HighValleyRanch
December 2, 2011, 09:44 PM
Wow, I learned something today!
Found an article by Grant Cunningham, revolver expert and fan of Rugers.
He explained the difference between short stoking a Ruger and a Smith.
Let me preface by saying that this applies to double action trigger work only, not missed cocking for single action.
The phenomenon of double action short stroking can occur in very fast competition shooting, or as with my LEO brother in an actual shootout. He was shooting a Smith .357 and skipped a round, possibly because of short stoking. The live round was found later in the investigations. He didn't know that he had, because in the heat of combat, you really don't count rounds. he said.
Short stroking is when the shooter in a hurry to reset, does not allow the trigger to go completely forward.
Big difference in the way the Smith and Wesson revolvers handle this than the Rugers. The S&W's will advance the rotation of the cylinder, but not reset the hammer, resulting in the loaded chamber being missed. This might be critical, because you will have to cycle the gun all the way around to get to that loaded round. Say you take two shots, short stroke, and so the third round is lost. You have finish shooting the next two or three (depending on whether you have a five or six or even eight round smith) and cycle through those first two before getting to that lost round.
Try it out on your Smith.
MAKE SURE IT IS EMPTY FIRST!:eek:
Dry fire once, then only let it out to reset and pull the trigger again; you will see the cylinder spin one chamber without the hammer action. This is a short stroke! You might have to try it a number of times, but you will find that point that the cylinder does advance, but no hammer action.
The Rugers handle the short stroke differently. The trigger gets locked temporarily. If you keep pressing the trigger, it stays locked until you let it out. But the big difference is that the cylinder does NOT turn! Let the trigger out and the round is ready to fire again. But the Ruger is slightly more prone to short stroking and you have to really let the trigger all the way out. On the trigger reset, you will feel three definite clicks on the way out.
I haven't seen this discussed too much, so if you are shooting both smiths and rugers, it might come in handy some day, and it might make some difference in the way you practice drills for this "malfunction".
Don't say it can't happen to you. It does and might. It is not going to show up for most people shooting slow at the range.
He also states that shooters that versed in the semi auto practice of only letting the trigger out to reset for faster followup shots are very prone to this in revolvers, where you have to let the trigger fully out.
Here is the full article:
"The Case of Locked up Rugers towards the bottom of the blogs. Great informative article that I was happy to run across today and wanted to share this with others who have never heard of it.
Found an article by Grant Cunningham, revolver expert and fan of Rugers.
He explained the difference between short stoking a Ruger and a Smith.
Let me preface by saying that this applies to double action trigger work only, not missed cocking for single action.
The phenomenon of double action short stroking can occur in very fast competition shooting, or as with my LEO brother in an actual shootout. He was shooting a Smith .357 and skipped a round, possibly because of short stoking. The live round was found later in the investigations. He didn't know that he had, because in the heat of combat, you really don't count rounds. he said.
Short stroking is when the shooter in a hurry to reset, does not allow the trigger to go completely forward.
Big difference in the way the Smith and Wesson revolvers handle this than the Rugers. The S&W's will advance the rotation of the cylinder, but not reset the hammer, resulting in the loaded chamber being missed. This might be critical, because you will have to cycle the gun all the way around to get to that loaded round. Say you take two shots, short stroke, and so the third round is lost. You have finish shooting the next two or three (depending on whether you have a five or six or even eight round smith) and cycle through those first two before getting to that lost round.
Try it out on your Smith.
MAKE SURE IT IS EMPTY FIRST!:eek:
Dry fire once, then only let it out to reset and pull the trigger again; you will see the cylinder spin one chamber without the hammer action. This is a short stroke! You might have to try it a number of times, but you will find that point that the cylinder does advance, but no hammer action.
The Rugers handle the short stroke differently. The trigger gets locked temporarily. If you keep pressing the trigger, it stays locked until you let it out. But the big difference is that the cylinder does NOT turn! Let the trigger out and the round is ready to fire again. But the Ruger is slightly more prone to short stroking and you have to really let the trigger all the way out. On the trigger reset, you will feel three definite clicks on the way out.
I haven't seen this discussed too much, so if you are shooting both smiths and rugers, it might come in handy some day, and it might make some difference in the way you practice drills for this "malfunction".
Don't say it can't happen to you. It does and might. It is not going to show up for most people shooting slow at the range.
He also states that shooters that versed in the semi auto practice of only letting the trigger out to reset for faster followup shots are very prone to this in revolvers, where you have to let the trigger fully out.
Here is the full article:
"The Case of Locked up Rugers towards the bottom of the blogs. Great informative article that I was happy to run across today and wanted to share this with others who have never heard of it.