I'm not criticizing the choice, but just want to understand it better. I think I'm younger than the typical SA revolver aficionado. (45) With respect, maybe it's a generational thing?
To me, a DA revolver that has a SA option does the same thing, and more efficiently, while retaining the same fixed barrel accuracy:
- Faster lock time
- Faster reloading
- DA option
Is it a nostalgia thing, for folks who grew up watching cowboy shows, or is there something more to it? For example, I've read that SA revolvers with the traditional cowboy grip tend to rotate upwards in recoil rather than push back. From the few times I've shot one, that arch still gives a pretty good thump right in the palm of the hand.
Is it akin to choosing a lever action rifle over an automatic rifle, where a slower, more deliberate way of doing things can be more satisfying?
Well, to start with the generational thing, maybe so, in some cases. As for myself, I did not care much for SA revolvers, for my personal use, until some time in the mid-Nineties, and I bought my first one, a USFA, about 1997.
As for the “more efficiently” part, well, thumb-cocking an SAA-pattern sixgun is a more efficient movement that thumb-cocking many, if not most DA sixguns.
The faster lock time does tend to favor the DA revolver.
The reloading factor, though, is a bit more complex. Most DA revolvers are reloaded by swinging the whole cylinder assembly clear of the frame, which can be seen as partially disassembling the gun. An SAA-pattern sixgun can be fired, as needed, while the loading gate is open, so, is not totally out of action, as a weapon, during the reloading process.
The DA option can be seen as unnecessary, by folks to are accomplished SA sixgunners.
I saw some western shows, as a kid, but they did not make me fall in love with the Colt SAA. I grew up liking the 1911 Colt Government Model, and the DA sixguns used on police shows. For reference, I was born in 1961, and graduated from high school in 1980.
I grew up liking the M1 Garand, for the same reason I grew up liking the 1911. As an adult, I have accumulated autoloading, single shot, bolt-action, and lever-action rifles.
As for why I finally started liking the SA revolver, well, to make a long story short, I like the way an SAA-pattern revolver’s gripping area fits my left hand, and how comfortable it is to thumb-cock, with my left thumb, when shooting left-hand-only. My right hand is shaped a bit differently, and my right thumb is less-mobile. I reckon that I am a lefty with SAA-pattern revolvers, while being a right-hander with some other handguns/firearms. (I worked for a PD, for 33+ years, and practiced diligently to be ambidextrous with the DA revolvers I was required to use, early in my career.)