Any ill effect firing DA/SA revolver in SA?
- Thread starter HankC1
- Start date
An aside to all this talk about the DA/SA revolver:
I've almost always shoot the DA/SA revolvers in DA. I'm not a target shooter, meaning I don't care if I hit the little red circle in the middle of a paper target
But my DA use and training is something that proved an aid in using the Sig 226 or for me more likely the Beretta 92FS. Going first in DA with those autos proved no handicap and I transitioned easily to the SA mode afterward.
By coincidence, I've been reading Bill Wilson's book "Gun Guy." He wrote
that the DA first shot on a Beretta was never a handicap because of his training DA with revolvers.
And no, I'm not comparing myself to the skills of Wilson. He's at least 50 times better than I am. Well, maybe only 49 or 48 times better.
And I stand by my earlier statement in this thread: Shooting SA with a DA revolver will cause you to suffer a hernia.
I've almost always shoot the DA/SA revolvers in DA. I'm not a target shooter, meaning I don't care if I hit the little red circle in the middle of a paper target
But my DA use and training is something that proved an aid in using the Sig 226 or for me more likely the Beretta 92FS. Going first in DA with those autos proved no handicap and I transitioned easily to the SA mode afterward.
By coincidence, I've been reading Bill Wilson's book "Gun Guy." He wrote
that the DA first shot on a Beretta was never a handicap because of his training DA with revolvers.
And no, I'm not comparing myself to the skills of Wilson. He's at least 50 times better than I am. Well, maybe only 49 or 48 times better.
And I stand by my earlier statement in this thread: Shooting SA with a DA revolver will cause you to suffer a hernia.
springer99
New member
"In years gone by when Bullseye shooters preferred revolvers they 95% of their shooting SA. And they shot a LOT. "
I think the Bullseye shooters at my club would disagree. They all shoot DA when they pick up their revolvers. Trying to shoot SA in a match would require them to change their grips with each shot and that's a big no-no. It might do-able for some during the Slow-fire matches but trying to shoot SA during the Timed and Rapid-fire legs of the matches would be breathtaking to watch at best.
I think the Bullseye shooters at my club would disagree. They all shoot DA when they pick up their revolvers. Trying to shoot SA in a match would require them to change their grips with each shot and that's a big no-no. It might do-able for some during the Slow-fire matches but trying to shoot SA during the Timed and Rapid-fire legs of the matches would be breathtaking to watch at best.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
I would like to see some quantification given to the statement 'quite a bit harder'. What exactly are we talking about here? 10% harder? 20% harder? 50% harder?
Does anybody remember when S&W went to the short throw hammer, in 1948? Before that, the cocked hammer position was significantly farther back than with the newer short throw hammer. OK, everybody is I hope familiar with the fact that because of the mechanical design, the hammer MUST be pulled back farther in single action than the release point in double action. That is a given. S&W realized that since the hammer spring had been compressed enough in double action mode to fire a cartridge, pulling it farther back to cock the hammer was wasted energy. So the short throw hammer was born, and was phased in over time across all models.
Now, I have just been fooling around with an old long throw 38 M&P, and a new (1974) short throw Model 14-3, launching pens at the ceiling in double action and single action mode. I want to tell you, the firing pin may be striking the pen slightly harder in single action with the short throw, but danged if I can measure it. The pen is smacking the rafters in the basement pretty hard in both cases, and I don't have the instrumentation to get a measurement of which way the pen is hitting the rafters harder. Yes, the old long throw M&P does seem to be launching the pens more vigorously, but that is not a fair comparison because the springs are not the same in the two guns.
Jim Watson makes a good point that with a weak spring and CCI primers, which are harder to ignite than most other brands, a single action hit will often light off a primer that does not fire from a double action hit. But that is a marginal case, with a spring that is just barely delivering enough oompgh to set off a CCI primer in Single Action mode.
Back to the original question, no, for a quality revolver, there will be no long term effects firing a double action revolver in single action mode. They are well enough built that a quality revolver can take a lifetime of single action firing without damaging the gun.
P.S. Yes, I do most of my shooting with my double action Smiths and Colts in single action mode. Try as I might, I just cannot hit a tin can at the 25 yard berm reliably in double action mode.
Mike_Fontenot
New member
Sevens said:
I used to cock my DA/SA J-Frame ultralight snubbies with my strong thumb, but when I got a 686 and later a 69 (L-Frames), I started using my weak thumb to do the cocking ...that allows my strong hand to be undisturbed. And my weak hand doesn't have a role in resisting recoil with my grip ... it's role is to enhance steadiness, so when it does the cocking, it doesn't cause a problem for me. After the cocking, the weak thumb curves around the rear of the grip(on top of my strong hand), so its a quick move to move it up and do the cocking, and then move it back down.
Last edited:
Mike_Fontenot
New member
DaHermit said:
Because I only have a small number of (VERY powerful) rounds in my revolvers, and I want to maximize the probability that I'll hit what I'm aiming at. The popular philosophy for shooting lots of weaker shots very fast is not my philosophy.
roashooter
Moderator
sa/da
44 AMP.....great post....
single action...when going for the precise shot...
double action point shootin....up close and personal...
