why would someone choose a revolver over a semi-automatic hand gun?

Question

i dont want to buy guns im just interested, ive seen people in movies and even in real life with relvovers but they only hold 6 8 and i think 9 bullets but a semi-auto can hold 10 - 20 shots why would someone choose a relvover, is it becuase of the look or is it more powerful, thanks

Answer 1

Simplicity
Reliability
Power

Answer 2

What firearm you decide to buy or carry is a very personal choice. While its true that semi-automatic pistols can carry upwards of 17+ rounds, the fact of the matter is that in a self-defense situation you will rarely if ever need that many shots. Most confrontations take place at very short ranges, and end quickly. If you aren't capable of stopping an attacker with 6 shots, its unlikely that an extra 11 or more will help much. Due to the fact that the barrel is fixed, revolvers are inherently more accurate than many types of autopistols (there are a few auto pistols that also have fixed barrels as well). Some calibers, such as .357 magnum and .44 magnum have other rounds that will fit in the same revolver (the .38 special and .44 special respectively), which offers a bit more versatility without having to buy another gun. Also there are some calibers that are available in a revolver that you can't get in a pistol. For example, the .357 magnum cartridge is considered by many people to be among the best, if not THE best self-defense cartridge found in a handgun. The thing is, its only found in a revolver. There is a cartridge named the 357 sig designed for an autoloader that is meant to mimic the .357 mag, but it doesn't quite equal it. Also revolvers are far less finicky when it comes to ammunition. While you might have problems with an autoloader in regards to feeding some types of ammunition, generally a revolver will eat anything provided that its the appropriate caliber. Not only this, but if your ammunition were to misfire or something of that nature, you simply have to pull the trigger again with a Double Action revolver to fire the next bullet. With an autoloader you will probably have to rack the slide at the very least. While many people will say that revolvers are a 100 percent reliable, this isn't exactly true. They can still lock up which will render it entirely inoperable, and of course they can still have ammunition lodge in the chamber if its faulty. That being said, the revolver is by no means obsolete and is often the choice for many people who want a gun thats ready to go with the pull of a trigger.

Answer 3

Personally, I don't understand the fascination people have with high capacity semi-automatic pistols. After all, you can't miss a target often enough or fast enough to win a match or a gunfight.

Much better in my opinion to have five or six shots that you take the time to aim and make hit the target.

Additionally, 99% of semi-automatic pistols are chambered for cartridges that are much less powerful than many revolvers use. Only the long defunct Coonan Arms Company, and Desert Eagle have chambered the .357 Magnum in a semi-automatic, and only Desert Eagle, and the expensive semi-custom Wildey chamber semi-automatics for cartridges appropriate for hunting.

Another reason to choose a revolver over a semi-automatic is aescetics. Let's face it, there has nver been a pretty semi-automatic. The ordinary ones are just as plain as a mud fence. The finish is generally dull, and the grips are nothing to brag about as a general rule. And the ones that have been gussied up generally just look gaudy. A semi-automatic with engraving, gold enlays, and ivory grips look as incongruous as an old hooker in a wedding dress.

Revolvers on the other hand have an elegance, and balance lacking in the flatguns. And a tastefully engraved revolver with grips made of ivory, staghorn, or fine wood is a sight to behold.

In my experience and opinion, revolvers are better balanced than semi-automatics. They handle better, and point more naturally.

Sure I own a few semi-automatic pistols, but when I reach for a handgun to go out into the wide cruel world, 95% of the time, I reach for a revolver, or two.

Doc

Answer 4

I wanted to be the first to say "Six for Sure" as others have explained a semi auto can and sometimes do jam leaving you fumbling to clear and rechamber a round. With a revolver there is no such problem. Even if the round doesn't fire you can pull the trigger again and get a fresh round. Of course this is only possible with a double action revolver. They are also slightly more powerful because all the energy of the cartridge is used to propel the bullet where a semi auto uses some of that energy to eject the spent casing and to load another. The general thinking is would you rather have six shots for sure or maybe ten? If your life depended on it I think most people would take six. If you can't hit a target in six shots you need a bazooka or glasses not four more rounds.

Answer 5

While the point of sem-autos jamming has been well represented here, no one has mentioned the most important-safety.
Earlier semi-automatic handguns did not have a hammer block safety-and could fire when dropped. Most, if not all semi-auto handguns made today do incorporate this feature. However, the stgma still remains.
Semi-auto handguns require more maintainance due to their design. With more moving parts and close tolerances, semi-autos demand regular attention. Revolvers are less demandng (not that they should be neglected-this could still cause serious and deadly consequences) and as long as the barrel is clear, it wll generally fire.
Revolvers tend to be cheaper (again, simple design).
Power is rarely a consideration, as the relatively small amount of difference between muzzle velocities of identical rounds fired from a revolver and a semi-auto are insignificant in almost all situations.
While semi-automatics generally are capable of carrying more rounds, there are revolvers ( Taurus Magnum Model 617seven-shot .357, Smith & Wesson's AirLite eight-shot .22, S+W Model 351PD 7 Round OR 10 round .22, High Standard Sentinel MkI 9 shot .22) with larger capacities. Higher capacities and lighter weights are now more popular revolver designs with gun manufacturers trying to open the market to women.
Finally, semi-autos tend to be larger, heavier and (therefore) less concealable than revolvers as caliber increases.

