bowhunter

S&W or Ruger, six of one, a half dozen of the other. A gifted gunsmith can "always" put the "shoot" into a revolver, whatever the make and model. However, you can't always put the "shoot" into the shooter. Bad habits die "hard" for some shooters!................Dick

ThreeScrew

It's been a long time since I was in the guts of either but it always appeared to me the big difference was S&ws don't have a DA takeover point making it easier to get a consistent pull.
I tried wolf springs in my redhawk and groups went to pot with vertical stringing.

Sure would like to get a copy of Lowegan's book I keep reading about here.

tglazie

Nope! After listening to folks like yourself discuss the merits of DA vs SA I decided when I got back into shooting to restrict my SA shooting to load development only with our new (cleaned up and slightly lightened) SP101 .357 3". I was also "scared straight" if you will by the numerous instances of accidental discharges in HD/SD scenarios by homeowners/CCW inadvertently firing their cocked weapons.

This has made me a much better semiauto shooter as well. Unless I am specifically practicing followup shots, I always decock my P89 (with P95 trigger mod) and fire it DA.

I feel DA shooting has made me a better shooter, faster, than shooting SA ever could have. Thanks for the advice.

laidlerj

I definitely second that! Even an out-of-the-box DA/SA revolver (or pistol) with a "lawyer trigger" (excessively heavy pull) has a SA trigger weight that takes almost no thought to pull - especially when you've got a gallon or two of adrenaline running through your veins.

I was taught (oh, so many years ago) to fire DA/SA revolvers in DA mode except when I've already got the target in my sights AND have already made the decision to shoot.

More recently (in the past century), I learned that I shouldn't even put my finger on the trigger until I had made the decision to fire. I learned this lesson while investigating a strange noise in my garage over 20 years ago. I was carrying a 1911 in cocked and locked mode, finger on the trigger and my nervous system was in Condition Red.

I didn't find anyone in the garage and was about to go back in the house when a neighbor's cat jumped up on my workbench, knocking off an empty soda can. I turned at the noise and, of course, the muzzle of my gun followed, settling on the trespassing feline. It was then that I noticed my finger was convulsively tightened on the trigger - I was squeezing more than hard enough to fire a rusty DA revolver, let alone a tuned 1911. The only thing that kept me from a negligent discharge was the safety.

Since that episode, I've kept my sticky fingers off the trigger until it was "go time". More recently, I used a shot timer to see how much time it took me to get my finger on the trigger and fire. I compared the beep-to-bang times with my finger on the trigger and with my finger resting on the frame above the trigger guard. The difference - in a variety of revolvers and pistols - was always less than half a second and averaged 0.3 seconds.

I think I can afford 0.3 seconds in the name of safety.


Jim

North country gal

Last time I recommended the roll, hold, sight, squeeze technique described by Iowegan, I was pretty thoroughly trashed by several "experts" on this forum who insisted that you must not pause anywhere in the DA pull - the pull must be continuous with no hold or pause on the trigger of any kind. Not arguing with that school of shooting, but nice to know there are others who shoot like me. Thanks, Iowegan.

ExArmy11b

This is a well-broken in GP100 made in 2003 or so, and it has had a decent action job. I added an 8# trigger latch spring and a 9# mainspring and it is light, smooth and slick. Few GP's work well with the 9# mainspring but this one even sets off CCI primers. I rarely if ever shoot it in SA, it's set up for DA shooting It's a "range toy" and I don't use it for defense, but it's one of my favorite shooters and it is every bit as slick as any S&W.

I agree, "light" does not equal a good trigger. I have several of the "new gen" S&W revolvers that have heavy DA pulls that are very even and smooth.

I'm not that young anymore but I'm not a "seasoned older shooter", I'm 32 and I shoot revolvers primarily in Double Action. Unless I'm shooting a target gun, like my 9" Super Redhawk, I shoot in DA. My skills with other handguns has improved too, if you can shoot well with a bone stock DAO GP100 it will also help you shoot better with a 1911, Glock etc.



There's nothing wrong with a good DAO revolver, these are two of my favorites and I shoot very well out to 50 yards with them. I don't miss the ability to thumb cock them at all.



This is also another of the GP's I dropped a DAO hammer into. It shoots very well with stock springs and is an excellent HD gun.

I have two other DAO GP's, a Canadian trade in and a GPNY and these are also excellent shooters. DAO is not a handicap if the gun has at least a halfway decent DA pull.

Rob1109

What's the difference between a Ford and a Chevy?

NWShooter

What is this? I have never seen a barrel like this before.

ExArmy11b

Looks to be a Dan Wesson .357 Maximum? I could be wrong though, but it's definitely a DW.

