A while back someone I follow posted ‘Let’s give wheel guns some love.’
I posted back that ‘Wheel guns are more reliable for (reasons).’
I then was hit with more replies to that simple statement than I’d ever had to anything I could possibly post. The ‘reason’ I gave was…
— John Ringo SF Author (@Jringo1508) February 7, 2026
A while back, someone I follow posted, ‘Let’s give wheel guns some love.’ I posted back that ‘Wheel guns are more reliable for (reasons).’ I then was hit with more replies to that simple statement than I’d ever had to anything I could possibly post.
The ‘reason’ I gave was lambasted by Larry Correia and various others. In one case by a ‘former Delta’ it was lambasted as ‘Boomer fudd bullshit.’ I’ve recently been watching a bunch of police videos.
There is one particular pistol that in those videos, about half the time they fire it it jams. (Don’t recognize it, not real up on modern pistols.) I’ve seen multiple other jams from other types but if I saw that one I’d avoid it like the plague. (In one case the reason it was jamming was given as ‘the officer has a wounded hand so he cannot support the recoil well enough to stop the jamming.’ This in the middle of a very active firefight.
If your pistol won’t auto-load because you don’t have the perfect grip, it is NOT designed for combat. OTOH, saw that exact same model jam in multiple videos. So, I’m going with it jams alot.
You know what very rarely jams? Revolvers. Because they are inherently simpler.
Yes, much fewer rounds. They are much much simpler mechanisms. And what got me about ALL the replies, including Larry, was that these are people who have grown up in a very supportive ecosystem.
The fucking gun culture in the US is so advanced compared to my day it’s impossible to keep up with unless it’s a full time job. But the EXACT SAME PEOPLE always talk about ‘WTSHTF.’
You wanna know what’s going to be fucking working ten years after an apocalypse? Colt Python .357. Doesn’t matter if it was made in 1979. (That’s probably going to work better than one made today.)
Know what’s not going to be working? Your Super Omicron Uberpistolero 1000. That shit’s going to have broken down in a year, four at max, without support.
I know people who know people who do actual Third World merc shit. Kill people for fun and cash. They’ve all got the Super Omicron Uberpistolero 1000. (Along with all the Super Omicron long guns, etc.) They all carry a revolver as a backup. (They also test fire everything before a mission. Which is something to keep in mind WTSHTF.)
[And if you’re interested, Correia had thoughts about this here.]
While I am older and trained on revolvers, you certainly cannot say that they are simpler or have less parts. A Glock has about 33 parts, a K-frame S&W has 50 to 60 parts. Have you ever had to re-time a revolver that was out of time? It is not an easy task. Have you ever taken a Colt Police Positive Special apart and cleaned and oiled the mechanism? Are there simpler revolvers? Absolutely, Taurus has modified the S&W action with coil springs and Charter Arms operates using coil springs as well. But the latter two will not be as smooth or reliable as a quality Colt or S&W revolver. Today, if a semiautomatic pistol malfunctions it is either the shooter, the ammo and lastly the gun. Glocks, S&W M&P, FN, all should run flawlessly, if it is “jamming”, which in and of itself is not descriptive at all. Is if failing to load, or failing to extract or eject? Todays quality semiautos will not display the majority of these issues. That stated a properly maintained revolver should work flawlessly as well. When they don’t what are the reasons? usually it is a dirty action, this is not something that the average gun owner should attempt. Cleaning the action requires disassembling the revolver action and cleaning it and lightly oiling it. This should be done at the armorer or gunsmith level to insure safety and proper reassembly. I still carry a revolver on occasion. I don’t know what police videos you’ve been watching or from what country they are from. As stated earlier, todays service pistols in properly trained hands will run flawlwssly.
Well, yes, my 10-year old Ruger GP100 still runs flawlessly (as did my old Colt Python, which I have always regretted giving up), after 1,000s of rounds. Neither ever needed anything more than regular cleaning and lubrication. OTOH, I have a seven year old Glock 34 which has never so much as hiccupped (also 1,000s of rounds through it, with pretty much the same care as I give the revolvers). Have a friend with a WW II era Colt 1911. It has had some gunsmith work done (after 70+ years, I need an occasional tune-up, too), and a new barrel and trigger. Still runs great – and that’s not exactly a ‘modern’ semi-auto.
