Semi-Auto vs Revolver: 53 Undeniable Advantages

An Unending Debate: Semi-Auto and Revolvers

Similar to the controversy about calibers suitable for self-defense, the debate over Revolvers vs. Semi-Autos will rage on without any hope of resolution. I grew weary of listening to a thousand opinions claiming this and that, so I decided to present a FAQ that compares the major characteristics of Semi-Autos and Revolvers.

Every time I discuss this factsheet with almost anyone, there is just more debate. So while the noise never stops, here, for your consideration, is the original FAQ. If you talk it over with anyone, be prepared to spend hours on the subject, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Unlike Revolvers:

1. The Semi-Auto’s flat profile prints (shown under clothing) less than most Revolvers.
2. The Semi-Auto can hold more ammunition than most Revolvers.
3. Firing a shot string quickly takes more skill with most Revolvers.
4. Poly-steel Semi-Auto receivers don’t rust as some Revolvers can.
5. Tiny Semi-Autos are smaller than Revolvers in equivalent calibers.
6. Slide movement reduces recoil more than shooting the same weight bullet in Revolvers.
7. There’s no cylinder gap in Semi-Autos that can cause damage to the shooter and slightly reduce chamber pressure.
8. The hand position is closer to the center of the bore in Semi-Autos, making recoil control easier than in most Revolvers.
9. Single-hand firing is easier with a Semi-Auto than a SA  Revolver because there’s no hammer to cock first.
10. It’s difficult to silence a Revolver because of the cylinder gap.
11. There’s only one chamber to clean on a Semi-Auto. 
12. Reload speed is faster with magazines than manually loading a Revolver cylinder.  Full moon clips, however, are just as fast or faster than a magazine reload.
13. Many Semi-Autos hold more ammo than most Revolvers.

Unlike Semi-Autos:

