Single-Action, Double-Action & Automatic Pistols

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 5/7/20 | J Dickson

[w1n1]

The merits of each have been debated for decades; here’s one shooter’s take. - The relative merits of the three basic types of pistols – single-action, double-action and automatic – has rarely been discussed in an impartial manner. All have their place and their advantages and disadvantages, depending upon their use. There is a lot of misinformation and even brazen lies that have been repeated for so long that many people believe them. Chief among these is the lie that revolvers are more reliable than automatics. We need to get that lie out of the way before we go any further. I shoot for a living and I have had far more jams and malfunctions with revolvers than automatics. I have seen a .45 M1911A1 throw sand out of every joint and keep right on firing. If you ever get sand down inside the lockwork of a revolver, it will lock up as tight as a bank vault until you turn it in to Ordnance and they take it apart and clean it.
That brings up another point. Automatics are usually easy to take apart and put back together. Revolvers are not, and double-action revolvers can be a nightmare. Even trying to get some of those tiny screws to start in their holes can prove almost impossible for those that lack the magic touch. Revolvers have to be in perfect timing to operate reliably. As they wear, they get out of time. Bad things happen now. A cylinder may refuse to turn, trigger pulls go up and down drastically in the force required to operate, and a hammer may sporadically lack sufficient force to fire the cartridge or may refuse to go all the way back, etc. I have seen all these things and more.

A revolver that is worn or out of time may work perfectly during dry firing but start doing the aforementioned things when you begin firing live ammo. I have even had a foreign copy of a Colt Single Action have its cylinder freeze up after loading the first couple of rounds. Despite the fact that there was plenty of play fore and aft and no place was visibly binding, the cylinder pin had to be removed to get the cylinder out before you could get the cartridges out. The gun then would cycle perfectly as long as no shells were in it. I sent that gun back to the importer without ever figuring that one out.
Then there are the screws. Revolvers are full of them. They back out sometimes as you fire and then they can tie up the gun. An automatic keeps right on working reliably despite its wear until something breaks. I have never had any weird malfunctions with an automatic.

NOW LET US begin with the single-action revolvers. The Colt Single Action Army (SAA) in .45 Long Colt (as opposed to the .45 Short Schofield) is the classic gun of the Old West. It is simple and easy to master. Thanks to Western movies and TV shows, it is the most recognizable pistol in the world. The ease of hitting with it makes it a top choice for many people. As long as you take the time to point it at the target, its rate of fire is as fast as a double-action revolver.
Since it is a .45, you only need one shot per human assailant. That means you can immediately turn your attention to any other attackers in turn. This is a life and death matter because many men have run out of time and been killed by the other attackers while trying to do a double-tap on each assailant.

THE DOUBLE-ACTION REVOLVER has largely superseded the single-action. It is much faster to reload, especially if it is a topbreak, and the use of speed loaders makes it even faster. The old British Webley is the all-time champion revolver for fast reloading. This rugged, reliable design stands as the best military revolver ever to see service. Sadly, it is no longer made.
The American swing-out cylinder revolvers require that the muzzle be held up when ejecting the cartridges, lest one fall between the cylinder and the ejector and be hard to remove. Ejection requires a separate movement, unlike the topbreak designs that positively eject when the gun is opened fast. Double-action revolvers are the best pistols for the casual user who just wants a burglar pistol, as there is not much to remember. Just point and pull the trigger.

THE M1911A1 .45 automatic represents the ultimate in pistol design. It has the most reliability of all pistols and its .45 ACP cartridge will put down a foe with one shot to the vitals as reliably as anything you can hold in your hand. I have a World War II manual in which the Army states that the .45 ACP has more stopping power than the .30-06. That just bears out what pistol users have seen all along.
While relatively easy to master, you do need to become accustomed to it, whereas the German P08 Luger is the easiest pistol to hit with ever made. You just point and hit. It’s as simple as that. The Luger is also one of the most accurate pistols ever made. While not quite as reliable overall as the M1911A1, it is the champ in the mud. There is no place for globs of mud to enter the mechanism and it is good at throwing the mud off when fired. Read the rest of single, double-action pistols.

[Tijeras_Slim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUHZX7C_73o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWy1AiJ8lyE

A couple cowboy shooters who are pretty quick.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The Colt Single Action Army (SAA) in .45 Long Colt (as opposed to the .45 Short Schofield) is the classic gun of the Old West.***

In one of the ironies of the Old West, the US cavalry used the .45 LONG Colt pistol as is. Then the Army tested the Schofield with used the .45 SHORT cartridge. It did not make the grade, but the Army continued using the Colt pistol with the short Schofield cartridge.

[Secret Agent Man]

Yeah that caught my eye too.

Like only in the movies does one bullet always incapacitate a person and you can just ‘move on to the next guy’ who hasn’t shot YOU yet.

[Hot Tabasco]

Ahh to smell the BS of an author. LOL

I'll take the advice of a known firearm professional and writer over the snobbish remark of a wannabe internet keyboard firearm expert any day.......LOL!

[Jack Black]

Yes, I agree too that, as you put it:

"A good auto is more reliable than a revolver, especially in dirty conditions. Note that I said a (good) auto."