You are welcome to choose whatever pistol you like for your carry/self-defense needs – not my circus, not my monkey. Please extend the same courtesy to those of us who make different choices than you. And, for the record, “I’ve seen semi-autos jam in lots of videos”???? Not exactly compelling evidence. Could you tell, from these many videos, (i) whether the shooter was ‘limp-wristing’ the pistol?, (ii) how it had been maintained??, or (iii) when it had last been cleaned, or (iv) what ammunition the shooter was using (some modern semis are known for being ‘ammunition sensitive’)??? Even if you have, in fact, seen “lots of videos” of jamming semi-automatic pistols (that’s funny, ’cause I haven’t, and I watch LOTS of shooting videos), without the above information, that observation tells us exactly bupkus. I imagine even my GP100 or my old Python would act up if I were lazy about cleaning and oiling them.
If you choose a wheel gun as your primary carry/self-defense weapon, and you’re comfortable with it, then great. I prefer more rounds, and the faster reloads, afforded by a modern semi. As Mark Twain said, “It’s differences of opinion that make for horse races.”
As for a post-apocalyptic scenario?? Factor in that, after a while, you’ll be shooting whatever ammo you can scrounge, access to quality ammunition or even reloads will be a pipe dream, and even access to proper cleaning supplies will be iffy. Yeah, I imagine a modern semi would start hiccupping slightly sooner than a good wheel gun. And if you plan your daily carry around “If there is a TEOTWAWKI event, how reliable will my carry pistol be 10 years from now?”??? You may have other issues, just sayin’.
“I know people who know people who do actual Third World merc shit.”
Ahhhh… I found your problem with firearms knowledge. Writing fantasy fiction is your area after all.
In my experience, I find that people to use words like “boomer” and “fudd” generally lack the intellectual prowess to find their own ass using both hands…much less have very extensive knowledge of firearms.
With that said…my Ruger GP100, purchased new in 1992, has never had a stove pipe, a double feed, a failure to feed, or a failure to eject. Ever…period. It’s not my EDC, but after well over 30 years and unknown thousands of rounds, I have zero doubt in its reliability if that need should arise.
On a side note: SNW really needs to start checking the articles for actual intellectual value BEFORE allowing them to be published. Because this crap, was a complete waste of time and server space.
JimB,
I actually love wheelguns. My Ruger GP100 is my standard carry pistol when I’m in bear country and/or hunting, and it has functioned flawlessly for over a decade (and many hundreds, if not thousands, of rounds through it). OTOH, I bought (with some hesitation) a Kimber 1911. Kimbers are infamous for being picky about the ammo they will ‘eat’ without malfunction. And even that supposedly ‘picky’ semi has functioned flawlessly for 6 years, and many more hundreds of rounds than the GP100 – not a single FTF or ‘stovepipe’, and I’ve run a couple hundred rounds of cheap, shooting range reloads through it.
Carry whatever displaces your watercraft – if it works for you, that’s great. For carry purposes, and ‘immediate access’ home defense, I’ve opted for modern semi-auto pistols, mostly for number of round, and quickness of reloading. I make sure I’ve run at least a hundred rounds through a pistol before I will accept it as a carry or self-defense weapon; in the middle of a serious self-defense incident is no time to ‘test’ your pistol.
But self-defense is inherently personal, and the most important thing, IMNSHO, is that you are comfortable with your pistol, and able to consistently put rounds on target. Quantity of ammunition is a consideration, but I’d rather shoot a revolver that I am totally comfortable with than the latest whizzbang wondernine if it doesn’t fit my hand, or I’m not certain of its reliability. I’ll make my own choices, if that’s OK with you, and I don’t question anyone else’s choices unless they specifically ask my opinion, and even then I first ask, “Why did YOU choose this gun?”.
Being categorical about someone ELSE’s choice of a self-defense tool strikes me as the height of condescending arrogance. But you do you.