Well, let's not forget that we're on a revolver forum amid folks who love them and generally no doubt know how to use them. I don't see the OP question as a strawman inviting comments about how wonderful semi-autos may be and how dumb an idea it is to carry a SA. I would be more interested in why people carry SA than why they shouldn't.
Why do we still like and trust SA revolvers so much?
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Rangerrich99
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@SansSouci;
As to my original post: I probably shouldn't write posts after a glass of scotch on an empty stomach. Seems it can convince me to use more colorful language than I normally use. And it can give me a more aggressive attitude as well. So my apologies for that.
However, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't actually answer my question. How long does it take you to restore function of your Sig after noticing that the hammer fell on a dud round?
Or are you saying that in all the years you've been pulling triggers that you've never experienced a dud?
Okay, maybe you haven't; but you have heard of this phenomenon, as I'm sure you've trained for this possibility, as we all have with any semi-auto. So how long do you think it takes to first notice the problem then fix it, then get off the next round? Conversely, the same scenario with a revolver requires only that I pull the trigger again. Call it a bit less than half a second for it to go bang again.
As for my Sig, I should probably qualify my first post: Several years ago I decided to find out how long it would function without maintenance other than running a Boresnake through it and a oil wipe down of the exterior after each range session. On average I found this to be slightly more than a thousand rounds, or about three to four range sessions. Then I'd break it down, give everything a thorough cleaning and start the process over. Nowadays, I clean it after every two or three range sessions, so I don't think I've had a malfunction except for a couple duds in three years. I may not be an expert, but I don't feel this makes my Sig a bad gun.
As to my being emotionally attached to my revolvers; it's possible. I like them very much. But it's not really my nature to view any of my possessions through rose-colored glasses, except my dog of course.
Thinking about it, I've probably only put about 20,000-25,000 rounds through all of my revolvers combined. This may not be a large enough sample size to draw any useful conclusions. It's just been my experience.
And I just realized that my original post had nothing to do with the original question posed in the first post. I was thinking about DA revolvers, not SAs, so sorry about that.
As for SAs and why I think they're still so popular I think it's a mix of the things the OP already stated. I think there's a lot of nostalgia involved.
I also still believe that a good SA revolver is both more accurate (this belief may be just old school thinking these days) and able to handle a wider range of loads, and in terms of hunting platforms able to handle much stronger loads, which may be another reason many people gravitate towards SA revolvers.
For myself, I own one mostly for the nostalgia of it. Occasionally it rides on my hip as my field piece on hunting/camping trips, otherwise it's a range toy. But it is beautiful to look at . . .
scrubcedar: Why do some people still choose a SA Revolvers over a DA Revolvers or 1911 type pistols. Well IMHO I think it comes a large part from Your age, Where You were raise, Who the people were that raised You, and Who the people were that were Your Hero`s growing up. Well I am 72yrs old. I was raised in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and West Texas for the most part in small towns, or on small farms or Ranches, raising Cattle and Horses. The Men and Women of my family I grew up with were just pretty darn good Cowboys. And My Grandpa and Grandma were just very special to me and I spent a lot of time with them growing up, and they always had time for me and my questions. And I was taught to shoot what my family prefered and most of the time carried. A S/A Colt, a Lever Action Winchester or Marlin Rifle, and a Side by Side Shotgun or a 1897 or Model 12 Winchester Pump Shotgun. My Grandpa and most of His Old Friends had at one time or another had made a living with a gun, when they weren't Cowboying. These Old Men taught me Life's Rules and what I should expect out of life. And they taught me what was right and what was wrong and they taught me about Honor. These Old Men were hard men, but hey were my Hero`s. And these were the guns that they carried. So an old
S/A Colt or now a Ruger, just fit`s my hand better and just points better especially at night when you might be a little bit scared. I always felt well armed and safe carrying a well tuned S/A Colt or Ruger. So I guess this is just a few of the reasons why I would choose an Old S/A. But hell boys this is just the ramblings of an Old Man remembering my Youth. By the way I made a living out of the Army for a while and was in the Infantry and I took a Ruger Blackhawk with the 45acp Cylinder back to Viet Nam with me on my last tour and it worked just fine. But that story takes a lot of telling and I have taken up to much of your time all ready. I hope I did not bore you.
ken
S/A Colt or now a Ruger, just fit`s my hand better and just points better especially at night when you might be a little bit scared. I always felt well armed and safe carrying a well tuned S/A Colt or Ruger. So I guess this is just a few of the reasons why I would choose an Old S/A. But hell boys this is just the ramblings of an Old Man remembering my Youth. By the way I made a living out of the Army for a while and was in the Infantry and I took a Ruger Blackhawk with the 45acp Cylinder back to Viet Nam with me on my last tour and it worked just fine. But that story takes a lot of telling and I have taken up to much of your time all ready. I hope I did not bore you.
ken
My Two Cents' Worth
Well I'll make two modest points here: I have owned an equal number of semi autos and revolvers of both persuasions. As a retired police officer, I can vouch for the feasibility of a high capacity magazine in a moving gunfight with robbers in a store parking lot, but even then, the reliability of six shots I KNOW I have is more comforting than having to tap-rack, assess and deal with the problem.
