Why do we need the Double action only gun?

[9mmepiphany]

Gun makers meeting a demand, or trying to create one.

There was a demand.

LE agencies responded to the need for higher capacity guns than 6-shot revolvers as they felt underarmed by asking for semi-automatic pistols. They also bought into the belief that the DA/SA pistol required a trigger finger shift and two divergent techniques. The closest trigger action to that of the revolver they had the most experience with as a DAO. The first examples were less than optimal, but technology has caught up with the Sig DAK and the H&K LEM...which are very revolver-like

 

[X-Rap]

I see the longer pull of DAO or Striker pistols as a benift in a carry/defense weapon because you are not dealing with the glass rod trigger that might accompany the SA. It's all Ok on the internet to claim we would never have our finger riding the trigger or will be Chuck Norris cool when in a life and death situation but I like the extra bit of travel needed to fire the gun if I might have just been blind side punched, kicked in the groin in a half lit parking lot or hallway. There is no safety to release and no hammer to cock and from what I understand ones motor skills are a little rough until one figures out what is going on in a gunfight, I know it is that way in a fistfight.

 

[medic-rod]

do we need the Double action only gun? do we need single action? do we need double / single? No You NEED the one that fits your need. I love my single action 44 MAG my P90 (both) and well dealing with my double only they all have a place in life. Just my 2 cents

 

[GLOOB]

Just look at all the people that have shot themselves, inadvertently. Until there's an IQ and manual dexterity requirement for owning a firearm, there'll always be a market for firearms with a purposefully long, heavy trigger.

 

[mgmorden]

Just look at all the people that have shot themselves, inadvertently. Until there's an IQ and manual dexterity requirement for owning a firearm, there'll always be a market for firearms with a purposefully long, heavy trigger.

And so long as you keep trying to idiot proof the gun, they'll just keep making better idiots, no matter how heavy the trigger is .

 

[X-Rap]

It's all Ok on the internet to claim we would never have our finger riding the trigger or will be Chuck Norris cool when in a life and death situation

See I told you

 

[MCgunner]

Some folks can actually shoot DAO REVOLVERS accurately. Google "PPC competition".

 

[HKGuns]

I own four different varieties and find they all work really well. People get too hung up on triggers and actions. Shoot your pistols and enjoy the diversity of choices we have today.

My HK USP 45c is DA/SA
My S&W M&P 9c is striker
My HK P30 is DA light LEM
My HK P7's are SA only
My 1911's are SA only

 

[1SOW]

Why do we need the Double action only gun?

The same reasons we have striker fired pistols: Simple, Safe and Consistent. Procedure for firing: 1. Pull the (mediocre) trigger.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Since it was designed for many years and still have many peopel to buy it.

Many years? That's the truth:



"DAO" lockwork goes back at least to the percussion pistol, 1850s. For semi-autos, DA lockwork was seen as early as 1907, but the first patent for a DAO lock for semi-auto pistols dates from 1913 (for a striker-fired pistol; 1927 for hammer-fired).

Been around a long time, so my guess is they ain't going anywhere soon. That doesn't answer the question of why we need a DAO semiauto...but seems to confirm we have needed them for a long time and apparently still do.

 

[medic-rod]

Here is a strange action! but clean it worked (not well I guess) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Webley-Fosbery_1837.jpg

The Webley-Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver was an unusual, recoil-operated, automatic revolver designed by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery, VC and produced by the Webley and Scott company from 1901 to 1915. The weapon is easily recognisable by the zig-zag grooves on the cylinder.

 

[EddieNFL]

I think they're a good choice for folks with limited experience or those that can't/won't train.

 

[sm]

It fits a niche.
Just like most things, it may not fit everyone's niche, but it does fit those of others.

I did some testing and evaluations on the Kel-Tec P-11 back in the day for some folks, with some "niches".
Basically this is a double action only plastic revolver that gets feed with a mag inserted into the grip.

Some of the "niches" include not expensive, shoot a easy to find/popular caliber, including being able to use reloads of Lead bullets, no external safeties, and basically just pick it up, trip trigger and it goes "bang".

So I set aside my 1911, 042, Model 10, Model 19 and others and basically shot only this gun to wring it out, and to "become one" with it.

Hint: It ain't got the trigger of a 1911, or the 042 , or...

But, it passed, and filled niches asked of it by those asking me to T&E the gun.

