Single-Action Shootout at Gunsite (page two)
Single-action revolvers once ruled the self-defense world. They still make sense.
By Rick Hacker
It could be argued that a single-action cannot compete with a semi-automatic or double-action handgun for self-defense, but after going through this course, I beg to differ. From my fast draw days, I can tell you that a well-tuned single-action in the hands of a skilled shooter can clear leather and get off a first shot faster than an M1911, as anyone who has ever witnessed Gunsite alumnus Thell Reed can attest (using only blanks for these high-speed exhibitions). And ergonomically, the plow-handled SA is superior to most other handguns, and in .44 and .45 calibers, the balance is perfect, especially for instinctive shooting. At Gunsite, however, our shots were well-aimed with a two-handed hold, using the thumb of the support hand to cock the hammer, making these guns even more formidable for fast-action shooting.
“The single-action revolver is very effective for self-defense, and they’re usually chambered in major calibers, so they’re good at knocking things down,” said Ed Head, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, retired U.S. Border Patrol field operations supervisor and Gunsite operations manager. “The detriment of a single-action is that it takes more time to reload, but typically you’re only firing one or two shots, so a single-action will absolutely do the job.”
We put our classroom- and range-trained techniques into realistic practice with Gunsite’s many Live Fire Outdoor Tactical Simulators, which use natural terrain features to combine stealth and observation with defensive shooting skills. These courses were not only instructional, they were downright fun and enabled some of us to live out our fantasies. I couldn’t help feeling a little like Gary Cooper in “High Noon” as I stalked along “The North Draw,” a steep, meandering, brush-choked dry wash where a number of steel knock-down targets were strategically hidden, along with a smaller number of “no shoot” targets. The object was to engage as many of the “shoot” targets as possible while differentiating targets that were off limits, just as Marshall Will Cane had done when he stalked the streets of Hadleyville, looking for Frank Miller and his gang.
And I swear I could hear that haunting theme from “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly” as I went through “The Scrambler,” a seven-station course in which logs, barricades and trees provided cover, concealment and shooting rests while making 60- to 90-yard shots normally reserved for rifle and carbine classes. Admittedly, this was stretching it for my fixed-sight Vaquero, but it taught me to take advantage of field conditions and confirmed that my stainless gun was more difficult to shoot in the sunlight than my blued, fixed-sight Blackhawk. Most of these were not timed courses because, as Head said, “You don’t want to be in a hurry to go to a gunfight.”
“I don’t think that anybody who has a single-action should feel deprived in any way,” noted Il Ling New, one of Gunsite’s premiere defensive handgun, rifle and shotgun instructors—and a licensed guide who has hunted throughout the world. “You really should fight with what you have. Why not use your single-action as your defensive handgun? Those five or six rounds in the chambers can win the fight for you.”
Wyatt Earp, Bill Hickok and Bat Masterson would surely agree. After all, a little more than 100 years ago, the single-action revolver was the self-defense handgun of choice, and at Gunsite, we proved it still can do the job. The cost for the Single Action Defensive Pistol class is $950. You can reserve a spot by contacting Ed Head, Karen Self, or Elin Ray at Gunsite. You might just find the spirit of Arizona Ranger Bill Webb shooting alongside you.
View the Gunsite Draw Stroke Photo Gallery
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