Revolver versus Pistol

There has been a lot of emotional debates and				hand from the weapon, which is not a preferred
some very unusual mis-information being bandied				thing to do when being shot at. Note that you
about lately regarding whether or not Victoria				HAVE to take your eyes off the threat to reload.
Police should convert to semi-automatic pistols.
				The immediate action of the revolver not firing is
This article is not going to attempt to justify				simply pulling the trigger.
whether or not Victoria Police should make the
change, as the fact of the matter is that Victoria				If you are not able to count your shots, which is
Police WILL convert to Pistols. Hopefully the				normal during combat, there is no indication that
change will not be delayed any longer than it has				the revolver is empty, meaning you can waste
to be to affect an appropriate training curriculum,				valuable seconds conducting the immediate action
and the selection of the appropriate pistol.				drill with no bullets.

In this article, my comparison of the pistol will				Pistol: Fine motor skills required to fire the
mainly focus on the Glock, as it is currently the				weapon, (drawing from the holster and pulling the
sidearm used by police in AFP, NSW, NT, QLD,				trigger). Fine motor skills required to reload,
TAS, WA, Australian Customs Service, and even				(master hand stays on weapon whilst thumb hits
some sections within Victoria Police already. There				magazine release, weak hand rips mag out and
are other versions of pistols in service with				drops, grabs new magazine and inserts, then rack
Australian Government organisations, but the				slide). No complex motor skills involved, and the
largest number by far is the Glock.				master hand stays on the weapon. With adequate
				training, the entire reload drill can be completed
Although I may refer to comments made by CC				without looking at the weapon.
Nixon, this is not a direct criticism of her, as a lot
of her comments are based on common				The immediate action of the pistol misfiring is
misconceptions about pistols. This is simply a				hitting the base of the magazine, racking the slide,
comparison of the two weapons systems as it				and then pulling the trigger, (if necessary).
relates to frontline Law Enforcement.
				If you are not able to count your shots, which is
My experience? I have trained with and used both				normal in combat, you know the pistol is empty
revolvers and pistols since 1991. I have carried a				when the slide locks to the rear, saving valuable
sidearm nearly every day since 1997, and have				time assessing your weapon’s status.
participated in numerous advanced training
courses with sidearms.				The main points here is that whilst the reloading
				of the revolver requires removing the master
I’m not an “expert”, but I do have				hand from the weapon, taking your eyes off of
relevant experience and qualifications with both				the threat, and the use of complex motor skills,
these weapon systems.				the pistol does not. Whilst the immediate action of
				the revolver is simpler than the pistol, the
				reloading problem, (and recognition), with the
History				revolver far outweighs the benefit of the IA drill.

Revolver: The technology behind the revolver is				Tactical reload
sometimes claimed to have been developed in the
1500’s. This is not quite accurate. The				The tactical reload is what I describe as needing
“revolver” developed at that time was a				to replace expended ammunition with fresh
single shot weapon only, which was also				ammunition, without having fired all your rounds.
sometimes referred to as a “pistol”.				Think of having fired a few rounds at a threat,
				and then taking cover. You still have rounds in
The revolver design of today, with a revolving				your weapon, but the threat is still not yet
cylinder containing ammunition firing through only				neutralised.
one barrel, has been attributed to Samuel Colt in
1836, which was when the patent was granted to				Revolver: The only way of successfully doing this
him for the design.				in a lethal threat environment is by conducting a
				full reload, which we have already shown requires
Pistol: Hiram Stevens Maxim, (the inventor of the				the use of complex motor skills, removing your
mousetrap), invented the recoil mechanism used				master hand from the weapon, and taking your
by today’s pistols sometime between 1883				eyes off the threat.
and 1885. Although he concentrated on developing
the Vickers Machine Gun, his technology is the				Pistol: The tactical reload for a pistol is again,
foundation for today’s pistol. Perhaps one of				exactly the same as a normal reload, which only
the most well-known pistols today, the Colt 1911,				requires fine motor skills, keeping your master
was created by John Browning in the late				hand on the weapon, and eyes on the threat.
1890’s with Maxim’s technology and the				There is also a round still in the chamber, and the
exact same pistol technology is still used				weapon can still be fired even if you have not had
successfully by Police and Military to this day.				the time to load a magazine.

