doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com "Trapping" hulls from ejector guns

I have mentioned many times, when I have read posters exclaim that they hate ejectors because they hate littering the field and woods, or they detest searching the ground for ejected hulls, that neither of those options is necessary. All one has to do is trap the hulls with the palm of the hand, and do with them as you please.

Some of my friends and I shot a round of sporting this afternoon, then went back to a couple of the stations to work on a few presentations that we weren't happy with. After that, I asked a friend to video me shooting a few crossers to show how I trap the hulls ejected from my MX 8. I apologize in advance for the rotation of the camera in "mid-stream". He didn't realize that it would rotate the scene 90 degrees, but maybe you can see what I wanted to show.

In practice, I catch the rear end of the top lever with the meaty part of the base of my thumb, actually part of my palm, and use it to rotate the lever to the right, which puts my fingers in perfect position to trap the hulls in my hand and toss them in the trash can, to my left on this station.

It may look a bit contrived on this video, but it's because I was aware of the video in progress which made me think about what I was doing more than normal. I have been doing this for so much of my life it has become second nature, and requires no thought at all. I can do this on every ejector gun I own, from 12 through .410, S x S or O/U.

https://youtu.be/AI5oLrrzy2U

SRH

I tried it with my lone ejector gun, a new-to-me Browning Sidelock BSS, and need both hands to get the old girl open. Seems like the sweet spot to get the gun open and cocked and the ejectors not activated is a small enough area that it would take some practice for me to pull it off. The corners on the bottom of the gun are kinda sharp and pokey, too, still getting used to that.
Now, Darne ejectors, I�ve got them down.
I must emphasize, I really like the Browning, and my score at �rub my chin low gun skeet� is as high as it has ever been. I swore off side locks after a horrific experience with a pre-Royal Holland with a single trigger, about 25 years ago, but, this one seems to be like a low maintenance girlfriend you just can�t get enough of.
I bet you�d be a natural at CAS, Stan.

Best,
Ted

Me too, Stan. Been doing that for years. What's CAS, Ted.
JR

Never had a problem catching the hulls from either my Fox-Sterlingworth Ejector Skeet & Upland Game Gun or any of my Browning Superposeds. The Fox with its tall Savage-era top-lever is the easiest, pushing it with the base of my right thumb with my hand over the breech like a catcher's mit.

I haven't even paid any attention to it or shot it in nearly thirty years, but I still have a 101 that I would trap the hulls in a similar way without giving it a thought. It was easy to take the ejectors out, so I gave it a try with just extractors. I cupped my hand over the breech in the same way, and it just seemed a fraction slower and different than with the ejectors. Admittedly, I've rarely needed the speed to take full advantage of ejectors. A noticeable side bonus was the gun cocked smoother and easier without the ejectors in.

It's just an example for myself that I made a particular comparison on that feature. The ejectors are still out of that thing, sitting around somewhere. Because of my comfort range, if the price corresponds appropriately, I don't look past non ejector guns. Thanks Stan for doing the little video, it makes me think of the little things I pick up when I get to watch myself shoot.

CAS= Cowboy Action Shooting. Pretty fair amount of dexterity required, if you are going to win anything.

For better or worse (depending on where you are looking) the Holland pattern gun I got from Geo is a long way from well broken in, still a bit stiff, actually. I could probably develop the knack, but, it will take more than the 100 rounds I have through it, as of today.

Did I mention I really like the gun?

Best,
Ted

When I break the first pair of birds strongly I tend to shoot the remaining pairs fast. I know what the lead picture looks like and I want to do it again as quickly as I can. Ejectors facilitate that.

Now, when I miss a bird on the first pair I will slow down a bit, replay the lead picture in my mind, and decide how best to correct the mistake.

It's just me, but I love ejectors. My Beretta 20 ga. SPII Sporting, that I bought new before the first dove trip to Cordoba, was pretty much broken in by the end of the first day's shooting. It has had somewhere between 15 and 20K rounds through it with no ejector, or any other, problem. When on a dove field I don't trap the hulls but let them fall around my stand. At the end of the shooting I police the area and pick them up. Doves sometimes come in "flurries', and one wants to make hay while the sun shines, as it were.

SRH

I hunt covey birds and a shotgun that ejects and reloads quickly is a huge advantage. I have killed towering pairs and triples on chukar with my old Fox 16. I expect that my Atkin 'Spring Opener' will be even better because it is so much easier to reload quickly.

While I follow Stan in trapping the spent shells in my ejector guns, what impresses me is the guys who eject and then catch the shells in mid air with their right hand.

As for picking up shells from the ground, the $35 MoJo stick magnet is the greatest!...Geo

I am not a CAS shooter, but if I recall right their rules do not allow ejector doubles.