1. Bullets of any design or configuration of the correct caliber can be used without affecting a Revolver’s reliability. Semi-Autos can be very fussy if a bullet shape they weren’t tuned for is used. This can result in a failure to feed.
2. Similar functionality: If you can shoot one Revolver you can quickly see how to operate any double or single-action Revolver. Semi-Autos have wide variations in the appearance, location, and function of safeties and other controls.
3. Limp-wristing and grasp variations do not affect a Revolver’s reliability.
4. By comparison, a Revolver’s Scheduled Periodic Maintenance is far less than that of Semi-Autos.
5. Revolvers don’t place a high demand on their lubricants compared to Semi-Autos.
6. Revolvers don’t break parts nearly as often as Semi-Autos.
7. Revolvers aren’t affected as much by extreme environmental conditions, especially in super-cold climates. As the temperature drops, primers will fail before the Revolver stops working.
8. Revolvers don’t have a per-shot 7-step operating cycle (feeding, chambering, locking, firing, unlocking, extracting, and ejecting), that can be easily disrupted at any step by numerous, common internal and external events.
9. Tested, dedicated magazines are necessary to use with Semi-Autos, and reloading a magazine during a gunfight is problematic. Once you load the magazine, then you have to load the gun. With Revolvers, all you need is the ammo and the gun. Lots of good people died while fumbling in their pockets for ammo to reload a spent magazine. 
10. Revolvers aren’t negatively affected by a wide variation of powder charges. Semi-Autos function within a comparatively narrow pressure range, especially gas-operated Semi-Autos.
11. When you need a powerful handgun only a Revolver will suffice. (See the .500 S&W Magnum, .480 Ruger, .454 Casull, .500 Linebaugh, and others.) There are many high-power choices in Revolvers.
12. To clear most malfunctions in a Revolver, just pull the trigger. There’s no time-consuming tap-rack-bang or any other of 4 critical time-wasting clearance procedures with a Revolver.
13. Magazines are easily damaged in the field or on the range. When a magazine is damaged it isn’t wise to use a replacement without first performing extensive testing using at least 300 rounds.
14. Using moon or circlips, reloading a swing-out cylinder Revolver is faster than reloading Semi-Autos.
15. Revolvers are more dirt and grime resistant than Semi-Autos.
16. Revolvers are more versatile than Semi-Autos. Several cartridge types of the same caliber can be interchanged in many Revolvers without making any changes to the gun. A few examples include .44 Magnum – .44 Special, .357 Magnum – .38 Special. Some Revolvers can chamber any one of three cartridge types.
17. At rest, the springs in a Revolver are only slightly preloaded, not fully tensioned as in many Semi-Autos, especially the 1911 mainspring in cocked and locked mode, making Revolvers less prone to spring fade and mandatory replacement over long periods of time.
18. Revolvers have no recoil springs to wear out that must be replaced periodically.
19. Revolver barrels are immovable and fixed to the frame where the sights are also mounted. This increases the Revolver’s intrinsic accuracy.
20. Revolvers need no external safeties such as found on 1911-style and most other Semi-Autos. They don’t need trigger safety as found on the Glock and clones.
21. Stocks for Revolvers offer infinitely more stock options in any conceivable material. 
22. Revolvers aren’t classified as “assault weapons.”
23. The weight of a Revolver doesn’t change significantly from fully loaded to empty as it does with Glock and clones.
24. Revolvers can be shot from inside a pocket, pouch, or purse without jamming. With many Semi-Autos, slide interference prevents chambering, jamming the gun.
25. A Revolver is easier to unload, make safe, and verify its condition than a Semi-Auto. Fewer steps are required.
26. Just one cylinder of test rounds is necessary to prove reliability with any ammo than with a Semi-Auto. Some standards specify testing a Semi-Auto with 300 test rounds minimum.
27. A Revolver’s Manual of Arms is simpler than a Semi-Auto. Revolvers are easier to use.
28. A Revolver is more “jury friendly” in the courtroom than a black Semi-Auto “death machine.”
29. A fouled chamber doesn’t cause a stoppage in a Revolver.
30. Negligent discharges are less likely with a DA and SA Revolver than with Semi-Autos due to a long double-action trigger pulls and transfer bar systems.
31. Lowering a cocked hammer on modern transfer bar-equipped Revolvers such as the Ruger New Model series is a safe process. No special de-cocking lever is necessary.
32. The fastest-shooting handgun in the world is a tuned Single-Action Revolver. (see Bob Munden.)
33. You can’t load a round in a Revolver backward as can be done with a Semi-Auto’s magazine.
34. The Revolver is easier and faster to pick up from a flat surface.
35. In Close-Quarters Battle (CQB) the Revolver doesn’t have a slide that can jam due to physical contact after the first shot. Pressing on the muzzle of a Semi-Auto prevents most models from firing.
36. SA and DASA Revolvers are easier to load with one hand. There’s no slide to deal with.
37. Ruger SA Revolvers use the simplest, proven strongest, lockworks available in a handgun. There is an exceptional reliability record with these overbuilt firearms.
38. Pulling a Semi-Auto’s slide back to load the chamber can be difficult when wounded, exhausted, or otherwise disabled, and is impossible for arthritis patients, many older folks, and some weaker individuals. For these people, Revolvers are a natural, effective choice.
39. Combat Tactics are not as daring (where daring equals higher risk) when using a Revolver vs. a Semi-Auto because there’s generally less ammo in a fully-loaded Revolver. Therefore, there’s less of a tendency to ‘stand and deliver.’ “Shoot and move or move while you shoot, don’t give ‘em time for their strategy to take root.” – Sgt. Zim, USMC. Moving almost constantly gives you more frequent moments to reload, and movement also thins out the opposition, makes it less convenient for the enemy to flank your position, and increases random shooting angles for each position you adopt, making it harder for the enemy to track you. There are always trade-offs. Moving increases your exposure to enemy fire so it must be performed carefully at the right time. Stats show the obvious; that less-daring tactics are more survivable than Rambo-ing it.
40. A Tactical reload on a Revolver is faster and easier to perform than on a Semi-Auto because a Semi-Auto requires a magazine exchange. A Tactical Reload on a Revolver is performed without this activity.

The Humble Single-Action Revolver is a Combat Champion!

For many, perhaps the majority of gun owners today, the idea of a lightweight, high-capacity Semi-Auto is very attractive. Insider’s knowledge says, “When you’re carrying a gun, you want the smallest, lightest one you can find, but when you’re fighting, you want the heaviest, strongest gun you can get.”

I can say, from long experience, that when gunfighting becomes an occupation, not a theoretical event, many if not most of the top pros move from Semi-Autos to DASA Revolvers, usually Ruger or Smith & Wesson. After a few more gunfights there comes a time when the gunfighter is strangely calm. Rushing becomes a thing of the past. Then it’s time to put away childish things and move up to a single-action revolver.

Almost all of the top-rated modern gunfighters in the world, most of whom aren’t (and won’t ever be) in the public eye, eventually graduate to carrying one or two Single-Action Revolvers from the SA series by Ruger, namely the New Model Blackhawk chambered in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or .45 Colt. These simple and elegant, super-tough, highly-accurate Ruger Revolvers are rightfully considered to be the best of the breed for many reasons.

And now we close with a saying well-known to the enlightened few: “If you see another gunfighter wearing a single-action revolver, do not fight that person!” – Unknown, but wise, author.