The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Handgun Hunting SA or DA Which do you prefer?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
I have shot DA revolvers a quite a bit and SA a little. I certianly prefer the DA for both ergonomics and function, but I know that SA guns make great shooters as well. I plan on getting a SBH one of these days, but what i want to know is which style you prefer for actual hunting use and why? Curtis | ||
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I use both hunting. Your hunting shots will be fired single action anyway. | |||
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I shoot a DA revolver SA action beter than shooting a SA revolver, I do like SA revolvers but shoot the DA revolvers better. | |||
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Exactly. Use whatever feels best to you and whichever platform you shoot the best. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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I own both, I shoot both in the single action mode. My advice is shoot what feels good to you. If you're going to make a hole, make it a big one. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ Member of the Delaware Destroyers Member Reeders Misfits NRA Life Member ENDOWMENT MEMBER NAHC Life Member DSA Life Member | |||
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One of Us |
50 yard steel plates? DA with red-dot .44 mag is fun! In a hunting situation I can see using SA. Defensively I prefer DA. Given that my right thumb isn't working right at the moment (due to accident and surgery, I can't thumb back an SA right now. I may be DA for a long, long time, but only time will tell. Either way, I'm good. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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I like carrying a DA, even though I own a couple of Freedom Arms. My reasoning is this: If an animal is too close, to where the audible "click" of cocking a SA might be heard, I can shoot a DA without making a sound. Given the chance, I shoot SA even with a Smith, but like the idea of not having to cock and maybe spook an animal. Hogs not so much, but deer have incredible hearing, as we all know! | |||
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I like both SA and DA equaly. If I am shooting right handed and caock the hammer with my left. If shooting left handed I cock the hammer with my right. A single action can be cocked without making noise if done properly with practice  _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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A right handed shooter should always be cocking the gun with his left thumb, you never want to be re-positioning your right hand after every firing. When I get in close on an animal, or it gets in close on me I already have the gun cocked with my left thumb between frame & hammer & I'm holding the gun in my left hand. I never walk around in this condition but I do this almost on a daily basis, did it today while waiting for a fat rock chuck to stick his head out of the reef. Dick | |||
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+1.... _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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I figured that 99% of shots would be SA even on a DA platform. My mind always thinks of the what if situation. I can see where having the DA option could be a good backup. Thanks for your imput gents. Curtis | |||
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The only hunting handgun I have owned is a SBH in 44mag. I think I shot it quite well. 3 inch groups at 70 yards from a solid rest were not unusual. I suppose you could shoot a model 29 or a SRH or a big Taurus just as well but my heart at least for now is with a Super Black Hawk with a good set of irons. DW | |||
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This photo was taken today, if I'm very close to an animal this is how I hold the gun, you can see its pointed away from me & with this type of grip its almost impossible to point the gun at any part of your body. I was sneaking around this old abandoned farm house after a ground squirrel.  3" groups at 70 yards is very fine shooting! Dick | |||
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I've been doing the same as Dick for about 50 years. Many times, the gun is in my shooting hand with the thumb between the hammer and frame, and remains that way until I extend my arms and actually sight in on the animal. This is only done when stationary. I'm a bit reluctant to tell you on the internet how to cock that single action without making any noise, but it can be easily and safely done. | |||
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For me a handgun has to feel right. For over forty years, the plow handle of a single action hung perfectly in my hand. I shot some doubles, but they never felt right. A few years back, I nearly lost my right hand in an accident. Amazingly, it's been rebuilt and looks a lot like it used to. One of the big differences is how a handgun fits. My double actions are great, the single actions just don't fit anymore. I hardly ever shoot them, and then only a few rounds. Go with the one that is an extension of your hand. Bfly Work hard and be nice, you never have enough time or friends. | |||
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So true on both points. See how the Cowboy Action shooters run their shooters....fast too. | |||
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The gun that feels the best and points great for me is the Ruger mkII. I wish they would make a big bore version of it. It could even be single shot. At the Linebaugh shoot this year, a guy was showing me his way to control heavy kicking single action revolvers. He had his hand lower on the grip frame with the pinky curled under the bottom. The offside hand was wraped around the shooting hand with thumbs interlocked. This kept the gun from rolling under recoil so you wouldn't have to reposition for a second shot. This is the way he shoots his BFRs in 50 Alaskan and 50-110. | |||
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For cocking the hammer quiter, you can hold the trigger back while you cock the hammer. Release the trigger, then the hammer and make sure it rests on the trigger. Putting your thumb inbetween the hammer and frame would be a very good idea also. Do this with the gun empty several times while you get the feel for it. When doing it in the field with a loaded gun make sure it's pointed in a safe direction first. I have seen people accidentally let the hammer go. The guns will still click some, but it is quieter. My only guns that do it completly silently are my double barrel pistols. A lever action rifle can also be done this way and depending on the model can be nearly silent. | |||
