Another "why revolvers?" thread (culled side conversation)

[BehindBlueI's]

Wonky grips, terrible sights, and the ergonomics of a gas station burrito.

You don't know what you don't know. Seriously. Revolvers span the gamut, just like semi-autos do.

Grip/stocks are easily changeable and can literally be customized to a mold of your hand. Why? Because there's no need to have a magazine in the middle of your fist. There is much more room for customization on many revolvers. You can adjust any dimension, angle of presentation, even material...and generally with nothing more involved then a screwdriver.

Sights? I have Novak sights on revolvers. I can put any sights on my revolvers you can put on your semi-auto. Not every revolver is a black trench/black post sight system. Some come with night sights, fiber optics, etc.

I don't even know what the ergonomics thing means, so you got me on that one I suppose.

Maybe it’s just because I knew something about Glocks and didn’t know anything about revolvers but I’ve seen three new shooters figure out how to work a Glock much faster than a revolver.

Look up thumb print/thumb nail. Or @Mas 's wedge grip. We didn't ALL learn Glocks first, trust me.

[Casual Friday]

You don't know what you don't know. Seriously. Revolvers span the gamut, just like semi-autos do.

Grip/stocks are easily changeable and can literally be customized to a mold of your hand. Why? Because there's no need to have a magazine in the middle of your fist. There is much more room for customization on many revolvers. You can adjust any dimension, angle of presentation, even material...and generally with nothing more involved then a screwdriver.

Sights? I have Novak sights on revolvers. I can put any sights on my revolvers you can put on your semi-auto. Not every revolver is a black trench/black post sight system. Some come with night sights, fiber optics, etc.

I don't even know what the ergonomics thing means, so you got me on that one I suppose.



Look up thumb print/thumb nail. Or @Mas 's wedge grip. We didn't ALL learn Glocks first, trust me.

I mean, I know what I know and that's every revolver I've shot has given up one or more things to a semi auto. It's cool that you like them though and just because I don't that doesn't mean you have to stop liking them.

[HCM]

Are they easier to shoot the initial load from then something like a Glock? The few people I’ve been to shoot with when a revolver was present weren’t even sure how to best grip the gun, myself included. A high, thumbs forward grip that we all learned long ago helps control recoil on a semi auto really didn’t seem to work on revolvers.

Maybe it’s just because I knew something about Glocks and didn’t know anything about revolvers but I’ve seen three new shooters figure out how to work a Glock much faster than a revolver.


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Revolver and Glock are both point and shoot but the revolver is much more forgiving of grip issues which can cause the Glock to stop working.

Who initially loaded the Glock for those new shooters ? I’m assuming you provided some instruction? Or did the completely figure it out on their own ? Most fire extinguisher people don’t get any instruction beyond what the gun store guy tells them. Fire extinguisher people are not the same as new shooters with an interest in guns/shooting.

If they don’t touch a gun again for a year, or 5 years how likely are they to retain that knowledge of how to load , unload and properly grip the Glock ? Keeping both thumbs on the sane side of the pistol is second nature to us but apparently is not intuitive.

[Lester Polfus]

Since this has devolved into revolver vs. autoloader, can we go ahead and do 9mm vs. .45 as well?

[Stephanie B]

I find that, for me, I can comfortably conceal a 3" K-frame AIWB. If I'm not going to do a lot of sitting, then I switch to a 4". The part that sticks up above my belt line is all rounded and doesn't scream "gun here".

But when I go woods-walking in cooler weather, I sometimes go with a .45 Commander in an OWB holster and Wilson 8-round Elite magazines; because I live in a ban-state and there's no point in carrying a largish autoloader that's only 75% loaded. IMO. Would I be happier with a 17-round 9mm? Probably. But that's not an option.

[BehindBlueI's]

I mean, I know what I know and that's every revolver I've shot has given up one or more things to a semi auto. It's cool that you like them though and just because I don't that doesn't mean you have to stop liking them.

"Like" had nothing to do with your statement or my response and is a matter of individual opinion. Saying they have worse sights, etc. is just factually incorrect and I corrected it for you because that's the purpose of a technical forum...correct information.

Of course they give up things over a semi-auto. The same is true in reverse. This is well trodden ground.

