@@johnsonfrance2616 I dont think I can trust it now that I fiddled with a few. I sure thought 13 pounds of trigger pull would be enough. Lighter than I thought
Young man, back in my day revolves were king. I've shot several revolves I've owned for over 40 years. I started carrying a Colt lawman III in the 70's for security and shot the hell out of it without a problem. Then upgraded to a Smith model 66. Thousands and thousands of rounds through both and never had a issue. I've never had a semi automatic that hasn't jammed up every few hundred rounds. Although I carry a shield these days, I always have my trusty 5 shot 642. Old guys know
I’ve been actively shooting revolvers and semi-auto pistols for 40 years. NEVER had any issues with any revolvers! Not one single time. I cannot say the same thing for the semi-autos. I also never heard anyone at my gun club say they had any issues with revolvers but I’ve heard countless stories about issues with semi-autos. I’ve never heard anything about being able to clean a pistol during qualification.
Anecdotal evidence is never reliable. Just because the people at your gun club almost never have problems with revolvers, but have countless problems with semi autos, doesn’t mean that another club can’t have the opposite going on. Sample size and other variables can account for both extremes being equally true.
Out of all the training and range visits I've had, almost all malfunctions were due to ammunition. That being said, I've never had a semi auto pistol get so jammed up that it couldn't be cleared or rectified by doing a magazine change (I usually always have a 2nd mag on me). That fact alone is why I choose to carry and recommend semi auto pistols to everyone. One day we decided to take a few revolvers out to the range for some fun and out of 5 revolvers, we had two show stopping failures that would have been bad in a gun fight. Again the issue wasn't the actual revolver but the ammo. The primer on one of the rounds backed out enough to lock up the cylinder. We literally had to beat the cylinders open on both to get the bad casing out. Again if this would have been a SD situation, it would have been bad news. For the most part you are depending on the lottery that you have good ammunition in your carry weapon and that you will not have any failures. Failures will and do happen, so please practice and train to protect yourself and others if the need arises.
My every day carry is now a pistol but I have a S&W Model 13 that I have put over 7000 rounds through since I bought it over 35 years ago and it has never once had an issue. Plus it's a tack driver and has the smoothest double action trigger I've ever shot thanks to a old Navy buddy that did a trigger job on it.
I carry both. (not at the same time!) I find a revolver will actually conceal better, for me, than the square chunky semi's. If I carry them high on the belt, strong side, the cylinder tucks into the area above my hip, and on the belt line the barrel is thinner than the muzzle of a semi. During the winter/spring/fall, my 24-3 (S&W) actually conceals very well. My Bulldog (charter) conceals well under a T-Shirt...so I would disagree a bit with revolvers not concealing as well because the cylinder is wide. And that all depends on body type also, just speaking for myself. On modern semi's I don't like them at all. My favorite carry semi is a CZ52, and sometimes I'll carry the 1911 when it's colder weather and I can wear more clothes. My AP-MBP is super concealable, but the caliber (32ACP) does not generate a lot of confidence. That's why I practice with it the most, and don't pack it often.
Me too. 342PD for pocket carry when I want something light. P229 or G19 when I want a bit more firepower and don't mind a bulkier gun. I can carry the Smith in my pocket at the gym and it is light enough it doesn't drag the pants down so as to obviously have something heavy in there. Only problem with the 342 is that after maybe 8 to 10 rounds the frame/cylinder heat up so much and expands that everything tightens up making the trigger action that much heavier. But I only carry it with 5 onboard and no extra speed loader or anything so not an issue in a real life situation just at the range.
Wow, 5 out of 18 revolvers "went down hard". I have been shooting revolvers over 50 years and never once had a problem with any of them. However, I have had multiple problems with semi-auto's mainly related to magazine issues, bad ammo or not ejecting. I trust a revolver to go bang every time. That said, my suggestion is for everyone to carry the gun they are comfortable with.
Have numer of both and carry either/both depending on the situation and what I'm wearing. I've experienced a couple stovepipes, one bad mag out of the box, three mag spring issues, and various ammo related ftf and fte. I've had one cylinder lock up that cleared by working the cylinder back and forth while doing the same with the hammer. My preferred carries are my S&W 649 .357 and my S&W 638 .38 spc. as they are shrouded hammer that can still be cocked for single action, but be fired repeatedly inside a pocket without getting jammed by the pocket material. I sleep with one as well for the same reason- can be fired from under the sheets without getting jammed.
I do agree semi automatic is more efficient and more rounds is a comfort. I have full respect for John, however reliability about revolvers are top notch. I’ve sometimes put like 500 rounds in a Ruger DP100 without cleaning it and didn’t have a single malfunction.
Difference between range ammo and defensive ammo. Also, in the case of this class, it was a problem because I flew to it (it was in OK) and could only take so much ammo on the airplane. I have to order Magtech by the case, naturally, and we ran 300 revolver rounds...so I ended up buying ammo from the range for the revolver portion, as did many of the other students who flew. It had primer issues for sure.
John I have to respectfully dis agree with you about the reliability of wheel guns. As a retired C.O. I had to qualify once a year for 22 yrs. I can only remember 2 times where a weapon quit working and had to be replaced. The first time was when the firing pin on the hammer broke. The second time the cylinder locked up. We used S&W mod 64. We shot 50 practice rounds and 50 rounds to qualify, no cleaning until we were finished shooting. Just wanted to share that. Thanks for all your videos.
John, that was an interesting rant. Since I'm well into my senior years, I trained with revolvers then with a 1911A1, which was not fine example of an American pistol. As an armed citizen, I did not trust the semis that were available from the sixties through the eighties. Today, I do have confidence in many modern pistols and own quite a few. I carry them more than I carry revolvers, these days but I refuse to carry small pistols. It's all a matter of choice. Buy a quality firearm, keep it clean and know how to use it. Remain alert and stay out of trouble.
When I go to bigger cities I carry my 1911 10 mm with extra mags but when I’m in my home town and at work I carry my 686plus with extra speed loads and I comfortable with both I never fill under gun with either .
Retired LEO here.....I love my six-shooters...I have a pair of S&W model 65s (3" and 4" barrels) and never had any problem with them in the past 40 years despite the fact that I'm lazy and don't clean them very often. BTW, the triggers came from the factory with 9 Lbs. of pressure for double action, not 11. And FYI, with speedloaders I can reload just as fast as a semi-auto. Now I will concede capacity but the revolver fits my hand better with Hogue custom rubber grips and so I am more accurate with it. I have watched too many modern cops in these videos doing a "spray and pray" rather than aiming and putting just one or two rounds on target and while I don't have the stats, I'm sure collateral damage is much higher since high-capacity autos took over. I also have watched too many videos where cops have their semi-autos jam and fail to clear the round while under stress but never seen that happen with a revolver. And as far as your statement, "having to clean a revolver midway through a qualification course"....NO, that's nonsense....I have literally watched hundreds of officers qualify over the years and NO ONE ever had to do that even one time. OK, I admit it, I'm old and probably set in my ways, but I do know some things about revolvers that you young whippersnappers don't.
I have been shooting revolvers and semi-autos for over 30 years as a police officer, soldier, or a private citizen. I have received pistol training from Tom Givens, Gunsite, and others. As Clint Smith noted all weapons have some sort of limitation. I agree with most of the points made but I never remember having to clean my revolvers during qualifications or for that matter during training. We cleaned them when finished shooting for the day. I have had revolvers bind up because unburned powder got underneath the extractor star but that gets back to the issue of quality ammunition. I am surprised the retired cops didn't mention the biggest advantage of revolvers which you didn't discuss. IF ENGAGED IN A FIGHT TO THE DEATH AT BAD BREATH RANGE, THEY CAN FIRED IN AWKWARD POSITIONS WHERE THE MUZZLE IS PRESSED AGAINST A BODY OR IT HAS TO BE FIRED WITH A LIMP WRIST. Semi-autos will not function if the slide is pressed out of battery when the muzzle is pressed against something and will often malfunction after the first round if firing with a limp wrist. Disarming someone with a snub nosed revolver is also very difficult since there isn't a lot of places to grab onto one. Here is a link showing a retired deputy who was working as a security guard at a bank having a semi-auto malfunction when firing from an awkward position with a limp wrist. th-cam.com/video/C0mlfAm5VXs/w-d-xo.html Fortunately the suspect was fleeing the bank and wasn't shooting back at the guard when the malfunction occurred. The A answer for many is to carry a semi-auto backed up by a snubby revolver if things go deadly at bad breath distance.
Out of all the training and range visits I've had, almost all malfunctions were due to ammunition. That being said, I've never had a semi auto pistol get so jammed up that it couldn't be cleared or rectified by doing a magazine change (I usually always have a 2nd mag on me). That fact alone is why I choose to carry and recommend semi auto pistols to everyone. One day we decided to take a few revolvers out to the range for some fun and out of 5 revolvers, we had two show stopping failures that would have been bad in a gun fight. Again the issue wasn't the actual revolver but the ammo. The primer on one of the rounds backed out enough to lock up the cylinder. We literally had to beat the cylinders open on both to get the bad casing out. Again if this would have been a SD situation, it would have been bad news. For the most part you are depending on the lottery that you have good ammunition in your carry weapon and that you will not have any failures. Failures will and do happen, so please practice and train to protect yourself and others if the need arises.
I carry both a semiautomatic and a revolver at the same time because I carry a Glock chambered in .40 S&W round that breaks guns causing a reliability concern. The revolver is an old .357 magnum that is the secondary that almost always works, but I did have a jam due to a piece of metal left in the gun when it was manufactured by S&W that came loose to cause the jam. I want the firepower of the semiautomatic but feel the need for added reliability and redundancy with the secondary revolver. Yes, it is a heavy EDC but I am not running a marathon. FYI: I carried both in a belly band at work and the revolver hurts to carry all day because the wheel sticks in your back.
I started shooting and training with a S&W Model K15 and you have no problem shooting them on target with practice.. the only difference is the round count and reload time. I still carry a revolver mostly a J frame and maybe a Shield 9 or full size 9 but you do change your grip. If you don't go straight to the ER for a thumb re attachment.
Hi there, I’m Dennis and I’m a very proud owner of a new .44mag Ruger Super Red Hawk Hunter edition 7 1/2” barrel. I just bought it last month from collecting Bass Pro Shop gift cards over the years from family and friends. As a big gift From my wife this Christmas, she gave me a plain gift card and said I can pay for the remaining balance with cash. My gun cost me a whopping $1,019! I have shot over a 150 rounds already and I love it. I really enjoy hearing the different reviews by other owners. Your review was great. Thank you
I know, I am two years late to the party here but HAVE to say something anyway. I have been carrying for 36 years. I have trained a metric crap ton in those 36 years. While I tend to carry a semiautomatic these days, I still train with my revolvers and over that 36 years of carrying, I have carried a revolver for far more time than semiautomatics and still carry one at times. In 36 years and tens of thousands of rounds I have had exactly ONE malfunction with my revolvers. ONE! That one was a squib that jammed a round in the barrel. It took about a minute to fix. Now, if you want to talk round count vs round stopping power that is a different story but reliability? I wonder what kind of crap guns you had in that line of 18.
@@ASPextra - Perhaps. Just saying I have yet to watch a citizen-involved defensive shooting where a revolver malfunctioned or capacity caused someone to meet their demise. It probably has occurred, but at such a rate as to make a revolver unreliable or infeasible? Beats me. I enjoy your channel, btw. Keep up the good work.
