If the hammers were easier to cock with one sweep of the thumb it would be easier to hunt with the hammer gun.
The mystery is the use of such strong springs on hammer guns. A single action revolver has tougher primers than a shotgun yet it can be cocked with a sweep of the thumb s it is being drawn. An autoloader's hammer spring is so gentle it can be compressed with the little finger and they set off primers just fine.
Cowboy action shooters tune their hammer guns so that both hammers can be swept back with the left hand, for right handed guns. They do not seem to suffer any misfires.
One possible reason for the stiffness of hammer springs is found in Hawker's book and involves percussion muzzle loaders. The hammer spring was strong so as to keep the hammer down against gas pressure rising through the nipple. Tradition and all that probably brought those stiff muzzle loader springs to the breech loader hammer gun. Gough Thomas had a point when he accused gunmakers of mental inertia.
