Noob Double barrel ignition and safety question

[tx77057]

Good morning all,

I have read somewhere in the past but could not find it.

When someone is hunting with a double percussion (shotgun or rifle) and ready to fire (upland birds or a charging grizzly)
Do you cock one hammer at a time? or both?

Now the real questions.

Does the recoil from the first shot, ever make the cap fall off from the other nipple. and making the second shot useless, or if leaving the second hammer down, does the first shot ever have enough power/ recoil to "bump fire" the second barrel, (sort of like leaving a hammer down on a live cap in a revolver).

Also, can the recoil , from the first barrel make the shot/bullet move alittle in the other barrel causing an "air gap" making the second barrel unsafe to shoot?


And one more, When most people fire one shot using a double, do you then wait until your second shot to load both barrels or just reload the one barrel and re-check the one that has not been fired.

Thanks in advance.

[coyotejoe]

Good questions. It's a matter of personal preference as to cocking both hammers or one by one. If the locks are good it should be safe to cock both hammers, recoil of the first barrel should not cause the second hammer to drop but it's best to test this first before capping the second barrel. And I've never lost the cap from the second barrel but I do make sure my caps fit properly. It is possible that firing one barrel may dislodge the load in the second barrel. That is very likely to happen if using minie balls or heavy loads of birdshot. When getting acquainted with a new double it is wise to load both barrels but only cap one barrel and and run the rod down the second barrel very lightly to see if the ball or top wad has moved forward. If it has then you'll need to re-seat that load and find a more secure top wad to prevent that. It's most likely to happen on the first shot with clean and oiled bores, less likely after a bit of fouling builds up.
It is advisable when reloading one barrel to remove the cap from the other but I must confess I generally don't. With some guns it is possible to cock both hammers with one sweep of the thumb but do practice that maneuver a lot with an empty gun before trying it in the field. You might also practice cocking one hammer as you mount the gun, pretend to fire and then cock the other with the gun at the shoulder. See what works for you and your gun. I generally handle any exposed hammer double, whether muzzle or breech loading, as if it were two singles. Of course there are situations, such as watching an incoming flock of doves or ducks where one has time to cock both barrels in advance.

[Rock Home Isle]

When someone is hunting with a double percussion (shotgun or rifle) and ready to fire (upland birds or a charging grizzly)
Do you cock one hammer at a time? or both?
Now the real questions.
Does the recoil from the first shot, ever make the cap fall off from the other nipple. and making the second shot useless, or if leaving the second hammer down, does the first shot ever have enough power/ recoil to "bump fire" the second barrel, (sort of like leaving a hammer down on a live cap in a revolver).
Also, can the recoil , from the first barrel make the shot/bullet move alittle in the other barrel causing an "air gap" making the second barrel unsafe to shoot?
And one more, When most people fire one shot using a double, do you then wait until your second shot to load both barrels or just reload the one barrel and re-check the one that has not been fired.

Thanks in advance.

I have never hunted Griz...but I have hunted a lot of geese and ducks and such.

I pull back both hammers back when I'm getting ready to lay 'em low and  I have never had a gun go off half cocked...yet.

I use CCI caps and since I switched to them I no longer loose caps from the other barrel when shooting.  But I also pinch them before I put them on.

If I don't shoot both barrels, then I always ram the unfired barrel to reseat everything. I do this when I'm reloading. Also if I have been carrying the gun for a while, I will stop periodically and ram the barrels to reseat the charges...especially if I have been carrying with barel down. Remove the caps whenever you reseat the barrels.