How often do you use your set trigger?

[roundball]

Always.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Even my 22rf Target pistol has a set trigger

Thought about putting one on a trapdoor

My 22 hornet has a set trigger too.

I have more than a few without sets, but I'd rather have sets

 

[smo]

Any time I fire a shot. :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

...If there's no time to set the trigger then there's probably no time to aim. It ain't shotgunning.

Au contraire. In my world at least.

If you're waiting for a deer to stand long enough for you to set the trigger and all that, you better start collecting Spam and balogna recipes. :rotf:

In our tight brush you have split seconds to aim and fire on a usually moving target. And the deer don't "pattern" well enough for stands. You have to walk and stalk (actual "still hunting" in classic terms). Last deer I shot was at 35' and quartering away, mostly cuzz I was too slow to shoulder after jumping it at around 15'. The one before that I jumped at 10' and dropped going pretty much flat out at 20'. Think "quail" hunting for big hairy quail. :wink:

I'd take any single trigger gun, rotten trigger or not, over a gun that required me to set the trigger every single time. Just not in the cards here.

 

[FishDFly]

Everyone hunts different. Here we hunt from box blinds, 4'X4' or much larger.

Mine are 4'X6'X7'tall, heated, with two padded chairs and carpet on the walls and the floor, magazine racks and hooks for Sony Walkman's and Game Boys. In the old days, before crappy TV, we had TV's, battery powered in the blinds to see the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Suffer when it's cold, not me, I am a wimp.

If you insulate a blind correctly, a set trigger is not heard when pulled.

Some folks have sleeping bags and pillows, that is kind of pushing edge.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Every time I shoot. Have them on my .40,.50 and .54 When you get used to using them it's like developing a reflex. Works for me.

 

[Stumpkiller]

On my rifles that had one - every time. But my two favorire rifles don't have set triggers and I haven't hunted with a set trigger since 1995 or thereabouts. I find I prefer a good single (unset) trigger.

Especially when hunting with gloves or mittens on.

 

[Walks with fire]

I have always prefered a single trigger. I only hunt deer for the most part. I don't like the extra metal that hangs down from the wrist with the double trigger guards either.

I use TC rifles and swap out the spring in the TC lock with a ball point pen spring. Makes my single trigger about 3 lbs. and no creep. I would also like to modify the hammer a bit so that my thumb would rest on it comfortably when stalking. Our deer dives put deer past you quick and short rifles with single triggers work best for that.

If stand hunting alone I could see where a long rifle and set triggers would work a little better perhaps for rested shots at standing deer.

 

[Vaino]

An instance that comes to mind asre DSTs....we were elk hunting in Colorado and my buddy after climbing a pretty steep grade saw a nice bull, set the trigger and between his breathing hard and the excitement, touched the trigger before he was even on target. Well, to make a long story short, he did this same thing once more and while he was loading the 3rd shot, the bull walked away.

Under ideal conditions and w/ plenty of time, DSTs would be useable...but, a well tuned single trigger would be less complicated. I don't need a trigger pull in ounces and in fact wouldn't want that light a trigger pull for hunting. Cold weather is another reason why I don't use DSTs for hunting.

My highly accurate squirrel rifle has shot the heads off 100s of squirrels and it has a single trigger w/ a 2 lb pull.

DSTs are ideal for target shooting and if some prefer them for hunting, so be it...but, using a DST entails an added operation which if it became a habit, would "screw up" my grouse hunting.

I think the reason so many use a DST is that the unset front triggers on many rifles, especially factory mades, have very hard front trigger pulls for liability reasons.

Again, if a DST is what you prefer,go w/ it...but, have you ever tried a properly set up single trigger?.....Fred

 

[Travis Gregory]

I happen to agree with you Fred. The only rifle I own that has a set trigger is my CVA Mtn rifle. I was just wondering what the majority of other guys use. Hunting deer where I do some shots in tight brush must be executed rather quickly with no time to pull 2 triggers. Other times I have minutes to execute a shot. I guess I will install a DST and set the front trigger up with a 3# pull and then have the set for really fine work.

 

[BrownBear]

Especially when hunting with gloves or mittens on.

An instance that comes to mind asre DSTs....we were elk hunting in Colorado and my buddy after climbing a pretty steep grade saw a nice bull, set the trigger and between his breathing hard and the excitement, touched the trigger before he was even on target. Well, to make a long story short, he did this same thing once more and while he was loading the 3rd shot, the bull walked away.

You both said a mouthful.

AD's are an issue with gloves even at the range. We've had to be militant in our safety management. No finger goes into a trigger guard until the rifle is shouldered and pointed down range, because sure as shooting a glove is going to find the delicate trigger before the finger knows it's there.

