Double Action or Single Action?

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I prefer double action for a couple of reasons. One is, it makes less noise if needing to be quick and quiet is necessary. And the other is AD's are too drisky in a stressful situation, been there and done that. For the range, I still use DA most of the time because I like to keep my skills well honed.
 
A lot of it goes back to how you were trained and what you learned. I was taught to aim and fire quickly, as quick as you could and make the hit. Practicing DA was the way to accomplish this. The ability to hit a target quickly depends on range and the amount of practice you have had. It is all a matter of using what you were taught and perfecting it. I can control the trigger and sights much better with a DA pull. So, that is what I use.
 
To me the whole DA/SA is easy of loading and unloading when I'm at the range. I like both and have both. I'm in the market for a 45 acp. The reason is I'm tired of chasing brass. I will be trying to find a DA just for the ability to load and unload easier.

I will say SA guns are super fun and in no way am I trying to slight them. I think everyone should have at lease one big bore SA revolver.
 
I am a single action fan. Most of my shooting revolves around the great outdoors, so little thought to defense. I have had better accuracy luck with my SAs (I have tried hard with a couple of DAs), better strength to weight, simpler design, point more naturally, and just as fast for the first 5 or 6 shots.
All that said, a DA would suit me fine if thats all I had. dvnv
 
I shoot a DA much more accurately than a SA. In fact on my DA revolvers, I never shoot in the SA mode. I find that when I do shoot SA I have poor trigger control and I tend to flinch.
 
I prefer DA for self defense because of its inherent speed compared to SA.

Tell that to Deuce Stevens: ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av5d2OlOwjA

Actually, I know what you're saying, and personally I think I can shoot just as fast and more accurately in double-action mode than I could slip-shoot a single-action revolver, so I prefer DA too. That said, there have been previous discussions involving folks who cannot reliably operate a DA trigger or rack a slide due to their lack of strength. In such cases, SA mode was one suggestion, and on some occasions I recommended that they try slip-shooting (which only works on SA revolvers, as far as I know) in order to potentially enable rapid fire, as the thumb is the strongest finger, it can get some help from the wrist, and the hammer is relatively easy to operate. I'm bringing this up here because everybody is different and maybe some people would actually shoot better this way (defensively) without even knowing it (especially since we've only been considering the more common type of SA shooting).
 
Most DAs can be fired SA. Get a DA with a hammer spur and you can shoot both ways. If I had to take a calm, accurate, timed hunting or target-type shot, I'd go SA. If it came down to self-defense, I'd dearly want the double action.
 
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I enjoy my revolvers for both speed shooting at matches and I also shoot an array of both cartridge and cap&ball revolvers in Cowboy Action shooting.

With my DA guns I seldom shoot them in SA mode. This is because most of the time I'm shooting to practice for the Speed Steel or IDPA events where I like to use my DA revolvers. But since I've done so much practicing with DA and I'm running Wolff spring kits in these guns I've found that I can shoot DA as well as I can SA even when I slow down and go for best accuracy. And in fact since I don't practice the SA all that much I found that I often shoot the DA groups tighter than the SA groups... go figure....

The plow handle SA style guns have me a bit flumoxed so far. I love shooting them but I'm still working on getting the proper grip for them to shoot straight ahead and hit on the vertical POA line. Up to now I've managed to avoid the issue because with CAS the need for pin point accuracy is somewhat reduced by the size of the metal targets at fairly close ranges. But recently I really started playing with my grip. From the last session with my old 3screw Single Six and a few rounds through my new .44mag Super Blackhawk I think I may have the grip style issue fixed. Both shot nicely to the center line even though the elevation is still an issue on the sights for the SS.

So I have to say that I like both. And other than for Olympic, long range hunting or similar precesion shooting I feel that DA in a DA revolver can be just as good as SA for most needs.

And I've seen how easy it is for folks to get a premature trigger pull on my Wolff equipped guns when I let others shoot them. So I'd have to totally agree that cocking back the hammer on a DA revolver in an SD situation is setting yourself up for an accident or at least a premature shot that isn't where it should be placed. And then there's the time needed to cock it again for the follow up shot. For those of you that are using DA revolvers for defense and that find it hard to shoot it in DA mode I'd suggest you find grips that are sized so that it better allows you to hold the gun and cycle the trigger well in DA mode. In some cases this may mean getting someone with some wood working skills to work on thinning and reshapeing the wood grips. But it's worth it if you get the proper grip and can work the gun in either mode more accurately and effectively.
 
I have both SA & DA.
I love both for their own purposes.

I have speed loaders for my DAs to use for SD/HD.
Can't imagine intentionally choosing a SA over a DA for home defense.
Atleast not for me.

For me, my SAs are too slow to reload.
I may not need to reload, but if I did, I'd much rather use a speedloader than trying to reload individual chambers.

Of course YMMV

Then again, I can't imagine trying to use DAs to practice looking like John Wayne. :what: ;)
 
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