@@ASPextra I can tell you absolutely hate Revolvers. but the facts are..Most Revolvers will be around long after most semi auto's hit the trash heap. I love semi auto's. I think they are great for conceal and carry, and even a great gun for home defense, even though I prefer a shot gun for home defense. but lest face it. the truth is a well made revolver is still a fine firearm. I have even seen a video where a guy can fire a single action revolver fast than you could fire your semi auto. I'm not saying I could. But what I'm getting at is this. If you're going to compare Revolvers to semi automatics. you have to consider how many problems can wrong with both. what are both guns made from? a lot of semi auto's are not even made from steal. that doesn't mean that they are junk. but they sure are not made from steal. and I've never seen a plastic revolver. There's old west guns that have been around for over 100 years that still work. and most of the well made semi automatic pistols from WW2 have hit the trash, and those were some awesome guns. The list. Revolver problems. Springs, and timing issues from worn out parts are usually the main problems to most well made revolvers. Semi Auto's. Springs not only in the gun, but also the clip. but clips are an easy fix if one goes bad. I prefer a Semi Auto for conceal and carry. lighter, hold more ammo, and easier to conceal. I also love old well made revolvers. and someone who is a good shooter who has shot one for many years would be just fine in most cases. I mean it's not likely that any of us are going to be breaking out in a modern day OK corral fight. Peace..
14:38 A cocked revolver has a trigger-pull of around four pounds. So, his auto (with a five-pound pull) is dangerous all the time? Or does the auto's extra one-pound make all the difference?
@@ASPextra Revolvers have had internal safeties for over a century. And light triggers without safeties are extremely dangerous. Stop making videos like this. You're just going to get people ND'd.
My choice would be a pistol. That said, I have a high quality Ruger Security Six revolver (in .357 Magnum) as well, and in all my years shooting it I have had one failure to fire when a small piece of primer jammed the cylinder. I also maintain my firearms, use only high quality ammo, and no reloads.
I have a Glock 22 (40 S&W) and a Ruger Security Six revolver (in .357 Magnum). Love them both. I'm a private citizen and I'm only interested in personal protection. I've had both at the firing range. Never had a problem with either. I tend to prefer the Glock because of its 15 round capacity.
On my S&w 686 I shot over 1500 rounds over a span of 10 months. Most of it was dirty monarch ammo. With out cleaning it! The action was heavier but never failed to shoot. Let’s see you do that with a semiauto
I am probably wrong and prefer semi autos over revolvers but i feel like the revolver has potential to be the better option over the competition for self defense. Less parts less maintence and such and people do not maintain or inspect there guns nearly as much as they need to even the wrong gun cleaner or lube can melt apart or ruin things and just like anything else education and putting it to use is everything regardless of our opinion both options can be great for peoples needs and education level also you gotta know what to buy and look for
@@ASPextra i agree but atleast the rolex of time peices probably does not include a plastic plunger that if oil gets inside of like striker fired pistol it will no longer work until repaired i could be wrong just repeating what i learned a revolver or semi auto needs to be quality anything less is gonna be a lcp kinda like you would define plus cleaning somthing can be apart of aregular checkup and inspection can prevent other things like apart failure when you need it most also might be wrong i have little to no exp with revolvers i just know for afact they both have pros and cons i prefer the semi i just hate the cons of some and there is allot of cons i do not recognise in aglance at some guns of higher quality revolver or semi everything has pros and cons choose your hard embrace the suck right?
John, I'm really curious to know the nature of these severe malfunctions you report with those revolvers at your class. I regularly shoot 200 rounds through each of the revolvers I own in one range session with no intervening cleaning or lubrication, and the only thing I've experienced that comes even close to a malfunction is failure to ignite the primers with one brand of particularly cheap ammo that I've tried. That high of a failure rate seems quite aberrant to my experience, or anyone else in this comment section. Did the class take place in a particularly dusty environment or something like that?
I'm a revolver guy but that is the only thing I will admit. When they go down, they go down. If you do your standard maintenance though, you will never have a problem. Every time I have ever pulled the trigger it has gone BANG. We're talking thousands of rounds.
Parts coming loose is indeed a problem with S&W revolvers. I've had the ejector rod becoming loose and jamming the cylinder a few times. Also the screw on the cylinder release button unscrewing is an issue. On the newer S&W revolvers the screw holding the yoke is not solid but a hollow screw with a spring and pin inside. If you slam a speedloader hard on the cylinder there is a risk the pin will spring back, relasing the yoke and the cylinder will drop out of the gun. I've seen this happening a few times in competition. In my opinion a Ruger GP100 or Redhawk revolver is far more reliable as it only has one screw and that is to hold the grips in place. They're only so damn heavy.
try a little loctite, and the problems with loose screws will be gone. that should help with that. as far as the Redhawk goes, those look awesome. I'd love to own one of those too.
I agree with you 100 percent John!! This is a bad world we live in and the attackers come in multiples. Revolvers are old technology! I’ll take my semi auto with 16 rounds all day!
Ironically, most of the ASP videos rarely show a person resolve an armed conflict with more than a few rounds. I mean, if you need the peace of mind, fine. Also, guns in itself are old technology. Hell, 1911s are old tech. But that doesn't mean they're obsolete.
Wouldn’t the squib load problem be ammo related? For me, the only disadvantages of a revolver is the size and weight. Shot capacity shouldn’t be an issue. If you shoot and miss 20 times, how many bystanders did you hit? Not joking here. You own every bullet.
A squib load can lock up a semi-auto also it's good load generally bullet is stuck in the barrel... What he's talking about is if you're firing plus p ammo or Magnum ammo with lead projectiles no jacket and not crimped properly some of the loads can move forward and lock the revolver up true... But for self-defense who is not going to use a high quality bullet defense round that is crimped in jacketed? Just a ridiculous argument also he's talking about revolvers locking up after 3.. 4 ..500 rounds. Of unburnt powder.. who would carry a dirty gun ( semi or revolverafter firing 500 rounds.. and not clean and lube it? Just be ridiculous point a good modern clean revolver with modern high quality jacketed loads will function flawlessly while a semi has much more odds of jamming like I've stated if it takes you 3 to 4 seconds to unjam the semi .. we're talking about close range as lead is flying at you good luck!! Get a double feed with the semi and you might as well throw the gun at the bad guy
3 out of 18 revolvers going down in that class is absolutely the exception and NOT the rule. Revolvers aren't perfect but in the past they were more reliable than semi autos. These days a lot of semi autos are up to that reliability or close, but not all semi autos are that good.. Both can have failures while shooting, and both can go down HARD, DONE, DONE, DONE. That is not unique to revolvers at all. Revolvers are simpler to operate. Not everyone is tacticool. Some people need or want something simple that you point and go bang. Revolvers can be put in a drawer and left untouched for years and still fire if needed. Not so with the semi auto. Most civilian shootings are resolved in 2-4 rounds fired. So the semi auto capacity advantage is almost never an issue. It's a psychological comfort. There are revolvers with 7-8 round capacity too. You can get revolvers in more powerful calibers than the upper end of semi autos. You are obviously a semi auto guy and that's fine. But you are really exaggerating the potential problems with revolvers. You make them out to be prone to failure and that isn't true at all. If you are going to comp are, be objective. That being said, folks should carry what they are comfortable with. One advantage revolvers have always had and will always have. No semi auto will ever be as cool as a revolver
I disagree that revolvers are simpler to operate. Revolvers DO tolerate neglect well. Where do you get that statistic? Because it's a lie. The caliber wars are not useful and that's been proven.
You forgot to mention the racking of the semi auto is hard for owners with arthritis or injured hands in a fire fight. If someone breaks in my home at 2:00am in the morning, they will hear the racking up of my semi auto and at 2:00am in the morning my hands may still be asleep to rack it. With a revolver, no racking needed just red dot the intruder and shoot the intruder by surprise. You can use the revolver until your way pass 100 years old with ease but not a racking noisy semi auto.
I think it's a myth if anyone thinks a revolver CANNOT malfunction, because any mechanical device can. I've just never personally known one to do so. The 4/18 has to be a fluke. Many people have posted their experiences which are the same as mine.
@@abc-wv4in I've seen revolvers fail too, and it's not like they're infallible or even anything close to that. In a typical firefight scenario neither a revolver nor a semi auto handgun is likely to fail, though it is more typical to see beginners causing semi auto malfunctions due to their incompetence (limp wristing, riding the slide stop, etc)
I have taken both S&W and Taurus Snubby and 4" service revolvers in 357 Mag to self defense training as well as my 357Mag, 44 Mag, and 10mm N-Frame Revolvers as well. They have been just fine. Never had a lockup. The have all easily passed 100 rounds in class time. Hot and dirty! Then there is my VP-9s yup the normal and SK variants. Dead nuts reliability out of all of them. I still love a wheel gun. As almost all gun fights are less than 5. So I feel ok with just my Snubbies. And with a 357 I will only have to hit you once! You'll stop. If I feel in the need more ammo then either my 8 shooter 627 with extra Moonclipazines or I will pull my VP9 out. Yup I love wheel guns but still train my autoloader with backup mags. HK VP9 is a sweet gun too.
Not sure if you have already,...but please teach your students to never allow their thumbs to come in contact with the slide while firing a pistol, as this can cause a semi automatic to have a feed malfunction during recoil or when the slide is returning to battery, as a result of the thumb friction retarding the force of the slide spring and/or recoil action. Under pressure, people tend to squeeze harder and grip tighter. It could be the difference between one shot, or many shots. Great videos, I learn much, thank you.
The fact is, there is a higher % of a malfunction with a semiauto, even newer ones that are maintained. There's a reason alot of training for semi-autos is for clearing malfunctions. Everyone knows what tap and rack is, its literally part of the beginning of training. John knows the importance of the first shot on target. Sorry, I'd rather that be a 357 magnum with a slightly higher % of working. Real world encounters are 2-4 shots, and there are carry 8 shot revolvers now that have superior ballistics to any 9mm. Even experts goof up a draw and place their hand on the slide You mess up or have a malfunction against a decent 357 shooter at the FBI ranges for encounters and you probably won't get to rack that slide ever again. You cannot simulate bullets flying at you at the range, so you haven't trained for real stressors. A gun that is easier to use compensates for all the things(while unlikely) that have a higher chance of happening with a semiauto and you get better ballistics as a nice bonus. There are countless videos of cops unloading 9mms into a dude's chest and they keep going. Never heard of that in all the years when cops were running 6 shot 357s. I'll take 2 more shots in a cylinder than those cops, better ballistics than they ever dreamed of, and a speedloader in case I'm in one of those west wild shootouts that semiauto lovers think happens. The smart ones actually know it just takes a lot more 9mm to stop someone.
@@ASPextra you also doubted that 410 buckshot out of a handgun until you actually tried it and you had the biggest surprised face I'd ever seen looking at that gel. I would be curious what you think is wrong. I've never heard any experienced firearm person say semiautos and revolvers are essentially the same in terms of reliability. Never said semiautos are terrible or anything just to be clear.
@@ASPextra I literally just watched you shooting it in gel today. You shot the Governor with 4 000 buckshot with a single trigger pull. Some of them went completely through the first block of gel. You said it patterned well and met FBI standards in gel. I would rather get shot with your hot 9mm round over that any day of the week.
th-cam.com/video/B7KcgdRcIo0/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=ActiveSelfProtectionExtra I've shot alot of 9mm, 32s, and 38s that don't hit that penetration threshold btw
One of the guys I learned a lot about shooting and just guns in general is a revolver guy. And what he told me is basic what I’m taking from this video revolvers can’t jam but when they go down they go down hard. I do sometimes carry a 2 inch j frame size revolver I like it for in the car were someone may literally be on top of me trying to rip me out of the car it can be pressed into your attacker that wasn’t mentioned in this video or if it was I missed it you can’t put a revolver out of battery. But I do agree with everything he says I carry a modern 9mm subcompact cause it holds twice as many rounds compared to my small wheel gun.
