Shooting better Double Action?

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Deer Hunter

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I took a trip out to my local range (aka, deserted dirt road leading into forest a mile or so up the the main dirt road) with my dad yesterday at dusk. It's too hot during the day to do anything like this, so we have to catch the sun just perfect because where we shoot, if you get there too early the sun is glaring right into your eyes. Too late, no light at all.

But hey, it's free. I'll quit complaining.

I brought along my Marlin 336, my Ruger MKI, my Stoeger coach gun (and only two 3" number 4, just for a finale), and my Smith and Wesson 625. I took one moonclip of Black Hills 230 grain +P ammo and another 50 rounds of Wolf 230 grain FMJ. I have prooved, once again, that my 625 HATES wolf ammo. I cannot hit anything with it. Even at 12 yards I was having trouble hitting anything consistant. It wasn't just me, even though I'm not exactly the best shooter when it comes to pistols. My dad tried it, and the bullets were traveling everywhere on the target. One was to the left, one to the right, another to the left, one far up and one far below, ect. We tried the black hills stuff, and even my groups were much better with it. We've determined it's the ammo. Too bad it's cheap as dirt, though.

But as I was shooting, I noticed something. I would get better groups when shooting DA instead of SA. I figured since the SA trigger was very light, my groups would be better using that. I was wrong. My dad set up a block of wood at 30 yards and told me to shoot it. I hit it once, but every single shot was just BARELY missing it. For me, I consider that pretty good. I tried hitting it with a round of SA fireing, and my bullets were WAY off. It was embarressing to watch the dust fly up a yard away from the wood.

Anyone else experience this? Do you shoot better SA or DA?
 
Too bad it's cheap as dirt, though.
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Shooting bad ammo just hurts your morale.

If you can only afford to buy Wolf, it's time to start reloading. Maybe you can beat the Wolf price, maybe you can't. You'll sure beat the price of GOOD ammo.

As for your problems shooting SA, are you following through? If you don't know what that means, it's maintaining your fundamentals AFTER the shot has been fired. You attempt to maintain your grip, body position, sight alignment, trigger control, etc.

Another issue is your grip/trigger control. I find that my grip and trigger control is MUCH more critical when shooting a revolver than with an auto. Make sure that you have a comfortable grip AND a comfortable position with your trigger finger. Don't touch the frame with ANY part of your trigger finger. There are basically three positions for your finger on the trigger, the tip, the pad, and the first joint. Try all three to see which works best for you.

I find shooting a revolver quite difficult but extremely rewarding when done well.
 
Double action shooting is the way to go for defensive/combat shooting. But you don't see any pure target shooters choosing double action for matches (combat and other types of matches are the exception, of course.) Nor do you see hunters shooting double action.

For pure precision, single action shooting is much more accurate. As mentioned above, check your technique. Have someone load your revolver for you -- and slip in a fired case or two. When the hammer falls on that fired case, I bet you see something you didn't notice before.:D
 
It may just be me not following through correctly. I'll try again in a few days with some winchester white box I picked up at walmart today. Not the best, but certainly better than the Wolf.

I don't have the resources of time availible that is needed for a reloading activity or hobby. However, I plan on reloading later in my life. Until then, I look for good deals. I think I may start buying ammunition from local stores every once in a while, rather than buying in bulk. And if I buy in bulk, I may step up to something better.

I'll work one what you've said, and maybe my SA will get better.
 
But you don't see any pure target shooters choosing double action for matches (combat and other types of matches are the exception, of course.
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Actually among the few who still shoot revolvers for bullseye, quite a few shoot double action in the timed and rapid. Of those, quite a significant number "stage" the trigger, drawing back until their finger hits the frame, after which point it's like shooting single action.
 
I don't have the resources of time availible that is needed for a reloading activity or hobby.
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Actually, if you use a progressive press like a Dillon, reloading is pretty fast and painless. I can load in excess of 300 .45acp an hour on my Dillon 550B.
 
If you're shooting better DA than SA, it's a sign that your personal gun handling is developing well BUT you have one last area to focus on.

