I need to be educated about single action.

[Fight CA GC]

I am a bit confused about single action because I always thought before EVERY shot, the hammer had to be manually cocked in order to shoot. I guess I developed that impression when I seen some cowboy movies. You know, the cowboy is rapidly cocking the the hammer after every shot with a sideways karate chop.

The P938 is a pistol I'm interested in. I went to the Sig Sauer site and noticed it said SAO (single action only). That made me cringe because I didn't like the idea of having to manually cock every shot. I saw a video with Hickock45 and noticed he only cocks once and the rest of the shots are already cocked.

So what's the deal? What is single action???

[JDay]

Both of those are single action. Revolvers don't have a slide to automatically cock the hammer.

[Loopwell]

Single actuon means the trigger functions only to drop the hammer. Double action pulls the hammer back and also drops the hammer.

[golfrj]

In single action somehow the hammer must get cocked to fire the gun, either manually (You) or by the slide operating in the normal fashion after the gun fires.. Both ways the hammer gets cocked into position to fire..

[Fight CA GC]

Ok, so from the comments I read, is it safe so say...

For single action revolvers, hammer MUST be manually cocked every single time for every shot.

For semi-auto pistols, ONLY the first shot must be manually cocked before and all shots after will be cocked automatically due to slide blowback.

[trackcage]

I suppose I could see the confusion to a newer gun owner. Thinking single action means it needs to be cocked each time (even a semi auto, it still does). But the slide coming back each time negates the need to manually cock the hammer all but the first time

[CSACANNONEER]

Single action is traditionally found at many bars but is now also prevalent on the internet and even phone apps like Tinder.

Double action can be found on the internet too but, it is more expensive.

[JDay]

Ok, so from the comments I read, is it safe so say...

For single action revolvers, hammer MUST be manually cocked every single time for every shot.

For semi-auto pistols, ONLY the first shot must be manually cocked before and all shots after will be cocked automatically due to slide blowback.

Yes. Although you have to rack the slide to chamber the first round with all pistols.

[BrassCase]

Single action is traditionally found at many bars but is now also prevalent on the internet and even phone apps like Tinder.

Double action can be found on the internet too but, it is more expensive.

I'm not sure if you should throw some links up here or not. I'm sure they would be entertaining. How do you feel about getting hit by the ban hammer?

[baggss]

Ok, so from the comments I read, is it safe so say...

For single action revolvers, hammer MUST be manually cocked every single time for every shot.

For semi-auto pistols, ONLY the first shot must be manually cocked before and all shots after will be cocked automatically due to slide blowback.

Yes and no.

Some semi-auto pistols (Berretta's for one) have a a safety switch that decocks the hammer and rolls the firing pin out of line so the gun can not fire. While in this state the trigger does nothing to the hammer. Once decocked the safety can be disengaged and the gun becomes a double-action. Pulling the trigger pulls the hammer back and then fires the gun. One of the best features, IMO, of my PX-4. The trigger pull is pretty heavy to fire it when decocked so it "feels" safer to me to walk around with one in the chamber and a simple pull of the trigger to fire while the hammer is decocked.

I have an old Spanish made Astra Arms A-80 that does the same thing.

[Bullitt01]

Single action is traditionally found at many bars but is now also prevalent on the internet and even phone apps like Tinder.

Double action can be found on the internet too but, it is more expensive.

He he...a classic reply!!

[DoubleTap76]

The M9 Beretta is an example of a Double ACTION pistol. Pulling the trigger alone can/will push back the hammer. I own a S&W Mod 39 that does this.

Also, Youtube double action pistol and watch for yourself.
(Youtube is the 4th dimension)

[Sleighter]

I'll try and find the link, but you could probably find it for yourself. (I've added the links below to the 3 all coming up at the end of the month.) There is an LA group that gets together from calguns and shoots regularly (at least 1x a month). I'm sure that if you were to go to the shoot and explain your question that you'd be able to see and handle every type of action you're interested in. Nothing like experience to help you understand how things work.

If you have any questions or want to know more info just PM me. I'd be glad to help you get ready for the range meetup.

http://calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1074554 CGSSA Event: SFV Chapter Monthly Shoot 5/29: 7PM-ish @ The Firing Line (Burbank)

http://calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1065140 CGSSA Event 2015- Monthly Shoot Insight Shooting Range - Thursday May 28

http://calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1067194 CGSSA '15 Event - Burro Canyon Monthly Shoot - Sat., May 30th

[five.five-six]

Yes and no.

Some semi-auto pistols (Berretta's for one) have a a safety switch that decocks the hammer and rolls the firing pin out of line so the gun can not fire. While in this state the trigger does nothing to the hammer. Once decocked the safety can be disengaged and the gun becomes a double-action. Pulling the trigger pulls the hammer back and then fires the gun. One of the best features, IMO, of my PX-4. The trigger pull is pretty heavy to fire it when decocked so it "feels" safer to me to walk around with one in the chamber and a simple pull of the trigger to fire while the hammer is decocked.

I have an old Spanish made Astra Arms A-80 that does the same thing.

Guns with a decocker are considered a SA/DA, they work either way. A 1911 is SA only, as is a glock.

[Merc1138]

Both of those are single action. Revolvers don't have a slide to automatically cock the hammer.

There are some semiauto revolvers btw

Guns with a decocker are considered a SA/DA, they work either way. A 1911 is SA only, as is a glock.

Except for the SA only guns with de-cockers. Having a decocker isn't relevant to whether or not the gun is SA, SA/DA, or DA.

Yes. Although you have to rack the slide to chamber the first round with all pistols.

No. Some pistols have things like tip-up barrels that allow the operator to chamber a round without moving the slide.