Women's First Handgun Purchase

Chapter Five - Revolver vs Semi-Automatic Pistol, Part 2

Book Title:  Women's Guide to Buying Your First Handgun Series:  Firearm/Pistol For Life Series Author:  Ruperto Elpusan Jr. Be sure to look for ISBN #0-9772088-3-4 at Amazon, Powells and other fine online retail bookstores.

Chapter Five:  Revolver Versus Semi-Automatic Pistol, Part 2  

9.  How easy is the gun to obtain parts and service for?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

Durability and Reliability

Durability and reliability depend on the maker and gun model. 

However, although there are extremely durable and reliable semi-automatic pistol models, revolvers tend to have the edge especially with regard to the casual user.  This is generally a debatable subject and responses will vary depending on which gun expert you speak with.

The view here is that semi-automatic pistols are more complex as a mechanical device than are revolvers.   There are a lot more parts and there are springs that can easily diminish in tension with age and use.  No doubt that a well-maintained mechanical gun will serve its owner well and perhaps even result in superior performance in some cases, but for the casual user who has neither time nor inclination to maintain the gun, durability and reliability can be problematic.

It should be emphasized that durability and reliability are dependent also on the owner.  With revolvers, this is less true.  So, in the case of the casual user/owner, revolver can make more sense, generally speaking.

Having said that, however, it should be pointed out that if the owner/user is willing to exercise some amount of maintenance, some semi-automatic pistol models might make better sense, if other considerations merit it.  In the case of some gun models, only a small amount of additional care can make the semi-automatic pistol a better choice.

Maintainability

Maintainability is related to durability and reliability.  It is the attribute of the gun on how easy it is to keep in proper operating condition.

The handgun needs to occasionally be field stripped in order to clean and lubricate it.  Some guns are easy to field strip, some are difficult.  Some guns you can take apart in one minute and spend forever trying to put it together again.  This is an issue of maintainability.

It is recommended that you clean your gun after each use, but some guns are more flexible and will let you get away without cleaning after many hundreds of rounds.  With other guns, you’d better forget thinking about getting away without cleaning after each and every use.

Some semi-automatic pistols are designed for better maintainability than others.  Don’t forget that there are more parts to a semi-automatic pistol than a revolver.  For each cleaning, you pretty much have to remove the slide from the receiver of a semi-automatic pistol, which for some people can be an adventure.  With revolvers, it’s easy enough to open the cylinder and clean the insides.

So, as a general rule, revolvers tend to have better maintainability than semi-automatic pistols.

Again, keep in mind that even some casual users don’t mind investing a little more maintenance time in order to enjoy other benefits of a semi-automatic pistol.  So, we’re not trying to jump on any anti semi-automatic bandwagon here.

Continued on Part 3

Ch 1 - Introduction | Ch 2 - Why Handguns | Ch 3 - Why Many Handguns Aren't Right | Ch 4 - What to Look for in Handguns | Ch 5 - Revolver vs Semi-Automatic Pistol | Ch 6 - Revolver Choices | Ch 7 - Semi-Automatic Choices | Ch 8 - Used or New | Ch 9 - Internet or Local | Ch 10 - Why Practice is Important