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+1 DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR | |||
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I would rather have a SA... but I agree with the comments above. | |||
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Do some folks actually shoot DA revolvers?  "When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all." Theodore Roosevelt | |||
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I use both.A K22 for small game and a Mo.629 for bigger stuff.Also use a BFR and a few Ruger SA`s.Even had a Desert Eagle for a while.Probably shot more game with my Contender Pistols than anything else.Its all good!!!!!  | |||
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| Moderator |
Yes they do, Bill....... Here's my little .500 Linebaugh SRH.......  And my .454 Redhawk.......  And my .475 Linebaugh SRH.......  Wanna see my Smith & Wessons?? "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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SA...as in semi-auto.  | |||
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double action smith and wessons. single action rugers. | |||
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Very nice, Tony! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Douple actions for to many rounds down range ou of them over the years not to like them. Single actions are just to slow on follow up shots for me. | |||
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I'll have to run the flag up on the portion in red  SA's are certainly slower to reload _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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I have both DA and SA revolvers and as many years as I have been hunting with DA's I can't recall one time where I triggered it double action while in a hunting situation. Regardless I personally like the feel of a DA a little better, but that doesn't mean I will be getting rid of my SA's anytime soon. Whitworth I really like your 454 Redhawk. Who did the conversion? My favorite DA hunting revolver DW 414SM  David | |||
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David, Jack Huntington did it. He used the cylinder out of my SRH in .454 when he took it out to convert it to .500 Linebaugh (the top photo). It's a handful, but I attribute much of that to the lousy grips. Need to get a set made for it. Nice Dan Wesson! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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I carry my revolvers maninly for defensive use. jwp475 No matter what you say a single action is slower on the 2nd shot. and a lot slower on the reload. The more movement one has to do to get the task done will always slow the task down. When hunting with them will one notice the differants enough to matter most likely not. Heck I have hunted with single shots and have done fine with them. Yes I do own and shoot both types | |||
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Now that is nice..... "When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all." Theodore Roosevelt | |||
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If any body is interised I know of like new 357 auto mag for sale | |||
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| One of Us |
Whitworth...your DA'S look to be damned effective..... someone commented about the DA being faster on a follow up shot....  everyone I know who hunts with one cocks the hammer for each shot.....is a DA action hammer easier and quicker to cock than a SA?   received my new Ruger Single Ten.....a beautiful little .22 "When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all." Theodore Roosevelt | |||
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| Moderator |
I disagree. We're not talking about .22s or .38 specials. By the time you are out of recoil and back on target, it matters not if its a single action or a double action with regards to the speed of the follow-up shot. I have some pretty heavily recoiling DA revolvers (see above), and I defy anyone here to shoot them with any real semblance of control in double action. Yes, it can be done, but it will take a boatload of practice to get to any level of competance, if at all. jwp is spot on IMHO. We cannot dismiss the sizeable recoil of a revolver for big game hunting. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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The motions required to shift fingers, thumbs,hands ect to recock a single action revolver are more then requried to use the double action. More motion takes more time no matter how little it is. Yes it takes longer to recover from more recoil. I can get very easy double taps out of my 44 with a 250 gr at 1000. It is much slower to get back on target with 315s at 1300 fps. But is still faster with a double action then with a single action. less motion requied Lots of variable involved on the shooters part for sure Given equial training a double action is faster then a single action I was shooting a 500 smith double action with out trouble and hitting what I wanted to. IE follow up shots were not as fast as with my 38 and wad cutters but were faster the shooting them single action But then I have tens of thousands of rounds down range shooting double action. One just has to study McGrivern to know double actions are faster then single actions. | |||
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OlBIKER you should bring some of that pop corn to western Wis we could eat it and do some shooting.  | |||
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| Moderator |
I don't find the .500 Smith all that hard to shoot, given the brake, and the shear bulk. Try shooting my .500 Linebaugh (at just under 3-lbs) double action and it's not so easy. There is considerably more muzzle flip than the .500 Smith I am currently testing. I hunt with both and can say with certainty that there is no discernable difference in the speed with which you can cock them and make a follow-up shot. I can't even figure out why it is the topic of discussion. I am sure that everyone's level of competance is different, but cocking a revolver is cocking a revolver. I don't see one having an advantage over another. We're not talking about defensive or cowboy action shooting, but hunting........ "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Very true in a hunting situation it most likely well never matter. As I stated before I have hunted with single shots and can only think of one time a fast follow up shot might have made a differants. That said I perfer double action revolvers over single actions to andswer the Question. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Handgun Hunting SA or DA Which do you prefer?
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