an editorial by Mark Freburg

This was posted on our forum message board:

"I think any handgun action is OK for any shooter as long as they are thoroughly practiced in it."

That is quite true as far as it goes.  But let's analyze this.  If we mean that one can "get by" with any action then I'd say "sure."  But there are differences, and those differences can directly affect performance.  I have no doubt in my mind that some actions enhance shooting speed and shooting accuracy, and that other actions detract from shooting speed and shooting accuracy. 

Now since everyone is different, we should all experiment and find the actions that work best for us, but in general, the DAO auto is one of the worst actions out there, suitable mainly for under-trained individuals and gunwriters, who love the darn things.   The problem however is compounded because the combination of an under-trained shooter and a harder to shoot pistol results in poor performance.  I will grant an exception for tiny DAO pocket pistols which are often DAO simply because of limited room to engineer a TDA, or for greater perceived safety for a pistol carried in a pocket.

Which brings us to another reason certain actions exist--and the DAO is the poster child of increased perceived safety.  They are also loved by police administrators who don't know how to shoot nor do they understand the dynamics of self-defense shootings.  If the pistol results in fewer negligent discharges (normally directly the result of cutting back police training hours), the police administrator is happy, regardless if the troops are now carrying a pistol that they must struggle with to shoot well.

Along similar lines, certain actions are quick and effective and can be shot well but are a liability nightmare, again because of lesser-trained users.  The single action pistol is the king here.  The whole concept of holding a bad guy at gunpoint is fraught with problems.  If the safety is offed while holding someone at gunpoint and the gun has a four-pound trigger, bad things can happen far too easily.

This is why I believe the best pistols for self-defense are one of two types.  The TDA is one of the best because because a heavy  trigger pull is required for the first shot but lighter single action pulls are available for actual gunfighting.  There is a training issue--decock decock decock.

The striker-fired pistols are the next best bet, but I think these should have medium-heavy triggers.  Five pounds and less are too light, especially for police--because police budgets are never fat enough to provide as much training as some officers need--as well as for private individuals who simply don't practice with their self-defense guns enough to make handling them in an emergency second nature.  The Glock with the NY1 trigger is a good choice, anything lighter is dicey--or can be.