What is it with revolvers

[pearcetopher]

After years of shooting Ive come to the conclusion that revolvers are just more accurate.

Truthfully I cant say why but I can shoot all day with 9mm 40 sw and 45 acp lead or jacketed and be lucky to hit a sheet of paper standing at 20 yards more than 50% of the time.

I whip out my 44 mag or my 357 and blamo all shots within a 4 inch group

sight radiuses are the same so I just cant figure it out

[Ubet]

I've had some revolvers that I liked the accuracy, but personally I have two 1911 pistols and a CZ75 that are the most accurate handguns I've ever shot. They each far surpass any of the revolvers I've ever shot.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

[smilie=b: I hate it when that happens[smilie=1: Keep burning that lead:lol:

[kawasakifreak77]

Personally I feel that yes, wheel guns are inherently more accurate.

In the end though, it seems especially with handguns, it's whatever 'fits' you.

Example:

I've been a Smith head my whole life. Other than a few autos that I tried on for size & quickly sold, I've owned & loaded for .38& .357 Smiths since I was a boy. I tried about every auto out there & something was just off.

About a year ago, my dad pulls a beat up W. German P220 out of the safe & says to try it.

As soon as I held it, something told me that I would be able to hit with it. I stroked dad a check right there & headed to the range. First three bullets at 25m went right through the bullseye!

A game me & several others play with handguns:

Take a pop can, chuck it down range & start shooting one at a time. First one to miss buys the next six rack. I've regularly been able to walk a can past 50m with any Smith I own. The Sig is the first auto I've been able to do so.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Revolvers are not inherently more accurate. Generally it's the opposite. This is due to the fact that you have 5+ chambers. to line up with the barrel. But yes, revolvers can be tack drivers. The best 5 shot 50 yard pistol group I've ever shot was 0.517" CTC with a Single Six Hunter (4 power Leupold, from sandbags).

My guess is that the accuracy you're experiencing has more to do with you ability to control that type of trigger than it does with the true accuracy of the gun. Striker fired triggers, for example, require much more discipline to control than a decent revolver trigger (shot SA).

[44man]

Just fit of parts. A 1911 can go with a revolver all the way if built right. Most are close range for defense and must work if full of sand or mud. Most nines I have shot are sad but have shot old WWII German pistols that I could poke out your eye at 50 yards.
Today it takes a house payment or two to get an accurate pistol that it can exceed a revolver.
It is the market and what is sold. If accuracy is demanded, guns would be made better.
So many want short barrel revolvers in huge calibers or a 7 yard pistol that gun makers will not make what works.
Shooters are what is ruining accuracy.

[ShooterAZ]

It all depends on the individual gun, and the loads developed for each one. I have a S&W 1911, that I was struggling a little with...until I found the right load for it. I have a S&W Model 25 that is not at all picky about what it shoots. 4" at 20 yards? Need more practice.

[CWME]

Could also be the mindset... Magazine wth 15-17 rounds or 6 that you have to make count. I sometimes find myself saying I will get it with the next one when shooting skeets on the birm with my glock.
I have a Colt Series 70 1911 that was worked over more than likely before I was born. Believe it is a King custom. The finish was all gone when I got it so it was pretty cheap. Anyway, it is the most accurate handgun I own and have ever shot. Second is a Ruger Redhawk in 44 mag.

[geargnasher]

Just fit of parts. A 1911 can go with a revolver all the way if built right. Most are close range for defense and must work if full of sand or mud. Most nines I have shot are sad but have shot old WWII German pistols that I could poke out your eye at 50 yards.
Today it takes a house payment or two to get an accurate pistol that it can exceed a revolver.
It is the market and what is sold. If accuracy is demanded, guns would be made better.
So many want short barrel revolvers in huge calibers or a 7 yard pistol that gun makers will not make what works.
Shooters are what is ruining accuracy.

Yes, fit of parts, particularly of cartridge in chamber. Close fit and straight alignment of cartridge with barrel centerline is easier to accomplish with a long, almost straight shape that is installed by hand than it is with a short, pudgy shape that must bang through a feeding mechanism to self-load.

