are wheelguns 100% reliable??

[Stick Dummy]

Brand/type loyalty is great with firearms but to make the statement revolvers are MORE reliable than semi-autos is just not realistic.
In 40 + years of serious shooting I have observed the following problems not always the weapons "fault" but which could lead to rather dire consequences in a life or death situation...

These have all been personally observed at one time or another.

To 2nd post on topic

 

[Stick Dummy]

1. Failure to fire due to debris in the following areas:
Hammer/firing pin nose
2. Failure to fire due to improper closure of cylinder latch due to debris.
3. Failure to fire due to bent ejector rod/
4. Failure to COMPLETELY eject empty brass via ejectors star riding over cartridge rim/ ejector rod TOO SHORT to completely eject empty casings.
5. Failure of cylinder to close based on as little as two unburnt grains of powder between the cylinder recess and inside face of ejector star.
6.Failure to fire based on use of improper lubricants which either froze in cold weather, or gummed up over time binding internal mechanism (WD-40 is the DEFINATIVE example of what NOT to use)
7. Failure of loaded cartridges to fully seat or extract.
8. Failure to load based on faulty grip design interferring with loading.
9. Failure to fire due to binding of cylinder by clothing ( shooting from inside of pockets)

All for now but food for thought.
As previously stated I have personally winessed these on seperate occasions at the range,and on duty.

 

[Stick Dummy]

Whoops forgot failure of cylinder to close because ejector rod worked loose by a couple .00x" and the being slammed shut locking the mechanism........

 

[harold]

Anything built by man can break! Periodic maintenance is a must.

 

[Cryozombie]

Not to mention good 'ol wear on parts that need replacing...

 

[Haakon]

1. Failure to fire due to debris in the following areas:
Hammer/firing pin nose
2. Failure to fire due to improper closure of cylinder latch due to debris.
3. Failure to fire due to bent ejector rod/
4. Failure to COMPLETELY eject empty brass via ejectors star riding over cartridge rim/ ejector rod TOO SHORT to completely eject empty casings.
5. Failure of cylinder to close based on as little as two unburnt grains of powder between the cylinder recess and inside face of ejector star.
6.Failure to fire based on use of improper lubricants which either froze in cold weather, or gummed up over time binding internal mechanism (WD-40 is the DEFINATIVE example of what NOT to use)
7. Failure of loaded cartridges to fully seat or extract.
8. Failure to load based on faulty grip design interferring with loading.
9. Failure to fire due to binding of cylinder by clothing ( shooting from inside of pockets)

All for now but food for thought.
As previously stated I have personally winessed these on seperate occasions at the range,and on duty.

Most of those happen to autos too, no firearm is 100% reliable. I've had and seen more feed or ejection problems with autos than I have had problems with revolvers. The term "jamomatic" wasn't just made up out of whole cloth.

 

[Stick Dummy]

Yep that's why virtually every serious military and LE organization carries autos.

FYI- "Jammamatic" was originally applied to the Steyr GB pistol as reviewed by Mr. Chuck Taylor in SOF. I believe there was even a pix of him THROWING the pistol over the range backstop. LOL poor magazine engineering in the quest for more teeny boolets.

 

[Haakon]

Most military orgs issue autos because they handle abuse better than revolvers, reload faster and hold more rounds, not because they're inherently more reliable.

 

[Stick Dummy]

ROTFLMAO!!

Yes, what you just said EXACTLY!!

 

[Stick Dummy]

ROTFLMAO!!

Yes, what you just said EXACTLY!!

 

[Haakon]

Whatever, keep holding on to your belief that autos are superior. I'll keep shooting my thus far 100% reliable revolvers that never stovepipe or feed jam, and are reliable with anything that fits in the chamber from 300fps to 1,500 fps, something that can't be said of autos. Both have strengths, neither has an advantage in reliability with quality models.

Why exactly was the 'tap/rack/bang' drill made up? Oh yeah, because autos have problems too.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Both are designs are made by humans and as such, are subject to failure if not taken care of.

Thing is, a revolver has to suffer that wearing or breakage of parts before it malfunctions for the most part.( except for the casing trapped under the star).

An auto can still be in perfect, off the shelf condition and still fail to feed, fail to extract or stovepipe. Revolvers have no mag springs and are not ammo sensitive.

