semi auto or rev.
 

Which would you wont for self defense.

I do not mean home defense or the thinking of maybe the wife will need to use it


I mean for a gun you carry CC out on the street. Or around your land or house. A gun that only you use andknow well

Do you wont a semi auto or a rev.
Why for either
What makes you pick that type over the other

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

BT, either one will work fine. The questions to ask yourself are 1. How familiar are you with pistols? 2. How much concealability do you want? For anyone with limited pistol experience, I suggest a DA revolver...especially for a weapon you are going to be so intimate with that you wear it on your person. Secondly, in most cases, an automatic is more concealable. In all but a few models of revolvers, the cylinder gets thick and bulky.

Other tan these considerations, you're kind of on your own about this decision.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

It all depends on you!, are you familiar with pistols? You need to be honest with your answer, in self defence it is a matter of life and death if you have to use it. When a customer comes into my shop, I can get an idea of how much they know from their actions when handling them, of coarse I cant see you, so I need an answer to help you out.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Simple answer-Revolver. You always hear people talking about how reliable a semi-auto is. You never hear anyone talk about how reliable a revolver is. Reliability is never a problem with a revolver. You may have a problem with your ammo, but not the revolver. If you have a problem with your ammo andif you have a revolver you just pull the trigger again. That does not work with a semi-auto.

Semi's have become more popular because it can carry more shells, so spray and pray becomes the rule.

When you need your revolver just pull it out and pull the trigger.

Below is a picture of my two carry guns. Both are easily concealable. The top one is a 44 magnum made of Titanium that weighs less than 2 pounds. Now that is FIREPOWER. Definitely one shot one kill-not like a 9mm. Tom.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

from one to 10 i give my self a 6 on experience i have more with the Ar's then handguns.

I had a p89 ruger i could pull the receiver off put it back on and fire real quickly once i got taking the receiver off
I have shot three different semi autos two 9mm one 45

some where like 3000 rounds or so i would think
i feel comfortable picking up a semi auto loading it and using it good enough to get them job done.

I do not plan to carry around town. More like around my hunting area and land i plan to buy
i doubt i will carry it CC much but i might

Up until now i have never liked revs but there growing on me.
I have never shot one
I wont both but am unsure which i wont to use for defense

In my house my bedroom isthe only one down stairs and the closes to the door. You come in the front door go down a small hallway by the stairs and round a doorway which has my bedroom door right by it.
So i would be the first line of defense if someone broke in my house given they do not go upstairs first which i doubt they would.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Head0001, you need to choose your words more carfully, spray and pray!, shame on you!. You are correct to a point, a revolver is reliable, certain revolvers are veryconceallable, but of those certain conceallable revolvers,38spl you have the same effects of exterior ballistics as a 9mm when useing 124 or 147gr bullits, the 357 mag is a different story, but when they are that small, they are not that pleasent to shoot!.My Glock 30, 45acp for those who dont know the model size, is just as conceallable as a 38spl2" snubby, carries 10 roundsand iscomfortable for daily wear, and with a IWB holster it is concealled with just a t-shirt. As far as a recomendation, I beleive a newby shooter should get a 38spl revolver, just for the fact of its ease of opperation, in a pinch it is easier to fire, my only recomendation is to make sure it can handle a +P round. I also highly recomend some sort of course to familurize ones self with personal defence, not only how to use a weapon, BUT WHEN TO USE IT!!. The main reason for semi's popularity is the variety of calibers, "for self defence, I wouldnt choose below a 9mm, until the past couple years I wouldnt even concider a 9 until the improvement in ammo",you have a range of 9mm,357sig, 38sup, 40s&w, 10mm, 45acp that all can be had in a reliable,compact pakage, high round count and very conceallable, drawbacks are in a pinch harder to operate under stress! "safeties, thats why I choose Glock, my index finger is my safety".

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

As far as reliability goes, gun are machines and some will fail, auto or revolver, revolvers less. Some people on the Smith and Wesson forums are having failures where the "lock" on the revolvers, are locking up the gun. But you will hear a lot more about problems with autos. I carry 4 different guns at different times. A Colt Government Model in .45acp, a Colt Python .357, a Glock model 19 9mm and a Smith model 60 .38 special. All have been stone cold reliable with no failures at all. I only shoot 230grain ball ammo in the Government Model cause that is what is was made to feed. The Glock has fed and ejected everything I have put in it. The revolvers also go bang everytime the trigger is pulled. The gun I keep by the bed is the Glock, mainly for the 15 rounds it holds and also the trigger takes a little more to pull than the Government Model and it a nervous sitiuation I think it would be best. Just my 2 cents worth.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Your comments make good sense.My 38 is a +P, and I shoot 158's out of her.

