Double tap with revolver?

R

Running Gunfight

New member
Looking for opinions based on experience here.

Is a true double tap possible with a revolver or is a double tap strictly the realm of DA/SA or SA autos?

Now, here is the tough one. Is a double tap possible with a .357 magnum? Some will say the need for a double is minimized by the power, but seeing how the best 9mm, .40 and .45 loads are nearly as effective as manstopers as the .357mag is, shouldn't one gravitate toward the most controllable weapons to allow for quick follow up shots?

This is not a troll attempt. I am the owner of a couple revolvers, but this consideration is a real one, IMO.
 
Well!

Well, since you say you are not trolling(but then again, what would you expect a troll to say) :p I shall try to give you an answer based on my experiences.

First of all, one needs to define 'double-taps' because different people have different expectations. For me, a double-tap involved using muscle control/muscle memory to return the pistol to the same position I had in for the first shot before pulling the trigger again. I found myself pretty successfull at 7 yards, not very at the 25-yard out-door range.

At one time or another, I tried double taps with all my pistols. Easiest was my Ruger Mk II, but that doesn't count. I found my 1911, and my wifes Firestorm .380 to be about equal. The two toughest guns for a good follow-up shot were my H&K USPf in .40S&W, and my SP-101 with .357 loads.

Now with .38 loads, the SP-101 is not that bad.

I will admit, that for me, double-taps are easier and more accurate with a pistol in SA mode than a revovler. But, I watched American Shooter once were Bob Munen actually proved that he can get three-shots off faster from a revovler, than from a 1911, so, I don't think say that doubl-taps are impossible, or impracticle, from a revolver.

greg
 
The only thing that keeps you from shooting a revolver faster and just as accurately as an auto is practice. Using magnum ammunition will hurt speed but it too can be learned and handled.
 
.357 double taps

are possible if you practice enough, but a lot of that might have to do with what type of revolver you are using. the weight and barrel length would affect how quickly you can follow up accuratley. i find 38's are easier than magnums to double tap with
 
I went thru an inordinate amount of .38 spl practice ammo yesterday ... with SP-101 ... practice from leather.

Did draw and single ... draw and double ... and draw and all five. I was doing this at what we might call a medium defensive distance ... 5 yards. Apart from odd flier rounds .... hits were pretty consistent and I'd say my double tap speed was on a par with what I can manage from say, my P95.

I would say that this gun with mag loads would slow down doubles . inevitable. So perhaps then a 1911 for instance will have the edge. As H says tho - I think practice is - as ever - pretty much the deciding factor.

I have seen expert revo shooters do things with hot loads some might only dream of .... why? ... they practice - a lot! :)
 
I've always believed that, the smaller & less powerful the calber, the more important it is to learn to double-tap, triple-tap, or empty the whole load (in the case of the .25ACP) into a target.

That said, I think revolvers are great for double-taps. You don't have reciprocating slides throwing the sights off. You don't have to wait for the mechanism to go through its autoloading cycle. On revolvers, YOU control the mechanism.

I can empty my wife's Taurus 94 into a target almost as fast as I can my Buckmark. With the same expectations of accuracy, too. :D
 
Yes, you can double tap effectively with a revolver charged with full power loads.

Double tapping with any platform and any loading is a matter of prectice and building muscle memory.
 
I just checked my S&W catalog to confirm my info was correct, and Jerry Miculek put all 8 rounds from his .357 (S&W 627PC) on one target in less than one second! Most of us could expect two rounds with resonable accuracy in that amount of time, maybe a little more.
 
I think that we need a little clarification of terms.

Traditionally a double tap means that you fire two shots off of one sight picture.

A controlled pair means two shots very quickly, but both get a flash sight picture.

An honest to goodness double tap is pretty much useless past anything other than conversational distance. Since there is no sight picture taken on that second trigger pull (jerk?) you don't have a guarentee of where that bullet will strike.

Even the best of the best, and Jerry M was brought up and he is a great example, still uses the sights. So he isn't really just rattling off ammo in the general direction of the targets. :)

So to answer your question, you can 'double tap' a revolver. But a better answer is that in skilled hands a double action revolver can be shoot as quickly as an auto.
 
Everyone has correctly covered what a double tap is. An interesting Revolver mechanical situation regarding rapid fire is the 'flywheel' effect. Of course this is more pronounced with larger around and heavier cylinders. It plays havoc with the bolt stop to have to momentarily arrest the rotation while you are squeezing away! However in the wonderfully perfected S&W an Colt DA mechanisms, if everything is set up right, the heavy N Frame and New Service actions will empty themselve pretty rapidly once you get them going. I can empty my M-27 quicker than my M-15 (for example, and I have many such examples) and the New Service custom I have will really rip, if called upon to do so. I can't get a Ruger Redhawk or Super Redhawk to do the same however, and the Security Sixes are 'faster' DA! :)
 
So to answer your question, you can 'double tap' a revolver. But a better answer is that in skilled hands a double action revolver can be shoot as quickly as an auto.
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To be completely precise a double action revolver can be fired FASTER than an auto in the right hands. There are a few shooters (certainly not ME) who find that waiting for the slide to reciprocate is wasted time that could be spent firing the weapon again.
 
Very true. That is what I should have said. Good thing that there are probably only ten people living or dead where that matters. :)
 
Forget the double tap . In the real world you shoot and continue to shoot until the target is no longer a threat.
 
IIRC (help me out here), one of the mods that JM has mentioned not having done on his revolvers is a lightened reset spring, because slowing down the trigger return would (obviously) slow down his shooting. Am I remembering this correctly? It's kind of a counterpoint to the usual thing about wanting to rip out the factory springs and replace everything, often especially the reset spring, with lighter parts.
 
JNewell, you hit the nail on the head. All too many people put in lighter springs instead of learning to shoot. They compromise reliability for the sake of a little better group instead of practicing. Rather than address any roughness in the action that can be 100% safely removed leaving a dead smooth action they band-aid it with spring kits and proclaim victory.

I've said it before, and will say it again I am sure: when you have learned to shoot the revolver decently the only spring change you will want is a heavier trigger return spring.
 
Just a thought.....

Perhaps we're barking up the wrong tree here. If you load the .357 correctly, you won't have to worry about putting number 2 into the target. At least in personal defense situations. For comparison, I brought down a deer last fall with one Winchester 145 gr. Silvertip at 25 yards. I'm not too worried about my weapon's stopping power. If I practice enough so that I can hit where I aim, one round should be enough.
 
A double tap,concerning war fare, as far as I can remember came from the Germans during the war,Two shots to the head, why, to insure a kill of his enemy, any gun is capable of double tapping other than a single shot;), its really the shooter who has limitations, some revolvers are very fast at returning the hammer if worked on, but semi's are really known for the double tap, as I said the germans used the luger 9MM. there is stories about FBI/CIA using 22mag's and use the double tap head shot method. Aim small hit small. RAMbo.
 
instead of practicing
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Ughh, so true. I think it's a cultural thing, a sign of the times? I catch myself doing the same thing, too, so I don't claim to be immune.

But I know what the right answer is.

you won't have to worry about putting number 2 into the target
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Well, I was going to tweak you a bit about that :) but you obviously have good grounds to speak from. I will still caution that when there's an incoming personal threat, skills may go South faster and farther than when under the pressure of the hunt, so relying on one round may not be a good bet -- not trying to undercut your skills at all, though.
 
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