Thread: why revolvers?

Nowadays automatics are by far the most popular type of handgun, and some people wonder why revolvers remained so popular for so long, or why anyone still bothers to make new ones.

First... revolvers came first. They predate the metallic cartridge, which is essential for an autoloading pistol. Instead of a one-piece barrel, the back of the barrel was cut off, and five to seven blind sections mounted close to it on an axle. Each blind section was loaded, then turned into alignment with the barrel and fired. Much lighter and less bulky than the earlier "pepperbox" arrangement of independently charged barrels.

In fact, revolvers predate the priming cap; there were some flintlock and even matchlock revolving rifles made. But the priming cap made the revolver a production item; just put a cap on each nipple, pour black powder into each chamber, and seat lead balls on top. A pair of revolving pistols gave any man the firepower of a squad with the old weapons.

When the metallic cartridge was invented, it was immediately applied to the revolver, which not only gave the revolver overwhelming firepower, but allowed virtually "instant" (by the standards of the day) reloading, increasing individual firepower yet again.

The metallic cartridge's convenient packaging of powder, primer, and ball in one waterproof assembly started people thinking about autoloading pistols, and some were made... but none of them went anywhere, because the power of black powder ammunition varied dramatically from brand to brand, or even batch to batch. Making consistent black powder is still an art even today. Automatics demand ammunition that is neither too weak nor too strong; it wasn't until smokeless powder came out that automatics became practical.

As to why new revolvers are still made... some people find them easier to conceal. Revolvers are utterly indifferent to the quality of ammunition you use in them... even if it fails to fire, you just cock it and pull the trigger again on the next cartridge. And if you want power... a .357 or .44 snubnose puts a lot of power in a small package. And if you want MORE power, like .454 Casull, .460 S&W, .475 Linebaugh, or .500 S&W - a revolver is the only way to go. Automatics stop at the .50 Action Express, and that only in the Desert Eagle now. If you were so inclined, you could cut down the barrel and grip of a .500 S&W and drop it in a pocket.

And besides... some of us just like revolvers!

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Desires
http://www.pakguns.com/showthread.ph...lver-Vs-Pistol

ED, I am going to put my original message up on my web site. Could I get your permission to add your excellent post to it? With full attribution and a link back to PakGuns, of course.

I am flattered.. (Honoured too)

I had added some points in later posts in the same thread. U may collate them in one post.

Revolver Vs. Pistol

Enigmatic Desires
22-08-2013

Here is my take on the age old debate after carrying both as my EDC.

Reliability:

Hands down the innate simplicity of the revolver design makes it vastly superior to the pistol in the reliability department.

No worries about faulty magazines, followers, spring pressure. No FTE issues or feeding problems. Broken ejectors or worries about which ammo the pistol "likes" FMJ or JHP or any specific brand.

With a wheel gun "you" decide what ammo type U like not the gun! You may load semi-wadcutters and she will not complain.

Even if there is a failure to fire the shooter does not have to take "time out" in a gun fight and clear the dud round manually. With a revolver he simply continues shooting.

Simplicity

For a newbie to the fire arms world i almost always recommond a wheel gun over a pistol. its far more simpler to operate then a pistol

Choice:

The .357magnum can also fire the .38 spacial. My .32 S&W long can do .32 s&w short and in a pinch even .32 acp ( A pistol round) However I can just imagine stuffing my .32 revolver round in the .32 pistol! Boom if I ever were able to stuff it inside the gun!

Safety:

IMHO one of the most crucial differences between the wheel gun and the pistol is that the pistol cycles a fresh round "after" it has been fired. While the revolver completes its cycle "before" discharge.

How does it affect the safety of the weapon?

Well. The safest way to carry a firarm is condition 3 or chamber empty. Unfortunately if the stuff hits the fan. All you have to pull the trigger on a pistol suddenly all u get is a click.. U can go on clicking ad infinitum. Untill you charge the weapon manually u wont get anywhere.

However, with a wheel gun even when there is an empty chamber under the hammer when you squeeze the trigger the piece will fire. The rotary mechanism will ensure there is a fresh round whenever the trigger is pulled.