I grant you that nowadays the top name autos are well enough made that reliability approaches revolvers in a way that 20-30 years ago would not have been possible, but if you tale *all* current production revolvers( excluding S&W) and *all* current production autos, the revolvers still have the edge and always will.

 

[Stick Dummy]

ANDY!!! I wondered when you would jump in!!!

I have in my possession a Kimber Custom Classic that has NEVER malfunctioned, and owned a Rem- Rand M1911A1 that NEVER malfunctioned.

Use what works for ya, keep it clean, and shoot the hell out of it!

But don't tell someone with more rounds down range fairy tale stories without credible substantiation outside of gun magazines and urban legend.

I believe my current life total is around 225,000 in that 40 years. Maybe more.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Fair enough, sir.

I apologize for not having realized that I was apparently spouting off fairy tale stories without credible substantiation outside of gun magazines (which I don't read). Do enjoy the rest of your day. :asian:

 

[Stick Dummy]

Andy, don't get mad and run away...

Continue to discuss the topic at hand.

You have made a number of very valuable points that are truths.

You take your wheelgunning seriously enough to seek out a true Master of the snubbie.

Just don't confuse things.

Tap-Slap- Rack is a immediate action drill practiced in case of malfunction.
If it were truly a massive problem semi's would not have the popularity they have today.

Like you and others said, ANYTHING mechanical can fail and if your life of that of others is on the line- DEAL WITH IT ASAP!!

More in a moment

 

[Stick Dummy]

As I was saying, and please don't get me wrong here.

Wheelguns are not 100% reliable, exclude modern S&W revolvers?? Nope that is attempting to negate my premise in the first place.

I do have and own some wheelies. For instance a F-A .454 casull.

I will state their is NO FINER machined handgun available period. It vastly surpasses even the Golden Era hand fitted Colt and S&W's.

Here is where people shout IT'S an SINGLE ACTION and too slow for self defense use.

Sure if you say so, but reality and a hell of a lot of people have survived terminal hostilities using one will say otherwise.

What I am saying is don't follow a DOGMA and learn to use everything well.

I have literally worn out both wheelguns and autos alike. An auto will normally continue to work at high round count whereas a wheelie tends to go out of time and begin to shave slugs due to design nature.

 

[Archangel M]

Just to throw some fuel on the fire.

Revolver triggers suck.

 

[Stick Dummy]

Did I forget that??? LOL

Exceptions to the rule: Most older Colt Pythons, older S&W's are joys in both modes compared to a 1980's S&W auto.

Only O.O.B. Da auto that comes close is early CZ-75's and they can even surpass a tuned Python.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

I have to exclude modern( post-2003) S&W revolvers due to the suicide lock now installed on all of them since that date with no choice.

This wouldn't be a problem if the lock were well enough designed so as not to malfunction under recoil.

Some genius designed the lock to rotate counterclockwise to engage.

The gun is stupid. It doesn't know if that's a key going counterclockwise, or if it's clockwise recoil that activated it, it just knows to lock up.

S&W flatly denies that this is a problem at all because it is in their business interests to do so, and because the S&W parent company that makes the locks hath decreed that they are not going away.

I know better.
I called up the Firing Line in neighboring New Hampshire. It's a range where you rent guns before you buy them. I asked them point blank how much trouble had the locks given them. They couldn't give me a number because they'd lost count.

I then had an employee tell me that a S&W rep had come in with all these snubbies and other revolvers with new, improved suicide locks that WOULDN'T fail, and the guy who owned the place said, Okay, you let me put 10,000 rounds through one and we'll see if it fails". The rep packed 'em up and left.

And so I have to exclude that particular line since I've been harping on all along about mechanical simplicity, and here are these revolvers with an extra built in access denial mechanism that is *known* to malfunction. To me, it doesn't matter if it's a 1% chance, I must treat it as if it's a 100% chance. So here, they've basically just nullified the one reason people still buy revolvers anymore.

 

[Stick Dummy]

Andy,

Duly noted, and agree with.

Corperate negligence at its peak. Think of all the "new" snubbies being put into ankle holsters by LEO's who do not know better.

It saddens me to think of the results......