Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Straight English Stock

Have had 3 single Miller trigger Parker’s. And one Parker Repro single trigger with no problems.

Also have a straight stock double trigger Parker Repro that I’m having problems adjusting to. Will get it with practice.

Some of the early Spanish guns had soft steel that was not case hardened correctly. May have been the issue. Renato Gamba(Italian)had that issue, until it was corrected

I only have experience with one. A Remington 870 wingmaster "Special Field". I also has a short barrel. I can't remember if it is 24 or 21 inches. I think it's 24. Has remchokes. It is more for upland game shooting. I use a Browning BPS 28 inch for pass shooting. Or at times a Winchester 37. All are 12 gages.

A catchy phrase, but more style than substance. Lots of SxS’s and 14 gazillion O/U’s work fine with one trigger. I’m fine with either arrangement.

To the OP: If possible, get the kid a target gun. Especially so if trap is the game. He’ll be miles ahead if he’s properly equipped. Depending on his size, you might need some stock adjustment. Good on you for caring to do it right. A lifetime of shooting fun awaits. Oh, yea, find him some part time work to cover shells and targets. Shotguns are expensive to feed!

Much the same as the old phrase...I shoot a SxS because my eyes are OO.....

Wonder why there are so few two trigger O/U if there is a reliability problem. Some clay target shooters are burning thru 30-50K rounds a year and reliability isn't a problem.
The Brits are ever increasing going to O/U's for their driven shooting..One trigger...

Today the reliability of the single trigger....SxS or O/U....is pretty much a given for any well made and designed 2 barrel shotgun.

Something for those who have to have it all....Straight, two triggers, O/U.

The straight stock seemed to be a product of English game shooting technique of the late 19th up into the middle 20th Centuries based on the short articles on shooting technique by Robert Churchill and an uncredited on by possibly Gough Thomas though he may have been a little later than this article. the emphasis for gun movement was placed on the forward arm rather than the trigger hand and the straight stock helped in this by giving the trigger hand somewhat less leverage.

I can't say if this is true or not, it might be as Churchill was also a proponent of 25" barrels at the time. The other author made no mention of barrel length which is one reason I suspect someone besides Thomas for that article, Thomas seemed to have a fondness for 27" barrels. Both articles also made mention of rather light guns which also may have worked better with a straight grip.

I've owned and shot a number of straight grip guns in about every action type and haven't found any advantage to them. If anything, I found the straight grip to be a disadvantage in some rifles and especially big bores as the stock would slip and the rear of the trigger guard would smack my middle finger in the latter. In shotguns I've owned/used straight grips in SxS, O/U, semiauto, pump, lever, drillings, and even a single shot. Except for the one O/U they have all gone down the road. I've kept the one O/U mostly out of nostalgia but it does fit decently so I shoot it well. It's also a great truck gun for those places one can carry an U cased gun.

As for the single/double trigger preference, I prefer a single. I can and do use double trigger guns without a problem but I prefer singles. It's probably due to not liking SxS guns much though I do get by with the ones I have. As for the SxS having barrels, "set as God meant them to be," I say that is only true if one mounts the gun on one's chin. 😳 Otherwise, the shooter has the master eye looking down the middle between the barrels which is no different than with any single barrel gun. I get this from a couple buddies on my sporting clays team and hit them with this on occasion. So far they haven't taken me up on this challenge, not even with a 410. I hope they don't, I saw a guy do this with an M-16 on semiauto and even that gave him a fat lip and a bloody nose. Good thing he hadn't switched it to 3 round burst yet.

Just in the past year I've seen two SxS single trigger guns malfunction at the range...Winchester Model 23 and a Spanish double...forget the make, but not a name brand. There was also a top of the line Ugartechea sidelock that was for sale on a table at our last shoot ($3500). Had a trigger lock on it so didn't know what trigger configuration it had...until a friend of the seller told me it was a single trigger and it had malfunctioned on occasion and had to be worked on. Believe it was about a 2015, bought just prior to Ugartechea shutting down in 2016. Anyway, not a cheap gun...around $5,000 new per the friend. Obviously not everyone knows how to make reliable single trigger SxS's which seem to be a lot trickier geometry to perfect than an O/U. Bottom line...I'd stay away from single trigger SxSs. And Model 23s, although long out of production were far from a cheap gun either.

