doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hammer Gun Practice For Upcoming Grouse Season

I took the William Powell out to the sporting clays range for fun and practice. Grouse season is only a few days away here in Montana.

I believe the gun is as important as the quarry and love to take these old hammer guns hunting…

Good practice and good shooting, Kirk.

If you didn't do so already, try calling for the bird with low gun and hammers uncocked, cocking them as you mount. Great practice for flushing birds.

Beautiful old guns! I'm considering using my 1866 Lang for the dove opener here for the same reasons. But...even with the non-rebounders, cocking is a challenge to do in a timely fashion (for a smooth mount before firing). Thankfully, in pass-shooting, that's not as critical. I'm also considering using a 1901 Smith hammer on pheasants this late Fall, but that gun is even more of a challenge in that regard (it has rebounders, combined with fairly heavy springs).

I also have a 16 gauge 1866 Lang nonrebounder that I hunt Quail with. I can cock both hammers simultaneously at the flush while mounting the gun; it is a somewhat awkward mount but I've killed a fair number of Quail with it when I point it correctly.

Very few of us can cock both hammers at one time, so we cock the close hammer to take the first shot. It is hard to reach the off hammer for the second shot if you take your first shot with the close hammer (right hammer for a right handed shooter). The solution is to cock the off hammer on the mount and take your first shot with the off hammer. Cocking the close hammer (the right one) after the first shot is a piece of cake, almost as fast as pulling the rear trigger on a hammerless gun. Your grip on the gun is not disturbed as it is when switching from right to left after the first shot.

Except pretty much every sxs out there made for a right handed shooter, unless it has the same choke in both barrels has the tighter choke in the left barrel. Makes no sense to me to make the first shot with the tighter choke when the target is closest, then follow-up on a more distant target with a more open choke. Of course, if you are shooting a modern gun with screw in chokes you can configure it to use as you suggest with the tighter choke in the right barrel. Then again, perhaps I am not understanding your post correctly.

lovely Gon's...

what make are they?

Not everyone worries about the "correct" choke. I guess the objective is to get a shot off quickly and have a chance at a quick second shot.

I will say that both of my british hammerguns have had the left hammer replaced leading me to believe that Bill is correct on how the guns were used. Left barrel first.

Why do you suppose that the makers typically put the tighter choke in the left barrel then?…OR, if it doesn’t matter, why make them different at all?

Bob;

Your comments about the Lang hammergun reminds me of a Fraser 1887 12 bore30 inch barreled hammergun that I had 25 years ago choked cyl in right barrel and full choke in left barrel. I could cock both hammers with one hand with it also; and I remember killing a pair of quail out in Texas on a covey rise with it. It was a lovely gun and I had the late Oscar Gaddy color case harden the action on it.