mfrcus Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Hi all i'm new to shotguns & i keep getting conflicting awnswers as to witch barrel you should fire first ..Could someone please clarify this for me please & the reason....cheers marcus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabbyshot Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Well I have been clay shooting a few times but I am a game shooter to be honest. I will no doubt be corrected but I would imagine it would depend on the chokes of your gun. If for example you have a close target and then a high one. I would use the more open choke for the close target then the tighter for the higher shot. If I am wrong on this please correct me. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 When guns were all fixed chokes, the more open choke was in the "front" barrel (the right hand one on a sbs, or the bottom one on a o/u). It was usual to select this barrel first and then fire the second barrel (with the tighter choke) if you missed, as the target had now moved further away. With multichokes now in a lot of guns, you can play any option you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrcus Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I heard that the bottom barrel is more in line with your siteing than the top one well something along those lines & allso gives less kick ,do you reckon theres any truth in this ...cheers marcus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabbyshot Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I wouldn't know about that Marcus. I would imagine the only difference would be with the chokes. I don't want to get involved with chokes and what you should use and what you shouldn't. To be honest give it a try if firing the bottom first then the top works for you then do that. I think your swing and where you are hitting are more important then chokes. A lot of the time when you start to think to much you miss it should be a natural thing. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I heard that the bottom barrel is more in line with your siteing than the top one well something along those lines & allso gives less kick ,do you reckon theres any truth in this ...cheers marcus I have never heard that and it makes no sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethegeek Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 (edited) 1/4 and 1/2 are the usual choice for all round sporting. 1/4 fired first from the bottom barrel and 1/2 from the top. Why that way round? Simple, the pressure line of the bottom barrel is straight into the heel, while the upper barrel is above. If you fire the upper barrel first the gun lifts ( muzzle flip). In most cases the second shot will be at a more distant target, but with typical sporting argets 25 - 40yds, both 1/4 and 1/2 are going to do the job if you put the shot in the right place. If your gun has a selective trigger, there may be rare occasions where firing top first to reverse the choke order without changing them has some advantages, but usually the only reason for firing top first will be when a game shooter has two widely different chokes and loads in their gun and ants to put out the optimum load first on sight of the quarry. In clays it would be very rare to want to fire top first. If Clayman will forgive me for appropriating one of his recent posts from 'Guns & Equipment, I believe this may be what is being referred to. Edited February 7, 2009 by petethegeek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrcus Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Thansk for that Pete thats exactly what i ment ......cheers marcus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I would bow to Clayman's superior ballistics knowledge, but must say that I have never experienced/noticed the barrel flip when firing the "top" barrel first. However, my reference to the "historical" reasons for firing the "front" barrel first still stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 (edited) I would bow to Clayman's superior ballistics knowledge, but must say that I have never experienced/noticed the barrel flip when firing the "top" barrel first.However, my reference to the "historical" reasons for firing the "front" barrel first still stands. My Beretta has an irritating problem with the barrel selector switch, where it migrates by itself. This either causes it to stick in the middle, causing the gun not to fire at all, or it makes it all the way and it reverses the barrels. I can tell when this has happened, because the recoil is totally different and rather unpleasant. I've always just put this down to it just feeling different from what I'm used to, but I don't like it at all. I don't suffer from recoil at all, but I really don't like the feel of the shot from the top barrel first, if I'm not expecting it. So the feel of the recoils from the two barrels are certainly very different, but I find it hard to decide in what way Edited February 8, 2009 by Chard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I would bow to Clayman's superior ballistics knowledge, but must say that I have never experienced/noticed the barrel flip when firing the "top" barrel first.However, my reference to the "historical" reasons for firing the "front" barrel first still stands. With a 24 or 28g clay load in an 8lb clay gun the flip will not be huge, and is easily controlled if you are an experienced shot. It becomes noticeable in skeet and trap. In both cases very rapid second shots may be taken, trap more than anything. In this situation, stopping any uncontrolled lift in the barrels on first shot is going to be important. What the second shot does in terms of muzzle flip really doesn't matter, unless you happen to have an up over and under - three shot gun - called a trifle I think? Light S/S are usually the worst for noticeable muzzle flip. Both barrels are above the pressure line and each causes lift in turn. The lighter the gun and the heavier the cartridge the more flip results, and you get it twice wityh a s/s, making some game gun and cartridge combinations pretty lively, as a S/S also has a small amount of side flip to compound the effect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I do use a light game gun side by side and can confirm that with 28gm loads I get barrel flip, which is increased when using 30gm loads. As this is normal to me and expected I must unconsciously compensate for it, as it doesn't affect my shooting. I have always put this down to the gun weight and/or barrel length, rather than the barrel configuration. Never too old to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.