Single trigger identification

[John Reed]

Can someone help me identify which single trigger I have? Almost positive it's a parker but not sure which version. It started doubling on me so I wanted to see if it maybe just needed a good cleaning. Actually looks pretty clean. So who knows what's going on.

[Brian Dudley]

It is not a Parker trigger. And it is not one of the more well known aftermarket types either (ie: Miller, Infallible, etc...)

I am not sure what it is.

[Dean Romig]

But we have seen that selector slide before.





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[John Reed]

I honestly don't think the trigger mechanism itself is the cause of the doubling as the way it's designed, there is no way both hammer sears can be tripped at the same time. I honestly think the sear engagement on the hammers may be set too light and recoil is causing the doubles as it will not happen with snap caps or .410 tubes in the gun. The trigger pull is quite light for a shotgun. I'll pull the sears out tonight and take a look at them.

[John Reed]

More pictures of the layout of the sears.

[Stan Hillis]

I honestly don't think the trigger mechanism itself is the cause of the doubling as the way it's designed, there is no way both hammer sears can be tripped at the same time. I honestly think the sear engagement on the hammers may be set too light and recoil is causing the doubles as it will not happen with snap caps or .410 tubes in the gun. The trigger pull is quite light for a shotgun. I'll pull the sears out tonight and tale a look at them.

What we call "doubling" is almost never both sears coming out of bent at exactly the same time, but often the recoil from the first shot tripping the second barrel's sear. The reports are very, very close together and some inexperienced folks think it's both barrels at once. Another rarer, but possible cause is that the involuntary second trigger pull that we all do upon recoil is not being "accounted for" by the trigger, and is actually causing the second barrel to fire. This is a feature that is built into the trigger itself. Robertson and Adams, at Boss, developed the first mechanical single trigger that overcame this "involuntary pull" in the early 1890s. All successful mechanical single triggers have some method of accommodating this phenomenon.

In an inertia-shift single trigger the trigger is briefly disconnected from the sears altogether, and the involuntary trigger pull takes place during that brief time, to no avail. So, instead of the second sear being temporarily blocked, as it is with a mechanical single trigger, it is merely disconnected for a "split second".

I often to my own trigger work on rifles, pistols and some double trigger shotguns, but I don't mess with single triggers on doubleguns. Phillip Crenwelge, or Don Rackley, both in TX, handle that quite nicely for me.

[John Reed]

After removing the sears and comparing them to an original set of sears I think I found the reason it's doubling. The sears with the single trigger don't have the small relief ground on the "belly" to allow proper engagement on the hammers. I thought the trigger on this gun felt very light, and that's probably why. Also explains why it won't do it with snap caps or 410 tubes. The recoil from heavier loads are jarring the second sear enough to let loose. I will add the relief in the sears and see if this fixes the issue. The pic shows the single trigger sear on the bottom compared to an original sear on the top.

[Mike Franzen]

I hope you keep this discussion going. Very informative and helpful.

[Brian Dudley]

I dont think that cut, or lack thereof is making a difference. Proceed with extreme caution if you do anything. You may be doing irreparable damage.

[Ken Waite III]

If the trigger was working, I wouldn't make any drastic adjustments. It might be something as simple as dimensions between upper and lower tang not allowing clearance for trigger to work, sear drop, or engagement. Better to send it to someone now if you're not sure. Any incorrect changes made will make it more difficult to be fixed later and cost you money.

[keavin nelson]

Have you put the action together outside of the stock so you can see how the triggers/sears are engaging?

[Brian Dudley]

I cannot stress enough that you need to get the gun to a good single trigger mechanic and NOT to touch or modify any part of the mechanism. Beyond cleaning.
You are dealing with an unknown/potentially rare mechanism. Which means that parts for it will be non-existsnt and would need to be made if they are rendered unrepairable.

[John Reed]

Got the trigger issue fixed. Went out and shot a round of clays with it. Works great now and no more doubling. :rolleyes:

[Brian Dudley]

How do you like the Tin cloth gun case?

[John Reed]

How do you like the Tin cloth gun case?
Love it. I've been using it for a few years now. I highly recommend them. I have one of their sportsman bags I use for sporting clays as well. Very well made stuff. I hate to see a lot of their clothes are being imported now. I make sure and only get the USA made products.

[Mike Franzen]

Got the trigger issue fixed. Went out and shot a round of clays with it. Works great now and no more doubling. :rolleyes:

So, what exactly did you do?

[Mike Franzen]

Got the trigger issue fixed. Went out and shot a round of clays with it. Works great now and no more doubling. :rolleyes:

So, what exactly did you do? Beautiful gun by the way.

[JAMES HALL]

One trigger to two

[John Reed]

So, what exactly did you do? Beautiful gun by the way.
I switched it back to double trigger. It left the factory with double triggers in 1907. After studying how the single trigger worked, the doubles seemed much more reliable. I plan on using it for sporting clays and wanted something I could depend on.
Thanks for the compliment. She is a really nice gun that fits really well. 32" barrels, no safety with only 2-1/4" drop at the heel, makes it very shootable.

[Brian Dudley]

That is the best way to fix a single trigger. In my opinion.
I did not even notice the triggers in the photo. Duh...

[Dean Romig]

Same here Brian... Duh here too.

John, did you do the conversion yourself?





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[John Reed]

That is the best way to fix a single trigger. In my opinion.
I did not even notice the triggers in the photo. Duh...

It just made more sense. The single trigger was removed without damaging anthing. I was still able to use the original trigger plate. I put it in a zip lock bag and stored it away. I never saw any makers marks identifying who did it but the workmanship was very nice.

[John Reed]

Same here Brian... Duh here too.

John, did you do the conversion yourself?





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Yes I did. It was very straightforward since I was able to use the original triggerplate.

[Dean Romig]

Amazing that you had the other parts necessary.





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[John Reed]

Amazing that you had the other parts necessary.





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Keeping a little tackle box with spare odds and ends comes in handy sometimes. :D

[Kurt Densmore]

I recently acquired a Parker with what looks to be the same trigger. It currently works properly but if it starts to fail what parts did you replace? Looks like a sear and the triggers? It is interesting that the trigger isn’t common enough for anyone here to know who designed and installed them.

[John Reed]

After much research I determined it was most likely a Kautzky trigger. I think they were found mostly on Fox guns. I ended up just taking it out and putting double triggers back on the gun.

[Reggie Bishop]

Great work John! More pics of the gun please! :corn:

[John Reed]

This isn't the best pic, but this was after the 2022 NSCA US Open in Georgetown S.C. I shot the SxS event with it.

[John Reed]

It's a 1908 DHE with 32" barrels pigeon gun.

[Kurt Densmore]

Nice looking Pigeon gun!

My gun is a 1910 DHE 16 on a 1 frame, 30” F/XF chokes. It came out of South Dakota. Maybe a long range upland or pass shooting waterfowl gun. Those sharptail can be skittish.