Double Action Revolvers and Accuracy

[David E]

I'm not aware of a DA revolver that is convertable.

The old Charter Arms Pathfinder apparently was.......

Gunbroker has had one for $504, but it's been listed for the past several months.

 

[Old krow]

I found that some quality time with a nice .22 aids this control. The lower recoil allows the shooter to more easily set the muzzle flash and recoil effects off to one side of their notice while concentrating on the smooth and full trigger pull control and proper hand and trigger finger motion issues. Once the .22 groups are consistently small and accurate jump over to the center fire gun sitting patiently on the bench for some time with it. As the bad habits re-surface half way through the mag of center fire shift back to the .22.

A friend and I that normally shoot with have spent a little time at the range with revolvers here lately trying this. Today was spent on his Taurus 94 that he has recently bought. We fired several hundred rounds a piece through it. Afterwards he grabbed his auto and gave it a try. Much to my amazement, 10 of his 15 round mag went straight into the bulls-eye. That was the first 10, the last five I noticed that he pulled and flinched a little. He literally went from minute-of-berm to overlapping accuracy. He's a good friend and I love him to death, but normally he is a horrible shot. I was utterly stunned when I saw them cloverleaf. And it was completely consistent with the above quote.

I did try some lighter 38 loads. I am pretty happy with the results. The recoil doesn't seem anymore noticeable than the .22, they just cost a little more. After trying several guns, I prefer my SW, mostly because I can easily tell if I'm not doing it right. The trigger also seems harder to predict to me than others that I have tried. So, I think that I'm going to stick with the reloads until I can find a good deal on a used revolver.

Thanks for the help and the insight. It made a big enough difference over the last couple of trips with my friend that he's asking me what kind of .38/.357 to buy now

 

[BCRider]

He certainly can't go wrong with any of the classic old S&W's from what I've seen. But then if a gun isn't done in a classic blue job then it's somehow less of a gun to my eyes....

That .22 to center fire and back again served me well but it sure wasn't an overnight conversion. It took me a lot of weeks of shooting two or three times a week to really get past my flinch issues back when I first started out. Even now it comes back a little if I haven't been shooting for a while. But I know it well enough now to just give myself a mental shake of the shoulders and then I'm fine... usually. Recently thanks to preping for a house move and the aftermath of the move itself a good 6 to 8 weeks went by with no shooting. My 9mm semis were making me flinch badly and even the low power target wadcutter .38 rounds were a touch inconsistent. I then hauled out the trusty .22's for the next couple of sessions and burned through about 300 rounds of .22 with centerfire mixed in to get back in shape.

I may need to get back out the .22's. I finally came across the .44Mag wheelgun that I felt I had to have. Another thread about this one with pics will be coming up this weekend. I picked it up today and took it to the range for some get aquainted time. I think I did OK but I could FEEL my arms and hands wanting to flinch. It didn't help that it has a very noticable "thunk" as the cylinder stops rotating and then I have to pull a little more to get to the hammer break. That last bit of pull when I knew what was coming was HELL to hold the gun steady.... It's hard to divorce your mind from the recoil when you know what's coming....

Now the only question is... if .22 is a good practice round for .38Spl and 9mm is .38Spl what I need to use for flinch control practice in prep for shooting .44mag?

 

[Old krow]

That .22 to center fire and back again served me well but it sure wasn't an overnight conversion.

I wouldn't call it a conversion. It only lasted for ten rounds After that I could see his flinch return. I'm not sure that he has had time to sufficiently develop bad habits yet. But, I'm sure that we'll go to the range again sometime over the weekend. We'll try the same thing again and see if we meet with consistent results.

I didn't even try. I have considerably more trigger time in and I figured it'd be like that old "watched pot never boils" adage, so I just keep plugging away with the revolver. I figured after 1k rounds or so I'd slide over the Sig DAO and see if there was any change. Now, the trigger feels different to me, better in a way, so I might up it to 2k rounds before I try the 9mm again.

 

[BCRider]

Just a side comment about DA triggers.....

It's funny but along the way, likely thanks to using my revolvers in my club's local Speed Steel matches, I've come to rely more on double action pulls than using the single action. Even for long shots. This, and the lovely results provided by the Wolff spring kits (shameless plug for a great product ), have allowed me to become as accurate with DA shots as with SA shots.

Now none of this may seem odd to serious SD revolver users. But it has had an unforeseen effect on my IPSC and recent IDPA results with my Production and SSP efforts. I've found that I can shoot the first DA shot now just as well as I can shoot the subsequent SA shots. I know this is the case because when I opt to use a semi for the Speed Steel I make it a point to lower the hammer before each shooting string so I get more practice with the first DA shot. I have found that I don't miss with that first shot any more often then I miss with the subsequent SA shots. And I'm pretty sure I owe a lot of that ability to my revolver time.

 

[Magnumite]

BCRider, I also don't have any problems with DA to SA transitions on the DA/SA semi autos and attribute that to the double action work I did so long with revolvers. DA shooting really anchors focus and using the movement of the front sight for feedback is excellent for teaching trigger discipline. Nice to get zen with the movement of the cylinder and different aspects of the trigger pull. Lets face it, the trigger moves straight back, and the finger pivots on knuckles, in a rotary manner. Plus all DA triggers I know of pivot on a plane 90 degrees to the trigger finger. There's alot to go wrong without lots of practice. And most have at least touched on the important of dry firing.

I feel my SA work with the 1911 is much better since I cut my handgunning teeth on revolvers.

 

[oldfool]

it's nice to see a thread where autoloader guys are not at war with wheelie guys
people who understand that proper shooting technique with one , carries over benefits to shooting others

BCR - "Even now it comes back a little if I haven't been shooting for a while."
same here, me

but given your shooting experience (having learned your trigger pull), you probably need not drop back to 22s if/when... just drop a snap cap in one cylinder hole with 5 live, and (in part because you know what to expect), that flinch factor will go away pretty quick

what the mind knows is never enough, but what the mind cannot ignore (and will pretty quickly correct) is that instant in-your-face feedback, when your gunhand moves on that dud hit

still, there is no good excuse for not taking a nice 22 along for the ride, I carry 3 Ks with me on range day, and generally shoot them all, mix-n-match
k-17
k-48
k-66
all same frame/grips/barrel length all same-same
it has made me a better shooter
(leastways as in "poor" instead of "terrible" !)

"what I need to use for flinch control practice in prep for shooting .44mag?"
shucks, just buy a 454 Casull, and you can use that 44mag as a training aid for that 454 (insert wink)