Pistol vs. Revolver

[Doc Holliday 1950]

Why am I more accurate firing a Glock 19 vs. a GP100 4"?

The Glock shoots a 9mm and I use a 38 special +P 125 grain HP in
my Ruger.

I noticed this the first time I shot the Glock. Has any one else experienced this?

[UncleEd]

A lot might have to do with your experience with revolvers vs. autos.

In DA, the revolver certainly takes more work than an auto in SA or even in the Glock basically single action like trigger.

Did you use the GP 100 in DA or SA?

Even so, the GP 100 might not sit as well in your hand.

The best way to get an answer is to shoot with someone who is
quite familiar with both types of guns; they very likely will see
something you're doing "right" or "wrong" with the revolver.

I doubt anyone on the forum can really give a definitive answer.

[JWM]

Case in point: I used to shoot the 48-round, 25 yard, six shot strings, NRA PPC matches. Exact same course of fire whether using Service Pistol, or Service Revolver (4 inch bbl). I would shot my duty Glock 17 and slightly modified S&Wmodel 686 in back to back matches in the same day. The 686 always beat the score that I posted with the Glock by about 8-10 points. A revolver has the accuracy advantage of a fixed barrel.

[jmr40]

If I fire a DA revolver in SA then it will always be more accurate for me. But when I start firing DA with a revolver I'm MUCH better with any semi-auto. And I find Glocks to be just as accurate as any other semi including out of the box 1911's. Some 1911's that have been worked on will be more accurate than my Glocks, but not by much.

[CDW4ME]

Glock has lighter trigger than double action revolver.
Glock 9mm likely produces less recoil than 38 +P in GP100.
You know the Glock is better so you shoot it better.

Another possibility: a 1980's time warp is trying to pull the revolver back, making it hard to shoot.

[john in jax]

It is harder to master a long DA trigger pull on a revolver. 1911s, Glocks, etc.... have a lighter and significantly shorter trigger pull (think of that short Glock reset) which is easier to learn.

Try shooting the GP100 single action, if your accuracy improves you know you need more work/training to get the level of trigger control required to hold steady while pulling the extra weight and length of the DA pull.

[john in jax]

It is harder to master a long DA trigger pull on a revolver. 1911s, Glocks, etc.... have a lighter and significantly shorter trigger pull (think of that short Glock reset) which is easier to learn.

Try shooting the GP100 single action, if your accuracy improves you know you need more work/training to get the level of trigger control required to hold steady while pulling the extra weight and length of the DA pull.

Do you own one of those cheap $30 laser bore sighters? I think lasers are great training aids. You can work dry fire exercises while trying to hold the laser steady and on target.

[MrBorland]

Originally Posted by Doc Holliday 1950

I noticed this the first time I shot the Glock.

I suspect this is far more relevant than any "pistol vs revolver" issue.

It's fairly common to be more accurate with a gun you've just picked up and shot for the first time - and the reason is pretty straightforward: it's because, since the gun is new to you, you're giving "little" things like sight picture and trigger control the attention they ought to normally get. IOW, we tend to get complacent with the fundamentals with the gun we normally shoot.

As the proverb goes, "familiarity breeds contempt".

[bamaranger]

Back when my agency made the switch from revolvers to autopistol we saw a distinct improvement in scores, across the board, but especially in our mid range performers.

There was several distinct reasons for that:
- in revolvers, the move had begun from +P+ .38 ammo, to .357 ammo, most either full bore 125 gr, or slightly more moderate 110's.
-managing the double/single trigger of the selected auto pistol was much easier for those with moderate hand strength, as opposed to full DA for a 30 or 60 round course. Hand strength with the DA revolver, has a distinct bearing on accuracy
-faster reloads w/ an auto, allowed for more time for accurate shooting on stages with mandatory reloads, not much, but some

Poor shooters remained poor shots for the most part and were still borderline at quals. Mid range improved, and good shots did too.

[CDR_Glock]

I shoot both, and I own both. I actually have a GP 100 in 6" and 4". For some reason, I shoot the 6" better. I can shoot a revolver consistently further and further away than an auto pistol but that probably has to do more with the ballistics of a 357 Magnum versus a 9mm.

You didn't mention your distances, but I set up targets at 25 and 50 yards, routinely, though I have been working on 75 and 100 yards, for handguns to push myself. I shoot twice a week, on weekends, since the weekdays are too dark for me.

I think it's your level of comfort and familiarity with the Glock. The trigger is lighter on a Glock. Depending upon the sights of each system, you are also more comfortable with the sight picture of the Glock. It is also easier for most people to use a Glock or other striker fire pistol.

I definitely enjoy both. I only shoot in double action, personally, for both. I tend to shoot my revolver more accurately since I don't have a slide to cycle back and forth, so I can point more consistently and stay on target. I also personally reload my 357 Magnum cartridges so it is more accurate for me; whereas I'm at the whim for what the factory puts together for 9mm.

I have other Glocks, as well, and I shoot the Glock 30 the best of all Glocks. It is wider and easier to control. I do; however, have different sights on it compared to the others - a Truglo which has fiber optics, as well as Tritium. It took a long time to adjust to a Glock 42 because of its small size for me, so I definitely shoot a revolver better than that. My first Glock was a Glock 23 which I shoot well, but not as well as a Glock 30.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[reddog81]

Not me. I can do better with my 5" GP100 than I can with G17.