@@ASPextra summer of love a few years back we lived in one of the city’s that had some dust up’s. Nothing compared to the big ones but we still made national news.but none the less my wife was at a traffic circle there was a smaller group of protest and some teenage girl basically jumped in through the window and started screaming at her right in her face it’s funny now cause my wife literally started to roll the window up and floored it with her still hanging out of the car Hahahah but she was shook up. It was some privileged suburban kid who probably learned her less when she hit the pavement but what if it wasn’t that small revolver comes into play very nicely at those card table or closer distances.or Nowadays these flash mobs or again protesters rushing somebody. Your probably right about it being a slim chance and you have probably study the numbers more then I have but it’s a new world in America these days is all I’m saying to take a variable out of the equation in a tight spot literal tight spot is a plus in my book.
I just don't think a snubbie is a viable choice against mob violence. But I won't be at your gunfight and the first rule to winning a gunfight is "have a gun."
My gen 5 Glock 19 I bought in October has over 1500 rounds thru it, literally zero malfunctions. Put 200 rounds day one out of the box with no lube. Even shot 600 rounds of Winchester steel forged ammo, never jammed once. I do clean and lube after every session, but I trust my gun daily.
I would go for the most capacity I will stick with my Glock 17 never had a stoppage or misfire with it It was one of the early models I have had it from 1993
In my experience, my revolvers are much more reliable when neglected than my semi autos. I have had a lot of reliability issues with my semi automatics if I don't lubricate them with a little bit of gun oil. My revolver on the other hand I can leave in the safe and if I want to go shoot 2 or 300 hundred rounds with it I can do so with confidence. Plus, the 357 magnum has the longest record for being a fight stopper with only a single round; whereas, with a 9mm you really are going to need those 16 rounds.
@@papimaximus95 really? I am surprised. I have put thousands of rounds through my GP100 in 357 magnum and I rarely clean the cylinder release. I did it a week ago but it has been so long since I have last cleaned it that I have grown to not consider it to be an issue.
@@papimaximus95 I used to put 500 rounds a day through my Ruger Bearcat in 22LR which is a pretty dirty round, and the single six revolver handled the punishment pretty well without any notiiceable failures on most days; however, it is so time consuming that I don't do that much any more with my single six. And I can leave my GP100 in the safe for a year or 2 and then go to the range and put 2 or 300 rounds through it and it will work reliably. But I have had some pretty significant failures with my semi automatic pistols because I left them in the safe for half a year without lubing them and then I cannot get through 50 rounds without several failures to go into battery.
@@papimaximus95 interesting. So you're saying that you were having trouble getting the bullets to seat properly inside the cylinder? This can happen if you are using, say, 38 special and then switch over to shooting 357 magnum. But a quick tap of the back of the round should usually be enough to get my rounds to seat properly in the cylinder when that happens to me. But it sounds to me like you are using some highly corrosive rounds that are creating an extraordinary amount of fouling. I have had some bad experiences with cheap steel ammunition getting stuck in my cylinder, but it sounds to me like you are having an issue with a cheap powder or an otherwise over powdered casing.
@@ASPextra I think it is the time between the lubing. I guess I can get so used to my revolver not needing to be lubed, just clean, to work reliably that I can sometimes forget that when I switch to semi automatics I feel like I need to baby them with an occasional coating of oil every few months or so if I want to expect them to work; whereas, with my revolvers I can just clean them and stick them in my safe and forget about them because they will be able to handle the neglect well.
John,I gave you the better part of the day to respond to my question . Whats your real world experience, have you been a LEO , or in the MILITARY . Your condescending reply was unprofessional and your refusal to address the question by stating lol master firearms instructor here says alot. This was the first video of yours I have watched and I expressed concern over some statements you made.Since then I viewed some more of your vids and again found troubling statements made by you . One in particular was you stated that you had watched over 12000 shooting videos and analyzed over a thousand. How does this make you an expert in anything. Have you worked on a two way range ? I spent the better part of 40 yrs on it. Have you had any actual threat management encounters. If so how many . Have you worked a kill house to perfect tactics ?. Or is your experience mainly on a static firing line ? The point being ,you can be the best x ring shooter all day long but if you never experienced live fire encounters your training may fall apart at the get go. That being said if the answer is no, that's ok to but please at least be willing to say so .Because it's easy for people new to the idea of self defense to be easily swayed and there's alot of miss information online .While researching your videos I did see references to Mossad Ayob who is a outstanding instructor with the training experience and knowledge to properly training people . I feel you have a duty to your viewers to provide accurate information and to be honest about your experience on which you base your opinions on.
I would argue to those who say that a revolver is unfailingly reliable that revolvers just have different malfunctions than a semi automatic handgun and that there is a different way to clear those malfunctions. A good quality revolver with gun quality ammunition will run. Period. Ive managed to also conceal my Model 19-3 and my Model 586 both with 4 inch barrels no problem. But my being 6 ft 4 in may have something to do with it.
You can shoot hundreds of round without malfunctions if you use good ammo. Good ammo do not leave grains of powder behind. I even use very light plinking loads in .38SPL with no problem.
So, a revolver is more prone to damage if dropped on a hard surface. You knock the cylinder out of perfect alignment, your next shot could be compromised. Semi-auto is usually more robust. The cheap semi-auto handguns(cobra arms, taurus PT22, I am looking at you), on the other hand, those sometimes fail right out of the box, and cannot rely on them.
My own primary carry gun is a .327 revolver with a .380 semi as backup. The main advantage of the .327 revolver is that I can load it with varying caliber rounds. For instance, my first shot is a .327 (which is very close to as powerful as a .357 magnum). My next four rounds are .32 s&w long -- effective but low recoil and noise. My sixth and last round is a .327 -- just in case. So...the advantages of the revolver over the semi are, in my opinion, RELIABILITY and VERSATILITY and EASE OF CURING ROUND MALFUNCTION (just pull the trigger again). If I need more rounds -- or (UNLIKELY) there's a malfunction with the revolver -- I have the backup .380 semi with laser beam in my pocket.
The primary factor in which gun to carry is "which do you have more confidence in?" Most people lack both confidence and competence with their carry gun--but Brother, do they have FAITH!
1-Grit under the star doesn’t stop a revolver it will bind one shot the succeeding will fire just fine and I have no problem brushing out under the star with a finger don’t need a toothbrush.2- a bullet stuck by a squib require a brass rod and mallet auto or revolver often the auto will be racked again splitting or bulging the barrel when fired I’ve actually seen this happen while yelling at the guy to stop.3-I’ve shot a lot of matches without cleaning a revolver I do tighten or check tightness of the front screw on S&W side plate between stages.4- you think you can run an auto dirtier than a revolver I think not I have stainless revolvers I just don’t clean until I actually get my hands dirty by touching it.I would be happy to take a dirty revolver an fire a box or two of black powder reloads through it if you do the same with your most reliable auto loader.Doesn’t sound to me like your class really had knowledgeable revolver shooters involved. I would be interested in seeing what the ammo problem was you all were having because the only thing I can think of that actually stops a revolver in good condition is maybe bullets jumping crimp but even then if one had to you can generally push the opening round back in with your finger and the fire it I’ve done that.
I carry a 9mm double stack semi auto because I'd rather have more ammunition for supporting shots. I also load very high quality defensive ammunition; not quite the most expensive stuff on the market but pretty close.
In France, where firearms are very restricted and especially handguns, most of thugs use revolvers (.38spl or 357 mag and even 22lr) because they are much common in the black market and are quite old because they used to be very accessible and more common than pistols before the restrictions laws on guns. But handguns, pistols and revolvers alike are out of reach for good law abiding citizens, who can only rely on hunting shotguns and rifles while gangsters can lay hand on Eastern European AKs and the only legally available handguns are... cap and ball revolvers...
Any mechanical device can malfunction, including a revolver. Have to wonder about those folks that had 4/18 malfunctions, though. Where did they get those guns? I grew up with revolvers and have never known one to fail. ???? I own and shoot both types of guns, and semis have some advantages. But reliability is NOT one of them in my personal experience.
My Glocks probably go 700-1000 rounds from cleaning to cleaning. In between that time I pull the slide off looking for carry crud and apply oil after wiping a little 👍👍😎😎
Might be a dumb question... but when vetting a magazine, say I want to fire 1,000 rounds through a clip to vet it. Should I load the magazine to capacity? I have just been doing 10 rounds even though I can hold 17 + 1. It's less effort to do the 10 rounds but it might not vet it completely because it isn't testing the lower portion of the clip/spring?
I don't know that 1000 is necessary to vet a OEM mag. But spring cycles is the big issue, so I don't think that should be a major problem. I would load them to capacity at least a few times to make sure they function all the way.
A squib is also ammo related. I have shot a revolver a lot and never had any of these problems. I think you have inexperienced people trying to act like they know what they're doing.
I have a Taurus pot 58 s that I like. But my single action. 22 revolvers are way more likely to fire and not malfunction than the semi automatic and my .38 over and under danger never has failed I carried both m1911 .45 and that junk 9 MMS over the 8 years of service in army Infantry while in Iraq 1991 we had boo coo problems with jams my snub nose. 38 dibble action never failed. So you do you but for every day I boot holster my 2 shot and carry. 38 revolver. But if I think I might need the fire power semi
Wait people clean their revolvers?? I mean I wipe the barrel out if I'm storing mine but never actually cleaned a revolver in my life. Well except for my old 3 screw because I retired it for the next generation, it's clean and put up. The reason few people would know about what's inside a revolver is because no one cleans them that extensively lol. I only know because I was curious, never because the gun was malfunctioning in there. I've only had gun related revolver failures from cheap guns like Taurus, charter arms, heritage and one defective SW. Some of my rugers haven't been cleaned in three generations and I'm extremely confident that they'll fire the next time I use them. But my last gunfight happened so fast that only a ready to go double action was fast enough to be used. I wasn't even able to clear the holster before I had to shoot. And the knife was in swing with the attackers eyes locked on my face when I shot. It actually happened so fast that the court's experts was trying to claim it had to be pre meditated. But i first noticed the threat as it came through my truck's door just a few feet away at the speed of delusional meth. If I had a safety or anything extra to deal with I wouldn't have made it. I only won my court case because of video and witnesses, the cops told my jury that speed was impossible before that. Oh, and in the moment of truth, my 15lb trigger wasn't even noticeable and neither was the report of the 357 while inside the cab of my truck. And the magnum shut the person down faster than any popular auto round could have in my experience, never needed more than one hit on a person or grizzly with a magnum. I've hunted down many critters wounded by popular auto calibers.. There's lots of differences between training and an actual situation, that training can't mimic.. Plus my revolver is better suited for my normal life in remote Alaska. The 10mm is becoming popular here but my biggest issue with autos is the fact that if injured and unable to firmly grip them, they jam on about every round even if freshly cleaned. But the fact that they need to be cleaned often to be trusted is also a huge draw back for a mountain man like me. The only issue I have with revolvers is in a situation that calls for fast reloads, which are usually offensive not defensive situations and just bring a long gun to an offensive situation to fix that issue.
