Well, I have to differ with you all. In an emergency situation, a draw-and-shoot-to-kill here is my regimen: Elbow brushes back covering garment, hand grasps gun butt, thumb on hammer spur, trigger finger on trigger. As my gun clears leather cock the hammer. As gun comes level, press the trigger. Such situations are not range politically correct, it is a matter of life and death. Such gymnastics taught at most ranges/classes fly out the window in such circumstances. The practice of bringing the gun to the mid chest, grasping with off hand, then presenting will most likely get you killed.
And, yes, I've handled both Single Action and double action revolvers. Rigid index finger plays no part in my practice. Applying pressure to the trigger at the right time does. And this has been my practice for over sixty years. Negligent discharges to date = 0.
Let the flak commence.
Bob Wright
I'm going to agree with Bob on this one. Clint Smith made this point years ago, that "finger off the trigger" does not mean finger out of the triggerguard. This non-negotiable safety-Nazi practice of "finger off the trigger" has mutated into never putting your finger into the triggerguard. Further, if you are drawing your sidearm to engage a threat, the decision has already been made to fire the weapon. As soon as the sixgun clears leather, the hammer should start coming back and the finger goes into the triggerguard. the finger does not go onto the trigger until the gun comes up and you are ready to fire. The decision can be made NOT to fire at any time.
Wrong.
I am going to affirm what has been said by Bob Wright and CraigC. The OP brought up a valid point, and I am not going to remain silent, outside the discussion, for this one. Folks with long fingers can have a devil of a time manipulating a single-action sixgun, with the trigger finger indexing outside the trigger guard. And, depending upon one’s hand size and shape, indexing the back of the trigger finger, against the INSIDE FRONT portion of the trigger guard, can nicely facilitate thumb cocking. So, for folks who regularly rely upon single-action sixguns, there is no Disturbance In The Force, here.
To be clear, I do not advocate that any person change any well-thought-out, best-practice, safety-related behavior that has been learned, but, yes, indeed, I learned to shoot revolvers during a time when keeping the finger totally outside the trigger guard was not yet a total doctrine. It was taught, at the time, to keep the finger OFF the trigger, but, it was acceptable, and, to a degree, still taught, to keep the back of the finger in contact with the front of the trigger guard. Yes, the inside surface, of the front of the trigger guard, WAS often accepted, as a place to index one’s trigger finger. I had, however, first learned to keep my finger outside the trigger guard, when using a 1911 pistol, my first handgun, so, that was/is my default behavior. Notably, I do not have long index fingers.
The straight-finger method is what was taught, with duty revolvers, when I attended the police academy, in 1983-1984. Notably, some LE trainers, elsewhere, were still teaching back-of-finger against the inside of the front of the trigger guard, with DA revolvers.
Yes, of course, anyone who uses pistols, with partially-cocked or fully-cocked strikers, should use the finger-OUTSIDE-the-trigger-guard, as the default, for all firearms. Index that trigger finger WAY UP there, on or by the slide, of autos, and well up on the frame, if a revolver. It is a best practice.
Single-action sixgunning, with purpose-built single-action revolvers, is unlike shooting any of the other generally-available types of handguns. This is why I do not recommend/advocate that anyone use such single-action revolving pistols as defensive weapons. BUT, intensely interested individuals can, indeed, operate at a different level, so, I have no problem accepting that some will choose to draw the weapon, in the way described by Bob Wright.
The Bob Wrights, among us, are not going to harm themselves, or others, with his method, because it is safe, for their applications, and, they are not also using Glocks, or striker-fired S&W M&P autos, or similar pistols.
I have tried to choose my words carefully. Again, I emphasize that I am not advocating that anyone adopt the single-action sixgun for defensive use, or that anyone use ANY single-action sixgunning methods to handle firearms other than single-action sixguns.
Notably, the trigger of an SAA-pattern revolver is “dead,” until the hammer is cocked. In effect, running the SAA is about hammer management, rather than trigger management. Apples and turnips. I can disassemble one of my SAA-pattern USFA Single Action revolvers, and put it back together, WITHOUT the trigger. I can then fire the weapon solely by “slip-shooting.” The trigger is not a necessary part, of an SAA-pattern revolving pistol. Safely handling an SAA-pattern revolving pistols is all about that hammer. (I do not know my way ‘round, inside a New Model Ruger, or other “modern” single-actions, so they are not part of what I am saying.)
Again, to be clear, anyone who learned to keep the index finger outside of the trigger guard, until ready to shoot, should continue to follow that training.
