Do you use your double action revolver mostly SA or DA?

[AK103K]

One thing NOT mentioned is the GUN being used. Every DA gun you pick up does NOT have a wonderful sweet smooth and (relatively) light trigger. Some are excellent, most are good/fair, a few are horrid. I have a DA revolver with a pull that is somewhere above the 20LBS my scale can measure. I doubt even a DA expert would do his best work with a gun like that. Same gun, SA pull is about 5lbs, and I can manage that well enough.

The one thing that I see here, especially from those who dont think DA is viable, is the focus on "the trigger", and what the trigger is and does.

I think thats the issue, and its misdirected focus. If you put the focus on what is going to place the bullet, and maintain that focus, until the shot breaks, the trigger becomes a lot less of an issue. Once you get over worrying about the trigger, things become so much easier.

Since SA seems to be so popular, the one thing that bugs me the most about them is, the "lock lag" in the hammer drop on the SAO guns. That to me, is much more annoying than the triggers, and is very much like the bolt going forward on a open bolt SMG. Luckily, Ive got the focus thing down, and I can get over it.

 

[Guv]

I wonder how many SA quick draws caught one in the leg or in the ground just in front of them. I'm pretty sure part of the quick draw grip on a SA involves the thumb riding over the hammer on the way up.

 

[jackmoser65]

The thing is, these are highly specialized endeavors that most will never do.

No, that is the perception of this particular group of combat shooters, yourself included, that the type of shooting THEY do is the only type of shooting anyone does. The shooters I associate with are hunters and the kind of people who use handguns almost daily in the outdoors. This is why it's important, when beginning a discussion like this, to outline exactly what the intended purpose is. This is not to say at all that one group is superior to other, only that technique should be matched to purpose.

I've never shot IMHSA, but AFAIK, to effectively knock those heavy plates over, IMHSA shooters use big powerful cartridges that're chambered in SA revolvers anyway, so the issue of SA vs DA here is largely moot anyway. Matter of fact, the same could be said in many cases where one is hunting big game with a revolver (I did mention I'd use a FA83 for that purpose).

It's IHMSA, I got my acronym fouled up.

That's not the case at all. Dan Wesson was the big name in silhouetting when it was at its peak and all they ever produced were DA's. The 10" model 29 was strictly made for the sport. The Super Blackhawk, .357 Maximum along with all the Seville SuperMag's were also popular. These guns were always thumb cocked and shot single action for added precision.

There's also plenty of big DA's perfectly suited to hunting, including the ubiquitous N-frame, plus the X-frame, standard and Super Redhawks. I know of no one who would ever take a shot at game DA, unless it was a defensive situation.

As I said earlier, it was the heavy recoil of the .44, and the flinching issue from anticipation with the super light SA trigger that got me started shooting DA. Knowing that super light SA trigger would go with the slightest touch, was not a help at all, and really a detriment.

This is an obvious training issue and a crutch-argument.

The one thing that I see here, especially from those who dont think DA is viable, is the focus on "the trigger", and what the trigger is and does.

Again, you're making assumptions and incorrect ones at that.

Since SA seems to be so popular, the one thing that bugs me the most about them is, the "lock lag" in the hammer drop on the SAO guns.

This is a total non-issue.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Not that I want to drop any of them, I wouldnt have wanted to bet the hammer wouldnt drop on my 29 with the hammer cocked, if it were dropped. The trigger was very light, and the hammer could be dropped without pulling the trigger, by simply pushing it down with your thumb. This was a factory trigger too. Ive seen a few other S&W's like that over the years as well.

If you can cause the hammer to fall by pushing on the cocked hammer with your thumb, something is seriously wrong with that gun! You should never be able to push the hammer and drop the hammer. NEVER!

I recently bought an antique revolver that was over 130 years old, and I was able to push the hammer and it would drop. When I took the side plate off I could see there was barely any full cock notch left on the hammer at all. This gun had been fired who knows how many times over the years and the notch had simply been worn down. The first thing I did was take it to a Smith who is very knowledgeable about antique revolvers and he TIG welded some metal onto the hammer notch and shaped it by hand, to make the gun safe to shoot again.

A hammer that can be dropped by pushing on it with the thumb is a dangerous situation. The gun should not be loaded with live ammunition at all until the problem is corrected.

 

[AK103K]

This is an obvious training issue and a crutch-argument.

It was at the moment, and it was solved by learning to shoot DAO, which DID, as much as you seem to not want to hear it, make me a better shooter overall. I benefited greatly by doing so, and across the board, not just with handguns.

Those who are SA only shooters, seem to be the ones you always hear whining about triggers being horrible, unshootable and in need of work to be acceptable, an thats again, across the board. I used to hear it all the time when people would shoot my HK91's and MP5. Nothing wrong with those triggers, just not what Americans seem to have come to believe are acceptable triggers. AR's with the issue triggers in them, are another example. And again, the main issue in those cases is, people worrying about that trigger, instead of focusing on the sights and/or target, and just shooting the gun.

Again, you're making assumptions and incorrect ones at that.

Why is that?

This is a total non-issue.

Of course it is, but it still is annoying, especially since its not near as fun as the open bolt guns.

A hammer that can be dropped by pushing on it with the thumb is a dangerous situation. The gun should not be loaded with live ammunition at all until the problem is corrected.

I had a smith look at it, and was told, yes, it should not be like that, but it really wasnt a problem as long as the hammer stayed cocked in SA, or a safety issue, since the S&W's wont fire, even if the hammer drops on its own, unless the trigger is pulled. Even if it were to drop on its own, it will simply go back into DA. It wont fire.

Since I was no longer shooting it SA anymore, it was a moot point anyway. I eventually bobbed the hammer and trimmed the trigger, and filed off the SA notch, and the gun was then DAO.

