On the Internet it’s “wheelgun Wednesday” where we revolver guys post photos of our wheelguns and brag about them. So what better day to talk about a controversial opinion on the web – that revolvers aren’t obsolete for most people’s purposes.
Now I’ll start with saying the reason I’m a revolver guy is because … I just like revolvers. I collect them and like many people I am not so rich that I can afford to have a separate arsenal from my collection. I am not here to tell you that revolvers are better for fighting WW3 or shooting it out with cartels at the border – just that many of the new gun owners and preppers out there might want to give them a look.
Let’s get the negatives out the way. Like shotguns revolvers are round limited. Five and six shot revolvers are the norm though I have a .22 with a 10-round cylinder. I’ve seen a 12-round .22 as well. If I ever see one near me I’m buying it because it’ll make a nice plinking gun.
Most can’t accept weapon lights, which people like. I’m old enough to remember people being taught to use a flashlight in the off hand but that’s none of my business. Not having two hands on your handgun is something that will make a lot of modern trainers swoon into their 5.11 feinting couches. Personally I like to keep a flashlight separate from my gun because sometimes you might want to use a flashlight without drawing a gun. But what do I know?
On a related note modern shooting techniques like the two handed “thumbs forward” aren’t really great for shooting them. Revolvers were invented to be shot by mounted cavalry – the design isn’t the most conducive for two handed shooting. There are lots of videos you can on proper revolver grip but the important thing to remember is that there is a space in front of the cylinder called a “gap” and hot gasses can come out – in the larger caliber you can injure a finger that gets too close. What ever grip you use make sure you’re digits are away from the gap. Observe:
But as for the benefits of the revolver, there are many. But don’t take my word for it – from a 2020 article on The Truth About Guns:
A revolver doesn’t require fully jacketed bullets to feed reliably. You’re free to use semi-jacketed hollow points, semi-jacketed soft points, lead round nose, lead wadcutters, lead semi-wadcutters, and my personal favorite, lead semi-wadcutter hollow points, a bullet design Buffalo Bore refers to as ‘Deer Grenades’.
Not only will revolvers function perfectly regardless of how hot or mild the rounds are, many are even multi-caliber. .357 magnums shoot .38 specials, .44 magnums shoot .44 specials and .460 S&Ws shoot .454 Casull, .45 Colt and .45 Schofield – that’s about a 10-1 power ratio. Ruger even makes a Redhawk that shoots both .45 Colt and .45 ACP and Blackhawks that do the same or .357 magnum and 9mm.
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A revolver doesn’t fling spent cases all over the place. That’s an obvious advantage if you reload, but also no need to worry about sending a hot shell casing down your wife’s cleavage. Also, in some jurisdictions, it may not be wise to fling spent cases with your fingerprints on them all over the ground in the case of a defensive gun use.
A revolver can’t be put out of commission by pressing the slide back on a contact shot. You may not even know you’re under attack until you’re laying on the ground. That’s no time to be trying to get a hand free to push the slide back into battery.
That last point is what keeps me coming back to them. In self defense scenarios you may be fighting a person who is physically wrestling with you. During my years of crime blogging I read a lot of cases where people survived attempted murders because the wood-be murderer pressed a Glock against them, shot and after the first shot the gun jammed. With a revolver you can’t “jam” the gun by having it pushed into soft tissue when it goes off. This makes it more user friendly for casual shooters.
Grant Cunningham of the Personal Defense Network expands on this point:
Yes, a revolver is simple to operate, in the sense that there are no controls that must be manipulated in order to fire it. What’s not obvious is the advantage in training to operate the gun to its maximum efficiency.
If you’re shooting an autoloader, it’s in your best interest to practice malfunction drills on a regular basis. Learning to identify and clear the most common jams takes time, both in initial training and regular practice. That’s time you’re not spending learning to actually deal with the dynamics of a critical incident, which is what’s going to keep you safe.
Training in malfunction clearing with a self defense revolver is nearly non-existent. There’s really only one common jam that will tie up a revolver, the dreaded case under extractor, and it is completely preventable by learning proper reloading technique, which you need to learn anyhow. Any of the uncommon malfunctions can be prevented through normal maintenance and using quality ammunition.
The failure to fire remedy? Pull the trigger again. No need to spend valuable training time (and money) learning some tap-rack-bang-do-the-hokey-pokey routine just to keep your gun running. That means less time monkeying with the gun and more time shooting.
Speaking of training, one of the overlooked features of the revolver is that it operates without ammunition. This means that dry firing is actually useful! Instead of interrupting your train of thought to rack a slide and reset a hammer, you can concentrate on performing a complete trigger sequence. Because the brain is able to perceive a complete cycle of events, a short dry-fire session is all that’s needed to implant proper trigger control technique in the mind.
Dry firing means shooting the gun without ammunition in it. Some guns can be damaged by this so you can buy things called snap caps to load in the guns. I use Traditions brand. Using caps like this also lets you practice reloading after shooting.
Cunningham goes on to describe another advantage of the wheelgun related to its simplicity:
During an actual encounter, you’ll find that the revolver has some definite tactical advantages as well. A revolver isn’t dependent on having just the right grip in order to run, and “limp wristing” malfunctions simply don’t exist. This means that shooting from awkward positions or while injured won’t result in a jammed gun, as can happen with an autoloader. Strong side or weak side, pulling the trigger will fire the revolver every time.
In close-quarters fights, the revolver is more resistant to induced failures. While both autos and revolvers can be deliberately rendered inoperable by a very determined assailant, the revolver won’t be sidelined by inadvertent occurrences: clothing that fouls the slide, ejected casings that get knocked back into the ejection port, or slight contact that slows the slide enough to induce a malfunction. The shrouded or concealed hammer revolvers in particular are about as immune to induced malfunctions as can be imagined.
Then there is another important factor – economy. Many new preppers and gun owners are arming themselves because they see the worsening economic situation and rightly fear chaos because of it. That also obviously means they are conscious of the need to create and stick to a budget. Good quality revolvers can be found used in the $200 range. Some imported .38s can be had for $250 brand new. Even were you to find a comparable priced semi-auto that was any good you then have to buy magazines for it. If you’re on a budget a revolver, a decent holster and some speed loaders will still come in under what you will pay for a new Glock that only comes with one magazine.
I use HKS speedloaders exclusively if you want a recommendation. You can usually get them on Amazon for $10 per two pack. Here’s a video of them in action:
So as you can see with a speedloader revolvers aren’t that much slower to reload than semiautomatic guns.
Lastly, and this is very subjective, but I find revolvers more comfortable to shoot. The grips are just more ergonomic, especially with powerful loads. I like to have as much gun as I can handle because you never know if you have to shoot a mugger or a bear or in the south a gator so I like a gun with a grip that kind of “rolls” with the recoil. The grip on my El Malo is about the best for this:
Semi-auto grips are usually where the ammunition is stored, meaning they’re designed to fit around rectangular magazines. This makes heavy recoiling loads pretty uncomfortable. But that’s just my opinion.
So before you let memes about how only Fudds carry revolvers sway you give the wheelgun a chance.
Or call me a Fudd on my Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/oldtimeypistolero/
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Author Rob Taylor