Statistically, most gunfights are at very close range, last less than three seconds and involve less than three rounds fired. Not only does FBI research show this, but as a police officer and detective for 21 years, this was also my own experience.
I personally prefer revolvers, single actions especially, and I do carry them concealed and for personal defense. My reason being that I use a large caliber in an anti-personnel shock-and-awe load designed to deliver maximum shock and yet allow quick recovery for followup shots.
I wholeheartedly agree that how we carry our guns should be up to us, not the government. I am fortunate to live in a very gun-friendly state - Arizona, where no permit is required to carry concealed. As far as open carry goes, unless one is out in the wilderness, I think open carry is a questionable idea for a couple reasons: 1) ordinary folks, like in a coffee shop, restaurant or bar (and yes we are allowed to carry our guns in bars in Arizona - per state law), and 2) if a bad guy walks in to start robbing or shooting, he'll shoot first the guys he can see are packing.
ElVaquero
Well I'll make two modest points here: I have owned an equal number of semi autos and revolvers of both persuasions. As a retired police officer, I can vouch for the feasibility of a high capacity magazine in a moving gunfight with robbers in a store parking lot, but even then, the reliability of six shots I KNOW I have is more comforting than having to tap-rack, assess and deal with the problem.
Statistically, most gunfights are at very close range, last less than three seconds and involve less than three rounds fired. Not only does FBI research show this, but as a police officer and detective for 21 years, this was also my own experience.
I personally prefer revolvers, single actions especially, and I do carry them concealed and for personal defense. My reason being that I use a large caliber in an anti-personnel shock-and-awe load designed to deliver maximum shock and yet allow quick recovery for followup shots.
I wholeheartedly agree that how we carry our guns should be up to us, not the government. I am fortunate to live in a very gun-friendly state - Arizona, where no permit is required to carry concealed. As far as open carry goes, unless one is out in the wilderness, I think open carry is a questionable idea for a couple reasons: 1) ordinary folks, like in a coffee shop, restaurant or bar (and yes we are allowed to carry our guns in bars in Arizona - per state law), and 2) if a bad guy walks in to start robbing or shooting, he'll shoot first the guys he can see are packing.
ElVaquero
Driftwood Johnson
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Sometimes we like single action revolvers just because growing up that's what we saw on TV all the time. I grew up watching Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Maverick, Bonanza, Roy Rogers, and all the others, and that is what they carried and shot.
Model12Win
Moderator
I don't care what anyone says.
A '51 Navy Colt will drop any man that walks the earth today. I trust mine with my life, I don't care if it's "obsolete", it's still damn lethal and damn accurate. You would have to be an IDIOT to think that these old guns can't or won't kill with extreme prejudice.
A '51 Navy Colt will drop any man that walks the earth today. I trust mine with my life, I don't care if it's "obsolete", it's still damn lethal and damn accurate. You would have to be an IDIOT to think that these old guns can't or won't kill with extreme prejudice.
scrubcedar
New member
El Vaquero, now you've got me curious. How do you CC your single action?
gunfighter48
New member
Because that's what Roy, Gene, and the Lone Ranger all carried!!! I grew up in the 50s watching all the cowboy shows. But the reason I really like them is their simple to use, safe, and effective. What more could you ask for. I just bought my first double action revolver a couple of month ago. It's a Ruger Redhawk 45 Colt/45ACP (with moon clips). But you know what, I still fire it single action style. Old habits are hare to break!!!!
scrubcedar
New member
Gunfighter I've got to agree with you there. My right thumb is apparently so concerned that my right trigger finger might be overworked by a DA trigger pull that it cocks the hammer on DA revolvers all on it's own! It is a conscious effort to execute a DA trigger pull for me.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Just curious. How often do you get a failure to fire? Does it happen to you at all?
Of course, Wild Bill put a 36 caliber ball through Dave Tutt's heart from a distance of 75 yards, but as Quigley said, this aint Dodge City and you ain't Bill Hickok.
Model12Win,
Agreed. If it can be done with 6 shots, a cap and ball .44 will probably get it done. And nothing...NOTHING points as naturally as a '51. Also, if it doesn't do the trick you might have an effective smoke screen...lol I still carry mine afield now and again, but I haven't CCW'd it for about 15 years now. Not since I bought another more modern gun.
With 6 shots and no reload, one has to evaluate their tactics a little, but I was a long, long, LOOONG ways from being an easy mean while carrying that pistol.
Agreed. If it can be done with 6 shots, a cap and ball .44 will probably get it done. And nothing...NOTHING points as naturally as a '51. Also, if it doesn't do the trick you might have an effective smoke screen...lol I still carry mine afield now and again, but I haven't CCW'd it for about 15 years now. Not since I bought another more modern gun.
With 6 shots and no reload, one has to evaluate their tactics a little, but I was a long, long, LOOONG ways from being an easy mean while carrying that pistol.
samsmix,
The flaw with especially cap & ball revolvers is the assumption of actually hitting a bad guy who's shooting at you. Bad guys are pretty darn smart, and they will train. It might be a deadly assumption that you'd be able to hit a bad guy once out of six shots, and then you'd have your gun reloaded long after you've been autopsied.
Even bag guys are smart enough to use tactical firearms.
The flaw with especially cap & ball revolvers is the assumption of actually hitting a bad guy who's shooting at you. Bad guys are pretty darn smart, and they will train. It might be a deadly assumption that you'd be able to hit a bad guy once out of six shots, and then you'd have your gun reloaded long after you've been autopsied.
Even bag guys are smart enough to use tactical firearms.
Good Morning, Ranger,
I have fired many, many thousands of handgun rounds. I have never had a failure to fire.
I have had two Smith revolvers that suffered catastrophic failures. Had they been in actual self-defense events, I'd of been interred long ago.
There are too many benefits of a good quality semi-auto to make a revolver a suitable substitution. When a revolver fails, it's almost always catastrophic. When a semi-auto fails, it can be cleared and back in battery within seconds.
Semi-auto pistols are simplistic in designed compared to revolvers.
Now, we have to consider the subjective. Some people simply like revolvers more than they like semi-autos. I'm good with that. Of late, I've become revolver nostalgic. I'm in the market for a single action .22 revolver. When I fish where bears live, I prefer a .357 Mag with 180 grain bullets and 2 speed loaders. The .357 Mag is the most powerful handgun that (I'm guessing here) 90% of hand gunners can shoot with accurate follow up shots. I'd rather hit a charging bear with 6 180 grain .357 Mag rounds than -prayerfully- 1 .44 Mag round.
I have fired many, many thousands of handgun rounds. I have never had a failure to fire.
I have had two Smith revolvers that suffered catastrophic failures. Had they been in actual self-defense events, I'd of been interred long ago.
There are too many benefits of a good quality semi-auto to make a revolver a suitable substitution. When a revolver fails, it's almost always catastrophic. When a semi-auto fails, it can be cleared and back in battery within seconds.
Semi-auto pistols are simplistic in designed compared to revolvers.
Now, we have to consider the subjective. Some people simply like revolvers more than they like semi-autos. I'm good with that. Of late, I've become revolver nostalgic. I'm in the market for a single action .22 revolver. When I fish where bears live, I prefer a .357 Mag with 180 grain bullets and 2 speed loaders. The .357 Mag is the most powerful handgun that (I'm guessing here) 90% of hand gunners can shoot with accurate follow up shots. I'd rather hit a charging bear with 6 180 grain .357 Mag rounds than -prayerfully- 1 .44 Mag round.
DriftwoodJohnson,
I agree. Single action revolvers are nostalgic. They are emblematic of 19th century Americana. However, if the Colt SAA had to compete with the 1911A1, I'm going with lawmen hanging up their six-guns for the benefits of modernity.
BTW, I think there are but two guns that have intrinsically natural points: the Colt SAA and the 1911A1.
I agree. Single action revolvers are nostalgic. They are emblematic of 19th century Americana. However, if the Colt SAA had to compete with the 1911A1, I'm going with lawmen hanging up their six-guns for the benefits of modernity.
BTW, I think there are but two guns that have intrinsically natural points: the Colt SAA and the 1911A1.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Can we please get the discussion back to revolvers?
Sure thing, but for someone who isn't a lawman and isn't going deliberately into harm's way, a Colt SAA (or two) is probably going to cut it for everything they need, including the unlikely chance that they might have to use it for self-defense. Of course, the devil is in the "probably" part and you are right to say it. If it were ideal, then the lawmen and troopers would carry it, too, and they haven't for a long time.
However, realistically, there's no such thing as absolutely safe and you have to accept that in some situations, well, if the unfortunate circumstances keep piling on, you're going to run out of luck. Where you draw the line is up to you.
Edit: interesting that we're debating the merits of 150 year old tech vs 100 year old tech (Colt SAA and Colt 1911 respectively).
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