 

[44 AMP]

Those who are SA only shooters, seem to be the ones you always hear whining about triggers being horrible, unshootable and in need of work to be acceptable..

I only shoot my SA guns SA. I almost always shoot my DA guns SA, my choice. I don't own any DAO guns.

Whiners are whiners, no matter what they shoot, they often do it poorly, and blame their guns.

How familiar you are with a particular gun (and load) makes a difference. In my hands, a pistol I've been shooting for 30+ years is a different beast than something I got at the last gun show... quite different.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I had a smith look at it, and was told, yes, it should not be like that, but it really wasnt a problem as long as the hammer stayed cocked in SA

If I had a smith tell me that I would find another smith.

 

[j3ffr0]

Mostly DA when I take it to the range. However, I can never resist shooting a couple of cylinders SA -- so accurate that way.

 

[RickB]

99% of time, DA. I have a .38 and a .45 that I shoot in IDPA competition, and then not very seriously.
Two long-barreled guns that I had "for fun" were shot almost exclusively SA.

 

[dahermit]

There are very few handgun designers alive today, feel free to ask them how they designed their guns to be operated. The designers of the DA revolver are not in that group, however, and I have yet to find any verifiable instructions from them on how they intended their guns to operated.

A hump on the grip frame, a double-action sear...yup, it is apparent that they were designing a mouse trap.

 

[AK103K]

I only shoot my SA guns SA.

Yea, me too. They dont seem to want to shoot any other way.

Whiners are whiners, no matter what they shoot, they often do it poorly, and blame their guns.

Yup, and are usually a good source of income to the various smiths and parts houses.

How familiar you are with a particular gun (and load) makes a difference. In my hands, a pistol I've been shooting for 30+ years is a different beast than something I got at the last gun show... quite different.

No doubt.

Its been my experience though, that the closer you stay to stock guns, its not as big a learning curve when you pick up something new, than when you only shoot tuned guns. 30 years does tend to smooth things out too though.

If I had a smith tell me that I would find another smith.

If I didnt trust the guy, I might have, but he was pretty well known (nationally) while he was alive, and knew his stuff.

Never did wrong by me with any of the work they did for me before or after that.

 

[djont57]

I have 2 revolvers; put about 200 rnds per month through each. I don't remember the last time either was shot SA.

 

[AK103K]

A hump on the grip frame, a double-action sear...yup, it is apparent that they were designing a mouse trap.

That thought occurred to me too. No sense messing to hard with their "loop" though.

 

[osbornk]

I am most accurate SA since my other revolver is SA, my 1911 is SA and my 2 rimfire pistols are SA. I shot my DA revolver DA to make sure it shot properly and went immediately to SA.

 

[Radny97]

I shot this at 25 yards with a gp100 in DA. The squares are one inch. Seems good enough for a head shot to me.

 

[saleen322]

I shoot both, single action and double action. I shot silhouette for about 15 years and PPC for about the same length of time. In silhouette big bore revolver, I started off with a 44 mag and later got what then was one of the hot revolvers, a model 40 Dan Wesson in 357 SM. In all of the years of shooting silhouette, I never saw a person shooting a revolver DA at a match. Not saying it was not done, but I just never saw it. In PPC, my scores were always a couple of points higher if I shot the 50 yard line single action but the rest was double action. Again, I think it is good to understand both DA and SA. I don't know everything about revolvers but I have been shooting and competing long enough to start to understand the scope of what I don't know.

 

[44 AMP]

shot this at 25 yards with a gp100 in DA. The squares are one inch. Seems good enough for a head shot to me.

Nice DA shooting, looks good enough for a head shot to me.

If you had shot SA, it would probably be good enough for a head shot, on a squirrel!

 

[kraigwy]

99% of my revolver shooting is double action.

 

[Rangerrich99]

When I first started shooting revolvers about 28 years ago, I shot exclusively in single action. I practiced a lot back then, and could eventually cock the hammer back with my weak hand thumb pretty quickly. After years of practice, I was able to empty my revolver in under 3 seconds and keep everything inside an 8-inch pie plate at approx. 20 yards on a regular basis (from the low ready position).

Fast forward to 9 years ago. I suffered a couple injuries to my left hand thumb which left me unable to cock the hammer back as quickly as I had before. So with some help from a friend, I began learning to shoot DA. It took a whole lot longer than I thought it would, but I have become fairly accurate shooting my revolvers in DA. Since the beginning of this year I've consistently been able to keep all six rounds out of my GP 141 inside a 6 x 6-inch square at 20 yards in about 4 seconds. It's become a personal challenge to see if I can get under 3 seconds.

Of course, when I do shoot SA (about 10% of the rounds fired during a session) and I can take my time, I'm definitely more accurate than when I shoot DA. But since that GP is my main field sidearm, I need to be able to shoot quickly and accurately in the unlikely event I'm ambushed/charged by some large, toothy, grumpy critter.

During my last session, I managed to deliver all 6 rounds into a space a little larger than a baseball at 10 yards in about 2.5 seconds, according to my buddy's smartphone. So I'm still holding out some hope I can squeeze a little more speed and accuracy out of my middle-aged hands and eyes.

It's also quite a challenge to shoot a revolver quickly and accurately in DA, making it a lot of fun.

Anyway, to answer the OP's question, I shoot DA about 90% of the time, and SA the other 10%.

 

[drobs]

I recently started shooting my revolvers DA. Seems to me some revolvers are more conducive to DA shooting that others.

For instance my K-22 Smith & Wesson shoots awesomely in DA. I can stage the trigger re-acquire the sights and get a perfect hit. With more practice I find I stage the trigger less.

My 442 DAO Smith & Wesson has a gritty trigger that doesn't seem to stage as well. I think having a 6 shot cylinder helps.