Revolver or Semi in a gunfight? - Page 3

Nanuk · August 19, 2012, 06:21 PM

Great post SGT.

That is why I carry a BUG. If my main gun goes down for any reason that cannot be immediately rectified, I drop it and grab the J 357.

peacefulgary · August 19, 2012, 07:30 PM

In a perfect world every bullet finds its target, and every target goes down with a single hit, so the good guy drops six bad guys with just six shots from his trusty old six-shooter.

But in the real world most of the good guys miss their targets more often than they hit them.
And the bad guys don't always drop from a single hit.

Five-to-eight rounds just isn't enough in my opinion.

45_auto · August 20, 2012, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glen dee

Just because someone try's to take your gun dont mean you can shoot them.

LMAO - in a self-defense situation (fear of serious bodily injury or death), you really think they're trying to take it away so they can get a closer look at your fancy grips maybe?

L_Killkenny · August 20, 2012, 01:34 PM

Look, we can all second guess ourselves right into become recluses, never leaving the house and answering the door with a 12ga. The fact is when it comes to my thoughts on caliber and platform wars I can never think of an instance where I wouldn't want something better. Home invasion? I want the best. Convenience Store robbery? I want the best. Car jacking? I want the best. I'll carry a .22lr on occasion, sometimes a SA centerfire, don't have issues with .380's or .38's etc etc. But you put me in just about any scenario and I want more. More power, more capacity, faster reloads. To heck with all these primitive guns, give a phaser!. All kidding aside no matter what you choose your gonna be wishing you had something better. You're also gonna be wishing you were somewhere else.

But to give a straight answer to the question, a person would have to be pretty thick in the head to choose go into a known gunfight with a revolver. I don't care how good he thinks he is with one or how many years he's been shooting one, to go all in with 5 or 6 shots and slow reloads compared to other options just doesn't seem right to me. As stated the military doesn't do it, LEO's don't do it, why should I do it. Being said I'm not going into a known gunfight with any handgun. Like I said, give me a shotgun and 4 friends with shotguns. Maybe some armor, a couple grenades would be nice, etc, etc.

Note: this is not against the viability of carrying a revolver for SD. I'm perfectly happy doing it, if you are great. But with SD carry you're talking very slim odds of a fight not going into a known gunfight.

Old Grump · August 20, 2012, 01:53 PM

On duty I carried a 45 now as an old retired codger with a cane I carry a revolver. It don't make no never mind to me or to anybody about to get shot but if'n I had a choice beforehand give me something with a 24" barrel shooting 180 grains of 30 caliber. I would prefer to keep the gun fight at 600 yards instead of up close and personal because I am a large slow moving target and dislike losing water tight integrity.

Ichiro · August 20, 2012, 08:35 PM

To answer the question, I'd rather have a semiauto in a gunfight, assuming the semiauto has a high capacity.

But I actually carry a 5-shot revolver because I don't expect to be in a gunfight.

Larry C. · August 20, 2012, 09:53 PM

Howdy,

Revolver. Specifically a GP100 stoked with 6 rds. of .357 hollow points. That's if i were somehow forced into a gunfight.

akguy1985 · August 21, 2012, 06:35 AM

semi auto, faster follow up shots.

PT-92 · August 21, 2012, 06:54 AM

Comments regarding "faster follow-up shots" with the semi vs. revolver reminds me of that argument in the semi vs. pump shotgun debate as well--Essentially it's a point that translates over to long guns as well as hand.

-Cheers

drail · August 21, 2012, 07:02 AM

Anyone who believes that a semi auto allows faster follow up shots has never watched Jerry Miculek work a revolver.

ALL of my CCW guns are S&W revolvers even though I can't cycle a revolver's action quite as fast as I can a 1911. Close but not quite. And revolvers are chambered in more useful calibers. (Unless you count the Desert Eagle) I have only seen a few instances of revolver failures. I have seen so many instances where a semi auto would stop working although they can usually be cleared pretty quickly where a revolver will need a bench and some tools.

45_auto · August 21, 2012, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akguy1985

semi auto, faster follow up shots.

Obviously posted by someone who's never heard of Jerry Miculek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uisHfKj2JiI

MLeake · August 21, 2012, 07:40 AM

If average revolver shooters could shoot that fast, with any semblance of accuracy, then most of us would never have heard of Jerry Miculek.

shortwave · August 21, 2012, 09:10 AM

Going into a 'known' gunfight , I would want capacity as well as accuracy. I would then opt for say my 92fs, but....

...for daily CC usually has me packing either a 442 or 642 in warmer weather and a single stack .45 in colder months.

