I haven't had too much experience with handguns. I have shot a friends S&W .357 Mag. a bunch and my fathers old single action sixgun and other than that I just bought a 1911 clone. If I were asked for my opinion, I would have to say that revolvers have the semi's beat, hands down, in reliability. Simply because there are fewer components involved to operate properly, i.e. magazines (will the rounds feed properly everytime, are the lips bent? etc.), safeties, various springs, slide stop, the slide itself, along with the fact that certain ammo doesn't always feed properly in semi's such as HP, Semi Wadcutter styles, etc.
And I could be completely wrong on this, as I know you could probably buy a high end semi and get as reliable a handgun as human hands can make but I have had to really tinker with mine a lot to get to a point where I would consider it dependable.
But that's just my take, I am really interested to see what other guys post, I am sure concealability, controlability, and other handling aspects will be mentioned, I just don't have the experience to offer any considerations on such topics. Sorry....
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" Clutz by Nature, Hospitalized by Fate..."
...Pyral
Revolvers are simpler, more reliable and safer. Pistols are lighter(or can be), more compact to carry but may require a bit more maintenance and cleaning and a bit more practice to use them safely.
Revolvers are much simpler, far more reliable, and can easily be made in magnum chamberings.
Semi's generally have a higher capacity, and should be a bit easier to conceal as they can have a flatter profile.
Anything .38/ 9mm and up should be a decent self defense round as long as the proper bullets are selected.
On a side note: in just about every privately owned gun shop I got to, the people working there seem to prefer to openly carry 1911's locked and cocked. Its a pretty darn intimidating sidearm when carried that way, but I think they also choose this weapon to show wthat they mean business.
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Obamanfreude - 1. taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.
Revolvers are simple but not the best choice. If they were the best do you think the police would carry one. I have both and I think the semi is better in self defence. Theres semi that don't have to be cleaned as good as some. The Kimber is a great gun the only problem is its made to good. The tolerances in the building of the gun are so close that when it gets dirty it may jam. The tolerances in a Glock are much different, test show that you can do almost anything to the gun and it will still fire. Check back in the first models of the M-16, tolerances were very close and there was problems.
Cons: Harder to shoot fast, less capacity, higher recoil usually, VERY slow to reload, occasionally over powered
I personally back up my shotgun with a .45acp DA/SA Ruger P-97DC, loaded with hydroshocks or hollow points, hopefully will stop in the wall if I miss.
Truth be told, very few of us will ever fire a shot even if we're forced to draw our SD/HD gun, so having 8-10rnds vs. 6rnds is usually a moot point, the over powered issue IS something to consider, and the reliability of Autos is something to keep in mind...although there's no reason you shouldn't trust a proven .45acp, I've ran about 2500rnds through my Ruger P-97 since I bought it, I've only had one "jam", the shot was quiet and sounded muffled, and the bullet was slow enough to see it in flight-at 20yrds! The primer was backed out and hadn't re-seated, it half ejected and jammed-didn't even get to stove pipe, case mouth stuck at chamber mouth...I'll call that one a light load, NOT a jam.
Use what you've got if you've got it, but if you're buying for it, buy a .40S&W or .45acp in a polymer frame DA/SA auto, unless you've got kids then get a SA manual safety model.
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"When you tell a fellow to go to hell, you had better be sure you can get him there."--LBJ
What you shoot better is my answer. I have run into so many people that have to have a semi-auto only to shoot it like crap. PUt a revolver in their hands and they are much more comfortable. Personally i like semi's cuz i am used to them. I like the capacity they can hold too. But there is nothing wrong with revolvers if you shoot them better or they fit your hand better. A gun is only as worthy as the shooter.
Police care semi's cause they felt the need for repeat fire and more capacity. I don't necessarily think they needed it. But I don't know one law enforcement office that don't have the wheelgun as thier backup. And there is a reason for that.
pros and cons of semi's and revolvers
