First handgun a revolver?

[smiley69_300]

First handgun a revolver? *update bought one*

I posted a while ago about buying my first gun. I have talked to my brother-in-law who is a LEO. He said thah he thinks a revolver would be a good first gun. The wife and I are going to a gun show in Salem, IN tommorrow. Just wondering ifyou guys had any ideas on revolvers?

*Have an update. We went to the gun show in Salem, Indiana. We bought a brand new Taurus .357. I loved the way it felt in my hands. I am so pumped I cant wait to go shoot it tommorrow.*

 

[Joe in FWA]

My first handgun was a Ruger GP100. I think it was a good choice for me. I still have it and still enjoy shooting it...

 

[dailylc]

My fist was a S/W 38 special. My wifes was a Lady Smith. Great little guns for us.

James

 

[SamW]

Nothing wrong with a revolver. I will say for me personally, I only shoot large caliber revolvers (.44+) for anything else, I prefer the capacity of a semi.

It's hard to beat the versatility, capacity, and reduced recoil of a 9mm semi.

 

[jpo117]

The first gun I ever shot was a Smith and Wesson revolver. It was part of an NRA class and the instructor wanted us to work with the simplest tool possible. If I had the money to spare I'd have bought a revolver for my first handgun, but with money being tight and the holidays coming up I went with a cheap, fun semi-auto plinker for my first handgun. No regrets, but I look forward to picking up a nice revolver after Christmas.

 

[Steve]

New shooter? I ALWAYS recommend revolver. Simple mechanics and always goes BOOM. No safetys to deal with, no decocker, no tricky slide, no magazines that might fail to feed. Just open the cyclinder, put the bullets in the holes in the cyclinder, close the cyclinder, aim, and pull the trigger. Simple.

You will be busy enough leaning and praticing the basics of proper gun handling to be concered about the mechanics of an auto. Once you are comfortable with the revolver and feel you are ready to move to an auto, the many auto choices won't intimidate you so much.

One other thing. Spend a little $ and buy something used (not abused) that fits your hand and feels "natural". Buy a quility gun and you'll never regret it. Buy a cheap gun because the "price was right" and you'll never enjoy it.

Oh, one last thing...............PRATICE, PRATICE, PRATICE!! It makes all the difference.

to a whole new world. You're gonna love it.

 

[smiley69_300]

New shooter? I ALWAYS recommend revolver. Simple mechanics and always goes BOOM. No safetys to deal with, no decocker, no tricky slide, no magazines that might fail to feed. Just open the cyclinder, put the bullets in the holes in the cyclinder, close the cyclinder, aim, and pull the trigger. Simple.

You will be busy enough leaning and praticing the basics of proper gun handling to be concered about the mechanics of an auto. Once you are comfortable with the revolver and feel you are ready to move to an auto, the many auto choices won't intimidate you so much.

One other thing. Spend a little $ and buy something used (not abused) that fits your hand and feels "natural". Buy a quility gun and you'll never regret it. Buy a cheap gun because the "price was right" and you'll never enjoy it.

Oh, one last thing...............PRATICE, PRATICE, PRATICE!! It makes all the difference.

to a whole new world. You're gonna love it.

Thanks that is very useful. I cant wait to get it and start shooting. Just sucks that we wait until winter to buy one lol. I hate cold weather but I will def still shoot it.

 

[smiley69_300]

Thanks everyone keep them coming. I am always up for suggestions and to listen to experienced people. But another question. Is revolvers a lot more expensive than autos?

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I agree that a revlver makes, a good first gun for some people. Especialy women who may not have the strength, to rack the slide of an auto. Very important for clearing malfunctions. Also do you plan on carrying it, or will it just be a home defense gun? If you plan on carrying, I would reccomend a .38 caliber snub nose. Small enough to stick in a pocket, or in your wifes purse. If you are just going to use it for home defense. I reccomend getting a .357 magun caliber. By doing this, you can also fire the lighter load .38 cailber rounds. I would reccomend getting something in a 4" barrel. There are a lot of good brands out there. If you have the money, I would deffently buy new. I would reccomend going with a Taurus. They are a great bang for the buck. Also they come with a key, so you can lock the hammer. If you have kids, or you are not going to be home etc. Just a heads up, you can not take it to the range without a carry permit. Do not want to see anyone get in trouble. Get familiar with it, practice as much as you can. Hope that helps you.