I would caution about your list of things which can go wrong with a revolver. Most of it is based in bad maintenance like screws come loose over time .( Do people not know about lock-tide? ) Any semi-auto pistol will have much more problems if not maintained correctly.( I do also shoot pistols so I have some experience) I will also add that pistols general need more maintenance than revolvers.(Except brushing up to 10 cylinder holes does suck :-) in a 629 S&W) To build powder residues under the extractor needs an incredible amount of shooting to cause any noticeable residues. I shoot 200-400 rounds on a competition day out of my revolver and have no trouble (So i do not understand why you say 25 rounds and then brushing ) I shoot 9mm moon clip revolvers and I challenge you on reload time . ( And no I am not even close to Jerry) You may be faster but it will be of no practical advantage . I shoot in my club with the pistol guys and I do not loose any time compared to the single stack guys My carry is a 357 PC, 20 ounce weight, 8 shot .357 Magnum . Easy to conceal and I never feel under powered. (It also has moon clips) Honestly I do not believe that anything is moving towards the hot side of the revolver after I have emptied the cylinder :-) Anyhow, thanks for your view of the topic . It helps everybody to reflect and to make their own decision.
Let's take a smaller semi-auto and put it in our pocket or glove box - it inevitably fill with lint, dust, body oil, etc... Failures to fire are going to also inevitably happen. This is particularly with smaller semi-autos, there is a much greater chance of failure when you need it. Let's add in a limp wrist under adrenaline of a real combat/self-defense and the chances of failure are further greatly increased. I have seen numerous times when my buddies have problems with their "mouse guns" at the range simply because they have been carrying them around in normal concealed carry grime accumulation. Are revolvers perfectly reliable - absolutely not! - just a whole lot more reliable than small semi-autos in real-world carry situations. Limp wristing is far more common in stressful situations than people know. I have seen it several times in combat training classes. This is especially true for someone who gets out to the range only once every month or two. No, a revolver is a far better choice for most people for concealed carry. Now if you practice under stress REGULARLY AND YOU STRIP CLEAN YOUR SEMI-AUTO EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS OR SO REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU THINK IT IS DIRTY, and your gun & ammo functions 100% at the range, then the semi-auto is the best choice. But, I don't know anybody who does that - do you? Regarding capacity, in the smaller "mouse guns" the capacity isn't much greater than a wheel gun anyway.
Interesting. When I joined the PA State Police back in 1989 we were issued the Ruger Security six. In approx 2-3 years we switch over to a Semi. Now there were easily 4000 Troopers on the road and we rarely had any issues at all with our .357's. In fact....I can't think of a single time one was ever sent back. And as others have stated during quals no one was ever given a chance to clean their's half way though the 50 round course of fire. In fact too many guys were notorious for not cleaning and lubricating theirs till the next quals. So I'm a bit shocked that the class you mentioned had so many issues. Very curious because your experience was totally different than mine.
I started out shooting a S & W 686. Bought some reloaded ammo from a stranger...dumbass newbie mistake, squib round. Factory ammo ever since, thousands of rounds, I'm REALLY bad about cleaning it, goes bang 7 times in a row. Bought a Sig 229 because it works a lot like a revolver, no safety, double action first round and it goes bang every time. I carry a S & W Model 60 in stainless. It has never had a hiccup. I must be lucky!
This video has some of the most mis-information I have seen regarding revolvers and their reliability. I really respect your work and appreciate your videos. I feel I have learned so much. Thanks for doing what you do. THIS video is full of very biased and half true information.
@@ASPextra sounds like a lot of really poor ammo, and I'll maintained guns. I have and have shot 10s if thousands of rounds through revolvers and Glocks. Neither have ever given me a problem if feed decent ammo. Glocks requiring better quality ammo than revolvers.. I often go multiple thousands of rounds without cleaning and it never seems to be a problem with either platform. I spent a lifetime in the firearms industry and your anecdote is so far from the norm that it must of been ammo related, or even intentionally induced failures. Possibly that batch of revolvers was disassembled, and reassembled by someone not knowing what they are doing. If I saw a 25 percent failure rate in any tool that for a lifetime has EARNED a reputation for reliability, I would try to figure out what was going on before I just declared that tool unreliable. Do you really believe the results you saw that day are typical and repeatable results you would get from off the shelf revolvers?
@@ASPextra Quality ammo? Grit, squib, and hard primers? Let's take this out firearms ( because we all are too passionate about those specific tools :) ). The story of your day is akin to me of a bunch of Indy car drivers getting together for a fun day of racing American muscle cars. These cars operate great for a lot of people. But if on this day the racetrack had bad fuel, the mechanics were qualified for Indy cars, and some cars didn't finish the race. The driver's come away that day and swear American cars are unreliable. Revolvers don't have to be a poor choice to make semi autos a better choice for your needs. For ME, revolvers are much easier to conceal. I've taken only two serious training classes (Mas Ayoob) 25 or so years ago. Used Glocks in both mainly because I believe most classes are geared towards military and LEO scenarios. I competed many years in local ipsc......yep used Glocks because the stages give advantage to the capacity of an auto. The capacity issue is real. I'm not LE, and I'm not going to an ipsc scenario in my everyday life. I'm very well protected with a revolver. To each their own. My only issue with the video is the flat out wrong take on revolver reliability. The other reasons you give for the superior auto and your concluding statement are valid based on your life experience and skill set. I have no argument with that. My life experience and skill set lead me to believe a revolver is still a fantastic and in a lot of ways preferable CCW for a civilian.
It's not a wrong take on revolver reliability. Go ask Mas why he carries a semi-auto. Or Tom Givens. Do you watch the main channel? Because if you do, that "a revolver is enough for me" gets a bit dicey.
Hey John, Im 19 and I cannot buy a pistol. I have shotguns and rifles but I won't open carry those. That would freak out guys that conceal carry. Now I can buy a black powder pistol. Would a cap and ball revolver be reasonable until I can buy a real pistol?
Depending on the state, some states allow those 18+ to buy pistols from a private party. Check your state laws. I really don't recommend black powder pistols.
Thanks John ,for years just carried a J frame S&W but after watching ASP videos and my paranoia kicking in, I now carry a Sig P365 with 1 12rd and 2 10rds mags or my Beretta LTT Centurion with 3 18rd mags because my worse nightmare is actually needing a gun and running out of ammo.
Am a left hander like you what type of gun is best for me to get cause most of the guns have the safety on the left side and i think it a issue for me on accuracy
I carry a wheel gun but switching to a semi signal stack. No problems with my wheel gun but the auto is much easier to conceal, and being a Walther it's just so damn pretty!
I personally want to have a reliable pistol that holds the most rounds possible. I carry a Kahr PM9mm, with an eight round magazine, which gives me 9 shots. I've had it for over 9 years and it has never jammed or failed to fire. I want a gun with more than 6 shots, that can be reloaded fast and easily.
I have both but I like my revolvers better. I LOVE my semi autos though, but still; I really like my revolvers more. There's just not much to them. Put ammo in, and pull the trigger. Since I'm not a military operator I don't train with firearms as a martial art I just make sure I can hit my targets consistently. People are very picky I feel these days when the reality is, if you get any type of handgun from a reputable manufacturer, it's probably not going to fail on you when you need it. Just make sure you know how to use what you have. IMO the differences and advantages of one over the other (revolver vs auto loader) are basically insignificant. Just run what you know how to shoot, and don't get a shitty gun to begin with.
I prefer a good ole semi-auto, but revolvers have their uses to me as well. A revolver(snubby) makes a good backup. Other than the small ones, revolvers to me are just obsolete in today's world unless you train a shit ton, and the sad fact is the majority of gun owners quite simply do not go out and shoot enough to maximize their performance with whatever it is they choose to carry. So for some people like Jerry M. he can carry whatever he wants cause he is an absolute god. He obviously has a life of training under his belt. But for the average working Joe you're literally playing a game where you're already at a disadvantage. You spend all that money on a revolver to look like Chuck fuggin Norris, but if you ever got to use it you'll probably get smoked by a dude with a Hi-Point...
Pistol with hammer trigger double action basically a Revolver, that looks like a pistol that can shoot like 10 rounds.Why not.. the only time the slide moves back is when your empty.. a revolver with more capacity..
I have used a variety of revolvers in competition for 20 years. Revolvers just plain run, Never once had an issue with any of my revolvers.
Are most revolvers safe to pocket carry without a trigger guard?
@@ForGlory1 Yes. Just don't put anything else in that pocket.
@@johnsonfrance2616 I dont think I can trust it now that I fiddled with a few. I sure thought 13 pounds of trigger pull would be enough. Lighter than I thought
@@ForGlory1 A pocket holster will keep stuff out of the trigger guard of a revolver.
@@johnsonfrance2616 I'm on it. Thanks
Young man, back in my day revolves were king. I've shot several revolves I've owned for over 40 years.
I started carrying a Colt lawman III in the 70's for security and shot the hell out of it without a problem.
Then upgraded to a Smith model 66. Thousands and thousands of rounds through both and never had a issue.
I've never had a semi automatic that hasn't jammed up every few hundred rounds.
Although I carry a shield these days, I always have my trusty 5 shot 642.
Old guys know
I’ve been actively shooting revolvers and semi-auto pistols for 40 years. NEVER had any issues with any revolvers! Not one single time. I cannot say the same thing for the semi-autos. I also never heard anyone at my gun club say they had any issues with revolvers but I’ve heard countless stories about issues with semi-autos.
I’ve never heard anything about being able to clean a pistol during qualification.
Anecdotal evidence is never reliable. Just because the people at your gun club almost never have problems with revolvers, but have countless problems with semi autos, doesn’t mean that another club can’t have the opposite going on. Sample size and other variables can account for both extremes being equally true.
30 yrs. No problem with any revolver. Dont think much of his advice anyway.
juan gonzalez anecdotal evidence may not be reliable but revolvers are!!!! 😎
Out of all the training and range visits I've had, almost all malfunctions were due to ammunition. That being said, I've never had a semi auto pistol get so jammed up that it couldn't be cleared or rectified by doing a magazine change (I usually always have a 2nd mag on me). That fact alone is why I choose to carry and recommend semi auto pistols to everyone. One day we decided to take a few revolvers out to the range for some fun and out of 5 revolvers, we had two show stopping failures that would have been bad in a gun fight. Again the issue wasn't the actual revolver but the ammo. The primer on one of the rounds backed out enough to lock up the cylinder. We literally had to beat the cylinders open on both to get the bad casing out. Again if this would have been a SD situation, it would have been bad news. For the most part you are depending on the lottery that you have good ammunition in your carry weapon and that you will not have any failures. Failures will and do happen, so please practice and train to protect yourself and others if the need arises.
@@scottminniear9839 Doubt he cares what you think.
My every day carry is now a pistol but I have a S&W Model 13 that I have put over 7000 rounds through since I bought it over 35 years ago and it has never once had an issue. Plus it's a tack driver and has the smoothest double action trigger I've ever shot thanks to a old Navy buddy that did a trigger job on it.
Which SHOULD you carry? The one you're comfortable and competent with.
This is exactly what I would say....
CryWolf Adam the one that you can pull out faster
I liek rainbowsss , I partly disagree. It is the one you can pull and shoot accurately faster!
@@POCASBL ……...rainbowsss are grate. Skittles are like the rainbowsss. Eet them.
Basically you're right.
I choose both. Boom! Ya didn't see that coming did ya!
Yes
I carry both. (not at the same time!) I find a revolver will actually conceal better, for me, than the square chunky semi's. If I carry them high on the belt, strong side, the cylinder tucks into the area above my hip, and on the belt line the barrel is thinner than the muzzle of a semi. During the winter/spring/fall, my 24-3 (S&W) actually conceals very well. My Bulldog (charter) conceals well under a T-Shirt...so I would disagree a bit with revolvers not concealing as well because the cylinder is wide. And that all depends on body type also, just speaking for myself. On modern semi's I don't like them at all. My favorite carry semi is a CZ52, and sometimes I'll carry the 1911 when it's colder weather and I can wear more clothes. My AP-MBP is super concealable, but the caliber (32ACP) does not generate a lot of confidence. That's why I practice with it the most, and don't pack it often.
