Confused on double-action autoloaders.

[puck]

Ok, with a double action autoloader, you can just insert a magazine into the pistol with the slide closed and hammer down and just pull the trigger, and the trigger pull will force the slide back, put the hammer back, and fire, correct? Or, do you have to chamber a round manually, and the double action just puts the hammer down? Please clarify

 

[Old Fuff]

The double-action simply lifts and releases the hammer, and in this respect is the same as your .38 Colt revolver. All of the semi-automatic pistols you are considering require that the first round be chambered by pulling back and releasing the slide.

 

[Nick96]

There was some kind of foreign made pistol a while back where you could pull the front of the trigger guard back and it would rack the slide, chamber a round and cock the hammer (Norinco??) . But, in the traditional sence, a double action (DA) auto simply means the trigger is pulled like a revolver for the first shot - then it goes to single action mode (hammer automatically cocks) for the remaining shots. Then there is double action only (DAO) auto, where the trigger has to be pulled every time to pull back and drop the hammer just like a double action revolver (a design adopted by some law enforcement organizations). Then there is the Glock system - which is a half cock situation. Whole other operating system. Again, favored by many law enforcement organizations as a mix between the advantages of revolvers and autos.

In all cases though, there has to be a round stripped from the magazine and in the chamber (racking the slide) before it will go bang.

 

[cratz2]

As another way of saying it, every pistol I know of needs to have a cartridge put into the chamber. On 99% of guns, this would be accomplished by placing a loaded magazine into the pistol, racking the slide backwards and letting it fall forward.

One thing that may lead to confusion is sometimes in movies, the slide will already be locked in the open position, the shooter will insert a loaded magazine and drop the slide... When this is shown, it might make it looks like less is going on than really needs to go on.

On some smaller Berettas and Taurus pistols, the barrel can pop up allowing the round to be chambered without racking the slide - you insert a loaded magazine, pop the barrel up, place a round directly in the chamber and push the magazine down... and there's not need to rack the slide.

 

[zahc]

That's cool I've never heard of that