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Today I shot 50 rounds through my Parker Repro with double triggers and my index finger is bloody. Any hints on technique to aviod getting blood all over myself while shooting at the range? Double triggers never seemed to bother me while hunting, maybe because of gloves or just not as much shooting.

Sell it to me for pennies on the dollar?

Back your grip up; don't use more than the tip of your finger to pull the triggers.

What kind of loads are you using to make that much recoil?

Maybe keep your index finger away from the muzzle?

Seriously, I shoot only double trigger guns, and my middle finger is more likely to get bloodied when launching fast steel duck loads during a good shoot. Which side of your trigger finger is getting bloody, the nail side or pad?

Ben

I appreciate the helpful feed back...

-Gun's not for sale thanks anyhow
-Loads were just 1-1/8oz number 8's
-Its the nail side of my index finger

I think I need to try and use just the tip tip of my trigger finger, going back tomorrow to shoot it some more.

The original Parkers had an articulated trigger if you wanted to order it that way. A better cheap cure would be a light load of 1 oz. and a shooting glove. Also is the gun real short? Sounds like there is a a lot of movement back? A slip on pad might fix you up.
bill

Just a comment... shotgun triggers generally should be pulled hard, "Crushed" is my favorite term, straight back and with authority. If pulled hard enough your finger should stay on the trigger, with the trigger back, until the gun comes out of recoil.

Put the trigger blade behind the first joint from your fingertip. Pull like you mean it.... hold it there while following through with the shot, head down, tracking flight path, etc...

There will be plenty of time to switch to the second trigger after the first shot is finished..

Thanks Bill, I have one of those pads and I'll try it. The gun probably is a bit short, I think most of them are 14-1/4, I shoot best with at least 1/2 inch more pull.

I love the way the skeleton butt comes up the the shoulder and the pads seems "sticky" but I'll use it tomorrow and see what happens.

Are there folks reading here that own both single and double trigger guns that find it easy to switch between the two (do you get flummoxed on doubles?).

I shoot double trigger and single trigger guns interchangeably, and have since 8 years old (I'm 55, now). Grew up on a double trigger. I cannot remember once getting mixed up when switching from double to single and back, although some shooters say they do. I think if you've never used double triggers, and want to learn to, you should shoot it exclusively for a little while. It will become second nature. Start out, as most folks do, by shooting the right barrel first (front trigger), then the left barrel. After this becomes natural, and it will, try shooting the left barrel first, then the right. One of the great advantages of double triggers is that, if your guns barrels are choked differently, you have immediate choice of chokes without fumbling with a barrel selector.

I would second the suggestion to lengthen the pull. In fact, I like to shoot as long a pull as I can mount comfortably. I was fitted as needing 15 1/4" (from the front trigger) but can shoot up to 15 3/4" well. Grasp the grip firmly, but not white-knuckle tight. Gloves are o.k., but they will not cure the problem. They will only keep the trigger from hurting as much when it hits you.
Work on why it is doing that in the first place. You will never shoot the gun well if, in the back of your mind, you are expecting it to hurt you every time you pull that front trigger. I prefer to pull the trigger with the pad of my finger almost down to the crease at the first knuckle. Never have a problem with bashing the trigger finger. I shot a straight gripped 32" Fox in the Ga. State Championships last year just for fun. Two hundred targets in two days plus side games and my only problem with tenderness was my right thumb which wraps over the top of the grip got very sore from the safety bumping it in recoil.

Stick with it, it's worth the effort! Stan

Stan,

Thanks, the more I think about it the more I think LOP my be an issue. Some of that will go away with coats (I shot in a T-shirt today), I have mostly shot single triggers at the range but have owned, and hunted with, a couple of double triggers too. I want to get to the point where I can switch between them without pulling the front one twice or bashing my index finger. I suppose it all boils down to practice.