Me too. 342PD for pocket carry when I want something light. P229 or G19 when I want a bit more firepower and don't mind a bulkier gun. I can carry the Smith in my pocket at the gym and it is light enough it doesn't drag the pants down so as to obviously have something heavy in there. Only problem with the 342 is that after maybe 8 to 10 rounds the frame/cylinder heat up so much and expands that everything tightens up making the trigger action that much heavier. But I only carry it with 5 onboard and no extra speed loader or anything so not an issue in a real life situation just at the range.
Where are you from Ivan?
Amen!
John just over here poking a hornet's nest for fun.
Wow, 5 out of 18 revolvers "went down hard". I have been shooting revolvers over 50 years and never once had a problem with any of them. However, I have had multiple problems with semi-auto's mainly related to magazine issues, bad ammo or not ejecting. I trust a revolver to go bang every time.
That said, my suggestion is for everyone to carry the gun they are comfortable with.
A supposed Mexican assassin told me years ago revolver is the way to go when at close range. Best part no spent casings on the ground.
I'm a bit skeptical of that, 5 out of 18 revolvers "went down hard," too, and my experience matches yours.
Have numer of both and carry either/both depending on the situation and what I'm wearing.
I've experienced a couple stovepipes, one bad mag out of the box, three mag spring issues, and various ammo related ftf and fte.
I've had one cylinder lock up that cleared by working the cylinder back and forth while doing the same with the hammer.
My preferred carries are my S&W 649 .357 and my S&W 638 .38 spc. as they are shrouded hammer that can still be cocked for single action, but be fired repeatedly inside a pocket without getting jammed by the pocket material. I sleep with one as well for the same reason- can be fired from under the sheets without getting jammed.
Братан, не опасаешься ли ты за свои яйца)))
I do agree semi automatic is more efficient and more rounds is a comfort. I have full respect for John, however reliability about revolvers are top notch. I’ve sometimes put like 500 rounds in a Ruger DP100 without cleaning it and didn’t have a single malfunction.
The good old Ruger Double Penatration 100 my favorite.
@@hatchetwound666 actually is a GP100
See 4:45. But John, I thought the only ammunition that goes through your guns is Magtech? :-)
Difference between range ammo and defensive ammo. Also, in the case of this class, it was a problem because I flew to it (it was in OK) and could only take so much ammo on the airplane. I have to order Magtech by the case, naturally, and we ran 300 revolver rounds...so I ended up buying ammo from the range for the revolver portion, as did many of the other students who flew. It had primer issues for sure.
@@ASPextraNo worries! Just teasing you John! You can tell I watch your ads too! 🙂
John I have to respectfully dis agree with you about the reliability of wheel guns. As a retired C.O. I had to qualify once a year for 22 yrs. I can only remember 2 times where a weapon quit working and had to be replaced. The first time was when the firing pin on the hammer broke. The second time the cylinder locked up. We used S&W mod 64. We shot 50 practice rounds and 50 rounds to qualify, no cleaning until we were finished shooting. Just wanted to share that. Thanks for all your videos.
John, that was an interesting rant. Since I'm well into my senior years, I trained with revolvers then with a 1911A1, which was not fine example of an American pistol. As an armed citizen, I did not trust the semis that were available from the sixties through the eighties. Today, I do have confidence in many modern pistols and own quite a few. I carry them more than I carry revolvers, these days but I refuse to carry small pistols. It's all a matter of choice. Buy a quality firearm, keep it clean and know how to use it. Remain alert and stay out of trouble.
Never had a revolver fail even once. Can’t say the same for my pistols.
When I go to bigger cities I carry my 1911 10 mm with extra mags but when I’m in my home town and at work I carry my 686plus with extra speed loads and I comfortable with both I never fill under gun with either .
Revolvers are like semi-autos... but for men!
@Ganga Din BRING MORE BRASS
Retired LEO here.....I love my six-shooters...I have a pair of S&W model 65s (3" and 4" barrels) and never had any problem with them in the past 40 years despite the fact that I'm lazy and don't clean them very often. BTW, the triggers came from the factory with 9 Lbs. of pressure for double action, not 11. And FYI, with speedloaders I can reload just as fast as a semi-auto. Now I will concede capacity but the revolver fits my hand better with Hogue custom rubber grips and so I am more accurate with it. I have watched too many modern cops in these videos doing a "spray and pray" rather than aiming and putting just one or two rounds on target and while I don't have the stats, I'm sure collateral damage is much higher since high-capacity autos took over. I also have watched too many videos where cops have their semi-autos jam and fail to clear the round while under stress but never seen that happen with a revolver. And as far as your statement, "having to clean a revolver midway through a qualification course"....NO, that's nonsense....I have literally watched hundreds of officers qualify over the years and NO ONE ever had to do that even one time. OK, I admit it, I'm old and probably set in my ways, but I do know some things about revolvers that you young whippersnappers don't.
Revolvers tolerate neglect very well!
I have been shooting revolvers and semi-autos for over 30 years as a police officer, soldier, or a private citizen. I have received pistol training from Tom Givens, Gunsite, and others. As Clint Smith noted all weapons have some sort of limitation. I agree with most of the points made but I never remember having to clean my revolvers during qualifications or for that matter during training. We cleaned them when finished shooting for the day. I have had revolvers bind up because unburned powder got underneath the extractor star but that gets back to the issue of quality ammunition. I am surprised the retired cops didn't mention the biggest advantage of revolvers which you didn't discuss. IF ENGAGED IN A FIGHT TO THE DEATH AT BAD BREATH RANGE, THEY CAN FIRED IN AWKWARD POSITIONS WHERE THE MUZZLE IS PRESSED AGAINST A BODY OR IT HAS TO BE FIRED WITH A LIMP WRIST. Semi-autos will not function if the slide is pressed out of battery when the muzzle is pressed against something and will often malfunction after the first round if firing with a limp wrist. Disarming someone with a snub nosed revolver is also very difficult since there isn't a lot of places to grab onto one. Here is a link showing a retired deputy who was working as a security guard at a bank having a semi-auto malfunction when firing from an awkward position with a limp wrist. th-cam.com/video/C0mlfAm5VXs/w-d-xo.html Fortunately the suspect was fleeing the bank and wasn't shooting back at the guard when the malfunction occurred. The A answer for many is to carry a semi-auto backed up by a snubby revolver if things go deadly at bad breath distance.
Revolver is my primary carry with an automoader as my backup. Ill take any gun, even single shots. But I love revolvers most
I purchased a VP9 15 months ago because of you, now because of this video I going to sell it and purchase a N frame, 8 shot, 5", 357... not kidding.
So...you do you boo, but I certainly wouldn't go that route.
I'll buy it. Lol. Just picked one up myself and love it so far
Out of all the training and range visits I've had, almost all malfunctions were due to ammunition. That being said, I've never had a semi auto pistol get so jammed up that it couldn't be cleared or rectified by doing a magazine change (I usually always have a 2nd mag on me). That fact alone is why I choose to carry and recommend semi auto pistols to everyone. One day we decided to take a few revolvers out to the range for some fun and out of 5 revolvers, we had two show stopping failures that would have been bad in a gun fight. Again the issue wasn't the actual revolver but the ammo. The primer on one of the rounds backed out enough to lock up the cylinder. We literally had to beat the cylinders open on both to get the bad casing out. Again if this would have been a SD situation, it would have been bad news. For the most part you are depending on the lottery that you have good ammunition in your carry weapon and that you will not have any failures. Failures will and do happen, so please practice and train to protect yourself and others if the need arises.
I carry both a semiautomatic and a revolver at the same time because I carry a Glock chambered in .40 S&W round that breaks guns causing a reliability concern. The revolver is an old .357 magnum that is the secondary that almost always works, but I did have a jam due to a piece of metal left in the gun when it was manufactured by S&W that came loose to cause the jam. I want the firepower of the semiautomatic but feel the need for added reliability and redundancy with the secondary revolver. Yes, it is a heavy EDC but I am not running a marathon. FYI: I carried both in a belly band at work and the revolver hurts to carry all day because the wheel sticks in your back.
Lol you have to clean your revolver every 25 rds lol
"One serving of badguy" LOL. "And an appetizer." MOAR LOL
I started shooting and training with a S&W Model K15 and you have no problem shooting them on target with practice.. the only difference is the round count and reload time. I still carry a revolver mostly a J frame and maybe a Shield 9 or full size 9 but you do change your grip. If you don't go straight to the ER for a thumb re attachment.
Hi there, I’m Dennis and I’m a very proud owner of a new .44mag Ruger Super Red Hawk Hunter edition 7 1/2” barrel. I just bought it last month from collecting Bass Pro Shop gift cards over the years from family and friends. As a big gift From my wife this Christmas, she gave me a plain gift card and said I can pay for the remaining balance with cash. My gun cost me a whopping $1,019! I have shot over a 150 rounds already and I love it. I really enjoy hearing the different reviews by other owners. Your review was great. Thank you
BIG gun! Congrats for saving up and getting something you love, Dennis. That's awesome. :)
While I do own a couple of Glocks I definitely prefer carrying my 686 plus or GP 100 357 magnums over any semi auto ,
Failure to feed failure to eject magazine springs. Sorry John I have to go with the revolver.
You do you! :)
I have a ruger and a kimber revolver and put alot of ammo thru them with no cleaning, no issues...but then I buy quality
I know, I am two years late to the party here but HAVE to say something anyway.
I have been carrying for 36 years. I have trained a metric crap ton in those 36 years. While I tend to carry a semiautomatic these days, I still train with my revolvers and over that 36 years of carrying, I have carried a revolver for far more time than semiautomatics and still carry one at times.
In 36 years and tens of thousands of rounds I have had exactly ONE malfunction with my revolvers. ONE! That one was a squib that jammed a round in the barrel. It took about a minute to fix.
Now, if you want to talk round count vs round stopping power that is a different story but reliability? I wonder what kind of crap guns you had in that line of 18.
Oh, and on reliability, get your front site as I guarantee that red dot will fail at some point.
I've watched several ASP videos that involved semiauto malfunctions. I have somewhat of a peace of mind with my carry revolver.
You must have missed the revolver problems.
@@ASPextra - Perhaps. Just saying I have yet to watch a citizen-involved defensive shooting where a revolver malfunctioned or capacity caused someone to meet their demise. It probably has occurred, but at such a rate as to make a revolver unreliable or infeasible? Beats me. I enjoy your channel, btw. Keep up the good work.
@@ASPextra I can tell you absolutely hate Revolvers. but the facts are..Most Revolvers will be around long after most semi auto's hit the trash heap. I love semi auto's. I think they are great for conceal and carry, and even a great gun for home defense, even though I prefer a shot gun for home defense. but lest face it. the truth is a well made revolver is still a fine firearm. I have even seen a video where a guy can fire a single action revolver fast than you could fire your semi auto. I'm not saying I could. But what I'm getting at is this. If you're going to compare Revolvers to semi automatics. you have to consider how many problems can wrong with both. what are both guns made from? a lot of semi auto's are not even made from steal. that doesn't mean that they are junk. but they sure are not made from steal. and I've never seen a plastic revolver. There's old west guns that have been around for over 100 years that still work. and most of the well made semi automatic pistols from WW2 have hit the trash, and those were some awesome guns.
The list. Revolver problems. Springs, and timing issues from worn out parts are usually the main problems to most well made revolvers.
