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Are revolvers really reliable?

7K views 112 replies 62 participants last post by  bustoff 
#1 ·
I'm seriously considering buying another revolver, probably next year, but I am still having a tough time working up the enthusiasm to do it. I don't hate them, but they just don't evoke any warm, fuzzy feelings in me.

Just watched this video and it doesn't help my desire to buy one at all. What do you revolver guys think of this?

 
#47 ·
When I think of revolver reliability, I think of things like no revolver has ever lost its magazine, No revolver has ever damaged its magazine, No revolver has ever shown up at the range with mags from another gun, Revolvers won't choke from being fired from inside a pocket, Revolvers are not dependent on ammo to be in the right power range, they won't choke on an under powered round. The manual of operation for a revolver is point and pull the trigger, The failure to fire drill is pull the trigger again. A revolver is easily made safe [ open the cylinder] there is no slide to pull back. Likewise a chamber check can be done by just looking at the cylinder gap. I can see the cases without a press check.

Now a revolver is just a tool. It does some jobs better than any thing else. But it's not the only tool in the box. You have identified at least one advantage [ least likely to be banned]. I can think of at least one more that fits your situation. When traveling back into CA to visit the revolver is least likely to break any of CA's laws. It still has to be transported in a locked box but in hotels and motel rooms its still a defensive weapon.

If you are still considering one make a list of what you expect it to do well and compare that list to both semi and revolver. Good Luck DR
 
#51 ·
I started shooting revolvers in the early 1950s. They are my first love, especially single-action revolvers. The U.S. Navy introduced me to 1911s. They are my second love, especially 5" government models.

There are pros and cons to revolvers and semi-auto pistols. Semi-autos carry more ammo and are easier to reload. Revolvers tolerate a wide spectrum of ammo from very light loads up to very heavy loads. Semi-auto pistols jam far more often. When a revolver jams on very rare occasions, it may need a gunsmith to fix.

Around dangerous four-legged animals, I prefer revolvers in .357 magnum, .45 Colt, .44 magnum, or .454 Casull. In urban areas, I prefer a 1911 in either .45 ACP or 10mm. I have been known to carry one of each plus a pocket gun. If I lived in a big city, I would probably prefer semi-auto pistols only. If I lived in remote rural areas, I would probably prefer revolvers only. Since I live at the edge of an urban area with potential black bear and cougar encounters, I prefer both.
 
#53 ·
My take away from the video is if your revolver falls in the dirt, it will be good to go, but if you put it in a bucket of dirt, and fill the internals with dirt it will not function properly.

So, the lesson is; don’t fill your weapon with dirt and debris. Sounds about right to me.

Other than that, it was a dumbed down video meant for a dumb downed audience, imo.
 
#55 ·
I have a S&W 686 6'' 357 Mag that I got new in 1987.
I've owned (past tense) Dan Wesson 44 mag, S&W 44 mag, Ruger Redhawk 44, Ruger Speed Six 357, Colt Python, S&W 45 revolver and three J-Frame 38's
The previously owned part ^ is necessary for perspective, my preference in a SD gun is not based on lack of exposure; I prefer a semi for self defense.
Lets assign 100% proven reliability to both the revolver and the semi, that variable eliminated....
Capacity is a factor and so is the trigger, I dislike the comparatively "heavy" DA trigger.
38 snub vs 380 LCP - "better than nothing" a criteria by which I am no longer limited by and 7 rounds 380 > 5 rounds 38
Beyond a pocket gun (as a back-up / 2nd gun) my preference for a semi only increases.
Even in a state with a pointless 10 round limit, Glock 30s/SF > revolver
Potential defense against a bear? Glock 20SF > revolver
Don't like Glocks? 1911 > revolver

There is my mostly worthless but free opinion, buy what you like. :wave:
 
#58 ·
All I can state is that in my ~45 years of shooting, I've NEVER had a malfunction with a revolver. I cannot say the same about the semi-auto pistols I've owned. Sure, I've got semis that haven't malfunctioned. But I also have had some that did. I can't say that about my revolvers. They have ALL fired properly every time.

