rammerjammer

I ask this question not to start a debate between DA and SA revolver fans, I’m just curious about what draws fans of SA to those revolvers?

I currently own 5 DA revolvers and have no current plans to add any SA revolvers to my collection.

I like DA revolvers because you get the best of both worlds in the trigger and you can more easily load and unload them.

So for any of you SA revolver guys or gals, why do you like owning/shooting Single Actions? Is it the old school cowboy nature of the SA or is there something else that I am missing.

Thanks for any replies, and once again I’m not trying to start a debate about which is better, DA or SA, just curious about why SA fans flock to that style of revolver.

hobbit

There is no more beautiful gun than a single action "Peacemaker" style handgun. Plus, they're fun to shoot!

bearcatter

I suppose some of it is plain old nostalgia. In the back of your mind at least, you can be Wild Bill or Matt Dillon.

I like the way they fit my hand, a DA feels a little cramped in comparison. The grips and balance seem to make them "point" better than any other handgun.

Engineering-wise, they are a simpler, stronger design. The cylinder rotates on a big basepin inserted through the frame. No crane or locking mechanism.

A loose cylinder in my hand is easier to clean than one flopping around on a crane.

The big "drawback", to most people is the slow unloading and loading. For me, it gives me time to think about the last six shots. I shoot better, compared to just going, "Bang, Bang, Bang" with a DA or autoloader.

tshark

For me, I have to admit that there is appeal to the "old school nature" of the single actions. However, there are other reasons I choose single action revolvers when I am camping, hiking, hunting...etc. I think the design is simple, durable, and rugged. There is not much you can do to break them. As far as the ease of reloading and shooting fast, in the application I use them for, (for other applications I carry my Glock), you are not very likely to get more than a shot off or two. Most importantly, they are just fun to shoot. I recently bought my first Ruger SA (a super blackhawk) and could not be happier. For years I carried a Colt SAA but was always worried about abusing it. My super Blackhawk seems like it was built for abuse.

laidlerj

I got my first SA revolver (Ruger Blackhawk .44 Magnum) for a number of reasons:

[1] I like the look of SA revolvers - guess it's from all those years playing cowboys and indians.
[2] It was cheaper than buying a DA .44 magnum revolver - by over 50% at the time.
[3] The SA revolvers have fewer moving parts, ergo fewer things to break.
[4] SA revolvers don't have a crane (I realize the original Colt DA's didn't either, but I can't afford one of those - and they're not all that robust, either), so the cylinder-bore alignment is tighter.

Honestly, now that I've got a Ruger Redhawk, I think the Redhawk is easier to shoot and has less perceived recoil than the Blackhawk. The Blackhawk's grip seems to slip/revolve in my hand, which I think is what it's supposed to do, but that makes it feel more "lively" when firing full-power magnums.

Still, I love the look of the Blackhawk - it takes me back to the "Old West". And if I ever become senile enough to get something more powerful than a .44 magnum (e.g. .454 Casull), the SA revolver format is better able to take that kind of battering - the only issue would be if I am able to take it.


Jim

North country gal

For me, it is all of the above, but also the feel. I also own DA revolvers, but the feel of a SA in the hand is quite different - not necessarily better, but different. That's why a lot of us own both SAs and DAs.

Ruger Redhawk

Varity, something different to shoot. S/A’s have their place,same as D/A’s have theirs. For going to the range and plinking it’s hard to beat a S/A. Since a S/A takes longer to load and unload it gives you more time at the range without burning your ammo up as fast.

leroy

hobbit made a good, consise start to the single action thing. We own and shoot both single action, double action, and semiauto pistols. My first magnum handgun was a new model 41 mag blackhawk. The reason for ownership; strong, high quality, reasonable price. Back in the early seventies; the ruger blackhawk single action was the best choice at the best price. That remains so today. We collect "N" frame smiths and rugers (...both flattop, three screw, and new model....). Across the board, the smiths were and continue to be about 1 1/2 times as expensive as a ruger blackhawk. The bottom line, ruger made just as good (....when considering strenght alone...) or a much better handgun than the smith. Rugers are simple, strong, reasonably priced, and reliable. That is what makes them great from a practical standpoint.

To continue on the practicality theme a bit. The single action is as fast or just as fast on the first shot as anything out there; be it single action, double action, or semiauto. Refer to the old writings of the great Jeff Cooper for his stories to the shooting exibitions he and his buddies used to put on using the 1911, double actions, and single action colts. It is my experience (...we handload and shoot a lot....), that with magnum loads (...or stiff midrange loads...) that the single action is just as fast or faster than a 1911 or double action (...shot double action...) to the first reload. From there on, the semiautos and double actions with speedloaders win. Remember, the colt single action army was the first U S martial arm. It was picked for its power, handling, and simplicity.

As to beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; and i freely admit that my idea of the ultimate pistol is the first generation colt single action army. The Ruger of today, is the logical conclusion of the colt single action army. Said another way, the ruger SA in all its forms today is what the colt should have been. We collect and shoot colts. They are from two times the cost up to the "sky is the limit" more expensive than rugers. Again, ruger (...and U S Firearms, to a much smaller extent...) is providing a great product at a reasonable price.

