doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Rookie Question

I am fairly new to hammer doubles and am wondering if there is a recommended method for getting both hammers cocked quickly for flushing birds. I am right handed with with probably medium sized hands. I find trying to cock both hammers simultaneously with my right thumb from the ready position in the same motion as mounting my JP Sauer drilling difficult but that seems to be how I recall doing it with my Italian muzzle loader double when I used to hunt with it. After a bit of shooting I am beginning to think I need to cock it and then begin mounting. Thanks for any advice offered

I have hunted with several hammer doubles over the years. I carry them with the thumb of my right hand over both hammers with the right hammer almost in my palm. That way I can cock both hammers at the same time as I'm mounting the gun. However, since I have a dog, I'll usually cock the hammers back just using my thumb when I see my dog getting "birdy", releasing the hammer(s) when the situation has passed.
Steve

The only thing that works for me is to carry it open and cocked while walking; there's always time to cock each separately in the blind. My 16ga has small and strong hammers and I find that cocking while mounting gets things out of whack. It's also safer to lower the hammers with the gun open.

The only time I met the late Gene Hill, I asked him about hammer doubles. He recommended carrying them cocked and broken open, as King mentions above.

I also carry cocked and open. Try shooting a pair of doubles on station 2 in Skeet. You will find it almost impossible to break the first bird well if you have to cock the hammers before or during mounting the gun. A fast flushing bird takes all my effort just to shoot it. The cocking of hammers gives the bird almost a certain edge of escape. Now try it with hammers cocked and gun open. Fairly easy to close the gun, mount and shoot in a fluid motion. Cocking on the rise looks great, sounds great but just does not work for me. And I was always afraid of my hand slipping and having some freak accident in trying to look cool. Cocked, loaded and open for me.

Brown and Brown...they won't all open with the hammers cocked.

I don't think the hammers on a gun with fine lock work should be just haphazardly flung back....I'd recomend buying a repo if you want to play cowboy with it.

KY if you shoot a hammer gun enough it becomes second nature to cock it as you raise the gun...your post tells me you have had very little exposure to hammer guns.

Forgive me for commenting, but I do not hunt with a hammer gun either and find this topic interesting. I find that the majority of you have very sound practices for hunting and shooting with a hammer gun, safety always comes first and it seems to be important to all of you. I work on a lot of hammer guns though and a great many of them you cannot hold open while cocked because of their design. I also somewhat agree with homeless in that, what if your hand slips just before the sear engages when you rush to pull the hammer back on a flushing bird? A loaded and cocked hammer gun isnt any more dangerous than a loaded and cocked Parker or Fox is it? If I remember correctly, the first hammerless guns werent particularly liked by traditionalist because they couldnt tell when the damn things were cocked or not. Sure the safety on a hammerless gun may prevent triggers from being pulled, but it has no effect if a sear nose cracks. So my question is, and again forgive me if Im displaying ignorance on the topic, why dont you simply hunt with the gun closed and hammers cocked and treat the firearm as you treat every other firearm?

I can cock one hammer when a bird gets up. If the dog points and it seems safe, I cock both hammers separately and walk in. Its never a problem on a dove shoot to cock the hammers when needed. A wood duck shoot can get pretty quick sometimes, so I usually end up shooting the hammer double as a single shot. Carrying the gun cocked and broke seems awkward to me and I keep dropping the shells out of the gun...Geo

You would have to have some pretty big, strong hands, to cock both hammers of my Parker Hammer gun as you raise it to your shoulder. When hunting behind my setter, I cock the hammers when the dog goes on point. When shooting clays, I cock the hammers, close the gun, call for the bird, then mount the gun. If all goes well, I break a few targets. :-)

My use of a hammer double afield has been more with a percussion gun than a breech loader. Carrying a ML'er broken open is simply not an option. I treat a breech loader the same way I do the ML'er, hammers at the safety cock & for a "Sudden" opportunity I simply cock one hammer as I bring up the gun. "If" time & opportunity prevail I then cock the 2nd one. There are situations in which I feel it can be done safely I may precock both hammers. I never walk around in hunting territory with hammers cocked or with a gun broken open, either loaded or unloaded. Many hammer doubles did not have efficient bbl checks & the bbl leverage swinging is a very effecient method of breaking loose the forend lug. I took in an otherwise fairly nice Pieper once on a trade with this condition. I really can't say for positive if it had simply been exposed to too hard opening or if it had been carried this way, either would do the job. I have done a lot of my hunting in hill country & have always felt that in the case of a bad fall a gun is less subject to damage if bolted up solid than swinging open, where a terrific strain could be placed upon the hinge joint etc under certain conditions. Just my thoughts for whatever they are worth. Whatever you do let safety be your first consideration & if you find it too much of a handicap, simply use a hammerless. They have been being built in the US for at least 131 years & a little longer than that in England, I think they're here to stay.