The matter of revolvers

There is in the Greek chorus of Internet gun didacts a claim that revolvers are not reliable; usually this buttresses with too much enthusiasm, not enough fact, the idea that automatics are plenty reliable: why, they're really more reliable than revolvers!

Hmmm. Big hmmm. If you know how to do a preflight inspection on a revolver, and if you keep a small wire brush handy to deal with a few known problem areas where revolvers need to be kept fairly clean to work, the things are as reliable as doorknobs. Yes, sometimes doorknobs fail to work, but for reasons that are obvious matters of wear, parts breakage, or accumulated detritus (crud).

A revolver combines two simple mechanical principles, those of the ratchet and the trip hammer, and works via the mechanical energy supplied by the hand of the user, not the firing of the cartridge, so you can spot arising difficulties by inspection. With an automatic, you sometimes need to shoot the gun to see what is wrong.

The preflight inspection to tell if your revolver is going to work next time you try to shoot it is the same type of check-over recommended before you buy a used revolver. Here is a good example. I repeat this inspection every month or so on revolvers that I am using frequently.

That leaves the problem of low ammo capacity, compared to modern auto pistols. Many years ago, when more people in harm's way carried revolvers, two answers emerged as serviceable. Carrying more than one revolver was popular; the "New York reload" consisted of drawing a loaded spare revolver to take over from the one you just emptied. This practice also provided a backup gun, an idea still seen as useful in the era of the auto pistol. People going into circumstances of unusual hazard would sometimes carry three revolvers, but carrying two was more usual.

The best bit of advice, though, was to make sure your first shot was a hit. It was, and is, a stern dictum. It is something of a scary idea because instinct tells you, instead, to draw and blaze away. I think, though, that going against nature in the matter, if you can bring yourself to do it, gives you the best chance of prevailing whether your gun holds five shots or eighteen.