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Delicate and Dangerous

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Joined
Jul 8, 2004
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There is a program on the History Channel were these two guys wander the country buying odds and ends of old stuff for its overlooked value. One of these things is what they cal a "two trigger" rifle and which, or most of us call a rifle with double-set trigger set up. This is controlled by a very small screw located between the two triggers. Screwing this small item will adjust the stengthrequired to fire the rifle. You've loaded and aimed your rifle. you pull the rear trigger and hear a clicks it cocks the trigger. Then you pull the front trigger a much reduced job and the rifle will fire.
This is very handy if you tend to jerk the ordinary trigger throwing your rifle off its mark.
This can be fine tuned to where only the lightest touch will cause the rifle to go off.
This is nice but it is also very dangerous.The more you engage the small screw the less pressure will activate the action. In experiments I had both my "Hawken" rifles with not much more than the thought of causing the firing process to happen.
This also called a "hair Trigger" and cab be a terrible accident waiting to happen. Fully adjusted a leaf pressing against the front trigger will cause the unexpected firing hopefully with rifle aimed safely into outer space or the near by grand.
The double set trigger. in my opinion. should never be used when hunting and at the target range preferably when few other folks are near by.
There is also the Single Set Trigger, The Browning .50 Hawken style rifle had it/ You engaged it by pushing the trigger forward till it clicked and then back to fire with a much decrease amount of strength required.
Dutch Schoultz
 
Which way do you turn the set screw to lighten/increase the strength of the trigger pull?

We just bought a used, older (ser no 17,xxx) T/C Hawken .50 calibre rifle. It seems to me that when we engage the rear trigger, the trigger pull is verging on unsafely light. I cautioned my son not to use it until we understand the operation better.
 
I gotta say I never had trouble with a set trigger. My first build rifle was 6oz trigger. I never had it go off by accident.
Most of my shooting has been with smoothies and single trigger these last twenty years, but still have very light sets on rifles.
 
Screw the adjusting screw out to make the trigger less delicate. As the screw comes out the engagement between the triggers increases, if unscrewed very far you will have a lot of creep when firing.
 
Which way do you turn the set screw to lighten/increase the strength of the trigger pull?

We just bought a used, older (ser no 17,xxx) T/C Hawken .50 calibre rifle. It seems to me that when we engage the rear trigger, the trigger pull is verging on unsafely light. I cautioned my son not to use it until we understand the operation better.
IT HAS BEEN YEARS AND MY RIFLES ARE GATHERING DUST IN KANSAS CITY BUT IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY THE FURTHER IN THE SMAL SCREW IS MOVED INTO THE LOCK, THE LIGHTER THE TOUCH IT REQUIRES THE THE SET TRIGGER TO LIGHTEN THE PRESSURE NEEDED.
A HALF TURN CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. IT IS A SURPRISINGLY DELICATE ADJUSTMENT SCREW FOR SUCH AN OLD TIME STYLE DEVICE.

YOU ARE WISE TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS IN FUSSING WITH IT BECAUSE IT CAN BE SET SO PRECISLY THE A MOUSE'S COGH OR THE WEIGHT OF A LEAF COULD FIRE THE RIFLE. TO ME A RIFLE WITH THE SET TRIGGER ADJUSTED FOR SUCH A LIGHT TOUCH IS SIMPLY A TIME BOMB WITH NO SENSE OF SAFETY INVOVLED. USED SENSIBLY IT CAN BE A NICE ACCESSORY BUT MUCH FOOLING AROUND AND LEARNING ALL ABOUT IT BEFORE USE IS REQUIRED
THIS MAY SOUND RIDICULOUS BUT ONE DAY WHEN I WAS THE ONLY PERSON THERE I HAD THE DOUBLE SET TRIGGER ADJUSTED FOR SO LIGHT A TOUCH THAT WITH MY FINGER BARELY TOUCHING THE FRONT TRIGGER THE VETHOUGHT OF TIRE! WITH NO CONCIOUS MOVEMENT OF MY TRIGGER FINGER WOULD CAUSE THE RIFLE TO FIRE FROM JUST THE IMPERCEPTIBLE TREMOR THAT WENT DOWN MY AT THE THOUGHT.
THIS IS SCARY STUFF
I DIDN'T HAVE AN EXTRA ME TO WARN ME FROM SUCH FOOLISHNESS.
VERY FEW GUYS CAN LOOK BACK AT THEIR LIFE WITHOUT AMAZEMENT THAT THEY SURVIVED THE STUPID THINGS THEY TRIED AND ARE STILL ALIVE. A LOT OF US MAY TRY TOERASE MEMORIES OF
THE STUPID STUFF THEY HAVE TRIED. THE STORY BEGINS " WHY. ONCE ON MY BIKE HEADINDOWN A STEEP HILL G FOR A FIVE STREET INTERSECTION I.....
DUTCH
 
I have double triggers on most of my rifles. Unset, the front trigger should have a four to six pound let off. In the set position, the trigger will have more creep, but will be much lighter - in the eight ounce range. I have long held that if you walk around with the trigger set, you might want to take up a different sport.
 