Semi Auto's. Springs not only in the gun, but also the clip. but clips are an easy fix if one goes bad. I prefer a Semi Auto for conceal and carry. lighter, hold more ammo, and easier to conceal.
I also love old well made revolvers. and someone who is a good shooter who has shot one for many years would be just fine in most cases. I mean it's not likely that any of us are going to be breaking out in a modern day OK corral fight.
Peace..
14:38 A cocked revolver has a trigger-pull of around four pounds. So, his auto (with a five-pound pull) is dangerous all the time? Or does the auto's extra one-pound make all the difference?
It's not the pull weight that makes the difference, but the internal safeties.
@@ASPextra Revolvers have had internal safeties for over a century. And light triggers without safeties are extremely dangerous. Stop making videos like this. You're just going to get people ND'd.
My choice would be a pistol. That said, I have a high quality Ruger Security Six revolver (in .357 Magnum) as well, and in all my years shooting it I have had one failure to fire when a small piece of primer jammed the cylinder. I also maintain my firearms, use only high quality ammo, and no reloads.
I have a Glock 22 (40 S&W) and a Ruger Security Six revolver (in .357 Magnum). Love them both. I'm a private citizen and I'm only interested in personal protection. I've had both at the firing range. Never had a problem with either. I tend to prefer the Glock because of its 15 round capacity.
On my S&w 686 I shot over 1500 rounds over a span of 10 months. Most of it was dirty monarch ammo. With out cleaning it! The action was heavier but never failed to shoot. Let’s see you do that with a semiauto
Revolvers, Derringers, Double Barrels, Pump Actions...i want to know the thing is gonna work
I’ve had more problems with revolvers and pump guns than semi autos.
Those issues are few and far between. Unlike the more common semiauto issues that u can fix quickly. Both will stop or put a hold on the fight
I am probably wrong and prefer semi autos over revolvers but i feel like the revolver has potential to be the better option over the competition for self defense. Less parts less maintence and such and people do not maintain or inspect there guns nearly as much as they need to even the wrong gun cleaner or lube can melt apart or ruin things and just like anything else education and putting it to use is everything regardless of our opinion both options can be great for peoples needs and education level also you gotta know what to buy and look for
have you seen the inside of a revolver? it's like a Swiss time piece in there!
@@ASPextra i agree but atleast the rolex of time peices probably does not include a plastic plunger that if oil gets inside of like striker fired pistol it will no longer work until repaired i could be wrong just repeating what i learned a revolver or semi auto needs to be quality anything less is gonna be a lcp kinda like you would define plus cleaning somthing can be apart of aregular checkup and inspection can prevent other things like apart failure when you need it most also might be wrong i have little to no exp with revolvers i just know for afact they both have pros and cons i prefer the semi i just hate the cons of some and there is allot of cons i do not recognise in aglance at some guns of higher quality revolver or semi everything has pros and cons choose your hard embrace the suck right?
John, I'm really curious to know the nature of these severe malfunctions you report with those revolvers at your class. I regularly shoot 200 rounds through each of the revolvers I own in one range session with no intervening cleaning or lubrication, and the only thing I've experienced that comes even close to a malfunction is failure to ignite the primers with one brand of particularly cheap ammo that I've tried. That high of a failure rate seems quite aberrant to my experience, or anyone else in this comment section. Did the class take place in a particularly dusty environment or something like that?
I'm a revolver guy but that is the only thing I will admit. When they go down, they go down. If you do your standard maintenance though, you will never have a problem. Every time I have ever pulled the trigger it has gone BANG. We're talking thousands of rounds.
Parts coming loose is indeed a problem with S&W revolvers. I've had the ejector rod becoming loose and jamming the cylinder a few times. Also the screw on the cylinder release button unscrewing is an issue. On the newer S&W revolvers the screw holding the yoke is not solid but a hollow screw with a spring and pin inside. If you slam a speedloader hard on the cylinder there is a risk the pin will spring back, relasing the yoke and the cylinder will drop out of the gun. I've seen this happening a few times in competition. In my opinion a Ruger GP100 or Redhawk revolver is far more reliable as it only has one screw and that is to hold the grips in place. They're only so damn heavy.
try a little loctite, and the problems with loose screws will be gone. that should help with that.
as far as the Redhawk goes, those look awesome. I'd love to own one of those too.
I agree with you 100 percent John!! This is a bad world we live in and the attackers come in multiples. Revolvers are old technology! I’ll take my semi auto with 16 rounds all day!
Ironically, most of the ASP videos rarely show a person resolve an armed conflict with more than a few rounds. I mean, if you need the peace of mind, fine. Also, guns in itself are old technology. Hell, 1911s are old tech. But that doesn't mean they're obsolete.
Wouldn’t the squib load problem be ammo related? For me, the only disadvantages of a revolver is the size and weight.
Shot capacity shouldn’t be an issue. If you shoot and miss 20 times, how many bystanders did you hit? Not joking here. You own every bullet.
A squib load can lock up a semi-auto also it's good load generally bullet is stuck in the barrel... What he's talking about is if you're firing plus p ammo or Magnum ammo with lead projectiles no jacket and not crimped properly some of the loads can move forward and lock the revolver up true... But for self-defense who is not going to use a high quality bullet defense round that is crimped in jacketed? Just a ridiculous argument also he's talking about revolvers locking up after 3.. 4 ..500 rounds. Of unburnt powder.. who would carry a dirty gun ( semi or revolverafter firing 500 rounds.. and not clean and lube it? Just be ridiculous point a good modern clean revolver with modern high quality jacketed loads will function flawlessly while a semi has much more odds of jamming like I've stated if it takes you 3 to 4 seconds to unjam the semi .. we're talking about close range as lead is flying at you good luck!! Get a double feed with the semi and you might as well throw the gun at the bad guy
3 out of 18 revolvers going down in that class is absolutely the exception and NOT the rule. Revolvers aren't perfect but in the past they were more reliable than semi autos. These days a lot of semi autos are up to that reliability or close, but not all semi autos are that good.. Both can have failures while shooting, and both can go down HARD, DONE, DONE, DONE. That is not unique to revolvers at all.
Revolvers are simpler to operate. Not everyone is tacticool. Some people need or want something simple that you point and go bang.
Revolvers can be put in a drawer and left untouched for years and still fire if needed. Not so with the semi auto.
Most civilian shootings are resolved in 2-4 rounds fired. So the semi auto capacity advantage is almost never an issue. It's a psychological comfort. There are revolvers with 7-8 round capacity too.
You can get revolvers in more powerful calibers than the upper end of semi autos.
You are obviously a semi auto guy and that's fine. But you are really exaggerating the potential problems with revolvers. You make them out to be prone to failure and that isn't true at all. If you are going to comp
are, be objective. That being said, folks should carry what they are comfortable with.
One advantage revolvers have always had and will always have. No semi auto will ever be as cool as a revolver
I disagree that revolvers are simpler to operate.
Revolvers DO tolerate neglect well.
Where do you get that statistic? Because it's a lie.
The caliber wars are not useful and that's been proven.
You forgot to mention the racking of the semi auto is hard for owners with arthritis or injured hands in a fire fight. If someone breaks in my home at 2:00am in the morning, they will hear the racking up of my semi auto and at 2:00am in the morning my hands may still be asleep to rack it. With a revolver, no racking needed just red dot the intruder and shoot the intruder by surprise. You can use the revolver until your way pass 100 years old with ease but not a racking noisy semi auto.
What's the point of a gun without a round in the chamber. Bricks were invented thousands of years ago.
I rock the ruger security six .357 mag. Thoughts?
Huh, I never thought about this before, just believed in a myth, thanks
I think it's a myth if anyone thinks a revolver CANNOT malfunction, because any mechanical device can. I've just never personally known one to do so. The 4/18 has to be a fluke. Many people have posted their experiences which are the same as mine.
@@abc-wv4in I've seen revolvers fail too, and it's not like they're infallible or even anything close to that. In a typical firefight scenario neither a revolver nor a semi auto handgun is likely to fail, though it is more typical to see beginners causing semi auto malfunctions due to their incompetence (limp wristing, riding the slide stop, etc)
I have taken both S&W and Taurus Snubby and 4" service revolvers in 357 Mag to self defense training as well as my 357Mag, 44 Mag, and 10mm N-Frame Revolvers as well. They have been just fine. Never had a lockup. The have all easily passed 100 rounds in class time. Hot and dirty! Then there is my VP-9s yup the normal and SK variants. Dead nuts reliability out of all of them. I still love a wheel gun. As almost all gun fights are less than 5. So I feel ok with just my Snubbies. And with a 357 I will only have to hit you once! You'll stop. If I feel in the need more ammo then either my 8 shooter 627 with extra Moonclipazines or I will pull my VP9 out. Yup I love wheel guns but still train my autoloader with backup mags. HK VP9 is a sweet gun too.
No, almost all gunfights are not less than 5. Like I said in the video, 14 or 15 of 18 made it through 300 in class without a problem. :)
Not sure if you have already,...but please teach your students to never allow their thumbs to come in contact with the slide while firing a pistol, as this can cause a semi automatic to have a feed malfunction during recoil or when the slide is returning to battery, as a result of the thumb friction retarding the force of the slide spring and/or recoil action. Under pressure, people tend to squeeze harder and grip tighter. It could be the difference between one shot, or many shots. Great videos, I learn much, thank you.
The fact is, there is a higher % of a malfunction with a semiauto, even newer ones that are maintained. There's a reason alot of training for semi-autos is for clearing malfunctions. Everyone knows what tap and rack is, its literally part of the beginning of training. John knows the importance of the first shot on target. Sorry, I'd rather that be a 357 magnum with a slightly higher % of working. Real world encounters are 2-4 shots, and there are carry 8 shot revolvers now that have superior ballistics to any 9mm. Even experts goof up a draw and place their hand on the slide You mess up or have a malfunction against a decent 357 shooter at the FBI ranges for encounters and you probably won't get to rack that slide ever again. You cannot simulate bullets flying at you at the range, so you haven't trained for real stressors. A gun that is easier to use compensates for all the things(while unlikely) that have a higher chance of happening with a semiauto and you get better ballistics as a nice bonus. There are countless videos of cops unloading 9mms into a dude's chest and they keep going. Never heard of that in all the years when cops were running 6 shot 357s. I'll take 2 more shots in a cylinder than those cops, better ballistics than they ever dreamed of, and a speedloader in case I'm in one of those west wild shootouts that semiauto lovers think happens. The smart ones actually know it just takes a lot more 9mm to stop someone.
I think that's just wrong. Full stop.
@@ASPextra you also doubted that 410 buckshot out of a handgun until you actually tried it and you had the biggest surprised face I'd ever seen looking at that gel. I would be curious what you think is wrong. I've never heard any experienced firearm person say semiautos and revolvers are essentially the same in terms of reliability. Never said semiautos are terrible or anything just to be clear.
No, I said it patterned decently. You're really a mess here.
@@ASPextra I literally just watched you shooting it in gel today. You shot the Governor with 4 000 buckshot with a single trigger pull. Some of them went completely through the first block of gel. You said it patterned well and met FBI standards in gel. I would rather get shot with your hot 9mm round over that any day of the week.
th-cam.com/video/B7KcgdRcIo0/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=ActiveSelfProtectionExtra I've shot alot of 9mm, 32s, and 38s that don't hit that penetration threshold btw
I carry a smith and Wesson air weight 442 in the summer and a beretta 92X during the winter. Never had a problem with neither.
