Are they offered to fit individual shotguns? How do you identify one as being a genuine Miller-??

The early Miller One Triggers has the selector on the safety like the 3 position safety on some L.C. Smiths.
I have a 1927 Ideal Grade with this type of trigger with the safety selector.
Later ones had the selector alongside the trigger, similar to a HOT.

I am not sure if more wood has to be removed between the side locks as it does for the HOT and on the L.C. Smith Featherweights, metal has to be removed from the top tang area for the actuation of the second firing.


In order to tell if it is a real Miller, in the case of the later ones, I guess you would have to take the gun agart and look.

Dan May of Classic Gun Stocks, has the exclusive rights to the Miller One Trigger now.

Dan is an occasional poster here. The current offering for Miller triggers is limited to a handful of makes/models. Fox, Ithaca NID, and Parkers. There were more than one designs of Miller triggers over the years. I suspect many designs. There was also the Ithaca-Miller situation that someone articulated here, but which I don't recall the details. Something about a contract for Miller triggers then a claim of patent infringement?

http://www.millersingletrigger.com/

Miller triggers are usually stamped MILLER on the sides of the blades. Elmer (Pappy) Miller and son Howard produced Miller triggers for over 60 years at "The Plant" in Millersburg, PA. They were installed in almost any SxS or O/U you can think of from Purdeys to Parkers. The early selective style does have the selector fashioned from the safety slide like a Smith and the later style has a rocker in front of the blade. Ithacas used them as factory single trigger on the NID. No one "fakes" a Miller so if it looks like a Miller it probably is. Although the company name was sold, the patents have long since lapse and anyone can make a "Miller style" trigger and people do I have had them made for a number of guns. I have owned atleast 20 guns with Millers and Miller copies.

I had a lovely new condition Premier Skeet elsie which got stolen. As I remember it had a selector in front of the trigger? What trigger would that have been????

It was most likely a Hunter One Trigger. Hunter Arms, HOT used a slide that took the place of the front trigger spot in the trigger plate. With the gun lying on top rib, it would be in the left slot. It had a small circle I believe made of copper, with an "L" stamped in it and rearward it had another circle with an "R" in it.
You could also order a single trigger in the forward position, middle, or rear. Most I have seen are in the rear position.
Some will have on the front of the trigger plate, Hunter One Trigger and others will have it along side the trigger.

Thanks. I hated to lose that gun..Like new condition..great wood..straight grip...Used it once only, shot 4 geese with it over decoys...Gun showed up later in an ad..talked the guy into giving me the serial#s called the cops in Cal. where it was stolen, they called the cops in Michigan where it showed up,I was living in Colorado....Someone must have tipped the guy off. By the time anyone got there he had "sold" the gun and No, he didnt remember to whom...or where he got it...

Good information has already been supplied above, thanks to all. Our current parts inventory is best suited to Parkers, Foxes and Ithaca NID's but we do occasionally install our trigger in other makes/models and evaluate the jobs on a case by case basis. We will be adding L.C. Smith to the regular list in the near future. We are also very close to resurrecting the Miller Single Set Trigger for Mauser 98 actions. A pre-production run is underway.

We currently only install the second generation (1962 patent) selector on selective versions. This is the rocker type switch which is built into the front of the trigger body. We are considering tooling up to provide the early, safety mounted style and will make an announcement if we do. From the beginning, all genuine Miller triggers were stamped "Miller" on the trigger bodies. We continue this tradition today and any trigger which is not so stamped is not a true Miller trigger.

Any other questions, fire away or send me an email at info@millersingletrigger.com.

Best regards, Dan

What about one for a Remington Model 32?

Unfortunately there just isn't enough demand with the 32 for us to justify the R & D. The original Miller company did a lot of them but it was during the time of the model's popularity. If anyone out there has a 32 with an installed Miller and plans on visiting near our shop, I'd love to take a look at it.

Dan

Actually, there are two styles of Miller installation in the Model 32, the earlier one developed by Elmer is somewhat more complex. Like the Winchester Model 21 installation I believe the first style in the M32 involved making new hammers. Apparently, Howard on the late M32 installation simplified it a bit. The Model 32 single trigger is not very good and the Miller is a dramatic improvement (I've owned both...) As far as ALL genuine Miller triggers being marked "MILLER", that's not completely accurate. The only problem (IMHO)with the Miller is the rather homely, oversized appearance of the trigger blade itself. They were masters of the file but as Howard and Delbert got older the triggers got chunkier. I know of a number of Miller triggered guns that have trigger blades filed and shaped into a more elegant trigger blade yet are genuine Miller installed units. My Purdey pigeon gun is one. The rocker gives it away as a later Miller but the trigger blade has been carefully shaped and looks Purdey. I know of a few others where one of the early nicely spoon shaped Fox front triggers was used to replace the blade of a Miller.

