Pedersoli sxs need help to adjust the full cock notch and dove hunting success photo

Went dove hunting opening weekend, not alot of birds but fun none the less. While shooting I found second shot a few times didn't go off when I pulled the trigger. Odd , I swear I cocked both hammers. Come to find out if I shoot the left barrel first the right hammer falls to half cock. Pulld the locks and found the angle of the right, problem lock to ne more strait than angled like the other side. It's not a problem if I shoot the right barrel first, but not ideal. It seems my
Needle files are too big for such a fine job. What tool is needed to make the adjustment properly?

This was my first time hunting doves in 22 years. Here is a photo of me with my first ML dove. I was extremely happy. Got great patterns out of my 10ga with a version of the VM Starr method ... 70gr 2f swiss, 4 op thin cards, 1 and 3/8 #7.5 lead, 2 os thin cards with off center holes.

Please check that the end of the sear bar is not being acted upon by its counterpart the opposite sear bar.
If so file the longest one to make clearance.

Britsmoothy said:

Please check that the end of the sear bar is not being acted upon by its counterpart the opposite sear bar.
If so file the longest one to make clearance.

Click to expand...

Not sure I understand exactly what you are saying but I think it's the recoil that is setting it off. Once I got home I disassembled, cleaned and lubed and smoothed the action. Upon reassembly I cocked both hammers and put some foam on the nipples. It works perfectly at home so I think it's recoil related.

If you need to ask which tool to use, take it to a qualified gunsmith and have the bugs worked out professionally.

.02

64Springer said:

If you need to ask which tool to use, take it to a qualified gunsmith and have the bugs worked out professionally.

.02

Click to expand...

Funny stuff, I thought this was what the forum was all about. I am a mechanic by trade.... if there's anything at my house that ain't broke, it's because I fixed it.

And I keep the pedersoli at my place.

What Brit says might be your issue. On some doubles, if you tighten the lock screw too tight, it draws the locks closer together and the sear bars, which are the part of the lock that protrudes perpendicular from the lock plate crossways through the lock mortise which the trigger puts upward pressure on, and bind on each other. This can have one sear set the other sear in motion. Either that, or your right lock sear nose on not fully engaging the half cock notch, which can be an inletting issue causing it to bind on the wood on the lock mortise. Hope this helps

Sear notch fixture Brownells

Blackpowderart said:

Pulld the locks and found the angle of the right, problem lock to ne more strait than angled like the other side. It's not a problem if I shoot the right barrel first, but not ideal. It seems my
Needle files are too big for such a fine job. What tool is needed to make the adjustment properly?

Click to expand...

Blackpowderart said:

Funny stuff, I thought this was what the forum was all about. I am a mechanic by trade.... if there's anything at my house that ain't broke, it's because I fixed it.

Click to expand...

If it’s not interference from stock wood, it’s likely someone did a free hand Bubba tuneup to the tumbler sear notch surface in the past (if this were a new gun, guessing you would have contacted Pedersoli). The proper tool to correct the notch angle would be a honing fixture. May want to check places like Brownells to see if they have one that will work on your Pedersoli, though it’s pretty unlikely. If you are looking for a dyi repair, consider a replacement tumbler. Without getting the angles just right, unintended attempted discharges are possible, until the half cock notch ultimately fails… at which point you will get unintended ‘successful’ discharges.

Not an actual fix, but for a work around, you should be able to swap the triggers, reversing the trigger firing order from front to back, though the difference in the chokes between the two barrels may be an issue for you.

skwerleater said:

What Brit says might be your issue. On some doubles, if you tighten the lock screw too tight, it draws the locks closer together and the sear bars, which are the part of the lock that protrudes perpendicular from the lock plate crossways through the lock mortise which the trigger puts upward pressure on, and bind on each other. This can have one sear set the other sear in motion. Either that, or your right lock sear nose on not fully engaging the half cock notch, which can be an inletting issue causing it to bind on the wood on the lock mortise. Hope this helps

Click to expand...

