Striker-fired pistols are DAO?

jquirit · Sep 26, 2010

I current own a Beretta 96D Centurion (DAO), and the pull on the 96D is so long that I'm starting to have issues with it and looking for another .40 S&W to replace it (preferably DA/SA or SA only). I haven't handled too many XDs and Glocks (which I consider to be striker-fired), and noted they're considered DAO as well. From handling them, I don't remember them behaving that way.

When racking an XD/Glock to chamber a snap cap and pull the trigger, it goes click. What I don't remember is if I pull the trigger again on a XD/Glock, will it reset the striker and attempt to fire again like a DAO (as if I was firing my 96D with a snap cap)?

I guess I'm stuck on semantics. It sounds like, by design, it's more of a SA rather than a DAO design since it uses the cycling of the slide to pre-cock the striker with a short DA.

Maybe I just need to find someone with a Glock and XD and go shooting and see if they better suit what I'm looking for.

gunnoob75 · Sep 26, 2010

Happy to let you shoot my glock any time.

The slide pulls the firing pin to a "half cock", and the trigger pull finishes the last half.

jquirit · Sep 26, 2010

Thanks for the info, wakejoe. So I guess, technically, it is a DAO since the it does set and fire the striker but not in the traditional sense that if you attempted to fire the gun in the reset position, it wouldn't be able to fully set and fire.

And thank you for that offer, I might have to take you up on that one of these days.

chris61182 · Sep 26, 2010

And just for correctness sake, XDs are actually SAO. The striker is completely retracted by the slide's action and the trigger only releases it.

spengo · Sep 27, 2010

Glock, Steyr M, that new Caracal thing (everything designed by Wilhelm Bubits) = pseudo-DAO. The slide going back cocks the striker *most* of the way, but the trigger still has to pull it back some. You do not have multi-strike capability like with true DAO guns with a glock, but this unique trigger action makes for much lighter trigger pulls.
XD and S&W M&P = pseudo-SAO. The striker is cocked all the way when the slide goes back, but the trigger is also used to move stuff other than the striker. As such, you still do not get loverly 1911 style trigger pulls. It can be smoothed up a lot though by using things like the M&P pro or apex trigger.

They make up silly names for it like "safe action" and stuff but who cares about that. Also, despite these differences, the manual of arms is almost identical for all of these pistols.

jquirit · Sep 27, 2010

Thanks for all the info. I really do like the feel of SAOs and was trying to determine if there were any striker-fired firearms in .40 S&W that would closely mimic it. Or heck, any firearm in .40S&W that operate in that manner (or at least, trigger pull similarly).