IOF Pistol or Revolver ?

[trammway]

Hi Gentlemen,

I wish to go for Arm License and zeroed my mind to stick with the IOF made handgun. Now I'm confused which .32 cal handgun to go for, either pistol or revolver.

My personal point of view:

1. Revolver is got a cult figure and IOF .32 revolver got a vintage styling and lots of people say it acts better than the pistols. But I'm much worried about the hammer which is prominently outside the gun body (comparing with pistol) and always thinking I may accidently pull the hammer and cause some serious safety issue while handling.

2. Pistol is good looking, has 9 bullet under the cover compare to 6 on the revolver, personally I feel more secure than the pistol(may be I'm wrong) but I'm hearing the accuracy of pistols are bit below the revolver.

Now taking up these things, I'm also looking at the pricing and I don't see if even IOF got a proper pricing listed on their site. I can see the prices varies factory to factory and also the accessories that comes with the package.

Some one please help me narrow down either Pistol or Revolver on .32 caliber with more data on comparison side. I'm sure this purchase will only come to reality after I get my license (sorry I have not even applied one yet as of now)

[jonahpach]

Dont know if the .32 revolver is any good but the .22 revolver that I tried was really crap! It was brand new but had timing problems.. cylinder is alloy with steel sleeves for the chamber! Firing pin drags on the cylinder.. totally usless

Jonah

[cottage cheese]

If its IOF, take the .32 revolver...you can depend on it.

As regards the external hammer, no cause for worry- the hammer/trigger has a automatic safety feature that blocks the hammer should it get actuated without pressing the trigger. In addition to this you have an applied cross bolt safety detent that blocks movement of the entire mechanism.

regards,
cc

[trammway]

Thanks guys.

With respect to IOF revolver .32cal, I heard from one of my friend who is a vivid shooter from his young age and owns multiple weapons (categorized as vintage) says the IOF revolvers mfgd before 2005 are good and the later ones are crap.

Reason stated is that, the older version got pin attached to the trigger and the newer ones got some thing called internal pin and gives problem and lots of mis-fire. Technically I didn't understand anything about this but I wish to understand what exactly is the issue between the older version and new version of the pistols / revolvers.

[gverma]

Now I am no expert in any arms, however I believe you should go for a revolver. My reasons for this suggestion are

1. Revolver is a more mature weapon as compared to pistol and is simpler to make, the quality of arms being produced hence make it a better hassle free tool
2. Some of the people i know feel that the revolvers made by IOF are much better than Pistols
3. They will be easier to repair
4. Finally this is a personal thing but I think revolvers are way more cool than pistols

One thing you should think through is the purpose of the gun will it be target practice (then may be a Pistol is a better thing) while for self defence a revolver may be better.

[winnie_the_pooh]

The IOF .32 revolver is certainly more accurate than the IOF .32 pistol.

[brijendra]

go for iof revolver as the pistol has got jamming issues (i heard)

[saahil]

i have a iof pistol and according to me its value for money deal.

[trammway]

@saahil, could you post some data like

When did you purchase the pistol?
How many shots you have fired till date?
How many mis-firing ?
How many jamming issue ?
Bullets make used ?
Target sheet data for accuracy estimation
How much time did you wait after booking ?

I today I had a chat with Tamilnadu Armory and the owner of the establishment says IOF pistol deliver is estimated around 1.5 to 2 years time where IOF revolvers could be delivered with in 3 months time.

Guys, what is the going rate for an used IOF revolver or pistol of .32 cal.?

[goodboy_mentor]

The question of revolver is better or pistol is better is actually a never ending debate. Both have their positive and negative points. Neither revolver nor pistol are infalliable. One has to maintain the gun and practice regularly with it. One should be familiar about it like an extension of the body. I had read somewhere in IFG itself, someone having IOF .32 revolver was attacked by "Kale Kachewale" gang of robbers at night. The revolver got jammed after firing 1 or 2 shots and he was mercilessly beaten and critically injured by robbers. Another recent post of IOF .32 not firing 1st round due to unclean firing pin : http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?p=91994#p91994 Another post were probably cylinder & barrel misalignment in revolver leading to broken frame: http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8901 There is another CCTV video where pistol fails to perform and the owner of the pistol is shot dead by attackers: http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9026 One may have the best revolver or pistol in the world, if it is not maintained well, regularly practiced how to use it and checked for its reliability, there is no certainty that one will get the desired results during need. In the Indian scenario do whatever it takes to get the ammunition quota increased on the license for practice and practice regularly at the range. Regular practice becomes even more important with .32 since the cartridge has only marginal stopping power, hence perfect shot placement becomes extremely important.

Yes the gun shop owner is correct about the waiting period for IOF pistol and revolver.

