It’s probably a foregone conclusion that semi-automatic pistols are a superior design to revolvers (for the most part). It is the reason the the majority of the handgun’s sold are semi-auto. But, that doesn’t mean that revolvers don’t have a niche. The one area revolvers actually accel is in the cartridge selection for performance.

First we start with handgun versus rifle. Generally speaking, the rifle is always the more effective tool. So, a handgun is a compromise. We carry a handgun when carrying a rifle is not practical. If we are going to have any tool, then we have to understand the purpose of the tool.

An example of purpose is self defense. Fishing in the Alaska back country has a different set of potential risks than walking the dog at night. Revolvers are significantly stronger and fire cartridges that are higher pressure and have better terminal performance. This is a long way of saying revolvers can fire more potent cartridges which work better for hunting and stopping larger animals,

Semi-Automatic pistols are easier to shoot because the barrel and therefore the recoil is more in line with the hand and the arm. This means that the propensity of muzzle flip and controllability for follow up shots are easier. The design of the revolver lends itself to more muzzle flip.

In the picture above, I have illustrated the recoil force directly opposite to the path of a bullet. The design of the grip actually leads to a fulcrum effect, potentially causing the whole firearm to flip. This requires a firm grip and wrist to hold things in place. There are some other potential factors to control as well that I will talk about.

It is worth pointing out that different revolvers have different grip designs and overall positions. The one pictured above has probably the most exaggerated design for muzzle flip that I will talk about below. The higher the barrel is to the grip, the more likely control could be a problem.

One of the variables is cartridge. Light loads is translated to lighter bullets and lower velocities. You will remember from a few weeks ago that Energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity * velocity that I talked about. This also happens to be be Newton’s second law. Since we are talking about Newton, his third law paraphrases in recoil will be the same in opposite direction.

Recoil is a somewhat complicated and subjective subject. There are the physics of actual recoil and the perception of felt recoil. One of the known factors of felt recoil is the overall mass of the firearm helps the user ‘feel’ less recoil. I suspect that this is because true recoil is not exactly linear but conical. It is widely held that lighter revolvers are more punishing to shoot. I can say that the aluminum alloy .38 special is much more punishing than shooting out of a full size steel pistol.

It is not just the material the firearm is made of that adds mass but also the size. Standard revolvers are 2″, 3″, 4″, 5″ and 6″ barrels with 2, 4 and 6 being the most prevalent. This adds to more mass but the control is a little counter intuitive until you look at the lever again. The longer the barrel the more leverage on the fulcrum. So, when firing powerful cartridges, a shorter barrel is easier to control because there is less perceived recoil for a couple of factors.

Going back to the compromise again and barrel length. Factory cartridges are loaded to function in all scenarios (and devices). When you look at handgun cartridges, the longer the barrel, the more chance that the entire powder charge is consumed. The more powder consumed, the more velocity is created and that squares the energy calculation causing more recoil. Not only does the energy increase, but so does the leverage on the fulcrum. This is another way of saying that perceived recoil is compounded with longer barrels.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t write this to scare you or dissuade you from selecting or carrying the best tool but rather to explain the phenomenon of recoil. The good news is that you can practice with lighter loads, which help a lot. Practice will help tremendously with mastery and confidence. Those two properties will make you much more likely to have it with you and mitigate risks in the back country. Don’t forget, something that can stop a bear can also stop a bad guy too.