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<  16ga. Guns  ~  Semi-Auto the New Choice?
Ol' Southern Lawyer
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:51 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Jan 2006
Posts: 339
Location: Peoples' Socialist Republic of North America

Friends, this is all a bit scary for this ol' country boy. I have been a consistent doubles guy for quite some time...o/u and sxs. I have kept one semi in the safe for the three or four duck hunts I usually get to do each winter.

So...I got to thinking that I should take the semi out for a few rounds just to keep the feel of it in my mind for bird season. My first skeet round was not my best shooting, as the "klick-klack" if the action and the fleeting view of ejecting cases drove me a little crazy. But after that, I shot the two best rounds I had in months! The long forend felt good in my hand, the single barrell was fast and smooth and the gun just felt like a wand.

What is the deal? Have I been missing something all along? Should I divest myself of doubles and go primarily semis? As a traditionalist in guns, I would feel like a traitor, but my scorecards would look better with those Xs. Or...could this just be a lucky day using a gun with a new feel? I'm very confused.

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CitoriFeather16
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:59 pm  Reply with quote
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OSL:

Auto's are OK so long as they say "Sweet Sixteen" on the receiver! Otherwise, shun them like the plague!

If you do succumb to the temptation of auto's contact me immediately for disposal of your SXS's.

Matt
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bustingclays
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:37 pm  Reply with quote
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Ditto the previous message Ol Southern Lawyer - contact this southern brethren by PM IMMEDIATELY if you wish to dispose of any 16 sxs's OR 16 o/u's. This Alabama Gentleman would be sure to help "ease your pain". We could even negotiate over a mint julip or country hard lemonade if you wish Wink


On the more serious note - check your stock fit and or weight between sxs's, o/u's and auto-slammer. I'm betting that one of these clues you in to why you shot the auto-slammer better. Assume you are using same loads as in the sxs's or o/u's???

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Dr. 16 Gauge
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Twice Barrel
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:38 pm  Reply with quote
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Must be a bad phase of the moon.

Pour yourself a dose of good bourbon mixed with a splash of branch. Sit back in your favorite chair, close your eyes and think about a covey rise from the sedge over the point of a brace of fine Llewellins. Then sell the damn automatic as soon as you can find a sucker ....excuse me ...find a buyer of less sophistication.
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bustingclays
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:42 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Illinois (in the burbs of St. Louis)

Now Twice:

My smooth talkin was promotin a trade - notice no mention of county man jack and the branch water in my message. My feelins is hurt Wink I was ahopin that I could get me one o them thar 16 sxs's of culture from the county gent from Arkansaw.....

shucks Laughing

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Dr. 16 Gauge
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:50 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 28 Dec 2005
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Location: Glendale, AZ

If a barrister is feeling confessional, I guess a revdoc can join in. I must admit that I have never shot any gun better than a 12g (oh the shame Embarassed ) Benelli (it's even Italian Embarassed Embarassed) M1Super90 (with a plastic stock no less Embarassed Embarassed Embarassed). All the philistines I hunt S Dakota pheasants with shoot SBEs-and are VERY good with them. Several of my old KC shooting buddies had very nice O/Us but shot better with their SBEs and Montefeltros.
This is being discussed right now on SS BB:
http://bbs.shootingsportsman.com/viewtopic.php?t=29446
"As a long standing proponent of semiautomatics for high volume shooting, I was gratified to see that 4 out of 6 squad members of the NSCA Open All American Team shoot semiautomatics..."

I DO think that well balanced SxSs (esp. 16s and 20s) ARE better, in my hands, on wild birds that require quick, smooth, instinctive shooting- like flushing quail. And 2 chokes DO make a difference.
Bottom line-we shoot SxSs, and 16s, because it's so much fun Laughing And since missing wild birds is no fun, SxSs must be effective.

(and WHAT are these southern...uh...gentlemen...talking about?Rolling Eyes TB, you're from KANSAS brother.)

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Drew Hause
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bustingclays
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:01 pm  Reply with quote
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Hey docdrew:

I hate to bust up your confessional, but my skb 385 sxs with 28 ga 30 inch barrels (gasp Shocked ) is the best shootin skeet gun I own. Out of 400 shells in June through this gun I dropped 6 birds. Cool

Now y'all don't ask me about the 20 ga barrels on same gun - I can't duplicate the feat NO MATTER WHAT. I have loaded 600 20 ga shells (7/8 oz 8's, 13.5 grains green dot, old AA hulls, and windjammer wads) this week and starting tomorrow (the 4th - Dean is lettin me out to play Smile ) I'm learning to shoot this set of barrels.

