Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 5-shot revolver vs. 15-shot auto for carry/defense

IMHO, if you need 15 rounds of 9mm, then you've got problems that a handgun probably can't solve.

Just about every logical reason favors the 9mm semi-auto. I still prefer my Smith & Wesson M442.

So what you're saying is slow, deliberate, aimed fire, rather than "spray and pray"?

JEff

So many fail to grasp the very basic concept that perhaps that one of the primary functions of having a higher capacity auto is not to shoot more, but to manipulate less.

Time not spent fiddling with reloading is time spent looking at a threat, looking at your surroundings or coming up with an alternative solution to your problem.

I prefer 5 accurate shots than spraying 15 semi-accurate shots.


ddj

Here is a cut and paste from a thread I started called "assumptions in regards to handguns". It may provide some entertaining reading for some here:

I prefer a semi auto with a higher capacity if I can get it in a reasonable package. I have no intention of using every round on board but it is available if needed. Plus I may not feel the need to reload in a bad situation quite so soon, if at all. The whole thing about "it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it" comes into play.

I have used wheelguns in the past off duty and will continue to do so but you will not see me badmouthing the current crop of autoloaders. In the colder weather months if I am home,I often carry a 4" or 5" .44 in a Milt Sparks belt holster under my jacket. Mostly this is on days I am in the hills or around large livestock.

Carrying a revolver does not automatically make one a cooler head in a fight or a surer shot. That is pure hogwash.Stating that anyone who carries a high cap gun or an auto is in the "spray and pray" crowd shows both a lack of intelligence and a lack of real world experience. I suppose it makes them feel better to be the morally superior handgunner. Every time I say that publicly though it ruffles a lot of feathers.

In fact, other than a very few older(badass)PPC shooters that still work the job, the majority of "on the job" wheelgun users that I have had the opportunity to observe (generally jailers/reservists and such) are notoriously poor shooters.

Their reloading skills are a joke too. THERE IS ONLY ONE JERRY MICULEK. The vastly overwhelming majority of LEOs and non LE citizens can reload a semi auto much faster than a wheelgun. I have been a firearms instructor for 15 years and have seen some flat out scary people with both semi autos and revolvers.

THE POINT OF A HIGH CAPACITY SEMI AUTO IS NOT ABOUT SHOOTING MORE, IT IS ABOUT MANIPULATING LESS. Pause,re read and reflect upon that.

Quite often engagements happen in compressed time frames with multiple targets. This holds true regardless of your location in the world. It is no different in an alley in a suburb of Amman Jordan or the parking lot of the local mall.

Manipulating less due to multiple targets, manipulating less due to an injury, manipulating less due to having a hold of someone else you are responsible for or feel compelled to protect, such as a loved one or principal. The less you have to manipulate gear, the more you can focus on the situation at hand.

I like to see revolvers in law enforcement. My #1 recommendation for a backup gun for new troops, when they ask has been a toss up between a baby Glock and a J frame, with the user determining what he shoots best.

It has been my personal experience in carrying both that the J frame ( I use a 442) is easier to carry, but I shoot substantially better with a baby Glock, as do most people.

Putting CT laser grips on a Jframe enhances my low light shooting ability substantially. The difference was significant.


In short, I use both semi autos and revolvers and will continue to do so. Pick the right tool for the right application.