doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Darne triggers

From everything I have read all Darne triggers seem to be notoriously heavy. Anyone have theirs worked on? If so who worked on them and how did they com out?

I was advised to 'leave mine alone'. Mine are not so much heavy, but the left trigger is rather 'creepy'. I rarely shoot it (as even with 21 gramme loads in a 12 bore) it kicks like a mule.

Kirk Merrington will work on them.

In my experience a Darnes' strong suit is not their triggers.

"All", might be a bit of a stretch. Consider, that Regis Darne patented two different R models, the V model and the similar (but, different) P model, in sliding breech guns, and his son, Francisque, patented two models of sliding breech gun that are sorta' like his Dad's gun's, but, different.

Don't forget the Charlin, another sliding breech design.

The most common of the bunch (and, the one that seems to generate the most complaints, in my experience) is the second model Regis Darne R design. A complicating factor is the fact that a typical Darne weighs less than most SXS guns, and I think this conspires to make people believe the triggers are too heavy. This becomes quite noticable on the ridiculously light and short barreled 28s and .410s that were imported into the US in the mid to late 1970s.

I've owned perhaps a dozen Darnes of all different designs, including a Charlin. I also got to shoot plenty of them that I never owned in the decade I imported them. I didn't consider my guns to have heavy triggers, but, never used any of them in any serious clay target discipline, either. Events I have witnessed in my sporting life have caused me to question the wisdom of those who insist on 3-4 lb triggers on their own field guns. Regardless of what gun that might be.

Kirk Merrington handled warranty work on the Darnes I imported, and worked on several of the R models for my customers. His opinion on triggers was similar to mine, and he concentrated on cleaning up the break more so than fixating on the weight of the pull.

Nobody complained to me about any work he ever performed on a Darne.

I'm down to a single Darne 12 gauge, and have "played" with my own gun a bit, using information provided by the maker. I'm not sure I improved anything.

Best,
Ted

Ted my experience with Darnes & Charlins is more limited than yours, the thing that bothers me most about them is the triggers inconsistency in travel and weight from shot to shot.

Hmm. I can't say I have seen or experienced that exact problem. In the mid 1990s the trigger design was corrected by Jerome (Liege gun school graduate and the wunder kid responsible for the Darne double single AND single trigger design, both used today) to eliminate the side to side movement of the triggers common in many guns. Although my R model has some play, it is not as severe as a few I've seen. Pulling the trigger on a Darne that has substantial side play in it's triggers might cause what you are describing.
The "sear" is very easily removed from the breech on an R model for cleaning or inspection. My second thought on the problem you describe is a bunch of dirt and old lube being somewhere it shouldn't be.
What can you tell me about the gun that suffered the condition you describe? VIntage, model, gauge, etc?
I'm curious.

Best,
Ted

Rockie, did you try Mike Bonner's the year he had it at Flatwater? A guy would have needed to do serious trigger finger exercises to shoot that one much.

For the Darnes - there were two Halifaxes 1930s era with wobbly triggers as you describe and a V grade 16 Ga that wasn't mine it had 70MM chambers so it was a post WWII gun.

The only Charlin I have fired is a circa 1926 gun - its' triggers are slightly better but still a little wobbly.

I missed that year, and that experience

Thanks for letting me know. It might not be fair to expect great trigger pulls in 1930s vintage Halifax Darnes-they were the loss leader gun of the lineup, and a good bit less finishing work went into them than the others. Also, from what I have seen, most were used hard and put away wet-it is rare to find one in good shape.

A V grade Darne has a different design trigger, that a 'smith like Kirk would be able to work down fairly easily. The stuff imported by Stoeger, and later, by James Wayne, was really iffy on quality, and if I desired a Darne with a good trigger, I'd seek out a gun from one of three different eras:
1. Bruchet produced in the last decade.V or R.
2. Pre-war V grade. You could consider a P grade from this era, also.
3.1894 patent Darne R grade, or a higher grade Fransisque Darne. Typically fitted with a rocker safety and a one piece stock. These are old guns, and are often pretty beat up, unfortunately.
Higher grade Charlins often have better triggers. Most of what we see are lower grade guns, and the same rule of less finishing work applies to them as well.

Best,
Ted