Why do we still use revolvers today if pistols can hold more ammo and shoot faster?
In: Physics
You are going to have to define ‘use’. I own some revolvers because they are awesome. They just look cool.
Did I carry a revolver in the military? Nope. Did I carry a revolver as an LEO? Nope. The reason was simple, I was issued a semi auto or I wanted the higher round count and I was trained in the correct operation of a semi auto.
But a revolver has some very decent attributes that lend itself as a good choice for an average person. One is that most firefights are 3-5 rounds at ranges from 3-5 feet and lasting 3-5 seconds. And a revolver can handle that.
Semi autos are ‘better’ because they carry more rounds, but they also have different failure modes.
Don’t pretend that revolvers can’t also fail, they can. And some failure modes are much worse than failure modes of a semi auto.
The issue is probability of a failure and probability of that failure being significant.
Take a ‘failure to fire’. This is when you pull the trigger and the weapon goes “click”. This can be just a simple issue with the primer of the firearm or maybe a firing pin issue. Now with a revolver, you just pull the trigger again. With a semi auto you “Tap/Rack/Roll/Squeeze.”
The revolver is just simply easier.
Now I have experienced a failure on a revolver that locked the firearm up and made it worthless till we performed gunsmith level maintenance… Bit with a revolver the failure modes that disable the firearm are less likely.
If you asked me what firearm I wanted my untrained friend to have in an emergency… It would be a revolver for simplicity.
Latest Answers