The problem is the vast majority of the people who are buying these pistols have very limited knowledge. I remember when the high capacity 9's came out(after the High Power). Spray and Pray was the idea behind these pistols. I saw some P-85's that would not even hit a target at 10 yards.

My comments are not directed at knowledgeable shooter's such as yourself. My comments are directed at the other 95% of shooter's who only care about magazine capacity. These are the people who would truly be better off with a revolver.

I own quite a few semi's. Mostly the upper end guns(Kimber, Sig, Italian 92's). And I consider my S&W revolver's more reliable than any of these pistol's. I am talking 100% of the time. Tom.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

To start, in the house, the best defencive weapon is a 12gashotgun with # 4 shot!, Im not talking about one of theese new asault shotguns either, just a plain pump action shotgun, easy to use! and you wont have to worry about pass-throughs into the next room. From what I have read from your statement, part I dont understand," I could pull the receiver off and put it back on and fire it quickly", I dont understand that statement!, are you telling me that you take the pistol apart and put it back together and shoot ?, that makes no sence at all. I want to know how much you have shot, have you had any kind of formal trainning, can you repeatily hit what you are aimming at!. When you carry for personal defence all the rules change as you know them, someone elses life and your life are at jepordy! I would say for the time being, get yourself a revolver and practice, use a man type target not a bullseye target. You need to learn defensive shooting, in other words, you need to practice shooting senerios, what to do if this happens, what to do if that happens, start off with the pistol unloaded, work on yourshooting stance, shooting while takeing cover. Once you gain confidence in what you are doing, then you can start with a loaded gun.Sign up for a CCW license class, the amount of information you get there is stagering, esspecially, when to and when not to shoot!,if you do plan on carrying a pistol you will need a CCW permitanyway. I started at a very young age, 8, my dad was a Pittsburgh policeman, I started shooting with him and the other police when they had to quallify, Im 45 now, and I still go through around 3 to 500 rounds a month just practicing, and am still learning to this day.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

no i do not pull the slide off and put it back on and shoot i just meant i knew how to work the gun well and shoot it
i am not someone that just slides a mag in the gun shot and that is it i learn everything i can about a gun i own or wont

i have shot a good amount in the last 2 years i have shot somewhere near 3000 rounds
usually i shot at 20 to 25 yards and every shot would be in the middle of the target not 2 inch groups but if it was a bad guy he would have every round in his chest
\

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

For a person who has no experience with a handgun, I always recommend a revolver as a starter weapon rather than an automatic, for safety reasons. You can always tell if a revolver is loaded, and it is much more difficult to fire one by accident! Just make sure no kid can get ahold of it! Kids can't generally pull back the slide and chamber a round in an auto, but they can cock & fire a revolver!

The old argument about reliability between the revolver and the auto has been raging since when the "Good Lord was a Road Guard", but will never be resolved. A good revolver is very reliable as long as it is kept clean and well-maintained, but a revolver is much easier to put out of action by things like sand, dirt, mud, water, etc. On the other hand, the good old Colt .45 can be buried in a sandy mud puddle for a week, retrieved, and it will fire! The assertionthat a bad round of ammo will require you torack the slide and chamber a new round in an auto, but not in a revolver, is true. But in the many manythousands of rounds of GI .45 Ball ammo I have fired in the last 48 years, and half as much U.S. made factory target pistol ammo I've shot in that same time, I have yet to have, or even see, a misfire! It just doesn't happen. This included a couple of boxes of .45 Ball marked FA 18! It was made during WWI, and still gave standard ballistics 60 years later!

Once you learn to shoot a handgun safely and well, an automatic is by far the superior defensive arm! But you need to get one that is chambered for an adequate cartridge. Personally, I prefer the .45 ACP, and use a variant of the Colt M1911A1.... I do NOT consider the 9mm Parabellum to be acceptable-some people do.

Automatics and revolvers are about equal in the accuracy department. An accurized Colt .45 auto or .38 Super will shoot as well as the finest target revolver ever made. I once has a Colt .38 Super auto that had been converted by Clark in LA to shoot .38 Special wadcutter target ammo. It was every bit as accurate as my Colt single-action only Officers Model .38 Special, which was one of the most accurate revolvers ever made by anyone anywhere.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Also don't get hung up on a calliber. Shot placement is way more important. Even with a .22 you are no longer a victim. If you have a 500 S&W and can't hit with it,,,it is no good. Get a gun that is reliable and you feel comfortable shooting and can hit a torso sized target at 7-12yards.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

i am thinking a 357 so i can use the 357s and the 38s

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Right!

