What is really "Double Action"?

Old Guns Canada

Old Guns Canada

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It's interesting how gun enthusiasts interpret the meaning of "double action" in a revolver, and there is some argument over what constitutes single and double action. Usually, the description will state "single and double action" for some revolvers, and "single action" for something like a Colt SAA (Single Action Army). The correct nomenclature would actually be that either form of action is singular in itself. This can be learned from period descriptions of the earliest double action revolvers. Double action really means that the shooter can fire the gun by the action of the trigger alone (that is one single action) or by cocking the hammer with the thumb and then releasing it with the trigger (another single action). A gun which is capable of both of these, is called a double action. Hence, "double action only" is a mis-nomer, as it would still be a single action gun, utilizing the trigger only to fire the gun.
"...Now he (Colt) has devised a new lock...both self-cocking, and that can be cocked by hand also..." wrote William C. Dodge, S&W's patent agent in 1878, to which D.B. Wesson answered: "We are now making a model for a double acting pistol, i.e., self-cocking or thumb cocking..." So, you can see the idea of a double action revolver implies that it can be either cocked by hand, or using the gun's trigger. The pictures below show one of each: a Colt SAA (Single Action Army), a bar-hammer pepperbox which some would describe as "double action only" (which is wrong) and a true double action S&W which can be fired using either of the two "single actions".

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Colt SAA: the hammer has to be cocked by thumb. No other option.

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Bar hammer pepperbox: the trigger has to be pulled through to make the hammer rise and fall. Still a single action, and no other option.

1-30SW1.JPG

Smith & Wesson 44 Double Action: the gun can be fired either by cocking the hammer with the thumb, or by pulling the trigger through. True double action.

To complicate things further, there are a few "triple action" revolvers, which utilize a unique feature: not only does the gun fire by means of one of the above described actions, it can also be cocked by pulling the trigger half-way and locking the hammer back in the cocked position. Another pull of the trigger releases the hammer, and fires the gun. This was thought to make the gun more accurate than pulling the trigger through in one movement. These revolvers found only limited popularity, though...
 
Most single actions are fired by hammer cocking.
A few single actions are fired by trigger cocking.
Double actions are fired both ways.

I remember an article in Guns & Ammo magazine from the mid-80s that said pretty much exactly the same thing, and I reflect on it whenever I hear a new shooter being coached on revolvers. But, at some point the "wrong" ideas become so deeply engrained in the culture it seems a massive waste of effort to try to fix it.
 
Double Action was taught to me as meaning the trigger did double duty, pulling the hammer back and releasing it.

In PPC there are stages called out as "double action only" meaning firing that way only, while the RO calling "single or double action" means you're allowed to lock the hammer back if you want. DA/SA or SA/DA has shown up as notation for revolvers that work either way. And I've seen guns customized for that game with the hammer spur ground off so you can only use them DA.

Meanwhile, over in Cowboy they've got the Single Action Shooting Society and you're working the spurs of those revolvers!
 
Many years ago, I too was guilty of reading Guns & Ammo and assuming that all of it's publishing was credible. As it turns out, though, too much of it wasn't. In this case, with regard to defining the necessary characteristics of a 'double-action' firearm and a 'single-action' firearm, I'm of the opinion that the authors of the CFSC manual got it correct (or at least more-correct than have some others).
 
Isn't the action from the point of view of the trigger and how it moves the hammer? In a single action the trigger is responsible for only one action: releasing the hammer (that was cocked by a thumb). A double action the trigger is responsible for two actions: bringing the hammer back and then releasing it. So you can #### a double action gun by hand and use it as a single action. Double action only would mean there is no option to have a single action (you can not #### the gun) and the trigger is responsible for two actions and can not be used as a single action. For example, the Smith & Wesson '59 series (5906) is double action only. It is a safety feature (you will never have a cocked hammer with a round in the chamber) so you don't need a safety because you will never have the hammer cocked and thus you won't need a safety to keep it from accidentally falling and no need to disengage the safety under a stressful situation.

So, your example of the Pepperbox, if you can't #### it by hand, would be a true double action only revolver.

It's not a single action of what your finger is doing but what the trigger is doing to the hammer. One action is hammer goes up and one action is hammer goes down.
 
