Single VS double-triggers

sillymike

sillymike

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Ever feel like you're an old dog trying to learn a new trick?
- That's pretty much how I feel when I get to use a O/U or SxS with a single trigger :p

With a single trigger
- Flush a bird, push the safety... short moment of confusion, which side did I push it? Which barrel am I using? Stop thinking and just shoot :slap:

With double trigger
- Flush the bird, push safety... close-shot, front trigger... Far-shot, rear trigger :cool:
 
I never understood the desire to have a single trigger instead of two, on a SxS or O/U. Two works so well, and keeps the mechanics simple and reliable.

While I understand the single-trigger is a worthy challenge to an engineer, and a desirable ‘feature’ to a gunmaker looking to come up with something new for jaded clients, it all seems unnecessary to me. Like ejectors. Ejectors, really? And don’t get me started on removable chokes…

Some of us just get grumpy in our old age.
 
Pinfire said:
Ejectors, really?
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Ejectors are helpful when you have a loader ( or two ) trying to keep up with the man on the triggers on English driven shoots.

I've heard all sorts of arguments in favour of single triggers, ( not shifting the firing hand, same trigger pull, etc. ) which are really just justifications. There are more than a few really high end British doubles using non-selective single triggers, which really gets one wondering, wtf?
 
I have some of each. Non-selective single trigger, selective single trigger, and of course double trigger. The trick is remembering which one you're using. For instance this morning I missed a rising pheasant then pulled the front trigger again with no result. The dog gave me a dirty look. Agree, Pinfire, ejectors are a 130 year fad bound to soon fall by the wayside.
 
I’ve had a few sxs shotguns and all have had double triggers. I have no problem with 2 grouse fast with 2 triggers and I love the short shot farther shot design. I use the farther barrel first often if it’s out there and looking nervous.
 
Maybe it depends on what you started with and used most early in your shooting development. I started with double triggers and learned early to select the best choke ( and by extension the correct trigger) for the shot as presented, in a hunting context of course. As I became more and more involved in shotgun target sports the preferred guns were all fitted with single triggers and because there was no instant choice of choke required this worked well and removed one variable. Other than one autoloader that I hunt geese with I still never hunt birds with a single trigger gun although I do exercise my double trigger side by sides on the target field. I realize some people struggle with double trigger technique, this can only be smoothed out by repetitious practice with a good double trigger gun and because today this usually means a side by side this is really only a matter of choice for users of side by sides. To each his own…..
 
Target guns are not built with double triggers these days so when you shoot as many targets as I do during the year you'd best get comfortable with a single trigger. These guns also typically have ejectors instead of extractors and I'll say that I prefer the ejectors on a target gun as the shells are ejected into your hand when the gun is opened so you don't have to pluck them out one by one. It shortens the time between pairs and keeps the rythim of the reload more consistent. I find that reloading quickly between pairs in sporting clays helps to keep my focus safe from my ADD and minimizes the distractions. That's probably why I was never a top trap shooter, too much time in between shots to start thinking about other things.
I own some double trigger hunting guns and I don't have any problems switching back and forth between them and a single trigger gun. I do believe that double trigger guns should always be on an English stock and when used in combination with a pistol graip are an abomination. Extractors are my preference on any hunting gun but I only find ejectors awkward on side by side guns as the shells are more difficult to catch. I have a side by side 28 guage with ejectors and it's a curse as it fires the hulls about ten feet behind if I miss covering them with my hand when I open the gun.
 
I started shooting with a double trigger SxS. I love the ability to instantly select which barrel/choke to fire from. I found it especially useful when hunting turkey. But as my collection grew and I started using semi’s, my preference switched to single trigger doubles. On another note, one of the reason I like my Mossberg semi is because of the tang safety, which to me, seems like the most logical place to put a safety. I guess I’m a creature if habit.
 
I have both styles of trigger and ejector/extractor systems on 4 different break action shotguns.

My 1st choice would be double triggers with extractors. The triggers give me instant choke choice for the shot and the extractors mean I don't have to pick up empties.
 
