I understand why single-action only guns are becoming so popular: A recoil sensitive guy's thoughts on pistol recoil after recently buying a 10mm and .38 Super.

I own a fair amount of autos and I admit that I'm a recoil sensitive guy. I always prefer a gun with a bit more girth in the grip since it gets me down closer to the bore. I find the results to be less perceived recoil in the newer more compact designs. <br><br>I never owned a single action pistol before. Yes, I'm a late bloomer. I have always owned double action autos. I own around 7 pistols and recently added a single action 10mm and .38 Super auto. <br><br>I came to the realization not too long ago (yup, took me a bit to figure it out) that the heavy double action pull is where a lot of the discomfort comes from for me. I find that the initial trigger pull disorients me from the lighter SA pull. I've found this recently with a 10mm and .38 Super. My perception of recoil is less with a SA pull. I'm not saying that the SA pull will get rid of all the recoil. I'm just saying that there is less discomfort because you do not have that initial trigger pull to deal with. <br><br>This was the epiphany for me (yup, took a lot of rounds down range to figure it out!): It's not the recoil from the gun that bothers me. It's only the initial trigger pull coupled with the recoil that makes the gun uncomfortable for me. <br><br>I've found this to be true recently when I purchased a single action 10mm and .38 Super. <br><br>The recoil I was expecting out of a 10mm single action pistol was not as bad as I thought it would be. My Smith & Wesson M59 recoil didn't bother me because it was a double action gun with a 4 inch barrel and full size grip. I have shot the 10mm single action pistol with Buffalo Bore's +p+ 220 grain load and found it to be completely manageable with the lighter SA pull. <br><br>This has also been recently true of a single action .38 Super I bought. I have a .38 Super double action Beretta that is a little snappier than the single action .38 Super I now own. The recoil is just a more pleasant experience with a SA pull. <br><br>I had other SA pistols before, like 9mm and .40S&W, but I never noticed this until recently. The difference is more noticeable with larger calibers. I can't really tell the difference between a double action .40S&W and a single action .40S&W.<br><br>This is just my experience. I wanted to share my thoughts on recoil and single action pistols. I think this is why single action guns are becoming so popular.