Which trigger do I use first on a side-by-side?

The advantage of a side-by-side with double triggers is that you can decide in an instant which barrel fires first.

By Mike George

Monday, 14 June 2010

I have a side-by-side game gun which fires the most lightly-choked barrel from the front trigger, and the tighter choke from the back. Are most game guns made like this?

Surely, when shooting driven game, the most distant targets demanding the tighter choke are tackled first. In these circumstances, do I pull the back trigger first, or am I missing something?

Shooting advice
MIKE GEORGE
You are right in that most side-by-sides fire the barrel with the most open choke via the front trigger.

You are also right in that, when shooting driven game, the first target is usually the most distant, demanding the tighter choke of the pair.

However, in walked-up shooting the reverse is true: the first target is usually the nearer of the pair.

You are not missing anything, and the only solution is, when shooting driven game and the circumstances demand, to pull the back trigger first.

This is where over-unders score over side-by-sides: you can set the barrel selector to fire the tightest choke first.

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Comments

Jim Powell

Tue, 6th Jul 2010 14:31:28

No problem with a double trigger 'old school' side by side. No selector to fumble with, just go for the trigger you need- incoming choke, outgoing, cylinder.