This is why the .38 Automatic is so much more "inherently accurate" than the .45 ACP: The tolerance stack within the chamber adds up to comparatively fewer degrees of misalignment due to the length and diameter of the .38. It's all about tolerances and the ease with which very close ones are achieved with a given system.

Gear

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I love to make 'general' statements !

IMHO...It's the trigger.
'generally' the average guy has less trigger discipline, the nice light trigger of a DA revolver is surely more forgiving to that average guy, than most semi-auto guns 'out of the box'.

[trapper9260]

Could also be the mindset... Magazine wth 15-17 rounds or 6 that you have to make count. I sometimes find myself saying I will get it with the next one when shooting skeets on the birm with my glock.
I have a Colt Series 70 1911 that was worked over more than likely before I was born. Believe it is a King custom. The finish was all gone when I got it so it was pretty cheap. Anyway, it is the most accurate handgun I own and have ever shot. Second is a Ruger Redhawk in 44 mag.

I say you are right about the number of rounds from 16 to 6 .For the mindset.I have seen some that want more ammo in a gun then try to see if they can make it with just make each round count.The way it looks to me there is too many that is trigger happy.It happeneds alot here during deer season with shotgun.I know someone that runs a locker and said see too many deer show up shot up and not much meat left.

[MT Gianni]

Could it be the grip? Are you too tight or loose or inconsistent with an autoloader?

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I thought about accuracy with both that I shoot. For me it is sight radius, I am more accurate with the 6" revolvers, then the 5" automatics, the the 4" automatics with short autos and revolvers running about the same. (No 4" revolvers)

[fecmech]

Box stock revolvers beat stock auto's hands down for accuracy. Auto's can be made to be accurate but it costs big time. Most revolvers such as Ruger, S&W and Colt will easily do 2"@25 yds. Most stock auto's are 3+"@25 yds. There are obviously exceptions but you won't see too many centerfire auto's on a silhouette line.

[smokesahoy]

Cz75 is the most accurate I ever shot.

I'm terrible with glocks though, been thinking of switching em out.

I once was bragging about my makarov, set a can out at the 50 yard rifle hill and hit it the first time. I should have quit right then though as it was pure luck and I missed every other shot lol

[Jack Stanley]

I agree with the guys that say how the gun fits you . I've seen all manner of handguns shoot well , some of them take a lot of practice and some a lot of money and some take a lot of both . Smith&Wesson has been in my gun locker for a long time . That one feels natural but then it's seen a lot of ammo through it . Shooting it single action is way different to me that a single action revolver such as a Ruger . I'm sure lock time and grip shape have as much to do with it as practice does .

Perhaps if I practiced with an auto as long as I've shot that revolver I'd think different .

Jack

[MtGun44]

"Truthfully I cant say why but I can shoot all day with 9mm 40 sw and 45 acp lead
or jacketed and be lucky to hit a sheet of paper standing at 20 yards more than 50%
of the time."

Something wrong with ammo, guns or shooter. I can reliably shoot 1.5 inch groups
at 25 yds with a number of different 1911s.

Bill

[str8shot426]

Just fit of parts. A 1911 can go with a revolver all the way if built right. Most are close range for defense and must work if full of sand or mud. Most nines I have shot are sad but have shot old WWII German pistols that I could poke out your eye at 50 yards.
Today it takes a house payment or two to get an accurate pistol that it can exceed a revolver.
It is the market and what is sold. If accuracy is demanded, guns would be made better.
So many want short barrel revolvers in huge calibers or a 7 yard pistol that gun makers will not make what works.
Shooters are what is ruining accuracy.

Agreed....Well Said.

[whisler]

I think it has a lot to do with what you like and what fits you (which is usually why you like it). I like the way S&W revolvers and Ruger revolvers feel in my hand and so i shoot them better. Then there is the 1911. I like the way it fits my hand and do pretty well with it. Put a Glock in my hand and unless I am very deliberate, the target is quite safe. I hate the way a Glock fits in my hand. My wife can shoot my Smith revolver well but any auto gives her trouble, just too much motion going on.

[youngda9]

Sights on a revolver are attached to the barrel. The barrel doesn't disengage and then try to re-align back to the sights with each and every shot.

