The DTs

Double Triggers, not delirium tremens. Then again, the way some people struggle with double triggers, it makes you wonder.

In the double trigger vs. single trigger discussion, I’m a politician and happily go both ways. The usual advantage stated for the DT setup is instant choke selection. To a quail hunter with rock-solid pointers, this might not matter, as most shots will be with the open barrel first. A Montana pheasant hunter with a spirited Lab never knows where that bird will pop up, so the ability to occasionally go long first is a big plus. For me, a DT makes more sense if there is a real difference in the chokes. My favorite FN Superlight is choked 1/4, 3/4 for a little more authority with the rear trigger. One thing’s for sure: Trying to fuss with a single-trigger barrel selector while a bird is in the air is PETA-approved hunting.

Another plus of the DT is, in some cases, simpler gun design. This is particularly true of side-by-sides and sidelock over/unders. One need look only at the English and Spanish efforts in fitting single triggers to sidelocks to confirm this. The Germans and Italians don’t seem to have the same difficulty. Model 21 STs and those of the RBL are solid. My Parker Repro ST wasn’t so lucky.

DTs also have a certain cool factor. Many think that a side-by-side just doesn’t look right without them (sorry, you Model 21 fans). Perhaps it depends on whether you go for a pistol grip or English stock. STs with the former and DTs with the latter is the usual approach.

The single trigger is certainly the modern preference. It’s hard to find a modern O/U without an ST. Rich Cole (www.colegun.com) will fit DTs to your Beretta O/U, and there are a few DT O/Us floating around, but the vast majority of modern American-market O/Us are ST guns. In boxlock O/Us, STs are very reliable.

The ST definitely gives the quickest second shot. If it didn’t, you’d see the Olympic bunker shooters using DTs—and they certainly don’t.

As to immediate choke choice with an ST, I never could mess with the barrel selector when a bird was getting up. I just fire the first barrel to get to the second. It’s amazing how often the first barrel with the “wrong” choke gets the job done. The Remington 3200 O/U had a semi-workable ST barrel selector/safety lever, but who wants to lug an eight-pound gun around in the field.

When setting up a gunstock for DTs, there are two things I like to do. First, I make the stock about 1/2” or so longer than I would for the same gun with an ST. I want to stretch my finger forward a bit to the front trigger, not cramp it back to the rear trigger. Second, I move the nose of the comb back about 1/2”. This allows me to hold a bit farther back and keeps me from getting my second finger dinged by the rear of the trigger guard.

In theory I prefer DTs to STs in field guns, but in practice I’m not so sure. I have almost identical Superposed Superlights, one with an ST and one with DTs. My results on birds are about the same. I do have difficulty with DTs on very light guns, especially English-stocked side-by-sides. With DTs, I use a looser grip for more flexibility. The light grip on the slender stock lets little guns move around more than they should. An ST lets me use a firmer grip for better control. I’m sure that better DT technique would solve this, but so far that has escaped me.

I think that Browning had the ideal solution with its old Superposed “double-single” trigger. The gun had two triggers, just like a conventional DT gun, but the first pull on the front trigger fired the bottom barrel and the second pull on the front trigger fired the top. The first pull on the rear trigger fired the top and the second fired the bottom. You could have your cake and eat it too.

Do your experiences with DTs/STs differ? If you were getting a new field gun, which would you pick and why?

That’s it for now. Boots off. Beer open.