Single action vs double

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Out of my few revolvers I shoot my DA Dan Wesson best in SA mode. For me it is more about the gun than whether it is SA or DA/SA. My Dan Wesson has such a nice crisp SA pull I have never found a need to have a SA only revolver.
 
Personally, I'm not excited about shooting single action hand guns. I have a Ruger 22LR Single Six that I enjoy to shoot, but I have several center fire single action guns that, without rubber grips, I just do not enjoy shooting them. Again personal preference and I admire folks that shoot single action hand guns well.

I do shoot and enjoy shooting my DA/SA revolvers. I shoot them mostly single action and shoot them well.

I have an S&W Model 642 and carry it once in a while. A few years ago, I decided to become more proficient with the double action shooting of the M642. I spent about a year working with the DA action of the M642, shooting something double action each time I went shooting. I got comfortable shooting double action at least at shorter ranges.
 
Realistically I think I just shoot better with single action. Doesn’t matter if it’s a single action revolver, or a double action revolver shot in single action. What matters most is muscle memory and the tiny indistinguishable nuances of each gun that you learn with practice. The handguns I shoot best are (in no certain order because it changes) S&W models 10-6, S&W 30-1, Taurus m327, Taurus pt99af, Ruger Single Six, Armi Jager Buntline, Phoenix hp22. I have plenty other guns, but with the others (excluding the contender entirely with this) I can’t go SA so my shots drift a lot and accuracy suffers. With my Safety Hammerless I can feel the gun as it gets ready to break the shot but the gun still moves when the trigger breaks. Same thing with the Glock 42, and some of the cheapo revolvers I have. The only gun I can come close to beating the single actions with is the safety hammerless, and I attribute that to the ease to shoot 38sw and the comfortable grip design.
 
Howdy

Despite the fact that my avatar shows a pair of Colt Single Acton Armies that are my main match revolvers in CAS, when I take a revolver or three to the range, they are almost always Smith and Wesson double actions.

In no small part this is because I only shoot my Colts with Black Powder and I don't want to clean them after a range session. Cleaning them after a SASS match is plenty of cleaning for me. I have plenty of Ruger single actions that I don't use in CAS competition, that I only shoot with Smokeless powder. But they do not show up at the range very often. Unlike my revolvers I shoot with Black Powder cartridges, I do not clean a Smokeless revolver every time I shoot it. There, I've said it. Most often I bring a modern S&W double action revolver. (By modern I mean anything made sometime in the 20th Century) Most often a 38, but sometimes a 22.

My favorite activity at the range is to try to hit soup cans at the 25 yard berm. This is not double action shooting, I usually do it sitting at a rest and it is only single action shooting. Why don't I bring a Ruger? Perhaps I will next time. I have some nifty old Three Screw Rugers. But there is just something about the single action trigger of a Smith. They always break clean. If I am off on the first couple of shots I don't adjust the sights, I just walk my rounds up to the target, imagining I am Elmer Keith walking big 44 Magnum bullets up to a target from great distances.
 
Currently own 78 revolvers and SA's outnumber DA's two to one. I love DA's and have done enough DA point shooting to be proficient but it's not something I do regularly. Single actions are my 'thing'. So the majority of my shooting is done single action, with a single action revolver and I pride myself in being able to run them fast.
 
Currently own 78 revolvers and SA's outnumber DA's two to one. I love DA's and have done enough DA point shooting to be proficient but it's not something I do regularly. Single actions are my 'thing'. So the majority of my shooting is done single action, with a single action revolver and I pride myself in being able to run them fast.
Jeez Craig, save some for the rest of us....

As to the OP's question. It depends on the day. Some days I shoot the single actions better ,some days I shoot the double action better (using it in single action). Enjoy both currently have 4 double actions and 3 singles. Hoping to get alot more range time in this year, but budget will limit on how much centerfire I shoot, so my single six will be getting alot of attention.
 
Same here. All the way down to having nice SA guns..... yet still shooting the x-frames, 29, and Redhawks better. I love the old looking SA guns (growing up on cowboy movies I guess) but even though I've fired thousands of rounds with Blackhawks and such I'm still better with the DA grip. I can control the recoil better in a DA frame too. Even in my 329pd.

IMO, the DA grip is positioned for better control. The SA revolvers have a lower grip, that's further back.
 
I gave up on Single Actions decades ago and have concentrated on shooting DA revolvers in single action. I always felt the Single Actions were awkward, with the bore axis so high and that giant hammer with the long lock time.

Then I bought a stainless convertible blackhawk. I find it I shoot it every bit as well as the DA guns in SA. It still feels a little funny to me but I have to admit it works. I can't do any better than this shooting SA with a DA.

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I shoot doubles and singles with about the same proficiency.

Ringing a 10x12 steel at 60 yrds has almost identical hit rates, anyway.

I enjoy Singles for their historical and "cool" factor. Mine is also a 45 Colt so... bonus points.

I do not shot Doubles in Single action mode, but I can achieve about the same level of accuracy with a good DA Revolver as a good SA revolver.

For me it's about the spice of life and all that.

I also submit that anyone who can shoot a DA well, can shoot pretty much any trigger well.

For the joy of shooting it's REAL hard to beat a good revolver.
 
When I was younger and could still see the front sight, I shot my best 25 yard group ever with a Ruger .357 three screw Blackhawk. My carry gun for 20 years on the ranch was a Ruger Single Six. I shot two old Model Ruger Vaqueros to a State Championship in SASS. So single action gets my vote. But I still love my S&W Combat Masterpiece.
 
They don't have to cost a lot. Blackhawks are sturdy and I prefer to buy them used. I gave myself the challenge of finding a used 6.5" 357 Blackhawk for as close to $300 as possible. I eventually ran across this one on GunBroker. It had a starting bid of $299. No one was bidding on it, so I swooped it up in the last 15 minutes. It was made in the mid 1970's, IIRC. It had obviously been shot plenty before I got it, but it functions perfectly. I like how the loading gate has aged into a plum color. It's accurate and has a nice trigger. My kids will probably be shooting it after I'm gone.

 
The only DA revolver I’ve shot in the last year is my dad’s S&W 986, shooting in both DA and SA oddly enough I shot it just as well in DA as SA. Neither performance were as good as what I do with a decent semiauto though. The stock Hogue rubber grip doesn’t get along well with my hands and they seem small to me, I’m not a big guy at only 5’10” but I guess I have large hands and long fingers since I wear an XL glove.

At any rate if owned that particular 986 I would have the hammer replaced and the trigger replaced with Power Custom billet parts with a spurless hammer and make it DA only.
 
Steve Milblocker

trying to pry this one loose from a buddy of mine. A Clement conversion 44 Special. All my buddy does is fondle her and holds her captive as a safe queen

And I think I know the reason why he does this...

Your buddy has one awesome looking Ruger Blackhawk there! If it were mine, besides fondling it, I would certainly get some range time in with it, that's for sure!
 
I only shoot DA revolvers DAO. Can't remember the last time I cocked the hammer on a S&W. That being the case, when I just want to have fun a single action revolver goes into the gun case or range bag. My preference is for traditional SAs in 45 Colt chambering.

Dave
 
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