Single trigger repair?

[Robt. Harris]

Hi fellas,

I've a shooting friend with an 1898 Parker VHE, straight-grip 12 ga. with their later in-house version of single selective trigger as pictured on Pg. 142 (Fig. 4-28) of 'TPS'.

In short, the gun is doubling, if only infrequently. It does not appear to be a matter of trigger mech. cleaning, as that was done by myself who flushed it out with a mild solvent, carefully chased that out with low-pressure air, and applied just a drop or two of light Rem-Oil with air, and re-assembled. The gun went almost 100 rounds before doubling again while shooting, and the owner and myself are not even sure at this point whether it is trigger-related at all. Loads used have all been low-pressure, 1 oz. payloads.

I say that because with snap-caps in place, we have not been able to get it to double-fire after a couple of hundred attempts regardless of what position the selector is in (either fore, or aft). IOW, it works perfectly when done from your easy-chair, which has us wondering if it is rather a weak sear engagement that's infrequently jarring off only when live ammo is involved.

My two-part question is this: a) Any experienced recommendations out there for gunsmiths qualified to work on this later style of Parker trigger, should it come to that?......and b) any experienced recommendations for someone who could assess and address the sear/hammer possibility, should it be that? Just looking for your experiences with similar problems and how you got them resolved. This gun of his is an original, factory two-barreled set and it's killing him to have it out of commission.

Appreciative of anything you might have to share.....Rob

[Russ Jackson]

Hello Bob ,I have never had these guys work on a Parker Trigger for me but a few years back I sent a DHE 28 Gauge with a MIller SST ,up to Daniel May ,and Ken Waitte at Miller Trigger for a repair and I was very pleased with the outcome and also the turn around time ! Great Gentlemen to deal with ,possibly they could help you out , their contact # is " 315-216-6240! Good Luck with it ! Russ

[Mills Morrison]

Second Russ on that

[Robt. Harris]

That's a start, Russ, and 'Thank You'. I should have added that with a good trigger pull gage, we come up with nothing under 3-1/2 lbs. of pull regardless of which barrel it is selected for.....which casts some doubt on the sear/hammer angle.

All Best,

Rob

[Russ Jackson]

One thing for sure a competent trigger man is a necessity for a trigger problem , I can't recall exactly but I do remember this gun was very dangerous , it would appear to work just fine and then just fire at random :eek: ! The problem I do recall was who ever did the previous work on the trigger put some of the pieces in backwards !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[David Lien]

Robert
I Have a couple of 2 screw Remington style single triggers, 2 are retrofit and one original. I shoot heavier loads than most all the folks on this board. I have never had one double. I am not talking one box of shells in a weekend. I may shoot 100 rounds a day "heavy loads" at pigeons in the snake river canyon. My old friend wanted to shoot my 34" Parker at doubles at the trap range. The gun doubled twice in 50 rounds. Not a doubt in my mind ((operator error.)) I can not explain why, but i do know it does happen with some people. Does the gun in question double when others shoot it??? Big hands little hands 100 rounds ONE DOUBLE maybe a flinch:) (god forbid). good luck with the trigger.
David

[Harry Collins]

Most of these single triggers required the correct tension on the two tang screws. One is under the top lever the other is under the trigger guard bow. Most of the time trigger will function properly when these two screws are properly indexed. I have a VH 16 gauge with a miller trigger. It took more than a few tries to find the correct tension.

[Bill Murphy]

David is correct. The first thing to do with a doubling single trigger is to hand the gun to someone else with a box of shells. Maybe have two different people try it.