I carried a S&W revolver of 14 years as a cop and NEVER fired anything but DA in all my training and quals and I would shoot 100% quals even at 50 yds.
Some of us have observed that old hands can often do well with a DA revolver.
What you say is true if you are talking pure 'marksmanship'
Yes, there is a
big difference between effective defensive shooting and "good shooting".
When a person is attacked UP CLOSE you MUST 'point and shoot' the encounters (civilian) will seldom last more than a few seconds and only require a few shots, if any, and the less 'thinking' (training) that is required to operate the tool properly the better off they are.
that's right in line with Rob Pincus' thinking, and I agree with it.
It really doesn't take much thinking to operate a semi-auto, after a session or two at the range. It does take some practice to learn to reload quickly, or to replace the magazine to clar the gun, without looking at it.
for them the revolver is the 'best' choice to START with.
To
start learning the
basics of shooting, yes. But for realistic defensive shooting, with a proper balance of adequate speed and precision (fast shooting, with combat accuracy), I do not agree. That's based on personal experience, personal observations, and the observations of those who teach more people in a year than I have ever shot with.
DA, in a FIGHT does NOT prevent you from firing accurately or rapidly.
A long, heavy DA pull makes it more difficult to fire rapidly and accurately. That's simple physics. Of course, some revolvers are better than others. A long, reasonably heavy one with a good trigger and a good grip will be easier for easier to use than a J-Frame.
My Model 686 meets that description, but I can do better with a semi-auto with a good-sized grip, adequate length, and a good trigger,
Those who have amazed us with fast DA revolver shooting, such as Ed McGivern and Jerry Miculek, were and are neither new shooters nor casual occasional shooters; they shoot full size revolvers; and their revolvers did not and do not have the compromised trigger mechanism geometry of a J-Frame.
The first training session I ever attended was not really a defensive training class. It was focussed on developing the skills necessary to hit each of three large steel plates consistently, very fast and at short range, all day long while reloading and clearing any malfunctions that might occur, instantly. It was not for the experienced shooter. It was useful in teaching that kind of shooting and for getting people away from bulls-eye mentality.
Full-sized semi-autos were required. The instructors, competition, competition shooters , explained that of them was very good with a revolver, but that even he would not try using it in those exercises.
And 'reality' is based on probability, not ideology.
Yes indeed!
As for the recommendations of 'well known trainers' (young folks with little to no REAL life experience),
They see how more students shoot different types of firearms in a season than most people see in a lifetime.