Wheel vs Semi

[Doc Holliday 1950]

I Spent a large part of my Summer at my range shooting with my 2" 357 in magnum revolver & my G43. I used a 38 sp.130 grain fmj for my 357 & used a 124 grain 9mm fmj ammo for my G43. My target range was 25 feet for both.
After several thousand rounds firing each I found my 2" 357 in mag more accurate than my G43 . No contest. The 2" outperformed the Glock.

Using my 686+ 3" vs. my G19 using similar ammo was a different story. The accuracy of both was very close to each other.

Has anyone else found this to true firing their similar wheels vs semi's?

[lunger]

I also have a Glock 43. Comparing it to my SW Model 60 3 inch with 38's. I shoot both a lot. I shoot both with similar results. Maybe a slight edge to the 43,but not always

The 43 is my EDC and the 60 is my fishing ,hiking , woods gun.

[Nathan]

I have carried a snub J 357 and a small 9mm. The snubbie was more accurate, but the 9mm was close enough and reloads are light years faster.

[jetinteriorguy]

In DA I shoot my revolver about the same as my full size all metal CZ's, but in SA the revolver is much more accurate. I do feel shooting my revolver in DA gets back on target faster and shoot faster than my semi auto's, which seems counterintuitive, but for me anyway that's the way it works.

[44 AMP]

Has anyone else found this to true firing their similar wheels vs semi's?

That what is true? That you shoot some guns better than others, and other guns about equally well? Yep, have noticed that.

Is this a revolver vs. semi thing? Yes, and no. Yes, if it is what is happening, and no, because its not a revolver vs. semi thing, its a revolver and YOU, vs. semi and YOU thing.

Everyone's "quirks" are different. Some are really strange. I know a guy who "can't hit squat" (his own words) with a snub nose S&W (though he dearly loves them) but with the same size Colt, he deadly accurate. Can't say why, only that there's just enough difference between the guns and HIM shooting them to make a difference.

I don't have anything directly comparable to the guns you used, other than a 2" .38Spl Colt Agent. My smallest 9mm is a 4" P.08 Luger . I have smaller semis but they're .22, .32 and .380 calibers.

Grip size and the way it fits your hand, trigger pull, and sights and the way you (the shooter) use them together are what makes one gun shoot better for you than another.

[TruthTellers]

I have yet to find a subcompact pistol that I shoot better than a snub revolver with a single action pull. Double action with a revolver requires a lot more concentration, but I can get equal groups.

Where accuracy with a semi auto beats a revolver is .22, but the only .22 revolver I have is a 4 inch North American Arms and the triggers on those are not conducive to accuracy.

I guess I should go get a larger .22 revolver with a better trigger before I make such a statement, but overall I do shoot revolvers better than semi pistols.

[gw44]

my wheel gun go's Bang ever time I pull the trigger, that's what I like !!!

[tallball]

I usually shoot revolvers better. I've been shooting them longer and generally feel more comfortable with them.

[Fishbed77]

After several thousand rounds firing each I found my 2" 357 in mag more accurate than my G43 . No contest. The 2" outperformed the Glock.

No, it didn't outperform anything.

You just shoot it better.

[Drm50]

They can be shot rested and clear up the mystery. The only way to see how a gun is actually shooting.

[MoArk Willy]

I always am more accurate with a wheel gun....with the one exception of a 22A Smith and Wesson. I sincerely doubt it's the accuracy of the gun. I am just more accurate with it.
If I bench rest any gun I am accurate with it. If it's off a bit it's the sights. I carry for self defense purposes and practice accordingly. My targets are no farther than 5 or 7 yards when I do that. My accuracy at that distance is dead on with a revolver and deadly with a semi.
If I didn't carry for self defense and was primarily a target shooter I would practice much more with the semi's. For some reason a revolver seems easier to shoot and always more accurate with less practice......at least for me. At 7 yards I can put a bullet on the target.
That is my concern for self defense carry.

[CommandoX]

I have to agree with the psychological theory that has been presented.

I am fortunate to have lots of different pistols. Varying sized and calibers.

I shoot my .45 cal Tangfolio Witness Hunter very well and can keep 2" groups at 20 yards standing if I do my part. I don't really know why, I just can. I would still like to find better grips for it someday.

