doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Trigger guard hits middle finger when firing.

I've noticed a great variation of front trigger placement and trigger shape on several straight gripped double trigger guns. That may just be the determining factor as eightbore has suggested.
Karl

I just measured the distance between triggers on the gun that is giving me trouble and a 12 gauge Parker Trojan that I shoot and there is a considerable difference. The Parker has about 7/8" between trigger tips and the Husqvarna is about 1 1/8" between trigger tips.
When I shot skeet with the gun yesterday, after the first two stations my middle finger had a cut on it, I put a bandage on the cut and when I shot the bandage seemed to lessen the impact to that finger. I put a double bandage on and it seemed to stop it completely. I think I'll get some of the recommended toe pads and see if that works.
Thanks for the responses, Pete

The front triggers on my Parker Repros are uncomfortably far forward. If these guns are ever disassembled, I will have the front triggers bent backward.

I think that eightbore is on it. I had a double trigger straight grip that had that issue for me. NECG redid the forward trigger so that I could reach it without pressing others against the back of the trigger guard. As I remember, he said, "Usually we just do this by bending, but this is too nicely shaped for that." He also thought that it was made to use wearing a glove, hence the larger space.

From old information, I can confirm that you fellows have intuitively focused on the problem. But I can't give you specifics on dimensions. I've been looking for those for a number of years.

I remember reading a discourse by a shooter who was going through one of the high-dollar schools in England, either Holland or Purdey, and when he complained of the same problem, the master gunfitter told him immediately that the problem was improper gun fit. He alluded, however to the fact that it was more than simply angle of the hand of the stock.

The English actually have a number for what is supposed to be the acceptable minimal distance between triggers. I had it one time and didn't write it down and I've been looking for it ever since.

Going to a pistol grip is supposed to largely cure the problem. But that is certainly not true one hundred percent of the time. Some guns like the old Remington 1894 have a poorly designed trigger guard without enough tuck up and under. They are known as knuckle busters. I had one with a half-hand and there was nothing that could be done to keep it from hitting my finger.

I personally feel that having too little room on top of the hand of the stock is a major part of the problem. If you actually have enough room between the safety and the onset of the comb to get the web of your hand over the top of the stock it will largely eliminate the bite. Most stocks are not made that way but it is a very comfortable feel.

As Lorne has stated, a glove could solve the issue. I've been wearing Gripswell branded gloves for shooting for quite sometime, and they work well for me. They feature extra leather in the area of that knuckle as well as added leather under the right thumb for topleaver wear.
https://www.gripswell.com/gs12.php
Karl

The best solution is to shoot a gun that fits. If the gun is a 10 gauge or less (eg, an 8 bore), I�d recommend trying welders gloves to protect the 3rd finger if an individual didn�t want to go to the trouble of making the gun fit.......

I agree on the gun fit, I shoot a 20, a 12 and a 10 all with double triggers and the only time I ever hit my finger was shooting a 12 and didn't have it tight against my shoulder, I had one of my 10s double on me, made my arm go numb, but never hit my finger.

TM

The problem is probably the size of your hands/fingers and the position of the stock's thumb hole.

If the thumb hole is too far forward for you, your hand/fingers will sit too close to the triggerguard.

So when you fire the gun, it goes bang both ways.

If the thumb hole were further back, you hand would sit further back on the stock.

This would keep the triggerguard from banging you second finger and eliminate the problem.

OWD

This has only happened to me on one gun and the damage was permanent and still aches at times.

It was when shooting heavy 400 grain DG hand loads in my Winchester 1895 .405 WCF. Upon examination, it was apparent that the space forward of the trigger was tight AND the recoil of 400 grain loads was significantly more than the factory 300 grain loads. Knowing this, I was able to avoid further problems by remembering to adjust my grip for DG loads.
Also, I always wore shooting gloves with that rifle and do so with shotguns too.