Store Hours

Mon-Fri: 10am-8pm
Sat-Sun: 9am*-7pm

*First hour of weekend range time (9am-10am) is reserved for members only. Retail store is open to everyone during these hours.

Differences Between Pistol and Revolver Bullets

A common question asked is why do revolvers and semi-automatic pistols generally have different bullets; i.e. why are 9mm revolvers or .357 semi-automatics pistols rare? In order to understand why this is the case it is necessary to have a general understanding of the different methods with which revolvers and semi-automatic pistols work.

Most handgun cartridges for revolvers are rimmed as opposed to rimless. As shown in the diagram at the bottom, the rimmed cartridges have a large rim that protrudes out from the body of the cartridge. The rim rests on the extractor / ejector rod. This rim prevents the bullets from going too far into the chamber and without this rim the ejector wouldn't have any hold to remove the spent brass. The thickness of the rim determines the headspace, which is used to determine whether or not a cartridge can safely be used in a particular firearm.

Pistol cartridges are, for the most part, rimless or semi-rimmed, meaning that the sides of the cartridges are flat with no or very little protrusion. Without the rim the chamber of the barrel determines how far the bullet protrudes, and thus the headspace is determined by the cartridge itself.

Some revolvers use rimless ammunition (i.e. Smith & Wesson and Ruger) but they do require the use of what are called half-moon or full-moon clips which are used to hold the bullets in place and give the extractor / ejector rod something to push against.

Some semi-automatic pistols are chambered for rimmed rounds (Desert Eagle and Coonan Arms to name just 2), this is less complicated than rimless rounds for revolvers; but care must be taken when loading the magazines to ensure that the bullets are loaded with the rims in the correct orientation behind each other on successive rounds, otherwise a malfunction will occur and the pistol will have a failure-to-feed.