Having said that, I still use semi-auto pistols for self/home defense if for no other reason than ammo capacity.
 
#59 ·
Revolvers are just as reliable as any semi-auto pistol if they are properly maintained. While for the last month I have been carrying my Colt 1911 I still carry a Colt Python, S&W 686, S&W 65, S&W 28, or even a S&W 10. Do I feel under gunned with the revolver? Absolutely not. Why? I have total confidence in them and my ability to use them.
 
#60 ·
Of the thousands and thousands of rounds I've shot through different revolvers over the last 40 something years, I've only had about a dozen light primer strikes, and that's it. Nothing that pulling the trigger again didn't take care of. No stoppages of any kind. Of course I've always kept them clean and well maintained.

With my semi autos, I would say at least 57% of them have jammed at least once, at one time or another. Some, a WHOLE lot more than others.
 
#62 ·
Well, if I could have anything, it would be a Korth. But the price is kind of difficult to justify. Now, one of those would get my blood running!

Gun Firearm Revolver Trigger Airsoft gun
 
#65 ·
I have been carrying a handgun since 1980 and carried a Smith Wesson 686 from 1980 to 1988. I easily put a few thousands rounds through that gun in those 8 years and with the exception of a couple old reloads that did not go bang, I have never had a failure with a revolver. In that same time frame from 1989 to 1999 I have had every conceivable stoppage with 3 different semi auto's and from 2000 to 2019, that trend has not changed. I would not say I have been plagued by these stoppages but its certainly not a foreign or freak event.. it happens and it has happened with every semi auto I have ever owned.

There is no comparison in my mind between the revolver and semi auto in regards to which is the most reliable. The revolver is very easily more reliable from a standpoint of simply firing it in perfect conditions.

That said, there are certain advantages to the semi auto and those advantages generally overcome the rare potential for them to jam, stop or fail. My main go-to weapon is a semi auto and I am not going back to the revolver in any permeant sense. I do still carry one from time to time and I will probably always own one.
 
#66 ·
Well, revolvers are fun to shoot as well as all the other attributes that have already been mentioned. Their ease of operation makes them a good choice for preppers who might want the ability to arm an additional person or two.
 
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#67 ·
The one area I am convinced a revolver is more reliable than an auto loader is the pocket gun category. I bought a 642 about 15 years ago for pocket carry. I've never had a single failure of that gun to fire and cycle.

In that time I've also bought 3 "micro" auto's trying to retire that 642. A ruger lcp, a keltec pf9, and most recent a beretta pico. I've retired the ruger and the kel tec. Both started off reliable and over time and use developed issues. I won't carry them. The pico has been running strong so far but my past experiences still cause me to feel more comfortable carrying my 642. I carried that 642 today at work same as did for the first time 15 years ago.

I do think the reliability issue becomes mostly a moot point when you move to slightly larger platforms. On the belt I wouldn't carry a revolver over my G26 thinking I'm gaining a great reliability advantage. I might do it because I just want to.

If revolvers don't blow your skirt up, I wouldn't get one. If the laws change to where we can only own revolvers, buy one then.
 
#68 ·
The one area I am convinced a revolver is more reliable than an auto loader is the pocket gun category. I bought a 642 about 15 years ago for pocket carry. I've never had a single failure of that gun to fire and cycle.

In that time I've also bought 3 "micro" auto's trying to retire that 642. A ruger lcp, a keltec pf9, and most recent a beretta pico. I've retired the ruger and the kel tec. Both started off reliable and over time and use developed issues. I won't carry them. The pico has been running strong so far but my past experiences still cause me to feel more comfortable carrying my 642. I carried that 642 today at work same as did for the first time 15 years ago.

I do think the reliability issue becomes mostly a moot point when you move to slightly larger platforms. On the belt I wouldn't carry a revolver over my G26 thinking I'm gaining a great reliability advantage. I might do it because I just want to.

