SA For EDC

Without meaning to brag, I am very good with the Single Action. I can get off my shots in very quick order, shots that are .45 Caliber and 250 grains of bullet. And my Single Action is a New Model Ruger Blackhawk, so six rounds is at my disposal. My gun is concealed by a jacket or vest, so I retain the element of surprise.

My draw starts with elbowing my covering garment back with the elbow of my shooting arm and grasping the gun butt. I lift the gun up cocking the hammer as I do so, level the barrel and press the trigger. Here is my gun rig:



I'm very confident with my outfit, as is my wife. First of all, we are aware of our surroundings, and steer clear of potentially dangerous situations in which we are obviously outnumbered. When stopping at traffic lights, etc., I maintain clearance around my vehicle so as not to be "boxed in." When refueling my Jeep, I am very observant as to who is in my vicinity, where they are, and how many. More than two, if they look possibly threatening, I move on.

I DO NOT use my off hand for cocking the hammer, nor do I practice that way. As to the two-hand hold in the video, fine if your target is five to seven yards away. My practice is usually having your opponent in-your-face-close. Seldom will an attacker begin his move any distance from you. He is counting on surprise.

Bob Wright

The issue that comes up most often when discussing SA only carry when I talk to folks is that the revolver is cocked and has to be de cocked. As I can't see learning to manage a SA revolver without plenty of practice uncocking it with out firing I don't really see the point here.

Next most common concern is the uber light and short trigger pull once you have cocked the revolver. There is a concern that you might draw and cock and then try to do things other than shoot immediately. One instructor I know did the "two cups of water drill" to demonstrate how this could be a problem. Take two little bathroom disposable paper cups and fill them to the very brim with water on the bathroom counter. pick up one with your shooting hand and without spilling any water extend your arm as though to shoot. Now pick up the other cup. Bring it to eye level as well. Lower it and pour the water into the sink. Now crush the empty cup into a ball and drop it in the sink........did you spill even a drop of water in the full cup in your shooting hand. Think about that couple of ounces one eighth of an inch long trigger pull now. The argument is you may have an AD/ND more easily while holding a cocked SA revolver than whatever else.

-kBob

You de-cock a Single Action revolver by holding it in your opponent's midsection and pulling the trigger.

Boom! Hammer is no longer cocked.

Bob Wright

BobWright said:

You de-cock a Single Action revolver by holding it in your opponent's midsection and pulling the trigger.

Boom! Hammer is no longer cocked.

Bob Wright

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LOL

Guess that works.

That seems like a somewhat silly exercise; the solution to ADs with a SA is don't touch the trigger until you are ready to fire. If you cannot master that one you should not carry a SA.

I have belonged to SASS for about 16 years; therefore I really like a SA revolver. I have the Glocks, the 1911s (I carry a Colt lw Commander 45acp) and the Smiths (and others). Around the property I have no problem strapping on a 45 Colt or a 357 Magnum with a western single holster speed rig. If you are within 21 ft, I can hit a man (probably) in about .50 seconds after he flinches.
Hard to conceal as a speed rig though. That is when the 1911 comes out.

I'll be carrying a 4 5/8" blackhawk in the woods next week!

Tony_the_tiger said:

I'll be carrying a 4 5/8" blackhawk in the woods next week!

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I like these grips!!!

Thank you. Those are maple burl grips from Tim's Workshop (http://timsworkshop.blogspot.com/) that were fit to this Bisley grip-frame.

This one can make a 255 grain hardcast keith-style bullet at 998 ft/s feel gentle. Nothing to argue about there in terms of appropriateness for east-coast mountain critters.

Very interesting thread, and something that I've been thinking about for a while, as I just love the classic look of a single action, and I had the chance to shoot a friends single six 22 mag last fall, and it was probably the most fun gun I've ever shot.

One thing I've been contemplating is the 2 big negatives always seem to be that you have to manipulate the firearms action prior to each shot, and you can't reload as quickly.

As far as having to cock the gun, yea, it's an extra movement, but nobody seems to offer up the "action required between shots" argument when talking about using a pump action shotgun or lever action rifle for self defense.

I've heard of folks using 1911 magazines as speed loaders for single action 45 acp revolvers, so there's that, but it occurs to me that you could probably do the same thing with a magazine from a desert eagle if you have a revolver chambered in 44 or 357. (Secretly hoping someone chimes in, because I was actually about to start a thread on that when I saw this one)

kayak-man said:

Very interesting thread, and something that I've been thinking about for a while, as I just love the classic look of a single action, and I had the chance to shoot a friends single six 22 mag last fall, and it was probably the most fun gun I've ever shot.

