Ashamed to ask. S/A? D/A?
Ok. I sometimes think I know everything but I don't. Could someone please explain to me the difference between Single Action and Double Action. [;)]
It's better to have it and not need it, Than to need it and not have it.
It's better to have it and not need it, Than to need it and not have it.
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singal action means that you have to pull the hammer back everytime you want to shot double action means you can keep puling the trigger and it will fire until you run out of bullets 0 -
There are single action and double action revolvers and semi automatic hand guns. The standard western revolver such as the colt single action or the ruger Blackhawk are singgle action revolvers. The Colt Python and the Ruger Redhawk are double action revolvers.
The Colt 1911A1 is a singel action semi automatic The Beretta M92 is a double action semi automatic.
Single action requires you to pull the hammer back in order to fire the hand gun. Double action the trigger will pull the hammer back for you.
Clear as mud? [8D]
Greg
Former Marine
2nd A N G L I C O0 -
ok so a Ruger P345 is double action...so what is the P345DAO (dual action only) sounds the same to me. It's better to have it and not need it, Than to need it and not have it.0 -
DOA = Double action only. Can not be shot as a singel action in a semi automatic hand gun. Most double action hand guns can shoot both single action and double action. If it is marked DAO it can only shoot double action. and the mud gets thicker [8D]
Greg
Former Marine
2nd A N G L I C O0 -
well i appreciate the wealth of knowledge from everyone. [:p][:D] It's better to have it and not need it, Than to need it and not have it.0 -
To simplify things a bit:
Single action means pulling the trigger performs only one action: it drops the hammer thereby firing the gun. Obviously before the hammer can be dropped, it has to be cocked. . .the shooter needs to do that manually.
Double action means pulling the trigger performs TWO actions: It COCKS the gun's hammer, and then fires the gun.
The old style revolvers are single-action and need to be cocked manually before each shot. The more modern design revolvers are double-action and can fire either single action or double-action, as the shooter chooses.
A few revolvers are double-action only, meaning you can't cock them manually at all. Some of these guns actually don't even have external hammers, or the hammer spur has been bobbed off making manual cocking impossible.
The nomenclature is the same with automatic guns, only with autos usually (but not always) the act of firing the gun cocks the hammer for subsequent shots. So with most (but not all) double-action semi-automatic guns, only the first shot is 'double-action'. After that, the gun automatically cocks itself with each shot, so all subsequent shots are single-action, unless the shooter "de-cocks" (that is somehow drops the hammer safely without firing a round).
Now with "double action only" semi-automatic handguns, that means that there is no way to cock the hammer except by pulling the trigger. In practice that means a longer heavier trigger pull for every single shot, which is supposed to add a measure of safety against negligent discharge.0 -
Well done!, beantownshootah.[^]
Frog.
RiBBButt...You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you've a mind to. -Roger Miller0 -
You forgot about the WEBLY-FOSBERY....The Automatic Revolver......
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0 -
But then there's the hibred Glock and Keltec P3AT that never go to full cock but hang up on half cock when you rack the slide or shoot. They are "double action" from that point.
It can get crazy because they are other combinations such as the Civil War Starr revolver which had a selectable SA/DAO feature and also two triggers to operate if you wanted the SA function without touching the hammer. A nice piece of machinery but the troops hated them.0 -
Yes, there are automatic revolvers (like the modern Mateba or older Webley-Fosbery), and guns that have "partial" cocking, and therefore technially aren't quite single-action or double-action but somewhere in between (like the Glock and its many clones), and other exceptions, but why complicate a very simple concept?
If pulling the trigger cocks the hammer (or equivalent internal "striker") then drops it thereby firing the gun that's "double action."
If pulling the trigger only drops an already cocked hammer, that's "single action".
The classical single action automatic is the famous 1911 Colt .45 auto. The hammer must be cocked before firing, generally by racking the slide. Fans love this gun because the resulting single action trigger pull is generally fairly light and crisp. Same is true of the famous Browning Hi-power.
An example of a modern double action automatic would be the modern military issue Beretta 92SF. Engaging the safety drops the hammer (safely). Then, to fire the gun you have to pull against a long heavy trigger pull to cock the hammer and fire it (double action). Of course you have to disengage the safety before you can do that!
Alternatively, after disengaging the safety you can cock the hammer with your thumb, and get a relatively light single-action pull instead. But you can't safely carry the gun that way, since engaging the safety again will cause the gun to decock. . .bringing you back to the double-action pull above.
With the Glock, when the gun is "cocked" the internal striker is actually about half-way inbetween the "rest" and "fire" positions. At that point the striker (theoretically) doesn't have enough stored up energy to actually set off a primer, but does store a bit of energy to lighten the trigger pull somewhat. The supposed advantage is that you (theoretically) get some of the extra safety of a double-action gun, but a lighter trigger pull that is completely consistent from shot to shot (unlike, say the Beretta which has a heavy double-action for the first shot only).
Cynical Glock skeptics like myself think that you end up with the WORST of both worlds. . .a bad trigger pull on EVERY shot combined with the increased risk of a light-triggered single-action gun without any external safety. . .but plenty of people love this design for its simplicity, and the intrinsic safety is somewhat dependent on what kind of trigger pull you have installed into the Glock.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
-Albert Einstein0
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