Single Trigger Opinions

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by William Stevenson

The single trigger problems I've had were caused by others with not enough Experience working on Parker Reproductions.
These guns have complex trigger mechanisms and need experienced Parker gunsmiths to tune them up. Reproductions can be a pain to maintain but they are so delightful to shoot the effort is worthwhile. The 28ga and 16ga are my favorites.

Which begs the question, for such a 'new' gun (30ish years old) why would several dozens of them have needed either skilled or unskilled gunsmiths repairing these single triggers if there wasn't a weakness in them from the start? Was it a design subject to failure.... or was it that the single trigger mechanism was not properly assembled/polished/tested right from the manufacturer?

I agree that they are a delight to shoot but I don't understand the "pain to maintain"? How so?






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[C.O.B.]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;220825]
I agree that they are a delight to shoot but I don't understand the "pain to maintain"? How so?

Maybe because they weren't built by the skilled craftsmen of times long past but more assembled by modern means with less attention to detail.

[William Stevenson]

I bought a 20 guage repro new in the day. The rest of my repros were bought used thru the internet. 2 of the 5 had to be repaired, I consider that to be a bit of a pain to pay for shipping and repairs on guns that were presented as functional.
I'm not making a statement on ST guns in general, I'm letting the forum know what I experienced. Your experience may be perfect if no one has felt the need to "fix" your gun. Some complex mechanisms work perfectly, some don't. I like the guns enough to pay the piper, some people don't. Bill

[Harry Collins]

About the only problem I've found with a single trigger is the the timeing/pressure of the tang and rear floor plate screw. Oh and the lack of another trigger.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Harry Collins

About the only problem I've found with a single trigger is the the timeing/pressure of the tang and rear floor plate screw. Oh and the lack of another trigger.

Same here Harry. The only ST Repro I had was a ST 20 ga. BTFE, SG, and I had the same problem... my others were DT 28's. I don't know if the wood had shrunk but the screw in the top tang loosened over time. When I tightened it - and I don't believe I over-tightened it - the ST slide switch was almost impossible to operate. Rather than add a shim under the top tang I just lived with it and kept it in the position to fire the right barrel first. It really didn't matter with the Q-1 and Q-2 chokes it had.

But the gun never doubled on me.






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[Bill Murphy]

As I posted earlier, Roundsworth has the answer and the name of the gunsmith that can fix it. He told me this week that it takes more time to take the gun apart than it does to fix the problem. Reread his post.

[Mike Murphy]

Some insight on doubling.....I've several Parker reproduction in all gauges except .410. Most are single trigger guns and I've never had a problem. However, I currently have TWO (2) original Parkers that are in for repair with G&H. They double often. It is possible that there is a design/engineering issue with the Parker single trigger that may only show up in a small minority of guns.

[Big D]

Based on a too-small, sample (one 1924 DHE which I recently bought from Jeff L), with a Miller SST, it has performed flawlessly through about 500 rounds.

[Alan Ebright]

Here’s an update on my SST 28ga. Gun was NIB purchased Jan’24. Came with original purchase receipt. Was worried about shooting 40yr old gun that had just been sitting in its case, so I called a couple of proficient smiths and they said to go shoot it and see. I put 750 3/4 oz. loads through it over a 5 month period. It doubled on me twice in that period. Then one day after firing both barrels, it locked shut. Finally opened it after it cooled down, but then only 1 barrel would fire. If I switched the selector to the other barrel, only that barrel would fire. However, when the snap caps were in, both pins would go. Strange?
Found a talented gunsmith from a guy in my SxS group, and he diagnosed it over the phone. Took it to him and he fixed it in 15 mins.
It was the inertia blocker (counter weight) in the trigger assembly. Looks like two tiny pendulums that sit right next to each other. The inertia blocker exists because anyone firing a single trigger inadvertently pulls it a second time from the recoil. It’s there so the gun doesn’t double. They needed to be lubed, simple as that. The inertia system doesn’t engage when dry firing or using snap caps.
FWIW, the smith told me the Parker single trigger is actually a well made assembly and it just needs to be maintained. He knew of no design flaw leading to doubling problems. He’s been in the biz since ‘81 and seen plenty.

[Chuck Loveless]

My 28 ga. repo was doubling quite often so I contacted Larry Delgrego and talked with him about it. He said that he had repaired hundreds of them with the same problem. His shop is within 40 minutes of me, so I met him there and he immediately knew what the problem was. Long story short, he had to anneal the sears, recut them and reharden them a few times while test shooting a few boxes of shells until they were correct. No problem since, just my experience!