Dave (sorry about the dumb screen name I can't change it)

Parker, Save this post. It may end up being the first one in your new post "Why do I have a flinch."
You might want to let the sore finger get a bit less tender.
Jake

Hi Dave:

My feeble mind has never been able to reliably switch back-and-forth between double triggers and single triggers. But I started hunting with a single trigger gun, and only at middle age started to shoot fine guns with paired triggers.

Finally I gave up on shooting single trigger guns alltogether, and couldn't be happier, particularly now that I've even found an Italian O/U with double triggers.

IMO, Randall gave you the right answer. I shoot mainly double trigger guns. I also shoot relatively short LOP guns(14") If you place your trigger hand as far back on the grip as you can, so you can just reach the front trigger with the tip of the index finger and keep it there, you will eliminate this problem. You will also eliminate the middle finger getting whacked by the rear of the trigger guard. I respectfully disagree with the idea that a longer LOP will fix it. No matter how long the pull is, you still have a big bend in your arm at the elbow, and your trigger hand can still be in the wrong OR the right place. A longer LOP is the usual answer that pops up for this question but I believe it has nothing to do with it. Where you place your hand is the key. If you also put a little tension on it, pulling the butt against your shoulder, that will help keep your hand back. I still get careless, sometimes, and let my hand get whacked by the trigger guard. However, if LOP was the problem, I'd get whacked every time.

Is your finger getting whacked only when you pull the rear trigger? There isn't a lot of space between the triggers on DT Repros, and if you have a very thick finger, that might be part of the problem. Anyone have any experience having trigger blades bent a bit, on DT guns with tight spacing between the triggers? That might be helpful.

Once again thanks for the great feedback. I went and looked at an original Parker in my safe and there is a bit more space between the triggers. Also, the ding on my finger is almost at my first knuckle so I think Jim's comment about sliding my hand farther down the grip should help. I'm sticking my finger too far over the second trigger. The challenge will be to engrain that as a habit. Bending the triggers a bit could be helpful too, I be interested to know if anyone's tried that.

Jim Legg is very perceptive about length of pull. It has nothing to do with finger damage. You will find that the shortest length of pull without your thumb and nose colliding will give you a very comfortable and controlled look at the bird. Some prefer a longer pull, but an inch between the thumb and nose is more than enough. Some very talented competition shooters prefer the nose and thumb to be very close. My Army pistol coach taught me a basic that kept me on my team when others were being bumped. I guess it is something that rifle and pistol shooters are taught from birth, but I didn't know it, being a shotgun shooter. It works in shotgun shooting too, but is not as important except in your case. "The grip of the hand and the trigger finger are two different situations. The trigger finger is independent of the grip of the rest of the hand on the gun." In other words, don't grip the gun loose and let the gun recoil into your trigger finger. A death grip isn't neccesary, but control the gun with the right hand and let the trigger finger just pull the trigger, not assist in the grip. The "loose grip" is the forward hand which guides the gun to the target. I agree with the other posters who recommend just the first pad of the trigger finger should be on the trigger blade.

I'm with Grouse Guy and Jim. As I've gotten more squishy brained at age 55, the KISS principle becomes increasingly important. No more trying to pump the forend of a SxS, or wondering why the gun doesn't go 'boom' again while jerking the front trigger over and over. All of my 'using' guns now are SxSs, have the same diminsions (with a significantly shorter LOP than what I used with single trigger target OUs), and two triggers.

Ken Davies, in "The Better Shot", recommends gripping the wrist with the shooting hand using all four fingers - the index (trigger) finger included of course...

Then, extend the trigger finger along the trigger guard. According to Ken, the trigger finger will meet the front trigger just 'at the base of the pad in front of the first joint'. The spacing at the rear of the guard thus obtained keeps the middle finger from being bruised by the trigger guard.

Now, take this just a bit further... at the shot... when the trigger is crushed and the trigger moves - it ends up in the first finger joint.

It follows that to pull the second trigger, one must insert more of the finger into the guard (unless the grip is shifted). Articulated triggers were made for just this problem.

The gun and hands should move and recoil as a unit. The hips guide the gun, not the hands.