Nanuk · August 21, 2012, 09:17 AM

Due to my more than 3 decades of law enforcement I am somewhat jaded. When I am selecting an off duty carry gun or now a CCW I always use the same litmus test; Is this a gun I want to have with me if I get into a gunfight? Why do I ask myself that? Situations that I and my friends have found ourselves in. You cannot just say " I am not likely to get involved in a gunfight." It is meaningless rationalization.

They happen, kinda like spring thunderstorms sometime out of no where. If I knew I was going to a fight I would take a rifle and friends with rifles, however, in the parameters set by the OP it will be a handgun.

I have no bias against revolvers or autos and I am technically, equally proficient with both. The advantages of the auto are the reason in my first post for selecting an auto for a fight. I carry a revolver as a BUG J frame 357 mag. My EDC Glock is perfectly capable for any SD situation I may find myself in.

rebs · August 21, 2012, 12:57 PM

The one you are most proficient and comfortable with and can hit your target.

pete2 · August 21, 2012, 01:56 PM

I have both autos and revolvers. I guess it would depend on whether the gunfight was against 1 bad guy or a platoon. Against 1 I'm happy with the revolver.

**Mike Irwin** · August 21, 2012, 02:00 PM

If I suspected I were about to go live fire I would want a shotgun.

Or a gatling gun.

Is bazooka a choice?

Super Sneaky Steve · August 21, 2012, 03:28 PM

I would just stand next to Chuck Norris.

old bear · August 21, 2012, 04:40 PM

As Jeff Cooper wrote years ago, "if you expect to be in a gun fight, you need to have a shotgun or rifle in your hands not a pistol on your belt." So like so many wise folks I would make every attempt not to be anywhere I could expect to be in a fight. Lacking that ability I would take one of my revolvers and feel well armed in doing so. The reason for this is simple, I carried a revolver to work daily for 27 years, and they always worked just fine when I needed one.

kraigwy · August 21, 2012, 05:00 PM

Quote:

When was the last time you saw a patrol officer with a revolver?

When was the last time you saw a USMC grunt with a revolver?

You got a point, but the answer is real simple.

Now days people are more into "spray 'n pray' then learning to shoot.

Most police departments and the military just don't spend the time an effort to make the cop, soldier, or marine learn to shoot a pistol/revolver. It's much easier to just give them a 15 shot mag and tell them to get after it, hoping upon hope they hit something.

The problem being no one takes in consideration of where those missed rounds go.

Don't make your choise on what some one else carries. Thats like going to a match and coming somewhere down the list, then checking what the winner was shooting and buy a gun like his so you can win next time.

Brother, it don't work that way.

Jeremiah/Az · August 21, 2012, 11:37 PM

I have been shooting 60+ years. I have never had a revolver fail on the second pull of the trigger. I have had many semi-autos jam or malfunction. Having said that, I carry a semi for convenience & more ammo.

DunRanull · August 22, 2012, 02:43 AM

Assuming that "Run Away!, Run Away!" and "Count me out" arent options, I would want my Yugo AK, it hits hard to 300 yards and doesnt screw up. Or maybe an 870 12 ga Remington. Pistols only, it's a tough choice, but (until recently) the Colt Combat Commander or Browning HP would have been my choices. Now that I have seen the Glock, Id be carrying a Glock 21 .45acp. Wouldnt feel unarmed with a S&W .357 or Colt Python, tho.

DunRanull · August 22, 2012, 03:25 AM

Originally Posted by glen dee
Just because someone try's to take your gun dont mean you can shoot them.

If someone is trying to disarm you- assuming that you are in the right in the first place- shooting them may likely be the only viable option to protect yourself and others. For a peace officer, there is no option.. as you never give up your weapon. There are many "Officer down" calls where the officer is shot with his own weapon.

Master Blaster 2 · August 22, 2012, 04:53 AM

To anaswer the OP. If I were expecting to get into a gun fight I'd grab one of my AR's. Wouldn't mess with a handgun. This will never happen in my life time however.

Glenn Dee · August 22, 2012, 06:20 PM

Dun Ranull

I stand by my statement. If someone is trying to take your handgun does not mean that you are automatically authorized to use deadly force. A handgun is property. You cant use deadly force to protect property. It's a very rare situation where you can use deadly force for what someone might do.

I'm not saying it cant happen... just very rare. Sure someone who disarms you might shoot you... or he might not shoot you. Not being a mind reader we just dont know. You being armed, and brandishing a firearm may be percieved as being the bad guy.

I am painfully aware of how sometimes Officers are shot with their own firearms. It happens. Probably why cops today wear extremely snatch resistant holsters. This is I think the reason that most street cops carry a second gun. But even then not all Officers are shot after losing their gun.

