44 Mag Shooters - Shoot DA or SA?

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jtduncan

New member
Do you shoot your Redhawks, SW 629s, Anaconda's, and other 44 mags in double or single action?

I bought my Redhawk for hunting and some target work.

My Redhawk has a nice SA trigger pull but a little rough on the DA trigger pull.

My local gunsmith did the best trigger job I've ever felt on any revolver. All of the gun shop employees were droolling once they pulled the trigger on my SW
610.

Since I'll be shooting the 610 in DA, I was thinking of also shooting the Redhawk in DA.

Get the trigger job for the Redhawk to shoot in DA or just shot it in SA?
 
P

PreserveFreedom

Guest
How I miss my 44 Magnum Vaquero. It was a SA wheelgun so I didn't have much choice. If it was DA, I would have shot it SA anyway.
 
W

WESHOOT2

New member
SA vs DA

I use my 5.5" Redhawks (41 and 44 Mags) for IPSC, so DA is the only way to go.

Sweet.

For accuracy or chrono testing I go SA, but for hunting I haven't had to decide yet...
 
H

Herb Leventhal

New member
44 mag

I shoot S&W 629 Classic Dx $$ Mag handloaded with factory equivalent 240 gr lead or copper bullet over 22.8 gr Winch 296 powder. I shoot single action 99% of the time for greatest accuracy. There are club members whom can shoot full loads in double action very accurately but I am not one of them
Herb:)
 
L

lonegunman

New member
Why would anyone shoot a revolver double action, when they could shoot it single action?

What perceived advantage is there to DA?
 
A

Ala Dan

Member in memoriam
Hello Again,

I agree with the comment's made by Point Blank.
If I were shooting the S&W 629 double action, it
would have to be with .44 Special loads.:D:)

Regards,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member




MOLON LABE!!!
 
D

dewey

New member
DA Plate work

I enjoy shooting my S&W 629 3 ich V-Comp with pretty hot loaded 240 XTPs and SWCs. It's a chal-
lendge to clean 'em fast but it's taught me to ignore the recoil and blast.

I think I'm one of the lucky ones as I never think
of recoil, only site picture and trigger control.
If I worried or even thought about the blast I'd
sell all the .44MAGS as it would preclude me from getting better much less enjoying myself. Best....dewey:D
 
H

Herb Leventhal

New member
44 mag DA or SA

lonegunman and Dan
At our club we have a steel plate range built for semi-auto or revolver heavy caliber . First one to knock down 5 plates takes the money. Amongst the revolver afficianado's the word is that a shooter can come close to the same rate of fire as semi-auto if he or she shoots DA. SA is "slower" and I have not personnly seen anybody shooting SA "take the money". Several of the shooters use the S&W 625 45 auto
Herb:
 
D

DennisE

New member
Thank Goodness! My Ruger Super Blackhawk has a great SA trigger and none of that DA foolishness. :) Dennis
 
R

Rainbow Six

New member
So far I have shot my 629 SA only. I want to try some fast DA but I'll probably use .44spcl or downloaded .44mag ammo for that.

R6
 
A

Archie

New member
Double action, of course...

It is an offense to Smith and Wesson and an unnatural act to thumb cock an S&W revolver.

Okay, that may be a little over stated, but I've found DA shooting to be MORE ACCURATE than SA at all ranges. It does take some mental readjustment, but it ain't hard.

Mr. Levanthal, with a revolver, I regularly outshoot the autopistols on five plate shooting. Nor am I the only one; the gentleman who taught me sounds like a mini gun.

My only N frame is now a 44 Special. When I work with it, it shoots pretty fast too.

However, in terms of serious pistol work, these kinds of things are stunts. They're not bad at teaching skills in handling firearms, but to concentrate on them is misleading.

Back to the original question. I shoot DA because it is more accurate.

And I don't shoot Colt DA revolvers. Both S&W and Ruger revolvers either are good, or can be cleaned up handily.
 
F

frontlander

New member
I've been shooting and carrying a .44 Mountain Gun daily for the last few months. I've found that 99% of my field shooting is done single action, even though I split my practice sessions 50/50 DA/SA. My handgunning career started with a Ruger Single Six and has progressed to the 1911 so my trigger finger is just a little bit more comfortable with a single action pull. Also, my most frequent load of choice for the Mountain Gun (300 gr. hard cast at 1200 fps) makes fast double action shooting difficult due to grip plunging. When loaded with a 240 cast at 950 fps, it becomes a joy to shoot double action. Archie, I have found that I often shoot more accurately offhand when shooting double action at short ranges than single action. This doesn't seem to be the case with a "braced" position (kneeling, sitting, prone) Do you suppose it is due to more concentration on holding the sight alignment through the longer trigger pull rather than "snatching" at a sight picture with a single action pull?
 
A

Archie

New member
Frontlander,

that is exactly the case.

Line up the sights and pull the trigger. It is much easier to concentrate on a smooth pull that way. For the record, my first pistol was a GI 45 auto. I still have a couple.

PPC shooters are all DA shooters. Sitting, prone, left and right hand barricade at 50 yards can be done either SA or DA. Most shooters shoot DA.

I confess it seems counterintuitive.
 
H

Hal

New member
There's Iron in Archie's words.

FWIW,
I agree with Archie. D/A is worlds more accurate for me, at least with a Smith. S/A shooting simply has no rythm.
 
C

capbuster

New member
I shoot my 4 inch barrel model 29 in both double and single action. This is usally determined by the speed required and the distance. I think we would all agree that past the 25 yd mark the single action mode is a must with a double action revolver. My .44 magnum loads are not that stout and everything seems to work out. Take care.
 
Z

Zorro

New member
Double!

The Single action trigger on my M29-2 is about 4 Ounces.

DA is about 7 Pounds and VERY smooth. :)

It is a great experts gun but could hurt a novice. :eek:
 
J

Jim March

New member
There's a technical issue here: "lock time".

Unload any DA wheelgun, and then hold it up sideways. Cock the hammer. Take note of how far back the hammer went, then lower it.

Now crank the DA trigger through it's stroke, slowly, ending with a dry-fire (on a snapcap if possible). You'll find that the hammer does NOT go back as far during the DA sequence. The difference is fairly significant.

Which means that "lock time", the time between trigger activation and ignition, is shorter during the DA stroke and therefore, theoretical accuracy is *higher* with DA.

Only a real master of the DA trigger, using a good gun with a smooth trigger, will actually realize the increased accuracy. Most of us "mere mortals" will get better accuracy out of an SA trigger unless we really work at it.

Anyways. When people say they shoot better DA, lock time may be a factor.

Jim
 
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