many people forget that. And WTF was the guy doing pointing his gun at his favorite dog? Even if it WAS unloaded??
How does one even supposedly achieve such? Cleaning a firearm does not involve wiping down the exterior surface and calling it good enough. Cleaning a firearm involves disassembly of the mechanism.
IIRC to disassemble a glock you have to pull the trigger to get the slide to release. Same with my wife's M&P shield. If you don't drop the mag and clear it like doing so is your religion, you're going to have a bad time some time. Which is WHY you drop the mag and clear it like doing so is your religion. I have a little chant I go through to keep up with it since I have ADD: Click Mag drops out, mag on ground in front of me, rack rack rack so I don't shoot myself in the leg, rack rack rack so I don't shoot myself in the leg, lock slide flick switch visual inspection so I don't shoot myself in the leg, fingertip in the pipe so I don't shoot myself in the leg, unlock slide, point safe, and pull trigger to release slide.
For that matter, why would one bother to clean a firearm unless it had already been used? If one is going to clean it, why would they bother with reloading it once they are done with using it?
1) You should ensure your firearms are broken down and cleaned and re-oiled at least once a month whether you shoot them or not, unless you've got them preserved in cosmoline or something like it. That is if you're like me and want to be passing heirlooms on. 2) When I leave the range I reload all my magazines first, and stick one back in each firearm. Or put shells in the shotgun or loose rounds in one of the bolt actions etc. That means when I come home and start to clean, each gets unloaded cleaned then reloaded and put away.
An instructor once told me, when it comes to a revolver....if you pull the trigger and it doesn't go bang. Then pull the trigger again and it doesn't go bang....it means it's not loaded. Basically his corny way of saying revolvers are very reliable.
AMERICANA Cold hard American forged steel that has been milled to precision by American craftsmen. No stamped steel or aluminum or plastics. Just cold hard steel and a rosewood pistol grip.
I do not believe in abridging rights by establishing a training requirement to excersize a right. That said, I always recommend the new gun owners, even those not so new, get training or continue training. I have taught quite a number of people about firearms and shooting (always learning more myself after a lifetime of it), and I spend a huge amount of time when training teaching how guns work (all basic actions), and a huge amount of time, never stopping really, teaching gun safety. One of the most basic commandments, never violated (among a few others) is never point the muzzle of a gun at anything you don’t want to destroy no matter what condition you think the gun is in. Period. No exceptions. When selling a gun, I can usually tell if a person knows gun (and one piece of assessing whether I will sell a gun) what they do after I check the condition in front of them and had them the piece. Most with knowledge and proper gun etiquette when handed the gun, will not put their finger in the guard, not pick up the gun such that they sweep the muzzle across anyone, and then proceed to check if the gun is loaded themselves. It tells me a lot. I have had guns brought to me and assured they were unloaded, to find they weren’t, more times than I can count. Not sure where I learned this, but when teaching gun safety, I often put a 3-4’ wood rod down the barrel of an unloaded gun I am teaching with an require the student to handle the gun in that state when not actually shooting advising that they must always be aware of where the rod points and insure the rod never contacts their or anyone else’s body. A couple sessions of that helps reinforce the lesson. One other lesson I sometimes do, only on the range, is have a student, watch me unload a gun, hand it to ‘em, making sure they keep the muzzle down range, (always after previously mentioning several times the necessity for them to do their own verification of the gun’s state), then ask if the gun is loaded or not. Often a new student, will not recheck the gun when an instructor unloads it in front of them. Many times a student will tell me the gun is empty, after which I will tell them to go ahead, keeping the gun pointed down range (closely monitored by me), and pull the trigger. Then, bang! (I either never unloaded it or secretly did). Then I usually advise, never trust anyone, not even me. That simple lesson, done correctly (was done to me a 5 years old) imprints indelibly on the mind. A way of thinking that was used to get the point across when I was young, guns can load themselves the moment you look away. Sit at a table cleaning your guns, get a phone call... hang up, did you check the gun’s condition laying in front of you. Feel lucky?
No argument on that point! I always remember my grandfather saying to me: "If you check a gun and she's unloaded, then put her down for even a split second, you'd better check her again; 'cause sure as God made little green apples some gremlin will have snuck a live round into her....."
I personally just like the look and feel of revolvers over semi auto handguns. There's something about the rustic nostalgia of a six shooter that can't be replaced.
IMO, with only six rounds, one is more inclined to make every shot count. Especially if it is a single action, like a Ruger Blackhawk. They also point well and feel good in the hand. In whole, a revolver portends an economy of purpose. Ever hunt with a modern single shot, caplock muzzleloader?