Add some sweat, heavy breathing and a little buck fever and AD's can easily happen, even without gloves.

 

[laufer]

i either set it at half cock, and do not worry when you need a quick shot on deer in deep woods, or use it as intended on elk and bear and small game. works for me either way.

 

[Spikebuck]

Another vote for every time.
Why wouldn't you use it?

I'm surprised to hear a "northern" Minnesota person ask that question. :grin:

Answer: because when hunting in cold conditions (cold for us Northerners, not the Southern variety of cold) and using heavier gloves, the set trigger can cause the main trigger to go off before you really want it to since you don't have as good of feel and pull is now measured in ounces.

I use my set trigger when sighting in. Then I never use it unless I've got a gun with a front trigger pull that's excessive.

 

[FishDFly]

I am from the South, not your part of the country.

I was raised that you do not shoot guns hunting with gloves, no excuse to do so.

At what point do gloves become "NEEDED" to keep you hand from sticking to the metal on a gun and becoming a safety issue to the hunter?

 

[Vaino]

Evidently you have absolutely no experience hunting in really cold temps....like 10 below zero. Gloves are a fact of life when hunting in such low temps. But whether or not the temps are low, a properly tuned single trigger is an easy way to shoot...why complicate matters w/ 2 triggers.

It's been said many times that DSTs were and are a fad and really have no place on a hunting rifle. I agree. But, if some persist in overly complicating the simple operation of pulling the trigger, so be it.

Modern rifles don't have DSTs....I wonder why?.....Fred

 

[FishDFly]

Again, I stated I have NO EXPERIENCE IN COLD TEMPS, LIKE 10 BELOW ZERO, I asked a simple question to learn.

Simple fact of life, we do not see temps. that low, I was trying to learn and understand, thanks for the rude education.

I am still allowed my own opinion unless the Mod's have stopped that.

 

[Spikebuck]

At what point do gloves become "NEEDED" to keep you hand from sticking to the metal on a gun and becoming a safety issue to the hunter?

In our late muzzleloader season, heck...even during the later regular gun seasons...temperatures and weather can be brutal. Air temps in the single digits above or below are common and wind chills well below zero very frequent. That's why the distinction between "Northern" and "Southern" cold. Not meant to be a slap to anyone living in the South, just natural that one's body becomes used to it's environment.

Now, one can slip off a glove, or pull it out of a hand muff, but if you have to wait 15 or 20 minutes while a deer finishes feeding or moving into perfect shot position, a bare finger could be frozen by then.

I like to use a heavier cotton glove inside "glo-mitts" so I can keep my hands in the glomits until I have to flip open the "mit" portion, then hopefully the heavy cotton keeps my fingers warm enough while I wait for the perfect shot. I can feel the trigger with this setup, but with numbing fingers and the glove, I like more trigger pull than a couple of ounces. I find 2 - 4 pounds to be adequate.

In our late season, deer HAVE to feed, so despite the weather, I'm out there whether it's snowing, blowing, whatever. If you locate in a feeding area, you will probably get some action.

 

[Vaino]

Any "type" of education is enightening. I'm sure that if I hunted in the South in warmer temps, I'd probably feel "out of sorts" at the end of a hunt as much as you'd probably think you're out of your element in 10 below zero temps after a couple of hours of hunting.

All I'm saying is this....if DSTs were that good or necessary, why aren't they on modern hunting rifles? The answer is that modern rifles have better triggers...unlike the "unaided" front triggers on many popular factory made MLers......Fred

 

[FishDFly]

Any "type" of education is enightening. I'm sure that if I hunted in the South in warmer temps, I'd probably feel "out of sorts" at the end of a hunt as much as you'd probably think you're out of your element in 10 below zero temps after a couple of hours of hunting.


Opening day here can be as low as 28 degrees or so, or it can be 90 degrees with 90% humidity and we hunt in shorts and T-shirts and heat is a major problem for the folks from up north.

Just trying to learn. We used carbon tet my Father's rifle to hunt polar bear to keep it from freezing, do know about cold a bit and freezing of guns.

I have hunted to below 20 below zero, not my idea of fun.

Will not be my world in the future.

 

[BrownBear]

At what point do gloves become "NEEDED" to keep you hand from sticking to the metal on a gun and becoming a safety issue to the hunter?

At the point your fingers aren't really sensitive enough to feel a delicate trigger. Different temps for some, but if you've been handling a cold gun for a few hours, you'd be surprised how "warm" it can be and you still don't have enough sensation in your fingers. I've had it happen as warm as 35-40 degrees or so. Someone with less circulation in their hands (like my wife) will be donning gloves at even higher temps. Guns are near perfect heat sinks, and they'll chill your hands faster than sickum even if there's no ice on the puddles or frost on the grass.