Moonduck

Caveat: The following includes some basic info on handgun mechanics and operation. Most of you likely know this by heart, but I chose to go over it so as to prevent questions from those who might not know the concepts and terminology. Please bear with me.

The short answer is "It depends". Revolvers have a theoretically higher accuracy potential in the sense that they have less moving parts, less parts to line up, and the fact that one of those crucial non-moving parts in the barrel. Where the revolver tends to experience accuracy loss is at the forcing cone. The tolerances and angles must be extremely precise, else you throw accuracy to the winds. If a revolver's accuracy is off, it is usually at the forcing cone.

That said, automatics are perfectly capable of being extremely accurate. In fact, high end pistol competitions are usually held using autoloaders (most frequently .22lr, though IPSC and IDPA use full power centerfire loads in a variety of calibres). Given the nature of automatics, they simply have more moving parts, generally, than revolvers. More moving parts means greater chance for wear, and need for tighter quality control on the part of design and, more critically, manufacture.

The primary point of error in most automatics occurs at the front of the barrel. Most autos tend to be based on the Browning design popularized by the 1911 and later the P-35/Hi-Power (a superior example of John Browning's work, IMO). In the Browning Short Recoil design, the slide assembly moves rearward with the recoil of each shot. For a short distance, the barrel is locked to the slide via a cam or other mechanism. This allows time for the bullet to traverse the length of the barrel while the barrel is still in alignment with the slide. Once it has travelled back far enough (and the bullet given sufficient time to exit the barrel), the barrel will disengage from the slide and the rear will drop, allowing a new round to have a shorter vertical distance travelled during reload.

There is an area at the front of the slide (or the bushing, if the design calls for it, such as the 1911) that must precisely mate up with the barrel, as well as an area at the rear of the barrel (the lugs, or receiver block, or any number of other designs) that must also mate up precisely with the top (and sometimes side) of the slide. If tolerances and quality are poor in these areas, your gun will never shoot well (without extensive work by a qualified gunsmith).

Other factors that contribute to an autoloaders accuracy woes are poor slide-to-frame mating, poor trigger design (the only real flaw in the P-35 is the awful trigger quality imposed by the addition of the no-magazine safety), poor quality/design on the loading ramp at the rear of the barrel (causing inconsistencies in how the rounds seat), and other less common problems.

Given all that I've mentioned, you might wonder how autoloaders shoot well at all. The answer lies in a number of factors. First is that most people find the autoloaders to be more ergonomically friendly. Second, given the self-cocking nature of most autoloaders, the trigger is usually lighter than a revolver. Third, an awful lot of skull-sweat has been put into autoloaders given the real-world advantage of higher capacity than revolvers (on average, there are exceptions). Autoloader tech has advanced by leaps and bounds, yet we're still using designs that were first put to paper in the very early 1900's (most revolvers are based on the Smith & Wesson Triple lock), with very few design advances as seen in autos.

Additionally, one must be aware that every chamber in the cylinder of a revolver will perform slightly differently, leading to different shot-to-shot results. I've already mentioned forcing cone problems, but should also mention the added accuracy concerns raised by heavy double-action triggers.

That said, when comparing similar calibers, similar shooter competency, and similar conditions, I would say, anecdotally, that revolvers generally have the edge in out of the box accuracy over similarly priced autos in similar calibers. It has also been my experience that the vastly more simple manual of arms of a revolver makes it easier for a new shooter to learn on. The most accurate handgun I own is a S&W M-37 in .45ACP. Scarily accurate gun, especially considering it is a reimport used by the Brazilian police for 50+ years.

As a side note, Lebell, I have had trouble in the past with .30 Carbine guns. I would hazard to guess that it may have to do with poor round design, or poor quality ammo. Blackhawks are generally highly accurate guns, and the only ones I've ever heard as innaccurate were the .30 Carbine ones.

In general, accuracy troubleshooting can be done at home, but most accuracy increasing mods should be done by a qualified gunsmith. Rattle your auto side to side. If it actually does rattle, you have slide-to-frame or barrel-to-frame fit issues generally. Jiggle the end of the barrel when the slide is in battery (ie locked forward). If the barrel moves up and down, or side to die, you probably have a bushing or slide-to-barrel fit issue. If it moves back and forth independant of the slide, you likely have a lug-to-slide problem. Some play is usual, necessary in fact. If the gun does not have some play, tolerances will be too tight and carbon fouling or environmental concerns are likely to cause reliability problems.

Check out the gun. If you can find anything that concerns you, post it and I'll see if it is indicative of anything. Additionally, if you are consistent in your innaccuracy (ie it shoots low and to the left and sight mods don't help) let me know that as well. It is occassionally easy to fix these problems.

2nd caveat: I'm no gunsmith. I have taken courses in smithing and have worked with a smith locally on easy stuff, but I am no more than a highly interested hobbyist with a lot of experience.