Examples here http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22972484

11F,

I knew as soon as I wrote that, someone would ding me on it! You are correct in that it is possible to find an unmarked (on the outside) trigger that is genuine Miller. As you pointed out some were shaped and filed in such a way that there was no surface left to support a stamping. If the unit is removed from the gun however you should find patent date stamps and/or other Miller markings inside. There is also the story of the disagreement between Ithaca and Miller wherein some triggers were installed for Ithaca by Miller and were not stamped. If anyone ever has a question on whether their trigger is original Miller work I can usually tell quite easily by looking at the mechanism. Elmer and Howard's work was distinctive.

Best, Dan

Dan- Thanks, I am sure you can, indeed, tell as a skilled gunsmith which I am not let alone now owning the Miller name. I recently took a DHE Parker with a non-selective Miller (marked Miller!)to my friend (who is a skilled trigger 'smith himself- he once fixed a Boss single trigger for me, now that was something to see spread all over the bench...) and he noted it was "Some of Howard's most beautiful work". Millers are terrific triggers.

Dan,
I have a nicely restored 20's era NID that has a factory SST which I think may be a copy of the Miller design. It will occasionally double with heavy loads or randomly.

Is this a trigger you work on? Is there reliable fix?

Chuck, the restored gun you picture does not look like the same gun as the pictures below, sans stock. Can you clarify ?

Chuck,

Everyone involved in the Ithaca/Miller unpleasantness is either dead or probably doesn't care anymore, so....Ithaca (in my opinion) did steal Miller's base design. The Ithaca version was known as the "Howland" trigger (named after their designer Harry Howland). The only difference that I can find between the two is that the Howland trigger has a two-piece trigger body as opposed to the Miller's one-piece. There is absolutely no reason for this design difference as far as function goes and I feel it is superfluous and weakens the design. The Howland is still a great trigger though because it is essentially a Miller!

I can absolutely fix your doubling problem. Give me a call, email or just send her out.

11F,

I've done quite a few minor repairs and tweaks of both Elmer's and Howard's previous installations. They were indeed amazing craftsmen and gifted with mechanical genius. I wish I could have met them before they passed. I hope they are happy with our carrying on of their business, I'd like to think so.

Dan

Well Dan, I am still alive and I care. (can't get the smile icon to go here) Won't argue the point though.
My New York State son has a Howland trigger that needs you. We will get the gun up to you in the new year.

Walt,

Sounds good! The Ithaca/Miller feud is just another interesting anecdote from our beloved doublegun history. We're all one big happy family now!! I love Ithacas and I own Miller, I'm caught squarely in the middle! How do I get myself into these situations.....

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! That goes for everyone!!

Dan

Chuck, try a lighter spring on the inertia block.
Bill

Dan, I will try to get the Miller/Smith correspondence file if it still exists. You will find it very interesting!! Did you get the file on the guns by serial number that the Millers did their installations on?

Daryl,
Yes, they are the same gun. The trigger pictures were taken before restoration and show the rust. I haven't taken it apart since Gunter restored it.

Walt,

Unfortunately, I did not get any business records from either Elmer or Howard's time of stewardship. I'd love to see anything you can dig up!

Dan

11F is absolutely correct about the appearance of the trigger blade of various Miller triggers. I have seen a very few that are slim and obviously filed to match the wishes of the customer or the value of the gun. Some years ago, when Delbert and Howard were still with us, I was in the Miller shop, Howard showed me everything under the sun, but the most interesting was a gun that Howard did not mention. It was a "beyond elegant" Westley Richards .410 sitting on the bench partially disassembled. I could not imagine the two of them, both in their eighties, working on that gun, but the gun my friend Kevin McCormack and I were there to pick up, possibly the last complete job they ever did, was way more than well done. I wonder who owns that .410 Westley today?

Dan,
I'll contact you after the end of the upland season at the end of January.

Sounds great, looking forward to chatting with you. Enjoy the holidays and the end of the season.

Dan