doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Handsome 16

I had one of those.

It was both my first 16 gauge, and my first lesson in trying to shoot a gun that didn't fit.

It was something around 2 1/2" DOH, which is about 1/2" lower than my ideal. Nice gun, other than that.

It went down the road fairly quickly.

2 1/2” is a fairly modern drop dimension. Mine is 2 3/4” and it is a fairly late Nitro, 1938 vintage. I can shoot 2 3/4”, but, those lovely English doubles that feature 2” of DAH are out of my league. 2 1/2” is about perfect for me.

The Nitro is ‘sorta an implement, a bit of a reminder of the times my ancestors lived through, Americana at its purest. I have nicer and more expensive guns, but this one fits some hunting that I do, so, I keep it around.

Best,
Ted

Everyone is different, and should take some time to learn what they shoot well.

...I can make a decent argument that the 2 1/2" DOH is closer to what most people should shoot, if they don’t crawl the stock like I do. 😉

...I have an English double here - with a really well done POW stock - with about 2 1/2" of DOH.

Someone will love it, but it won't be me.

I can't shoot a gun with only 2" at the heel well in the field, pre-mounted at clays is not problem for me but guns that high I struggle to mount quickly. My gun is 1&3/8" x 2&3/8" and it fits me very well. I can shoot 1&1/2" x 2&1/2" without a problem and that is what I consider to be standard modern dimensions for a game gun. Different strokes for different folks or different horses for different courses, either way, find what works for you.

I think one of the biggest factors in fit is indeed drop and the sight picture that your brain expects to see, I float my birds and always have and never could shoot well with guns with lots of drop, my father is exactly the opposite. I have read Stan's comments on how he likes his guns to pattern, it would not work for me but it does for him.