Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Pocket Guns - Mini Autos vs Revolvers

No, not quite correct.

Small autos have a place, but mini autos will never replace either small autos or revolvers.

Guess it somewhat depends on your definitions of small & mini auto.

MM

Here's the statement that got me thinking about all of this:



I was/am wondering if others think similarly or not.

If you are truly talking about pocket pistols (i.e., those that are carried in a pocket and not in a holster), then both semis and revolvers have their pluses and minuses.

Autos:
* Mini-autos are more finicky about ammunition, grip, and everything else that can occasionally plague a full size auto. The further you shrink the size and attempt to maintain a full power cartridge, the more exacerbated any small issue will become.
* The small size and grip frame can make practicing with and controlling a full power cartridge capable pistol difficult.
* Until you get to the P3AT/LCP size, weight can be an issue with them. The shrunken 1911s are a perfect example of this.
* The autos can't be fired more than once from inside a pocket.

That said, reloads in a new magazine carry and conceal well. The smallest autos in .32 and .380 are light years ahead of where they were in terms of concealment and effectiveness over similarly chambered pistols just 20 years ago. There are several true pocket pistols available today in calibers up to and including .45ACP; something that was unthinkable not long ago. The carry flat, if the overall size is conducive to pocket carry. The semi-auto platform is one that most people who shoot today are familiar with and thus "cross training" is easy.

Revolvers:
* The are generally thicker and can print more easily due to the girth around the cylinder.
* They generally have less rounds in a single load (5 to 6 vs. 6-8).
* Reloads carried in a speedloader don't conceal well at all.
* Revolvers are not commonly carried or used today by most shooters.
* Recoil in a true pocket sized revolver can be an issue.

That said, ammunition reliability problems are generally avoided in revolvers. True, it may have one or two that it shoots better than others, but feeding and reliability are not a normal concern. The standard revolver calibers of .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .44 Special are the most common revolver chamberings and they have a long track record of success in defensive use. The concealed hammer or shrouded hammer revolvers can be successfully fired multiple times from within a pocket without jamming, and they are also quite slick to draw from a pocket without snagging.

We truly live in a golden age of firearms. If you had wanted a true pocket pistol 40, 30, or even 20 years ago, you were stuck with just a couple small revolvers or sacrificing power to get into a .32 or .380 that quite often had reliability issues in addition to marginally effective ammunition. Today, you have your pick of dozens.

I personally think that they both have their place and their values. I've carried the smaller .380s for a good number of years, as well as a 442/642. I don't find it that difficult to conceal a full sized pistol these days due to great belt and holster options, but the little guns still have their place. Pick one that works well for you; get used to it; carry it; and don't worry about what someone else thinks.

I think small autos are easier to conceal than small revolvers, due to the lack of bulk the cylinder of the revolver presents.


but as Jim pointed out, the revolver can be shot from the pocket, the semi, only once before it must be drawn.


but other than coat pocket that point seems pretty well moot. Front pants pocket, at least on my pants the weapon would have to be drawn unless I just want to shoot myself in the leg or foot and scare the hades outa the guy how badazz I am

"hey I just shot myself, ain't nuttin for me to shoot you, ya big jabroni"


man I wish Col. Cooper were still alive, this last epiphany of mine might inspire him to include it in his writings as part of the maxim of handgun defense.

Move over Ayoob, there's a new sheriff in town, 2l2q

Although I have nothing against a mini auto, I personally prefer a revolver for a pocket gun for the following reasons:

1. I have never had a revolver malfunction when coated with all of the lint and crud that seems to accumulate on the gun in a pocket holster.

2. I prefer the revolver grip shape for quick access to the handgun in the pocket.

3. I prefer the DA trigger as a safety feature when a handgun is carried in a pocket.

4. I like the idea that the revolver can be fired repeatedly from a pocket if necessary with less chance of malfunctioning.

My opinion is colored somewhat by the fact that a friend of mine shot himself accidentally with a Glock carried in his right front pocket. None of the hundreds of officers I worked with who carried pocket revolvers ever did that. Yes, he mishandled the weapon...but its design is much less forgiving of mistakes than a revolver is.

I always have my 638 in my pocket, and about 3/4 of the time also have a Glock 19 in an IWB holster on the opposite side. I'm not quite sure which is the primary and which is the secondary.

As long as it has an enclosed hammer and you carry an extinguisher for the fire. I hear this recommended but it was pretty damn interesting to actually do it a few times. I saw triggers fail to reset and cylinders get bound up in liners and not turn. The thought of 5 shots guaranteed turned out to be a myth.

I hate carrying in my pocket. I always have to put the stuff I normally carry in my right pocket into my left.

I much prefer a clip like techna-clip or the kel-tec version and stick it in the waistband.

Have not tried the hip .grip on a five shooter, would rather have the auto.

If I'm wearing a jacket and you are talking those pockets then I would hide something bigger IWB.

Mike

As much as I like revolvers, I like my Springfield XDS 45 more, as a tool. I won't ever carry it in a carved leather holster, but it'll get the job done if it ever has to.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. The Walther PPK goes all the way back to the 1920's. It's sort of like the 1911, over a hundred years old and still going strong.

I absolutely agree with that statement.

J-frame/LCR or bust.



Travis

Holy schit...



Travis

'Flave, please don't quote that idiot. Some of us are quite happy seeing the exact same thing every time he posts.

PPK/S is a boat anchor compared to the Modern plastic guns!

Mike

Yes Mike, but a boat anchor is simple, reliable and doesn't go out of its way to cut your hands.

Which means the PPK is not a boat anchor, as it will bite the hand that fires it, is not necessarily simple not reliable.

It was a good design in it's time as the PP, and worked as the PPK and PPK/S. It has been surpassed by more than a few better designs and some not necessarily that recent. For that size and weight today, it's better off a 9x19 class caliber.

Sorry I have taken so long to post on this thread, as I feel like I have been one of those who stirred the sheet, so to speak.

My feeling in reference to pocket guns is that revolvers do a better job of giving me more than one shot from the pocket.

Semi automatics will fire from the pocket on the first go round, but I feel like they stand a good chance of a malfunction before the second round can be fired.

My rule of thumb is that anyone or anything worth shooting once is worth shooting twice.

With that in mind, I give the revolver the nod for a pocket gun.

Mine is a Smith model 38, airweight bodyguard. I practice with non plus P loads and carry plus P for social issues. I shoot it well enough out to 25 yards and count it the baseline for myself.

I've been forced to carry a PPK/s in 380, and it was one of the old Interams versions. Due to that experience I will not have another one in my house, let alone my pocket.

There are so many things that fulfill the same role and do so in a better manner than the PPk or PPk/s platform.

If you think a PPk/s won't cut your hands, you got another think coming.

I bleed every time I shoot a PPK/S and I bleed every time I shoot a Browning HP. But the injuries have, so far, not been fatal to anything other than my interest in both pistols.

A quick hammer swap on the BHP will cure those ills.