[jonp]

A revolver just looks "right"

[Petrol & Powder]

OK, here goes -

I have some semi-auto pistols AND some revolvers that I can shoot better than others. I can't say that one system is better than the other but there are differences.
Some revolvers that are set up correctly and matched with the right load are incredible shooting machines! I personally believe that revolvers are a bit more difficult to "dial in", so to speak, but can be very rewarding when that ideal combination is found.

Pistols have their own set of challenges. The fact that the chamber is integral with the barrel helps to eliminate that variable but then you add all of the other moving parts to the system. A certain amount of tolerance is necessary for proper functioning but excessive clearances will degrade accuracy. So it's a balancing act; function v. accuracy. Most of my pistols can deliver more accuracy than I can take advantage of.

And then we have the rimfire situation.......
I have seen some .22 rimfire revolvers that shot very well.... but only a few. I'm going make some people mad here so let me say again that, some, not all, .22 revolvers are outstanding guns. I think the odds of getting an accurate .22 pistol are better than the odds of getting an accurate .22 revolver. A lot depends on the quality of ammunition and .22 rimfire weapons seem to be hyper sensitive to ammunition types and sometimes even ammunition lots. Overall, it's been my experience that a Ruger Mark II or S&W Model 41 will out-shoot the typical .22 rimfire revolver. Not always - but most of the time. YMMV.

[Cherokee]

My opion is: trigger control is the main difference. Sight pic and grip are important but are thrown out the window by poor trigger control.

[Shiloh]

I love guns.

Wheel guns are lots of fun.

SHiloh

[10mmShooter]

wheels guns rule......don't get me wrong I love my Sig but, but revolvers are the best :)

[DeanWinchester]

It's just the person, not the firearm [necessarily]. I can't hit the side of a tour bus @ 5 paces with 99% of the revolvers I have owned/fired. My Glock 19 w/ Lone Wolf SS barrel will make nice 2" (15) round clusters all day long.

[rhead]

In my experience it is easier to learn to shoot a revolver than it is to learn to shoot a semi auto.

There are differences in the grip required to shoot a revolver well are different from shooting a semi auto well.

Fit and balance for YOU is the most important part.

A single individual that can shoot both revolvers and semi autos truly well is a rare and accomplished individual.

How many 300 plus hitters in baseball are also scratch golfers? (they have an even greater difference in grip).

This has been my experience with handguns. what someone else experiences may be different.

[kweidner]

.....Not sure I agree. If you spend enough time learning the weapon either are accurate. Not every revolver I ever owned was a tack driver. Nor was every pistol. I can switch easily between the two and fire each well to 100yds. My 1911 and 3 of my magnum revolvers get shot at that distance regularly. The 1911 because it's fun and the revolvers because thats what I hunt with. It really has to do with time spent with the weapon platform. I hunt therefore I use revolvers most of the time. I regularly shoot golfballs out to 40yds with my SW mp9c. I have spent a bunch of time with it though. PROPER practice with both platforms will get you there if your gun and ammo are tuned correctly.

[mikeym1a]

I have an auto ordnance .45acp that is quite accurate. I've never needed to shoot paper with it. Tin cans falling over are good enough for me. I can also hit the 100yd torso silhouette with regularity, as long as I don't rush. It has always been more accurate than I can shoot. My S&W 1st model hand ejector is also very accurate, in spite of the poor sights. My handloads pretty make the sights irrelevant, as the POA and POI are quite different than with factory loads. But, I can still hit the 100yd silhouette regularly with it, as long as I do my part. My most accurate gun is a CZ-52. I was impressed with its accuracy the very first time I shot it. It's like I could drive nails with it. My old Iver Johnson in .38S&W is quite another story. I think the sights are there just for looks. I think the difference is that some people just feel more comfortable with a revolver than a semi-auto. I perfer the Semi, but, a revolver will do in a pinch. Either is better than a stick. mikey

[JimA]

Put a Glock in my hand and unless I am very deliberate, the target is quite safe. I hate the way a Glock fits in my hand.

It's the same for me. How in heck G. Glock came up with that awful grip angle and 2x4 feel are a mystery. I have only one, a Glock 20 sf and it is all I want to have.
I have FNs, Kahrs, XDms and XDs, S&W M&P and Ruger SR pistols and all have good feeling grips. The grip angle on all of these is much like my 1911's and that is a great thing.