Why I stopped carrying Pistols

[Doc Holliday 1950]

I had 2 Pistols or Semi-Automatics. Both were Glocks, a G19 & a G43.
The G43 started to jam on me constantly. I switched magazines but that didn't help. So I did some investigation & found out that the G43 jams. When your carry stops working 100% that gets very scary. I sold my G43 & put my G19 into my safe. I can carry it ITW holster put that's uncomfortable or I can get a sholder holster for it. But in my mind, there's that little whisper that kepps saying what if it jams too?
My 3 Revolvers have never misfired or jammed yet. I have a Ruger 6 shot LCR 327, a EAA 6 shot 357 & my newest, a 4" Colt Python 357. The first 2 I can carry ITW & the Python I will carry using a sholder holster. Lastly,all of my Revolvers have better stopping power than my 9mm Glock.
So I've gone full cycle of carrying Revolvers then to Pistols then back to Revolvers.
Has anyone else have their Pistol jam on them?

[stinkeypete]

My dog has never failed to feed...
just sayin'!

(another revolver guy here.)

[JERRYS.]

I've owned very few jamomatics. I try my best to research a new model gun before I buy it, I simply can't afford to be a beta tester. that said, none of my Glocks have failed. even my 42 worked before I sent it in for the "upgrades".

I have owned a jamomatic or two over the years but they were low quality guns that I got in a trade or simply didn't know about their make up. I owned a walther ppk in the 90s that was only reliable with FMJ, so that's what I loaded it with. I owned a lorcin 380 that couldn't stumble through a single magazine without a failure to feed. most of my handgun issues were with revolvers and those were charter arms bulldogs. I had a kahr pm45 that took as much ammo as the cost of the gun before it would run right.

[TxFlyFish]

My dog has never failed to eject either...weird

[mk70ss]

I carry a revolver, but my Glock 43 feeds and ejects everything

[Charlie98]

If my Kahrs (I rotate 4 different 9mm Kahrs in carry duty...) didn't feed or fire 100%, I wouldn't be carrying them. OTOH, I don't shoot small revolvers well, at all... but I can put all 8 rounds out of the Kahr in the breadbasket... or other places... with ease. But... this is AMERICA! Carry what you like!

[wild cat mccane]

Wait until cylinder binding or timing comes up.

[Bill DeShivs]

Um, revolvers are pistols....

[wild cat mccane]

You had to make a decision on this one to assume that it was autos vs revolvers

[deadcoyote]

When I started in law enforcement I carried a revolver. Later in my career I transitioned to first a Glock 22, then a SW 6906, then a Glock 23. I didn’t have a say in any of the transitions but the glocks and smiths were good guns. The Smith was a little finicky, and I was happy to go back to Glock but I definitely don’t listen to the naysayers who talk down on the old smith autos.

I transitioned out of a sworn job 7 months ago and had to supply my own gun. I have a basic investigator job, spend a lot of time doing field interviews on a schedule and making calls. My SW 642 kind of went from my back up gun to my daily carry. I am thinking of buying another gun to carry when I go to bad neighborhoods but have honestly been considering another revolver and carry it in addition to the 642. I don’t think autos are bad I’m comfortable with wheelguns and a nice model 686 or 69 wouldn’t be bad to supplement a 642.

[smee78]

I've had 3 revolvers (85UL, 85Tit UL & 905) fail over the years. Now they were all Taurus guns if that means anything. All it did to me was prove even a revolver can fail, they are all machinal devices so anything can happen. YMMV

[wild cat mccane]

Not just a Taurus thing.

Rebuilding S&W lightweights with 357 seems to get a pass, but do it. Heck someone just mentioned having done that 3 times in a thread two down...

[44 AMP]

EVERYTHING can jam. Accept that. If your semi wasn't jamming before, and is now, something changed. Figure out what it was. Might be something that can be fixed...

[Nanuk]

Rebuilding S&W lightweights with 357 seems to get a pass, but do it. Heck someone just mentioned having done that 3 times in a thread two down...

That was me. The gun never "malfunctioned" but the Ti cylinder chipped and it went out of time. the frame flexed so much that the cylinder jammed in the window during each shot, then it flexed right back.......

[Dufus]

I started out carrying a revolver. Then I went to a Colt Series 70 that I bought new in 1976. Never had any failures with any of them.

Now I am carrying a S&W SD9VE. I had no failures with maybe 2500 rounds thru it.

I might start carrying another revolver next week. It just depends on what the feelings are.

[RickB]

The least reliable gun I've ever owned is a DA revolver.
It doesn't misfeed, but unless I'm picky about ammo selection, it ignites only 90% of the rounds I "feed" it.
Even my dodgy auto pistols are 99.9% reliable.

I've done a fair amount of DA shooting, and can't put hits on target half as fast, with the necessary accuracy, as I can with a good auto pistol, so it's 20th century technology for me.

[5whiskey]

Um, revolvers are pistols....

