doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Skeet Shooting with your SXS?

I've always regarded a SxS's best suit as a short to medium range shotgun. Skeet is the perfect clay game for SxS's.

I like SxS's, but I'm not barrelblind about them.

Short range!?! What about Nash Buckingham and his great Super-Fox BoWhoop or Elmer Keith and George W. Busby with their NID Ithaca Magnum-Tens?

That's because you were dropped as a baby. Hadn't you been dropped it'd be nuthin' but S x S's.

I shot skeet last Sat. with my Lefever 12ga EE 30 ic/m. First round 24 second 23. I had not shot that Lefever in a couple of years. Fifteen years ago as practice for a SD pheasant hunting trip I shot a 25/25/24 in 3 rounds with a Lefever 16ga G ic/im and have never run another 25 straight since. I have a SKB O/U skeet gun that I can't seem to get past 23 or 24 with. Go figure!
Fritz

I shoot 20-30 rounds of skeet a year, and never use anything but SXS double trigger guns. The only handicap I find is some are choked M/F. I load spreaders for these occasions and it helps (though seldom getting me to a perfect 25!).

SxS's are all I've ever shot. Skeet, trap, 5-stand, SC's - it doesn't matter. There are a number of us at my club that shoot just SxS's. Does it block a bird - no. And yes your eyes are horizontal so a SxS is all you should shoot.

Adam,

I normally shoot 8-10 rounds of skeet per week. To prevent beating the tar out of my LC Smiths, I bought a Rizinni O/U clays gun. I still take my SxS's out to the club and shoot skeet with one them about once a month. I haven't noticed any change in scores when I switch between the two. My personal favorite skeet SxS is a 1907 Pigeon Grade Smith. I have two sets of barrels for it. One set is Damascus, 28" and choked cylinder and Improved cylinder. I've heard everything from the "barrels block the birds" to "Damascus will blow apart". Funny thing is neither of that has ever happened. When I miss a bird, I could clearly see it. Jus didn't hit it.

Interesting comments about not stressing vintage guns by shooting them a lot. However, if one has something vintage but slightly newer--say, an American classic or British game gun from between the wars--does anyone think it any more likely that such a gun would be any more likely to break down than a pre-war Browning Superposed? Why or why not?

I can regularly score in the low 20's in skeet with my VERY light 20 gauge BLNE Jeffery. Shot an 85 with it in sporting clays on Saturday. All low gun. Might not win any tournaments but I have fun.

L. Brown,

One reason I choose not to run a flat of shells through my Smiths each week is due to ammo costs. I can buy the cheap Federal Top Gun loads for $5.18 a box versus $9-$10 per box for RST's.