doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com British Open .410 at E.J. Churchill

Rare earth magnets don't pay the bills.

More important than weight at the end of a lightweight set of barrels is modifying your shooting style to accommodate the light weight of the gun. At least, that's what has worked for me in the field. If I use the same swing technique with a sub-5 pound .410 that I use with a 7 lb. plus gun the results are disastrous.

JMEOMMV

Shooting short barreled or light weight guns takes a completely different approach for me. I can not do sustained, methodical type leads or use a swing through approach either. And spot shooting is a disaster for me. I end up with a shorter swing and aggressive swing, using shorter leads and moderately faster gun movement.

I have tried extra weights taped to or clamped to light weight guns with mixed results. What is the point of making a five pound gun into a seven to eight pound gun? I have a .410 hammer double, which tips the scales at just under four pounds. Shooting it like it is seven pounds is impossible for me. I shoot it like we use to shoot skeet, with a semi low gun starting point, gives me a lot of natural motion with my body, hands and gives me a clear vision of the birds. I just move the gun to meet my eyes is the best way I can explain it. And I am semi-aggressive, with short leads for best results. A dead gun is a certain miss for me with any short barrel or light weight gun. Plus I love tight choked small bores.

Welll said, Jon. You did a much better job describing the shooting of lightweight guns than I ever could, and very accurately.

I was standing next to a chap yesterday as we were shooting red leg partridges in the sunshine with a 30 mph downwind. He was using a Ceasar Guerini over/ under in 3" .410, and was very effective. It had 30" barrels and apparently weighed six pounds.
The sound of his gun's report was quite distinctive, as the loads were clearly supersonic. He was using 18 grams of English size 6, which is about 5/8ths of your old-fashioned ounces - can't remember the make.

HB