Not even very many years ago, in many circles, “pistol” was frequently used as a short reference to a semi-auto handgun. A revolver was just a revolver. Both of them were handguns. Hence why the term “semi-auto pistol” is common, but not the term “revolver pistol.” I don’t know the origins of why this is, I just know that existed as such and in more than just one small setting.

[HighValleyRanch]

Not even very many years ago, in many circles, “pistol” was frequently used as a short reference to a semi-auto handgun. A revolver was just a revolver. Both of them were handguns. Hence why the term “semi-auto pistol” is common, but not the term “revolver pistol.” I don’t know the origins of why this is, I just know that existed as such and in more than just one small setting.

Wait, didn't the term "pistolero" happen before there were semi auto's?

[JERRYS.]

Originally Posted by HighValleyRanch

Wait, didn't the term "pistolero" happen before there were semi auto's?

are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle dixie?

[pete2]

I own numerous revolvers and semis. Over the years( I'm 73 years old, 74 on May 5) so I have sent a lot of lead down range. I have had powder get under the extractor a couple times during a match(never happen with a carry gun as I don't even carry a reload). I have failed to let the trigger go all the way forward, also in a match. That's it with the revolver.
As for semis, I have had the ejector break, bottom fall out of a magazine, had magazines puke the ammo out, failures to eject, engaged the safety by accident, also during matches(the gun is now converted to decocker only), had a buffer break and lock up the gun. I have had jams for no reason at all. Failures to load the first round.
As of this date I have had many more failures with semis than with revolvers.
I won't even inclue the .22 LR guns, semis are a jam looking for a place to happen with the rimfires.
The revolver will win as for reliability.... But it don't hold 18 rounds if that's your thing carry it and hope it works. I do have 4 or 5 semis that haven't malfunctioned----YET.

[jmr40]

Wait, didn't the term "pistolero" happen before there were semi auto's?

Originally a pistol was a hand held firearm with one chamber, a single shot. Revolving pistols had multiple chambers. Over time that was shortened to just revolvers. When semi-autos were introduced they were called pistols since they only had one chamber. But the definition has blurred. I prefer to call revolvers revolvers and semi's pistols since it is an easy way to note the difference in platforms. But not everyone agrees.

But to the original post. I've had far more failures from revolvers than pistols.

[bamaranger]

A failure occasionally seen back in my revolver years was a .38 case stuck under the star of a .357 revolver. Another glitch was the ejector rod working loose and although you got 6, you could not (easily) open the cylinder to reload. It was also pretty common to encounter revolvers with the main spring strain screw backed off to obtain a lighter DA pull, and subsequently get light hammer strikes and failure to fire. On the S$W revolvers with adjustable rear sights, damage to the rear sight was relatively common, blades getting dinged, and screws loosening on the tangs.

But, the modern DA revolver is a pretty reliable thing, provided they're well maintained and not dorked with. But the modern auto pistol is too. I've seen a tremendous number of rounds fired in training with SIG and Glock pistols, with very few failures of any kind, provided good ammo, magazines and maintenance.

[dyl]

I looked up the terminology recently, and I believe the larger category is handguns, and further divided into pistols and revolvers. Anything with a revolving cylinder is a revolver, and everything else is a pistol. Even single shot dueling pistols and derringers. Because they don't have a revolving cylinder. In actual use, people just use whatever word!

I recently had my M&P9c fail to fire because ~4 of my 115 grain Winchester White Box rounds were crimped so hard they didn't headspace properly and left a little gap between them and the breech face. I should've taken pictures, it looked like someone didn't read the reloading manual before they went to town. I tried to rechamber and fire them 3 times. The brass just below the case mouth showed rub marks where I'm guessing that was the widest point that touched the shoulder of the chamber. So yes my gun would have jammed. Firing pin indentations on the primer were really shallow. All the other rounds from that box did fine. It really undermined my confidence in my pistol until I figured it out.

[ms6852]

I stopped carrying a 1911 but not because of jams or failures or other problems, I just got bored and carry a 686+ with 3" barrel. But as has been posted already, failure can and will occur as all guns are mechanical.

Revolvers can suffer setbacks but I truly believe that that is due to the individual not understanding how delicate the revolver can be if manhandled. I have seen individual slap the cylinder to watch it spin and than close it hard by the cylinder which slams into the cylinder stop which can lead to timing issues.

In order to lessen the amount of reliability issues I strongly believe that one should be familiar with their firearm and secondly if you are buying this to save your life or your loved one don't go cheap which is not the same as inexpensive, but at least be patient and save enough money to buy a good quality firearm since your life is at stake.

[azretired]

In my LE career I carried a revolver for approximately 15 years, autos for 13. During that time we qualified quarterly and I can honestly say I never had a revolver fail on me, and never needed an "alibi" for a mechanical issue. I cannot say that about the auto's I have had to carry (S&W, SIG & Glock), all three brands have had mechanical issues while qualifying. Usually magazine related. My SIG P-220 was the most reliable.

If I could have I would have carried a revolver my entire career!