Small Hands?
 

A hundred years ago did Parker shooters have smaller hands?
I've been trying to shoot a little more to practice up for the Southern and have done a little damage to my right hand.
Img 1 - When I fire the second trigger the recoil begins to shave off skin just below the nail.
Img 2 - Recoil bounces trigger guard against middle finger. Now quite swollen.
Img 3 - to solve this I have to wrap pinky around pistol grip to move hand back.
Am I doing something wrong ? Have gone through a number of bandaids!
Thanks

try lighter loads?

That could get a fella into a terrible flinching habit ! Just the thought of what's coming would cause me to jerk the trigger ! Hope you can figure out a way to correct it ! Years ago learning to shoot a recurve bow ,the string kept hitting my left arm to the point that six inches of my forearm would turn black and blue from it ,it gave me a severe dose of target panic it took me years to get over !!!

Clark;

You might want to try wearing a pair of golf or batting gloves along with the lighter loads. Does the gun stay on your shoulder or flip up under recoil?

Target Panic is right!
About to fire, close eyes, lift head, pull trigger, check to see if still bandaid came off. Wonder if I hit they clay.
I've tried gloves but haven't found any yet that seem to fit right.
I told my wife the solution might be to shop for single trigger Parkers.
You know how that went over :)

I believe the best argument with her majesty might be it’s a medical necessity…. I’m sure we have a number of M.D.’s in the membership that would be willing to write you a script…..

They make a little rubber attachment that fits behind the trigger guard that will cushion the middle finger. That might help. As to gloves; I wear thegunglove.com. And I cut the trigger finger off at the middle knuckle. Best shooting gloves I’ve found. Summer weight.

We switched over to buying Golf gloves for a single hand as needed. We learned to try on several brands and see which one actually fits , one brand "Large" is smaller or just right as we've found. And you can buy just the one hand you need. I love using a Left only glove for my Splinter forearm guns. And a Right only when hunting.
l"Dicks Sporting Goods" has been our go-to for golf gloves for years, both for shooting and our Archery needs...
Found out if I used a Left only glove for my Bow hand ,my groups shrunk considerably. I'm right-handed in both sports. Mattly

She’s a surgeon and has patched me up:)
But she’d get a kick out of seeing a script for me for “PGPT”
Parker gun purchase therapy

Thanks, will look up the gloves.
I’ve heard about the little trigger guards but can’t find. Any leafs?

There are several brands available. Just google "Shotgun Trigger Guard" and you will find choices from $$$ to $.

If you head the golf glove direction know that they make several types. Regular gloves are the lightest weight and come in leather and synthetic and combination leather/synthetic. They also offer rain gloves - slightly thicker - with a tacky surface on the palm. Winter gloves are the thickest. Most come in small, medium, large, extra large and a cadet version in each size for those with shorter fingers. With all the choices you should be able to find what you need. Most golf shops will let you try them on.
I always wear gloves shooting or hunting. I try to keep as many things as consistent as possible so even in hot weather I have them on.
I had not seen thegunglove.com before so will definately check it out. Thanks for that post! I don't like gloves that are too loose, too short or too tight.
Good luck and report back on what works from the suggestions posted. I really think you are headed in the direction of a new Parker.

I put one of these on each and every doublegun as soon as I own it. It only took me banging my finger a couple times to learn that I never wanted it to happen again! Might be ugly but they work.

https://i.imgur.com/rfRgUCpl.jpg

Problem is if there's not much room between the triggers for your fingers, gloves won't help. It'll be harder to place your finger properly between the triggers with the extra material. Let me ask, are you placing the first pad of your trigger finger on the trigger or the first knuckle joint? If it's the joint, that's the problem. The pad should be on the trigger, not the joint. As for the beating your middle finger takes from the trigger guard, a glove should help with that. I do use the Gun Glove, but the thin Mechanix work gloves really work well. Hope this helps.

Thanks, found them. Will order 2 of each to see what works, spring steel or retainer screw.
Just as an aside, it seems the 12 ga repro I have is the tightest of the bunch and causes the most damage.

