Tips on Double Action Revolver shooting please

[Mark_Mark]

Would anybody offer some tips on DA shooting with a pair of Colt Officer Target? I have matching gun .22 & .38

I can’t seem to get comfortable with the grip & trigger in DA.

I’m doing the pointer finger on the trigger guard grip. Front sight focus, and waiting for the Colt Click trigger pull.

Any other tips would be great!!

 

[GooseGestapo]

Concentrate on a smooth steady pull and “follow through” on your trigger squeeze.
While pulling the trigger, focus on the front sight after establishing a proper sight picture.
Imagine that you’re having to guide the bullet all the way to the target, like a TOW anti tank missle is wire guided, or a laser guided missle requires a constant illumination of the target.
The barrel time of a 148gr wad cutter is longer than you think.

D/A shooting is an acquired skill requiring continuous “practice”.
Hint… meaning dry firing, dry fire, dry fire…

I once heard it said that Jim Collins, a PPC legend dry fired every night before going to bed 150 times. The number of shots in a 1500 match…

 

[UncleEd]

I think of those Colts as meant for the bulls-eye competitions
and best shot in single action.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Concentrate on a smooth steady pull and “follow through” on your trigger squeeze.
While pulling the trigger, focus on the front sight after establishing a proper sight picture.
Imagine that you’re having to guide the bullet all the way to the target, like a TOW anti tank missle is wire guided, or a laser guided missle requires a constant illumination of the target.
The barrel time of a 148gr wad cutter is longer than you think.

D/A shooting is an acquired skill requiring continuous “practice”.
Hint… meaning dry firing, dry fire, dry fire…

I once heard it said that Jim Collins, a PPC legend dry fired every night before going to bed 150 times. The number of shots in a 1500 match…

Dang! Love to reply! thanks!

Like a Tow Missile, concentrate on the front sights. Keep focus and follow thur.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I think of those Colts as meant for the bulls-eye competitions
and best shot in single action.

I do have a Colt OM Target. Has a bigger grip, it’s doesn’t have a mark on the cylinder. I was wanting to practice with the more used guns before trying it.

the bigger grip feel better for DA shooting

 

[Mark_Mark]

^^^ sorry… that’s a Colt OM Match

 

[Pat Riot]

If after a couple of hundred or more rounds the grip doesn’t feel right perhaps you need to look at different grip panels.
I tried and tried to like S&W Target grips on my models 19 and 17 because they were “old school” “factory” “original” “traditional”, etc (pick a nostalgic reason) Then one day I decided to go on a mission to find what worked for me…Not what worked for everyone else. It cost me a bit of money and was a bit frustrating and then one day I saw a set of grips on a fellow THR member’s gun I hadn’t tried yet. Altamont Ropers. I bought a set and waited for them to arrive. Once installed they felt great and they shot great. They fit my hands perfectly and all of a sudden I was hitting what I was aiming at and doing it consistently.

Don’t make your body work to fit a gun. Make your gun fit you.

 

[J-Bar]

Learn to accept the fact that your sight picture will wobble as you pull the trigger. The sights wobble a little for the best shooters, a lot more for poor shooters. If you try to stage the trigger and pause just before it breaks while trying to perfect the sight alignment and sight picture, you will probably wind up jerking the trigger when everything is "perfect". Your groups will be smaller if you concentrate on keeping front and rear sights aligned and accept a bit of imperfection in the sight picture (punkin not perfect on top of the front sight). Make a smooth CONTINUOUS trigger pull straight to the rear.

I find it helps me to load one shot at a time. Loading more than one encourages shooting rapidly and in a metronomic rhythm. If the time interval between shots is the same, then you are letting the clock determine when you shoot, rather than controlling the break when you have the correct sight alignment. You hear metronome shooters at every range; usually their groups suck.

 

[Mark_Mark]

If after a couple of hundred or more rounds the grip doesn’t feel right perhaps you need to look at different grip panels.
I tried and tried to like S&W Target grips on my models 19 and 17 because they were “old school” “factory” “original” “traditional”, etc (pick a nostalgic reason) Then one day I decided to go on a mission to find what worked for me…Not what worked for everyone else. It cost me a bit of money and was a bit frustrating and then one day I saw a set of grips on a fellow THR member’s gun I hadn’t tried yet. Altamont Ropers. I bought a set and waited for them to arrive. Once installed they felt great and they shot great. They fit my hands perfectly and all of a sudden I was hitting what I was aiming at and doing it consistently.