One thing I've been contemplating is the 2 big negatives always seem to be that you have to manipulate the firearms action prior to each shot, and you can't reload as quickly.

As far as having to cock the gun, yea, it's an extra movement, but nobody seems to offer up the "action required between shots" argument when talking about using a pump action shotgun or lever action rifle for self defense.

I've heard of folks using 1911 magazines as speed loaders for single action 45 acp revolvers, so there's that, but it occurs to me that you could probably do the same thing with a magazine from a desert eagle if you have a revolver chambered in 44 or 357. (Secretly hoping someone chimes in, because I was actually about to start a thread on that when I saw this one)

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For me it is about the slow reloading time IF I'm in a situation where I'm likely to need more than six shots.

If that is the case, then an auto loader is called for.

kayak-man said:

Very interesting thread, and something that I've been thinking about for a while, as I just love the classic look of a single action, and I had the chance to shoot a friends single six 22 mag last fall, and it was probably the most fun gun I've ever shot.

One thing I've been contemplating is the 2 big negatives always seem to be that you have to manipulate the firearms action prior to each shot, and you can't reload as quickly.

As far as having to cock the gun, yea, it's an extra movement, but nobody seems to offer up the "action required between shots" argument when talking about using a pump action shotgun or lever action rifle for self defense.

I've heard of folks using 1911 magazines as speed loaders for single action 45 acp revolvers, so there's that, but it occurs to me that you could probably do the same thing with a magazine from a desert eagle if you have a revolver chambered in 44 or 357. (Secretly hoping someone chimes in, because I was actually about to start a thread on that when I saw this one)

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With regards to reloading speed, if I'm plinking around, or hunting, or at the range I really don't mind the time it takes to reload. Shooting and reloading from just a single magazine in the field with a semi auto sucks too. I know alot of people that only have one magazine for one gun or another.

And yes, Desert Eagle magazines work pretty well as speed loaders.

This is what I carry just about every day, a 4 3/4" Uberti .44 Special:



I carry around the place here and also deer hunt with it. I'd have no earthly way of knowing how many thousands of rounds I fired through it, NOT Cowboy Action ammunition, but heavy SWC's running from 850 - 1000 fps. And I also do, and always have, carried 6 rounds loaded with the hammer pulled back to the first "click".

35W

That looks like an honest well-worn setup.

Tony_the_tiger said:

That looks like an honest well-worn setup.

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Well, he is from Texas....

Tony_the_tiger said:

That looks like an honest well-worn setup.

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Shoot...that's an old picture. I had to have the cartridge loops redone a couple of years ago. The leather guy fussed at me for not oiling the rig, so I do that now once every few months whether it needs it or not. I don't baby this rig and wear it just about no matter what I'm doing, so it really is my EDC.

Different grips, new cartridge loops (that need to be refilled).

35Whelen, you may know about this, but I would not use "oil" every few months. My practice is use something like Aussie Cream for light touch ups, NeatsFoot for the original conditioning. Aussie will provide water protection also. Great product.

Boy, does that rig have character or what?

Michael Tinker Pearce said:

That seems like a somewhat silly exercise; the solution to ADs with a SA is don't touch the trigger until you are ready to fire. If you cannot master that one you should not carry a SA.

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I'd add to that...If you can't master that one, you should not carry anything and probably shouldn't even visit a shooting range unsupervised until getting some training.

Merle1 said:

For me it is about the slow reloading time IF I'm in a situation where I'm likely to need more than six shots.

If that is the case, then an auto loader is called for.

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or an "outlaw jose wales" reload!

murf

Red Cent said:

35Whelen, you may know about this, but I would not use "oil" every few months. My practice is use something like Aussie Cream for light touch ups, NeatsFoot for the original conditioning. Aussie will provide water protection also. Great product.

Boy, does that rig have character or what?

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Yep. "Oil" means neatsfoot oil, that's what I use...when I remember.

Merle1 said:

For me it is about the slow reloading time IF I'm in a situation where I'm likely to need more than six shots.

If that is the case, then an auto loader is called for.

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Interesting and timely.

