Double Action or Single Action for HD/PD?

T

tyro

New member
Being a novice with guns, at age 67 (with failing visual accuity and physical strength), I am finding it quite difficult to learn efficient and effective double action trigger control with my Ruger KGP 141. So, I am being tempted to give up on double action and to simply practice using this revolver as though it were single action only. What are the pros and cons of yielding to this temptation, in view of the fact that my sole reason for having this revolver is home-defense/personal-defence?
 
I would guess most of the pros would say no, no, no. They'd say that for a number of good reasons including speed, keeping the number of require actions to a minimum (complexity is bad in stressful situations) and having to do with possible legal problems later in court when, if, you have to defend your actions. All of that being true, none of the experts will be learning to shoot at the age of 67! Make whatever adjustments you need to make to accomodate you age (and any physical limitations you may have) so that you're able to handle the gun easily and safely, and then practice till its second nature to you. DennisE
 
Tyro; I am 64 and the answer for me is easy. If your eyes are up to it, by all means learn to shoot double action. I have little experience with Ruger double actions, but I have a S&W Mod66 4" that I use double action only. The trick is not so much strength as control and learning to know exactly when the hammer will fall.

Dont laugh, but I went to Walmart and bought a pair of reading glasses that allowed me to focus on the sights and they really help. I have been reading about the laser surgery to eliminate the need for glasses altogether, but I dont know a lot about the risks etc.

You might try some sort of exercise to strengthen your hand and forearm muscles. It is important to be able to be able to operate the trigger without changing the grip with your thumb and other fingers. Practice, including dry firing, as much as you can and good luck!
 
I'd still stick with a DA revolver (which features a single action trigger anyway). DA is quicker loading, but more importantly, when used in the DA mode, can give you less grounds for liability (negligent discharge). Besides, like they trained us in the police academy, SA takes too long and most gunfights end in a matter of a few seconds. You can't afford to give the opposition time by cocking your firearm manually.
 
Tyro: Hi, again. I'm not quite in my 60's yet but I too have difficulties with DA revolvers due to arthritis in the fingers. My solution has been to pretty much switch to SA pistols (I regularly shoot a S&W 945 in IDPA competition) for competition and self defense, and to SA revolvers for pure fun. All that having been said, the problems your having with DA revolvers may be greatly reduced by a good trigger job. Weaker fingers (from old age, arthritis or both) that struggle with a heavy trigger pull don't produce accurate shooting. Three choices are to lighten the trigger pull, strengthen the fingers or switch to SA shooting. By the way, its been demonstrated a number of time that a SA revolver will regularly beat a DA revolver in time to fire first shot. If you watch folks in coswboy competition you'll see that speed and accuracy aren't a problem with SA revolvers. Their big drawback is reload time - if you need more than 6 shoots (Ruger SA with transfer bar) you've probably lost the gunfight with a SA. Of course a civilian in a gun fight involving more than 6 shots total is an 'avis raris.' My 2 cents however is that the best alternative to try is to get the best trigger job you can on the DA and then practice. Dennis
 
Tyro,

Send your revolver out for a action job to take the trigger pull down to nothing and get yourself a pair of glasses with a focal length set for the front sight. I started shooting at 52 years of age and found computer glasses allow me to see the important front sight clearly. I have shot S&W revolvers used by competitors with full action job. It is like shooting a toy and almost scary.

I would say this is a good excuse to get into the meditative activity of handloading. With the lessened main spring load you will probably need to use ammo with Federal primers. Get yourself a Hornady Lock-N-Load Auto Progressive for $320 and load ammo real quality, inexpensive ammo with Federal primers. If you need to use the ammo for self defense you can state it was loaded to target specs, proving you never had homicidal intent. Ha!
 
Keep the DA and get a trigger job done on it.
With a DA you can always shoot SA if you want.
Target shooting is always more accurate in SA.
But home defense is always better in DA.
DA reduces the chance of accidental discharge.
Happy Shooting...............
Also look into some "Wally World" reading glasses. LOL
 
Tyro: I feel like the Greek chorus on this website, because so many knowledgeable gun people respond so quickly with good advice! Anyway, I'll chime in with my .02 cents worth. I had the trigger on my S&W 640 nightstand gun smoothed and lightened to a feathery 7.5 pounds by a local gunsmith, because I was concerned that the heavy DA pull was throwing off shots for my fiancee (she also has hands that she must've stolen off of a midget, which is why I went for a smaller gun for her). The only caveat I'll offer to going this route is to make sure you get a qualified and reputable smith. I once purchased a used S&W 63 kit gun that had had the trigger worked by a hack--he'd effectively turned it into a single-action handgun (of course, that could also solve the dilemma of which way to shoot! :)). You want to make sure the trigger is light AND reliable after an action job.

In regard to opting to shoot SA--I'd much rather face a gangbanger with the latest DA 20-shot wondernine, who never practices, than a person who practices diligently in SA mode. Shot-placement and mental alertness are still key. Also, it's good practice in ANY case, but keeping the trigger finger out of the trigger-guard till the moment of truth becomes even more critical with a SA.

Good luck--thanks for generating so many good topics for discussion! -- JFrame
 
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