# DAO Experience



## Babbalou1956 (Sep 2, 2014)

All my carry guns are DAO & I sometimes put one into the bag of SA range guns to stay proficient with it. Yesterday I tried something different. No range guns. Just carry guns. Small, light, snappy DAO guns. Oddly I shot them all better than I ever have. I think what changed is I didn't have to readjust to the trigger. If I shoot a few SA guns then switch to a DA my groups get much bigger. If I start out with DA guns my groups are decent. Did an experiment. Last gun I used was my Ruger LCRX 2" which I was shooting DA. I switched to SA & my groups were the same size. Surprised me.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

I reached similar conclusions many years ago when I was exclusively carrying DAO (autos and revolvers).

Ultimately, I made sure all my training/practice sessions started with shooting my DAO carry pistol, and ended the same way.
Starting with it will boost your confidence in using it "cold" (without a warm-up), and let you know if it's been too long since you last practice session (if you shoot poorly).
Starting and ending each session with it will keep your DA squeeze "well-programmed" into your trigger finger, so it's the trigger-pull you default to when under stress.


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

I don't shoot "groups" so much, but ditto on the experience. Triggers make a lot of difference, or the feel for the loose nut pulling them does.
Same reason I have stayed with the same thing for a couple of decades+. It does the same thing the same way, every time. Not because it is a favorite, or many other things, but because of the above. It is a very very rare thing for me to change my carry.
Cheers.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

All of my carry guns, primary and secondary, are of the DAO design. I will not carry a DA pistol unless I have nothing else available at the time. I want every trigger pull, from the first to the last, to be the same.

BTW, glad to see you used the traditional label of DA instead of DA/SA. And I am assuming you are referring to pistols and not revolvers.


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## ks1 (Jul 29, 2021)

Unfortunately, a lot of people avoid DA because SA helps them mitigate their flinching; whereas one should strive to eradicate flinching, not mitigate it. IMHO, shooting a revolver in DA is the best kind of practice for it. Even if revolvers are not preferred for EDC, learning to shoot them well in DA will immensely improve one's shooting all around.


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