Here is my opinion of why my scores at sporting are higher with an O/U than it is with my S x S guns, for anyone interested. I have given this a lot of consideration over more than a few years of competitive shooting, and I think I may have the answer, for me. It is precision. Now, before some of you start howling "It's a shotgun, not a freakin' rifle!!", hear me out.
Many of you who shoot sporting clays most likely do so on small courses that are set up first and foremost to make a profit for the owners. In order to do that they must accommodate everyone from the infrequent gunner, who comes out a couple times before hunting season, to the member who tries to shoot at least a round a week to stay on top of his game. So, the courses must be kept on the "soft" side, because if a new shooter comes out and shoots a 26/100 he is discouraged and embarrassed, and probably won't be back. This is not what a club owner needs. So, for the most part, we're not talking about tournament grade targets, we're talking about 30 yds. or less, fairly slow stuff.
On targets like these a S x S in the hands of an experienced S x S shooter will show very well. For example, I can shoot a 50 bird 20 ga. course just as well with a 28" SKB 200E as I can with my 31 1/2" MX8. Why? Not much precision required for slow, close stuff. Leads that range from 0 to 2 ft. are easy to duplicate. I have shot as high as a 48/50 with the S x S in sub gauge events at S x S shoots, but have never shot over a 48 with my 30" SP II Sporting 20 ga. O/U at a sub-gauge event.
So, where does the O/U shine? IMO, it is on long birds, and especially long crossers and chandelles. It is not uncommon at all to have to see 5-6 feet of lead on a long bird in a major sporting clays tournament. Here is where my connotation of "precision" comes into play. When you pull a 12 ga. S x S ahead of a 50 yard crosser, that has all the spring on the trap that the setter can get, you have to get the muzzles waaaay out in front of that bird. I know we are not looking at the muzzle .... we're looking at the bird. But, the eye has to have a keen awareness of where the muzzles are, more precisely, where the end of the rib (bead) is, in order to be able to establish the proper forward allowance. It is easier to do this with the precision necessary when using a single sighting plane gun. Two feet of lead, no big deal. Six to seven feet? ... big deal. That is what I mean by precision.
If there is a place, in competition, where S x S guns are not a handicap, it might be in live pigeon shooting. This is a game of elevation, much more so than horizontal leads. That first shot needs to be taken before the pigeon has taken an escape route, if at all possible. That is the goal, anyway. That makes shooting above the bird a necessity, as he is being ejected upwards from the trap. The instantaneous shot requires that the lead be established extremely quickly. A S x S gives the shooter a greater awareness of where the muzzle(s) is (are), and some think that gives a slight edge to the S x S. If you don't kill him with the first shot, there is probably no advantage at all to the S x S on the second shot.That said, O/Us still dominate the game, probably because of familiarity. One of the greatest American flyer shooters ever was Billy Perdue, of AL. He shot S x Ss, by choice, and won live bird championships with them all over the world.
SRH
Last edited by Stan; 06/26/16 07:32 AM.