August 19, 2012, 06:21 PM	#51
Nanuk Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2005 Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam. Posts: 3,082	Great post SGT. That is why I carry a BUG. If my main gun goes down for any reason that cannot be immediately rectified, I drop it and grab the J 357. __________________ Retired Law Enforcement U. S. Army Veteran Armorer My rifle and pistol are tools, I am the weapon.

August 20, 2012, 01:53 PM	#55
Old Grump Member in memoriam Join Date: April 9, 2009 Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in Posts: 3,144	On duty I carried a 45 now as an old retired codger with a cane I carry a revolver. It don't make no never mind to me or to anybody about to get shot but if'n I had a choice beforehand give me something with a 24" barrel shooting 180 grains of 30 caliber. I would prefer to keep the gun fight at 600 yards instead of up close and personal because I am a large slow moving target and dislike losing water tight integrity. __________________ Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. --Daniel Webster--

August 21, 2012, 06:35 AM	#58
akguy1985 Senior Member Join Date: May 17, 2012 Location: Claremore, Oklahoma Posts: 179	semi auto, faster follow up shots. __________________ Marksman of the mezzanine

August 21, 2012, 06:54 AM	#59
PT-92 Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2007 Location: "Undisclosed Bunker" Posts: 1,464	Faster Comments regarding "faster follow-up shots" with the semi vs. revolver reminds me of that argument in the semi vs. pump shotgun debate as well--Essentially it's a point that translates over to long guns as well as hand. -Cheers __________________ NRA Life Member “A free people ought...to be armed..." ―George Washington

August 21, 2012, 07:02 AM	#60
drail Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2008 Posts: 3,150	Anyone who believes that a semi auto allows faster follow up shots has never watched Jerry Miculek work a revolver. ALL of my CCW guns are S&W revolvers even though I can't cycle a revolver's action quite as fast as I can a 1911. Close but not quite. And revolvers are chambered in more useful calibers. (Unless you count the Desert Eagle) I have only seen a few instances of revolver failures. I have seen so many instances where a semi auto would stop working although they can usually be cleared pretty quickly where a revolver will need a bench and some tools. Last edited by drail; August 21, 2012 at 07:10 AM.

August 19, 2012, 07:30 PM	#52
peacefulgary Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 714	In a perfect world every bullet finds its target, and every target goes down with a single hit, so the good guy drops six bad guys with just six shots from his trusty old six-shooter. But in the real world most of the good guys miss their targets more often than they hit them. And the bad guys don't always drop from a single hit. Five-to-eight rounds just isn't enough in my opinion.

August 20, 2012, 01:34 PM	#54
L_Killkenny Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 2,676	Look, we can all second guess ourselves right into become recluses, never leaving the house and answering the door with a 12ga. The fact is when it comes to my thoughts on caliber and platform wars I can never think of an instance where I wouldn't want something better. Home invasion? I want the best. Convenience Store robbery? I want the best. Car jacking? I want the best. I'll carry a .22lr on occasion, sometimes a SA centerfire, don't have issues with .380's or .38's etc etc. But you put me in just about any scenario and I want more. More power, more capacity, faster reloads. To heck with all these primitive guns, give a phaser!. All kidding aside no matter what you choose your gonna be wishing you had something better. You're also gonna be wishing you were somewhere else. But to give a straight answer to the question, a person would have to be pretty thick in the head to choose go into a known gunfight with a revolver. I don't care how good he thinks he is with one or how many years he's been shooting one, to go all in with 5 or 6 shots and slow reloads compared to other options just doesn't seem right to me. As stated the military doesn't do it, LEO's don't do it, why should I do it. Being said I'm not going into a known gunfight with any handgun. Like I said, give me a shotgun and 4 friends with shotguns. Maybe some armor, a couple grenades would be nice, etc, etc. Note: this is not against the viability of carrying a revolver for SD. I'm perfectly happy doing it, if you are great. But with SD carry you're talking very slim odds of a fight not going into a known gunfight.

August 20, 2012, 08:35 PM	#56
Ichiro Senior Member Join Date: July 16, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 888	To answer the question, I'd rather have a semiauto in a gunfight, assuming the semiauto has a high capacity. But I actually carry a 5-shot revolver because I don't expect to be in a gunfight.

August 20, 2012, 09:53 PM	#57
Larry C. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 2005 Location: La. Posts: 351	Howdy, Revolver. Specifically a GP100 stoked with 6 rds. of .357 hollow points. That's if i were somehow forced into a gunfight.

August 21, 2012, 07:40 AM	#62
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	If average revolver shooters could shoot that fast, with any semblance of accuracy, then most of us would never have heard of Jerry Miculek.

August 21, 2012, 09:10 AM	#63
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	Going into a 'known' gunfight , I would want capacity as well as accuracy. I would then opt for say my 92fs, but.... ...for daily CC usually has me packing either a 442 or 642 in warmer weather and a single stack .45 in colder months.

