doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Single trigger Side by Sides?

Even a one-eared dog looks pretty good when he never misses pointing and holding a covey, or never fails to retrieve a bird. I prefer a "meat dog" to a Westminster winner.

In the eyes of many, who are much more serious than us about their shooting, pretty is as pretty does. Which is why you never see a double triggered gun at a pigeon shoot when the shooter is serious about the stakes, or in the hands of an Olympic competitor, or........... ad nauseam.

True, double triggers "belong" on a classic English double gun, but it is not accidental that the single trigger dominates the market in new doubles produced today, and for the last 50 years, give or take. You and I don't have to "like it" or even accept it. The world, at large, does.

SRH

Interesting discussion. I am confused regarding Miller's post. I'm unclear as to the dinstinction between "inertia set" and "inertia block". (I realize I am exposing my ignorance here; no problem with that. There are plenty of things I don't understand. Almost all the triggers I work on are double triggers.) thanks

What's more popular doesn't necessarily equate to what's more reliable. There's nothing wrong with double triggers from a reliability standpoint. Matter of fact, they have an edge over single triggers--much as pumps have a reliability edge over autoloaders. The fact that you don't see many DT's or pumps in competition these days doesn't have anything to do with the fact they don't work--any more than the fact that you see more automatic transmissions than manual means that stick shifts don't work. If your car with an automatic transmission won't start, you won't be able to solve the problem by popping the clutch. If your single (inertia) trigger doesn't work, you're stuck unless it's selective and you flip the selector. Much quicker if your front trigger just goes click to go to the back trigger.

Problems with DT's have nothing to do with mechanics. The system worked well for a very long time. The problems are either with the individual shooting the gun, or with external conditions--like maybe very cold weather, not enough space for a heavy glove, something like that. Problems with single triggers, in contrast, are almost always mechanical--unless maybe it's shooter error choosing a load that's not heavy enough to actuate the inertia mechanism, or not seating the gun tightly enough to do so. Shooting in a skeet league yesterday, I apparently trapped the trigger on my Parker Repro a couple times. Cold day, wearing gloves, didn't get off the 2nd shot at doubles. And the Repro trigger is mechanical, so it wouldn't be a question of not resetting. Impossible, on the other hand, to have that happen with DT's. As long as there's enough space between the triggers, you can get to the rear one and make it go bang.

Gil;
That may not have been worded well, but didn't really know the exact correct terminology. What I was speaking of in the Inertia is uses inertia to switch from one barrel to the other, Thus if the first barrel should for some reason fail to fire a 2nd pull on the trigger will not fire the 2nd barrel.
What I was referring to as the Inertia Block is actually blocking the trigger pull with an inertia block. Some single triggers use this design. When the first barrel fires the recoil moves the inertia block over the trigger blade or elsewhere preventing the trigger from being pulled again until the block releases from spring pressure. This prevents the gun from doubling from the involuntary 2nd pull. In the event the first barrel doesn't fire the block, of course, doesn't move & as the trigger actually switches "Mechanically" a mere release & repull of the trigger will fire the 2nd barrel.

I resemble that remark.

When it comes to competition, maybe what works and doesn't work, goes hand in hand with what's popular. The better and more serious a wing shooter, the more likely some attention is paid to gun fit. It may not make much sense to worry about fit, and then change the front hand position and length of pull for every double target presentation.

I have never noticed a good shooter, in contention, limp through an event with a major problem like a dead battery, and come through with a win. They come with very reliable equipment, and serious plan B's. For the rest of shooting it only comes down to preferences. Why pay for a Cadillac of a double, and then split hairs about whether it's as reliable as a VW bug or a late sixties Chevelle?

Now that we're down to splitting hairs, I've had one "break" in 75-plus years of shooting---a defect, a chip from chamber face of .22 Ruger pistol--and there are members here who shoot more in a week or two than I have in my entire life.

I find quite precious the attention to gun fit, hand positions and length of pull, from experience of shooting bare-armed with mosquitos flying and multi-layers of clothing to keep warm during serious winter waterfowling.

Just an observation, of course, which may or may not represent a majority who haven't experienced nor anticipate breakdowns of their shotguns from "regular" use. Nor does it make different experience of less value to me.

(The .22 mishap happened on vacation out of province. I telephoned the Ruger number in an outdoor magazine and Bill Ruger answered it in his Connecticut garage. He sent gratis a bull-barrel replacement, which I still own.)

I like single triggers also. My DC12 has a single trigger like the MX8. Flawless. And as far as looks, it looks pretty good.

Nothing wrong with a single trigger unless it's on a hammer gun.

A ST makes sense on any sort of clays gun - you know in advance which barrel you want to fire first and there is no advantage at all to DT.

And for almost any sort of hunting I'd rather have DT. I haven't found any system for barrel selection that is as fast as DT.
I've never had a problem with my DT guns; had had a failure on my Benelli 626 ST when the rivet on the iniertia block slipped out of place and wouldn't allow it to reset. Sure wish the gun had 2 triggers.