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

Joe is misguided when he makes the statement about "unsafe to open or close a cocked hammer gun". Opening or closing a cocked hammerless gun with the safety off is an identical situation. Either situation, you have to keep the muzzle safe and keep your finger off the triggers. "Sweeping the dogs" is another red herring. I don't sweep my dogs when closing my hammer gun or any other gun. When hunting with another person or in a preserve situation with a guide or dog handler, I also prefer the open and cocked position when shooting a hammer gun. Yup, it's a pain, but it keeps my companions more comfortable. I chew my shells to keep them from falling out, no fuss, no muss. Just a little bite to make them a bit eccentric and they will not fall out. When hunting with someone else dog, I feel that you should open any gun whenever the going gets rough or you come to a resting place. It's just common courtesy.

True but most hammerless guns have auto safeties.

Joe,
Just for the sake of a good arguement, let's assume everyone disconnects their auto safety. Now we're back on a level playing field. :-) Keep your fingers off the triggers, and the muzzle pointed towards the sky.

Unless you chew up your hulls they'll fall out.

Kind of depends on what you're hunting and where you're hunting and what are you hunting with. WITHOUT a dog hunting for birds in thick brush a hammer gun is just to cumbersome and way too dangerous. Why chance it, leave it at home and take the hammerless.

Yer kidding...till you cock the hammers it's safer than a sidelock.

Safer for the birds too, if you're hunting dogless and have no warning prior to the flush. At that point, it might as well be a single shot; a little better if it's a delayed covey rise and you have time to cock the 2nd hammer before the late flushers take wing.

It seems to me that the biggest safety virtue of a hammergun is that if the hammers are not back, it is NOT going to shoot either accidentally or on purpose, and that carrying one around cocked and broken open sort of nullifys that advantage. When I hunt with my hammerguns, I want them uncocked except when I am ready to shoot. The shorter the time the hammers are back, the shorter the window of opportunity for any mishap.

I cannot pull both hammers at once on any of my guns but I still want two shots when the birds get up. I believe I am safer if I wait till the dogs point and I am in position and then cock the gun, than I am trying to juggle the open gun, not spill the shells and slap everything back together in the excitement of the covey rise. That way I am devoting my entire attention to keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction till I shoot.

Maybe this shell chewing point is worth considering though if it will allow you to carry the gun open and pointing up in the air as you walk in to the point and then close it at the rise without sweeping the barrels up through the ground the dogs are occupying. Do you chew up a batch prior to the hunt or is the proper form to chew a shell at a time as you reload? Does this cause a rust problem in your chambers?

'Sweeping the dogs' is no Red Herring, in my opinion, any more than a trap shooter turning around with a loaded gun and sweeping the audience. And I'll bet any range-masters around here would agree with me on that point. Well, opinions do differ, but that's mine..Geo

eYe cain't take it...

I'm going to the shop and chew some shells.

This arguement should be broken into four differant discussions. The first, hunting with a dog in an open area, cornfield and such, the second, hunting with a dog in heavy cover; the third, hunting without a dog in an open area and the fourth, hunting without a dog in heavy cover.
The last is a true test for a shotgunner and his shotgun. You need to carry a shotgun that fits like a glove because you barely have time to snap the gun to your shoulder let alone try and yank a pair of hammers back.