which gun?

[eventer1]

Hi a bit of advice on two points please .

1. Which barrel the should be used first the over or under and why?

2. Thinking of a browning B525 sporter or a B725 second hand is the 725 with long chokes and forcing cone that much better. I also like the palm swell. Should I keep to 30" barrels if I'm thinking of doing a little bit of pigeon shooting. (seen a 32" 725 a like and felt good for sale)

haven't shot since 1996 (28" Beretta 682) except a few times before xmas which has given me the itch again

Edited February 27, 2015 by eventer1

[dougall]

why not try 'em out first?which barrel shoot 1st matters not..guess most shoot bottom 1st.. 525 v different feel to 725 the latter feels to me like a beretta.......both good...personlly would find 32 inch barrels bit long especially if hide shooting but i guess its only 2 inches.....

[muffin]

1 Before multi chokes Bottom barrel first to elevate muzzle flip after first shot, many now use top barrel first for ease of access so to speak

2 Buy what you like and more importantly what fits you As to chokes all will out perform most of us all the time Concentrate on what you do all the time its technique that fails before equipment.

[Rangemaster]

I always understood that if you fire top barrel first in an Over/Under it will accelerate wear and it shooting loose, especially on the Browning design which locks up from the bottom of the action. Beretta etc not so much as they lock up from the top of the action. Also muzzle flip and recoil are increased, however in practice probably not really measurable.

Choice of gun is down to personal preference, physical build and experience..... Big heavy blokes can swing big heavy guns!

I prefer longer barrels as they are more pointable and stable on longer targets and I have a more deliberate, slow shooting style.

Average or smaller builds may prefer 30" or 28" barrels which are also better for snap shooting........ Remember the Churchill 25" barrelled guns built for Grouse?

If in doubt a reputable dealer should know enough to advise.

Personally I think the new B525 sporters are a bargain, Two of my friends have bought one (both 32")

Hope this helps!

[oliver90owner]

Answer to question 1) is simple physics. Bottom barrel first because of (increased) muzzle flip with top barrel.

 

Think here progression of gun design.

 

Single barrel - recoil force was directed, as far as practical, direct through the action. The barrel above the action 'hinge' (at the point of breech face to bottom of action) was as close as possible.

 

The progression was to double barrels, where the turning forces were kept the same as for the singles by placing the barrels side by side.

 

With the advent of the second barrel over the first, the problem of muzzle flip (or vertical rotation of the gun at firing) was increased (from a very low value to a somewhat noticeable amount). Think here of the effect if more barrels were stacked on top on the second! Various improvements, like lowering the barrels into the action were used to reduce the effect. Hence the general rule of bottom barrel first.

 

As an aside, one might wonder why the open choke was generally the right barrel on a side by side. Perhaps because the first were hammer guns and the usual closer shots with open chokes were more easily cocked for the right handed shooter (and if the cocking finger slipped and the gun discharged into the ground) the hand was not injured by the other hammer, or top lever (on the guns of that design)?

 

Q 2) might depend on the type of pigeon shooting envisaged, but 30 inch are generally regarded as the top end of the norm. Apart from 'pointability', longer barrels were overtaken by faster burning powders. You might compare here, black powder and nitro?

 

RAB

Edited February 27, 2015 by oliver90owner

[Gordon R]

I always understood that if you fire top barrel first in an Over/Under it will accelerate wear and it shooting loose, especially on the Browning design which locks up from the bottom of the action. Beretta etc not so much as they lock up from the top of the action.

 

There would be no wear difference in Browning or Beretta.

[dessyb]

if you have shot a berretta before and liked it you would be better off with the 725 as its action is shallow like the berretta the 525 is a bit taller in the action. having owned b25 and 525 i bought my self a grd5 725 and could not adjust to it very costly mistake hope this helps....

[eventer1]

So far been very interested in all replies especially about bottom barrel first I now get that and I thank you for that.

It seems that having used a Beretta for a number of years before the 725 seems the more obvious/closer choice.

I have seen a few different makes but it appears that browning offer the best value and are steel proofed as well (maybe all modern guns are), as I'm only wanting to spend around £1500.00

[ladyjack]

why not buy what you used to shoot with,beretta 686s,there is a few about

[rjimmer]

1 Before multi chokes Bottom barrel first to elevate muzzle flip after first shot, many now use top barrel first for ease of access so to speak

 

I think you meant alleviate.

[Alycidon]

There are several valid and correct technical reasons for using the bottom barrel first, these have correctly been aired above.

 

However using an O/U on a driven game shoot where a fast 1 shell reload is often required it is far far easier to fire top barrel first, give the gun a flick with the right wrist and given a well shot in action the fired case will be ejected then load from your left pocket with your left hand and away you go.

 

Some bottom barrels do not hold open for a quick reload making loading them a far slower operation that loading a top barrel.

 

On a walked up or rough shoot it makes sense to fire the more open barrel first as the bird is likely to be getting further away, rate of fire in that situation will also not be that critical.

 

A