Don’t make your body work to fit a gun. Make your gun fit you.

YEP! same here! I’m in love with the nostalgic original classic grips but the gun is fighting with my hands.

Altamont Ropers … here I come!

 

[Mark_Mark]

Learn to accept the fact that your sight picture will wobble as you pull the trigger. The sights wobble a little for the best shooters, a lot more for poor shooters. If you try to stage the trigger and pause just before it breaks while trying to perfect the sight alignment and sight picture, you will probably wind up jerking the trigger when everything is "perfect". Your groups will be smaller if you concentrate on keeping front and rear sights aligned and accept a bit of imperfection in the sight picture (punkin not perfect on top of the front sight). Make a smooth CONTINUOUS trigger pull straight to the rear.

I find it helps me to load one shot at a time. Loading more than one encourages shooting rapidly and in a metronomic rhythm. If the time interval between shots is the same, then you are letting the clock determine when you shoot, rather than controlling the break when you have the correct sight alignment. You hear metronome shooters at every range; usually their groups suck.

i’m on the Roper website, don’t see anything for Colts OMT

 

[alfsauve]

I’ve done a lot of dry firing with a quarter balance on top of my barrel. Of course it’s a flat surface unlike some.

 

[PzGren]

Shooting a revolver in single action and double action require a different positioning of the trigger finger. The D/A pull is longer and the trigger finger does not come back in a straight line but in a radius. A little "more" trigger finger than in S/A is necessary.

The post 1969 Korths have exchangeable rollers for D/A shooting that allow for different stacking and for greater accuracy I prefer a noticeable stacking. After I dropped out of competitions I enjoyed shooting my favorite Korth at 25m on the ISSF pistol target in D/A and had almost the same average score for accuracy putting a box of 50 downrange rapidly.

 

[Pat Riot]

i’m on the Roper website, don’t see anything for Colts OMT

I know a little about Colts. Darn little. But what’s the frame size of that revolver? You need that info to buy grips, I’m sure.
Anyway, I went looking and found this. The first post lists the frame sizes by model names. GO down the whole list. It appears there are more the one frame size for a model name.
https://www.coltforum.com/threads/colt-frames-reference-guide.378547/

Whether you have an OMT or an OMM - Officers Model Target or Match. Please use whole words when asking for help. OMM, OMT don’t mean crap…to me, anyway.

See if any of those names and models match anything on grip websites you are looking at.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I know a little about Colts. Darn little. But what’s the frame size of that revolver? You need that info to buy grips, I’m sure.
Anyway, I went looking and found this. The first post lists the frame sizes by model names. GO down the whole list. It appears there are more the one frame size for a model name.
https://www.coltforum.com/threads/colt-frames-reference-guide.378547/

Whether you have an OMT or an OMM - Officers Model Target or Match. Please use whole words when asking for help. OMM, OMT don’t mean crap…to me, anyway.

See if any of those names and models match anything on grip websites you are looking at.

thanks! looks like it’s a E frame

 

[Mark_Mark]

I’ve done a lot of dry firing with a quarter balance on top of my barrel. Of course it’s a flat surface unlike some.

I like that idea!

 

[Mark_Mark]

Shooting a revolver in single action and double action require a different positioning of the trigger finger. The D/A pull is longer and the trigger finger does not come back in a straight line but in a radius. A little "more" trigger finger than in S/A is necessary.

The post 1969 Korths have exchangeable rollers for D/A shooting that allow for different stacking and for greater accuracy I prefer a noticeable stacking. After I dropped out of competitions I enjoyed shooting my favorite Korth at 25m on the ISSF pistol target in D/A and had almost the same average score for accuracy putting a box of 50 downrange rapidly.

do you guys normally have a DA gun & a SA gun?

 

[PzGren]

I have only one Single Action revolver, a Ruger New Vaquero, and one DAO S&W 65, all other are single action & double action. That's not counting the cap and ball revolvers.

 

[usaral63]

If you are serious about learning to handle a DA revolver you need to pick up a copy of Ed McGiverns "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting".............I think it's still in print, but if not you can likely find a copy used. Tedious read and dated by todays standards, but extremely thorough exploration of the skill...........Believe Ed's claim to fame was some;thing like 6 shots in a playing card at some distance in 5/8th of a second......DA. Lotsa photos.

Keith's works are also valuable and every shooter ought to have a copy............unfortunately all my Keith stuff and McGivern went to Idaho with a young fella I "loaned them to"......but that's another story the moral of which is don't loan tools or books!

