Shooting hammer guns
 

I've been looking at hammer guns for sale and am considering purchasing one. However, I have never discussed shooting a hammer gun with anyone who owns one and I have NEVER seen anyone shoot one! Not once! There must be hammer gun shooters reading these pages. So can some of you hammer dudes tell me something about shooting hammer guns and if you do it, why?

Just another action type. Have shot pumps, semi-auto, levers, hammers and break action. Just need to get familiar with each.

Hammerless guns are boring 😴

Parker hammer guns are just way more fun:cool:

I honestly feel Parker and some other hammer guns, the lines are just beautiful, engraving, etc….

Only my opinion

Steve, I would suggest shooting a hammer gun that you could borrow. It is not for everyone. I took to it right away and love the feel, routine, and just the nostalgia of it. You can purchase a nice shooter for under $1000 and see how it goes. Ya wont lose if you want to send it down the road. I suggest a 1 frame 30" 12 gauge. Good luck with your endeavor.

Ditto what Dean and Stan say. I prefer a Parker hammer to a hammerless, the nostalgia et al., but it is not for everyone. The sight picture on non-Parker hammer guns is sometimes blocked by the hammers that do not cock below the sightline on the receiver. Good luck.

Stanley, in the event a boring hammerless gun comes along you do have my number, right? :rotf:

Steve, you’re getting good feedback, and you can see there are most certainly aficionados of hammer guns. You didn’t say for what purpose you wanted the gun, and that would certainly make a difference, presenting different matters.

I hunt with hammer guns. Dealing with the cocking is the main difference. On, for example dove or ducks, where you’re generally standing or sitting, it’s okay to have your gun cocked as you see game come in (obviously, being safe around your companions, both two- and 4-legged). I’ve had great hunts on wild Bobs over pointing dogs, but, I’m not personally comfortable using a hammer gun on grouse in thick cover (and with a companion). Some guys carry their guns loaded, cocked, and open. This doesn’t work for me.

I’ve had great hunts with my hammer guns. There is nothing quite like my 30” Cogswell and Harrison 16 bore back action gun which weighs less than 6lbs.

Every lover of old guns should try a hammer gun.

Don't be waiting by the phone Randy, all of my boring guns are way too short for your liking:cool:

Steve, if only you lived in New England you could join me at Addieville East Farms in RI and you could shoot any number of my Parker Lifter or T/A hammer guns from 10 gauge down to 16.






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My first gun, given to me by my maternal grandfather, was a 28 gauge hammer gun. I still have it. I bought a 16 gauge German hammer gun later, still have that one as well. I have used both and like both. My shooting skill is the same with both hammer guns and hammerless guns.......poor.

Do you shoot single barrel shotguns like pumps and semi-autos?
If yes, how is your skill with those?





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I carry double guns open, and if I can, I slip off the safety. The open action is "safe" after all. When the birds flush I close the action and go to work. It always makes me a little nervous when I see a guy carrying a double gun closed. I wonder where his safety is. I carry a Winny Model 12 with the action open safety off. Birds come up I close the action and go to town. The old "suicide" safety on my ancient Auto 5 is a bit iffy. I put a shell in the chamber and set the safety "on". When I think the birds are about to fly I click the safety off, if they don't flush I click the safety back on, but it is always something that I have to remember to do and I don't really like it. I think that pumps with the safety off and the action open is the safest way to bird hunt, followed close by with a double with action open. Sometimes, and usually the safety sets itself when you open the action. Birds come up you close the action and have to click the safety off with most double guns, but not all.

I seem to remmember a rather long barreled hammer big gun you had something over 36” that I sure like the heck out of shooting :whistle:

When shooting an auto I am constantly flipping the safety on and off, because I carry the gun with a shell in the chamber safety on. That is why I don't like the suicide safety becaue it is not as positive as is the button in front of, or behind the trigger. As have most of us I have seen several guys shot while we are hunting. I have never seen anyone hurt, but I have heard a few choice words. I have known one gent who was killed when he jumped out of his pickup and grabbed his gun by it's barrel and pulled it out. The gun pointed at him and the trigger caught on something and the gun went off. The load hit him in the middle of his chest and he was gone. Very sad and he was a very experienced hunter. A farmer and cattleman. Folks, it can happen to anyone!

I have a 26” top lever hammer gun in a bigger bore that’s virtually no choke and very little choke that I took on a quail deal in 2023 , the gun isn’t cut it left the factory at 26” and with quite open chokes or rather lack of choke . I carried that gun cracked open with the hammers back and shells in the chambers and had no issues . I’ve done several tower shoots with big bore hammer guns and again I stand with the gun cracked open hammers back and shells in the chambers . I was told to go ahead and close the gun while waiting for the birds by the guy that puts the shoots on but I was never comfortable doing that .

From the last tower shoot I carried a hammer gun .

Another tower shoot with a different big bore hammer . The second picture is the first 8 gauge I acquired and the first feathered or furred things I killed with it again in WV at a tower shoot .

