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.

[King_Corey]

Ahh to smell the BS of an author. LOL, it is funny, so freaking funny. Only need one bullet per person. HAHAHA. Sure buddy, nobody ever survives being shot with a 45. What a snobbish fool.

[treetopsandroofs]

I don’t shoot often enough, even less so since the tragic boat accident, but in 10+ years, experienced a few jams in the Glock 19, and none in the S&W 642.

Y/MMMV

[treetopsandroofs]

Oops, Too many M’s.

A Hussein Head here a few days ago who didn’t like my POV focused instead on fegined ignorance of a couple common acronyms I used.

It’s Election Year again. :-)

[Jack Black]

The author claims that the single-action revolver has a rate of fire that is as fast as a double-action revolver.

This isn't true. It's not true for normal people who have substantial shooting time behind their favored gun, and it's not true for the elite.

Maybe there are some freakishly fast single action guys who do trick shooting who are faster with a single action revolver than most people are with a double action revolver, but none of the cowboy gun shooters can come close to the freakishly fast Jerry Miculek .. especially if any reloading is required. Jerry Miculek speed shooting record setting video

[trebb]

“Chief among these is the lie that revolvers are more reliable than automatics. “

Yeah - autos never jam in dirty situations when a revolver would keep firing...or have ejection problems if a bad round is fired or a limp-wrist lapse occurs...I’ve had 3 jams with autos over the last 50 years and zero problems with revolvers....like the old saying goes, if a gun jams just once it’s hard to trust it as a SHTF weapon.

[yarddog]

I actually pretty much agree with the author. Something unusual for ASJ.

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

[doorgunner69]

Miculek is a space alien, no other explanation for what he can do.

[magyars4]

Armchair expert. I can’t think of a single modern double action break top revolver....Webleys are ancient!

[Jack Black]

I guess the magazine has a lot of pages to fill up with editorial content, so they let the author publish a rant. He's certainly very opinionated. And he thinks that the 1911 is the pinnacle of gun design, and nothing has surpassed it int 100 years. Quite a few very knowledgeable people would beg to differ.

The author ignores one of the great virtues of the revolver: it can easily be chambered for and handle the pressure of magnum and super-magnum cartridges like the .44 Mag, .41 Mag, .347 Mag and .500 S&W Mag, .454 Casull, .480 Ruger, etc. etc.

These cartridges are a lot more reassuring to carry when you are in big bear country than the .45 ACP the author favors.

[mylife]

I do not like DA only, DA/SA is preferred.

[mylife]

I do not like DA only, DA/SA is preferred.

[antidemoncrat]

Where can I get one of those ‘automatic” pistols. My semi-automatic just doesn’t shoot fast enough.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

A Hussein Head here a few days ago who didn’t like my POV focused instead on fegined ignorance of a couple common acronyms I used.

"Don't look now...but you've been Fegined."

[itsahoot]

but none of the cowboy gun shooters can come close to the freakishly fast Jerry Miculek ..

Bob Munden would put him to shame, guy could split a card on edge with his single action. He also could fire two shots a break two balloons so fast you never heard but one shot, or saw it either. Bob is dead now but man he never missed Could shoot aspirins from nail heads leaving the nail untouched.

[Campion]

While not quite as reliable overall as the M1911A1, [the P08 Luger] 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.

I thought the Germans replaced the Luger with the P-38 because (a) the P-38 was cheaper to manufacture; and (b) the Luger didn't handle dirty conditions as well.

[1Old Pro]

DA/SA is preferred.

Me too

[real saxophonist]

Blogwriter:

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.

Same blogwriter:

THE M1911A1 .45 automatic represents the ultimate in pistol design.

[mylife]

And I like it cocked/locked and ready for SA!

[yarddog]

You are right, revolvers do make better magnums tho it is possible to make magnum autos too.

I had a model 27 with 8 and 3/8ths inch barrel. It had target trigger, hammer and sights. What a beautiful piece of machinery and it shot about as well as one could shoot.

A hot loaded .357 with the right bullet is a very deadly gun. Also had several model 29s and that is about as much power as is practical in a hand gun.