shooting a double action as a single action

I've had a S&W 617 (.22 rimfire) for about 25 years and a Ruger security six .357 mag for about two............................I don't recall shooting them double action in all that time (like ever)??:confused:
If shooting single action will break a D/A revolver, then both of mine must be broke??:eek:
 
My DA guns are just SAs that are easier to load and unload.
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That's about it for me too. I'm too lazy to "train." I just go shooting.

I'll shoot D/A enough to make sure I still know how to do it, but that's about it.
 
I shot mostly SA until I found that I was actually MORE accurate shooting DA.
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I found this to be the case as well.

A long time back, I had a 4" Model 29 Smith I was having trouble staying consistent with shooting heavy loads. It had a very nice and light SA trigger, like most of my S&W's, but knowing it was going off as soon as my finger touched it was causing me to develop a nasty flinch.

A friend who was a long time DA revolver shooter got me to try shooting it that way, and his reasoning was sound. DA forces you to focus on the important parts, the sights, and the "break" just happens, and as its supposed to, more or less a surprise.

After a little practice and dry firing that way, my groups with that .44 had shrunk by more than half, and I was hitting those old "Hi-C" juice cans at 100 yards, sitting on my butt and shooting between my knees.

I havent thumb cocked a DA revolver since.

Speed comes with practice and accuracy isnt lost.

As for those old SAO's, I shoot them too, but find their lock time to be almost agonizingly "long". Almost like shooting a flintlock. :)
 
I shoot them too, but find their lock time to be almost agonizingly "long". Almost like shooting a flintlock.
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A good quality flint lock is real close to centerfire speeds. There is no hang time or hiss boom effect. The gun fires before the frizzen is open and will even fire upside down.
 
The point I was trying to make was, the hammers on SAO revolvers, seem to fall forever once the trigger is pulled.

Perhaps the bolt going home on an open bolt SMG is a better analogy. Less smoke too. :)
 
Sorry for hijacking the thread but to get it back on track I have two DA revolvers. A 1926 S&W 3rd model made in 1930 and an H&R Sportsman made in 36. I can't hit a barn from the inside with either one of them DA and don't care to learn. I grew up with single actions and that's how I shoot.
 
Tis a funny thing, the way we shoot, the way we learn, each quite individual.

Up until shortly past my 30th birthday, I couldn't shoot DA for anything. Would have had a hard time hitting a barn, from the inside...

Each and every time, the same thing, so I didn't practice DA shooting much at all.

Then, one day, with no change to my shooting routine or habits that I could tell, things changed. Just for snits & giggles, I tried a cylinder DA at some steel in my backyard (25-30ish yds). Tink, tink, tink , tink, tink, tink. Think?

Almost seemed like I couldn't miss. Same gun and ammo I had been shooting for years, only now, for no reason I could fathom, instead of being all over the place, I was actually shooting groups! And reasonable size ones, at that.

Everyone is different. I still seldom shoot DA, but I know now that if I do, I can. And that's enough for me.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I shoot my 627 DA as often as I shoot it SA. And I don't shoot it very often... :(

The Redhawk is pretty much always single action. As some have mentioned, good accuracy can be had from the long double action pull. I agree only if I can slowly pull through the double action. Trying to take quick shots DA usually results in terrible accuracy for me.
 
Basically I positioned myself as a S/A shooter by owning Old West Type revolvers all my life.
JUst this past year I bought a Model 10 and 36 to learn DA shooting.
Here I am in 2014 and facing a probable encounter with a Semi-auto, and I shoot a Vaquero? Yea I thought it was time to hone my skills and keep myfamily and self safer.
Learning DA is one of the toughest things I have done, I do everything wrong and shoot some big groups! Slowly I am gaining control and my groups are sorta better...
One thing for sure, S/A is far easier because all you have to trip is the hammer, Da you do that and roll the cylinder with one finger! So many chances to wiggle the gun!
It's a learning process and if you read, observe the pros and work on your own, you will get better.
ZVP
 
No harm at all.... When I had a DA (SRH) I always shot it SA. Sold it and now only shoot Single Actions and BP revolvers. My style of shooting from knee high (and I turn 50 this year). Funny how that is! And I have no 'drive' to learn DA ( I do have McGivern's book too ... but still) . Perfectly satisfied with thumbing the cartidges in one at a time and the empties back out again and hitting what I aim at with an easy 2# trigger pull. Moving to rifles, a good lever gun (preferred) or bolt action is right up my alley. No use for a spray and pray rifle.
 
Returning to the subject of police training, some agencies like LAPD actually ground the SA notch off the hammer; making their revolvers DAO. They didn't want officers to be killed from losing time to cock the gun before shooting.

DA revolver shooting takes practice and I learned on my own on my sister's Python.
 
Returning to the subject of police training, some agencies like LAPD actually ground the SA notch off the hammer; making their revolvers DAO. They didn't want officers to be killed from losing time to cock the gun before shooting.
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M. Ayoob said that the main reason was to avoid ADs. That a drawn gun had lost its ability to intimidate, so the cops were cocking their revolvers to make their point. That had to be stopped.
I know of three ADs with cocked double action revolvers.
 
Very few folks will ever wear the action of a modern revolver out, when using appropriate ammo, regardless of whether they use it DA or SA. If they can afford the ammo to do so, the cost of repairing or replacing the firearm will be a moot point.


As for SA vs DA, whatever trips your trigger. I am one of those that prefers the grip angle of DAs as compared to most SAs. I shoot most of my DA hunting revolvers SA the majority of the time. My DA SD revolvers get shoot DA the majority of the time. Like any firearm, you practice with them in the scenarios that you are most likely to encounter when using them. One doesn't practice shooting only @ 50 yards with a rifle when they expect to shoot 600 yards at an Elk a month later. Folks try and make way too much of the DA/SA debate, when in reality, there is no debate. It is just common sense and preference.
 
Single Action

My instructor, a retired state trooper who ended his career as an instructor for troopers, was in a good number of gun fights during his career. He will not let me fire SA in his presence. He said using SA under stress is likely to result in accidental discharge possibly hitting an inniocent person. He also says a high percentage of personal defense situations, one does not have time to cock the hammer. Accordingly, one needs to be proficient at DA.
 
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