 

[kludge]

Depends.

What will it be used for?

If you pick something like a Glock or XD or M&P, I find it hard to say that a revolver is "simpler to operate". The semi reloads faster and (most times) has higher capacity to boot.

Most new shooters will shoot a semi-auto more accurately sooner than those who want to use a double-action revolver, due to the easier-to-master trigger on most semi autos.

Learning the difference in operation is pretty much moot:

Revolver vs. Semi-Auto
Open cylinder = Remove magazine
Eject spent cases = N/A
Load cylinder = Load magazine (skip if you have another loaded magazine)
Close cylinder = Insert magazine
N/A = Rack Slide
Aim = Aim
Pull trigger = Pull trigger

Revolver jams = use gun as rock or club
Semi-auto jams = tap rack bang

Buy a good gun and good ammo and don't worry about malfuntions.

 

[Steve]

PM sent.

 

[smiley69_300]

Mainly for home defense. But we own a camper on a river lot. We do a lot of camping during the summer. I will def be carrying it there on the weekends.

 

[Leadeye]

Tough to beat a GP-100, 38-357 easy cartridges to reload, and with a revolver the brass does not get lost.

 

[wtfd661]

My first gun was a Ruger SP101 .357 mag. Fantastic gun.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Mainly for home defense. But we own a camper on a river lot. We do a lot of camping during the summer. I will def be carrying it there on the weekends.

Then I would go with a 4" .357 magnum caliber, personaly. Just make sure to get your permit . Just to add, what the previous poster said. Revolvers are double action. Meaning when you pull the trigger. It first cocks the hammer, then releases the hammer. So it's doing two actions. Hence it's a double action handgun. Unless you cock the hammer manualy before firing. Reason for this, is because revolvers have no safeties like autos. All you have to do is pull the trigger. In other words it's always ready to go. No worry about having to release a safety, in a SD situation. Though some autos have a trigger safety only, but you have less trigger pull then a revolver with the hammer down. However the trigger pull, is not so much where it will take you a lifetime to pull the trigger. It all comes down to practice. Yes you loose on capacity, and reload speed. Unless you practice with speed loaders. However you have less moving parts, which usualy means less likely to fail compared to an auto. If you have a round that does not fire, the cyclinder will still rotate. With an auto, you have higher capacity. Guns such as the Glock, and M&P have a trigger safety. Which means no worries about having to release a safety. However more working parts, means better chance of failure. Not saying that anything mechanical wont fail. Still the less amount parts, the less chance of it happening. Also if you have a malfunction with an auto, you have a procedure to follow. Which is tap the baseplate of the mag, then rack a new round. Or if you have one with a manual safety. It would be slap, flip, then rack. Revolvers, are a simpler design. That's why I reccomend one, until you feel comfortable enough for an auto!

 

[smiley69_300]

Thanks Patriot. That all makes a lot of sense. Cause right now I want simple until I learn the basics.

 

[Mrmonte]

Thanks Patriot. That all makes a lot of sense. Cause right now I want simple until I learn the basics.

After you learn the basics, you might find that revolvers are what you really like to shoot! I wouldnt look at them as just a training aids to prep you for a semi-auto. Besides, once you learn to shoot your revolver, you wont need 17 rounds to hit what your aiming at. (dont flame me, im kidding about that last part)

 

[smiley69_300]

No I know. I am def not gonna buy one til I find one that is comfortable to me. I bet I could hit my target within my first 4 shots!! lol I like bein cocky but that is def a joke.

 

[bulldog]

Revolvers are great guns.You won't be disappointed.I have several and they always do their job. Besides working great they just look better.

 

[Bisley Man]

I've had glocks, Bereta's in 9 and 40, as well as 2 1911,s I'd rather have a revolver.I just shoot them better. Any S&W, Ruger .357 will serve you well. Remember,with an auto, you SHOULD have5-6 magazines total, IMO(NOT TO CARRY ALL AT ONCE). With a REVOLVER, you have what you need