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

Wow! Almost won the Darwin Award.

Thank God he wasn't picking his nose at the same time.

If you're close enough for a semi to be out of battery, you're close enough for hide, hair, or clothing to get between the hammer and firing pin or prevent the cylinder from rotating on a revolver. Pick your poison.


I've had more revolvers fail to function than semi's over the last 40 years. I'll take my G20 or G29 loaded with heavy hardcast bullets over any revolver ever made. The militaries of the world proved over 100 years ago that semi's were more reliable in field conditions than revolvers. Kept reasonably clean and stored in a nightstand a revolver will most likely work perfectly for 1 cylinder full every time. After that the odds tip fast toward semi's.

Fellow I’ve met a couple times, and a friend of Sitka deer’s.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/twig-snap-alerts-dog-walker-charging-grizzly/2009/08/14/%3foutputType=amp-type

It was Aug. 2, a little after 11 a.m., when he headed down Dirks Lake Road, a quarter-mile from his home, taking three dogs for some exercise in preparation for hunting season. Brush talked to his animals as they walked past homes on one- to five-acre lots.

The slightest noise -- a twig snapping -- prompted Brush to glance over his shoulder. Less than 20 yards away, a brown bear was charging, "ears back, head low and motorin' full speed.

"Came with zero warning," Brush said. "No woof, no popping of the teeth, no standing up, nothing like what you think."

Brush said he wears a pistol on his walks because bears have chased his dogs in the past.

He drew a Ruger .454 Casull revolver. There was no time to aim, barely time to squeeze the trigger. He's not sure whether he got off two shots or three, but one proved fatal.

And then he orgasmed and woke up.

Old enough to not hotlink. C&P for full story.

no one here has killed a bear but JWP, and he did not indicate that it was charging. However we have all expertly decided on our favorite caliber-gun as the only choice that makes any sense. I tell you what I don't know about the rest of you, but the butt pucker factor of something close and ready to kill you moving rapidly in our direction would make lesser men than we have posting here on the fire, miss a shot, piss their pants, poop their pants, shoot into the ground or over the target. I just have to wonder if someone who has fired their 454 about 20 times at a target would be able to whip that sucker out and administer a surgically placed kill shot right to the body without pooping their pants? Realistically your probably p-hucked if the animal is on you despite what magic handgun your have in your possession. And a Kanowing my piss poor limitations, I would say I could probably make a a lot of hits with a 9mm a few hits with a G20, or a 357 magnum revolver, maybe 1 or 2 with a 44 magnum and maybe none with a 475 Limburger cheese. We all love to talk about stuff we have no clue about and about none of us has ever faced anything where we had to make a split second decision and that decision made us either live or die...well once I did....I thought Shrapnel was full of chit when we had this same discussion in one of the last 50 times we have discussed it, but he is right, your better off hitting the animal with a reasonably powerful penetrative bullet that you personally can shoot well and handle proficiently than missing 2-3 times with something you cannot shoot. I rest my case.

Many of us have killed bear with a handgun - just not brown bear. Don’t push your limitations on anyone else. I have faced pissed off bovines and I would imagine it’s no less unsettling. Jimmy, you have a lot of hard-nosed opinions on handgun performance but I’m not sure you’ve used handguns on a lot of game.

let me add you to the list Max, you and JWP have shot a lot of animals with a handgun. Have you ever been charged at close range by a big bear? I watched your bovine video nice shooting, I have no doubts that ice water runs through your veins. OTOH, it appears to me that many who have posted about this gun or that have not been charged at close range by an animal that wants to kill you, nor have I but for a large pit bull. I have no designs that I would be able to handle a situation like this, but I do believe that having a gun that I am proficient with might be better than having something I read about on the fire that I thought I needed to have. Just sayin is all.

I just see you making lots of declarations. I nearly got run down by a Watusi someone else shot a number of years ago that reanimated. I was nearly on top of it when it took offense to my presence and I had to put it down before it turned me into a grease stain on the ground. I’ve had a number of run ins with water buffalo as well and they typically double the weight of a brown bear. So, speak for yourself. It’s not theory for me. I take this topic rather seriously.

as I said, you have ice water running through your veins, I and most others do not, but like to think they do. I believe I am speaking for myself.

Ice water is a decision that is a consequence of training proficiency and mindset. Not something you are born with.

well I will wait until we start a 51st bear thread before adding more fuel to the fire, and yet I wonder how many shoot and are proficient with a large bore revolver except Max, JWP and a few other? Me I would be better off with a smaller caliber, at least the animal would have a hole or two in it.

I am kinda stunned by some of the talk of big bores and proficiency My 3 eldest kids are very very proficient and one being a 96lb daughter shoots a 480 very well and shoots my 454 srh with the same loads ive used on cape buff, waterbuff and the like. My 11 year old shot deer last year with a 41 mag and mid range 454 loads. Not sure why this is a hard thing to do. It just requires a little will and proper practice.

Why would anyone care? Especially since this thread was about revolver vs semi-auto reliability.

Do you have some sort of hero worship fetish? I see you bringing this sort of stuff up a lot.

I would go with a wheel gun for bear defense IF I didn't want to carry a rifle or shotgun. 44 Mag and above if the bear you are wanting to defend yourself from is a Mountain Grizzly or Coastal Brown Bear. For black bear I'd still want a wheel gun .357 mag or above. In almost all scenarios you are better off using bear spray. Scenarios where you would be better off with a gun: the bear is trying to get in your tent. In that case he's in predator mode and you need to fight back with whatever you have handy. He's wounded. You blundered into his kill, he blundered into your kill. I've been in close proximity to bears many times and have never had a problem. I was bow hunting in New Mexico once, set up on a small meadow, and a huge Cinnamon appeared 30 feet to my left, I didn't even hear it until the last second. He turned my way, and not wanting him to get any closer, I stepped forward so he could see me better. He hauled ass. After an underwear check I was good to go.
From the national wildlife service:
The question is not one of marksmanship or clear thinking in the face of a growling bear, for even a skilled
marksman with steady nerves may have a slim chance of deterring a bear attack with a gun. Law
enforcement agents for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have experience that supports this reality --
based on their investigations of human-bear encounters since 1992, persons encountering grizzlies and
defending themselves with firearms suffer injury about 50% of the time. During the same period, persons
defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured
experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries. Canadian bear biologist Dr. Stephen Herrero
reached similar conclusions based on his own research -- a person’s chance of incurring serious injury from
a charging grizzly doubles when bullets are fired versus when bear spray is used.
Here we go....

Of course if you want to use bear protection as an excuse to buy a new pistol or revolver, that's different. They're both great!

Have you insomuch ever shot a deer with a handgun?

Seriously...

you seem to care or you would not have quoted me. Thank you.

Yes, inquiring minds want to know....

I noticed he skipped the question. Last time I pressed Jimmy he came up with a rather vague answer.