Why I stopped carrying Pistols

[jmr40]

Wait, didn't the term "pistolero" happen before there were semi auto's?

Originally a pistol was a hand held firearm with one chamber, a single shot. Revolving pistols had multiple chambers. Over time that was shortened to just revolvers. When semi-autos were introduced they were called pistols since they only had one chamber. But the definition has blurred. I prefer to call revolvers revolvers and semi's pistols since it is an easy way to note the difference in platforms. But not everyone agrees.

But to the original post. I've had far more failures from revolvers than pistols.

 

[bamaranger]

6 (or 5) for sure.......unless

A failure occasionally seen back in my revolver years was a .38 case stuck under the star of a .357 revolver. Another glitch was the ejector rod working loose and although you got 6, you could not (easily) open the cylinder to reload. It was also pretty common to encounter revolvers with the main spring strain screw backed off to obtain a lighter DA pull, and subsequently get light hammer strikes and failure to fire. On the S$W revolvers with adjustable rear sights, damage to the rear sight was relatively common, blades getting dinged, and screws loosening on the tangs.

But, the modern DA revolver is a pretty reliable thing, provided they're well maintained and not dorked with. But the modern auto pistol is too. I've seen a tremendous number of rounds fired in training with SIG and Glock pistols, with very few failures of any kind, provided good ammo, magazines and maintenance.

 

[dyl]

I looked up the terminology recently, and I believe the larger category is handguns, and further divided into pistols and revolvers. Anything with a revolving cylinder is a revolver, and everything else is a pistol. Even single shot dueling pistols and derringers. Because they don't have a revolving cylinder. In actual use, people just use whatever word!

I recently had my M&P9c fail to fire because ~4 of my 115 grain Winchester White Box rounds were crimped so hard they didn't headspace properly and left a little gap between them and the breech face. I should've taken pictures, it looked like someone didn't read the reloading manual before they went to town. I tried to rechamber and fire them 3 times. The brass just below the case mouth showed rub marks where I'm guessing that was the widest point that touched the shoulder of the chamber. So yes my gun would have jammed. Firing pin indentations on the primer were really shallow. All the other rounds from that box did fine. It really undermined my confidence in my pistol until I figured it out.

 

[ms6852]

I stopped carrying a 1911 but not because of jams or failures or other problems, I just got bored and carry a 686+ with 3" barrel. But as has been posted already, failure can and will occur as all guns are mechanical.

Revolvers can suffer setbacks but I truly believe that that is due to the individual not understanding how delicate the revolver can be if manhandled. I have seen individual slap the cylinder to watch it spin and than close it hard by the cylinder which slams into the cylinder stop which can lead to timing issues.

In order to lessen the amount of reliability issues I strongly believe that one should be familiar with their firearm and secondly if you are buying this to save your life or your loved one don't go cheap which is not the same as inexpensive, but at least be patient and save enough money to buy a good quality firearm since your life is at stake.

 

[azretired]

In my LE career I carried a revolver for approximately 15 years, autos for 13. During that time we qualified quarterly and I can honestly say I never had a revolver fail on me, and never needed an "alibi" for a mechanical issue. I cannot say that about the auto's I have had to carry (S&W, SIG & Glock), all three brands have had mechanical issues while qualifying. Usually magazine related. My SIG P-220 was the most reliable.

If I could have I would have carried a revolver my entire career!

 

[Lohman446]

Why am I looking into a revolver to replace my P938?

Yes I get the logic of "carry the same gun, in the same place, all the time" but I'm not going to carry a Glock 19 or a Glock 29 all the time. Just doesn't happen. So I have always had a "soft spot" for a smaller "handier" pistol. I'm fairly young compared to many on this board but a water skiing incident, a downhill skiing oops or several, and a too many years of martial arts have taken their toll on my left arm and created nerve damage. I have taken up fitness boxing to make sure my five year old daughter is learning some basic things and my left hand lives in a state of either pain or numbness (normally numbness). I'm not giving up boxing. Racking a Glock slide, even under pressure, no big deal. Racking the P938 slide which does not give me as good a grip - that is becoming an issue and I cannot help but recall all the people who note you carry an extra magazine not because of the need for more ammo but because the way you "fix" a semi failure is to drop (the magazine), shake and turn (the pistol to remove any obstruction), insert (new magazine), and rack (slide). I'm not 100% confident in doing that under stress. I am certainly not able to do it if my right hand is tied up.

