Double Action Shooting

[Thumbcocker]

At the tender age of 58 I have decided that I need to get better at D/A shooting. Most of my handgun shooting is done with single action revolvers or semiautos. I have some good D/A guns but mostly shot them s/a. So here I go. I do dry fire a lot and have been doing D/A dry fire more recently. I have some questions and would appreciate input.

1.) What type of accuracy can a good d/a shooter expect? The same as shooting the same gun s/a?


2.) At what range? Same as s/a or shorter?


3.) I am making progress but still no where near as good as s/a shooting. My misses tend to be low right on the paper. Suggestions for correcting this please.


4.) I regularly shoot center fire guns s/a. Should I use the same guns for d/a practice or should I go with smaller caliber less recoiling guns? Recoil is usually not a big deal for me s/a unless shooting full snort .44 magnums then I get recoil fatigue after a while.


Any general suggestions or tips are welcome.

[Piedmont]

Full weight guns and you can approach the groups you get with single action use. With very light guns (J frames) I can actually shoot DA better. I believe there must be a stabilizing influence of the longer, heavier DA pull.

[Outpost75]

I learned the "old school" way. You can too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et5FHMwB3gY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS3PRjkBb58

http://concealednation.org/2015/03/t...e-action-pull/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXUwI_d8JlA

[Bigslug]

I barely thumb the hammer back at all on my DA revolvers anymore. Even a 2" J-frame can do OK beyond 25 yards once you get it down. I might cock the hammer if a tiny or long range target is starting to frustrate me, but DA from 4" duty guns on gallon jugs or a little smaller to 50 yards is easily do-able.

The trick I find is to make your process more about constant correction of the sight picture as you steadily press on the trigger rather than try to make the gun fire at a specific point in your wobble. This is good advice for any trigger, but I've noticed that single action systems tend to fool people into thinking they can slap the shot when the sights start to look good. In point of fact, I keep a DA S&W .22 around for the express purpose of illustrating this technique to folks who bash on the triggers of their 1911s or Glocks. Once they figure out that the gun NEVER holds still, life gets easier. Think of it this way: keeping the sights in the zip code of your target usually gives acceptable results, but trying to get the gun to go off while they sweep over a specific address usually doesn't

Less recoil while forcing your lizard brain to accept what you already intellectually understand helps. I would also suggest increasing the distance to beyond your comfort level (to increase the width of your misses and make your errors easier to spot), as well as switching to reactive targets (to reduce the urge to look over your sights for a hole juuuuuuust as the gun is going off).

Finally, look at the mechanics of your arms, grip, and trigger finger placement. If the gun can move in any direction besides back and up in recoil, you have work to do.

[Rick Hodges]

I learned at a police academy in the mid 70's. Dry firing while concentrating on having the sight picture correct at the moment the hammer falls was my most effective learning tool. We were taught to concentrate on a smooth consistent pull, NOT staging the trigger to simulate a single action pull.

Accuracy....I could shoot a 60 round PPC course that involved shots strong and weak hand, under time constraints with reloading and reload manipulation drills (2-4-6-2) at distances of 4 to 25 yds and score 580+ out of 600. All reloads were done from a 12 cartridge belt slide(loops). The majority of shots could be covered with my fist. I never cleaned the course, but know of those who did. This was with a bone stock S&W model 66 that was my issued duty gun. It's action was cleaned up by literally tens of thousands of dryfiring cycles. Firing the same course with full magnum loads resulted in a drop of about 20-30 points in the score....

I qualified as expert before the days where it became politically incorrect to reward those who mastered their tools with recognition.

It took a lot of work, and practice to get to that level. Self loaders are much easier to shoot, but the intrinsic accuracy of the weapons is about the same, perhaps the edge going to revolvers. I am ashamed to admit that I don't devote near enough time to practice, either dry firing or live fire as I should. However, to this day if I have difficulty at the range, the answer or cure, for me, lies in dry firing.

[ReloaderFred]

I actually shoot better double action than I do single action, but that's due to carrying double action revolvers as my duty weapon for most of my 26 years in law enforcement, where all shooting was taught double action. I was also on our pistol team for about 5 years, shooting in PPC competitions, where double action shooting is required at 25 yards and less, but I shot the 50 yard strings double action, just because I was used to it, and my groups were smaller.