One of the guys I learned a lot about shooting and just guns in general is a revolver guy. And what he told me is basic what I’m taking from this video revolvers can’t jam but when they go down they go down hard. I do sometimes carry a 2 inch j frame size revolver I like it for in the car were someone may literally be on top of me trying to rip me out of the car it can be pressed into your attacker that wasn’t mentioned in this video or if it was I missed it you can’t put a revolver out of battery. But I do agree with everything he says I carry a modern 9mm subcompact cause it holds twice as many rounds compared to my small wheel gun.
You're right that you can't put a revolver out of battery, but honestly I haven't seen that as a problem for private citizens ever.
@@ASPextra summer of love a few years back we lived in one of the city’s that had some dust up’s. Nothing compared to the big ones but we still made national news.but none the less my wife was at a traffic circle there was a smaller group of protest and some teenage girl basically jumped in through the window and started screaming at her right in her face it’s funny now cause my wife literally started to roll the window up and floored it with her still hanging out of the car Hahahah but she was shook up. It was some privileged suburban kid who probably learned her less when she hit the pavement but what if it wasn’t that small revolver comes into play very nicely at those card table or closer distances.or Nowadays these flash mobs or again protesters rushing somebody. Your probably right about it being a slim chance and you have probably study the numbers more then I have but it’s a new world in America these days is all I’m saying to take a variable out of the equation in a tight spot literal tight spot is a plus in my book.
I just don't think a snubbie is a viable choice against mob violence. But I won't be at your gunfight and the first rule to winning a gunfight is "have a gun."
@@ASPextra well said I like that
My gen 5 Glock 19 I bought in October has over 1500 rounds thru it, literally zero malfunctions. Put 200 rounds day one out of the box with no lube. Even shot 600 rounds of Winchester steel forged ammo, never jammed once. I do clean and lube after every session, but I trust my gun daily.
G19 is a reliable gun for sure.
I would go for the most capacity I will stick with my Glock 17 never had a stoppage or misfire with it It was one of the early models I have had it from 1993
In my experience, my revolvers are much more reliable when neglected than my semi autos. I have had a lot of reliability issues with my semi automatics if I don't lubricate them with a little bit of gun oil. My revolver on the other hand I can leave in the safe and if I want to go shoot 2 or 300 hundred rounds with it I can do so with confidence. Plus, the 357 magnum has the longest record for being a fight stopper with only a single round; whereas, with a 9mm you really are going to need those 16 rounds.
@@papimaximus95 really? I am surprised. I have put thousands of rounds through my GP100 in 357 magnum and I rarely clean the cylinder release. I did it a week ago but it has been so long since I have last cleaned it that I have grown to not consider it to be an issue.
@@papimaximus95 I used to put 500 rounds a day through my Ruger Bearcat in 22LR which is a pretty dirty round, and the single six revolver handled the punishment pretty well without any notiiceable failures on most days; however, it is so time consuming that I don't do that much any more with my single six. And I can leave my GP100 in the safe for a year or 2 and then go to the range and put 2 or 300 rounds through it and it will work reliably.
But I have had some pretty significant failures with my semi automatic pistols because I left them in the safe for half a year without lubing them and then I cannot get through 50 rounds without several failures to go into battery.
@@papimaximus95 interesting. So you're saying that you were having trouble getting the bullets to seat properly inside the cylinder? This can happen if you are using, say, 38 special and then switch over to shooting 357 magnum. But a quick tap of the back of the round should usually be enough to get my rounds to seat properly in the cylinder when that happens to me.
But it sounds to me like you are using some highly corrosive rounds that are creating an extraordinary amount of fouling. I have had some bad experiences with cheap steel ammunition getting stuck in my cylinder, but it sounds to me like you are having an issue with a cheap powder or an otherwise over powdered casing.
I mean, lube does tend to evaporate. I haven't had that experience you're describing. Wonder what the difference is.
@@ASPextra I think it is the time between the lubing. I guess I can get so used to my revolver not needing to be lubed, just clean, to work reliably that I can sometimes forget that when I switch to semi automatics I feel like I need to baby them with an occasional coating of oil every few months or so if I want to expect them to work; whereas, with my revolvers I can just clean them and stick them in my safe and forget about them because they will be able to handle the neglect well.
I'm lefty too, personally think CT grips work better for lefties.
John,I gave you the better part of the day to respond to my question .
Whats your real world experience, have you been a LEO , or in the MILITARY . Your condescending reply was unprofessional and your refusal to address the question by stating lol master firearms instructor here says alot. This was the first video of yours I have watched and I expressed concern over some statements you made.Since then I viewed some more of your vids and again found troubling statements made by you . One in particular was you stated that you had watched over 12000 shooting videos and analyzed over a thousand. How does this make you an expert in anything. Have you worked on a two way range ? I spent the better part of 40 yrs on it. Have you had any actual threat management encounters. If so how many . Have you worked a kill house to perfect tactics ?. Or is your experience mainly on a static firing line ? The point being ,you can be the best x ring shooter all day long but if you never experienced live fire encounters your training may fall apart at the get go.
That being said if the answer is no, that's ok to but please at least be willing to say so .Because it's easy for people new to the idea of self defense to be easily swayed and there's alot of miss information online .While researching your videos I did see references to Mossad Ayob who is a outstanding instructor with the training experience and knowledge to properly training people .
I feel you have a duty to your viewers to provide accurate information and to be honest about your experience on which you base your opinions on.
lol, he's not gonna answer that one. He was in the military, but it's very unclear how much action he saw.
That burnt bronze/gold slide on your p30 is just gorgeous
Thanks! Wright Armory did that, and it really does look good!
I would argue to those who say that a revolver is unfailingly reliable that revolvers just have different malfunctions than a semi automatic handgun and that there is a different way to clear those malfunctions. A good quality revolver with gun quality ammunition will run. Period.
Ive managed to also conceal my Model 19-3 and my Model 586 both with 4 inch barrels no problem. But my being 6 ft 4 in may have something to do with it.
You can shoot hundreds of round without malfunctions if you use good ammo. Good ammo do not leave grains of powder behind. I even use very light plinking loads in .38SPL with no problem.
So, a revolver is more prone to damage if dropped on a hard surface. You knock the cylinder out of perfect alignment, your next shot could be compromised. Semi-auto is usually more robust. The cheap semi-auto handguns(cobra arms, taurus PT22, I am looking at you), on the other hand, those sometimes fail right out of the box, and cannot rely on them.
The way I have heard it said that makes sense to me is that revolvers tolerate neglect better, semi-autos tolerate abuse better.
‘Whichever you carry and shoot best.”
My own primary carry gun is a .327 revolver with a .380 semi as backup. The main advantage of the .327 revolver is that I can load it with varying caliber rounds. For instance, my first shot is a .327 (which is very close to as powerful as a .357 magnum). My next four rounds are .32 s&w long -- effective but low recoil and noise. My sixth and last round is a .327 -- just in case.
So...the advantages of the revolver over the semi are, in my opinion, RELIABILITY and VERSATILITY and EASE OF CURING ROUND MALFUNCTION (just pull the trigger again).
If I need more rounds -- or (UNLIKELY) there's a malfunction with the revolver -- I have the backup .380 semi with laser beam in my pocket.
The primary factor in which gun to carry is "which do you have more confidence in?" Most people lack both confidence and competence with their carry gun--but Brother, do they have FAITH!
Lot of truth there.
1-Grit under the star doesn’t stop a revolver it will bind one shot the succeeding will fire just fine and I have no problem brushing out under the star with a finger don’t need a toothbrush.2- a bullet stuck by a squib require a brass rod and mallet auto or revolver often the auto will be racked again splitting or bulging the barrel when fired I’ve actually seen this happen while yelling at the guy to stop.3-I’ve shot a lot of matches without cleaning a revolver I do tighten or check tightness of the front screw on S&W side plate between stages.4- you think you can run an auto dirtier than a revolver I think not I have stainless revolvers I just don’t clean until I actually get my hands dirty by touching it.I would be happy to take a dirty revolver an fire a box or two of black powder reloads through it if you do the same with your most reliable auto loader.Doesn’t sound to me like your class really had knowledgeable revolver shooters involved. I would be interested in seeing what the ammo problem was you all were having because the only thing I can think of that actually stops a revolver in good condition is maybe bullets jumping crimp but even then if one had to you can generally push the opening round back in with your finger and the fire it I’ve done that.
What about stopping power of revolvers, even one shot from revolver is much more effective of stopping a person or is it the same as Pistol?
All pistol rounds are functionally the same until we get up to really, really big boys.
I use both
I carry a 9mm double stack semi auto because I'd rather have more ammunition for supporting shots. I also load very high quality defensive ammunition; not quite the most expensive stuff on the market but pretty close.
I've never owned a revolver but two wheels and you have to clean the gun? Sounds like some horse shit. If that was true I would have heard it.
In France, where firearms are very restricted and especially handguns, most of thugs use revolvers (.38spl or 357 mag and even 22lr) because they are much common in the black market and are quite old because they used to be very accessible and more common than pistols before the restrictions laws on guns. But handguns, pistols and revolvers alike are out of reach for good law abiding citizens, who can only rely on hunting shotguns and rifles while gangsters can lay hand on Eastern European AKs and the only legally available handguns are... cap and ball revolvers...
Great video. I too have always heard that “revolvers don’t fail”. Interesting to see the simple facts of how a revolver can fail, and pretty easily.
Any mechanical device can malfunction, including a revolver. Have to wonder about those folks that had 4/18 malfunctions, though. Where did they get those guns? I grew up with revolvers and have never known one to fail. ???? I own and shoot both types of guns, and semis have some advantages. But reliability is NOT one of them in my personal experience.
Dr. Applesauce The simple fact is that functional firearm failures are far less likely to occur in revolvers than in semiautos
My Glocks probably go 700-1000 rounds from cleaning to cleaning. In between that time I pull the slide off looking for carry crud and apply oil after wiping a little 👍👍😎😎
Seen and shot 1k - 5k shots from revolvers with absolutly no jams and I have seen and shot semiautos with jams after 1/2 mags.
Of course you have.
@@ASPextra yeap.
Might be a dumb question... but when vetting a magazine, say I want to fire 1,000 rounds through a clip to vet it. Should I load the magazine to capacity? I have just been doing 10 rounds even though I can hold 17 + 1. It's less effort to do the 10 rounds but it might not vet it completely because it isn't testing the lower portion of the clip/spring?
I don't know that 1000 is necessary to vet a OEM mag. But spring cycles is the big issue, so I don't think that should be a major problem. I would load them to capacity at least a few times to make sure they function all the way.
You should ask this of an expert.
A squib is also ammo related. I have shot a revolver a lot and never had any of these problems. I think you have inexperienced people trying to act like they know what they're doing.
Uh, this class was literally Master Firearms Instructor candidates. Literal decades of experience on the line in each candidate.
@@ASPextra hmmm
I have a Taurus pot 58 s that I like. But my single action. 22 revolvers are way more likely to fire and not malfunction than the semi automatic and my .38 over and under danger never has failed I carried both m1911 .45 and that junk 9 MMS over the 8 years of service in army Infantry while in Iraq 1991 we had boo coo problems with jams my snub nose. 38 dibble action never failed. So you do you but for every day I boot holster my 2 shot and carry. 38 revolver. But if I think I might need the fire power semi
Whichever is best for you
I wear a revolver for Quiktrips but my Glock 23 is my primary carry and I don’t think I’ve cleaned it in the last 750 rounds
It’s a Glock. Keep it lubed and it will be fine.