[willie]

I had the fortune to grow up shooting revolvers and pistols. I can't even imagine not having both. We now have an era where out of the box pistols work fairly well. That was not always the case. Give me students who will follow directions, and I can teach them to shoot either revolver or pistol. Limit pistol choice to Glock, and I can guarantee early success. The beloved J frames have poor sights, a hard trigger pull, and a short barrel. The larger K frame has a longer distance between trigger and stocks. For people with smaller hands this distance affects the grip. For both frame sizes, modifications are needed.

Over the years I have changed my recommendations. To the person who will not practice after buying a handgun I suggest a full size .22 pistol like a Browning Buckmark or Ruger Standard Auto. My opinion is that they may have no business with a handgun and will screw up less with this choice which refers to a handgun to keep at home. To all the rest I suggest a striker fired handgun. The Shield takes the place of a J frame. To some I might urge that they consider a J frame, but I know longer recommend one as often as I once did. The LCR has better sights and is a fine offering too.

[Casual Friday]

"Like" had nothing to do with your statement or my response and is a matter of individual opinion. Saying they have worse sights, etc. is just factually incorrect and I corrected it for you because that's the purpose of a technical forum...correct information.

Of course they give up things over a semi-auto. The same is true in reverse. This is well trodden ground.

I was referring to j frame and LCR type revolvers that are the most commonly carried revolvers at present time. I guess we have different definitions of worse.

[BehindBlueI's]

I was referring to j frame and LCR type revolvers that are the most commonly carried revolvers at present time. I guess we have different definitions of worse.

Ok.



Or this Ruger SP101:



Better or worse then stock Walther PPK sights per your definition? Factory sights on a Shield? Hell, better or worse then the plastic OEM Glock sights?

SOME revolvers have terrible sights. SOME autoloaders do as well. Categorically saying one is better then the other isn't a matter of "like" or "definition". It's just wrong.

[Rex G]

Are they easier to shoot the initial load from then something like a Glock? The few people I’ve been to shoot with when a revolver was present weren’t even sure how to best grip the gun, myself included. A high, thumbs forward grip that we all learned long ago helps control recoil on a semi auto really didn’t seem to work on revolvers.

Maybe it’s just because I knew something about Glocks and didn’t know anything about revolvers but I’ve seen three new shooters figure out how to work a Glock much faster than a revolver.

Untrained people seem to want to hold a revolver too low on the grip, for optimal recoil management. This results in more muzzle flip than necessary, and it can mean that the user is holding off-center, in order to reach the trigger. It is not a sin to be untrained. Mentors should be happy to help beginners.

The high, thumbs-forward grip is not what I learned “long ago,” with my “long ago” being 1983. I started with a 1911, so yes, my right thumb stayed on top of the safety lever, but I had to learn to use DA revolvers during the police academy, and, as a first-year rookie, had to use only DA revolvers, 24/7/365. Thumbs-locked-down was normal for those revolvers. I did not see anyone using both-thumbs-forward with their autos, during this time. Maybe some competition shooters were starting to use both-thumbs-forward, but I was not part of that world.

Thumbs-forward is not a best practice with revolvers, if it means the user’s thumbs come anywhere near the barrel-cylinder gap, and, some revolvers can spit through the gap between the rear of the cylinder, and the recoil shield, especially if a primer is pierced, but also if the brass does not properly expand to fill the chamber, if the chamber or the cartridge is far enough out-of-spec.

I added a pair of HK P7 pistols, in the mid-Eighties. The gas system would soon render the dust cover and front of the trigger guard quite HOT, while firing. Yep, better keep that support hand thumb (and fingers) well away from that! My above-mentioned 1911 was never reliable, so it was traded, early, probably toward one of those P7 pistols.

In the early Nineties, when I used a SIG P220 duty pistol, I was still shooting both-thumbs-locked-down, to enable the slide release lever to do its job, when the last round in the mag had been fired.

Some time in the late Nineties, or very early in the new century, I became acquainted with both-thumbs-forward; probably with my new batch of 1911 pistols, but perhaps not until I transitioned to Glock duty pistols, in 2002, and was trying EVERYTHING to be able to shoot them as well as I could shoot a 1911 or a medium- or medium-large-frame revolver.