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Thread: Colt New Agent - Dbl action or not?

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  1. #1
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    Colt New Agent - Dbl action or not?

    I saw that the New Agent comes with a Double Action option. I always thought the double action was a great feature. Can people explain what is good and bad with double action pistols? It's really all about that first shot.. right? Either you just pull the trigger with the DA or you pull back the hammer before pulling the trigger. Curious people's thoughts on each.

    Thanks.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveKo
    I saw that the New Agent comes with a Double Action option. I always thought the double action was a great feature. Can people explain what is good and bad with double action pistols? It's really all about that first shot.. right? Either you just pull the trigger with the DA or you pull back the hammer before pulling the trigger. Curious people's thoughts on each.

    Thanks.
    I am a fan of single action myself. I have a New Agent in .45 and love it!

    As to your comment (Either you just pull the trigger with the DA or you pull back the hammer before pulling the trigger), you should know there is another option. Carry the gun "cocked and locked". This is the original intent of the weapon with the grip and thumb safeties. When carrying in this mode, the hammer is already back and the quick release of the thumb safety will allow the hammer to fall when you are ready to fire. There is no need to recock the trigger.

    I also believe in the laws of mechanics. The more moving parts a machine has the more likely it will be to fail. DA vs. SA is an easy choice for me. Although I love my new Beretta M9, if my life depended on it, I would rather have my Colt Government Model M1911 at my side.

    Just my 2 cents. I hope I did not offend anyone!
    Last edited by Jason8844; 29th January 2011 at 21:11.


  3. #3
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    The first round out of the pistol is the most critical, while DA may at times be fast it is seldom as accurate as SA. What good is faster if you miss your target? You may not get a second shot if your first round misses.
    "I have not failed I have just found 10 thousand ways that won't work", T. Edison

  4. #4
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    I for one is for a SA 1911 and carry my pistol cocked and locked. I have owned Para LDAs that in the beginning I had to get used to its DA feature. I prefer SA.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveKo
    I saw that the New Agent comes with a Double Action option. I always thought the double action was a great feature. Can people explain what is good and bad with double action pistols? It's really all about that first shot.. right? Either you just pull the trigger with the DA or you pull back the hammer before pulling the trigger. Curious people's thoughts on each.
    The advantage to a DA is that you can carry uncocked, with the hammer down, and still be able to draw and fire without having to manually cock the pistol. The disadvantage is that the first shot is different ... much heavier.

    This, of course, applies to a "traditional" DA/SA, where the first shot is DA and the rest are SA. This does not apply to DAO (double action only). IIRC, the Colts will be traditional DA/SA. As noted above, you can carry cocked-and-locked, or you can manually cock the pistol when you draw (either with the hammer, as you suggest, or by carrying with an empty chamber and employing an Israeli draw).

    But, if you're going to do any of those ... they are all options also applicable to a standard, single action 1911, so why buy a double action version if you're not going to use the double action feature?
    Hawkmoon
    On a good day, can hit the broad side of a barn ... from the inside

  6. #6
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    The New Agent currently is gonna be DOA. A DA/SA may be in the works according to the Colt person I spoke to at the Shot Show.
    You never pay too much for a Colt...you may just buy it a little early

  7. #7
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    I looked at a FN pistol that was DA/SA in the true sense in that the safety lock/thumb safety was also a decocker. The pistol had ambidextrous controls. Therefore the pistol was either a SA and could be cocked and locked, or carried as Hawkmoon described, hammer down on loaded chamber and ready to fire DA. The trend in the Military seems to be towards a pistol with these features.
    I assume that the best feature of a pistol with this type of action is that when the pistol is used in an engagement it can be placed on safety and be instantly ready for a follow up shot, or decocked to place the pistol in a somewhat safer mode(?). The best feature of a DA is that a second hammer strike can be applied in case of a failure to fire. The worst feature is the difference between the DA first shot and the SA second shot, which as Colonel Cooper noted is difficult to master.
    I personally have little interest in a DA semi-auto pistol unless it had the SA locked feature whereas the first shot would be the same as subsequent shots.
    Ken
    "I like Colts and will die that way"
    "It seems to me that I have forgotten more than I remember"

  8. #8
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    Thanks for the replies. Putting aside the cocked and locked option, do people feel they can draw their gun, cock the hammer and get off a more reliable or meaningful shot faster then with a DA? I understand that the feel will be totally different on that first shot but wouldn't, in certain circumstances, a quick first shot followed by a second more accurate shot have the advantage? I did say "in certain circumstances" because you always want to make sure your going to hit the target your aiming at so EVERY shot has to count.. but pull, point, best aim,squeeze, better aim, squeeze, better aim, squeeze.. seems a better flow then pull, point, hammer cock, aim, squeeze, better aim, squeeze, etc..

    Ashmesajim: Are you saying the New Agent DA is NOT a DA/SA pistol? If it's DAO then I've made my choice on a SA but still need to think more if it's a DA/SA..

  9. #9
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    Trying to draw and cock a firearm in a state of duress or during a confrontation is not pratical. I carry a Colt Detective Special 2 inch barreled .38 Special revolver and would not consider cocking the hammer unless I was going to have time to make a concentrated shot. When I shoot this handgun I shoot it double action.

    I too think that the new Colt DA semi-auto pistols are DAOnly and would function like shooting a revolver DA where each shot requires the same longer trigger pull
    Ken
    "I like Colts and will die that way"
    "It seems to me that I have forgotten more than I remember"

  10. #10
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    The Colt site refers to the pistol in question as DAO: double action only
    http://www.coltsmfg.com/Catalog/tabi...3/Default.aspx
    Ken
    "I like Colts and will die that way"
    "It seems to me that I have forgotten more than I remember"

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