Hi Everyone,
A couple of years ago I bought a used IGA (Gaucha) side-by-side 12 GA hammerless shotgun with single trigger from a fellow here on CGN, in anticipation of doing some cowboy action shooting. Unfortunately, my first time to the range, I experienced a common complaint about these single trigger versions: frequent light primer strikes in one of the barrels (the left one, in my case). Taking the buttstock off I immediately noticed that the left hammer was quite a bit closer to the firing pin in the cocked position.
Jumping to the immediate conclusion that there was an inherent issue with the sear/hammer engagement, I ordered some parts from Numrich. Unfortunately, despite being inexpensive, the parts were for (I believe) the double trigger version and wouldn’t work with my gun. The hammers were actually different sizes with the replacement having a longer/taller sear notch (top hammer).
Undeterred, I ordered replacements from Stoeger Canada (which was another adventure altogether) and put the parts in upon arrival. In the meantime I had polished various mating surfaces, smoothed some very rough internals and performed a few modifications as per Marauder’s website and things were looking up; the gun was dropping the hammers on each barrel as designed. As fate would have it, right at that time some health issues reared their ugly heads and then COVID hit so the gun went back into the safe where it stayed until a couple of weeks ago.
As part of my pre-range check up I put a couple of snap caps in and touched off both barrels. Snap! Click. What? Tried again - Snap! Click. The left barrel wasn’t even cocking properly now. So I took off the buttstock and tried again - Snap! Snap!. Put it back on in various states of tightness and eventually figured out that the left hammer was rubbing against the buttstock enough to either prevent the hammer from cocking or, as per the original problem, produce light primer strikes. It then dawned on me that the single trigger hammers appeared larger than the double trigger versions but the buttstocks were probably identical on both models, potentially leading to the inconsistent firing issues I (and many others) seemed to be having. It’s my opinion that the clearance was probably so small that even humidity changes might be able to affect the gun’s consistency.
Anyhow, I got out my trusty chisel and gave the buttstock area beside and behind the hammers a bit more clearance, tightened everything back up and - voilà - perfect firing every time! Well, for the hundred dry fires I did anyway. I’m hoping to actually throw some rounds through it this week but I’m seeing good indentations on some brass shim between the firing pins and snap caps so I remain optimistic.
Your mileage may vary but I just thought I’d put it out there in case you’re one of those who find yourself in this situation with the same gun. There’s not a lot to go wrong but this is something to check before giving it away. Of course, I’d be happy to take it off your hands if just can’t bear dealing with it any longer...
Happy trails!
Steve
A couple of years ago I bought a used IGA (Gaucha) side-by-side 12 GA hammerless shotgun with single trigger from a fellow here on CGN, in anticipation of doing some cowboy action shooting. Unfortunately, my first time to the range, I experienced a common complaint about these single trigger versions: frequent light primer strikes in one of the barrels (the left one, in my case). Taking the buttstock off I immediately noticed that the left hammer was quite a bit closer to the firing pin in the cocked position.
Jumping to the immediate conclusion that there was an inherent issue with the sear/hammer engagement, I ordered some parts from Numrich. Unfortunately, despite being inexpensive, the parts were for (I believe) the double trigger version and wouldn’t work with my gun. The hammers were actually different sizes with the replacement having a longer/taller sear notch (top hammer).
Undeterred, I ordered replacements from Stoeger Canada (which was another adventure altogether) and put the parts in upon arrival. In the meantime I had polished various mating surfaces, smoothed some very rough internals and performed a few modifications as per Marauder’s website and things were looking up; the gun was dropping the hammers on each barrel as designed. As fate would have it, right at that time some health issues reared their ugly heads and then COVID hit so the gun went back into the safe where it stayed until a couple of weeks ago.
As part of my pre-range check up I put a couple of snap caps in and touched off both barrels. Snap! Click. What? Tried again - Snap! Click. The left barrel wasn’t even cocking properly now. So I took off the buttstock and tried again - Snap! Snap!. Put it back on in various states of tightness and eventually figured out that the left hammer was rubbing against the buttstock enough to either prevent the hammer from cocking or, as per the original problem, produce light primer strikes. It then dawned on me that the single trigger hammers appeared larger than the double trigger versions but the buttstocks were probably identical on both models, potentially leading to the inconsistent firing issues I (and many others) seemed to be having. It’s my opinion that the clearance was probably so small that even humidity changes might be able to affect the gun’s consistency.
Anyhow, I got out my trusty chisel and gave the buttstock area beside and behind the hammers a bit more clearance, tightened everything back up and - voilà - perfect firing every time! Well, for the hundred dry fires I did anyway. I’m hoping to actually throw some rounds through it this week but I’m seeing good indentations on some brass shim between the firing pins and snap caps so I remain optimistic.
Your mileage may vary but I just thought I’d put it out there in case you’re one of those who find yourself in this situation with the same gun. There’s not a lot to go wrong but this is something to check before giving it away. Of course, I’d be happy to take it off your hands if just can’t bear dealing with it any longer...
Happy trails!
Steve
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