Shooting hammer guns

[Seth Mackay-Smith]

Yes. The number of times I've gotten an unexpected adrenaline rush from hunting with guys who "know guns", be they cops or just longtime hunters, I couldn't count. I really like seeing what other folks do to keep safe, as it helps show that is not about how much you've shot - it's about respecting the situation and those you hunt with.

[Bill Murphy]

I have hunted with people who didn't know how to handle guns, I have shot skeet with people who didn't know how to handle guns, I have shot competitive box birds and Columbaire with people who didn't know how to handle guns. If any of those people look like they are going to harm someone, it is up to me to handle the situation, and I always have. I know people who have shot dogs, and if I had been on the same hunt, they never would have shot a dog. The fellow who shot a dog was a friend, a friend who didn't know how to handle a gun, even though he owned hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of shotguns. I can't imagine what a Columbaire thinks of the gun handling that sometimes goes on when he is throwing birds.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Dean H Hanson

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.

I ended up buying a W.C. Scott hammer gun made in 188five. Sent the money off, but have not received the gun yet. I hope everything turns out okay. I'm a bit nervous. But the gun looks, from the pictures, like a nice gun. C hammers, damascus barrels, of course. I have never shot a hammer gun, but I like thinking about how I will.

[Lloyd McKissick]

Mr. Hanson: has the seller provided you with a tracking number for your for shipment or a least a confirmation that the gun is in transit?

[Dean Romig]

Steve McCarty - you’re going to really enjoy that gun!





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[Lloyd McKissick]

Hammerguns are arguably the most artistic version of a fine double. The British really evolved the form on these types of guns and their examples can be pretty spectacular (go look on Vintage Doubles sometime, Kirby's got some great examples there). Domestic hammers were not commonly produced to that level here, but we came close with several makers (Parker seems to be the most prominent, followed by Smith). When my larder is full-enough and the weather supports it, I put away my "modern" weapons and drag my hammer guns afield to add another component of interest to the hunt.

Everything has to be nearly perfect to succeed (the aforementioned weather, field conditions, & you), but when it works it is very satisfying...



This very early Lang started life as a pinfire.

Hammerguns can also be alot of fun on a sporting clays range. They do need to be fairly substantial (to handle the shot volume and to sop-up all of that recoil) but when a proper version is found, they will really stand out amongst the guns of your fellow shooters.



This big & heavy Ithaca NIG has a 32-inch tubeset that weighs 5-lbs all by itself.



This gun closely mimics the weight and dimensions of my far-more conventional stackbarrel target gun.

[Stepmac]

I love those Sherman Bell articles in DGJ that detail his testing of damascus barrels. He did his best to blow them up. He honed an L.C. Smith barrel to "paper thin" and loaded it with proof shells and it still would not let go. I shoot several damascus barreled guns and like them. BTW: I was reading my copy of "Parker Guns" today. I read a story saying that Americans in the 19th Century liked heavy guns overloaded when compared to English guns, saying that the Brits preferred light loads and light guns. My antique American double guns are HEAVY.

[Lloyd McKissick]

Stepmac: There's a place for a wide range of weights in my battery of hammer guns.

Upland bird guns need to be light enough to carry all day and still be able to respond to a flush quickly. My Lang sidelever hammer is 6 1/4lbs and that's where it mostly gets used. This recent #1 framed Parker hammer should serve well on prairie birds at 7 1/4lbs, and my almost 9lb Ithaca NIG is nearly perfect for sporting clays.

American guns usually had to do it all for their mostly 1-gun owners (upland, waterfowl, & target) and "heavy" was the default position for so many of those makers.

[Harry Collins]

when I lived in Italy 53 years ago, I purchased a hammered 20 gauge Bernadelli Brescia. I shot several flats of shells a week at skeet. I wanted to improve my field hunting. At every station that presented doubles I would cock the right barrel coming to my shoulder and drop the gun a bit to cock the left barrel for the second shot. I never broke 100, but I got pretty handy with the little gun. I took my first double ever on Pheasant in the mountains of Italy. It's one hell of a lot of fun. You can't go wrong.

[Stepmac]

I just received my new very old Hammer Gun. It is a W.C. Scott made in 18eighty-five (My five key is broken). Wood is very nice. The damascus is a little hard to make out, but not too bad. "C" hammers that rebound. Mint bores a little ding on the outside of one barrel 8inches from the bore. Think I'll ignore it. 28 inch barrels, not too heavy. Not too much fine engraving, but what is there is nice. Gun mounts well, should be fun to shoot and easy to carry. Im 80 for goodness sakes! It's F&F. I'm going to try it at trap for grins.