[rjshv]

Quite frankly, Indian made weapons are not dependable. I would simply save enough money to buy an imported revolver. It may cost anywhere from 1 to 2lakhs depending on make and condition. If you are serious about self defence, and going to buy the Indian made ones, you should go for the revolver. A pistol works fine if it has been crafted with extreme precision, and the cartridges you use are perfect too. In India, you get neither! Chances are, your pistol would get jammed at a time of need. I've seen even an imported pistol like the Walther .32 jam when using IOF Cartridges - and it happens with nearly every 3rd shot. A revolver can't so easily jam, and even in the case of a misfire, the cylinder would roll on to the next cartridge and you can get off a shot. As for accuracy, revolver or pistol makes no big difference, but note that accuracy increases with barrel length increase. Please avoid the internal pin revolvers, because they need precision engineering to work properly, and you can't expect that with an IOF one. I own a Webley & Scott .32 Mark IV and trust me, you really would never regret buying an imported one over an Indian revolver - ever.

To sum up, go for a revolver that's not the internal pin type. A pistol is ok if you are getting an imported one in mint condition (could be about 5 lakhs) and will always use imported cartridges like the Kynoch.

- Rajesh

[Sakobav]

Rajesh

Question is best bang for the buck its IOF? if a budget allows go for phoren made but be weary read another posts when a member was sold munger made Swedish pistol! Other imported pistols are atleast 20 odd years old which brings its own risk issues due to maintenance etc. I consider finding a decent gun in India like a treasure hunt and one needs to win a lottery ticket too! Like a person I know who bought a CZ 27 instead of IOF Ashani ..why by an antique gun unknown commodity with IOF one at-least has a recourse.

I would rather spend the money om IOF product use the remaining one for target practice or modifications.Again every one to their own but if one doesnt want to break the bank IOF ( how so every overly priced etc) is a safe bet. Also do check the modifications made by bobby sidhu ( Gun smith) from patiala to members pistol.

Best

[trammway]

@Rajesh & ngrewal, Both of you have a great points to look at it. I'm not against imported pistol but the Vitamin M it requires. So, me asking for IOF products.

As many of your are suggesting IOF revolvers, I started asking question about the internal pin or pin attached trigger models (pre 2005 product). If i have no way in getting the pre-2005 model product what are the suggested mods to a latest IOF pistol? Actually what changes bobby sidhu done to other revolvers from IOF ?

All I can see is only the cosmetic changes like grip, paint etc. So, some one please share some light on this regards as well.

Thanks in advance.

[winnie_the_pooh]

Any one who blindly recommends imported firearms is misinformed.

Most of what is there in the market is just junk.

JUNK (In no particular order)
Erma,Arminius,the old Taurus revolvers(from the 1980's),H&R and Iver Jhonson(most of which are chambered for .32 short),Ruby.(the list is not complete)

Spanish pistols have varying metallurgy.Some are good while the rest will shoot loose surprisingly quickly with IOF ammo..It is the luck of the draw.Astra revolvers are not bad but you will find file marks on the parts of some the same as the IOF products.They are never as good as a S&W or Colt

Walther PPK's are rumoured to be prone to jamming though frankly I have no personal experience with them.

The webley revolvers would be anything from 20 to a 100 year old.Many are in a very poor shape.Fakes abound.Some are chambered for the .320 cartridge.

Many imported revolvers and pistols in the market have been repaired at some point of time or the other.Some have been ruined by incompetent gunsmiths while doing routine maintenance.

Re. IOF junk.

I have owned both the .32 revolver and the .32 pistol

1.They are relatively cheap

2.I have never had one fail to fire when the trigger is pulled

3.The IOF revolver can be surprisingly accurate even with KF ammo.

4.They are of very good steel and will never shoot loose.

5.The QC of the .32 revolver has improved in the recent times.

At the same time there are some IOF revolver/pistols that are very poorly made and should be avoided.

Re revolvers before '05 being better,this is just nonsense being propagated by dealers to make a fast buck.Similar to the steel/aluminium bolt nonsense re. the IOF .315 rifle.

[trammway]

@winnie_the_pooh, thanks for the exhaustive reply. But I would say your answers are the closest to my expected reply, however I'm still dragging the discussions to narrow down some of the unanswered parts

1. What is the pin issue described, is there any such component change in the IOF revolvers after 2005 and what exactly is the change and why the change is good or bad ?

2. So, you claim the IOF pistols are also good, hmmm I'm taking an U turn now to the title of this thread. Given a preference which one will you be taking (pistol or revolver from IOF only)

a set of new questions
3. What is the effective range the available indian/imported bullets for Pistols and Revolvers can fly to attack the target effectively ?

4. What is the rimmed and rimless bullet ?

Thanks once again for all the details