Worth the switch?
- Thread starter Frayser
- Start date
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Ha!
Many years ago, before "choke" tubes became popular, I set up my then "perfect" turkey hunting shotgun. It was a nice, very lightweight Spanish-made side-by-side 12 ga bored full & extra full.
But like most older side-by-sides, it had two triggers.
First time I needed a 2nd shot, I pulled the same trigger, pulled harder, and it still didn't shoot
Nothing is 100% reliable.
Side-by-sides "doubled" the immediate shooting capabilities of the original single shot. O/U's just a different version. Just my opinion, but over/unders have always been an over-priced "fad".
For general hunting & self-defense, pump-actions & autoloaders made these 2-shot guns more or less obsolete, much like the 2-shot guns made the 1-shot guns less desirable. But, specifically for turkeys, having only 1 or 2 shots is not much handicap.
Having said that, for most of my turkey hunting life, I carried that lightweight side-by-side 12 gauge, until I replaced it with a couple autoloaders (one in 12, one in 20). Also did a little turkey hunting with a 20ga O/U, which is now just a safe queen.
As we get older, our eyes take longer to re-focus from close to far, from far to close, meaning it's often you can't clearly see your sights, or can't clearly see your target, at the time of trigger pull. Optics allow for both close & far to be seen more clearly. I "need" at least something like a Burris Fastfire on all my hunting guns, prefer a traditional low-magnification scope on turkey guns (which is not as practical to mount on an o/u or sxs).
One more thing, most o/u's & sxs's will not have the same poi with both barrels, and unless you have adjustable sights (on any shotgun), you're using "Kentucky windage/elevation" to attempt accurately shooting those tight chokes.
I bought a SXS coach gun because I thought I might want to get into CAS. I bought the double trigger because I read many accounts that the single triggers had a lot of problems.But like most older side-by-sides, it had two triggers.
First time I needed a 2nd shot, I pulled the same trigger, pulled harder, and it still didn't shoot
Nothing is 100% reliable.
I don't know if that's fact or not. I haven't done any CAS and still haven't fired the gun.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I have a single trigger over/under.
Have often confused myself as to which direction to move the safety for either the over or the under barrel. Other than that, it has always shot, up to 2 times with 2 consecutive trigger pulls.
Another reason I prefer autoloaders:
Reloading when empty is easier & quicker.
Typically of no issue with turkey hunting, but big issue for other hunting & self defense.
Similar can be compared to using a revolver vs. an autoloading handgun.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
One other thing about "double triggers".
Most are manufactured for right-handed shooters,
with the more forward trigger being off-set to the right of the rear trigger, offset to the left.
This is so a right-handed shooter is unlikely to accidently touch the rear trigger when 1st shooting the forward trigger. More than once, since I shoot left-handed (with right-hand-triggered double guns), I have double-fired on game when I near simultaneously pulled both triggers.
It is also my thinking that most cannot get off a 2nd shot as quickly with 2 triggers as they could with only 1 trigger. Having 2 triggers is yet just something else to think about, a thought that doesn't exist with any pump or autoloader.
Most are manufactured for right-handed shooters,
with the more forward trigger being off-set to the right of the rear trigger, offset to the left.
This is so a right-handed shooter is unlikely to accidently touch the rear trigger when 1st shooting the forward trigger. More than once, since I shoot left-handed (with right-hand-triggered double guns), I have double-fired on game when I near simultaneously pulled both triggers.
It is also my thinking that most cannot get off a 2nd shot as quickly with 2 triggers as they could with only 1 trigger. Having 2 triggers is yet just something else to think about, a thought that doesn't exist with any pump or autoloader.
Oh I wasn't trying to make a comparison between pumps or semi-autos and SXS. The application I bought by SXS for doesn't allow semi-autos and pumps aren't a good option. They also have to be extractors not ejectors.
woodsman04
Well-Known Member
Shells I think have been the problem of jams that I have seen. Too short or too long. The rim of the brass can get bummed up after loading and unloading so many times. 1oz loads may not cycle good in a 12 gauge auto gas operated that has a 3"+ chamber. Use 1-1/8oz.
Sometimes if your using old shells some rust on the brass could cause issues
Sometimes if your using old shells some rust on the brass could cause issues
Sounds like the newer autos have come a long way since my exposure to them from the early 90s to mid 2000s. I currently own and hunt 5 REM 870s in several gauges. I have hunted them hard in all weather and they have never failed me, thus why I have an extremely favorable opinion of the ones I own. Of course, I routinely disassemble, clean, reassemble, etc, so that likely aided in my favorable opinion. With that said, only one of my 870 shotguns is newer than 2000 model, but it has held up well too. It is the 20G I turkey hunt with now.
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Im fixing to say something that will blow your minds.... I love semis...and pumps!!
I have berettas, Benellis, Remington 1100s 1187s and 870s and a couple mossbergs. LOVE EM ALL. Although its crossed my mind to sell some that i never use.
I have berettas, Benellis, Remington 1100s 1187s and 870s and a couple mossbergs. LOVE EM ALL. Although its crossed my mind to sell some that i never use.