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

I agree the only pistols I have are Ruger .22 target pistols though I don't carry them with me. I have a lot of friends that say I need a bigger one and I ask them why. I can put several shots in a small circle before they even attempt to shoot. I told them when they shoot if they miss with their first shot it takes them a while to bring the gun back down and get lined up again and in the meantime I can keep it right on target and keep firing. Also they only shoot theirs a few times because the cost of ammo where I shoot a brick of shells through mine in a weekend. I've run several thousand rounds through mine so I know exactly where it will hit. Practice makesa big difference and it doesn't matter the size if you hit someone in the right spot.

Also most of the time if you are carrying a pistol if something happens you don't have time to pull it out anyway. I had a friend that had his laying on the seat of his truck beside him and a guy came up and stuck a gun through the window and my friend never had a chance to grab his. If I'm going to carry a gun with me I carry a sawed off shotgun in my truck. If you see trouble coming it is just as easy to grab it as a pistol and nobody argues with a shotgun pointed at them.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Revolver.. In a life or death situation you don't have time to fool with a jammed weapon.. The benefit of an auto is the amount of shells it holds.. But you can get a 9 shot 22..

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

I carry a Glock 27 in the warmer months and a Glock 22 in the colder months or when concealment isn't a big deal. Both are 40 S&W. Both shoot Remington's 165 gr. Golden Sabersvery well. I do have a 357 Sig. barrel for my G22. I carry the Glocks because I shoot them better then anything else. [/align]

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Can't go wrong with that decision.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

For the most part a Revolver is fool proof, but semi-auto's are IMO a good choice for a CCW. Sure you hear that some say they jam, but you get what you pay for. I've seen some $100. auto's out there that are junk, and a few cheap revolvers as well. What ever you get for your carry gun spend the money on a good one. I like my Glock, but that's the gun I can shoot in my sleep, in a matter of speaking. Practice is the key to any hand gun. and don't get talked into a .22 cal for a self defence gun. That is just crazy!

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

I have many to choose from butI always default to my S&W 1006.WhenI dress light I go to my .25 Berretta or as mysix year old soncalls it " the baby gun".

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

I am surprised no one has suggested the Contender in 22 Hornet?? What happened to overkill?? Tom.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

ya i had a high point 9mm a few years back
it was junk kicked worst then the ruger 9mm i had
and it jam 10 times out of a box of 100 rounds
i took it back to the dealer and told him it was junk and he gave me a credit toward a better gun

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

What I would want and what would be proper for someone is two completely different things.

I think the important thing is how well the gun fits you and your needs, and how well you can shoot it. Like the others said I think you would be better off with a .22 magnum if it was the only gun you could truly shoot well.

Now, I prefer a single action semi auto, like a colt or a browning. I am pretty partial to the Browning High Power myself. I don't care for double action or DA only semi autos, just a personal thing is all.

I also like 9mm. Not saying one is better than the other or anything like that, I just shoot them well. I would take a .380 in a pinch as well. I owned a really nice Walther .380 for a while and have shot some nice compact colt .380's. I like a medium frame gun with a decent size barrel though.

I'm a small guy, so I like smaller guns with a thin profile. The 92F is huge for me, as are some 40's and 45's. My Hi Power was a bit thick until I swapped out grips.

I'm not a big fan of the polymer guns either, but I would take a Glock if someone wanted to give me one.;)

Paul

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Revolver; for the simple fact that you take all your evidence with you.;)

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Good point:eek:

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

:D:Dya i have thought about that
i have seen casing bags for ars wonder if they make one for semi auto pistols

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

My carry weapon is currently a 9mm Glock 26. It is easy to conceal and my wife isn't afraid to shoot the 9mm, so she can carry it when I'm not around. My next new carry pistol is going to be a SA Ruger in .41 mag. I decided I want a more powerful weapon, and I want one safer to carry.

Often when you need your weapon, things may have already devolved into rolling around in the dirt. Trying to draw and fire in that situation is a problem to say the least. You want a weapon that will function up against your body or snagged in clothing and you want one that will buy you some time if it gets away from you. A bad guy gets his hand on your gun and the first thing he's going to do is try pulling the trigger. With an automatic or a DA revolver, that gun is going to fire. Most thugs don't know what a SA wheelgun is, so you get a couple of seconds there to remedy the situation, without catching a bullet.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

without a doubt, a revolver. They will never fail you, they are a one piece gun, in most cases...pull the trigger and it fires. I'd go 38 special snubby.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

Just get a revolver with an internal hammer.. :D

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

I like a revlover less chance of malfunction. Good luck.

RE: semi auto or rev.
 

I carry a Glock 23, everyday...Every 3rd weekend, I go out to the farm and unload a clip into a target...Never had a problem with it jamming, learn how to service and clean your gun and you will see no difference in reliability between a revolver and a semi...

If semis were junk, the FBI, Secret Service, Highway Patrol and thousands of Local Police and Sheriff Depts would still be carring revolvers.......