The gentleman in the linked video is extremely knowledgeable. His emphasis on "limitations" should have been heard by everyone. He's one of few gun entertainers who has actual knowledge. My guess is he's or was a cop.
An enduring myth of revolvers is reliability. Revolver have more parts and more moving parts than semis. I've experienced 3 catastrophic failures with S&W revolvers. Thank God, all three were during training. I've never experienced a failure with excellent quality semis. When a revolver fails, it's almost always catastrophic, meaning it becomes a throwing weapon. In very rare circs where a semi might fail, it almost always can be remedied within seconds.
A double action revolver is of complex design. A semi is of simplistic design.
I have great affinity for revolvers. I used to rely upon a Model 60. Technology has vastly improved and dirt bags have become more viciously dirty.
The gentleman in the video was 100% correct. The FBI load in a Model 60 is difficult to control.
I refer to my Model 60 as a neck and up gun. It was my last prayer of remaining vertical if a bad guy would have had intentions of altering my geometry. At the distance of 90+% of gunfights, (under 10'), the probability of taking a bad guy's rounds wouldn't be encouraging for a good guy. Five rounds could be a fatal limitation if a good guy were confronted by more than one marauder. A revolver takes too long to reload, add many seconds to revolover reloading if under stress, and, worse, it requires a good guy to take his eyes off of deadly threat's hands. Eyes must always remain on a bad guy's hands. Hands are the only parts of a bad guy's body that are capable of killing good guys.
I'll get to the essence of my opinion: I agree 100% with the gentleman in the video. He certainly was knowledgeable. All self-defense weapons are personal preference. However, revolvers have too many potentially fatal limitations. Exacerbating revolver limitations is the unknown variable: the bad guy. Worsening the exacerbating factor is the high probability of confronting more than one bag guy. One good guy vs. one bad guy equals bad odds for the good guy.
I'm old school in many ways yet thriving in our digital era. Since I have a whole lotta fish yet to catch, I have a pronounced desire to remain vertical. I do appreciate a beautiful revolver. For my criteria, for bipedal and mean critter self-defense, an excellent quality semi has any revolver whipped.
I know that lightweight semis are all the rage in concealable handguns. However, as the gentleman in the video explained, there are concessions (trade-offs) with lightweight handguns. An armorer (He's a retired cop working a second gig.) at the law enforcement agency from which I'm honorably retired inspected by Springfield Armory EMP 3 9MM. Retired cops must have their handguns inspected every five years before renewing their honorable retirement credentials. He told me that my EMP 3 was heavy compared to his lightweight Sig 9MM. I explained to him that my EMP 3's weight (I believe it weighs about 23 ounces) was an enhancement. I can rapid fire it without its muzzle leaving sight picture. I can't do that with my Model 60 firing the FBI load. I doubted whether the armorer could with his featherweight Sig 9MM. Hence, ballast has tactical advantage, within reason, of course. If weight weren't an issue, I'd urban carry my Springfield Armory TRP .45 Auto.
I'll forever adhere to the two Golden Rules of gun fighting:
1. The only known way of surviving gun fights is to avoid them
2. If Rule One ain't an option, don't get shot
The Silver Rule of Gun Fighting:
It's better to be a live witness than a dead hero.
Of course, the Silver Rule doesn't apply if your kids' lives were in peril. We'd all die to assure our kids' (and other loved ones') survival. It's paternal, not heroic.
And only US quarters.
