coylh
Member
I have sometimes heard some terms like DAO oddly applied to certain guns. See if you agree with me here.
A single action trigger is only capable of releasing the hammer/striker, so it must be cocked before being fired.
A double action trigger can both cock and release the hammer/striker. It can optionally be cocked manually and then released.
A double action only trigger does not have the option of being pre-cocked. You go through the full trigger cocking each time. This can be implemented by hiding the hammer, or via the mechanism.
So, the complaint is that Glocks and Kahrs are being called DAO. This seems incorrect to me because both pistols must be pre-cocked before firing: simply pulling the trigger is not enough to both cock and fire the gun. If it were, you'd be able to repeatedly dry-fire them.
I've heard two reasons I think people are calling them DAO:
1. "They are DAO, they just don't have a re-strike capability". This seems silly. By my thinking, re-striking is a characteristic of the way the mechanism works, not some indepentant feature you can add or remove. "Yeah it's a 1911, but I had my gunsmith install re-strike..."
2. They don't have decockers. This seems like the mostly likely reasoning. They don't have a safety so they must not be single action. No hammer + no decocker = the O, therefore DAO.
Is this all marketingese for police departments?
A single action trigger is only capable of releasing the hammer/striker, so it must be cocked before being fired.
A double action trigger can both cock and release the hammer/striker. It can optionally be cocked manually and then released.
A double action only trigger does not have the option of being pre-cocked. You go through the full trigger cocking each time. This can be implemented by hiding the hammer, or via the mechanism.
So, the complaint is that Glocks and Kahrs are being called DAO. This seems incorrect to me because both pistols must be pre-cocked before firing: simply pulling the trigger is not enough to both cock and fire the gun. If it were, you'd be able to repeatedly dry-fire them.
I've heard two reasons I think people are calling them DAO:
1. "They are DAO, they just don't have a re-strike capability". This seems silly. By my thinking, re-striking is a characteristic of the way the mechanism works, not some indepentant feature you can add or remove. "Yeah it's a 1911, but I had my gunsmith install re-strike..."
2. They don't have decockers. This seems like the mostly likely reasoning. They don't have a safety so they must not be single action. No hammer + no decocker = the O, therefore DAO.
Is this all marketingese for police departments?
