Flat Rate Domestic Shipping $5.95 | FREE Shipping on Orders Over $100
As you can see from the title, this is the third in a series of why revolvers are better than semi-automatic handguns. (Find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.) We’ve brought up reasons such as their ability to shoot mixed loads, being easier to clean, their inability to lose a clip, and the fact that they don’t spit their brass every which way when you want to collect the empties and reload them with a reloading press. And that’s just half of the reasons we noted…go read those first two articles!
Now we’re not saying that we hate semi-autos. There are some times when something with a slide is going to be better than a revolver, and we know that. If you want to go above 10-rounds while still chambering larger cartridges, a semi-auto is just about your only choice.
But we truly love revolvers, and you can’t deny that the topic makes an excellent blog series!
So, now that we’ve taken two blogs to tell you nine different reasons about how revolvers can beat semi-automatics, let’s finish it out today with a few final reason we love revolvers so much.
A lot of you out there have been shooting for a lifetime, and we are aware that revolvers and semi-automatics predate all of you (unless you’re 125 years old, which you aren’t). So there’s a good chance that you grew up around both types of pistols, meaning that operating them is second-nature to you.
But hand someone new a gun and a box of bullets and they’re going to figure out a revolver a lot faster than they’ll ever figure out a semi-automatic. With a revolver, it’s pretty much “push the one button on the gun to break out the wheel, put carts in, click into place, and pull the trigger.” But when it comes to semi-auto, there are decockers, at least two safeties, magazine releases, slide stops, and the slides themselves. Even loading it is a much more complex task.
Take, for example, someone who wants to learn how to shoot for self-defense. They’re not really interested in guns at all, simply protecting themselves. Revolvers are a much more easy entry point into self-defense than a semi-auto.
(Of course, the ease of a revolver can also be it’s biggest negative, for the simple fact that children can more easily use them. Be sure to keep them under lock and key…or lock and fingerprint, as is the case with many modern gun safes.)
And speaking of self-defense…
We all like to imagine ourselves as remaining insanely cool when using a firearm in an emergency situation. Decades of movies have shown us that the hero is always in complete command of his weapon, even in the midst of a firefight. So we’re going to respond in the same way, right?
Maybe you’ve even been to a live fire simulation room with target bobbers, hoping to prepare for a time when you’re in a dangerous situation. While that might be somewhat useful, you still know that you’re not in any real danger even if your ammo is real.
In truth, most of us would experience the “self-defense shakes,” and to tell you the truth we should. We should be scared in a life or death situation, and that means that we need the simplest weapon possible to respond. We need something that we can operate in absolute darkness is your best option. (Yes, we know that many of you can do that with a semi-auto, but remember, you’re being shot while trying to reload.) You don’t need to be messing with a slide or multiple safeties if someone breaks into your home…a Ruger LCR and some pre-loaded LCR moon clips can keep the intruder at bay until the police arrive.
Okay, so you’re out shooting with your semi-automatic. You fire a few shots and then “click.” Yep, it’s a misfire. It’s going to take time to figure out what’s going on. Is it the firearm? Is it the cartridge? Was it a one-time thing, or should you head to the gunsmith? Doesn’t sound like a fun way to shoot to us. Of course, in a dangerous situation like an animal attack you’ll just tap and rack it, but what if that doesn’t fix it? That takes two hands, which you might not have at the moment. Oh, wait, the bear ate you.
How is a revolver better? Just pull the trigger again and you’re back to firing immediately. Deal with the bad brass problem after the danger has passed.
There’s probably been some time in your life where you wanted to see how fast you could unload your semi-automatic. And if it’s a large caliber, there’s a good chance that you experienced quite a bit of climb as you pulled the trigger, had you arm jerked back, and pulled it again before you recentered. Did those last few rounds sail over the berm and fly off where you didn’t expect?
Because the average person can’t fire a revolver nearly as fast as they can a semi-auto, they’ll have more time to re-aim the revolver and not experience any errant rounds. Sometimes slower is much safer.
Nearly every modern action movie exclusively use semi-automatics as their sidearm of choice. Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, John Wick in John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2. It’s hard to find a revolver in either of those movies.
But most of the action heroes we grew up with used revolvers, even though semi-automatic pistols have been around since 1892. Indiana Jones was running around the world with his Smith and Wesson Bapty, even though he could have been using an M1911 which had already been in service for 25 years. Dirty Harry had his Model 29 (and even used a Model 29 speedloader with it in Magnum Force), even though the AutoMag predates that film by five years..
What is it about revolvers that seem to match the heroes we grew up with? Perhaps it’s the fact that revolvers just seem more grounded, more real, more human than the more fancy semi-autos that the villains seem to use. It really comes down to our interest in noble simplicity versus the war machine.
Well there you go, five more reasons we love revolvers. Speed Beez is here to provide you with the best way to reload them, whether you’re looking for a 38 speedloader or some 9mm moon clips. Grab some and get shootin’!