If you're left handed, it's common to shoot low and right, usually due to squeezing the whole hand during the trigger squeeze/press. The opposite is true of right handers, who tend to shoot low and left when squeezing the whole hand. Concentrate on a firm grip, and only moving the trigger finger straight back. Also make sure you're not putting too much finger into the trigger guard. If the first joint of your trigger finger is on the trigger, that will pull the handgun out of alignment as the trigger comes back. Just use the pad of the finger tip on the trigger.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Rick Hodges]

Thank you Bigslug, you said it better than I did.
"The trick I find is to make your process more about constant correction of the sight picture as you steadily press on the trigger rather than try to make the gun fire at a specific point in your wobble. This is good advice for any trigger,"

Exactly!!!!!

[Thumbcocker]

Tried the case on the gun barrel drill. I can get 10 to 12 da snaps without droppings case.

[robertbank]

Try playing IDPA using you DA/SA revolver. You will shoot all your shots DA. Great fun and challenging.

Take Care

Bob

[JMax]

I shot PPC when I was a LEO and the long course 150 rounds were fired with 48 fired from the 50 yard line. I never saw a master or high master shoot SA at any distance. I was a master with one foot in the grave for high master.

Additionally in ICORE DA is the order of the day. There is one stage named Far and Near that everyone hates and has 6 rounds fired at 6 D1 targets in 9 seconds from the holster, DA again is the rule of the day.

[EMC45]

For years I shot all my DA wheelguns in SA. For about the last decade I have been exclusively shooting them DA. I am more accurate with DA. All the above is good advice. The dry fire advice is what I do and find most helpful. Concentrate on a smooth full trigger stroke while maintaining sight picture. For me it is a process of trigger pull and "trimming up" the sight picture until the hammer drops. Shooting SA now feels alien to me.

[stubshaft]

Over the years I've shot Silhouette, IPSC, PPC and PPL. The key element for me to shooting DA was always the follow through. Once I started to press the trigger I focused on the center of the center until the muzzle flipped up in recoil.

[popper]

I find that my PX4 (DA first) is always low as I'm 'pushing' the trigger. Need to practice the 'case' drill with hard foam behind the trigger.

[Drm50]

I can honestly say that I have never shot DA any of my S&Ws DA. I don't have any gut busters
and only own 2, a m34 & m18 with 4" barrels. All mine are 6"-83/8" guns. I've been shooting
S&Ws over 50yrs and feel I'm not bad shot in SA. I do have a few Autos, all target models also
all single actions. I'm sure I could shoot well enough for SD at SD ranges but not near as well
as SA. I think guys are talking about shooting DA at close range. For my brand of shooting DA
isn't practical. After 50 yrs of SA Its to late to change.

[Petrol & Powder]

As a dedicated DA shooter I can say that the accuracy of shooting in DA can easily match the accuracy of SA shooting. I rarely shoot revolvers in SA and I certainly do not train using SA.

As the owner of several DAO revolvers, I can also say that the DA system is every bit as good as a SA system.

For the OP - you may have to change your call sign.

[Hick]

Keep working on DA-- When I did the test for CCW the range officer saw that I was using a revolver, and specified that I had to qualify using DA "because in an emergency you don't have time to do SA." After learning how to do it I found DA was lots more fun too.

[Jtarm]

Rick is correct about the dry fire drills.

I work one handed, alternating hands after each full cylinder. No target, just a white background where I can see the sights clearly. 10 full cycles each hand.

I was taught this drill by Billy Taggart, a National Match champion.

This DVD helped my technique, though I think it’s a bit overpriced for the content.

https://miculek.com/product-category/dvds/

Like a lot of people have mentioned, I find it very difficult nowadays to sneak up on a 5 lb trigger that breaks all at once, or the take up of striker-fired guns.

[Shopdog]

I'd say work on your overall grip strength by,whatever means convenient and comfortable. And,you just have to make the commitment to DA..... lots of dryfiring,work on maintaining sight alignment not,just going through the motion.Try plinking a bit at beer cans for a change vs paper targets.As you hit the can it moves,requiring sight and position change.Most recommend not "staging" but try it..... it helps build muscle memory.

[funnyjim014]

My first six shot had a bobbed hammer.. never had the option and glad I didn't. Just takes practice and time to train ur brain to make the switch

[Petrol & Powder]

My first six shot had a bobbed hammer.. never had the option and glad I didn't. Just takes practice and time to train ur brain to make the switch

A DAO revolver will MAKE you a better shooter.