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Dr. 16 Gauge
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:03 pm  Reply with quote
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I hear ol' Hal Hare is right good with his M-21 too Very Happy

and Dr 16er: you might want to be REAL sure them 20g brls are shooting where the 28ers are before poppin' them 600 caps Wink

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Drew Hause
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XVIgauge
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:34 pm  Reply with quote
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OSL,
The answer is simple. Just use the auto for skeet when scores are important , and use the sxs's for hunting and fun shooting.
XVI

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Ol' Southern Lawyer
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 8:10 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Jan 2006
Posts: 339
Location: Peoples' Socialist Republic of North America

Thanks for all the good advice, Gentlemen! The point from Twice Barrel is well taken...I am sippin' a little "whoosky" with a splash right now and contemplatin' how much I'd miss my doubles on bird hunts.

Although you fellows would not have to break the bank to buy out my gunsafe, I think I'll have to hang onto those doubles a little longer. (Most of my SXS guns are Browning BSS and/or field grade Uggies. O/us are Rizzini, Brownings and one lonely Zoli. Yep, I buy em' to shoot! Most are 16s... The semi is a Beretta.)

Bustin' Clays...you raise a good point, too, on fit and balance. I go over to the guys at Graco since they are only a 20 minute drive, and get them to fit the guns for me. They do a good job, and my guns generally fit me well. The balance inherent in the semi seemed to feel nice to me, however, because the balance point was a bit further back in the action than on most of my doubles. I presume this is because double barrels have heavier barrels to start with. Most of mine balance nicely on the pin, but for some reason, the "further back" balance point on the semi made the gun feel livelier for me without becoming whippy.

However, I'm gonna take the further good advice from XVI Gauge and the Rev. Dr. and just keep shooting doubles just for the fun of it! But...as advised, on days when a scorecard counts (Club Calcuttas) the semi is still gonna come out of the case from time to time!

Well...my libation needs refreshin' so I'm off to the drinkies cabinet...what the heck, the Courthouse is closed tomorrow and I'm takin' a day off! I got one of those newfangled Atlas electric traps that arrived saturday and with my mechanical skills, it'll probably be an all day job to assemble. I'm gonna set it up behind my house and give it a try. "Hillbilly Trap" anyone?

Thanks again for all the good advice, friends...and if I ever do clean out the safe, I'll offer my 16s at "brother in law" rates to my fellow 16 board buddies first!

OSL

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Patrick Henry
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ioannes
PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 8:02 am  Reply with quote
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OSL;

As a standing member of the 'Worshipful Society of Winchester M-12s', I have even myself had thoughts of putting a semi auto 16 into my safe. Maybe a Remington or a Browning. Wink

This is a huge leap for an old Ohio farm boy who grew up with a SXS to enven think of such a thought.


ioannes
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fin2feather
PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 10:53 am  Reply with quote
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Well fellas, it ain't just about the shootin', it's about how you feel when you're doin' it. If all I cared about on the last day was knocking down old John Ringneck I'd probably be toting a 12ga 3"+ magnum repeater like some of my pals. But it isn't, and that's why the same 2-3/4" 16ga double will be hanging over my arm in December and January that was there on opening day: It just don't feel right any other way.

As somebody who is less politically-correct than I once said (paraphrasing here): Semi-autos are like mopeds and fat girls: they're fun to ride, but you don't want anybody to see you with one! Very Happy

Fin

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I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 5:52 am  Reply with quote
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If any of you folks don't recognize the quote OSL posts as his close, It from The Shootist. w/ John Wayne in the starring role (who else?). Probably one of the top 3 lines ever uttered on film. The other line of note in this movie is..." Huh!, Oh... Pardon me all to hell!" Go rent the movie to put it in context. Its one of his best.
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Parker Trojan
PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 4:11 pm  Reply with quote
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Clays is clays and birdhunting is birdhunting.I do my best clays shooting with an eight pound "Elsie" but;she's no fun to carry all day long when you're hunting.My best bird gun is a six and a half pound Parker.But more important than the guns we shoot,let's not forget that the most important element in bird hunting is DOG!!!!!!!! Very Happy
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Lawrence U
PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 3:35 am  Reply with quote
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I'll have to agree.

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Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle. Ps 144:1.
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