[Lavan]

I sure wouldn't use a sample of only 2 guns to draw any conclusions.

[buck460XVR]

Because of their grip angle, folks either find Glocks point naturally for them, or find they have a hard time becoming accurate with them. IME, initial accuracy with any handgun is how they fit your hand. One reason folks find 1911s inherently accurate, because they fit most folk's hands well.

[jackstrawIII]

I'm the same way, much more accurate with an autoloader than a revolver. But, as someone said, that's probably due to the fact that I shoot revolvers about 1% as much as the autos.

Hope to change that soon with the purchase of a new 1873 clone!

[Glenn Dee]

Much ado about nothing. It's just a matter of practice with either or both. Quite a bit of shooting is muscle memory. If I shoot the auto first, the first several rounds from the revolver may be off and visa versa. I truly believe that anyone capable of mastering one can easily master the other with some practice.

I think that maybe sometimes people make up their minds that they can't accurately shoot one or the other, then live up to that.

[ShootistPRS]

I agree that with practice comes accuracy. Right now I shoot my revolver better than I do my semi auto but I have been shooting that revolver for over 40 years. I've had my CZ 75B for around three months.
The things I notice is that the sights on the CZ are lower and there is more room on either side of the front sight of the CZ than on my Ruger. The Ruger trigger pull is smoother than the CZ in both single and double action. I will get better as I become more familiar with the CZ because I intend to use it in three gun competitions. The more you work with a gun the better you shoot it.

[Doc Holliday 1950]

The answers that I received were very instructual. I realized that my Glock has Ameriglo rear night sight and all my 357 mags don't.

So this is one very important reason for shooting my new Glock better. I have smallish hands and had to change all of my grips except for the Glock. So, I don't think its the grips.

I think that the 2nd. reason for shooting the Glock better is balance. It feels like an extention of my hand/arm.

Since I'm shooting in a indoor range the furthest is 25 yards. Looking for an outdoor range to see how far and accurate I am.
Thanks everyone.

[Boncrayon]

Have both and enjoy shooting both. I carry a semi-auto with a powerful punch, having one in the chamber to boot!

[rodfac]

Doc: I'd opine that the trigger pull weights (in DA) have a lot to do with it. The typical DA/SA revolver's is much heavier than any Glock that I've shot. That alone allows a level of precision.

If you compare the revolver in SA mode to the Glock, however, I think you'd find the reverse to be true, ie. the revolver's far lighter pull weight will win out over the Glock's longer and heavier pull. But I'll be the first to admit, that SA revolver fire has no real place in a defensive attack encounter at normal (is there such a thing) defensive distances.

Of course, this asumes that both guns have the intrinsic accuracy to compete at all. The Glocks I've shot, had that accuracy, much to my dismay, at least out to 15 yds...(not a Glock fan here).

Rod

[T. O'Heir]

The Glock fits your hand better(your hands must be really small if a GP doesn't fit. Mine are short but a GP fits nicely for SA. Not quite for DA.). Unless you've had a proper trigger job(it's like night and day) done on the GP, it's better on the Glock too. Especially if you're shooting DA.
The sights really make little difference. However, a pistol usually allows you to concentrate on the sight picture more than a non-trigger jobbed revolver.

[TraumaRN]

Pretty much equal accuracy with my 1911 Government and GP100

[Targa]

In single action I would say I am the most accurate with a revolver over anything. Double action is the complete opposite.

[SSA]

Maybe it's the gun. I have a Super Blackhawk that is very accurate. I've had 2 other Ruger revolvers that I couldn't hit anything with.

[jetinteriorguy]

I find that for me I shoot revolvers (S&W only) abut the same in DA as my semi auto strikers, but way out shot the semi's shooting revolvers in SA. But then I make it a practice to shoot my revolvers as much in DA as SA, which is about 50 rounds each way at least once a week. And I do have some extremely nice triggers on my revolvers, I'm kind of a nut about that. I've found having an extremely nice trigger helps compensate for my crappy shooting, boy what I would give to have 18 year old eyes again.

[rodfac]

I've found having an extremely nice trigger helps compensate for my crappy shooting, boy what I would give to have 18 year old eyes again.

Yep, most of my Smith's have been through the Springfield plant at one time or other (used to live 30 miles south of it). But my carry revolver is a M60 J-frame with a mediocre trigger at best, but it's still 'good enough'.

I rarely shoot the gun in SA mode and find that in DA and out to 10 yds, my speed of delivery and accuracy is very similar to my Sig's and my wife's Glock. Groups are a bit larger but not enough to matter. For real precision, of course the SA mode of most any revolver far surpasses the DA mode of an auto...but for defensive carry scenarios, real precision is not generally necessary. If it is, you've probably got other options than "shoot".

I guess the secret is, if there is one, is constant practice, much more so than what is necessary for a DA auto, in my opinion. And too, it takes longer to become truly proficient with a revolver's DA mode. To my mind, a revolver's simplicity is it's redeeming attribute. Point and shoot...no fiddling with thumb nor grip safeties, no racking the slide issues, no mag release button to inadvertantly actuate, a FTF drill that is simplicity itself (pull the trigger again!), and a broader choice of ammunition suitable to the task at hand. To get these, you give up capacity and must spend more time becoming and retaining true proficiency. HTH's Rod