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Definition of Double Triggers

By Russ Chastain, About.com

Empire Arms double barrel "rabbit ear" shotgun, showing double triggers and trigger guard.

Empire Arms double barrel "rabbit ear" shotgun, showing double triggers and trigger guard.

Photo copyright Russ Chastain
Definition: Some guns have double triggers, to fire more than one barrel, most notably double-barrel guns, and most common of all is the double-barrel shotgun. In this case, the arrangement is usually such that one trigger will fire the left barrel and the other will fire the right barrel.

In the case of an over/under shotgun with double triggers, one trigger will usually fire the top barrel and the other will fire the bottom barrel. This is not always the case - some shotguns, notably early Browning Superposed over/under shotguns, allow the shooter to fire both barrels using either of the two triggers.

Double triggers are arranged so that one trigger is in front of the other. After firing using one of the triggers, the shooter withdraws the shooting finger from the trigger guard and places it on the other trigger, in order to fire again.

Pronunciation: dub-ul trig-erz
Examples: The old side-by-side scattergun had double triggers, one per barrel.

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