 

[AlexanderA]

D/A shooting is an acquired skill requiring continuous “practice”.

That's a lot of time and effort to learn (and maintain) a skill that's basically obsolete. What's the cost / reward calculation? Why bother?

 

[Tallball]

I don't stage the trigger. That's just shooting SA, really. One smooth pull.

I focus on the front sight, but I also see the target. I try to "look the bullet in", like shooting a basketball. In reality our eyes will blink shut just for a moment, but I try to see the sight picture and the bullet hole appearing. After a few cylinders with a given revolver and ammo, I'll know where the holes "should" appear.

If the grips don't work for you, change them. If the revolvers don't fit your hands well, find a cheap one that does and shoot the snot out of it.

You're on the right path. That's how you'd shoot in a SD situation. Also, when you can shoot a revolver well in DA, most handguns will seem pretty easy to shoot. It takes tons of good practice, more than anything. 22 is your wallet's friend here.

I'm a coward and don't dry fire my nice old Colts or Smiths. A $200 range beater is the correct handgun to dry fire, IMHO.

 

[GooseGestapo]

That's a lot of time and effort to learn (and maintain) a skill that's basically obsolete. What's the cost / reward calculation? Why bother?

Ever shot a DA/SA semi automatic? Same thing!
There is substantial carry over to single action shooting.
Consider the number of PPC shooters that have also dominated Bullseye competitions. (ie: Phil Hemphil, John Farley).
My current carry is a Taurus G2C. It has a looonng d/a pull with a light stacking at the end. It even took me a bit to adapt to.

Why a Taurus?
I loath the idea that IF I needed to use it, it will spend decades in an evidence locker after being test fired by evidence technicians and then put up dirty. I can’t stomach the thought that one of my Smith&Wesson’s being so abused…
And thirteen rounds on tap…

 

[Mark_Mark]

I don't stage the trigger. That's just shooting SA, really. One smooth pull.

I focus on the front sight, but I also see the target. I try to "look the bullet in", like shooting a basketball. In reality our eyes will blink shut just for a moment, but I try to see the sight picture and the bullet hole appearing. After a few cylinders with a given revolver and ammo, I'll know where the holes "should" appear.

If the grips don't work for you, change them. If the revolvers don't fit your hands well, find a cheap one that does and shoot the snot out of it.

You're on the right path. That's how you'd shoot in a SD situation. Also, when you can shoot a revolver well in DA, most handguns will seem pretty easy to shoot. It takes tons of good practice, more than anything. 22 is your wallet's friend here.

I'm a coward and don't dry fire my nice old Colts or Smiths. A $200 range beater is the correct handgun to dry fire, IMHO.

I was staging the trigger. Colt has a click right before the hammer drops. I’ll try the non-stage smooth trigger pull. Learning in FUN

I have not tried my Smith yet. I assume it’s going to be way different from the Colt. One gun at a time. I also don’t care about shooting the snot out of these classics guns.

 

[Lefty38-55]

4 TIPS for you ...

1 - Front sight, front sight, front sight ...

2 - Buy Brownell's 'Action Magic II' and apply to the lockwork per instructions, can easily drop a DA pull by 4-6 pounds

3 - Buy MORE 22LRs and practice, practice, practice ...

4 - Read #1 again and remember, all your attention should be on the FRONT SIGHT as the trigger breaks!

 

[Tallball]

"I was staging the trigger. Colt has a click right before the hammer drops. I’ll try the non-stage smooth trigger pull. Learning is FUN. I have not tried my Smith yet. I assume it’s going to be way different from the Colt. One gun at a time. I also don’t care about shooting the snot out of these classics guns."

Love your attitude. Staging the trigger is pretty much just getting it to the SA spot and then aiming and squeezing the trigger afterwards. I have a friend who's really good at that.

It's harder to do, but I just go for one smooth squeeze. It's more challenging. You have to keep the sights where you want them the whole time. I'm going for smooth and steady. It's easier to keep the sights steady for long enough if you're not too slow. But if you go too quickly you jerk the trigger and ruin your shot. And so on. It's an art.

I'm a trigger Philistine in that they pretty much just feel "stiff" or "not stiff" overall, especially if I'm shooting them DA. I kinda notice the length of travel. To me, my decent Colts and Smiths and Taurii and Rugers all feel "good". My effective accuracy with the centerfire ones tends to be roughly the same, even if they feel a little bit different. After you put a cylinder through one, you pretty much know what to expect.

 

[UncleEd]

Deleted. Decided posting would just confuse the situation.