OK, here's what's happening.

Take your DA wheelgun, UNLOAD IT. Now hold it up sideways and cock it. Note how far the hammer travels backwards. Decock or dryfire it, and do a few DA strokes, again watching where the hammer goes back to.

What you'll find is that in a DA stroke, the hammer does NOT travel as far back as it does on an SA cock.

And what THAT means is, there's less "lock time" between the hammer being released for firing and actually getting to the primer.

With less "lock time", the gun has less time to move out of position before firing.

The best hunting guns (bolt actions) have a LOT less lock time than any revolver, DA or SA. This is one key reason a bolt-action rifle is more accurate than a levergun with it's revolver-style hammer and revolver-grade lock times, even though both guns have SA triggers.

So what you've learned is, your handling of the DA trigger is approaching mastery, and that's great. But you're not "freezing" the gun during firing, and that's allowing the longer lock time of the SA stroke to get in the way. Be aware that the same "shaking the gun at the last instant" issue IS also affecting your DA shooting, just not as much.

So.

You need to do more SA shooting and focus on "follow-through", maintaining the gun's steadiness after sear release. I'm not saying you're a bad shooter, in fact what you're seeing here confirms you're well on your way.

This is simply the next necessary step in your development.
 
Thanks for all the great information. I'm not feining mastery, don't get me wrong. When I say I'm more proficient while fireing DA, I mean that I suck less. I'm a long way from being as good as some guys (or gals) out there.

I'll work on my follow-through. Now that I think about it, I seem more steady when fireing DA. I came home with 200 rounds of ammo today, so I'll be happy to see it put to good use.

About the reloading question: I cannot reload right now because of time constraints. Not that I don't have time for it, but that I've got one more year of school left until I head off to college. I also do not have a space for reloading. I'd have to have somewhere outside, possibly a shed or something. While I could figure something out, and I'd really love to, right now is not the time. I'll need to work on other things right now, such as jobs and classes.
 
About the reloading question: I cannot reload right now because of time constraints. Not that I don't have time for it, but that I've got one more year of school left until I head off to college. I also do not have a space for reloading. I'd have to have somewhere outside, possibly a shed or something. While I could figure something out, and I'd really love to, right now is not the time. I'll need to work on other things right now, such as jobs and classes.
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I think perhaps you have some misconceptions regarding reloading.

I've got a full sized Dillon RL550B set up in a closet. It's bolted to a Black & Decker Workmate folding bench for easy breakdown. I'm not exactly sure why you think you need to reload in a "shed". I reloaded pistol ammo in college, using an RCBS junior single stage press bolted to a board which was c-clamped to a desk. When I was in the Army, I used the same press clamped to a dresser in my BOQ room. Everything you'd need would fit in a banker's box. You really sound like a candidate for a Dillon Square Deal. You could do two to three shooting sessions worth of ammo in an hour.

I'm not saying you have to reload in order to shoot. I'm just saying that you seem to be greatly overestimating the amount of time and space required.
 
I always shoot better (tighter groups) in DA. When I fist started shooting my revolvers I shot SA for awhile, but just to get used to the recoil/feel of the gun.
 
I know it could be done in a small area, but that area cannot be in the house. Parent's orders. There's really no where else I can do it. I may get started later, or look into it more, but right now my funds are going toward getting rid of my truck and getting a car.
 
Jim March is right about the shorter lock time. Also, you're probably getting more of a surprise break with the longer double action pull. Finally, not having to thumb a hammer back, you're not breaking your hold between shots. Back in my PPC days, most of the Masters shot double action instead of the optional single action at 50 yards, for all the above reasons.
 
Shooting is like any other physical endeavor. Once you have the correct fundamentals down, you must practice. It's very common for someone to mistakenly think that shooting single action is going to be easier than shooting double action. I shoot almost exclusively double action and don't have to concentrate too much to get good groups. If I shoot single action, I have to focus extremely hard to get the same groups. There is a certain rhythm to double action that you don't have shooting single action. You want to shoot good SA groups, practice SA shooting.
 
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