Answer 6

Okay here's a couple reasons:

YOu know that when a revolver fires it has a chamber that spins like a wheel for the next shot which makes it pow-pow-pow-pow-pow, right? Well that's a very clever mechanism that enables the shooter to rapidly fire if one cartridge fails to fire. IF one bullet doesn't fire, the rotating chamber just simply rotates to the next bullet in line without jamming. A semi-auto must be manually opened and cleaned and unjammed, whereas a revolver can be a life-saver and shoot on.

In addition revolvers can be made in much smaller scales than semi-autos, yet retain their nice punching .44 or whatever cartirdges. Semi-autos, for the sake of size and ammo capacity, are forced to sacrifice calibers in order to prevent the gun from blowing up in your hand. A semi-auto the size of a .38 snub-nose will most likely be 9mm or less, or else the slide will fly off. The .38 snub-nose just has high recoil but stays intact.

Not to mention the pure power of the revolvers. I normally thought that the magnum .44 was the most powerful handgun in the world (before I found out that there were .50 Action Express cartridges). There was this video on youtube I saw of a dude shooting a .50 semi-auto except it kinda blew up and almost dismembered his hand. The slide of a semi-auto can only go back so far, whereas the revolver shoves it backwards freely with no slide to restrict it. Which means a lot of recoil but nice power.

Sometimes the looks are also cool.

Answer 7

Well, the revolver is less likely to fail / jam than a semiautomatic.

Can't hunt with a semiautomatic (in many states)

In some IDPA matches, I have seen manay a revolver shooter re-load as fast (if not faster) than many semi automatic users.

To some, it is a personal preference. They shoot what they are used to.

My semi auto only holds 7 + 1 (8) and I can manipulate it fairly well. the Mechanics work for me... so I shoot that. if I need more than 8 rounds (15 - 22 depending on if I carry one or 2 mags as backup) I'm in the wrong place with the wrong gun.

For the most part, I'm relatively confident that 8 rounds is sufficient to neutralize most scenarios. In the case of the Revolvers, in skilled hands... 5 or six shoud be sufficient

Answer 8

Here's the scoop: Revolvers hold 5, 6, 7, 8 (and some .22s) even 9 rounds. Advantages: User friendly; no safety to remember whether or not it needs to be released; available in more powerful calibers (.357 Magnum to .500 S & W); if a revolver should misfire merely pulling the trigger again usually lets it go 'bang.' (With the auto you have to rack the slide, etc.) Finally, my personal favorite reason for choosing a revolver over an auto: While hunting in snake country I'll load the first two chambers with shot-shells and the rest with full-power rounds. Revolvers always fire shot shells and with auto loaders it is a little iffy.

Best.

H

Answer 9

Some people just prefer revolvers because they are simple firearms to load and i heard they don't jam. But me personally I prefer semi automatics over revolvers because they can hold more rounds and revolvers don't come with 17 round magazines like some semi automatics do. Some people might say it only takes one bullet to get the target down. But with something weak like an 22 caliber you may not get your target down with a revolver that only holds 6 rounds. Say you are at an shoot out with a revolver that only hold 6 rounds you would probably run out of ammo and have to reload with some of the bullets in you pocket unlike semi automatics you could have like three 10 round magazines on you that would equal up to 30 rounds of ammunition. most revolvers only hold up to eight rounds of ammo. I think i would buy an Taurus 44 magnum raging bull as an powerful revolver i would use it after my other gun was out of ammo.

Answer 10

There are several reasons.
Hunting handguns are pretty well never auto's. There's a limit to the power available in an autoloader. There are a few auto's chambered in powerful cartridges, but the loads available aren't designed for hunting, and the guns tend to be unwieldy and heavy.
Revolvers are very simple in their operation. There's a lot less to go wrong.
If you can't stop a fight in five shots, you probably aren't going to stop it in forty, and it's past time to run.
For any given cartridge, there's a wider array of bullets and charges that will work just fine in a revolver, which doesn't use the gasses of the round being fired for its operation. The mechanism of an auto requires that the loads be within narrower parameters.

Answer 11

Besides reliability, revolvers can be chambered in the most powerful of handgun cartridges, like 460SW and 500SW, and still remain concealable as a snub-nose. Semi-autos fall far short of this, and they become very large when their calibers get big, due to the slide and gas functioning parts, and magazine well. A good example is the Desert Eagle, which is too large to conceal easily.

Also, sometimes people want to be very certain that if they can only manage to strike the target with one shot out of the 6+ they may fire, it is a powerful one and it will do extensive damage.

And why don't you want to buy guns? Get out and experience the wonderful sport of shooting. Get yourself armed and protect yourself and your family if you have one.