HD - I don't agree that one method of setting balance point will achieve "perfect weight distribution." Different shooters prefer different balance points based on their individual shooting styles and physiology. I'll do some research with this method. Certainly, it take into account hand placement, but I expect there are other factors.
Yes, the mentioned author is from the school that believes in equal weight destribution between the shooter's hands. This school has some good arguments for their view - but I agree the subject of balance is subjective.
However, I have found the method of "taking the balance" not only of the whole gun, but of its parts (stock+action vs barrels+foreend) as well, extremely useful in practice. Of course, Rocketman's machine is the best way, but, let's say, it's not always readily availaible. When you only have about fifteen minutes in a shop to "just look" at a gun, you aren't likely to bother with the formulas, yet might need something more exact then simply balancing a gun. Let me illustrate.
About a year ago I was considering a domestic sidelock of 1944 vintage, and noticed, that "on the pencil" it balanced almost exactly where my own old 12ga did - ahead of the "between-the-hands" point enough to lassify the gun as "muzzle-heavy". Yet, when mounted, my gun felt much better balanced. I took the guns apart. The "rear ends" of both guns balanced properly. But the barrel+foreend bits didn't. My old gun's "front end" balanced where my left hand holds it when mounted, but the 1944 sidelock's barrels balanced noticably ahead of that spot.
I took a closer look at the 1944's barrels. They were strangely shaped, almost conical, quite unlike the classic "leggy" shape of double gun barrels. That 1944's barrels had a lot of metal in front.
So, to my personal taste, both guns were ill-balanced, but for different reasons. My old gun had barrels that were relatively heavier than the stock+action. The 1944 sidelock was the correct front-end-to-rear-end weight ratio, but the weight destribution of the barrels was very wrong, and ruined the balance - and the "feel" - of the whole gun!
The above is just personal observation and opinion, and if I'n wrong, I'd like to know it.