I just bought a new (very old) Hammer gun
 

So, after reading many posts here I have decided to buy a Hammer gun that I found on Guns International site. I emailed the sellor and he has not replied to me yet, but i think the sale will to thru. Now for a description of the gun. It is a W.C. Scott 12 F & F made in 1885 according to the site. "C" shaped hammers, Damascus barrels, very pretty wood. So we'll see. Why did I buy a hammer gun? Someone here mentioned that hammer guns can be carried, open with the hammers cocked and that sounds good to me. Sounds safe and unlikely to try to shoot while on safe, which we all have done and hate. Cost? $1500 plus shipping. Not too bad. Also the C shaped hammers look like when cocked they will be out of the way and out of my vision, something else I like. I have owned hammer guns before, but you know what? I cannot recall ever shooting one. When I was in the hospital last year I sold most of my shotguns, thinking it was curtains. I let some of my favorites go. I'm rebuilding my collection. It's fun.

Wow! Very nice. Great birds and what a nice looking shotgun. The gun I just bought (I think.) looks about like that one. A W.C. Scott F and F. I'm pondering opening the chokes, but I think I'll shoot it first and see what happens. Just for grins, I'd rather not touch the chokes, but I have in the past. Opened my Elsie to Cyl/Mod.

I've owned two hammer guns for over two decades and have never fired either.

One I bought because of rarity, a Quality 2, from the short-lived Parry Arms Co., Ithaca, NY. Just had to have Parry's rear-acting under-bolt --

Attachment 134553

The other an Ithaca NIG with just too much condition to leave on mumblin' Gary's table at Syracuse --

Attachment 134554

Neat Hammer Guns Researcher! I'm looking forward to my new W.C. Scott hammer gun. For years I shot an original 1861 Musket. I still own it. I shot percussion revolvers for years too. One an original '51 Navy. A very nice shooter, an early early number pistol. But my favorite BP pistol is a Ruger Old Army. Now those, while modern, are wonderful shooters.

Modern shooters? A few. A nice Winny Model 70 in 270. With that rifle, I need no other. I shoot it with open sights. A Savage 99 in 300 Savage. Hard to find ammo for it. An old Winny '73 in 32/20. Made in 1883. Neat rifle and like new. I guess it does not qualify for a "new rifle". A Mannlicher Schaneaur (no one can spell that word) in 30'06. I load that little rifle like a cannon and take cover when I touch it off.

I had three Scott’s a 10 that was my grandfathers and a 12 an 20 that previously were owned by a Mr. Peters of Peters Cartridge fame . But they weren’t hammer guns but rather crystal indicator guns . The 12 and 20 are gone but the 10 will be with u til they throw me in the box .

When we’re guiding a bird hunt and hear a hunter click his safety on and off a lot (usually on a pump or semi), that hunter is asked to leave the field. Trust me, even with hearing loss we can hear the tell-tale clicking of the safety.

I’ve hunted a lot of birds with a hammer gun and it’s carried cocked and action open. Keeps it safe.

Cocked and action open has been my hammer gun system for many years.

I always carry my hammer guns cocked with the action open in the field.

Further, when shooting clays, i will always cock my hammers before closing the breech… Cocking hammers after closing the breech on live shells leaves open the possibility of the hammer slipping off your thumb and causing an unintentional discharge.





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I do hunt grouse with hammer guns, I have 3 20s, but only do so when hunting by myself. Otherwise it's a 20 Parker VHE or a 28 Ugartechea or Dickinson

OK, I'll be the philistine here. Hammer guns just have never interested me, for a number of reasons - one of which is that I have enough trouble just getting my safety off :). They are pretty to look at though; wouldn't mind having one over my fireplace :cool:.

I am late to the conversation on this one! Steve, as you have read in the replies it's time for you to get a hammer gun...

I enjoy the history, quality and craftmanship that comes from a nice hammer gun. The Parker Lifter was such a great and ergonomically thought out design that I recommend you start there.

Shooting a hammer gun is just fun. Whether a double on clays or taking these treasures out in the field, these guns are just too much fun. I feel I shoot a hammer gun just as well as any other type of shotgun.

Once you get one, I will talk to you about shooting all brass black powder shells. like these guns would have shot when new.

Let us know when you get one :)

Further, when shooting clays, i will always cock my hammers before closing the breech… Cocking hammers after closing the breech on live shells leaves open the possibility of the hammer slipping off your thumb and causing an unintentional discharge.

I'm surprised how many guys I see cocking the hammers with the gun closed:shock::knowbetter:

But when shooting certain hammer guns, hammers can only be cocked after lever is too the left, so no other way

It took me a while to get used to closing the gun with hammers cocked . I was always a bit worried that a hammer might fall when closing . About the only negative I’ve had with a hammer gun was a Grade 1 top lever 16 gauge 30” that a couple times doubled on me . But the following day at the shop that SOB was apart and about four strokes with a file cured that BS !

