Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Single vs Double triggers on side-by-side ?

Over the years have accumulated quite a few side-by-side shotguns -- about equally split between single triggers and double triggers.

On the trap range, someone has noticed that my scores are higher with the single triggers than with the double triggers.

The gunsmiths tell me that the double triggers can be converted to single triggers for somewhere between $1,600 to $2,000 each.

Some folks suggest selling the double trigger guns to replace them with more single trigger guns.

One person has suggested selling the double trigger guns and giving them a week long shopping spree in New York City and another week in Paris.


Is it common that someone shoots a single trigger better than a double trigger ?


Suggestions ?

.

I'd say sell the single trigger guns. A proper double has two triggers.

I have never noticed any difference in my shooting ability with double or single triggers.

I can see where a single trigger might have a slight advantage when you are playing games (skeet, trap) as it would provide a more consistant hold and feel, but you'd have to be very good for that to make a difference.

In the field, I find double triggers much preferable as I can instantly pick the proper barrel/choke I need. No selector to worry about and no thought required. Maybe it's just me (I grew up shooting double trigger guns) but I've never found a selector that was as fast or easy as just pulling the proper tirgger. I do have one shotgun with a non-selective single trigger that works well.....but I lose the ability to choose which barrel I fire first.

I'd probably suggest single triggers for your competition guns (if you're good enough for it to make a difference) and double triggers for your field guns. best of both worlds!!!

Tell your wife that this will not happen.

Ding Ding Ding!!!!
We have a winner!
Right out of the chute!
Ingwe

I have both single- and double-trigger shotguns and have to say I prefer the two trigger set up.

I'm not a competitive shotgunner though, I use the SXS shotgun mostly for handling practice re: my double rifle.

UtahLefty,

How far is northern Utah from southeastern Idaho ?

Hammer

1.5-2 hrs-ish

I never have any trouble shooting targets with a double trigger, but when a rooster flushes at my feet I quite frequently forget to pull the second trigger if I miss with the first. I certianly wouldn't sell either set up if it was working properly and you can shoot it well.

I like single triggers

If you hunt in the cold, it is much easier to get a gloved hand in a single trigger.

I like double triggers, just a personal preference. In my experience switching to double triggers, it's mainly a matter of practice to train your brain to subconsciously move to the other trigger. If you have years of shooting a single trigger this can take some time.

I've seen enough problems with single triggers on cheap doubles to not want one. It's a quality issue where they're beating the price down, a reliable single trigger is not a simple thing. Not that I have wide experience with them but the few I've worked on were pretty rough.

It would not surprise me at all that a clay shooter would get better scores with a single trigger gun. But this may be more a function of gun design rather than trigger style. With the advent of target shooting, pistol grips, target stocks and stacked barrels seemed the way to go. The single trigger fit better with this type gun. These guns became the norm, and the straight gripped side by side with double triggers became the exception. So today, a typical shooter is far more likely to have learned to shoot with a single trigger. The double trigger isn't natural to them. They have to think about shifting their grip or moving their trigger finger. That small adjustment might result in a split second loss of concentration and cause a miss.

I grew up shooting double triggers, it's what my dad had. When I was in my early twenties I purchased my first single trigger shotgun, a Winchester 101. I bought the gun for skeet shooting. The first few times I went hunting with it I tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to get the back of the trigger guard to fire the second barrel. Just goes to show how muscle memory takes over when the action gets fast and furious.

Over the last twenty five years, I've fired many tens of thousands of rounds at skeet and sporting clays using mostly single trigger guns, but quite a few with double triggers as well. Also, though still thrilling, a flushing bird does not have the same unnerving effect it had on me when I was younger. As a result I now shoot both single and double triggers without a hitch at the range and in the field.

So even though I come at it from the other prospective, double to single trigger, my experiences tell me that you can learn to shoot both well.

406 expressed my thoughts exactly.

Converting a fine SxS game gun to single trigger would be blasphemy in my book. On the other hand a stack barrel gun with close grip and high comb would be an odd duck with double triggers.

One of the reasons for the double trigger is reliability and simplicity so it applies in spades to a SxS rifles especially if they have detachable side locks. Elmer Keith went into detail on this subject in his various writings.

That's pretty much my take as well.

For a target gun a single trigger works great, but in the field two triggers work better, especially when shots can vary in distance. There's nothing that comes close to two triggers for choosing the choke instantly, despite the supposed ability to choose the barrel with the safety (or whatever) on a single-trigger gun.

In my experience almost all hunters who use a single-trigger double never choose the barrel, so are essentially using them as 2-shot autoloader. They could just as well be using an autoloader, and have the advantage of a 3rd shot (and lighter recoil, in gas models).

A side by side double just looks weird with one trigger. The old classic doubles didn't have removable chokes-two triggers was the only way to have instant choice.

A modern O/U looks weird (to me) with two triggers. Most have removeable chokes, so by setting the first pull for an open choke and the second for a tighter choke, I get what I need.

I'm a geezer and logic doesn't have to figger into anything I believe

O