Day before yesterday (Sunday) I'm coming home from church and up on the highway, a mile and a half or so north of the house, I see highway patrolmen and sheriff's deputies everywhere. So I pulled over and ask one of the deputies what's going on and he advised that a highway patrolman had pulled someone over that turned out to be wanted in Colorado on attempted manslaughter, drug charges, et al. The suspect (6' 4", 240 lbs.!!) had ran and was headed straight south which is in the direction of our house. Law enforcement had been looking for him with dogs, but had had no luck, so he was somewhere in the brush or creek bottom between my house and the highway. I had a couple of buddies coming over to help me work a few cattle after lunch and although I could've strap on my 1911 or one of my high-cap 9mm's, I strapped on the rig pictured above, just like always, penned the cattle and went about my business. (So now maybe you can see why this rig has so much "character" as it that day it was getting banged up against the pipe chute while we dehorned, castrated and vaccinated cattle.)

The threat of this guy was very real, yet it never occurred to me that I might need more than a shot, maybe two, much less a reload. Confidence and competence in ones tools is very important.

FWIW, lucky for the felon they caught him in a pasture about 3/4 of a mile directly north of me house. I say lucky for him because if he hadn't come to the pens where we were working the cattle, he'd have likely crossed paths with my wife, who I consider far more dangerous than I!!

35W

I've hesitated to get into this discussion, yet again. Suffice to say that I spend a lot of time not only shooting single actions but working them fast, both shooting and reloading. I am intimately familiar with their operation and infinitely comfortable with carrying them. While I have been involved in discussions on this topic many times, it's always those who have very little experience talking about how unsuitable they are. I will make a few general statements.

If you can't handle a cocked single action without it going off, you probably shouldn't be handling firearms at all.

Managing the SA trigger of an SA revolver is no different from managing the SA trigger on an SA auto. Or any rifle for that matter.

Cocking the hammer of a revolver is no different than flicking the safety off on a semi-auto. I guess people have gotten lazy and like to just jerk their Glock and slap the trigger.

Cocking the hammer of a revolver between shots is no different than working the lever of a leveraction, the forearm of a pump shotgun, or the bolt of a boltgun. It is also typically done while recovering from recoil.

After previous arguments, I procured a shot timer and proved that IN MY HANDS an SA revolver is no disadvantage over a DA for the first five/six shots. A DA is ONLY an advantage in reloading if you have speedloaders.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...hought-about-da-sa-speed.755013/#post-9520330

CraigC is spot on. I have used and carried DA & SA revolvers for over 50 years. Most of the time it has been SA because I am better with them and I use them to hunt with. I have never thought 5/6 shots would not be enough to settle an incident. When I have to go back to an urban area I sometimes carry a 1911 because it is easier to conceal, but I still prefer a SA revolver.

Did someone say speed loaders for SA Revolvers?

Just curious if anyone has tried this method of reloading a SA?
Fire rounds, half cock with shooting hand, tilt hand slightly and with left thumb open loading gate. Bring revolver up toward chest so barrel is pointing up about 45 degrees. Put pointer finger of shooting hand in the cylinder flute to turn cylinder one click. Left hand thumb works the ejector rod. Keep rotating cylinder with pointer finger of shooting hand. With practice you can empty pretty fast.
Load using same method, left hand inserts new rounds while cylinder is rotated with shoot hand

the Black Spot said:

Just curious if anyone has tried this method of reloading a SA?
Fire rounds, half cock with shooting hand, tilt hand slightly and with left thumb open loading gate. Bring revolver up toward chest so barrel is pointing up about 45 degrees. Put pointer finger of shooting hand in the cylinder flute to turn cylinder one click. Left hand thumb works the ejector rod. Keep rotating cylinder with pointer finger of shooting hand. With practice you can empty pretty fast.
Load using same method, left hand inserts new rounds while cylinder is rotated with shoot hand

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In my earlier trials with shooting a SA in modern USPSA style match, I found out that the gun gets hot really fast (with factory loads) and I had to sometimes load *kinda* like you describe but I used my left hand to rotate the cylinder as well.

My right hand stayed placed on the grip and the left hand did everything else.
When the gun is burning your hand, taking your hand off the gun, even for a second, helps a lot.
My left hand is pretty dexterous so loading individual rounds with the left hand was okay for me.

I don't think it is faster than holding the gun and rotating the cylinder with the left and working the ejector rod with the right, though.