44 AMP.....great post....
single action...when going for the precise shot...
double action point shootin....up close and personal...
It will depend on the specific gun in question. In one gun I have, the SA firing pin strike will propel a test object nearly twice as high as the DA strike. In another I can hardly tell the difference.
I guess you could construct a method to test the firing pin strike energy to come up with precise numbers but I'm not sure what use that information could be put to.
I get the feeling that you think I might disagree with this comment but I don't. I tried to make it plain that my comments were not about a practical concern.
As far as the discussion about shooting DA vs. SA in terms of its tactical value, I'm pretty sure that it's possible to make the argument on both sides without resorting to insulting everyone who disagrees.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
No. There is no such thing as a Double Action notch. At least not with a S&W, and I doubt if there is with a Colt either. The hammer trips in double action when the trigger slips past the double action sear, allowing the hammer to fall. In this photo of a S&W hammer, the rotating part at the front of the hammer is the double action sear. The tiny notch near the bottom of the front of the hammer is the cocking notch. Incidentally, this photo also illustrates why the hammer must be pulled back farther in single action mode than in double action. The distance between the double action sear and the cocking notch translates into how much farther the hammer has to be cocked in Single Action mode. This is of course an older long throw hammer, the modern short throw hammers don't need to be pulled back quite so far in Single Action mode.
However, at one time you could order the S&W Model 14 and Model 15 in Single Acton only. I have never handled one, much less taken one apart, so I do not know how the mechanism differed from the standard models. Perhaps they simply omitted the double action sear.
You should perhaps state your perception of a typical (most), scenerio of people using handguns to defend against attackers. It is my perception that if a person attacks me, he will have some motive like robbery or road rage. Robbery is not performed at long distance. A perpetrator will commonly strike his intended victim, or get very close to present a gun. Such close-in encounters are not congruent with thumb-cocking a double action and would not in fact be any advantage in the typical robbery scenario. Consider then, that if one is struck, knocked to the ground, kicked, just accessing one's gun is going to be problematic from both a physical and physiological point, let alone being cool-headed enough to consider thumb cocking.
As I have stated before, I have never see a logical scenario where a double action revolver would have any advantage by being thumb cocked.
Non sequitur. The issue is revolvers, which are by their nature, not capable of holding "lots" of shots.
Maybe this question should be in it's own thread as a subject for debate. But it seems to encapsulate what I see on gun forums and SPECIFICALLY in this thread right here.
Why, why WHY do we constantly, always, almost immediately default to defense and anti-personnel on every gun subject?!
I have a lot of handguns, I am an enthusiast. I carry a handgun daily because the law allows me to and I am comfortable doing so. I quite literally have -THREE- handguns that are specifically designated for defensive use. One is totally functional and low in cost for days when the gun is mostly stuck locked in the car. My primary EDC is another and my former EDC lives in the safe, ready for some possible need.
THAT'S IT. All my other handguns are for enjoyment in most any way you can enjoy a handgun. I do a little hunting once a year, I shoot a zillion steel plates, I punch reams of paper and I stalk empty 12ga hulls and send them in to low orbit. Bench resting them and shooting 100-300 yards is a hoot also. I am a handgunner and I love handguns.
Why does every damn thread default to saving the last gasp of innocent life from hordes of murderers, gang bangers and sheep-rapists?!
Why, why WHY do we constantly, always, almost immediately default to defense and anti-personnel on every gun subject?!
I have a lot of handguns, I am an enthusiast. I carry a handgun daily because the law allows me to and I am comfortable doing so. I quite literally have -THREE- handguns that are specifically designated for defensive use. One is totally functional and low in cost for days when the gun is mostly stuck locked in the car. My primary EDC is another and my former EDC lives in the safe, ready for some possible need.
THAT'S IT. All my other handguns are for enjoyment in most any way you can enjoy a handgun. I do a little hunting once a year, I shoot a zillion steel plates, I punch reams of paper and I stalk empty 12ga hulls and send them in to low orbit. Bench resting them and shooting 100-300 yards is a hoot also. I am a handgunner and I love handguns.
Why does every damn thread default to saving the last gasp of innocent life from hordes of murderers, gang bangers and sheep-rapists?!
zincwarrior
New member
You will have a strange desire to acquire another one, shoot them both at the same time and start calling everyone Tex and buckaroo.
I have wondered the same thing myself, a time or two, though not in those exact words. The best guesses I can come up with are #1, TFL is closely related to SWAT magazine, so people drawn here often have more of the tactical mindset,,,
#2 (and probably the most likely)
Self defense while the rarest use of a handgun, IS the most vital use, and lots of people focus there, and not on "mere sport".
Some of the shooters here amaze me, the level of practice they do, tens of thousands of rounds a year, some of them.
Some of the people here just amuse me.
I often point out how there is more to handgunning than just self defense and duty class pistols. Especially when people make blanket statements about ALL pistols, based on their experience with duty class guns.
While I enjoy shooting for many reasons, the most important reason I own and carry handguns is to defend myself and family from violent offenders of all sorts, including murdering, gang banging sheep-rapists.
I enjoy shooting a revolver SA occasionally just for grins. It is good practice for long-range defensive work.
