The safer handgun for home/self defense. The revolver or the pistol?

[krispos42]

7. Some handguns have built-in locks

A twist of a small Allen-wrench-like key will freeze the firing mechanism so the gun can't be used. You can find them on both revolvers and pistols. I believe Taurus has this on all or most their handguns.

Revolvers have the advantage of being able to see exactly what is loaded in the gun, and simply turning the gun upwards and whacking the ejection rod will completely unload the gun.

Of course, with semiautos simply ejecting the magazine and racking the slide until it locks back* will also completely unload the gun.

It's about practice and habit.

Revolvers are simpler to operate in times of stress, but typically only hold 6 rounds (5 to 6 are the most common, with 7&8 shots also available) and are slower to reload. They also don't generally have mounting rails for lasers and/flashlights.

Older-design semiautos have more levers and such to operate, which isn't really a big deal to learn but you have to learn it. In a crisis you don't want to forget something.

newer-design semiautos are revolver-simple in terms of controls and shooting, but there are still things you need to practice, such as unloading, loading, and malfunction clearance.



= note: some semiautos, particularly .22s, don't lock back on an empty magazine