If revolvers don't blow your skirt up, I wouldn't get one. If the laws change to where we can only own revolvers, buy one then.
I think some micro autos are pretty good. I have had good success with my Sig P938 and feel confident that the P365 will perform as well as a pocket gun.

I really don't want to wait until the laws change to buy a revolver suitable for carry. I think there is a strong possibility that DJT will retain the presidency and if so, the pressure is off to a certain degree. But if it looks like he will lose, then I will be strongly motivated to obtain one.
 
#69 ·
Interesting test...

1. I would have liked to have have seen the test with a DAO 442 with the closed back (he did mention this to be fair). WHEN I carry a wheel gun it is one of these solely because there is less holes to get dirt in.

2.both guns were quality weapons...I would say that cheap junk auto's can be the worst things ever, where the cheap wheelguns still work usually. That being said, none of us would choose junk as a carry weapon.

3. I carry a wheelgun because it is simple; in it's operation and for my big dumb brain somedays...I also carry an auto at times and feel it will not let me down in the reliability dept. either...

So, that wheel gun is as much because I WANT to as it is for reliabilty. It's small and easy. However, in todays world. I will admit it has lost all its percs in size and weight to the new breed of lightweight autos.
 
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#70 ·
- OP, get what you like
- video is kinda unrealistic since he's dumping his revolver in a bucket of dirt.. who does that? lol

- revolvers are more reliable. period.
- revolver or auto is not 'better' than the other, both have + and - virtues, do what works for you

- newer autos are banned in CA so all autos here are 2008 models or whatever the year was for microstaming
- revolver give you some pretty powerful round options if that's your thing
- 340PD has the best power to weight to size ratio of any gun

- for me carrying an auto is like carrying a machine, and carrying a revolver is like carrying a tool... I like the feeling of that TOYOTA-like reliability in the pocket versus capacity..





:)
 
#71 ·
I'm sure everyone has seen the guy who does the torture test gauntlet thing. (I still have a hard time admitting I sat through those videos.) The 1911 hardly got out of the gate. The Sig 226 "failed". I think a Glock he tested faired well. I believe the HK USP was one of the few that "survived" pretty much everything.

But I dont know of a situation for me where any firearm would be in that condition, and I would need to use it.
 
#72 ·
I carry both a revolver & a semi-auto (not simultaneously)
The revolver had had one malfunction, cylinder wouldn't close. There was a deformation on the rim of one cartridge.
My semi-auto has been flawless, except for one 50-round box of ammo.
So my only failures with either firearm has been ammo-related. Not any inherent shortcomings of the firearm design.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
#73 ·
Quality revolvers are extremely reliable. Semi autos have more parts prone to breaking, jamming , etc. I have never had a revolver fail me, except Taurus brand.
 
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#74 ·
I've operated gritty revolvers in the field and they work fine. They may not like it and they will sound wretched through their mechanical cycle, but they fired when called upon. Thing is, I didn't persist in operating them in that condition, choosing instead to clean them or at least wipe them out best I could until I could clean them.

I'm under no illusions that the automatic is as reliable as the revolver.
 
#76 ·
Arguing about relative reliability between different guns is merely silly to me. I have been shooting guns for over sixty-seven years. I have owned guns for over fifty-seven years. I spent twenty-two years in the military. I have bought and sold over a hundred guns in my lifetime. I can count one my fingers the number of problems I have had with any gun from small handguns to 5" naval guns. Maintain them and they generally work.
 
#82 ·
That's kind of where I am leaning. Either that or a Colt.
 
#86 ·
Not including 22lr, I have not owned a semi auto that broke or had a feeding problem. I have bought ammo that wouldn’t work in certain pistols, but I make my own now.

A few years ago I tested some deer loads for the 44, all good. Never took it out of the holster, but when cleaning discovered the hand had broken so the cyl would not advance.

So I have had a revolver actually break. I still see them as more reliable through my personal filter.
 
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