[achtung]

The only time I prefer a revolver is when I shoot the .44 Mag.

Otherwise I'll take a nice semi-auto pistol any day, especially the Colt Combat Commander (or any 1911 derivative really). The fascination with revolvers comes from people who've never used one, or those looking for style IMO.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I suppose revolvers COULD be a little better in nastier conditions.

[Mars]

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I don't like the way semis recoil as much.

[Nuke]

a few weeks ago i went duck hunting. we found some ducks, loaded the shotgun, and got ready. i took aim while my brother in law fired off a 22 rifle to startle them. so the ducks are flying away and i fire a shot off, i miss, so i changed ducks. there was one flying away in the direction my gun was pointing. so i fired again, knocked a duck out of the flock and into the bay. apparently i clipped his wing, but he was alive and swimming away. so i unload another 5 shots at him. they all hit, because i see little splashes all around the duck. the little ****er was still alive, despite being smack dab in the middle of the shot each time. hes still swimming away, so i swap guns, take the 22 and put a bullet through that duck's head. getting the duck's rittled corpse involved a newb golden retriever, a raft, and a 12 foot steel pole. for what that little 22 lacked in power, it certainly made up for in accuracy. the shotgun was kinda fun despite the duck's rapidly diminishing luck. that said id rather have a rifle or a shotgun than a pistol, id have never been able to pull off that 22 shot with a 9mm.

[Herra Tohtori]

a few weeks ago i went duck hunting. we found some ducks, loaded the shotgun, and got ready. i took aim while my brother in law fired off a 22 rifle to startle them. so the ducks are flying away and i fire a shot off, i miss, so i changed ducks. there was one flying away in the direction my gun was pointing. so i fired again, knocked a duck out of the flock and into the bay. apparently i clipped his wing, but he was alive and swimming away. so i unload another 5 shots at him. they all hit, because i see little splashes all around the duck. the little ****er was still alive, despite being smack dab in the middle of the shot each time. hes still swimming away, so i swap guns, take the 22 and put a bullet through that duck's head. getting the duck's rittled corpse involved a newb golden retriever, a raft, and a 12 foot steel pole. for what that little 22 lacked in power, it certainly made up for in accuracy. the shotgun was kinda fun despite the duck's rapidly diminishing luck. that said id rather have a rifle or a shotgun than a pistol, id have never been able to pull off that 22 shot with a 9mm.

...I am weak.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

You think that is bad when I was a kid me and my Dad were pheasant hunting.  Heard a bunch of shots coming from a field above where we were down in a valley.  Bird shot landing all around us.  Pheasant flys right over the top of my gun and I fired.  Dropped like a rock.  Pick it up, rung it's neck and went home.  Called my cousin to come get them (my Dad shot one earlier).  Pulled mine out of the pouch on my jacket and the thing takes off trying to fly into the shed.  I just closed the door.  My cousin comes to get them and it's laying there apparently as dead as can be.  He takes it home, goes to get it out of the car and it takes off and flies 2 blocks.  Luckily he was stopped from firing at it in the middle of town.  Anyway they found it.  Cooked the 2 birds.  Mine was so loaded with buckshot they couldn't eat it.  My dads had 2 pellets in it on in the heart and one in the head.  

[Dilmah G]

I've never fired a pistol.

Though at one stage I could fully disassemble an F88T Austeyr and yell "Check safe, mag out!" at the top of my lungs whilst carrying out said action on range.

[Scotty]

Revolvers
Pros:  
- As long as the parts are still there, it will cycle and drop the pin.  Whether the bullet goes off is its own decision.
- Apparently intuitive to aim.  My dad swears by it, but I can't feel it.
- Generally carries enough ammunition to get the job done.

Cons:
- Not as much ammo as automatics.
- Takes much longer to reload (even with quickloaders, the delay is agonizing).

Automatics
Pros:
- High rate of fire compared to revolvers
- Higher ammo capacity per magazine/clip
- Very easy and quick to reload

Cons:
- Less intuitive to aim
- Can and will jam just in time to mess you up bad.

Thinks I hear people say and have no idea how the concept entered their heads:
-Revolvers are more powerful.  They shoot the same bullets.  Fire a 9mm round out of an M9.  Now fire the same type of bullet out of some kind of revolver.  There is zero differnece in stopping power.  Yes, higher caliber revolvers are more common than higher caliber automatics, but both exist.
- All revolvers have six shots.  It varies between three (.40 Magnum/.410 shotgun revolver) and ten (.22 short).
- All automatics have higher recoil.  It depends on the caliber, size of barrel (length and width together), chamber seal, and the way the action cycles the weapon.

Conclusion:  Revolvers are more reliable, automatics are more useful in a pinch.

[Klaustrophobia]

the only projectile weapons i've fired are airsoft pistols and a 66" recurve bow.

[Bobboau]

I have a miniature crossbow, it's fun and a projectile weapon.

[Mars]

Thank you Scotty for a remarkably thorough comparison.

I have a miniature crossbow, it's fun and a projectile weapon.

They are, I've never actually fired at a target before (I don't want to destroy the bolts)

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Well as for the power thing yes you can get semi-autos up to a certain caliber and they tend to fire the same ammo.  However you can get revolver that actually take rifle rounds and .50 caliber or even higher.  If you ever watch a competition silhouette shoot I bet you don't see any semi-autos.  They would probably explode from the pressure.  

[headdie]

I'm british and will say that civilian ownership of guns is a bad thing and walk off

* headdie headdie walks off

[karajorma]

Because it's got six shots, more than enough to kill anything that moves,

What about 7 people?

Get them to stand in a line and see how many you can get with one bullet.

[StarSlayer]

There are options for quickly reloading revolvers.  Speed loaders being the most obvious.  Some weapons allow you to quickly swap the entire cylinder like the New Army 1858.  Granted you'll never match the amount of bullets you can carry with a magazine fed weapon, but if you're looking to use the weapon in a tactical sense you shouldn't be sitting there sliding bullets into the cylinder one at a time.

[iamzack]

guys, guns kill people :O

[Shade]

That's the thing I don't understand, I don't know why I like them better. I can find no logical reason.

I should think this is obvious. You've been watching too many Clint Eastwood movies - That'll make anyone into a revolver fanboy

As for what I prefer to shoot? None of the above. Tried pistols, revolvers, assault rifles (2 models, plus a shortened carabine version), machine guns (light & heavy), AT4s and 'recoilless' rifles when I was in the service, and I'd have to say that for general use, I'd pick an assault rifle any day. For mindless fun, though, nothing beats a heavy machine gun. (Except, I suspect, a minigun, but we didn't have those - Or a light machine gun with an ammo belt made up entirely of tracers... at night. Now that was a sight to see.)

[MR_T3D]

guys, guns kill people :O

no, I kill people

[Pred the Penguin]

I've fired an assault rifle before on semi-automatic...
definitely gave me a feel for how much I'd suck at shooting a pistol or revolver.
I guess I'll stick with paintballs for the time being.

[Kosh]

They do offer a much bigger punch, maybe that's got something to do with it.

What, you going with a Nitro-Express .600 or something? 'cuz I'll bet an M1911 or a .45 chambered USP's stopping power against any reasonable revolver in existence.

You got me on that one.

[Titan]

I learned to shoot handgun with a .22 revolver, but I practice with a cheap Airsoft pistol that you have to pull the action back after every shot. I'm equally proficient single and both handed, though I doubt it would be so outside of target practice.