Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Are revolvers less reliable than semi-autos?

i had a friend of mine some years ago take a renewal class for ccw, and the instructor was making the claim semi auto's were more reliable.

no one, i clean my guns regularly so there was no cyclinder gap issue ever.
i did have once, in the last 50 years, have an extractor rod back out, that's one time.
i did have once, an issue where i didn't set the primers deep enough preventing the cyclinder from turning, one time.
you can have stuff get under the star wheel, if you don't clean the revolvers.
I don't throw any of my guns in the mud so dirt and stuff is not an issue on any of them.
you don't have to do any of those fancy tap and rack drills with a revolver.
i am still shooting a couple or more handguns that are well over 100 years old. still work too.

I'm having difficulty imagining that shot angle. How close were you?

Why would you go 5 years without cleaning your gun?

And if I'm carrying Apex Predator Insurance, I want the policy to include function with the barrel jammed hard up against the animal.

Amen to that sentiment.

I wouldn't say less reliable, but when a revolver locks up on you, it ain't gonna be cured with a slide rack.

Because he hasn't shot it in 5 years...

we have no shortage of experts that have never been attacked by a bear giving expert testimony on the subject. Shrapnel's comments of yore as I paraphrase "6 shots triggered into the ground" etc etc. because you don't like to shoot your titanium 44 magnum you don't practice with your titanium 44 magnum and you can't hit s-hit with your titanium 44 magnum. Reliable means that you can count on something to work for you.

Yep, I’ve had revolver stoppages 1) from extractor backing out (much less likely in anything like a modern, high quality, revolver, though), 2) from buildup of grime, 3) from mechanical issues, 4) from bullets pulling under recoil (even light .38 Special loads in an all steel K Frame) and stopping cylinder rotation. That’s why I specified a revolver that’s in good condition with quality ammo you already checked function with.

It largely depends on how you define reliable. A good, high quality, clean, revolver can certainly reliably cycle a wider variety of bullets within its caliber designation than an auto pistol.

Any handgun I carry is clean and checked over. I had my first 629's cylinder start binding and the problem was carbon and powder residue between the cylinder and the crane. Now I remove the crane and cylinder to clean and lube that area. There's more than one good reason to carry a clean gun.

On revolvers that are used often I do that once every couple years, maybe. They get nuked by the air compressor in the garage after most uses. It's a real time saver.

No,not unless you're carrying handloads that weren't crimped adequately. Otherwise, a revolver is considered more reliable than a semi-auto with all it's moving parts.
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Most semi-autos have fewer parts.

Wait, are we talking 1911?

I have had numerous semiauto pistols jam and have never had a revolver with factory ammo jam or fail to function that I remember.

Since I'm not in the Cop business, and I'm not a mall ninja who carries (6) 33rnd magazines for his Glock 26 and practices one-handed reloads using his butt cheeks, I have a different notion to what "reliable" means.

Part of "reliable" is whether or not I can get my firearm working again with the tools I have on hand. Another part of "reliable" is whether or not I can control the failure mechanisms - or whether they just happen at random.

I can:

• Take my glock or 1911 apart without tools to clean it up.
• Test my ammo out ahead of time to avoid crimp-jump.
• Know what the bad-word I'm doing when reloading so that I don't get a squib (standard primers won't shove the bullet in so far).
• Take care of my firearm knowing that I might need it to save my life.

I can't:

• I can't get to the internals on a revolver without a screwdriver.
• A squib will tie up a revolver and shut down a semi-auto - no solution other than pound out the stuck bullet (very hard to do with a stick)
• Deal with an extractor that decides to break, or any other critical part breakage. This is where user history matters (P365 owners understand this).

I still believe that a revolver is mechanically less reliable than a semi-auto. However, after reading about the hunting guide who was killed because the magazine dropped from his G20, and his client couldn't find it and didn't know how to run the G20 anyway - I like the simplicity of a revolver.

https://trib.com/outdoors/wyoming-o...5913d2a-4889-5fa9-89d8-e44562b06717.html

Heavy loads with heavy recoil can and do at times jump crimp and tie up revolvers with the very best of crimps. The 454 is famous for it.

Those S&W Titanium 44 mags are real bad about doing that. Mine would do it nearly every time with heavy loads.
I sold it and went back to carrying my Glock 20 10mm with the Buffalo Bore 220 hardcast load when bow hunting in the lower 48 in bear country. It’s never failed to feed once with that load.