Pistols and Semi-Automatic: The Debate Continues

I started out with autos in the ‘80s. All LEO and federal agents moved from revolvers to autos. The military moved to 9mm autos from 45 autos (except for the USAF who were using .38 revolvers and the instigators of the U.S. military moving to the 9mm). At my gun club over 90% of the serious shooters use plastic fantastic autos.

Well, consider US law enforcement follows what the FBI does and uses. When the FBI stopped using the Smith and Wesson revolver model 13 in .375 and moved to a 9mm auto, all other LE agencies eventually followed. The FBI changed due to a bad shooting in Miami where some FBI agents armed with .38 snubby revolvers came up short against bad guys with 9mm autos and a mini-Ruger. The agents did not use speed loaders and reloaded one bullet at a time: sitting ducks. The outcome led the FBI to conclude revolvers were obsolete and the auto better. The 9mm auto became king.

But later it was found many cops/agents did not do well with the 9mm. Some found it took many hits to bring down a perp. Reports of cops filling a person with 10–15 rounds were growing. Bad PR followed. So, the FBI did tests and decided the much more powerful 10mm round was better, so many law departments moved to the 10mm. Then it was found many cops/agents could not handle the kick of a 10mm. There were fewer who passed qualification, more missed shots, more collateral damage. So, the FBI did yet another study and found the .40 S&W was the answer, an in-between the 9mm and 10mm: The Goldilocks round. But it too failed, so back to the drawing board. The result? a hotter 9mm round. They had come full circle. Some departments kept the .40 but the 9mm was king…again. (I like the .40. I would get a compact 1911 in .40 cal if I were to get an auto again).

9mm autos rules! But not everyone thinks so. And what if the FBI determines a new, better round and or gun in the future?

So, people kept using revolvers. New models keep coming out. There are even 7 and 8 round models. I won’t repeat the revolver pros of other answers, but I now only shoot revolvers, no more autos. I find I am more accurate, more consistent with revolvers. Easy to use, my wife does well with a revolver. I have some .357 models and four Bulldog types that I love (these are 5 shots 3” barreled, boot gripped .44 specials). My carry is an S&W 696, a bulldog.

There is a small but steady fan following of revolvers. With practice, I can speed reload in 3–4 seconds. A revolver doesn’t jam, doesn’t limp wrist, doesn’t stove pipe, doesn’t fail to feed. A revolver is not ammo particular like most autos. A dud round? Pull the trigger again to the next round. I have a .357 Dan Wesson with interchangeable barrels and grips that was made in 1972. Super accurate, it has NEVER failed and still used; my wife likes this gun. A revolver can fail, but it is super rare.