8
by Oldschool
I will defend revolvers.
Revolvers have some good advantages at times. Not for all occasions, but good for some.
It depends a lot on the shooter, but for a fairly inexperienced shooters, especially if they will not practice with regularity it makes sense.
Anyone without instructions can load and fire a revolver. A loaded revolver has no springs under tension, no manual safety or slide release to figure out and the manual of arms is simple, pull the trigger, if it doesn't go bang, pull the trigger again.
No FTF drills, how to clear double feeds, keeping fingers from behind the slide, nothing. Just keep pulling the trigger. That long heavy double action trigger is not good for speed competitions, but great for not having accidental discharges under stress. When I see that person who just wants to get a gun for protection and will never practice, I recommend a revolver with a laser on it. Most idiot proof, stress proof solution I know.
I carried S&W 38 revolvers, 1911s and the 9mm Beretta while in the service. A 4" revolver is a solid weapon. Easy to shoot, easy malfunction drills, a little harder to be accurate, but harder to reload than a semi-automatic.
The automatics on the other hand worked well as long as clean, oiled and you didn't do anything stupid like hold down the slide stop with your grip or rub the slide with your thumb causing a short stroke.
In fairness I own dozens of pistols and only a few are revolvers, but my wife carries one every day, and I can compete with a revolver against my friends autos when I want a challenge and do well.
Second time I recommend revolvers is the ittle J-frames, especially the air weights are great carry guns. Get a Crimson Trace laser and head shots at 10yds are easy. Nothing in the 2" barrel range is any better and a lot of guns in the same class weight more than double and jam.
My wife's 432PD is less than 1lb loaded so it replaced the P239 in her purse. The snub noses are a great shape for a pocket holster, very comfortable for a big guy like me.