August 21, 2012, 09:17 AM	#64
Nanuk Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2005 Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam. Posts: 3,082	Due to my more than 3 decades of law enforcement I am somewhat jaded. When I am selecting an off duty carry gun or now a CCW I always use the same litmus test; Is this a gun I want to have with me if I get into a gunfight? Why do I ask myself that? Situations that I and my friends have found ourselves in. You cannot just say " I am not likely to get involved in a gunfight." It is meaningless rationalization. They happen, kinda like spring thunderstorms sometime out of no where. If I knew I was going to a fight I would take a rifle and friends with rifles, however, in the parameters set by the OP it will be a handgun. I have no bias against revolvers or autos and I am technically, equally proficient with both. The advantages of the auto are the reason in my first post for selecting an auto for a fight. I carry a revolver as a BUG J frame 357 mag. My EDC Glock is perfectly capable for any SD situation I may find myself in. __________________ Retired Law Enforcement U. S. Army Veteran Armorer My rifle and pistol are tools, I am the weapon.

August 21, 2012, 12:57 PM	#65
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	The one you are most proficient and comfortable with and can hit your target.

August 21, 2012, 01:56 PM	#66
pete2 Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 2,566	I have both autos and revolvers. I guess it would depend on whether the gunfight was against 1 bad guy or a platoon. Against 1 I'm happy with the revolver.

August 21, 2012, 02:00 PM	#67
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	If I suspected I were about to go live fire I would want a shotgun. Or a gatling gun. Is bazooka a choice? __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

August 21, 2012, 03:28 PM	#68
Super Sneaky Steve Senior Member Join Date: August 9, 2011 Posts: 1,250	I would just stand next to Chuck Norris.

August 21, 2012, 04:40 PM	#69
old bear Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2009 Location: Not close enough to the beach Posts: 1,477	As Jeff Cooper wrote years ago, "if you expect to be in a gun fight, you need to have a shotgun or rifle in your hands not a pistol on your belt." So like so many wise folks I would make every attempt not to be anywhere I could expect to be in a fight. Lacking that ability I would take one of my revolvers and feel well armed in doing so. The reason for this is simple, I carried a revolver to work daily for 27 years, and they always worked just fine when I needed one.

August 21, 2012, 11:37 PM	#71
Jeremiah/Az Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2009 Location: Az. Posts: 509	I have been shooting 60+ years. I have never had a revolver fail on the second pull of the trigger. I have had many semi-autos jam or malfunction. Having said that, I carry a semi for convenience & more ammo.

August 22, 2012, 02:43 AM	#72
DunRanull Junior member Join Date: April 24, 2005 Location: Southern Colorado, where a small working knowledge of southwestern Hispanic culture is considered polite. Posts: 99	Assuming that "Run Away!, Run Away!" and "Count me out" arent options, I would want my Yugo AK, it hits hard to 300 yards and doesnt screw up. Or maybe an 870 12 ga Remington. Pistols only, it's a tough choice, but (until recently) the Colt Combat Commander or Browning HP would have been my choices. Now that I have seen the Glock, Id be carrying a Glock 21 .45acp. Wouldnt feel unarmed with a S&W .357 or Colt Python, tho.

August 22, 2012, 03:25 AM	#73
DunRanull Junior member Join Date: April 24, 2005 Location: Southern Colorado, where a small working knowledge of southwestern Hispanic culture is considered polite. Posts: 99	Originally Posted by glen dee Just because someone try's to take your gun dont mean you can shoot them. If someone is trying to disarm you- assuming that you are in the right in the first place- shooting them may likely be the only viable option to protect yourself and others. For a peace officer, there is no option.. as you never give up your weapon. There are many "Officer down" calls where the officer is shot with his own weapon.

August 22, 2012, 04:53 AM	#74
Master Blaster 2 Junior member Join Date: May 29, 2011 Posts: 895	To anaswer the OP. If I were expecting to get into a gun fight I'd grab one of my AR's. Wouldn't mess with a handgun. This will never happen in my life time however.

August 22, 2012, 06:20 PM	#75
Glenn Dee Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,560	Dun Ranull I stand by my statement. If someone is trying to take your handgun does not mean that you are automatically authorized to use deadly force. A handgun is property. You cant use deadly force to protect property. It's a very rare situation where you can use deadly force for what someone might do. I'm not saying it cant happen... just very rare. Sure someone who disarms you might shoot you... or he might not shoot you. Not being a mind reader we just dont know. You being armed, and brandishing a firearm may be percieved as being the bad guy. I am painfully aware of how sometimes Officers are shot with their own firearms. It happens. Probably why cops today wear extremely snatch resistant holsters. This is I think the reason that most street cops carry a second gun. But even then not all Officers are shot after losing their gun.