doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Heavy Trigger Pulls - Your Thoughts

And another - and agree a light gun needs a slightly lighter trigger set up.

I am forever spoiled with light trigger pulls. I use light English game guns with triggers between 3.5 and 4 to 4.5 pounds pull. 2 light 10's also break in this range. Heavy triggers just never seem to fire for me. I remember reading long ago that "shotgun triggers are slapped when the lead is right", probably some old trap shooter advise. Never worked for me and I might just as well close my eyes and jerk. As I came from Bullseye and High power rifle competition I must have a nice trigger. Some I have tried with a nice gun mount, great track on the line and then I wonder if something went wrong with the gun because it did not fire when my brain said shoot. With any firearm, good triggers are a real joy!

Light gun with heavy triggers will cause me to flinch. My late Uncles .410 had one trigger that was about 4 pounds and the other nine plus pounds. I could not shoot it worth a darn. Lucky for me it was easy to remedy. I don't care if triggers are 4, 5, or 6 pounds as long as they are fairly even and without too much creep. Much under 4 pounds just is too light for me.

I am in total agreement, KY Jon. Lighter trigger pulls for me in hunting conditions scare hell out of me. Cold fingers, adrenaline rush of a covey of quail exploding right under my feet....more than once my gun has fired before I was ready. OK, so now I've confessed. Fortunately I'm always super cautious where the muzzles are pointing.

Had an early Sauer sidelock. The triggers were a thing of beauty (described beautifully in the book "Der Drilling" by Klupp), crisp and light, they just seemed to go off in perfect sync with the mind. Now that will spoil you! Steve

Perazzi triggers will spoil you, too.

Joe, I began, so long ago I can't remember when, to keep my trigger finger outside the guard until the last split second before firing. The pad on the first joint of my trigger finger rests on the outside of the guard, finger straight forward, and against the edge of the bow. It slips in to the trigger at the flush, after the butt hits my shoulder, and as my eyes lock on a bird. I have never had an Oops! shot since I started this. Not that my triggers are so light that they are unsafe, they're not, but it adds an extra margin of safety, IMO.

Works really good, and you can practice it while shooting those inedible, orange birds.

SRH

You are in good company. IIRC, Carlos Hathcock stated that any trigger pull under 5 lbs was just too light. His business with a trigger was much more serious than any I have ever had, but, a pull much lighter than that doesn't work well for me, either.

I don't own any guns that weigh less than about 5 3/4 lbs, however. I never have shot very light guns well, regardless of trigger. Any hunting I do involves a fair amount of walking, and working, not sitting around and waiting, so, that likely makes a difference as well. Clay birds are no more to me than practice for real birds, and I don't own a specific target gun.

I shot skeet last weekend with a several time national champion who made the observation I was rubbing my chin when I called for my bird. Yes, that happens to me when I am hunting. I never pre-mount my gun at skeet, because I never pre-mount my gun while hunting.

Might as well practice for it. With the guns and triggers I hunt with.

Best,
Ted

Amen, Ted.

I agree I shoot a 3 1/2 lb trap gun 9 lb gun
I can't imagine 7 lb on a light hunting gun .
But it might work for you and hunting . I'll check my
28 gauge sometimes

Most all my 18 or so SXS's are vintage excepting my CZ Bobwhite 28ga. The CZ has the heaviest triggers of them all. I can manage with it. My friend has a CZ SXS and I can't shoot it because the triggers are so heavy I think the safety is on.