Originally Posted by Big Cholla

I am a well trained self defense shooter and instructor. In addition I spent a second career in law enforcement. Somewhere along the way I became a student of 'nuances' in using firearms for self defense. An aspect of nuances is 'options'. Most every necessitated use of a firearm for self defense is different in some or many of the scenarios that we practice on the shooting range to prepare us for an actual event.

All that is a long winded lead up to what I will say about SA/DA semi-autos that come OEM with a non-spurred hammer. Everyone is right that the spurred hammer is not necessary for range. But, what if the scenario developing in front of you is real and not a range exercise. Say you need a very precise placement of a shot to prevent damage to a hostage or yourself? With a little practice one usually can shoot a SA trigger pull more accurately than a DA. Especially in a dangerous, tense situation. Resolving that in my mind and being a pistolsmith when I acquired my first S&W M 3913, I researched S&W parts, found the M 5906 spurred hammer and made the swap. I was very pleased with the results. I have maintained that practice for more than 30 years now. I want/need that option to fire my first shot from a precocked hammer. I don't want to take the chance of a ND while attempting to cock a hammer that does not have a thumb spur. I found that by careful selection of clothes, holster and draw technique and lots of practice I did not have any snags while drawing from concealment.

A word of advice; if one thinks that they being well drilled and competent while practicing martial arts with a handgun is going to assure totally and always proper response in an actual shooting, they are wrong. The muscle memory developed in practice will usually prove its worth. But, the adrenaline surge, tenseness, brain farts, and etc. can throw anyone off. .... Best to have every option available, IMHO.

Practice is invaluable IF one does it perfectly. Do your drills exactly the same each practice session, do them perfectly and stop when you become fatigued. Don't limit yourself to just standing and shooting at a target. Walk, move, squat, kneel, fall down, lie flat on the ground, access multiple targets as to degree of danger from highest to least. Shoot DA, shoot SA, shoot with the off hand a bunch. Practice reloads using only one hand (both). IMO, all of the above is best performed while using a 22 LR conversion kit on your favorite SDH or a 22 LR handgun as close to being a duplicate of your serious handgun as possible.

Sorry to get so long winded, but some of the responses to the original post sort of set me off.