Is staging a DA trigger becoming a lost skill?

[Badkarma 1]

Ok---- are you all trying to say that I should be able to fully cock as in single action style with only the trigger??? Am sitting here with my 629-4 and just cannot find that spot. There are two clicks then the hammer drops. I

cubfarm1; Take your 629 in hand, now slowly pull the trigger till the cylinder locks up (it should do this just before the hammer falls, if not your sixguns out of time slightly) now confirm your sight picture and gently SQUEEZE! Your sights should still be lined up.
Staging is a lost art, but one I do practice.

 

[cmort666]

Ok---- are you all trying to say that I should be able to fully cock as in single action style with only the trigger??? Am sitting here with my 629-4 and just cannot find that spot. There are two clicks then the hammer drops. I

Try doing it the way I described.

Get enough finger on the trigger so that when it's fully to the rear, your finger touches the frame or grip. A very minor amount of practice will show you how much finger to use and how far to pull so that your finger touches the frame/grip BEFORE the hammer falls. You can hold that position for the brief instant it takes to properly align your sights. Just a little more pressure will drop the hammer.

The idea isn't that you stand there for twenty seconds with the hammer back. Just maintain the position until your sights are aligned and continue the squeeze, firing your revolver.

 

[Nightowl]

For me, it promotes jerking the trigger. Trying to get that perfect shot, the tendency, both staging and single action, tends to create a jerk at that moment I have that perfect sight picture. The straight through pull works better for me. I think that if you stage or pull straight through for years and thousands of rounds, you should use the method that works best for you.

 

[srgvaz]

I would use it every now and again in the past but when I got my 642-2 just over a year ago it's gained frequency but only at the range/ranch. The last few months I have found using it to dry fire old revolvers gives a good way to test of the lock up/carry up.

 

[chief38]

This is a common practice for me, but then I am a "DINOSAUR" too!

 

[Lobo_79]

...Have I just become a dinosaur or is shooting a DA trigger just becoming a lost art? It just seems strange to me learning to shoot on DA revolvers growing up that someone close to the same age finds it a foreign concept.

Wow...I almost passed on this thread. Now I'm glad I didn't.

I have a PC Model 627 whose trigger I can easily stage. This keeps my grip consistent from shot to shot and I can set up a pretty good rhythm for timed fire. Of all my revolvers this one is the best for this technique. But, I've also heard some good reasons not to practice this technique. Fortunately for me my 627 is a range gun only.

For the rest of my collection - especially the Ruger's - I have to use the pull through method for my best results. This usually means shooting SA for any kind of long range accuracy.

I usually alternate my carry guns between my Ruger SP101 and a Kahr PM9. In either case I think it would be dangerous to stage either trigger system although you can shoot both of these designs very accurately by staging...perhaps the Kahr more than the Ruger.

 

[18DAI]

Lost art. Very few of us still using a revolver for serious, let alone knowing all the methods to do so.

Back in the day one of my instructors who had seen the elephant showed us how to stage the trigger as we were aligning our sights. Told us it was a sure fire way to get a fast accurate shot on target. It had worked for him on the street.

In competition I've found him to be correct. When its for all the marbles anything that works.....including cheating. Regards 18DAI.

 

[haggis]

So few of us have ever been involved in a shooting incident, much less multiple shooting incidents, that most opinions about what is the best technique are just that - opinions - about what works best in the defensive use of a firearm.

Personal defense has a lot of factors, but shooting fast with acceptable accuracy is definitely an important one. The accuracy that one needs for many pistol disciplines far exceeds that needed in a typical self defense scenario. If you're taking advantage of the accuracy that SA or staging give you, you're probably shooting at a much longer range than most defensive encounters. If you're three yards away, even aiming may be a luxury that will get you killed.

IMO, the pistol disciplines that most closely approximate the shooting skills you need in a defensive scenario are action pistol like IDPA and USPSA. They aren't the only skills you need, but they approximate the way that you will use the gun. And if you look at the way top shooters manipulate their revolvers, it is with straight through pulls on 95+% of the shots. Unless precise accuracy is needed, "grip it and rip it" is the order of the day. However fast you can go and keep shots within 4"-6" is what you do. One inch groups at 25 yards are a luxury you can't afford if you want to win.

So that's how you train. You ingrain that into your body movements so that it's second nature. You will react to sudden danger the same way every time. If the situation calls for high accuracy, you will likely have the distance/time to consciously make that decision.

This opinion is solely mine, and is worth exactly what you paid for it. It's your ass - you do what you think is right.


Buck