After my post on my inability to fire the Rhino revolver accurately (toned down paraphrasing), Chiappa Firearms Prez Ron Norton sent me not one but two instructive emails. Literally. First up, the importance of not staging a double-action revolver’s trigger, something about which Mr. Norton knows a thing or two, as he gently reminds us . . .
Let me explain the concept of “Not Staging” a double action pistol. As tempting as it is, and I have done and still catch myself doing it today, “Staging” a DA action is not as accurate as a good DA straight pull. I argued against this many times when training at the Dayton Police Academy under the watchful eye of Dale Tullis (a pistol master) who was our range instructor at the Academy back in the “70’s”. He explained that when you “Stage” a DA pull you are “Making” the revolver fire instead of “Letting” it fire with a surprise break.
Prior to my acceptance to the Academy I was an avid SA shooter and was a very good “Natural” shooter and began more formal shooting techniques while at the academy. I challenged Dale to his philosophy and was soundly beat every time! When either shooting SA or “Staged DA” Dale proved time and time again that he and I was more accurate with a steady pull that allowed the surprise break.
In competition and training I have tried both methods since, finding that the steady pull with the surprise break was the most consistent and accurate. This method also allows for the development of rhythm and a cadence that can only be achieved by shooting / training with a DA that carries over to all disciplines of shooting.
I used these same techniques when shooting international rapid fire as well as precision disciplines, and always incorporated DA training to maintain the muscle memory and independent trigger control necessary for the index (trigger) finger. BTW, I am quite certain that these DA fundamentals were the foundation that allowed me to win many pistol championships in numerous disciplines and included top honors and a Gold Medal in International Rapid Fire & Standard pistol in international games.
Thanks!
Ron
And then he sent some Rhino-specific, trigger-related info:
On your video that you posted with the S&W, your grip is too low to obtain a natural POA (Point of Aim), the web of your hand should be high on the back-strap, my grip usually has the web of my hand at or over the top corner of the back-strap.
The ergonomics of the Rhino force this high back-strap position. Also, the grips for the Rhino will be in different sizes which will allow for the LOP (Length of Pull) to be adjusted for the shooter, if you remove the grip you will see that we have plenty of room for this adjustment.
This will allow the shooter to find the “Sweet spot” for trigger finger placement. I normally use the full pad of the first joint of my index finger. The trigger size can be easily modified for the shooters that prefer a narrow trigger, most companies start narrow and go wide, we did the opposite.
Back to the range for me . . .
