Revolver Shooters tranistioning to SA Semi-Auto

xtp308

xtp308

Serious Threadkiller
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 18, 2016
Messages
2,503
Location
Dunn- Fayetteville
Rating - 100%
56   0   0
Just wanted to toss this out there and see if I'm alone here or if anyone here with more experience can give me a pointer or two.
I've been shooting revolvers the correct way (DAO) for at least thirty-plus years. My first issue revolver was a Model 10 HB if that gives you a clue. I prefer revolvers for edc and just range shooting. I carry Glocks on the job now BTW, but carried a j-frame off the job for a long time. I like Ks, Ns, and Js of any stripe, they just shoot right for me. I can outrun the action on a Colt or a Ruger really easy, but I have to be not on my game and not paying attention to outrun it on a Smith.

I've recently had to move out of the revolver game because of arthritis and tendonitis, much to my deep regret. I've accepted it and plan to retry it probably early next year once I've let the joints and everything "rest up a little", and just cut way down on the repetitions. Enough whining and on to my questions...

I shoot polymer guns with a 5-8 pound stock trigger just fine if I watch my trigger control and split times. But, I'm having an issue with my 1911s and a BHP ( unrelated to starting to have problems just seeing the damn sights). I'm firing a followup shot before the sights drop back into place quite often because my finger is obviously moving too fast for my recovery cycle.

Questions:
Am I crazy or is this a common thing with SA auto shooters ?
Do I just bump up the trigger weight on the guns ? Would a stronger trigger return spring be a better path ?
Do I retrain my trigger finger to "ride the reset" on semi-autos ? I've hesitated going this route as I don't want to retrain to do a partial return to the reset versus a full-length stroke on a DA revolver. I shoot my Glocks with a full return, no problems qualifying or speed.
Since I don't have this issue with a polymer gun, do they just have a faster recovery cycle than the SA semi-auto ? I've seen the same issue with a Sig 228 once I get it out of DA mode, FYI.
Am I just getting lazy and need to slow the hell down and use better trigger control ?

I appreciate any constructive input. Thanks for reading !
 
I imagine it will take alot of practice, since you have trained so long on DAO triggers to shake it...

But im sure you CAN do it. Its just a new skillset to learn.
 
You can do this. You will need to perfect your "cadence of fire". You can do this by experimenting with the firmness of your grip. Looser=slower...Firmer=faster. This will be easy to do by starting Close Up to start with. It will require a certain expenditure of ammo to get where you want to be.
You will learn a new rhythm like the time required to reset the trigger on your DA revolver stroke. You will now be allowing for recoil-trigger reset time-trigger press as you did before But you will be eliminating the long DA reset time. You can do it. It will require work. Start at 3 yards!!!
 
Hard to imagine “outrunning” a Ruger DA revo. Do you mean you get trigger freeze by not letting it reset?
I mean, Jerry isn’t outrunning any DA revo.
 
NKD said:
Hard to imagine “outrunning” a Ruger DA revo. Do you mean you get trigger freeze by not letting it reset?
I mean, Jerry isn’t outrunning any DA revo.
Click to expand...
And Jerry ain’t shootin’ no Rugers. :D
 
I have a problem with a handgun firing before I am ready if I am sloppy with my trigger control and grip. That is especially true if I have been shooting lots of single action revolvers. It happens on double action revolvers as well as autoloaders. The recoil brings the firearm to the rear, the trigger resets during recoil, and the trigger is again pulled unintentionally as the handgun goes forward recovering from the recoil. The worst offenders for me are DA/SA autoloaders when I fire the first round DA because the two trigger pulls are so different. I have never had much problem with a 1911. I assume it is because the trigger pull is always the same. Paying attention to trigger control and holding the handgun a bit more firmly cures the problem very easily for me unless the trigger is super light. I had a 629 Mountain Gun that I bought from a club member that had a real light trigger. It was real bad about doubling. I put a little more tension on the spring and had no more problems. My nephew has it now, and I would not have given it to him if I thought it was unsafe.
 
Last edited:
I would start at a distance where my hit rate was say fifty percent and slow my cadence to where I could reliably hit the target one hundred percent. Once control is certain move the target back and continue, accuracy comes first before any rate of speed.

Be warned, once you run a 1911 competently you will never be able to do what you once did with a DA revolver but who cares, you’ll be hitting like you never did before.
 
Last edited:
NKD said:
Hard to imagine “outrunning” a Ruger DA revo. Do you mean you get trigger freeze by not letting it reset?
I mean, Jerry isn’t outrunning any DA revo.
Click to expand...
Yep, that's exactly it. I don't have a problem with Rugers, they shoot great. They just don't fit my hands as well as a Smith.
BTW, if it's ok with you, I'm stealing the term "trigger freeze". That's a perfect phrase.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NKD
Gents,
I really appreciate the comments and guidance. I'll retrain on the 1911 and pay more attention to my grip.
 
This video is always worth watching. It’s got some real gems and reminders in it for shooter from beginner to seasoned.

 
Last edited:
I shoot revolvers and 1911s for 95% of my competition work. Don’t think of them as different types of shooting. Think of it as revolver shooting versus single action auto shooting. Two different activities.

I fish a lot. Baitcasting, spincasting, and fly fishing are all very different ways of doing the same thing. However, they’re so different that there’s no threat of cross contamination. I’m not reflexively roll casting my spinning rig, and I don’t try to flip the bail in a fly rod. It’s different. I think of it as fly fishing versus spincasting, not variants of the same thing.

Same with pens and pencils. I know when I’m holding one or the other based on feel. I don’t try to erase with the top of a pen, and I don’t reflexively try to unpost a cap from a pencil.

Revolvers and 1911s are materially different in feel and operation. A 1911 has a beaver tail and a straight-ish grip, so the mount on the draw is different. You have to draw it thumb-high to get on top of the safety. It has a long, narrow grip. The trigger reach is somewhat short, and the shoe is fairly flat.

A revolver has no beaver tail, so it’s drawn with a sort of clenched fist. Thumbs stay low and wrap over one another. The grip is very round. The trigger reach is long, but the shoe is very rounded.

The both shoot bullets, but they’re very, very different tools. If you can tell them apart by feel, by ergonomics, and by balance, then you can think of them as separate tools with their own muscle memory.
 
From my experiences with the two the relationship between the grip and trigger is too different. Shooting a revolver the grip never aligns the trigger for a straight pull whereas the 1911 gives one a good grip and a near perfect straight, to the natural finger movement, trigger pull. Once one becomes use to the 1911 the revolver raises the question of how did I ever hit anything with one, jmho.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom