doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How do you use your hammer guns?

I could always cock "IOne" hammer as quickly as I can push off a safety, quicker than any safety other than a tang safety. I have small hands though with a short thumb so do not feel safe trying to thumb back two at the same time. Consequently although I admire the beauty & lines of a good hammer double I have done the vast majority of my hunting with hammerless guns.
Safety is for the most part a matter of the shooter rather than the gun. I have to date never had a hammerless "Jar Off" though I do realize it has happened on occasion. I once while navigating a rather steep hillside stepped on a rock which rolled & I went down to the ground & slammed my hammerless Lefever real hard, it didn't go off.
Personally I will never carry a gun open except on a very limited basis. This might entail if should happen to meet another hunter/s I might open the gun as we approached out of courtesy. I can very easily had I taken the above described tumble with my gun broken open it could very easily have put a tremendous twisting strain on the barrel which could have caused severe damage. Something to think about. "IF" I have to navigate an area through which I consider it unsafe to do so with a loaded & closed gun, I unload & reclose the gun. When I get safely through the area I then reload.
The unexpected is of course what we have to take into account. The above instance of the rolling rock is an example. It occurred one day while I was trying to navigate into position to pot a squirrel for the pot & was intent on looking up in the tree. I generally squirrel hunted with a 22LR but on this particular day had carried the Lefever for some reason.
It did however reaffirm my belief that a Lefever is not particularly susceptible to jarring off with their top hung sears & that a gun is not near so susceptible to being damaged when closed as when open. Take all this for whatever its worth to you, it didn't cost you anything.

Hey, fun post! I use mine for hunting, but also for pasture clays with my kids. They sure are a hoot to hunt with. Anyway, here's mine:

12b James Harkom



16ga Carl Glouch (Made by Franz Soda)



16b D. Gotobed (damascus bbls)



12ga Siace 350G (this is a self cocking ejector gun)



12ga Bernadelli Italia



12b Samuel B. Allport



Best,

Greg

A Joseph Harkom pinfire. So far, huns, sharptails, pheasant, and badger. Who knows it's story in the 150 years before I owned it ?

I have a 12 gauge Husqvarna M51. I like it a lot, but I can't cock both hammers at once. Are some guns easier to do that with?
Regards,
Jeff

certainly- part of it is the stiffness of the spring - and i personally think the ones with higher spurs make it easier - for both the grip and the leverage. My Clabrough is an early number is the later low hammer design - its a wider action, being a 10 and not a lot of spur poking up - that one is always one at a time. the picture angle is a little low- but the spurs start near the level of top tang and barely clear the height of the short top lever



In contrast, my 12 bore Wm Moore & Grey is a light gun with a narrow wrist and higher spurs and a longer top lever- easily both at once



If I remember right - Bill's H&H is a stiff one - I don't think I can do that one both at once

My experience in general is that non rebounding hammers are easier to cock. The various makers of all hammer guns seem to have different cocking ease.

Mine works fine on second season doves:



And on Wood ducks:



I do not know who built it but it is badged to a Christchurch, NZ hardware store. It has Birmingham proofs...Geo

Nice duck blind Geo., looks like you're not afraid to rough it a little.

Thank all for your posts. Those at great guns.
Question for Daryl. Can you show us how you make the pinfire cartridges?
BillK

It's nice seeing all those hammerguns out in the field.