Both the revolver and pistol were developed from				Ammunition Capacity
the original one-shot design of the 1500’s, and
the creation of both weapons was less than 50				Revolver: The current weapon used by Victoria
years apart in the 1800’s. When one				Police holds 6 shots, with extra ammunition carried
considers the historical instances of technological				in speedloaders of 6 shots each.
advancement prior to the 1900’s, a 50 year
gap is insignificant.				Pistol: Dependant on the type of Glock chosen.
				AFP, Tasmania and Australian Customs Service
				use 9mm Glocks that come with 17-round
Technology				magazines. The Glocks used by NSW, NT, QLD,
				& WA are .40 calibre weapons, that come
Which is less likely to jam? Which is safer for the				with 15-round magazines. Both systems enable a
user? A revolver or pistol? Let’s look at how				full magazine to be inserted, the weapon to be
they operate.				actioned / loaded, and the magazine then
				“topped up” with one more round,
Revolver: The revolver is a basic design, there is				meaning ammunition capacities of 18 rounds and
no doubting that. The precise alignment of firing				16 rounds respectively.
pin, bullet, and barrel, is all controlled by the trigger.
When you place pressure on the trigger, springs				The issue at hand should not be whether or not a
and levers pull the hammer back whilst a pawl				Police Force can be justified in carrying 18 / 16
pushes on a ratchet to rotate the cylinder				rounds in their weapons. The issue should be
containing the ammunition into place between the				whether the frontline staff require a better
firing pin and barrel. As long as the levers and				weapon system than currently in use. If the
springs do their job, then everything works				answer to that is yes, then the ammunition
perfectly. The problem is, due to the movement				capacity can be discussed afterwards.
of the cylinder, there needs to be a certain
amount of space between the frame of the				However, current thinking of some Police
revolver and the cylinder. It is relatively easy for				Managers is that Police do not need that much
dirt and grit to get into that space which could				ammunition, and that is a reason not to consider a
affect the precise alignment required to fire a				pistol. I disagree. Even with current firearms laws
round. Additionally, the trigger does not need to				in Australia, there have been incidents this year
be depressed to action the revolver. The hammer				alone of criminals firing up to 40 shots at houses
itself can be pulled back, either intentionally or by				etc. If the criminals have access to
snagging on clothing etc when holstering, allowing				semi-automatic weapons, they then have the
objects to fall into the gap. This could possibly				ability to place a large number of rounds
prevent the hammer from hitting the firing pin,				downrange at Police.
causing a faulty weapon.
				But do the Police need to fire a large number of
Pistol: As stated previously, I will concentrate on				rounds in return?
the Glock pistol for this discussion. The Glock has
no hammer. All workings of the pistol are internal,				On August 3rd, 1998, Rod Ansell shot at two
and as such makes the system more protected				colleagues of mine, being Sgt Glen Huitson and
from the elements. The training of Australian				Senior Constable Jamie O’Brien. Ansell was
Police using the Glock system is to have the				hiding behind a concrete pipe. After Ansell shot a
weapon loaded when carrying it. This means there				member of the public, and fatally shot Sgt
is no action required to fire the weapon apart				Huitson, S/C O’Brien returned fire with his
from simply applying finger pressure to the				Remington 870 shotgun. He emptied the shotgun
trigger. The trigger itself has an integral safety				in Ansell’s direction which had the effect of
lever, meaning that nothing will activate the firing				keeping Ansell’s head down until S/C
pin until the “trigger safety” has pressure				O’Brien could position himself in a better
applied to it.				position of fire. He then used his Glock to shoot
				Ansell once he was in a position of advantage.
The cycling of the action is caused by the
weapon firing. The recoil forces the slide of the				I would bet vital parts of my anatomy that there
pistol straight back, which ejects the spent casing,				will come a time in the near future when a
and inserts the next round into the chamber. It is				Victoria Police Officer will be required to fire at a
a straight line action, utilising one spring and the				threat simply to prevent the threat firing back.
recoil of the weapon. This design has been used				This is called “cover fire”. Providing cover
by a number of weapon systems since the				fire with a 6-shot revolver is like throwing a
1890’s, with some of those weapons still				pebble at a moving truck in an effort to stop it. It
being used today by western Militaries and Police.				is not an effective method.