Years ago I read everything that Ernest Hemingway wrote and I became a fan. Then I read three biographies (Baker, Hoochner and Hemmy himself ("A Moveable Feast") A few years ago I bought the first and then second edition of "Hemingway's Guns". Twenty years ago I started buying guns like Hemingway's. After a while I gave up trying because Hem had just too many, but I got a Winchester Model 12, a 16 gauge Auto 5, a nice engraved O/U, a .22 Winchester model 62, a Mannlicher Schoenauer (In '06), a Winny Model 70 (I'm pretending it's a Griffen and How, Springfield '06). Mine is in 270. Now I have a W.C. Scott which was Hemingway's favorite shotgun and the one he ended his days with. His wasn't a hammer gun. It was a double demascus, side lock engraved Model B. I think it was F & F. He was a great fan of Winchester Model 21s (20 gauge) which today are expensive and I'm not too wild about them. I have a Remy 1900 double which I like. A nice, light 12, steel barrels. BTW the gun that Hemingway blew his brains out with (and all over the little room he did the deed in) is no longer. Mary (his fourth and final wife) gave it to a handyman who cut it up and buried the bits in a field. He kept a few small pieces. People first thought it was a Boss, but it wasn't. It was a W.C. Scott.

As I age my former fascination with E.H. has waned. I think he was essentially a jerk. I read somewhere that all "real men" would like to either be like Hemingway, or be liked by him. Today, I'm not so sure. He owned some nice guns tho.

While not a Parker, I just got this nice hammer gun. A Lindner Daly mfg in about 1888. I too am in the group that carries the gun cocked with the action open. Another thing is that I always cock the gun with the action open as well, one time I had the hammer slip under my thumb while cocking the hammer.

What a wonderful shotgun, Dave. I remember about decade (2) ago meeting a guy in a gunshow who told me that Linder guns are the very best ever. I looked closely at them. Most (all) were out of my price range, but what a nice gun! My W.C. Scott looks quite a bit like your beautiful Linder. It'd be fun to go shooting them with you. I was just rooting around in my garage and ran across a case of RST 12s that I bought years ago. What a nice surprise! As a fan of Double Gun's guru Sherman Bell I shoot standard shells in my demascus guns, but I kinda feel better shooting RST.

Gentlemen:

Hello! I just took delivery of a new "toy".

http://i.imgur.com/5UnQeoih.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6rxffhzh.jpg

Is this the right place to discuss these sort of things?

I know that it's a mostly-unadorned #1 Frame 12-bore that was completed in 1887, I also know that it is referred-to as being a "Fish Tail" gun, it has 30-inch "Twist" tubes and an English stock. I intend to hunt it, so because of it's reportedly 2 5/8-inch chambers I will be using low-pressure 2 1/2-inch shells in it (RST). The tubes have adequate thickness (26k in the thinnest section) and are not pitted. I own several other Damascus hammer guns (American and otherwise) so this isn't a new adventure for me. I have a copy of one of Mr. Muderlak's books (Old Reliable) but it's not giving me very much about the technical nature of this artifact.

This gun has no grade designation marked upon it and there are only minimal stampings on it's barrel flats (I'm used to English guns), including a capitol "T" with semi-circles over and under it, and a big 3 with a smaller 12 next to it. I'm presuming the the "T" is for the "Twist" form of Damascus tubes and that the barrels originally weighed 3lbs12 upon completion?

Can anyone here educate me further on the fine points of this old Parker hammergun?

http://i.imgur.com/foYi5heh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZzgP0Kch.jpg

Researcher (& Dr. Drew) here will likely recognise some of this photography, but I think hammerguns are a literal blast to own & hunt with.

http://i.imgur.com/v8DIGBCh.png

We kill a number of ruffed grouse every year at our lake house in Minnesota, and some are even taken with hammerless guns...

That first gun sure has a nice buttstock. Is it factory or replacement?

That’s original and a nice shooting 10 . That guns in really good shape overall . The only restock I have is this one , it started life as a PG then when restocked changed to straight grip , it was also sent to Belgium to have a set of fluid steel 3 1/2” chambered barrels fitted to the gun and once back here the new barrels got Briley thin wall screw ins . So now it’s kind of a bastard two barrel set .

That is the gun I was referring to, really nice looking gun.

From my further reading here, it would appear that my recent acquisition is a Grade O, Quality U gun (am I right about that?). Rather a plain, entry level unit, but in very sound shape overall (& not bad for 138 years old). By comparison to some of my other American hammer guns (LC Smith & Ithaca) it measures up very favorably. I will be shooting it today for fit and function. Looking forward to that.

You would be fine shooting 2 3/4” low pressure shells in your Grade-0 Parker. Your chambers, if originally cut to 2 5/8” were cut for 2 3/4” shells. The practice of cutting chambers 1/8” shorter than the (fired) shell length was to make for a better gas seal in the cone.

You are correct in your other assumptions though we would refer your Twist barrels as a type of composite rather than a type of Damascus… but many people use the identification term you used so that’s certainly okay.






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