How do you do it ??

[Jack Stanley]

Perhaps I've been spoiled rotten using double action revolvers for so long or it's just I never really learned to use a single action .

Problem here is , my group size when using a single action is usually twice the size of what I can do with a double action revolver shot in single action mode . I'm thinking perhaps the hammer fall is so long that may be what's messing me up .

In the two guns the grips are both Hogue monogrip , the sight radius is close enough to be the same and the caliber is the same . When comparing the two the ammo is the same , I've shot different loads and the results are always in favor of the shorter lock time .

The Hogue grips did make a world of difference and made the single action revolver easier to use so there might be a fit issue I have with my hands .

Any ideas ??

Thanks , Jack

[Bret4207]

Grip is vitally important in pistol shooting as is follow through. I'm like you, my hands were built for Smith DA's. I have to really, really concentrate using my Single Six 32 mag. I suppose it comes down to retraining yourself on the SA's.

[44MAG#1]

Heres the situation as I see it. If you own both shoot both. Don't drag one over the other to the range and expect to be as good with the other. I try to split it up but at times do shoot single actions more.
The lock time is important but if you will hold a single action as steady as you can and keep the eye on the front sight or the dot or crosshairs you will make your hits. And will hit well.
Start shooting one as much as the other using the basics of proper marksmanship and you will not have that problem. Even with some of the poor trigger pulls on a single action most of the time.
I'll tell you something else even a poor trigger pull can be mastered and excellent shooting can be done with one but it take alot of brain power to overcome the situation.
Still a good pull is easier to learn.
If both guns had the same accuracy potential, known by testing, your groups should never be twice as large. You may shoot a group that is twice as large at times but you groups with a DA will also be askew at times if you will practice with both equally.

[subsonic]

Its possible that one combination of ammo and gun is simply more mechanically accurate than the other. My s&ws have better sa triggers out of the box than my rugers.

[pdawg_shooter]

Is your single action a Ruger shooting cast?

[357shooter]

I'm with subsonic. The loads may not be equally accurate in both guns. Example: A Taurus 357 6 inch using 158 and 3.5 grains of 700 is super accurate. My Blackhawk won't shoot 700X well with any charge using the same bullet.

Find what each gun shoots best using sandbags, then see how they compare. Both with sandbags and then off-hand.

[rond]

I shoot equally bad with a single action or double action, I can shoot a little better with a self loader.

[Char-Gar]

I find the SA pistol harder to shoot with accuracy than the DA pistol. It has to do with the way the weight is distributed and the size of the grip.

You have to make certain you are not resting any part of the pistols weight on the trigger finger which is easy to do with the SA revolver. Curl your little finger under the grip and make certain you trigger finger is not touching the pistol anywhere, but where the tip contacts the trigger.It is real easy to put pressure on the frame with your trigger finger, and when the trigger is released, there will be a little push to the frame.

[Bret4207]

The grips can alter things too. I had one of the 1970's Super Blackhawks. That Dragoon trigger guard never bothered me, but I wanted the nifty Pachmayers with the filler behind the TG. Between the altered shape and that filler my shots were all way low and way to one side. I had some nice Houges on my 681 and I could shoot very well with them. Then the little nylon stirrup inside broke and I switched to Pachmayers. With those fixed sights I had to hold way off from what i was used to at 50 yards with different grips. Changed to a set with an open backstrap (compacts??) and everything went back to normal.

Funny how things work.

[Shooter6br]

I use Hogue grips (rubber all similar) on all my single action Rugers and Smiths. Very little adjustment from the feel of single action and double actions Just me

[fecmech]

As previous posters have pointed out SA grips and weight distribution are a minus but I think the hammer and triggers are a big factor. It's not just the long lock time but you generally have a lot more over travel on SA triggers and that amplifies gun movement after the trigger breaks. I have put trigger over travel stops in all my handguns and IMO it makes a difference in practical accuracy. If you're going through a 4 lb. sear engagement and then immediately accelerate through 1/16-3/32" of air to come to a halt on the frame it's very hard not to move the gun! If you couple that with the heavy hammer fall of the SA I think it hurts practical accuracy. Back when revolvers were king in Bullseye shooting I don't think there were very many SA's on the firing line.

[subsonic]

I'd like to see what 2 dogs/Fermin has to say on this subject.

[canyon-ghost]

Personally, when I do that I think it comes from using my trigger finger as part of the grip of my right hand. I can get used to it but, I've shot single shot contenders so long that isolating the trigger finger is normal to me.

Aside from Contenders, I shoot both, single and double action. It's easier to single action everything.

[Jack Stanley]

Balance may very well be playing a big part here, the Ruger even with the four plus inch barrel does seem like it is heavier out front than the Smith . The both of them could use a trigger stop but the single action is really hurting in this regard .

I know both are very accurate when they are shot from a solid rest but still the single does take a lot more thought to making the shot .

Jack

[LAH]

. I'm thinking perhaps the hammer fall is so long that may be what's messing me up .

Any ideas ??

Thanks , Jack

I have that trouble also & like you it's lock time. That hammer launched & it's hard to hold the sight picture.

[tek4260]

Install a 26# mainspring and lighten the trigger pull, then let us know what your groups do :)