You are dead on. A few years ago several of my fellow officers were buying the 380 Rugers and other pistols for their backups. In the past couple of years many of those same officers have quietly replaced their little pistols with Ruger, S&W and Taurus revolvers. Several have come to me with questions since I am known to be a revolver fan and I carry a 70's era S&W Model 49 as my backup. I get a kick out of seeing a twenty-four year old officer who is very cocky and wants only the latest and greatest carrying a S&W Model 38 Airweight Bodyguard as his backup.
Think revolvers are "outdated" and gone for good? Or will they make a big comeback
Think revolvers are "outdated" and gone for good? Or will they make a big comeback
It's often said by most people, cop and civilian alike, that revolvers are "outdated" and are "a thing of the past" Most of these people don't realize that the Double Action Revolver Pistol and the Semi Automatic Pistol are not too far apart in terms of age. Furthermore, many of these same people will respond by saying "well we have high capacity guns now" not realizing also that high capacity guns have been around since 1935 with the Browning Hi Power (and it didn't even have any kind of market in the US until the 1950s and didn't gain any kind of real following until the 1980s). They'll then say "well criminals are better armed now" forgetting that criminals have been armed to the teeth in the past with gangsters like John Dillinger, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow and mobsters with Al Capone and other mafia thugs armed with BARs, Tommy Guns and 1911 pistols. Much more than I can say for the average crackhead of today.
All things considered, nothing has REALLY changed in terms of weapons technological effectiveness (although bullet designs have in some ways improved....but then the "old school" FBI Load in .38 Special still reigns king compared to "modern" .38 hollowpoint bullets). The only thing, as I see it, that has really changed is the culture. This mindset of "more means better" and that the style needs to look "new" and we take our model off of what we see and experience in movies and television. If an idea is over 20 years old, it's "outdated". Doesn't matter if it's right, just that it's "old".
Well, one day the world I think will swing back the other way and realize that speed kills, old people are wiser, history has more to teach than we think and revolvers means Six for Sure and the polymer semi-automatic fad will die out or at least retract into moderation.
It's often said by most people, cop and civilian alike, that revolvers are "outdated" and are "a thing of the past" Most of these people don't realize that the Double Action Revolver Pistol and the Semi Automatic Pistol are not too far apart in terms of age. Furthermore, many of these same people will respond by saying "well we have high capacity guns now" not realizing also that high capacity guns have been around since 1935 with the Browning Hi Power (and it didn't even have any kind of market in the US until the 1950s and didn't gain any kind of real following until the 1980s). They'll then say "well criminals are better armed now" forgetting that criminals have been armed to the teeth in the past with gangsters like John Dillinger, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow and mobsters with Al Capone and other mafia thugs armed with BARs, Tommy Guns and 1911 pistols. Much more than I can say for the average crackhead of today.
All things considered, nothing has REALLY changed in terms of weapons technological effectiveness (although bullet designs have in some ways improved....but then the "old school" FBI Load in .38 Special still reigns king compared to "modern" .38 hollowpoint bullets). The only thing, as I see it, that has really changed is the culture. This mindset of "more means better" and that the style needs to look "new" and we take our model off of what we see and experience in movies and television. If an idea is over 20 years old, it's "outdated". Doesn't matter if it's right, just that it's "old".
Well, one day the world I think will swing back the other way and realize that speed kills, old people are wiser, history has more to teach than we think and revolvers means Six for Sure and the polymer semi-automatic fad will die out or at least retract into moderation.
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While I don't disagree with you (being a fan of revolvers and therefore considered to be one of my department's eccentrics) the revolver is gone as the primary sidearm for officers. My department last authorized revolvers as a primary in 2004. The policy was changed at that time. We haven't had an officer carry a revolver as a primary since the mid-90's. He retired in 98.Automatics are superior for military purposes and this won't change. As for police. If a selection is based on real experience rather than cop shows on TV, a revolver is definitely superior. Today's police seem to confuse their situation with what they see in the movies. A real need to fire more than six shots is extremely rare and a skilled person can reload about as fast with speedloaders as with a magazine.
An automatic, if well built, maintained, and used by a person with good training and experience is somewhat reliable. A cheap revolver, abused for years and cleaned every decade, is very reliable. Many police go for an entire career without ever drawing their guns except for qualification. Most departments have not seen a firefight lasting more than six shots per person and if someone cannot hit their target in six shots they probably can't do it in 12.
1 - 2 of 109 Posts
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