I have double triggers on most of my rifles. Unset, the front trigger should have a four to six pound let off. In the set position, the trigger will have more creep, but will be much lighter - in the eight ounce range. I have long held that if you walk around with the trigger set, you might want to take up a different sport.
WELL SAID. WALKING AROUND WITH THE TRIGGER SET IS NINE KINDS OF STUPID. YOU MAY SURVIVE THE BIG SURPRISE BUT YOUR NEARBY FRIEND MIGHT NOT.

A WORRISOME THING IS THAT THAT SMALL SCREW IS USUALLY HALF WAY OUT IN A SAFE PLACE BUT THE NEWBIE SEES IT AND THINKS. "OH HO A LOOSE SCREW AND TIGHTENTS ITUP.
DUTCH
 
WELL SAID. WALKING AROUND WITH THE TRIGGER SET IS NINE KINDS OF STUPID. YOU MAY SURVIVE THE BIG SURPRISE BUT YOUR NEARBY FRIEND MIGHT NOT.

A WORRISOME THING IS THAT THAT SMALL SCREW IS USUALLY HALF WAY OUT IN A SAFE PLACE BUT THE NEWBIE SEES IT AND THINKS. "OH HO A LOOSE SCREW AND TIGHTENTS ITUP.
DUTCH
I SEE WE HAVE STIRRED UP SOME ACTIVITY OON THE FORUM BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOUR COMMENTS WERE ALL OR MOST DIREECTEV AT ME. THERE ARE ALL SORS OF FOLKS ON THE FORUM THAT I RESPECT ANDTO WHOM YOU COULD ALSO DIRECT YOUR STATEMENTS AND QUESTIONS THERE IS ZONIE AND RIFLEMAN 1776 FROM ARKANSAS ANDBILLNPATTI IN AUSTIN. TEXAS. THE ARCH NON WIPER ART FLEENER WHO I THINK LARGELY DISAGREES WITH ME YETMANAGES TO BE A GOOD SHOT. SOMEHOW.
IF YOU HAVE A PRACTICE OR A BELIEF THAT YOU THINK WORKS WELL BUT IS A BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IS USUALLY POSTED THERE, PUT IT ON THE FORUM FOR ALL TO SEE. IF IT WORKS FOR YOU IT IS NOT WRONG AND WE ALL MIGHT LEARN FROM IT.
I HAVE HAD PEOPLE CAPABLE AND SUCCESSFUL ACCURATE SHOOTERS WHO THINK THEY MAY BE DOING IT WRONG AND SO ARE QUIET ABOUT THEIR DISCOVERIES AND METHODS.
THERE IS. I DON'T THINK, ONLY ONE WAY TO ACHIVE SUCCESS AND THE MORE WAYS WE KNOW ABOUT TRULY BROADENS OUR INDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S INVOLVED IN THE SPORT.

THE KEYBOARD IS GETTING HARDER TO SEE IT SEEMS. I BELIEVE I MISSPELLED GARNIFARBLE AND DURFNIFF.
DUTCH
 
Well I've had modern "set" triggers where you could adjust the poundage. I thought some of ours on ML's were also that way. oooops :oops:

I was informed by Zonie I think, that the double set triggers that we find on our muzzle loaders don't actually change the poundage for the pull. They change the amount of distance the front trigger moves before releasing the mechanism. It's not a "hair trigger" because the weight of a hair will cause it to go off. It's a "hair trigger" because all you need to do is move it the width of a hair and it will go off. ;)

IF Dutch is saying that a lot of the double set triggers can be set with too little slack, I'd agree. I don't think they are all that much of a problem if one is not going from half-cock to full cock until the rifle is pointed down range at the proper target. I for one would not want a double-set trigger where the trigger had to be "set" before going to half-cock.

Still they do have a good application I think, for some rifles. I don't have them on all of my rifles, and I do just fine with plain triggers. They do seem to be an advantage for the folks reaching 100-150 yards, especially with a flintlock, whether it's a deer or a target.

LD
 
Nothing dangerous at all about a set trigger. You pull the trigger when you are aimed and ready to fire. You don't pull the trigger when you are not aimed and don't want to fire. Same for both the front and the rear trigger. Rear trigger does not fire the gun. Front trigger does. Ridiculous to say that pulling the rear trigger makes a gun dangerous, but pulling the front trigger does not. Only an idiot would be running around with the gun cocked and the trigger set.
 
As a point of reference, the ISSF sets no downside limit for trigger pull weight for rifles. Pistols must have either 500g, or 1000g minimum pull weights (depending on discipline).
 
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