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That was my point exactly. I think the original intention was to call a revolver (they didn't have semi-autos yet) "double action" if you could either thumb c0ck it or trigger c0ck it. A trigger-cocked only gun would still be a single action as only one action can be used to fire the gun...
 
The DAO (Double-Action-Only) terminology that shows up with various newfangled semiautos probably only goes to underscore that double-action means the relaxed-hammer-to-kaboom-in-one-triggerpull cycle in the current century's world.

At least that should mean that revolvers that work either way can relax with the traditional Double-Action designation, since they'd get labelled DAO if they couldn't lock back.
 
https://afte.org/resources/afte-glossary

Double Action – A handgun mechanism in which a single pull of the trigger first cocks and then releases the hammer or striker.

Single Action – An action requiring the manual cocking of the hammer or striker. Sufficient pressure on the trigger then releases the firing mechanism.

https://nij.ojp.gov/nij-hosted-online-training-courses/firearms-examiner-training/glossary

  • Single-action - An action requiring the manual cocking of the hammer before sufficient pressure on the trigger releases the firing mechanism.
  • Double-action only (DAO) - A double-action only is similar to a double-action revolver trigger mechanism; however, there is no single-action function. For semiautomatic pistols with a traditional hammer, the hammer will return to its decocked position after each shot. For striker-fired pistols, such as the Taurus 24/7, the striker will remain in the rest position through the entire reloading cycle. This term applies mostly to semiautomatic handguns; however the term can also apply to some revolvers such as the Smith & Wesson Centennial revolver. Courtesy of Wikipedia
Surprised a government organization would have quoted wiki.

DAO is basically an industry definition that really took off when designs came out to appeal to law enforcement and the conversion to semi autos and the concerns of single actions semi's (ie: 1911's) having easier (shorter length and lighter trigger pull weights) to fire triggers vs a traditional double action revolver (ie: S&W mod 10). there were even some agencies I was aware off, that had their DA revolver modded so the SA capability was removed and thereby creating another single action where the pull of the trigger cocked and fired in double action mode only.

Boltgun
 
Based on historical descriptions, I beg to differ. I'm sure DB Wesson and others of his period were more correct in their description of what constitutes single and double action. They invented it, afterall.
 
Interesting find. I wonder at what time the current meaning took over.

Unfortunately, in the same way that several in this thread have apparently missed your point, I can’t imagine that anyone would have a clue what I meant if I used that historical meaning of “double action” in conversation.

Many of our words and phrases have fully morphed in their meaning— sometimes a complete 180, ex “egregious”— and now there is no way back.
 
Old Guns Canada said:
Based on historical descriptions, I beg to differ. I'm sure DB Wesson and others of his period were more correct in their description of what constitutes single and double action. They invented it, after all.
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What about a S&W Centennial? How does your theory work with a Centennial? Have you re-checked your copy of The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson?
 
Old Guns Canada said:
Based on historical descriptions, I beg to differ. I'm sure DB Wesson and others of his period were more correct in their description of what constitutes single and double action. They invented it, afterall.
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Language evolves.

I think gun people get too hung up on precise definitions of things that don't really matter. Everyone in the gun world knows what the modern, current definition of double action and single action are. The fact they may not align with what those words meant 150 years ago doesn't mean the modern usage is wrong, it means the language has evolved and meanings have changed over time.

Now, as a person who is super deep in the historical world I can see why you would want to point this out; but IMO this information is only relevant to guns of that generation. Knowing this helps describe old guns, helps decipher old texts, it does nothing for the modern gun owner buying modern revolvers though.
 
Sometimes awkward terminology gets ironed out. I can see where someone might have been coming from, calling anything that can only be fired one way "single action", but when that's a totally different way than what they had in traditional SA revolvers, really??? That sort of terminology needs to be documented in an agreement not to use it anymore. Different mechanisms call for different names.

And sometimes it's something like black powder, or the battle rifle, that weren't called that during their heyday but later needed terminology to differentiate from the generation that came after.

Even the brief fad of saying DA/SA to underscore you can shoot it either way can be laid aside with the understanding that that's how modern DA revolvers normally always work.

I think the world has finally settled on DAO for any firearm operated solely by trigger finger muscle.
 
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