We collect "N" and "S" serial smiths. They are great things, but they simply are not two to three times the pistol that a ruger is. Colt double actions are even more straospheric than the smiths. The sad truth is that the double action that was, in fact, the pinnacle of modern handguning power and speed, has been overtaken by the glock type pistol. More firepower (...read that more shots to fire...), great reliability, and much less cost.

Ill close with this thought. I aint bashing semiautos, double actions, or even their utilitarian polymer brethren. I'm an "equal opportunity collector and shooter" of all of them. We are truly blessed to have the wide variety of handguns (...and longguns...) available to us in this great land. I say "...Collect 'em all..." and do your own test. Thats what the handgun hobby and area of study is about. I collect and play with colts, rugers, and smiths. I carry sigs and glocks for protection.

Hope this little epistle gives a bit of insight into the single action thing.

leroy

opos

I shoot both D/A and S/A handguns....not into rifles or shotguns any more...just one little 22 nostalgia rifle. I grew up with Iver Johnson 22's, little semi auto plinkers, etc..had a .30 cal Luger, A couple of assorted Colt semi autos, etc.....I was working in a gun store in Northern Colorado in the 50's and into 1960 and was sort around on the cutting edge times of commercial single actions becoming available and popular...saw the early 44 growth, etc....I've had semi's, Double actions, single shot, and single action and none of them are as enjoyable (for me) as pulling out the old "hog leg" and shooting the way I learned and enjoyed so many years ago. I can't deal with the hot load big bores any more but doing my own loading lets me load to fit my years and my style. I do have 2 Double action Rugers for the "designated" full load home defense role and I shoot them at least monthly to stay as sharp as I'm able....Each of them has several speed loaders stored with it and I can't get the reloading capabilities with the single action that I might like hence the 357's..When I do take them to the range and shoot them I consider that as "practice" and blazing away with a 44 special or 45 Colt for me is play time.

If you look at the picture you will see a pencil date of 1943...I was 6....with an outfit like that how could I carry anything but a single action????

sash

I've got an even metric buttload of guns, but I prefer single action handguns, because they point like my own finger for me. They are pleasant to shoot, look better than any other handgun, feel good in recoil, are strong, durable and accurate. Of course that is all my own opinion.

I love the DAs and even some semis, but nothing makes me as happy as plinking with a single action in .45 Colt or .22. Pure joy!

Mikeyd555

I own both. For me it goes back to being a kid and "making believe". My imagination always put a single action in my hand even before I knew the difference...well that or a 1911 but we're not talking 1911s .

Also, I find that where it takes more time to reload than a DA, I find I think about my avilable rounds differently. Mentally and without really being that conscious of it, I try to make each shot count all the more. The same could be said of a DA vs a semi-auto I suppose, in regards to fewer shots being available.

bwinters

Part of it is nostalgia and for gunners 50 plus they are reminded of the guns carried by all the tv western heroes in the 50s and 60s. The single action especially rugers are about as break proof as you can get.

rclark

Hard to put into words....

I've always shot single actions. When target shooting with dad as a youngster, it was always SAs or bolt rifles. My very own first revolver was a .357 BH as a late teen which I still have.... I've never needed or will need DA functionality nor 'speed' loading nor semi-auto shooting. Part of the fun is inserting the cartridges in one at a time and then kicking them out one at a time. Today it even was 'slower' as I brought out my Old Army to the range for some Black Powder Single Action percussion shooting.... Just doesn't get any better. Nostalgic too. These are the guns of the late 1800s. The Indian wars, the cattle drives, the west, etc.... Guns of the fine old 'B' westerns on the silver screen.... Guns of the cattle trail, and around a campfire, on a horse.... DAs and Semi-autos just don't have any 'appeal' ... When I pick one up, it just doesn't 'speak' to me like a SA does or a lever action rifle. A SA is just a thing of simplistic, reliable, and tough beauty. A S&W is just plain ugly and a slab-sides is beyond ugly IMHO.

I sold off my last DA Super Redhawk as it just sat in my safe for years. To big to lug in the hills, and never grabbed it when going to the range. And when I did shoot it, it was never in DA mode. My .357s, .45s and .44Spec Single actions have more 'draw'..... so to speak.... My fishing/hiking/hunting guns. Don't leave home without one .

Hope that helps a little of why Single Action. Just doesn't get any better ... no how. .

BRL

Good posts leroy and all.

My first handgun was the same as yours, in the 61/2" legnth.

Heck, I just wanted to own a handgun back in ('79), and the guy behind the mom & pop gun shop counter said that the NM Blackhawk was what I wanted to own.

For a long time I thought that he must have seen a sucker coming through the door, but looking back now, he was right on the money!

The Ruger (OM/NM) SA's are still my favorite type handgun period, for all the reasons listed above...but especially because they're JUST PLAIN FUN TO SHOOT!

Super blackhawk

Accuracy. A double action revolver looses accuracy because it has a longer harder trigger pull than a single and as your pulling the trigger on the DA your moving your hand alittle bit so your loosing accuracy. at least that's what I've heard