I bought a double...now what?

[crock239]

Some of y'all know I got my first gun dog last year. After a fun year of training and some good hunts, I was still getting the stink eye from the pup.


So I finally broke down and bought her a new shotgun for this fall...





I know some of the resident shotty gun purists (ahem, @Ben Lamb @BrentD ) may flick their noses at the gloss wood, but hey I got a pretty good deal and kinda like it.

I need to add about 1.5" to LOP so will be getting a butt pad spacer and factory thicker pad.

My question, how do you like to set up your barrels and chokes for pheasants / quail etc? I assume generally speaking bottom barrel first is preferred? Full over modified? Mod over IC?

 

[Seamaster]

I always fire bottom barrel first, and usually have a more open choke in the bottom for flushing birds. Sometimes it is I/C over skeet, sometimes modified over I/C, etc.

 

[BrentD]

If you have removable chokes,more open on the bottom for the first shot. But which chokes for any given day depend on conditions and bird jumpiness..

Overall, most of us way overthink choke issues.

Welcome to the Twin-Tube Club (aka TTC)!

PS. NICE DOG! You did the right thing, buying her a new gun.. now, you owe it to her to practice with it. 2 rounds of trap every week (shoot low gun style)

 

[OntarioHunter]

Before you start messing with the LOP, try adding a slip-on. The advantage is you can remove it for cold days when you're layered up. It's what I have done for my old A-5. Avoid Limbsaver slip-on!! Too soft and squirrely. Won't stay put even if you put a size small on a large butt stock. Ask me how I know! Also they are so soft that most newer O/Us with recoil cocking won't fire the second barrel reliably. And so soft that trigger guard regularly batters middle finger just above the knuckle. Ouch! Go with Pachmeyer Decelerator. The disadvantage to them is the designers cut away a lot of the bottom portion of the sleeve to make it easier to slip on. Unfortunately, it also makes it easier for them to slip off too. I lost three in the last two years hunting pheasants. But I hunt in some pretty awful stuff. And I hunt a LOT, usually three months almost every day. The Pachmeyer pad is stiff enough that you should have no trouble with your hard butt plate stocked O/U cocking for follow up. If the slip-on still isn't long enough, you can cut an insert from a cheap shower flip-flop and stick it inside the recoil pad. That will add about half an inch. However, if you find that's what you need for length I would recommend going with the leather slip-on that has longer sleeve secured tightly with velcro flap. They cost a bit more but worth it I think.
Note the slip-on removed for cold weather when wearing three layers. I'm pretty sure the tube in the top picture was stuffed with modified. Once snow is on the ground roosters get jumpy. I'm sure it's due to pressure from raptors when they shine like neon against white.

 

[OntarioHunter]

For pheasants I would go with IC and modified over a flushing dog. Later in the season with wild birds in snow on public land you may need to switch to modified over full, depending on how much control you have over your dog and how hard the birds have been hunted. With a pointing dog and quail a more open combination might be better. Definitely would be my choice for ruff grouse in timber no matter what kind of dog is working. Actually skeet over skeet would probably be best.

Waiting to see what the chukar guys have to say. I'm guessing IC over modified.

 

[JLS]

I rarely ever shoot anything other than IC or modified.

 

[MTLabrador]

It is shameful and criminal to put a slip on recoil pad on a nice over under. IC/Mod.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Wait ... I presume we are talking about a TWELVE gauge O/U?

 

[TheNorthStar]

Gosh, that's a purdy one.

 

[OntarioHunter]

It is shameful and criminal to put a slip on recoil pad on a nice over under. IC/Mod.

Slip-on may not look pretty but it can make the gun fit better for varying conditions. And a better fitting gun is the key to better shooting. As you can see from my photos, I'm not out there for the fashion show! Last year wasn't great but I still did pretty good (check out the visors in my Jimmy).

I shoot very well at moving targets, shotgun OR rifle, because 1) I shoot a couple thousand rounds per year trap/skeet/clays and 2) more importantly, my guns fit me to a tee. For the shotgun especially it's important to change the LOP for circumstances. If I happen to forget the slip-on at home when shooting the range (sometimes it gets left on the Light Twelve A-5 when my daughter is shooting it) then my scores go all to hell, especially low gun skeet. Similarly, adding the slip-on to my Citori improves the LOP but it's not the same as my A-5 Magnum dressed in plastic. Citori is a tiny bit longer with slip-on. Bigger difference is Citori stock is thicker. I can do okay high gun trap where shooter has time to make himself fit the gun, but skeet and clays low gun (simulating field shooting) is problematic. Without the slip-on and shooting in shirtsleeves, I just as well go home. I'll be shooting over the target. Similarly, hunting in cold weather with three or more layers on I'll get tangled up trying to get on the gun with the extra LOP.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Maybe pattern it first.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Also, unless you're 100% confident the person adding the extra permanent recoil pad can do the job right, you may be putting several hundred dollars resale value at risk. Even if it was done properly, adding a recoil pad may be a turn off for aficionados who want to dress up in original equipment. Not that important to me obviously. I shoot a 1961 Belgian Browning Magnum Twelve A-5 with a 1980s Miroku barrel that has Invector chokes. I shot the fancy wood to pieces after previous owner had already replaced both stock and fore arm at least once. So I switched to plastic and no more worries. No more beauty either but with the way I hunt, gun beauty is a fleeting thing anyway. Again, I'm out there to hunt, not put on a fashion show. 95% of the time my only hunting companions are my dogs and they don't give a shit what my gun looks like. All they care about is finding birds for me to shoot so they can retreive them. Me being the best shot I can be is what counts for them ... and for the birds I'm shooting at.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Early season IC/M.

Late season M/IM for wild flushing roosters.

Lovely shotgun. Add the pad. You'll enjoy it far more if it fits right.

New England Custom Gun has the red ones: https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/products.php?cat=298

Now, you'll want a side by side in a year or two. Listen to that instinct.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Maybe pattern it first.

Definitely! To properly pattern the gun for field hunting, stand back about seventeen yards and from low gun position raise, mount, and fire all in one smooth motion, like you would if jumping a bird. DO NOT aim the shotgun at patterning board (unless it's a designated trap gun). For field shooting you want a "50/50" pattern, i.e. shot holes surrounding the bull equally.

 

[OntarioHunter]

To the original poster: What is the manufacturer of your O/U?

 

[OntarioHunter]

I rarely ever shoot anything other than IC or modified.

That's the chukar guy I was talking about.

 

[crock239]

Maybe pattern it first.

Yeah, I thought about that...but if I do that I'm not leaving much room for excuses when I whiff repeatedly!

 

[crock239]

To the original poster: What is the manufacturer of your O/U?

Beretta, 20ga w 28" barrels. Takes Beretta mobilchokes so I can change them out as conditions require, but will plan for M over IC as a starting point.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Yeah, I thought about that...but if I do that I'm not leaving much room for excuses when I whiff repeatedly!

Patterning will tell you a lot about how the gun fits or doesn't fit. Using technique I described above, if the pattern is high, you need to lengthen LOP. If it's low (which sounds unlikely), LOP may be too long. Adjusting pattern right or left on a field gun is more complicated. If that is needed, I would suggest a Graco adjustable recoil pad that allows for change in LOP as well as cheek weld. Not at all pretty but serious range shooters go for them so probably would add to value rather than detract. Also easier install as the aluminum base is very thin. Would require bringing along an allen wrench to change adjustment for changing field conditions.

 

[300stw]

im odd guy out, light mod. and imp mod. in my 20 gauge guns, they pattern the evenest from 1oz #5 or 6, i harvest a lot of game, and it works for me