Quantity vs. size:

The size of a pistol round is limited to the size of the grip. It is possible to stuff a .357magnum round in a desert eagle, but you would have to be a giant to conceal it let alone fire it comfortably.. if u have normal sized hands that is. It is a huge, heavy chunk of metal.

A titanium 7 shot .357 magnum Taurus snubbie can easily be dropped in an ankle holster and the owner will barely feel it is there!

Besides, the chances are if you cant do something with 7 or 8 .357 magnum rounds, you probably wont get a chance to do with 17 9mm rounds either.

Ease of handling:

I have used both as my EDC. But I found the task of unloading the chamber every time I came back home and then re-stuffing the 17th round back in the magazine, odious at best. I stopped abusing my thumb nail and simply shifted to my revolver. I also don't have to worry about spring fatigue anymore.

More tolerance for different gripping styles

i have yet to see a wheel gun fail to fire/extract due to limp wristing or injuring a thumb or fingers because the shooter allowed it to hover close to the slide.

(I made such an error once and am lucky my thumb is intact)

Security

It also does not leave 'calling' cards behind on the scene of an incident. I like my brass with me not strewn all over the road.

you get what u are promised

one more edge a revolver has over pistol, in revolvers you get exact barrel length you are promised with same length of rifling not like pistols where length of chamber (a feed ramp as well in CZ's case) is deducted from advertised barrel length

There was an incident when me and my friends were coming back from French beach and on the way back on the Mauripur road we saw a bunch of moter bikers crusing slowly. I immediately charged my 9mm pistol- Or tried to at any rate. I fumbled and the slide got stuck half way. It took me a good 10 minutes to clear the jam. Luckily for me my friend and his wife. The bikers were just a bunch of kids coming back from the beach. But I learnt my lesson that day.

And shifted to the wheel gun for serious SD work.

Originally Posted by Ahnab
The two big advantages a pistol has over a revolver is ammo capacity and ease of reloading. Also, if you tend to be finicky over safeties, pistols actually offer a better variety of options to choose from (SAO, safety, safe trigger, decocker, firing pin block, etc). Pistols, in general, also tend to be thinner than revolvers, making them less conspicuous while CC-ing.

Yes. They have higher ammo capacity. logic dicates that more ammo is good.

But there is an adverse side to it as well.

Quite apart from the whole 'if-u-cant-do-in-7-u-cant-do-in-17 argument.

Every bullet sent down range in the heat of the moment is the sole responsibility of the shooter. If out of 10 rounds fired even if 5 find hteir mark the other 5 may nail the neighbour's daughter playing hopscotch down the street.

A wheel gun stops the shooter from indulging in a bit of spraying.

My double column mag equipped pt 92 is not much thinner then my wheelie in the grip area.

When I cc either weapon. its the grip part that is conspicuous and prints visibly. the rest just disappears inside the pants and holster.

The grip of a pistol cannot be completely changed since its an integral part of the weapon. The grip of the wheel gun on the other hand can be changed completely. I have used both the minuscule hw3 grip for cc while for range shooting I used the bigger HW 5 grips.

Yes a single column TT would have a thinner profile. But then it has only 7 rounds. the same capacity as my HW 5 and no external safety (or internal safety for that matter) and it cannot be fired in DA mode.

The Baikal 442 does have 12 rounds but then its thick grip makes it print so now the 8 round version is becoming increasingly popular. Again allmost the same ammo capacity as a cc wheel gun.

Gun magazine "experts" like to claim a "pistol" is only an autoloader.

Originally, all pistols were single shot muzzle-loaders. Then came pepperbox muzzle-loaders. Then came revolving pistols. Samuel Colt, who should surely know, called his invention a "revolving pistol", or just a "pistol", as did most manufacturers. Later came autoloading, or "automatic" pistols.

If it doesn't have a stock and you're supposed to shoot it one-handed, it's a pistol, no matter how the magazine is arranged.

The term "handgun" came about much later. I guess to differentiate them from footguns. Or, more likely, once the "experts" decided that "pistol" only applied to automatics, they needed a word to describe the other one-handed shooting devices.