I've tried this before with a light, little 20-bore 1892 Thomas Bland. That gun had rebounding hammers (and sadly, splotchy patterns) and I only tried it a few times on grouse before I knew it was pointless for me to continue. Jump forward 20 plus years, I'm in a different place now (in oh... so-many ways) and I'm going to try it again, this time with a converted Lang pinfire in 12. Light and surprisingly slim for a hammer-gun, it's been very effective for me on clays. Upon first use, the hammers (which do not drop out of sight) bothered me a little but... after shooting it on sporting clays with the Vintagers a few weeks ago, they completely disappeared for me and I really started shooting it very well (to say that I was pleasantly surprised would be putting it mildly). Mind you, most of those targets were closer, with lots of incomers and crossers. Longer shots will likely be more of a challenge as this gun has no chokes (not an option in 1866!). Game farm birds over dogs will likely be a no-brainer and cocking one hammer before a shot is actually quite a seamless process. However, follow-up shots are painfully slow with those non-rebounders (surprisingly slow for someone who's used to modern ejector guns). Bridging both hammers with my thumb from half-cock isn't exactly easy, but it is quite doable. With practice (& good gloves) I believe that it will almost become second-nature, but we'll see. Since it's a side-lever variant, I can even open it with the hammers fully-cocked (which adds yet another option). Since I'm usually hunting alone, I can always just walk with the barrels up in a "hot" gun situation (in only the most "grousey" of covers!) and then being very-mindful of my footing & circumstances, but I'd rather not get too-comfortable with that set of challenges. What says the cognoscenti here on the subject?

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Last edited by Lloyd3; 09/01/23 04:21 PM.