If I do my part I can do the same thing with my .44 mag Super Redhawk IF I do my part. Other pistols and revolvers I own I shoot well enough but those two at the top of my game.

When it comes to .22s, I have to say that I honestly shoot my Victory and my 617 equally well all the way out to 30 yards. There really is no difference in my ability to be accurate with them. 2" groups of 10 shots at 15 yards standing is common.

All my other guns are "work in progress" but still very satisfying to shoot. I think that I shoot the two large bore ones well to some degree because I expect I will. That expectation of success leads to proper form and control and thus, the accuracy I expect from them.

[Doc Holliday 1950]

I really tried to put the same intense but relaxed concentration in shooting my wheels vs my Semi's. I thruthfully don't think that it's a mental thing that I shoot my wheel snub better than my semi snub. My wheel is much heavier than my G43 & I'm sure that this has a direct effect on my accuracy.

But when I shoot my heavier and longer G19 vs. my S&W 686 it's a very close thing.

So this whole issue is not Wheels vs. Semi's. It's about weight, balance & feel.

I'm going to state, that for me, I'd rather have a heavy 6 shot 357 in magnum revolver than have a 16 shot light weight semi pistol for an every day defensive weapon.

[RickB]

Perhaps strangely, I shoot all of my handguns equally, when I'm trying for accuracy.
I can shoot four-inch, 25yd groups with all of my 4"-5" guns, and can't shoot any better than that.

I can be almost that accurate shooting double action, but much slower.

[jaguarxk120]

Wheel guns are so much stronger than the semi's. They handle larger more powerful
cartridges than the semi's.
Yes there are some that handle the 44 Magnum but what happens to the semi's
when shooting those super heavy 300 grain loadings?

Also I have not seen a 500 S&W semi yet.

[pete2]

I love wheel guns and 1911s. Also playing with a Glock 19 at the moment. I think I could like the Glock if the trigger wasn't crunchy. Could carry it if it had a safety. Bottom line, I think I like shooting the D/A revolver the best but in our personal defense game semis rule(no wheel guns that hole 18 rounds of ammo). Gun I carry most is a 642 J frame.
It's all good.

[COSteve]

Due to the design, a revolver has a higher bore axis causing more muzzle rise for a given recoil impulse plus the revolver's 'inverted cone' shaped grip that's harder to grip firmly than a semi-auto's. Taken together, for a given recoil impulse, it's harder to shoot a revolver quickly than a semi-auto. These aren't opinions, they are physical facts.

[44 AMP]

.. for a given recoil impulse, it's harder to shoot a revolver quickly than a semi-auto.

I agree there can be a measurable difference, but don't forget to ask if that difference (assuming there is one, in the hands of a given shooter) matters??

Sure, there are situations where speed, along with sufficient accuracy are very important, but they aren't the only situations encountered while handgunning. Also, the individual, gun, and recoil level make a difference.

So what if I can shoot a certain 9mm .1 second faster and as accurately as a certain .38 revolver? What if I'm faster with the semi, but not as accurate??

what if the revolver weighs significantly more than the semi auto, damping out much of the recoil impulse? Think the semi will be faster, then??

Too many factors at work to make the blanket statement fit well, for me.

It may seem counter intuitive, but "for a given recoil impulse", some revolvers are pussycats to shoot, compared to some semi autos.

Compare a GI govt model .45 and a Ruger Blackhawk .45acp (I have both), out of the heavier, longer barrel single action, the recoil of the .45acp is much less felt than from the semi auto. Also, despite its high bore axis and grip shape that single action doesn't have as much muzzle flip as the standard 5" 1911A1 (in MY hands, anyway). It isn't the bore axis or the grip shape that makes me slower with the SA, its the SA action. My only DA .45 revolver is a Webley, and its WWI "combat" trigger doesn't allow for an even remotely fair comparision.

On the other side of the coin, I can definitely shoot a .357 Magnum Desert Eagle faster than a DA .357 revolver. Huge muzzle blast, very low recoil and muzzle flip. Of course, the Desert Eagle goes over 4.5 lbs fully loaded, where even large frame revolvers are over a pound less. Makes a difference.

