Revolvers Never Fail Part 2 | Revolvers Still Fail

Back in 2021 I wrote an article titled “Revolvers Never Jam“, discussing the reliability issues I’d had with revolvers up to that point. Still today I often see people saying that revolvers never jam or experience malfunctions, and still today that simply isn’t true. While there are some situations where a revolver may be less prone to issues, or more easily able to return to operation, it’s easy to see that wheelguns still have their fair share of problems.

Over the past five years I’ve done a lot of revolver shooting, with a wide variety of makes and models. From classes to competition to concealed carry, revolvers are kind of my thing, but even I’m not immune to issues. Recently my revolvers seem to give me problem after problem, and rarely the same thing twice. With this in mind, let’s take another look at revolver reliability.

Revolvers and Their Reliability Issues

Unfortunately it seems like virtually no brand is free from problems, whether they be new or used guns. Even higher end brands who once used to be the standard for reliability have faltered, instead providing us with a more expensive option which still needs repairs or replacement.

Smith & Wesson

• 986 with an overclocked barrel, preventing the gun from being zeroed
  • This same gun also had issues with failures to fire across multiple brands of ammunition, including those recommended by the manufacturer and moon clip manufacturer
• 632 Ultimate Carry arrived with a burnt-out tritium vial in the front sight
• 351PD had the cylinder release latch screw loosen and fall out during carry, causing the cylinder release to also fall out. Gun had not been fired in months, with screws tightened after last range session.
• 1917 has a worn cylinder stop, allowing the cylinder to spin freely. The hand and ratchet is also worn, which causes certain chambers to fail to align with the bore when cycling.

Colt

• Python Combat Elite (new production) arrived with insufficient clearance between the forcing cone and barrel, resulting in binding of the action after just a few rounds. Also caused difficulty in opening and closing the action
• Viper (new production) experienced end shake after being fed a moderate diet of full power 357 Magnum loads, requiring repair to avoid destroying the gun.

Ruger

• GP100 Match Champion 10mm arrived new with many issues. Cylinder stop sticks in lower position allowing cylinder to rotate freely. Trigger intermittently fails to move rearward when pressed. Rounds intermittently fail to extract.
• Lipsey’s 327FED SP101 featured rough chambers resulting in extremely difficult extraction, often requiring the ejector rod to be pressed into a table to extract rounds

Taurus

• 856 Defender TORO ejector rod frequently sticks “open” when pressed, requiring pressing on the extractor star to return rod to “closed” position.
• 327 Defender TORO arrives with a rough forcing cone, which shaves bullets occasionally leading to tumbling projectiles on target and spalling being sent back toward the shooter. The yoke screw ejected itself from the gun prior to 300 rounds, resulting in the crane/yoke falling out of the gun.
• 327 had yoke screw fall out of gun under recoil, resulting in the yoke/crane falling out of the gun.

Comparing Revolver Reliability to Semiautomatic Handguns

How does the reliability of my revolvers compare to my semiautomatic handguns? Abysmal to say the least. Before we get into details, I will say that I will not be touching on the “abuse versus neglect” discussion that often comes up in the “revolvers versus semiautomatic” debate. That was already covered in the first article, which is linked in the introduction.

When it comes to review guns, I did have some fairly significant issues with the Beretta 80X Cheetah and the Avidity Arms PD10. I believe I could have resolved some of the 80X’s issues had I owned the pistol, but I was not interested in permanently modifying a gun that I did not own. However the Beretta PX4, ran without hiccup or hesitation.

Getting Personal

Over the past five years I cannot recall a single show-stopping malfunction that I’ve had with my personal guns. The closest I’ve come is a Savage 1917’s front sight partially detaching from the gun under recoil, along with Glock rear sights drifting and Glock front sights loosening under recoil on a few occasions each. In terms of mechanical reliability, my Glocks, 1911, Shield Plus have been effectively flawless. For the record, I am not counting ammunition based stoppages here, as I’ve had a fair number of those with my revolvers as well, but the guns are not to blame.

Ironically, my revolvers get much more care from me than my autoloaders. I know that revolvers are sensitive to fouling, and I do my best to keep them well maintained to improve their reliability. The autos on the other hand are typically well overdue for cleaning and lubrication, but run just fine.

Inside Thoughts

Initially I thought about titling this piece something like “I hate revolvers” for clickbait. Obviously I decided against that. I don’t hate revolvers, or at least I don’t right now. Unfortunately 2026 has given me problem after problem with many of my wheelguns, both new and old. During a particularly problematic IDPA match earlier this Summer, a squadmate asked me why I shoot revolver division. In short, I told him “I don’t know”, and when he asked if it was fun, I said “No.” The thought of divesting myself of many of my revolvers has popped into my head on more than one occasion.

When things are going right, I enjoy and appreciate my revolvers much more than my semiautos. Sadly things go wrong with much higher frequency with wheelguns. Yet I keep coming back for more.

Closing Thoughts on Revolver Reliability Part 2

I love revolvers. I do not love when people act like revolvers are the pinnacle of reliability or durability. There’s a reason why virtually every military and law enforcement agency has moved to the autoloader, and capacity isn’t what I’m talking about. If you treat your revolvers well, then they should treat you well. “Should” is the important part there, as the intricate lock work in a wheelgun is more susceptible to wear with use than many realize.

I’ll continue shooting and carrying revolvers and semiautos. Both have their place in this world, and provide users with unique strengths and weaknesses. It’s up to you to decide which suits you best.

Support My Work

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Writing isn’t my full-time profession, and nearly everything I do comes out of my own pocket. Between ammunition, tuition, range fees and more, expenses add up fast. If you like what I have to offer, consider making a donation to my Patreon.

Every bit helps bring more work like this to you, and contributes to shortened timelines or more in-depth work on my part. You’ll also have more direct access to me, offering suggestions for future projects, looking behind the scenes, and getting early access to some content. You can find my Patreon >>HERE<<