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William Ford Triggers


hillside1945
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​I have owned my 12 guage side by side William Ford about a year. At the end of the last shooting season the single trigger began to misfire, and since then I have had it at my local gunsmith for repair.

​They eventually improved the trigger from misfiring every time, to about 4 in 10--an improvement but still not right.

 

I am now being advised that they cannot make any more adjustments as the fault is likely to be on the tumbler, the spring or both. They explained that after the first fire, the single trigger does not appear to be at the "return" point to allow it to pick up the next barrel. (remember that this explanation is from a "non techie").

 

​I don't want to scrap the gun because of cost , so I thought that someone at Pigeon Watch could offer me advice or suggest a next step.

 

Any comments would be welcome.

 

Thanks.

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Single triggers can be a nightmare . There are many designs ans variations In many instances it is not just possible to make adjustment ans will need new parts /springs etc to make the work correctly . This will take time and money if you can find a good man to do the work . In my near 50 years in the trade single trigger work was a job to be avoided as much as possible .

 

One question , is the stock in good condition ? if it is only slightly loose or if the pins are or have been over tightened to compensate can have a serious effect .

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As Gunman said they can be a nightmare to fault find and fix, mate of mine stocker/gunsmith used to do work for Boss, he used to hate it when they sent a single trigger gun in for repair, remember a nice Boss boxlock single trigger with the same fault as the OP it took him over a week to get it setup right.

 

I presume this gun is none selective and is mechanical as opposed to inertia?

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The Italians and Americans managed to get single triggers reliable; the English and Spanish never did. They can be got to work, and will work for ages, but once they do go out seem to be the very devil to fix.

I have a Spanish one - and it will sometimes do several hundred shots no problem - then play up. Been to several skilled people none of whom can see any problems to 'put right' - and the main problem is that it will work fine for many many 'goes' before playing up. Spotlessly clean, all freshly oiled, all looks fine, all works perfectly with snap caps, then 50 or 100 cartridges and suddenly - no second barrel.

Since I prefer double triggers anyway .......... that gun slumbers in the cabinet.

Good luck, but it may be a long haul

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Thanks for that John. My problem is that the gun has seen no action all this time and to have an expensive item sitting in the cabinet is just not good sense.

I have been chasing "contacts" most of this morning with the aim of finding someone who knows what to do.

 

Hoping...

Thanks

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My problem is that the gun has seen no action all this time and to have an expensive item sitting in the cabinet is just not good sense.

Hoping...

Thanks

I know exactly how you feel!

 

Unfortunately, some single trigger designs (there have been loads of patents/variations over the years) were very sensitive to set up - and wear can cause problems. In addition others have been 'messed with' over the years. Some 'so called' gunsmiths resort to metal removal by filing at the drop of a hat, and this isn't easy to reverse, so past repairs may be (in part anyway) responsible for present troubles! My gunmaker friend told me that the majority need a good clean and very sparing oil - occasionally an adjustment to correct a tired spring, but almost NEVER metal removal. Unfortunately, mine has him beat at present.

 

The biggest problem with mine is that it happens very occasionally - and we have never been able to make it happen with snap caps (at all angles/configurations), which makes it near impossible to see what is going amiss. These is a feeling that recoil (it is a mechanical trigger) upsets timing/movement of something, but nothing (cartridges from 21g to 32g) can make it happen reliably/consistently.

 

The best suggestion I have had is to use the gun on clays (don't encourage live quarry shooting where malfunctions may occur) and hope it gets worse - so that it can be traced. For a time I thought it happened on low shots (e.g. rabbit targets), then I had one on a near overhead clay. I have also had a friend watch my finger closely to ensure I'm not freezing, though I don't have trouble with the other single triggers I (unfortunately) have (Berettas and Merkel). It has also happened with friend shooting my gun, so sure it isn't me.

 

So annoying - especially when I prefer double triggers anyway (including on a clays o/u)!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a thought.....and at least try it - use the gun with a thick woollen glove on your trigger hand - thicker the better - this is assuming that nobody else has had this fault occur whilst shooting the gun. If that fails then try Douglas Burton Gunsmith - not too far from you.

Edited by bruno22rf
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