doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hammer Gun Practice For Upcoming Grouse Season

I guess I don't do either one.

I was taught never to trust a safety. The best assurance of safe gun handling is where the muzzle points. Just saying and not trying to create a controversy. It just seems that snap shots while stalking are not that common.

There is a difference between using a safety and trusting a safety. We have all been through this before.

Professor, then why not trust your trigger control on cocked hammers? I cock my hammers....when appropriate. But do what seems right at the time. Gene.

Apparrently, you have misinterpreted my previous note.

Look, I'm not trying to create a back and forth..just logic. So you're hunting with a Remington 1100 automatic...you don't trust your safety so you ...what? Have the bolt open for a flush or you have it loaded on "safety" and then sort of dab and push for that little button? How about a Remington 870? You keep the chamber empty but the forearm at cock position, safety off, so big muscle memory operating the fore-arm can load the shell (this is what you do for polar bears in the Arctic by the way)? The argument seems pretty esoteric. Cock the hammers when you need to cock them.

I'm 6'2" but don't have big hands. I have three hammerguns. My method for cocking both at the same time is simple. When hunting flushing birds I carry the shotgun similarly to port-arms, muzzles up of course, hammer spurs pointed back towards my chest and with my thumb across both hammer spurs. All three of my guns have the hammers fairly closely spaced, not wide apart. When ready to cock, a simple leveraged movement done by pushing the forend hand away, while at the same time sweeping the right thumb back, cocks them both. Works for a Rem. 1889 12 ga., a San Georgio 12 ga., and a Manton percussion m/l 16 ga., and all part of the mounting move. When using them for doves or ducks they are fully cocked at all times while I'm on my stand, and I am still, not walking.

External hammers that are cocked are not AS "safe" as a gun with a hammer block safety, i.e. IMO they are more likely to discharge due to a fall, etc. .........but they're safe enough, in some conditions, to remain fully cocked. Horses for courses. No reason to try to apply either method to all conditions. Most boxlocks' and sidelocks' safeties don't block the hammers anyway, they just prevent movement of the triggers. In that regard there's no difference in the "safety factor" of a internal hammer gun and an external hammer gun. Either could possibly slip out of bent in a fall, according to the amount of sear engagement and the angles of them.

To each his own. If you want to walk around with cocked hammers, so be it.

I certainly would not feel safe hunting with someone with hammers cocked or safety off...

besides, as any cool grouse hunter knows,

if you do not have time to cock a hammer or slide a safety off,

then any shot you take is usually a hail Mary exercise in tree trimming...

This is my challenge...



I can bridge the Lang with my thumb. With practice, I might even get pretty good at it (maybe). The Elsie is a different story (as can be seen here) and my thumb is simply not long enough. This early Smith makes a fine target gun and would be dandy on waterfowl (and even over pointing dogs). Beyond that, however, it will tough to use it "safely" IMHO.

If I do happen to use it for upland work (which is a bit silly, it weighs almost 8-lbs) I'll likely only cock one hammer at a time.