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

My revolver shooting began when that was the primary [sometimes only] department issued or approved duty weapon.

For both practical and liability reasons all shooting was done DA so we learned to do that well.

No trigger staging [bad habit]. Lots of dry firing to develop muscle and technique.

Many of us shot 600s on qualifications with the top shot having to be determined by X count.

At the 50 yard stage SA was allowed but many [including me] stuck with DA as that was the way we trained.

Those of us who competed in PPC had revolvers that had no SA function.

Whatever "trips your trigger" is just fine, but DA is accurate and practical in any situation… target or crisis, and certainly safer when the pucker factor is in play.

I still qualify regularly with a Model #10 2" full course all DA [we don't do a 50 yard stage any more]

Occasionally I will bring my 6" Model 10 based Davis PPC gun and do a round…one of the youngsters commented on first seeing it "Woah! is that a Snake Pliskin gun?"

I do carry a 1911 as well these days and my scores are a toss up between that and the revolvers. [ The Sheriff still lets me carry bullets… so I guess I'm doing okay]
 
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Yesterday I tried DA for a change and was surprised how it steadied my aim. I was shooting a S&W 696 (44 Special) with 7.5 gr of Unique and 200 gr coated lead. I scored well and will do it again. The gun is my current carry, so I need to practice shooting in the way I might be forced to in a fast moving incident.
 
I hope nobody mentioned this before because I skipped the previous three pages.

How to shoot a DA revolver seems to be one of those things that are subject to the fad of the year. For a few years in the 1950s, supposedly, it was believed that it was better to shoot a DA revolver only in the single-action mode. Indeed, the S&W Model 14, or K-38, was produced with a single-action only trigger. Of course, you also wanted to have a target trigger and a target hammer. You could get a trigger shoe if your revolver didn't have one.

Personally, I was more than happy with the results of shooting double-action only with some of the revolvers I had, but not all of them. Obviously some revolvers are easier to shoot in a DA mode than others and that's true for single action, too. Shooting double-action should not imply shooting fast, however. Some grips and some trigger fingers do not lend themselves to easy DA shooting either but you can only change the grip. Needless to say, it takes practice but it isn't difficult.

My experience with J-frames (and D-frame Colts) has been limited but the one and only J-frame I had was a DA-only and it was decidedly stiff.
 
There is actually only one revolver that I shoot SA, my Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum, I have trouble with accuracy firing DA with this revolver, I'm sure more practice can get me there as it did with all the others.

All my other revolver are 357 magnums, GP100, Security Six I fire accurately in DA. It took practice to get there, plus a couple that are hammer-less so there is no SA option.
 
There is actually only one revolver that I shoot SA, my Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum, I have trouble with accuracy firing DA with this revolver, I'm sure more practice can get me there as it did with all the others.

All my other revolver are 357 magnums, GP100, Security Six I fire accurately in DA. It took practice to get there, plus a couple that are hammer-less so there is no SA option

My understanding is that our Redhawks use a single spring, so the action is no thing of refinement. That changed with the Super Redhawk and Alaskan.
 
At present time, I carry semiautomatics for ccw and squirrel hunting and .44 mag revolvers for deer other hunting only. When time allows, I usually shoot single action. When deer close enough I worry about noise or there isn't much time, I shoot double action.
 
To metalboy: beer cans 9 of 10 times at 130 yards is probably better than 90% could do with a rifle. Any tips you can share?
 
To metalboy: beer cans 9 of 10 times at 130 yards is probably better than 90% could do with a rifle. Any tips you can share?

Yes Sir,
In a nut shell, practice makes the master, I practiced day and night.I'm also a precisionist. I wanted to be as good as one of my friend, who can hit those beer cans 9.5 times out of 10, I mean 19 out of 20.
I rested my hands on the bench,I used the same target ammo, even same lot #, round nosed standard velocity. I had a good gun, A High Standard Supermatic Military Trophy, similar to this, except my rear sight was mounted on the frame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNYJl7kUgUY

It better be a nice day, crosswind very low.
Luck helps a little, not close as much as being relaxed, concentrating on precision shooting, accuracy is the only thing that matter.
Make sure the gun fits,your finger is perpendicular to the direction you're shooting, and squeeze the trigger straight back. I mean SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEZE it, like you have nothing else to do for the rest of the day/week.
My friend used to say, He wanted the trigger break to be a surprise, but I like to know exactly where the breaking point is.
Yes I'm a precisionist, (nuts)........We are what We eat, and I eat a lots of nuts...
 
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