Which is why every military in the world went to semi-autos starting in the early 20th century. Including the author's 1911 which was the year the U.S. Army adopted it to replace their revolvers.

But, what about a gun that isn't going to be used in mud-filled trench. I'd say that a new condition revolver is slightly more reliable than a new condition semi-auto, on average.

Every gun writer advises not using a new semi-auto for concealed carry until you've put a bunch of rounds through, usually a number between 100 and 500.

While it would be prudent to fire a box through a new S&W revolver, I've never heard of one that didn't go BANG! when you pulled the trigger every time when new.

The revolver "problems" he's discussing are what you see in 30 year old revolvers that have a lot of rounds through them, particularly magnum rounds. Yeah, they are machines, and like all other machines they wear out.

[old curmudgeon]

I had a “liberated” Luger after WWII and it was the worst, most unreliable weapon I have ever owned.

The Walther P-38 I had at the same time was far superior.

[leaning conservative]

Bkmk

[IronJack]

Before my canoe tipped over, I had a 92F Baretta. It was a fine pistol, but I had trouble finding mags that weren’t junk. With the right mag, it would shoot great. But at least every other mag I bought would feed improperly and it would stovepipe constantly.

[old curmudgeon]

And the S&W Model 28 can not be beat.

Who is this Jim Dixon? Credentials are everything.

[IronJack]

Just a reminder that with semi-autos, it’s not just the pistol itself that has to be reliable, but the components too. Even down to the bullets. A lot of autos don’t like semi-hollows or wadcutters.

[yarddog]

I changed my opinion around 1990. I was teaching skeet at a major Southern University. Our skeet range was on the old police shooting range.

Although they had a new one, the old one was still heavily used. Sometimes between classes, I would sit in the stands and watch various cop outfits requalify.

After just about every round of shooting, a cop would bring his disabled revolver to the rangemaster where it had to be cleared. It was usually something like an empty getting caught under the extractor star.

They were using what appeared to be S&W revolvers. After around a year they went to Glocks. I noticed there were far less malfunctions with the Glocks.

At this same time there were lots of used .38 revolvers at dealers. I bought an excellent Colt Official Police. It was the slickest, most accurate revolver one could want. Very close to perfection. Only cost $100.

[Magnum44]

Not to be picky, but its SEMI-auto, not automatic. Hard to read past the headline after that.

[treetopsandroofs]

Nice. :-)

[treetopsandroofs]

I never really got over the disappointment as a pre-teen when shooting my first “automatic”, and disovering I wasn’t going full auto down range.

[Jack Black]

One of my best friends has the Colt revolver he bought back in the early 1960s just out of high school. He just didn't have the extra cash to spring for the Python, so he got the Trooper - which is exactly the same internal works, but lacks the ribbed barrel.

It is a very fine action, "slick" would be a good word to describe it.

I used to hang out on the Smith & Wesson forum, and the term that is used for Colt's there is "off brand". Guy's would do a post saying: Hey, I got a nice off-brand! And then have a picture of a nickle plated Python that you knew they must have paid $2000. for. I always found that a cute term, and have taken to referring to Colt's as "off-brands" ever since.

For me they are. I have several S&W revolvers in various frame sizes and configurations, and one Ruger Blackhawk, but no Colt wheel guns.

[Jack Black]

My favorite "off-brand" revolver: the Colt Anaconda 6".

They don't make these anymore, or I'd probably have one.

I think Smith & Wesson's function great, and are lovely when appointed correctly. I may be influenced by Jerry Miculek, who explains why he prefers S&W on a few videos. (Yes, he's sponsored by them.)

But, I have to give Colt their due, they made the best looking double action revolvers ever, and they had some of the nicest finishes on their guns, too. The high-polish Stainless (that they put on some Anacondas and even some 1911s in the 1980s) was incredible.

b

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I...simply MUST...maintain my well earned reputation as a Nit Picker.

I simply aim to delight and make a giggle or two.

Oh! There's another!

"You've got to make a giggle or two."

Sometimes I crack myself up.

[Manly Warrior]

Sorry guys, but calling a “semi-automatic” pistol an “automatic” is completely correct.

However, calling any revolver, single or double action a “pistol” is a mis-characterization.

Pistols are either single shots, as in a Kentucky pistol( muzzleloader) or self-loading as in the Colt’s Automatic Model of 1911, etc.

[USS Alaska]

I've been shooting handguns for over 6 decades, both semi-autos {9mm & 45s} and revolvers, 22, 38, 45, 357 Magnums and I've never had a revolver fail {my guns are kept clean} but I have had multiple jams and ejection failures with semis.

I am not a pistol expert, but I have shot many thousands of rounds and strictly for reliability, I will take my S+W 357 Magum, over any of my semis.

For me, it's a matter of personal choice, if you bought the guns, use what ever you like the best.

[yarddog]

I have seen video of Miculek. Also once personally witnessed a Texas Ranger fire an 870 so fast that I would not have believed it had I not seen it. Even after seeing it I sometimes wonder if my memory is right.

I can’t do anything that fast. Not blink my eyes, tap my fingers or anything. It must be some kind of muscle memory.

Anyhow it is amazing.