So I find myself perusing lightweight revolvers.

 

[TxFlyFish]

Can a revolver go thru 5 thousand rounds without a failure? 10k rounds?

 

[USNRet93]

The G43 started to jam on me constantly. I switched magazines but that didn't help. So I did some investigation & found out that the G43 jams.

Really? My 2 sons each have one, each has shot 'about' 1000 rounds thru both, cheap to expensive ammo, new and reloads..and neither have had a jam/FTF/FTF, etc...I guess YMMV..and all that. Why I bought 2 G42s...if my EDC started to have a problem, I'd carry the other and find out what was 'up'....

 

[Lohman446]

Can a revolver go thru 5 thousand rounds without a failure? 10k rounds?

Never ever have I run a revolver to that kind of round count and kept track. I bet my .357 Blackhawk could - especially if I was running .38 loads. I'm guessing that is not what you meant though. Can they?

 

[jar]

Was a law passed that says you can't carry a revolver and a semi-automatic? I can carry one of the newer alloy framed "J" size revolvers and one of the newer pocket 380s and still be carrying less weight than a 5906.

 

[buck460XVR]

Can a revolver go thru 5 thousand rounds without a failure? 10k rounds?

I have several that have, other than the occasional loose ejector rod.

As for the Semi-autos being called pistols and revolvers being called ......wait for it.....revolvers, it seems to most folks in the gun world, that it is one way to easily differentiate between the two and is readily accepted. Is is wrong to use pistol when referring to a revolver? Nope, and in most cases within the discussion, folks will not be confused. Look at Nosler bullets. They distinguish between bullets generally used for auto calibers and those used for revolver calibers by calling them either "Sporting Handgun Pistol" or "Sporting Handgun Revolver".

Nuff said.

 

[44 AMP]

Can a revolver go thru 5 thousand rounds without a failure? 10k rounds?

Some of mine have crossed the 5k mark, Not sure about 10k, never did keep a log or close round count.

Why would that matter??

If you're going to judge entire design categories based on the behavior or misbehavior of specific individual pistols, I suggest you re-evaluate your criteria.

And be sure to remove from consideration every single example of failure that was operator induced. Every failure caused by incorrect operation (limp wristing, short stroking, incorrect loading, etc.) And remove those caused by lack of proper maint. Lack of cleaning, improper lubrication (usually too little), as well.

Having a revolver jam because of crud under the extractor is an OPERATOR failure. having a semi not go fully into battery because it was gummed up, or too dry, again, same thing.

Having a pistol choke on crap ammo, again, OPERATOR failure. You chose what ammo to put in it.

Also, they are all pistols. According to some, the term comes from the 1500s or so, when Pistoia, Italy was a major maker of "hand gonnes". Up until the invention of practical revolvers in the early 1800s, every handgun on earth was a pistol (and still is) with the chamber integral with the barrel. Colt's original patent was for a "revolving pistol".

Don't go just by regular dictionary definitions, they can be incorrect when referring to a technical application. The dictionaries themselves tell you that. They give definitions "as found in popular usage", NOT precise technical usage.

Its not a problem, unless you think that it being a revolver means its not a pistol. If you do, you're wrong.

 

[74A95]

#1. Having a revolver jam because of crud under the extractor is an OPERATOR failure.

#2. having a semi not go fully into battery because it was gummed up, or too dry, again, same thing.

#3. Having a pistol choke on crap ammo, again, OPERATOR failure. You chose what ammo to put in it.

#1. No, actually the crud is to blame. Last I heard, humans didn't have telekinetic power to dictate where debris goes when a gun is fired.

#2. See #1. In my case, I blamed it on being a Glock, because Glocks have been known to fail to return fully to battery, and even fire when not fully locked up.

#3. How do you define crap ammo? I had a gun jam up on Lapua ammo. I don't consider Lapua crap ammo. Maybe you do. And yet, the gun didn't jam with Wolf and Tulammo. Does that make them premium ammo?

Even the best ammo can have defects that are missed during quality control checks.

 

[TailGator]

Blanket statements that G43s always jam, or that semis are always less reliable than revolvers, are simply false. Lots of people are happy with their G43s, and lot of people experience good reliability with major brands of semis. A fair number of people have owned revolvers with problems. Both revolvers and semis have advantages and disadvantages, and folks are completely free to choose which they prefer. Those blanket statements made to influence other people's decisions are misleading, though.