I agree with using extractors in preference for general hunting use, less chance of your empties littering the field. Yes, ethical hunters retrieve all their empties but some people are natural born slobs. On a trap or skeet field some shooters regularly eject all their empties and leave them where they lie, giving them one less distraction in their shooting/reloading sequence. They then pick them up after the round is finished, or more commonly the club supplied ‘sweeper’ picks them up. Many, if not most clubs used to have a rule that if your empty hits the ground it belongs to the club, they would sell these to reloaders, but today they might need to pay to dispose of them. Generally the two most common things to break on a double barrelled gun are single triggers and ejectors, in the interests of simplicity ( and respect for my bank account) I prefer extractors and sometimes disable my ejectors, reverting them to simple extractors.
Pistol grips work fine with single triggers, not as well with double triggers, especially if the grip curve is quite tight. Double triggers are at home with a straight grip stock and to me just look graceful, classy, just ‘right’. As much as this arrangement appeals to my eye and always works well for me I actually shoot a bit better with an open semi pistol configuration, or even the very rare true Prince Of Wales ( not WHALES) grip.
 
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Hard to argue with much of Ashcroft’s commentary. I shoot mostly SxS. All but one are double trigger. The single is a conversion done many years before I acquired the gun and I have the original hardware should I decide to revert to original configution.

While I prefer the aesthetics of a straight stock, my preference when it come time to shoot is a fairly open semi or POW.

Without counting I’d say my inventory is roughly equal extractor/ejector. If I was ordering a new gun, it would be extractor. When I scan the vintage market, I make no distinction except for the possible smithing costs of getting a broken ejector working.
 
I grew up on a pump gun and the thought of dual triggers to me was stupid. Wasnt until i started showing up around the gun clubs that i learned of skeet. There i met a true gentleman and he loaned me a holland sxs to try. Instantly my world changed. I couldn't afford a holland then. Still cant. The next week i drove to woodstock and handled every sxs i could. Came home with a baikal ij58. Still have that gun and its shot more than 75000 rounds. Now my sxs guns of which i own about a dozen all have dual triggers. My ou guns are all single trigger though
 
I have owned and hunted with all common configurations, but my personal tastes have narrowed considerably over the years. In the field, my preference is for doubles equipped with double triggers and extractors, and fitted with an English straight-gripped stock and splinter forend. The fit, weight, and balance are also important considerations. I don’t currently own a suitable U/O for hunting, but I would buy one without hesitation if it met the preceding criteria.

Pumps and single barrel guns are all single triggers, but I no longer hunt with those as they are less than optimal for numerous reasons.

Target and competitive shooting is a different matter. As has been adequately covered by Falconflyer and Ashcroft, competition guns are almost exclusively made with single triggers. And, for several reasons, they are better suited to the task.

Because I use double triggers in the field and single triggers in competition, I never confuse the two or have to give any thought to the configuration.
 
For a hunting gun, double triggers are clearly superior for my purposes. But I think that the same trend that has taken over rifles is taking over shotguns. Far more shots are fired at targets than at game, so people naturally extrapolate that what is good for target shooting is good for game shooting. Nope. But the market says otherwise. So we observe people hunting with a lot of rifles with high powered scopes equipped with exposed twisty turrets and straight high comb stocks, and a lot of double shotguns ( mostly o/u) with single triggers and bulky fore ends, tight pistol grips and extra long choke tubes. I prefer to use hunting style guns for hunting, and target style guns for targets.
 
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Ashcroft said:
Maybe it depends on what you started with and used most early in your shooting development.
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Started with a semi (Win Super-X) and for the longest it was my one/do-all shotgun. That would probably explain with I have no issue with a safety in front of the trigger... M12 was fine... Hunting with my father's 870, nope, where's that darn safety :confused:

Thang safety and double trigger was an easy transition.

Can't say that I'd given much thought about ejector VS extractor.
- That's probably because there are not enough games around, to justify me having to reload in a rush.

Heck, if two birds appear at the same time, I'll usually let the second one fly away... to chasse it down later on. Finding a down bird in the shrubs is enough of a challenge, I doubt I'd remember where exactly that 2nd bird fell.
 
All of my SxS shotguns have English stocks and double triggers, I like the instant choice of two chokes for hunting. As to ejectors/extractors, all of my guns have ejectors, and it's rare for a hull to hit the ground. It doesn't take long and catching the empty hulls as you open the action becomes a habit.
 
stubblejumper said:
All of my SxS shotguns have English stocks and double triggers, I like the instant choice of two chokes for hunting. As to ejectors/extractors, all of my guns have ejectors, and it's rare for a hull to hit the ground. It doesn't take long and catching the empty hulls as you open the action becomes a habit.
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I was thinking the same thing about the extractor vs ejector thing. If you cannot trap or catch the hulls you just need a little practice.

As far as the single vs double trigger discussion. In decades of upland hunting, I suspect I have missed roughly zero birds due to a lack of instant choke selection.

I do plan on buying a double trigger side by side to give it a try though.
 
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