Originally Posted by coosa
Originally Posted by Stanton Hillis
I agree, Ken. Here's what Rollin Oswald has to say about leading hand placement in his excellent book I referenced earlier.

"The best place to grip or hold the forearm is at or just forward of the mid-point of the angle formed by the elbow and upper arm, close to 90 degrees. This angle offers a good compromise between supporting the gun and preventing it's lagging behind during swings powered by body rotation (I.e., overcoming inertia)."

Ed's answer is a good example of armchair expert "advice". Oswald has been there and done it. Ken and I have, too.

Believe who you will.

Stan, (or anyone who knows,) this is something kinda rare on this site - an honest question. 😄 I really don't know the answer to this, and you probably do. How do you reconcile Oswald's advice with SxS shotguns that have very small splinter forearms?

I have been told that the only proper way to grip a SxS is with the straight left arm style, and that means the hand is on the barrels. The only purpose of the forearm is to hold the barrels together, and you use a glove to keep your hand from getting burned.

I have seriously tried this method and can't make it work at all. I do much better with a 90 degree elbow, and that is one of the reasons I like a beaver tail forearm - it gives me something substantial to grip and I can live with some calling it an abomination.

But I can't deny that a lot of fine SxS guns have such a small forearm that this method just doesn't work, and it's something I have wondered about.

It's pretty easy for me. I shoot several S X S shotguns with small splinter forearms, but they are only used for hunting, where the concern about hot barrels isn't there. I just don't shoot much high volume when hunting. When the splinter forearm is so short that I would have to alter my hand placement I just hold the barrels ahead of it, or wherever my hand needs to be to not alter how I normally place my forehand. When the possibility is there for a few fast flurries on some field, I try to take a gun with a forearm of sufficient length to help with the hot barrel issue, or in the late season I have on gloves.

For clay shooting with a S X S I manage fine even with little splinters. I let the forearm lie in my curled palm (a couple of the pics below show how my forehand fingers are not even gripping the forearm even though it is a target style with lots of meat. I slowly close my fingers as I say pull, and hear the trap fire, with just enough grip to swing the gun. I just don't feel the need to strangle the forearm or barrels, and find that I shoot better with that sort of a relaxed grip.

I may use a glove on my forehand when shooting a .410 S X S on a round of sporting clays, because those tiny barrels can get really hot, but I never alter my forehand placement. Consistency in shotgunning is paramount to success, and consistent forehand placement is a big part of that, IMO.

This is the only pic I can find of me about to call for a bird, taken by a commercial photographer at the GA State Sporting Clays Championship a few years ago. I wasn't shooting a S X S, but my Perazzi MX8, a 9 lb. gun with 31 1/2" barrels, but great handling characteristics. I post this so you can see where my forehand is placed on the forearm. He actually took a series of three quick shots in succession. I'm posting the other two because they show something else that I have tried to explain on this forum many times . . . . how easy it is to trap the empties in your hand as they are ejected from the gun, then toss them in a trash can or place them in your shell bag or pocket.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

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