double barreled shotguns

[Bezoar]

how much has changed since the good old double barreled hammered shotgun got thrown out the door for "serious" use?

How reliable is the new selective trigger system? Is it really a big step up over two triggers? And what else can you tell me everyone?

 

[skeeter1]

I wasn't aware that SxS doubles had gotten thrown out the door. Mine work quite well both on the trap range and out in the field.

As for the new-fangled single selective trigger, they're not exactly new. Both of my SKBs have one and they're about 20 years old. They're inertia-type triggers, and have been perfectly reliable for me.

 

[Srigs]

My SXS is a 1930s vintage and I like my double triggers. It works every time.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, I don't know anyone hunting with a hammer gun, all hammerless anymore. I prefer double triggers, real handy for instant choke selection in the field and simpler than a single selective trigger. I've never heard of any real problems with selective trigger function, just a little slower when you change your mind on choke as the bird approaches.

I have two side by sides. I've ignored my old 12 gauge Sarasqueta for years, but I'm having a resurgence of side by side-itis I guess, lately. My first dove hunting with my new 20 gauge Spartan sort of re-awakened my love for shooting the guns. I ain't sellin' my pump or auto, though. I might give that old Sarasqueta a few rounds on dove, but its waterfowling days are over. It's an old pre-steel shot gun choked mod/full. Still shoots great, but I don't feed it poison.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Ya ---that new fangled selective trigger has only been around for 50-60 years (more??) now-----so I don't know if the got the bugs worked out yet

 

[Dave McCracken]

IIRC, Miller offered his selective single trigger back in the 20s.

I've done good work with both systems. IMO, most folks can switch within a box or rounds of clays.

 

[huntsman]

IIRC, Miller offered his selective single trigger back in the 20s

yeah it's funny alot of people paid good money to the miller's to convert those 2 trigger guns that are all the rage today

 

[Dave McCracken]

Ain't it? the more things change, the more they stay the same.

When I was a kid, nobody wanted those old doubles, the things to have was a long barreled repeater. A5s, 11s, 12s, 37s, and the new 870.

Now, those Ithacas, Sterlingworths, Stevens,etc are the shotguns of choice for birds.

 

[mswestfall]

Double triggers are a real asset in the field. You can choose the load and choke just by pulling one trigger or the other. I find this easier than sliding a bbl selector one way or the other before releasing the safety.

Easier is very, very good in the excitement of a newly flushed bird.

 

[huntsman]

Double triggers are a real asset in the field. You can choose the load and choke just by pulling one trigger or the other. I find this easier than sliding a bbl selector one way or the other before releasing the safety.

Easier is very, very good in the excitement of a newly flushed bird.

Sorry I don’t buy it, two barrels with two different chokes are what make a double versatile. How you access those barrels matter less, especially when rough shooting. Maybe in the dove field or shooting driven birds you’d have the chance to decide which barrel to fire first. But on flushing game its fire the open choke first, if needed follow up with the second.

 

[Dave McCracken]

But if the bird's incoming, or gets up well out there, going to the tight barrel first makes sense.

I like two triggers on a hunting double.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Then there's stuff like quail hunting in pheasant territory with a whole different load in each tube. Never knowing which you're gonna need.

 

[MCgunner]

Sorry I don’t buy it, two barrels with two different chokes are what make a double versatile. How you access those barrels matter less, especially when rough shooting. Maybe in the dove field or shooting driven birds you’d have the chance to decide which barrel to fire first. But on flushing game its fire the open choke first, if needed follow up with the second.

I can count the number of times I've hunted quail on one hand. I hunt dove and waterfowl. You just don't know which choke you're gonna need when one of 'em's coming. They can flair, they can set in or fly right up your barrels. Instant choke selection is why double triggers are important to me.

In addition to quail in pheasant territory, I've used a double in the woods for deer hunting, before, and left one barrel with shot for small game, sorta a combination gun, if you will. The slug is only good to about 50 yards (accuracy, not energy), but in deep woods, that's usually good 'nuf.

 

[huntsman]

Nobody really addressed the choke issue, most old doubles came choked mod/full or imp/mod with this type of choking there's an overlap in effective ranges between chokes.Where the double triggers would really be useful is in a gun bored imp/full or skeet1/mod.

I can count the number of times I've hunted quail on one hand. I hunt dove and waterfowl. You just don't know which choke you're gonna need when one of 'em's coming. They can flair, they can set in or fly right up your barrels. Instant choke selection is why double triggers are important to me.

Like I said, maybe passshooting there could be a use but only because you can see the birds ahead of time to make your decsion.I have to believe that's why 2 trigger guns are popular in the UK, a good part of thier shooting is driven.But I believe the reason 2 trigger guns were made here is that it was cheaper to do.Look at the old gun catalogs a single trigger was an upcharge that's what kept the Millers in buisness,we are after all a nation of rifle shooters.

Then there's stuff like quail hunting in pheasant territory with a whole different load in each tube. Never knowing which you're gonna need.

I used to do combo hunts (grouse/woodcock/pheasant) over a pointer.(16ga) 1oz-#7-1/2 in open barrel 1-1/8 oz-#6 in other, worked for all three. I would think that you could find a cartridge that would be suitable for both birds in the open barrel and come up with a heavier charge in the second,as this shot would be on missed or 2nd birds that would be farther away at the shot.


I hunted for almost twenty years with a two trigger gun and for me I saw no advantages. On flushed game, given the chokes I had it was always simplest to fire open barrel first. I believe in a quick shooting situation it's better to focus on the target then worry about which barrel to use, and if the target is far enough to warrant a tighter choke your time to choose the second barrel is less or the target will be out of range.