In the field of side-by-side shotguns with internal hammers ("hammerless"), the most famous and common actions are Holland & Holland and Anson & Deeley. In the first action type, locks can be placed on the two receiver side plates, which can sometimes be hand-detacheable. The bar that connects the trigger to the hammer and holds the hammer in the cocking position is not a single one, but consists of two separate parts, which lock the hammer at two different points. The double bar safety system provides that if the first bar is accidentally released, the hammer travels only a short distance before being stopped by the second bar, providing a reliable and effective safety feature to prevent an unintentional discharge. The Anson & Deeley system was patented in 1875 and is today the most common action in hunting double-barrelled shotguns due to its reliability, combined with its simple construction using few components and consequently lower cost.
This action is also easily recognisable from the outside because the double-barrels lack side plates, although for aesthetic reasons and to make room for engravings, false side plates are often added. The two locks are attached to the inside of the receiver at the rear. The two locks each correspond to one barrel and each of them is composed of a few parts: hammer-sear-firing pin, main spring, cocking lever and trigger bar. In this lock type, the hammer, sear and firing pin are one piece, and the trigger spring is a leaf spring, although many side-by-side shotguns have coil springs.
When the shotgun is broken open, the opening movement cocks the hammers by means of the cocking lever housed in the receiver.
The safety is on the top tang and acts directly on the triggers. Overall, the Anson & Deeley system boasts slightly faster percussion and less sensitivity to accidental impacts. At the same time, the lock mechanism carved into the receiver could make it more fragile in theory.
For this reason, the Anson & Deeley action modified by Fausti includes not only the V-shaped hammer springs as in the best guns, but also a redesign of the patented ejection system consisting of two pieces machined from solid steel billets that together form a rhomboid shape guided by the ejector stem. This not only ensures positive ejection but also enhances the reliability and durability of the shotgun.