The answer is simple. Revolver, always 😎
Wait people clean their revolvers?? I mean I wipe the barrel out if I'm storing mine but never actually cleaned a revolver in my life. Well except for my old 3 screw because I retired it for the next generation, it's clean and put up. The reason few people would know about what's inside a revolver is because no one cleans them that extensively lol. I only know because I was curious, never because the gun was malfunctioning in there. I've only had gun related revolver failures from cheap guns like Taurus, charter arms, heritage and one defective SW. Some of my rugers haven't been cleaned in three generations and I'm extremely confident that they'll fire the next time I use them.
But my last gunfight happened so fast that only a ready to go double action was fast enough to be used. I wasn't even able to clear the holster before I had to shoot. And the knife was in swing with the attackers eyes locked on my face when I shot. It actually happened so fast that the court's experts was trying to claim it had to be pre meditated. But i first noticed the threat as it came through my truck's door just a few feet away at the speed of delusional meth. If I had a safety or anything extra to deal with I wouldn't have made it. I only won my court case because of video and witnesses, the cops told my jury that speed was impossible before that. Oh, and in the moment of truth, my 15lb trigger wasn't even noticeable and neither was the report of the 357 while inside the cab of my truck. And the magnum shut the person down faster than any popular auto round could have in my experience, never needed more than one hit on a person or grizzly with a magnum. I've hunted down many critters wounded by popular auto calibers.. There's lots of differences between training and an actual situation, that training can't mimic.. Plus my revolver is better suited for my normal life in remote Alaska.
The 10mm is becoming popular here but my biggest issue with autos is the fact that if injured and unable to firmly grip them, they jam on about every round even if freshly cleaned. But the fact that they need to be cleaned often to be trusted is also a huge draw back for a mountain man like me. The only issue I have with revolvers is in a situation that calls for fast reloads, which are usually offensive not defensive situations and just bring a long gun to an offensive situation to fix that issue.
I would caution about your list of things which can go wrong with a revolver.
Most of it is based in bad maintenance like screws come loose over time .( Do people not know about lock-tide? )
Any semi-auto pistol will have much more problems if not maintained correctly.( I do also shoot pistols so I have some experience)
I will also add that pistols general need more maintenance than revolvers.(Except brushing up to 10 cylinder holes does suck :-) in a 629 S&W)
To build powder residues under the extractor needs an incredible amount of shooting to cause any noticeable residues.
I shoot 200-400 rounds on a competition day out of my revolver and have no trouble (So i do not understand why you say 25 rounds and then brushing )
I shoot 9mm moon clip revolvers and I challenge you on reload time . ( And no I am not even close to Jerry)
You may be faster but it will be of no practical advantage . I shoot in my club with the pistol guys and I do not loose any time compared to the single stack guys
My carry is a 357 PC, 20 ounce weight, 8 shot .357 Magnum .
Easy to conceal and I never feel under powered. (It also has moon clips)
Honestly I do not believe that anything is moving towards the hot side of the revolver after I have emptied the cylinder :-)
Anyhow, thanks for your view of the topic .
It helps everybody to reflect and to make their own decision.
All the guns that went down in the class mentioned were quality revolvers, well maintained.
I carry a revolver purely because I'm more comfortable with them. Almost all of my handgun shooting is with a revolver.
Fair enough!
Let's take a smaller semi-auto and put it in our pocket or glove box - it inevitably fill with lint, dust, body oil, etc... Failures to fire are going to also inevitably happen. This is particularly with smaller semi-autos, there is a much greater chance of failure when you need it. Let's add in a limp wrist under adrenaline of a real combat/self-defense and the chances of failure are further greatly increased.
I have seen numerous times when my buddies have problems with their "mouse guns" at the range simply because they have been carrying them around in normal concealed carry grime accumulation. Are revolvers perfectly reliable - absolutely not! - just a whole lot more reliable than small semi-autos in real-world carry situations. Limp wristing is far more common in stressful situations than people know. I have seen it several times in combat training classes. This is especially true for someone who gets out to the range only once every month or two. No, a revolver is a far better choice for most people for concealed carry. Now if you practice under stress REGULARLY AND YOU STRIP CLEAN YOUR SEMI-AUTO EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS OR SO REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU THINK IT IS DIRTY, and your gun & ammo functions 100% at the range, then the semi-auto is the best choice. But, I don't know anybody who does that - do you? Regarding capacity, in the smaller "mouse guns" the capacity isn't much greater than a wheel gun anyway.
John Roper lol....dude ive done what you talk about with both glocks and hks and have never had a failure to fire. Stop.just stop. No one limp wrists.
@@jonmeray713 watch videos of real gunfights. You will see many failures all semiautomatics. Jamo-matics.
I think it’s good to clean the gun to prevent build up of gun powder and lead that vaporizes in larger clouds.
Interesting. When I joined the PA State Police back in 1989 we were issued the Ruger Security six. In approx 2-3 years we switch over to a Semi. Now there were easily 4000 Troopers on the road and we rarely had any issues at all with our .357's. In fact....I can't think of a single time one was ever sent back. And as others have stated during quals no one was ever given a chance to clean their's half way though the 50 round course of fire. In fact too many guys were notorious for not cleaning and lubricating theirs till the next quals. So I'm a bit shocked that the class you mentioned had so many issues. Very curious because your experience was totally different than mine.
OPD 1980 model 65 no cleaning during qualification, I have never heard of stopping and cleaning your revolver.....
All good stuff and will give the net experts much to discuss.
I started out shooting a S & W 686. Bought some reloaded ammo from a stranger...dumbass newbie mistake, squib round. Factory ammo ever since, thousands of rounds, I'm REALLY bad about cleaning it, goes bang 7 times in a row. Bought a Sig 229 because it works a lot like a revolver, no safety, double action first round and it goes bang every time. I carry a S & W Model 60 in stainless. It has never had a hiccup. I must be lucky!
since i only shoot 2-3 times per month, i clean everything i shoot after a trip to the range
This video has some of the most mis-information I have seen regarding revolvers and their reliability. I really respect your work and appreciate your videos. I feel I have learned so much. Thanks for doing what you do.
THIS video is full of very biased and half true information.
This video is full of actual facts and what actually happened in real life.
@@ASPextra sounds like a lot of really poor ammo, and I'll maintained guns. I have and have shot 10s if thousands of rounds through revolvers and Glocks. Neither have ever given me a problem if feed decent ammo. Glocks requiring better quality ammo than revolvers.. I often go multiple thousands of rounds without cleaning and it never seems to be a problem with either platform. I spent a lifetime in the firearms industry and your anecdote is so far from the norm that it must of been ammo related, or even intentionally induced failures. Possibly that batch of revolvers was disassembled, and reassembled by someone not knowing what they are doing. If I saw a 25 percent failure rate in any tool that for a lifetime has EARNED a reputation for reliability, I would try to figure out what was going on before I just declared that tool unreliable. Do you really believe the results you saw that day are typical and repeatable results you would get from off the shelf revolvers?
Nope. As I said, master firearms instructors shooting all smiths and rugers and using quality factory ammo.
@@ASPextra Quality ammo? Grit, squib, and hard primers?
Let's take this out firearms ( because we all are too passionate about those specific tools :) ). The story of your day is akin to me of a bunch of Indy car drivers getting together for a fun day of racing American muscle cars. These cars operate great for a lot of people. But if on this day the racetrack had bad fuel, the mechanics were qualified for Indy cars, and some cars didn't finish the race. The driver's come away that day and swear American cars are unreliable.
Revolvers don't have to be a poor choice to make semi autos a better choice for your needs.
For ME, revolvers are much easier to conceal.
I've taken only two serious training classes (Mas Ayoob) 25 or so years ago. Used Glocks in both mainly because I believe most classes are geared towards military and LEO scenarios.
I competed many years in local ipsc......yep used Glocks because the stages give advantage to the capacity of an auto. The capacity issue is real.
I'm not LE, and I'm not going to an ipsc scenario in my everyday life. I'm very well protected with a revolver. To each their own.
My only issue with the video is the flat out wrong take on revolver reliability. The other reasons you give for the superior auto and your concluding statement are valid based on your life experience and skill set. I have no argument with that. My life experience and skill set lead me to believe a revolver is still a fantastic and in a lot of ways preferable CCW for a civilian.
It's not a wrong take on revolver reliability. Go ask Mas why he carries a semi-auto. Or Tom Givens.
Do you watch the main channel? Because if you do, that "a revolver is enough for me" gets a bit dicey.
Answer of all my questions in my mind about revolvers... Excellent video...Thank you !!
Hey John, Im 19 and I cannot buy a pistol. I have shotguns and rifles but I won't open carry those. That would freak out guys that conceal carry. Now I can buy a black powder pistol. Would a cap and ball revolver be reasonable until I can buy a real pistol?
Depending on the state, some states allow those 18+ to buy pistols from a private party. Check your state laws. I really don't recommend black powder pistols.
Thank you! I love your videos! Perhaps I can wait a few more years so I can have a reliable fire arm so I can cover our asp!
Thanks John ,for years just carried a J frame S&W but after watching ASP videos and my paranoia kicking in, I now carry a Sig P365 with 1 12rd and 2 10rds mags or my Beretta LTT Centurion with 3 18rd mags because my worse nightmare is actually needing a gun and running out of ammo.
Am a left hander like you what type of gun is best for me to get cause most of the guns have the safety on the left side and i think it a issue for me on accuracy
Ambidextrous guns are pretty ubiquitous now. I love the HK VP9 and P30, personally.
Just review them i think the hk is a great option especially releasing the magazine in the left hand without hesitation
I carry a wheel gun but switching to a semi signal stack. No problems with my wheel gun but the auto is much easier to conceal, and being a Walther it's just so damn pretty!
Definitely easier to conceal a semi because of the thickness of the wheel gun.
I personally want to have a reliable pistol that holds the most rounds possible. I carry a Kahr PM9mm, with an eight round magazine, which gives me 9 shots.
I've had it for over 9 years and it has never jammed or failed to fire. I want a gun with more than 6 shots, that can be reloaded fast and easily.
I have both but I like my revolvers better. I LOVE my semi autos though, but still; I really like my revolvers more. There's just not much to them. Put ammo in, and pull the trigger. Since I'm not a military operator I don't train with firearms as a martial art I just make sure I can hit my targets consistently.
People are very picky I feel these days when the reality is, if you get any type of handgun from a reputable manufacturer, it's probably not going to fail on you when you need it. Just make sure you know how to use what you have. IMO the differences and advantages of one over the other (revolver vs auto loader) are basically insignificant. Just run what you know how to shoot, and don't get a shitty gun to begin with.
I think that what we like is a factor. It really is.
I prefer a good ole semi-auto, but revolvers have their uses to me as well. A revolver(snubby) makes a good backup. Other than the small ones, revolvers to me are just obsolete in today's world unless you train a shit ton, and the sad fact is the majority of gun owners quite simply do not go out and shoot enough to maximize their performance with whatever it is they choose to carry. So for some people like Jerry M. he can carry whatever he wants cause he is an absolute god. He obviously has a life of training under his belt. But for the average working Joe you're literally playing a game where you're already at a disadvantage. You spend all that money on a revolver to look like Chuck fuggin Norris, but if you ever got to use it you'll probably get smoked by a dude with a Hi-Point...
5:49 when u pull a gun on an officer
What is the purpose of lubing the pistol before cleaning it?
I don’t know what you’re asking. I don’t lube then clean guns.
@@ASPextra 8:23.. "I'll clean it. I'll lube it beforehand."
Lube before the weekend. Clean after.
Pistol with hammer trigger double action basically a Revolver, that looks like a pistol that can shoot like 10 rounds.Why not.. the only time the slide moves back is when your empty.. a revolver with more capacity..