
After the first shot, it fires like a single action. This means that while holstered, you get the safety benefits of a longer trigger pull. With these, the firearm rests with the hammer uncocked. Some are a hybrid called double action/single action.

The difference between them is that single action handguns have a shorter trigger pull which make them easier to shoot for some, but it can make accidental discharges more likely. With double action, pulling the trigger both cocks the hammer and fires the pistol. The movement of the slide cocks the hammer. One difference is that with single action handguns, the hammer isn’t manually cocked before every shot. As with revolvers, you can buy single and double action semi-automatic pistols. Every time the pistol fires, the next round is automatically loaded into the chamber. You can simply fire until the magazine is empty. From here, there is no fiddling with hammers. The slide is “racked” which loads a round in the chamber. The magazine is loaded, and then inserted into the firearm. Semi-automatic pistols eschew the cylinder for a magazine. The hammer then has to be manually cocked before the firearm can be fired again.


Single action means that pulling the trigger only releases the hammer to fire the round. Essentially, pulling the trigger performs all three actions. Double action means that pulling the trigger both cocks the hammer, advances the cylinder and fires the round. They can be either single or double action. The firing mechanism rotates the cylinder before each shot, indexing the next round in front of the hammer. The Basic Differencesįor those of you who are totally new to handguns, you should understand the basic differences between them.Ī revolver gets its name from the revolving cylinder that the cartridges are loaded into. Neither of them are objectively better than the other, but an understanding of what each has going for it will help you make a proper decision.

One big question for those looking to purchase their first handgun is whether or not to purchase a revolver or a semi-automatic autoloading pistol.
