Recent thoughts about DA and striker guns

[theblacknight]

After watching most of the shooter's summit videos, I formed this opinion on the topic based off the discussion in the videos.

For the average user of handguns, these seem to be true.

Striker guns are easier. Easier to achieve a certain level of marksmanship. Easier to get a wide range of people qualified. Easier to have negative outcomes,'n plug yourself or others in various ways.

DA guns are harder. Harder to get a wide range of people on target and qual'ed, harder to operate witih varying hand sizes, and harder to put holes in things you didn't intend to.

It seems that between these 2 types of guns, we are taking the liability and deciding where to put it.

Thoughts on this?

[GardoneVT]

I think it's a false divide. You can't reap a skill benefit not sown by experience and training,regardless of the guns action type.

[theblacknight]

I think we can compare applied skill from gun to gun with the same type of shooters. These types of shooters won't be training.

Aside from quals at work, I still work the rental range here and there. I see it there.

I also had the parents visit last year. The difference on target between my mom(not even really a gun person) shooting her 2nd gen S&W 669 and my G4G17 was rather obscene. After shooting the smith and getting a large pattern off into the D zone, she shot the 1st 10 rounds ever from a glock and had one round outside a B8 black at 7y.

[YVK]

Kind of depends on a gun and how you are going to measure. I am about to head out to the range with my EL PX4 that tracks better than 19 and has SA pull under 3.5 lbs. Grip is as adaptable as on 19. I will bet that other than the first shot, everything else will be easier with it for any shooter.

[Lomshek]

I think it's a false divide. You can't reap a skill benefit not sown by experience and training,regardless of the guns action type.

Not really. If I take a bunch of random shooters and non-shooters and give them an hour of training the group average performance (as measured by target hits like the average PD or CCW qual with the average academy student or CCW licensee) will be better with a good 4-5 pound 1911 style trigger than a Glock NYPD trigger or a DAO Ruger. More folks will be able to get an acceptable trigger press irrespective of other bad habits with a "better" trigger.

Absolutely agree the opportunities for an ND go up as well as the trigger pull gets "better". Put NYPD's Glock trigger at one end of the spectrum of bad fixes and a fully tensioned Glock aftermarket trigger at the other. Thankfully there are better choices for the thinking gun owner.

(I put better in quotations because for some it's better and for some it's just different)

[Flintsky]

I have run almost nothing by DA/SA Sigs since about 2000. My DA pull from the holster is faster and more accurate than many. However, I am faster and more accurate with a lighter SA Sig P320 trigger. Equipment that takes less work to use, always improves performance over the equipment that takes more work.

So, if I was told tomorrow that my department wanted to shelf our DA/SA Sigs and go with one of the top-tier modern striker fired guns, I would likely be a better gun fighter as the equipment is easier to master, and easier to maintain the skill.

[1986s4]

I learned to shoot pistols with a DA revolver, I like the safety factor of a longer, heavier pull for that first shot. Some call it a people management tool, sort of a last resort people management tool but I like it.

[MattyD380]

When I'm at the range, I see mostly Glocks, M&Ps and the occasional XD. I see people keeping shots in the torso of a silhouette... but not really "groups," per se. This, I suppose, is adequate for self defense. And there's no need to explain how hammers and decockers work.

But my theory is that most people would be able to shoot much better in SA (with a Sig, Beretta, etc.) than they do with a run of the mill striker-fired gun. Could they still put shots into a human-sized target with DA? I would think so. So they're not really losing any practical accuracy in DA... and I'd think they stand to gain a lot in SA. And, my opinion is that DA/SA guns are safer, esp. if you're carrying IWB.

But that's just a theory. I'm not an instructor or nor have I had any formal training; I'm just a guy who goes to the range and shoots a Sig or a Beretta once or twice a week.