xDom wrote:What’s the story with side by side double barrels? Are they considered to be less accurate than under and over.?
Are they an old fashioned format?
I love the look.
interesting question dom. living in south east queensland there's not a lot of rabbits around , and duck shooting isn't legal . however clay shooting is a common passtime , i consider it a social thing like golf with guns
. when i got back into shooting a mate pushed me to get a shotty, gotta have one . essential for the safe i was told . he knew a fair bit about them, i ended up with a italian made fausti under/over (nice well made gun ). after trying clay shooting for a bit i was frustrated with it . realised the stock's drop at comb didn't suit me (i'm 195cm tall ), so i went on the hunt for another shotty and found a "as new" ruger red label 12ga u/o that has fantastic build qaulity and fitted like a glove . my shooting improved dramatically. but my mate when coaching me noticed i close my left eye and sight down the top rib like a rifle . i can't shoot with both eyes open as is the accepted way to do it . i found out from my local gun shop owner after trying to use a aimpoint on a lever gun i'm left eye dominant and both eyes open don't work for me in some circumstances ( we're all different
). the upshot is the ruger is a bit of a safe queen, so i bought a old belgian made "leige" sxs 12ga made in 1948 for $500 for occaisional field use on rabbits over the border in NSW. and mate ! can i shoot with that thing ! i've only shot clays about six times in the last 18 months, so i'm not that experienced . the other weekend i got 23 out of 25 clays thrown . it shoulders like it was custom made for me and sighting down the centre between the barrels seems so easy and natural. the old sxs is light and points much quicker than my u/o. i love side by sides. they seem more practicle and really work for me . fixed chokes are the downside , the chokes on my leige are 1/4 and1/4 and it has extractors instead of ejectors which i prefer instead of having to pick up fired shells off the ground. the build qaulity on my old gun is better than some new $1000 shotty's i've looked at as well i hope this story on my experiences so far are of use to you dom .
anyone looking for a beutiful ruger red label in excellent condition , check out ozgunsales . i like my old sidey better