Just wondering why a Single Action Only trigger, like on some 14's, is supposed to make the single action break cleaner?

I am guessing it shouldnt make any differance. Dont know why it ever was done.

I've never noticed any difference on any I have owned.

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IMO it won't make any difference at all in the trigger pull, the DA and SA sears are completely separate. However, losing the mass and damping effect of the DA sear should improve the Lock Time slightly. BTW, Lock Time is the amount of time between the trigger breaking and the gun actually firing. At a guess we might be talking about a few hundreths of a second here, something most of us would need lab grade gear to detect. Perhaps there are 5 or 6 shooters in the US good enough to provide some real evidence of that being an improvement. For the rest of us it won't make any difference.

Thanks for the replies, I'm guessing the SAO hammer was just a "cool guy" option for serious Bullseye shooters back in the 60's and 70's.

I don't know that I'd call it "cool".... definitely allows for more accuracy.

If the trigger pull was improved, that would be a function of the relationship between the hammer and trigger, not just the different hammer. Without fitting, I can easily envision a trigger pull worse than the original.

Larry

In DA shooting the shooters must compress the trigger rebound slide spring & pull against the arch of the main spring first before the DA sear breaking point is reached. In SA the trigger rebound slide spring is totally compressed and the trigger pull weight is determined by the main spring and the sear engagement. Those of us that work on our own triggers can have a 1.5 lb SA pull and a 13 lb DA pull! People say that's crazy! The gun is shot by me only and in SA only! It takes deer every year!
jcelect

The double action sear used to bump the trigger when fired by a competitive shooter in the single action mode (never a problem for a field shooter). Removing the double action feature eliminated an unnecessary variable. It was a common modification on both Colt and S&W revolvers. S&W just made it simple with their drop in parts. Only way to verify authenticity of a particular revolver is to get a letter from Mr. Jinks. I still have several new part kits for the conversion on my bench.

Not trying to hi-jack your thread but since your question was answered I have one:

Why would ANYONE want this modification to be done to a perfectly good S&W revolver??? Why NOT leave the SA - DA option??

Never quite understood that.

If you look closely or even function a true factory SAO hammer you will find that the hammer spur is located differently so that you don't have to pull it as far to the rear to engage the sear. This helps in bullseye shooting so your thumb doesn't have to work as hard to cock the gun for timed and rapid fire. I don't believe it was ever designed to give a lighter trigger pull "out of the box". That would be up to the gunsmith fitting it into either a .22 caliber (2# pull allowed) or a center fire gun (3# pull allowed). I also don't believe S&W ever tried to adjust trigger pull on factory installed guns unless they were done in the customer service area to the customer's specifications.
Just my two cents worth;
Mike

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Mike
S&WCA #2470

Mike,
Being that I do not own a SA ONLY Factory Revolver I have not has the opportunity to see the difference yet. Let's take what you stated as fact, that still doesn't explain why some guys like to change a standard revolver to either SA ONLY or DA only after they are in possession of it. The revolver is capable of working both ways and I can't understand why someone would not want that choice unless of course a specific LE Dept. has mandated DA only as in what LA and NYC used to do when they used Revolvers. I sure as hell would NOT want a DA only if I had to take an aimed 50 - 75 foot shot from behind a car!

A couple of things, Chief. An SAO mod to a bullseye revolver isn't a bad thing; you must remember that this isn't a collector gun or a self-defense weapon; it's a dedicated bullseye gun. Target guns are tools and mods are made to give the shooter every advantage. A clean, tuned short-action SA pull is an advantage. It's not mutilation.

As far as DAO, most PPC shooters use DA for the 50 yd phase; small target, smaller groups. No one I know of uses SA at 50 yds. I was one of those LAPD cops with a DAO revolver; I had no issues taking a shot at longer distances, using DA. Double action is just as precise-if you know and practice DA trigger technique.
Bob

OK, I'll take you at your word regarding the SA TARGET mode.

The DAO - I still would want an option - but that's what makes Horse Races I suppose.

Regards,
Chief38

When I attended the armorer's school one of the instructors told us to buy the return spring for the SA only as it was the same length but of slightly lighter coils so the trigger pull was less.
By using the proper length spring it helped in return of trigger as some times chopped springs caused sporadic trigger return. The part number is 5387. I don't have a K or N frame parts list close to see what number of normal return spring is.

There is no difference in the hammer spur location between the SA only and a regular SW hammers. Competitive shooters set the trigger stop very closely and on rare occasions this would not provide sufficient clearance for the DA sear to miss the trigger. Many shooters also would clip the rebound spring to reduce weight of pull. SA only kits were available from the factory during the 60's and early 70's. Most PPC shooters shoot DA only across the course. There were custom gunsmiths (i.e. Kings) that provided custom offset hammer spurs for bullseye shooters. I like my revolvers with both features enabled. I have factory new SA only kits in my parts box and hammer spur location is identical to the regular DA/SA hammer configuration.

"If you look closely or even function a true factory SAO hammer you will find that the hammer spur is located differently so that you don't have to pull it as far to the rear to engage the sear."
"There is no difference in the hammer spur location between the SA only and a regular SW hammers."
Oops, my bad! Mr. Duck is correct. BUT, the sear notch on the foot of the hammer is located differently so the hammer doesn't have to be pulled as far to engage it. When you look from the side of a fully cocked SAO revolver and a standard DA & SA the hammer spur is in a different position thus giving the impression that it was the spur that was located differently.
Sorry for the confusion.
Mike

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S&WCA #2470