It

SDSmlf said:

Sear notch fixture Brownells



If it’s not interference from stock wood, it’s likely someone did a free hand Bubba tuneup to the tumbler sear notch surface in the past (if this were a new gun, guessing you would have contacted Pedersoli). The proper tool to correct the notch angle would be a honing fixture. May want to check places like Brownells to see if they have one that will work on your Pedersoli, though it’s pretty unlikely. If you are looking for a dyi repair, consider a replacement tumbler. Without getting the angles just right, unintended attempted discharges are possible, until the half cock notch ultimately fails… at which point you will get unintended ‘successful’ discharges.

Not an actual fix, but for a work around, you should be able to swap the triggers, reversing the trigger firing order from front to back, though the difference in the chokes between the two barrels may be an issue for you.

Click to expand...

It was a new gun. My first black powder gun. I have had it for 3 years. When I got the first one it had several issues...they wanted me to send it to their gun smith 1 week after purchase who personally contacted me and told me it would be atleast 6-8 months before he could even look at it. I demanded a replacement and fortunately got it. I have only hunted turkey, shot it for a pattern and duck hunted twice last year. So I haven't really used both barrels alot and never have had a gun with 2 triggers so I can't say for sure which I shot first on those occasions.

For those reasons I prefer to fix it myself, whether that be fixing the parts I have or just replacing them. It's hunting season and the only shotgun I have at the moment. I will disassemble again and take a closer look at the things mentioned. Will find out Saturday if the issue is still there. There is no further damage done at this point because it only happend 2 or 3 times before I caught it and started firing the right barrel first from then on. Thanks for the unput

Blackpowderart said:

It was a new gun. My first black powder gun. I have had it for 3 years. When I got the first one it had several issues...they wanted me to send it to their gun smith 1 week after purchase who personally contacted me and told me it would be atleast 6-8 months before he could even look at it. I demanded a replacement and fortunately got it.

Click to expand...

I am not sure if that is good or bad news. Although it may mean little to nothing to you, the 12 gauge Pedersoli double I own was proofed in 1978 and has shot an unknown number of rounds through it without issue since some initial tweaking. Once you get things figured out, I expect you will have a very dependable gun. Wish you luck on your journey. And hopefully it is a short and successful journey.

It's also not unheard of for Pedersoli sears to chip !

What ever it is it'll be something simple.

You can get a thin cutting disc for a dremel. Don't use the dremel tool! Use the disc by hand. You can put it in the notch and using the edge and sides, even the notch and gain a little depth by swiping it back and forth - you'll figure out how to use it by hand as soon as you look at it. You can hold it secure and rub the sear bar on it to get that line and edge straight. When you try it and are satisfied it works, I'd consider hardening the parts again. Same could be accomplished with a very thin file of the right course-ness. You just need to make sure the bar is squarely in the notch and doesn't come out with any wiggle room that parts have. If it is even with little movement, obviously you need to fire it a few times and see where your at. Blacken the parts, shoot and look at them. The contact should be even and equal.

I just got a new ML shotgun that worked for the first 5-shots on the left barrel. After that it would not hold the cocked position at all. Inspection showed a little chip - like Britsmoothie mentioned. I used two types of discs with different abrasion and a thin file. I fit it and tried it doing very little at a time. I deepened and squared the notch and the sear bar end so they had a lot of contact. It took 4 tries. Once it worked, I shot 8 times, including the other barrel to make sure the recoil wouldn't cause the opposing sear to let go. Satisfied it worked, I re-hardened the parts and then shot 12 more shots from each barrel. All is well now....

Stones either diamond, natural, or ceramic are used to correct the angle on the sear or tumbler notches properly. Using a Dremel may/will get you into trouble. The use of a fixture is strongly recommended. You need to stone the face of either the sear or tumbler notch or both squarely to get proper engagement and release of the sear. Eye magnification is also recommended.

It's not unusual for Pedersoli inletting to be need some debugging. So I would look at that. How tight is the sear bolt on that right lock? It shouldn't be too tight or too loose; adjusting it tends to alter the trigger pull weight. Trying different "adjustments" on a trial and error method is useful.

Best of luck with it.
Looks like you are doing rather well in spite of it all.