doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A flat, level rib

What does it matter what the rib looks like? Concentrate on the target!!

This is fancy gun the rib is "cut" by hand file. This type is very effective in cutting down glare on bright sunny days.
Very nice gun other than stupid replacement rubber recoil pad. Original horn plate would be much more preferable.

Well Stan, I asked for your opinion and I got a rather matter of fact sort of answer regarding rib configuration. Let me ask you this Stan: Have you ever stopped your swing on a target resulting in a miss? Now, most shooters have to admit they have indeed stopped their gun at some point in their game, some guys do it every single round. Well, let me suggest that 'barrel checking' will result in a dead swing (I.e., stopped swing) EVERY single time. So, have you ever barrel checked?? And I believe how a shooter perceives a target has a lot to do with how a gun is set up including rib configuration. With this in mind, then why do you not shoot as well with a swamped rib as you do with a raised or stepped rib? Do you see (perceive) the target in a different manner? Likely so, I'm guessing and if so, could cause all sorts of things such as hesitation, and is my lead right, lifting of the head, etc. etc. Myself, on the other hand am very fond of a swamped rib and do shoot one well; however, I have a lot of experience with that particular type of rib. Anyway, it's just some food for thought......discussion, which is what this forum is about.

Hussey himself was an accomplished pigeon shot. I read somewhere at one such event Hussey guns were in the top spots of the event.
I shoot with a guy who shoots and prefers English pigeon guns.
He is now shooting a 1894 Boss sidelever with a wide, smooth flat rib.

Interesting thoughts, buzz. Stopping my swing is something we have all done. Looking at the bead/rib will certainly cause it, no question about that. However, there are other reasons people check their swing, too. One of the main other reasons is poor foot placement, or, said another way, how one faces the target. If you have a right to left crosser, for example, and you are facing too far right, your muscles will "wind up" (my poor terminology) and check the swing and cause your left shoulder to dip and pull your gun below the line of the bird at the same time. All this, including looking at the bead/rib, is poor technique that can be corrected.

As to why I shoot worse with a swamped rib .......... you first have to accept that the eye sees the rib/barrels in your unfocused sight. You are not looking AT the bead/rib, but it is there in your field of vision. It has to be for your mind to be able to establish a lead between the muzzles and the bird. Even when shooting from the hip, which I play around with from time to time, the barrels are in your field of vision, allowing you to determine "where you are" in relation to the bird. Now, to get to the point, a raised flat rib, I believe, allows me to do that with greater consistency than a swamped rib. Maybe there is just a slightly more precise line there for the brain to perceive , I'm not entirely sure why, but I do believe strongly that on long birds and very fast crossers, for example, some degree of precision is necessary. That is why it is so much harder to kill 4 targets in a row crossing at 60 yards than it is at 25 ........... putting 7 ft. of lead on a bird four times in a row is much tougher to do than putting 2 ft. on that close crosser. Precision matters to a degree, even with a shotgun that is delivering a pattern as opposed to a single projectile. Ever missed a straight away clay bird, I mean a true straightaway that all you have to do is put the bead up his butt and kill him? Amazing that you can miss a bird like that at 20 yds. isn't it? We can talk about pattern size all day long, but the best shooters strive to center that bird in their pattern, kill it with the core, not the periphery. Precision matters.

That is why I believe I shoot the level, flat rib better than the swamped rib. Is it a matter of going from a 80% average down to a 40%? No. But I truly think my hit/miss ratio drops by at least 10% if I shoot a swamped rib gun. I have some, and I shoot them occasionally, when that 10% is not as important to me as enjoying the gun I'm using. But, when I go on a clays course, my objective is to shoot the best possible score I can, not try to convince myself I enjoyed missing birds I shouldn't have missed, just because I wanted to shoot a particular gun. Again, I could enjoy shooting a swamped rib gun immensely if it was all I had. But, it's not and, in my mind, I know there's better courses for me.

Glad you shoot the swamped ribs well, buzz. I hope we get to shoot together someday, either feathers or clays, or both!

SRH

Thanks Stan. I agree certainly with a lot of your observations re shooting. In terms of shooters, there are the inquisitive types that want to know 'why' and then there are bundlers who just want to know 'how' but don't want to know the specifics...."just tell me how to do it, I don't want to clutter my brain with the why!" You are the inquisitive sort and that's partly why I and others here value your opinion. Anyway, I too would like to get together to shoot sometime. The weekend of April 7 I'm attending the Florida State shoot in Graham, FL and really looking forward to it. Any chance you might be there? Buzz

I just like the looks of this style rib on a heavy-duty sxs.
JR

Man, I wish I could make the FL State Shoot. Problem is I am booked to go to the Southern later that month and, with spring planting getting going in April I can only take a few days off. I've never made the Spring Southern and really want to try to do so this time. I've, instead, gone to the Fall Southern to console myself. Thanks for the heads up. Hope you shoot the best of your life there!

SRH

Stan, You'll have to tell us what events you are shooting in so that we can enter the others and thereby avoid being embarrassed by your dominating performances! Something tells me he is going to bring level, file cut ribbed weaponry to dispatch the competition.

I'll be in the running at the dinner table event, for sure. As for the shooting, it's all according to which Stan shows up.

SRH