The barrel has that look because DW's have interchangeable barrels and the inner "barrel" visible through holes in the barrel shroud.

If you look on GunBroker, there are DW "pistol paks" for sale which are usually a set of 3 or 4 different barrels for a DW revolver, with a barrel wrench and a feeler gauge.

I had some DW's but sold them. I never used the interchangeable barrel feature because I already owned Ruger and S&W .357's and .44's with the barrel lengths offered. I have 6", 4" and 3" Ruger .357's and had no need to convert my DW as such. DW's are fine revolvers but I never acquired the taste for them, I'll always be a Ruger DA wheelgun nut

DW has some neat revolvers, and the very early models are ugly in a very cool way.......I may get back into them at some point, they did make a 6" fixed sight .357 which looks cool, and now that CZ bought Dan Wesson and makes some of the revolvers again, they are making a comeback.

Iowegan

North country gal, I don't remember the General's name that made this quote "As you train,. so shall you fight", but it rings true. Mastering a DA revolver takes considerable practice and frequent range time to maintain proficiency. No doubt, that's why many people just cock the hammer. The "go faster" gaming shooters do indeed use the "straight pull through" method; however, they are going against the clock and aren't as concerned about pin point accuracy. In my opinion, the "roll, hold, sight, squeeze" method is much better for self defense ... way better muzzle control, better accuracy, and it gives you an opportunity to change your mind before taking the shot.

Just a short story. I learned the R-H-S-S method several decades ago while I was with DOJ and have been using it every since. A few years ago I got challenged to participate in a gaming event ... not a match, no prizes, just an informal gong shoot ... but we did keep score. The contest was simple ... 25 different gongs at various distances from 7 to 50 yards. You had to hit each gong in order and you could shoot as many rounds as necessary until you got a hit. All the other shooters were well seasoned "gamers" that used the straight pull through method. My time wasn't good enough to win, but I did end up with a respectable score, even though I was scolded for hesitating before each shot. I fired only 27 rounds to get 25 hits ... missing the 50 yard gong twice. Most of the other shooters fired 50 rounds or more ... but because they were shooting so fast, they beat me by a few seconds in overall time. Nearly all my shots were dead on the target whereas the gamers had a lot of hits that barely touched the target. If I were to get in the competition mode, I would probably learn the faster method but for self defense .... shot placement is a lot more important to me than shaving a fraction of a second off each shot.

Along the same lines .... most shooters don't practice from a draw, rather they stand flatfooted and carefully aim for each shot .... probably because most public ranges don't allow "draw and fire". I use a private farm range and always practice 2-shot drill from a draw to maintain proficiency. I'm 68 years old so I'm not as fast nor as accurate as when I was younger but I can still clear leather and place two shots in center mass quick enough to defend myself. I do my practice with a revolver in the DA only mode and with a 1911 ... quite a contrast between the two .... sure does make you think about your technique.

jcohen24

My SP101s are for home defense for the Mrs. and me. We're new to firearms, but had the great luck of being taught by an ex-police officer. He ALWAYS said to practice DA in order to avoid an accidental discharge. When things go bump in the night, the last thing you want to have is stray bullets flying around.

North country gal

Iowegan, shot placement is also "a lot more important to me than shaving a fraction of a second off each shot". Perhaps it is our age and upbringing, having learned to shoot in a day when most of us were taught to make the most of each and every shot.

For me, it goes back to the days when I learned to shoot in rimfire target competition as a kid, back in the 60s. I remember my my coach telling us, in a very stern and strict voice, that you don't get to do a target over. Your score is what you shoot the first time. Put everything you got into each and very shot. I used to think he was picking on me because he really was harder on me than the other students, but now I realize that he expected more out of me and wanted me to make the most of my ability. Even to this day, shooting my GP-100 in DA at the range, just for my own enjoyment and practice, I can still see his frown when I blew a shot.

I have tremendous respect for the folks that can shoot with amazing speed and still hit a target the way I see them shoot in today's action shooting competition, but I'm too slow to ever be competitive in that game. The R-H-S-S method was shown to me by a silhouette champion who used to take it personally when anyone claimed that you couldn't shoot a DA revolver accurately in DA mode. He'd get out his Ruger SRH, step up to the shooting line and shut them up quick, shooting in DA mode, only. He loved that big SRH.

NWShooter

Even Jerry Miculek Uses the roll, hold, sight, squeeze technique for some of his shooting. He is the ultimate in fast shooting.

Jerry Miculek - Trigger Control | MyOutdoorTV.com

North country gal

Good to know. Thanks for the link, NWShooter.

espresso

I shoot more accurate staging DA no question about it.

I'm working on changing that but when you only have 6 shots........