 

[CAOxInfinity]

One of the local PD issue DAO Beretta px4s. Some of the officers tell me its to prevent accidental shootings... or maybe its cause they got a really good deal on them. Who knows the real reason

Sent from my Incredible 2 using Tapatalk

 

[kayak-man]

I think it is kind of a safety thing, as it makes the trigger harder to be pulled. I'm not talking about when the gun is in your hand, and you're riding the trigger, and it goes "bang" when it shouldn't have; I don't see DOA as a fix for keeping your finger off the trigger. I see it as one more safeguard for that pen you forgot was in your pocket, something in a different part of your backpack poking through the fabric into the compartment where you keep your gun.

I think of it like that GLOCK Safe-T block thing: its not supposed to keep YOU from accidentally pulling the trigger, its supposed to make it harder for a foreign object to get hung up on the trigger, and cause the hammer to fall when it really shouldn't have.

Yes, when I pocket carry my J-Frame or my LCP, it is in a pocket holster, but those holsters are soft material, guns move around, and its not inconceivable for there to be a problem. Think about it: Would you carry a revolver in a pocket holster with the hammer back, or a 1911 cocked but unlocked?

I'm not saying that I particularly care for DOA semi-autos, just that I think that in some situations, they can serve a purpose.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson

 

[X-Rap]

I must be in the minority but I can't help but feel that if ever I should be in a fight for my life and possibly already made a shot in self defense and have a person who seconds ago may have had the upper hand in killing me down on the ground and under gunpoint. The last thing I want is a weapon in the cocked position and a 2.5# trigger.
Any discharge at that point could be a murder charge, a DAO just seems like the best choice in that situation.

 

[1SOW]

The last thing I want is a weapon in the cocked position and a 2.5# trigger.
Any discharge at that point could be a murder charge, a DAO just seems like the best choice in that situation.

The problem there is that you only pulled the trigger "once" the first time.

NO-No-no, you're right. 2.5# is too light for an SD gun in my opinion, but 4+#s is well suited if the shooter actually shoots regularly.

 

[Nushif]

The problem there is that only pulled the trigger "once" the first time.

Actually, in a case like that, if the guy is out, I think *I* would holster and administer first aid. I don't like needless suffering, and if the attack is truly stopped it truly is ...

But as for the DA trigger, they can be very nice and just as easy to shoot well as any SA. It's like saying any non Maserati isn't good because the tires are thick. Triggers, much like guns can be supremely shootable for totally different reasons, and a short reset and lightness is most definitely not what constitutes a good trigger for me. I find the two things I need in a good trigger is no overtravel and no stack.

 

[JohnBT]

I wish some of my DA/SA guns had a 2.5# SA trigger pull. I don't think I've ever seen one that light.

 

[briansmithwins]

Nobody buys my guns for me, I get to pick the make and type.

And I carry a Sig P226 with a DAK trigger by choice. I've discovered that I shoot DAO pistols better. I also like a lighter trigger than Sig's traditional DAO, which is where the DAK comes in. It's around 6.5lbs and smooth. More importantly for me, it has the same pull each time I shoot.

Being able to eliminate another control from the pistol doesn't hurt either.

BSW

 

[MCgunner]

I WANT my pocket carry to have it's DAO 10 lb trigger. I'm very accurate with my Kel Tec P11 and I practice a lot with it. If I pocket carried a "safe action" or single action, I'd have to do that condition three for safety. The DAO allows condition one safely. I like DA/SA for belt carry, but I don't belt carry, can't in this climate and it's just not something I wanna do, anyway. Pocket carry is fine with an accurate, reliable 9mm +P pocket auto carrying 11 rounds at the ready.

 

[mortablunt]

I never got double action only. I mean, it's a nice advantage to be able to get your first shot off quickly without needing to pull back the slide after a reload. I've given some handguns a pull at guns shows. IMO, the hefty DA trigger pull would do me a lot more harm than good. It might be easier to manufacture, or just a way to avoid liability. I'm going to just say that it's more user friendly for once in a blue moon users, such as somebody who buys a Glock 22, tosses it in her sock drawer, and maybe only takes it out three times a year or so.

 

[rbernie]

Some folk like having the trigger pull consistent from shot to shot, and *want* a long pull for defensive purposes. That's the recipe for a DAO gun.

 

[Loosedhorse]

I've discovered that I shoot DAO pistols better.

I WANT my pocket carry to have it's DAO 10 lb trigger.

Besides these two statements...

I never got double action only.

...there is nothing else to get, IMHO. Either they're true for you, or they aren't.

 

[Nushif]

I mean, it's a nice advantage to be able to get your first shot off quickly without needing to pull back the slide.

You can do that on a SAO as well. Either via a thumb safety or a half cock safety ala TT-33 or something.