If you're willing to put a little time in, the DA/SA offers a lot of advantages at very little trade off. If you're not willing to practice, you may find yourself burning that very important first shot.
My cousin's best friend from childhood is a Navy SEAL...He and his team were in the region for some training and rather than spend their weekend up at Crane they came down and stayed at my cousin's....They loaded up some guns to go shooting...Cousin said whenever they shot his SIG P6 they (four came down)would decock it after every shot...Cuz knew they were trained on P226's and he finally asked why they didn't take the rest of the shots in SA mode rather than decocking it every time......
They said that is the way they are trained...Something about the most important shot they will ever take with a pistol is the first one so when they are shooting on paper they always decock first.....I thought it was interesting...What's funny is cuz was sending me texts as they were shooting...One of them had never fired a 1911 before and asked if he could shoot the Kimber (series one) 1911....Cuz said sure and handed it to him.....They were shooting at 15 yards and I got a text with a picture of one ragged hole...The first time that kid ever shot a 1911 was a group like that...Which goes to show that learning to shoot a double action well makes the transition to a single action mode smooth as silk.....
Lots of great info guys. Thank you. My concern was, as pointed out, wasting my first shot until it becomes a familiar action. Interesting reading that forcing yourself to the double action could make you a better shooter in SA. I have tried a few SA/DA models, like the M&P, and XDS, and a Beretta. Hated the first 2, liked the Beretta. The M&P felt like a spring loaded dart gun when it fired. Don't care for plastic. The Beretta was a .40, so I didn't want to keep it. I'm looking at another Beretta in 9mm, so I might go ahead and pick one up.
A good dry fire routine works wonders. Once you've got a strong and correct grip and have isolated your trigger finger, work on a smooth and consistent trigger pull. Don't slow down or try to stage it. One quick pull without disturbing the sights. There are some good dry fire resources online, it's more than just pointing a gun and pulling the trigger over and over.
A good dry fire routine works wonders. Once you've got a strong and correct grip and have isolated your trigger finger, work on a smooth and consistent trigger pull. Don't slow down or try to stage it. One quick pull without disturbing the sights.
"One quick pull without disturbing the sights"....That's it in a nut shell...It's easier to type that than it is to do that but it can be done....
Love my DA/SA traditional hammer auto.
I have no idea why so many people fuss over this type of action so much.
All the talk I hear that it's so onerous changing up from the longer, heavier DA trigger pull to the shorter, lighter SA trigger pull to me is just so much exaggeration.
TDA or DA/SA is unnecessarily complicated for no return.
The beauty of the DAO is the combination of a consistent trigger and the lack of unnecessary controls. No need to teach or worry about applying a safety or dropping a hammer prior to holstering OR swiping a safety off during the draw. It's just simple and simple is good. It completely frees your mind from 'handling' the weapon so you can concentrate entirely on 'shooting' the weapon. Until you try it you'll never know.
Having options on operating condition is a handicap,.....not an advantage. That falls under the heading of 'marketing'.
All that said, there's a huge difference between GOOD DAO and BAD DAO. My DAO collection runs over 80 pistols(if you include the DAO revo's and striker fired Glocks, etc). The best of the lot are all S&W,.......the K frame revolvers and the 3rd Gen autos. The later FNs are not bad and the Berettas, especially the Cougars, are very good. The FN forty-Nine, SIG P220, Mauser M2, and all the striker fired Glocks, etc have the simplicity angle down but not the trigger. All IMHO.
TDA or DA/SA is unnecessarily complicated for no return.