But there are a fair amount of Browning O/Us belonging to guys I shoot with that have misfire issues with the bottom barrel so I wouldn't call them fool proof either, but definitely more reliable than a single trigger SxS in my experience.

Browning bottom barrel issues are well known. And has something to do with the length of the bottom barrel firing pin being more critical. Wear eventually causes issues.

I can’t even guess the number of rounds I have out of single trigger Krieghoff and Perazzi shotguns with no failures that were gun related. Over 200 K rounds for sure. Primers hit that didn’t fire, yes. Firing pins that became tip burnt and once replaced, any issues went away.
Have seen a single trigger Perazzi SxS that seamed reliable. Krieghoff makes a SxS in which you can have either 1 or 2 triggers. Have yet to read of any issues either way.

Parkers had single trigger issues. Replace it with a Miller trigger and the issues went away.

Double trigger guns should be more reliable. Significantly more reliable with today’s new guns? Since newly designed SxS's are rare, the decision to go with two on older examples does have merit.

I couldn't agree more. I do love their fast handling qualities.

Old beat up Robust No. 4 16ga

So what problems do anyone have switching between single and double triggers ? I use a straight grip SXS single trigger Win 21, and two double trigger drillings w/pistol grips.And a Ruger Red label o/u single trigger. I'm looking at another sxs straight grip with double triggers. I don't really shoot clays often, but when I do I shoot the 21 best. I shoot the Ruger most often, but not well.

Not sure how the brain allows one to switch between single and double triggers, but I seriously have no problem with it. Took me about a week to get onto twin triggers 20 years ago and can and do go back and forth easily. Even using the rear trigger first on longer shots on occasion in the field.

That's been my experience, also. One thing I do is a little "shadow boxing" before a hunt. I use snap caps and bring the gun up fast, as I would hunting upland birds. I snap the trigger/triggers and practice for a couple of minutes. It helps. My shooting is equally bad with any trigger/triggers, but I get lead into the air.

My big problem is with safeties. Going from tang to Greener and back still frustrates me and especially the dogs. Crossbolts are the Devil's invention!

The straight grip was made for use with double trigger shotguns, which was all we had at the time. The idea was that it would be easier to slide your hand back slightly to engage the 2nd trigger. They don't make a lot of sense on a single trigger gun, unless you just like them.

Correct for driven overhead shooting the Brits were famous for. Because as their head slid back on the stock the LOP became longer. The back trigger equaled out the LOP on overheads.

For the mostly almost parallel shooting we do, it’s not that important. Other than barrel selection.

I snuck up on this one a couple years back.



Arrieta 903 Sidelock 16 gauge.
















I'm much more of a rifle looney than shotgun guy, but i have been amazed how well I shoot this.

ya!

GWB

I loved my 870 Special Field 20 ga.
21" fixed choke Modified.

For me a hurried shot w a quick gun was too fast.
Relax and let the little speedster do its thing....wonderful.

Unfortunately prices on em now are insane.
Had a BPS Upland Special too. Liked it.

But loved the 870.

870 and 1100 Specials were initially 21" fixed choke. Then they went 21" Remchoke and lastly 23" Remchoke. Mag tubes shortened also ( hold 1 round less ).

The BPS version was full length mag tube and 22" IIRC

This!!!!!! Period, end of story!!!!

Not all agree with that story....


https://shotgunreport.com/2012/08/24/english-stock/

As to triggers, here is a picture of a Browning inertia single trigger, which I think means the recoil of the first shot “sets” the second trigger. Apparently they have been known to “double” rarely, or, as I experienced it, fail-to-fire the second barrel. It was a rare occurrence later on in my years with it. But it happened several times without any problem with the firing pin. There is more info online about this. I’m not at all saying this is a common occurrence in single trigger guns..

And, I don’t pretend to be able to point out how it happens. I found it interesting.

GW, that is a gorgeous shotgun!

Ya!