Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Opinions please - is a Revolver a Pistol?

I like this. We don't need to make it more confusing than it already is to people who want to take up our sport, or has an interest in personal security.

Revolvers are pistols.

"All revolvers are pistols but not all pistols are revolvers,"

I'm in this camp.

ya me too.

Dammit, Samuel Colt sold his handguns as revolving pistols, and advertised them as such.

That oughta be the end of the discussion.

As far as I'm concerned, revolvers are also "pistols".

On the other hand, semi-auto pistols are not "revolvers".

The name "pistol" comes from "Pistoia" and, at the time, referred to the muzzlestuffers then in use. Common usage, however, has broadened with handgun developments.

I agree. A revolver is a handgun, and is not a pistol.

Same here

You gonna pull those pistols, or whistle Dixie?......

I rarely make a comment without reading pretty much all the way through a topic, unless maybe it is a really long thread, but on this one I'll make an exception.


Who really gives a rats ass?


If I didn't have anything more important to worry about than if someone calls a revolver a pistol I'd count myself pretty damn lucky. That is way, way down the list of things that would ruin my day, upset me or disturb me in the least. It's also way, way down the list of things that would make me happy, glad or even make me crack a smile.


YMMV.

OK, if you don't care about discussing correct firearms terminology, I'm going to put a loaded clip in my 1911 and go do some shooting.

Digging around in the basement, I looked at some of my old books on various subjects and noticed a couple interesting factoids on this subject. A book on the Spanish-American War written in 1904 by a couple of the generals involved in that fray used the term "revolver" for the standard military issue handgun of that time- a double action revolver. Later, when discussing the situation in the Philippines, the Colt Single Action Army was referred to as a "pistol". That seems to jibe with some of the dime novels I have that were written in the same time frame.

The use of "revolver" really seemed to take off with the pulp detective novels of the 1920s and especially 30s. If not referred to as a "gat" , "heater", "rod", or other slang, then revolver was the term used for a wheel gun. Pistol was most often reserved for a semi-auto handgun in this era. As an aside, "automatic" or "auto" began to see wide usage in place of "semi-automatic" during this timeframe too.

With only the dozen different sources I looked at, I couldn't find a definitive reason for a revolver to not be a pistol. The best I can guess is "revolver" grew to define a double action revolver while a single action was often called a "pistol". It is probably the fault of the British for this conundrum- they devised the Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver around 1900 which greatly blurred the lines if not erased them.

Definition of revolver in English:
revolver
NOUN
1A pistol with revolving chambers enabling several shots to be fired without reloading.

(Per the Oxford English dictionary)

While it is believed, that pistols evolved from the "hand cannom"
After the Chinese invented black powder during the 9th century,[1][2][3] these inventions were later transmitted to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The direct ancestor of the firearm is the fire lance. The prototype of the fire lance was invented in China during the 10th century and is the predecessor of all firearms.


Hand cannon from the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Where as long guns derived thier shape and basic function from crossbow, not the other way round, as is commonly thought. The crossbow has been around since 400BC (belly-bow)

Yep....that's good enough for me although I was liking the side arm thing until TRH ruined it with swords.

pis·tol
ˈpistl/Submit
noun
1.
a small firearm designed to be held in one hand.
synonyms: revolver, gun, handgun, sidearm; automatic, six-shooter, thirty-eight, derringer; informalgat, piece; trademarkColt, Luger
"a concealed pistol"

My CCW permit is actually a "concealed pistol permit " but it does not matter what type of handgun.

Medical professionals don’t consult dictionaries for definitions of their terms of art. Neither do lawyers. Neither should we.

Not nessecariy

This is what gets talked about here between hunting and fishing season. I'm guessing this topic comes up every 2 or 3 years...

. . . is a Revolver a Pistol?

No - because pistols have 'clips'.