Has this ever happened to you ????

[Double Trouble]

Last night at the trap field (in the middle of a round), my Parker EH (ca. 1894) failed to fire.
I loaded the right barrel, called for a bird, and nothing happened. (No "click", nothing...) I opened the gun, glanced at the shell & its unmarked primer, and concluded that I must have done something wrong. So, I closed the gun, called for a bird, and again - nothing happened. (Yes, the safety was off) So, I unloaded the gun, closed it up, and pulled the triggers. Each pull resulted in a satisfying "click" as each hammer fell. I repeated this 4 or 5 times, with no problems... I loaded up & continued the round without any problems.

This was the first "problem" I ever had with this great old 10 gauge. I can actually shoot decent scores with this gun (even with 3/4 ounce RST 12 gauge shells & Gagemates) & I look forward to hunting with it this fall. M fear is this: is there something wrong with the gun ? Could this be a dangerous situation ?

My question is this: Has this every happened to anyone out there ?

What could the problem be ? Is it possible to open the gun & not open it far enough to cock the hammers ? Could a hammer sear be slipping & not retaining the hammer in the cocked position ?

I plan to shoot this gun a lot this summer (to see if it happens again). If it doesn't...should I worry ?

I know one cannot easily diagnose a problem over the internet, but does anyone have any ideas as to what's going on with my gun ?

Thanks !


John

[Dean Romig]

John, it has happened to me and is likely the result of opening the gun far enough to remove the spent shells but not far enough to cock the hammers, or maybe far enough to cock one but not the other depending on wear or internal crud. Once I discovered how it happened to me it has never happened again because I am conscious of fully opening the gun.

[Double Trouble]

Thanks Dean - I'm hoping that's the problem...

[Richard Flanders]

I concur with Dean. I have a VH12 that did that to me when I first owned it. It just needs to be opened all way. I have not found anything wrong inside it, not even something worn, but once I was aware of the problem it's not happened again. Whatever the issue is with yours, I sure would have it apart to carefully check for wear somewhere. It's a safety issue really. If something is wrong with a sear or notch or there is crud/sticks/rocks/grease/bugs built up somewhere, it needs to be fixed.

[Double Trouble]

Thanks Richard.

I'll keep on practicing with it this summer. If it EVER happens again, I'll send it to a 'smith.