[Doc Holliday 1950]

I have to change my opinion on wheel vs. semi. For the first time in years, I went to my range & took only one gun. I took my G43 & 150 rounds of 9 mm 130 gr.
fmj ammo & shot at 15 then 25 feet back & forth.

Maybe some of you remember Transcendental meditation? It was pretty weird. It felt like I was slightly outside of my body & kept firing groups so close that a big hole in my target appeared where my shots went. Never had that happen before & never been that accurate before firing any hand gun. next time I'll try to do the same with just one wheel.

[peacefulgary]

I Spent a large part of my Summer at my range shooting with my 2" 357 in magnum revolver & my G43. I used a 38 sp.130 grain fmj for my 357 & used a 124 grain 9mm fmj ammo for my G43. My target range was 25 feet for both.
After several thousand rounds firing each I found my 2" 357 in mag more accurate than my G43 . No contest. The 2" outperformed the Glock.

Using my 686+ 3" vs. my G19 using similar ammo was a different story. The accuracy of both was very close to each other.

Were you shooting your revolvers double-action or single-action?

[pete2]

I have a 625 JM .45 revolver. It's true that there is more felt recoil with the revolver. But, on a good day I can make head shots(5 for 5) at 20 yards shooting one handed double action. That's as good or better than I'll o with my 1911 gun with the 3-1/2# trigger. Used to do it with a 586. Just can't make the revolver shoot 198 times without a reload.

[CDW4ME]

1911 or Glock is easier for me to shoot quickly & accurately than a double action revolver.

[Wyosmith]

Yes.
I shoot my revolvers better in almost every case.

I may do so because I have had revolvers since I was 12, but I didn't use an auto until I was 18 and I was issued one in the USMC. I learned to shoot the 1911 exceptionally well, and I could and did shoot VERY high scores with it, but I never could shoot as tight a group, or hit moving targets as fast with the 1911 as I could with my privately owned K and N frame S&Ws, or my dad's Ruger Security Six.

I do carry autos most of the time when I go to town, but around the property here, I am still carrying revolvers and I always carry a revolver when hunting in preference to my autos.

The revolvers carry fewer rounds and are far slower to re-load (for me) but I have never found those 2 "limitations" to be true limitations.

I, for one, feel just as well armed with a good revolver as I do with a good auto. I like autos more for carry in town just because they are flatter and more compact, and many of them are somewhat lighter too.

But I categorically reject the idea that is thrown around so much today, that "fire-power" is needed (or wanted) in a fight with a handgun. See, as a civilian (or a cop) you must realize that you are not in a war zone and there are no "lines" so EVERY round you fire will hit ----- something! ................or someone!

You CANNOT fire a lot of rounds and miss without a severely high chance of hitting something or someone that is not the intended target and ALL rounds you fire are 100% your responsibility, civilly, criminally and economically.

If you keep cool and shoot well you reduce or eliminate the threat fast and with only the rounds fired that hit. Fast noise makes your gun go empty and gives away your position (if not already known) and both of those things do NOT help you EVER!

So as I say over and over and over (like a broken record) it's not the gun that matters as much as it's the gunner.

There is no right way to miss and there is no wrong way to hit.

I for one would tell anyone that shoots a revolver better then an auto to carry the revolver if they can. If the revolver is too large or heavy, then you may need to carry the auto, but neither is good if you miss and neither is bad if you hit.

Only hits count and unlike target shooting, a miss is not a zero. It's much worse. It's a negative. Sometimes it's a HUGE negative.

[jar]

Generally I'm far more comfortable when shooting a wheel gun than an semi-automatic and just feel better armed with a wheel gun than my automatics. I imagine it's all in my head but there it is nonetheless.

I don't have a problem carrying a semi-automatic and have several, both SA nad DA/SA versions in 380, 9mm Mak, 9mm as well as 45 acp but still just feel more comfortable and better armed with a 100+ year old 5 shot 38S&W then with an 8 round 45ACP.

[OneFreeTexan]

Who smith, you make great sense... I carried a revolver, 38 special for almost 30yrs, never fired it in duty, but practice with it three or four times a week,, alway shot SA,, very accurate at the distance I needed,,,,,