The main difference in simply firing a first shot				In 1995, two NSW Police Officers, being Senior
between a revolver and Glock pistol is that the				Constables Addison and Spears, were ambushed
pressure required to fire the revolver is more				and killed. The Coroner recommended “that
than required for the Glock, due to the pressure				the suitability of the present Police Service
required to rotate the cylinder into place. This				weapon be looked at and that urgent attention be
makes correct and continuous sight alignment				given to the supply and issue of a self-loading
much easier with the Glock than the pistol,				weapon with a magazine.”
especially on that important first shot.
				On the 19th of November 1995, the Honourable
There have been statements made that suggest				Elaine NILE quoted the NSW Police News of
that the Glock will fire when dropped onto the				August 1995 in the NSW Parliament stating,
ground. Well, Glock themselves have conducted
thousands of “drop-tests” over the years,				In the article Geoff Beresford put forward the
and not once has a Glock fired simply from being				argument against the Smith and Wesson revolver:
dropped onto the ground. A search on the				Some experts argued that semi-automatics
internet also fails to find any single proven incident				should not be made general issue as they
of this happening. The internal safety mechanism				jammed and the average police officer will not
of the Glock, combined with no hammer, makes it				maintain them. They also said that semi-auto's
physically impossible for a functioning Glock to fire				should only be available to specialist police, such as
until the trigger safety is depressed.				S.P.G. What they failed to tell us was that the
				semi-automatic pistol they used failed once after
Revolvers on the other hand, are more				firing over two thousand rounds without cleaning.
susceptible to fire if dropped, due to the fact that				Clearly their arguments were not based on
the hammer can be activated separately to the				objective facts.
trigger, and no safety mechanism blocks the				This was a test conducted in New South Wales.
hammer from hitting the firing pin.				Regardless of what is happening with the royal
				commission, members of the Police Service must
There have been incidents of Police shooting				be armed properly to protect themselves so that
themselves accidently when holstering the Glock.				they have confidence when they combat
That is a fact. The reason for this is having your				criminals. The police department owes it to them.
finger inside the trigger guard when holstering the
pistol. That is not a fault of the pistol, but of the				On the 18th of April 1996, Mr Paul Whelan, the
training regime provided to the Officer involved.				NSW Minister for Police, stated, “Reloading the
The exact same incident can happen to a person				old revolver is a clumsy process that has too
holstering the Victoria Police Smith & Wesson				often proved fatal.”
revolver, as it has no safety catch. Regardless of
what the weapon is....if you pull the trigger, it will				What about Walsh Street in 1988? Victoria Police
fire.				Officers Constable Tynan and Probationary
				Constable Eyre were murdered by up to 6
However, one important aspect that needs to be				criminals intent on killing them. Or 10 years later
recognised by users and trainers of the pistol is				when Victoria Police Officers Sergeant Silk and
that stoppages WILL occur with the pistol if the				Senior Constable Miller were murdered by 2
shooter does not keep a firm grip and straight				criminals? It is a proven fact that Victoria Police
wrist whilst firing. I have seen even experienced				Officers do not only encounter single criminals.
shooters having stoppages every single shot, due				When an Officer is faced with up to 6 criminals
to poor grip and loose wrists. This is not a				trying to kill him, do 6 shots really seem to be
“fault” of pistols, but merely a very simple				enough?
technique that needs to be recognised.
				Then we have the situation on 13th of May this
Motor Skills				year when Senior Constable David McHenry and
				Constable Adam McKenzie faced a criminal armed
A very quick explanation of “motor skills”:				with a semi-automatic pistol in Melbourne.
				Fortunately both those Officers survived.
Gross Motor skills – Large muscle groups:
Walking, running, etc.				So, does Victoria Police require a weapon that can
Fine motor skills – Can be defined as requiring				fire 16 or 18 shots before needing to be
use of fingers: Shooting.				reloaded? I hope not. But as the saying goes,
Complex Motor skills – Multiple muscle groups				“It is better to have something and not need
and hand-eye coordination: writing etc.				it, than need it and not have it.”

It is a simple fact that the stress of being shot at				Converting the sidearms used by Victoria Police to
or attacked by someone showing lethal intent will				semi-automatic pistols cannot happen overnight.
cause deterioration in complex motor skills first. If				The selection process for the appropriate weapon
the stress increases, then your fine motor skills				unfortunately takes time. The creation of an
will deteriorate next, and lastly your gross motor				appropriate training curriculum also takes time.
skills.				Most of this can happen concurrently however,
				and should be done so, so as to reduce the time
Revolver: Fine motor skills required to fire the				taken to equip the frontline of Victoria’s Thin
weapon, (drawing from the holster and pulling the				Blue Line with a much more effective OSTT tool.
trigger). Complex motor skills required to reload,
(opening cylinder, rotating forearm and hitting				Keep pushing for the conversion, but use logic,
ejection rod, looking at cylinder, inserting				not emotion. Use the system, do not fight it.
speedloader into cylinder and twisting, closing
cylinder). This also requires removing your master				Stay safe.

Custom Reloads

Revolver versus Pistol

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