As far as pistols and revolvers, it is quite common to hear both uses of the word pistol, and is usually pretty clear from the context what way it is meant. Why argue it?

 

[shafter]

The only time I've ever had a semiauto fail was with a bad batch of ammo. With revolvers I've had a transfer bar break on a Ruger, and a cylinder pin get backed out on a Smith and Wesson. In both cases the revolver was out of commission with no way to repair it during a fight.

 

[dgludwig]

Um, revolvers are pistols....

This is true. But from the time I was a kid growing up in the fifties, and for an awfully long time afterwards, the term "pistol" meant a semi-auto handgun and the term "revolver" meant, well, a revolver. Truth is, though, the term pistol does "technically" mean either a revolver and/or a semi-auto handgun. Still, old habits are hard to shuck...

 

[TxFlyFish]

A gun that is sensitive to crud and ammo is not neccessarily operator error. Some guns can go thousands straight out of the box with no lube, no break in, no maintenance, no cleaning.

 

[fastbolt]

Okay, please forgive me for posting before reading through the many posts, but I've got more chores to do before one of our granddaughters arrives for her normal sleepover, but thought I'd respond with a casual comment to the OP ...

I had 2 Pistols or Semi-Automatics. Both were Glocks, a G19 & a G43.
The G43 started to jam on me constantly. I switched magazines but that didn't help. So I did some investigation & found out that the G43 jams. When your carry stops working 100% that gets very scary. I sold my G43 & put my G19 into my safe. I can carry it ITW holster put that's uncomfortable or I can get a sholder holster for it. But in my mind, there's that little whisper that kepps saying what if it jams too?
My 3 Revolvers have never misfired or jammed yet. I have a Ruger 6 shot LCR 327, a EAA 6 shot 357 & my newest, a 4" Colt Python 357. The first 2 I can carry ITW & the Python I will carry using a sholder holster. Lastly,all of my Revolvers have better stopping power than my 9mm Glock.
So I've gone full cycle of carrying Revolvers then to Pistols then back to Revolvers.
Has anyone else have their Pistol jam on them?

Day and day out, at the end of the day the significant majority of "pistol problems" can be attributed to "shooter problems" in one way or another, followed by ammunition problems and then, lastly, actual "pistol problems".

Listening to many folks (engineers, techs, reps, etc) from some of the gun companies, as well as LE firearms instructors, this "ratio" can usually be broken down to fall along the lines of 95% shooters, 3% ammo and 2% pistols.

Now, being a long time revolver guy myself, and having carried issued revolvers back in the day, and having gone through one of the S&W revolver armorer classes, etc ...

... I'd not go out of my way to particularly disagree with someone who decides it's "better" for them to choose to carry a revolver as a dedicated personal defense weapon. However ...

... I'd also not express any particular shock to ever hear that the revolver carrier might someday discover, to his shock and dismay, that the long trigger recovery required for a DA revolver ended up being "short-stroked" by him under unexpected stress and duress. That's a bit of a sticky shooter-induced mechanical situation to resolve when the fur is flying and your trigger finger just keeps defaulting to CRUNCHING the jammed trigger mechanism, desperately hoping for a different result for each trigger press.

FWIW, while I still quite often choose to carry one of my many different pistols as retirement weapons (and over the years invested a respectable number of hours using them for training/drill and range qual hours), I still more often rely upon one of my several J-frames for retirement weapon roles. I spent ample years carrying belt holstered weapons to now enjoy being able to pocket-holster lighter wheelies.

Gotta go with what works for you.

I'd just not totally dismiss and ignore the idea of a shooter-induced functioning issue with a "reliable" revolver occurring under the worst of unexpected conditions, when time compresses and muscles may not want to easily relax from clenched states.

 

[RickB]

Quote:
Um, revolvers are pistols....
This is true. But from the time I was a kid growing up in the fifties, and for an awfully long time afterwards, the term "pistol" meant a semi-auto handgun and the term "revolver" meant, well, a revolver. Truth is, though, the term pistol does "technically" mean either a revolver and/or a semi-auto handgun. Still, old habits are hard to shuck...

Colt invented the thing, and called it a revolving pistol . . .

 

[TxFlyFish]

I was taught that everything is an AR15 and everything not AR15 is an AK47.