Revolver

A Revolver is a multishot firearm generally described as “old school” these days. See the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolver Wikipedia entry.

Disclaimer: There’s always a case where you can find a counter argument to the below. Which is why I use the word “generally” instead of “always”.

Revolver Pros:

• Generally considered to be less likely to jam.
• Generally considered much easier to learn, load, and use than an auto.
• Probably easier to operate, especially compared to working the slide on a Semi-automatic Pistol.
• Probably easier to clean, with overall less parts to worry about.

Revolver Cons:

• Generally much slower to reload than a Automatic Pistol. Yes Speed Loaders are faster than doing it “by hand”, but a magazine is still quicker.
• Generally different cartridges are available for revolvers than Automatic Pistol.
• Generally much lower cartridge capacity (6-8) vs (6-19 or even as high as 33) in varying configurations of the Automatic Pistol.