I realized that I need longer LOP to keep my hand back and just the pad of my finger on the trigger. It takes conscious effort with a pistol grip to keep long finger from sliding through and having the knuckle on the trigger. It's easier with straight stock to keep my hand back.
A lot of subtle adjustments to learn.

Thanks,
I know tonight I'll be searching for single trigger with straight stock and 15 1/4 LOP :)

I first ordered the spring models and thought they’d be easy on/easy off but found they were hard to fit and didn’t stay in place. I returned them and got the ones with the screw.

Say it ain't so! Double triggers are the tradition. You need to find a nice Parker with an articulated trigger. Generally those are limited to AH grades and higher, but I have a nice CHE 20 that has one special ordered. If you don't see the theme here -- get more guns(!) -- make sure your Dr. wife knows this is about your overall health and wellness.

Thanks Phil
I am ordering just the type with the screw. Do you move it from gun to gun or just leave in place and have enough on hand to cover the collection?

I had never even considered a single trigger until last week when I shot over a hundred clays.
John Pulis can attest, I had blood running down the stock of the gun. I taped a paper towel over my finger and finished the round with John. Maybe with the bumper and a glove that fits I can avoid the single trigger.
But, maybe I should find one anyway - just to see:)

Clark, I have one on each gun; I could move them around on guns I don’t shoot often but for me it’s just easier to leave them on. Not as cool when photographing but hey; my guns always have them so…

I even have one on my Parker SBT which for some reason has bitten me a couple times even though it only has one trigger.

This may be considered blasphemy by many but here goes. Some years back i mentioned to a well known member from the north east that my new to me VH 1 frame was cutting my finger when firing the rear trigger. Simple he says, the front trigger is bent just bend it back they are soft. Went home and compared it to my others and yes it had straigtened compared to others. made primitive tool out of steel tubing and bent it back so it matched my others in curvature. They bend easy with a little leverage.
Food fo thought and i have had no further problems.

Shoot a Smith at the Southern Problem solved !

I wondered about that....
The space between the 2 triggers varies from gun to gun, and a couple of mine are really tight.

It was the bottom half of the front trigger. My plumber son got a piece of small steel tubing and i flattened the end in a vice so it would fit over the trigger after swinging the guard out of the way and it only took a small amount of force with a 6 inch lever to put the right curve back in it to give my finger the room for the gun to recoil without hitting my finger.
Hope this helps prevent the purchace of a single trigger gun.

The suggestions today have been really helpful.
Looks like they have warded off straying to a single trigger.

Clark there is nothing wrong with a Parker with a single trigger. In fact, the last two that I have acquired have been very nice Remington era Parkers with single trigger and beavertails. I love both of them!

If I came across an original single trigger, I wouldn’t hesitate.
They’re all part of the Parker story.
Are the Remington era single triggers selectable?

Yes they are.

Sounds good.
Maybe something will show up at the Southern I can take a look at.

In all seriousness, if the single trigger solves the issue, go for it. My bias is exactly that -- a bias -- based pretty much in nostalgia.

I have a permanent lump on my middle finger from shooting my Ithaca 3 1/2" 10 gauge double. I use the gun for turkeys occasionally and just decided to fire the back trigger first. Problem solved, but not practical in your situation.

One thing you might examine as you're working to resolve the issue: how do you pull/squeeze the trigger? I've tried to train myself to pull the trigger with the pad of my trigger finger only. I see some guys using the area between the first and second joint...which pulls the hand up toward the trigger guard.

Another variable is the stock configuration. The straight stock, in my experience, moves the hand back a bit (and makes the transition to the second trigger easier/faster). You might try someone's straight grip to see if that makes any difference.

In the end, my guess is that you'll find the right gun for your clays shooting...after trying as many as possible. Get the one that works for you.

They say beware the guy with only one gun. Okay, I get that, but he's not nearly as much fun to hang out with as the guy who gets to choose just the right one for the job at hand.:)

Garry,
The straight stock does work better for me and I try to just use the pad of my finger.
A quick check of a few guns in my little looks like a. It of difference between the triggers in various guns.
I’m going to check with caliper this evening and maybe even measure how fat my finger is !