DA vs SA on a DA revolver.

[Old Fuff]

Revolvers don't have a safety.

While there are exceptions, (mostly made in Europe, or here for the European market) that have manual safeties, hand ejector revolvers made in the United States have mechanical safeties that prevent an unintentional discharge unless the trigger is deliberately pulled and held backward while the hammer falls. Colt was one of the first to offer this feature in 1908. Smith & Wesson incorporated a positive hammer block safety in 1945. Taurus and Ruger revolvers both have transfer-bar safeties.

But if you cock the hammer and pull the trigger, intentionally or not, the gun will do what it's supposed to do and fire. No safety can protect a user from being careless or stupid.

 

[Guillermo]

once again Old Fuff is exactly right.

In the context of this thread, if the hammer is back it takes very little pressure to fire off the round.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, it takes very little (4 lbs) pressure to fire a Glock. All the Glockheads say "safety is between the ears". I wouldn't use single action to hold a suspect or something like that. What it is great for is longer range shooting, hunting, field use. Even my snubby has taken game in the field. I spend a lot of time in the outdoors, more than I used to now that I don't have to work. If you never leave the city, you probably don't need any single action on your revolver. Me, I'm a special case.

Yep, as usual, can't argue with Fuff.

 

[Guillermo]

Yep, as usual, can't argue with Fuff

the old boy has only made one mistake in my experience. Not bad!

 

[Rexster]

I plink, and train for defensive shooting, DA. I want DA to be my default method of shooting, period. I will occasionally shoot at targets SA. But, know what? I can only shoot better with SA on a really, really good day, assuming I am standing, and shooting unsupported. Many days, I can shoot better in DA mode, and must use a steady rest for SA to do anything for me. Of course, I made a commitment in the mid-1980's, as a young police officer, to REALLY learn DA sixgunning, because my life, quite literally, depended on it.

While I have only had to fire one defensive shot thus far, I believe the confidence in my DA shooting was visible in my body language, causing some miscreants to give up rather than fight. This now not-so-young police officer carries autoloaders now, and since I have some leeway in my duty pistol choice, I carry P229s with the DAK trigger in my duty rig. The P229 points like a K/L-frame in my hands, and the DAK trigger system is a very good imitation of an S&W DA sixgun pull, especially with a TJ Customs trigger installed.