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Joined: 11 Jan 2018 Posts: 36 Location: Eastern NC

I have severalo/u, and semi autos of various gauges and a sweet 16 that I have no trouble hitting what I'm shooting at. I have one sxs at the moment that I enjoy shooting but can't seem to hit with, it is a Stevens 16. From the pattern board it appears I need to cover my quarry with the barrels, which would be a lot different from my current style. Does this seem right? Would I be better to " jug" the barrels? Thoughts or ideas appreciated.

What is the "DROP" of this stock?
What are the drops of the others?

LOP?
Pitch?

Joined: 03 Sep 2014 Posts: 398 Location: Rochester, MN

Have someone check how the gun fits you.

Read this over and make sure your eye is over the rib.

https://www.theyorkshiregent.com/shooting/gun-fitting-guide-fit-shotgun/

After getting the gun fit to you, pattern it to confirm that each barrel has the point of impact at the point of aim.

Jugging the barrels is not going to help your situation as you describe it.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

On my SXS's I like to have about a 60/40 pattern and just float the bird on the barrels when shooting. Sounds like that old Stevens has too much drop for you. Some sort of comb riser might be necessary to reliably hit with it.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

My remedy for that is to use an O/U or semi auto Embarassed

Joined: 07 Sep 2014 Posts: 419

Go pattern the gun with the hold you are the most comfortable shooting it with and see where it is shooting.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

I have been very fortunate to have found a good number of SXS' that are effortless guns ( Magic wand ) .

A good deal of what I call coaxing guns , ones that if I help them out the shoot really well for me .

A huge number of ones that I will term use able but certainly nothing to talk about .

The last batch are simply put ( Fence Post ) best thing for them is to pour concrete around them and attach the field wire to them so the Ole cows can't get out .

Might try several different SXS to get a comparison to the one you have , not all wing guns are created equal .

I know that is not the answer your looking for , but the fact remains that not everyone wears the same size shoes.

I am blessed to have in my lifetime not only one Magic Wand but a dozen , one fantastic bird dog and some true friends .

Can't get much better than that, Oh and a Lacmiller resize to boot.

Try another SXS or two come back let us know , I think the answers just might reveal themselves to you .

Regards Nick

A quick thing to try is to just tape a piece of rug pad to the gun and try the same thing you did for a gun test . If lifting the cheekpiece gets your face up and the pattern up , you can just get a cheekeeze and call it a day . If not , as Nick sez , the games can begin . When you are not used to doubles , it can be a real test to get yourself to just look thru the shot at the target and shoot . Lots of distractions to get you off your game ! But FUN !!(add on DT's for increased fUN !!)

From your description the Stevens doesn't fit you. Sounds as you need less drop at the heel.

You will see Shotguns with all sorts of dimensions for Drop at Heel, Drop at Comb, cast on or off then pitch at the butt. You just need to find out which fit is for you.

Personally I shoot 1.5" drop at comb and 2.5" drop at heel with a neutral cast or slight cast off. This seems to be fairly standard for many factory shotguns.

It has nothing to do with wether the barrels are sxs, ou or single barrel. You shouldn't be looking at the bead or sighting down the barrel.

I often hear guys can't hit with SXS. This is malarky. I shoot SXS most of the time for upland game and lots of waterfowl. If a shotgun didn't fit me I would either get the stock bent to fit or send it down the road.

Quoting from Doug Marcaida...If it fits you, "it will keall".

Joined: 18 Feb 2018 Posts: 621 Location: va, ct, mo

unlike a o&u where the bottom bbl is designed and regulated to cross the center line of the bore on the top bbl at a predetermined distance, sbs's cross left or right.

to keep it easy to picture. picture holding the letter X in your hands. bottom left leg of x being left bbl, bottom right leg of x being right bbl. they cross each other somewhere out there in space.....but after that, they continue in opposing directions. that's where your shot goes on a sbs.
now, take that x and lift the bottom left leg so its directly over the right leg. that's how an o&u works. top bbl is normally designed to shoot straight, making the bottom bbl rise to meet the shot line of the top.
believe it or not, regardless of which gun you own, the point where the 2 bbls cross is important to learn.
shots made before the cross can be left or right of aim. same way long late shots with an o&u can be low or high.

for those that attend my shoot, we have a 50yd match. those that know the secret of shooting top bbl way back there tend to do better with their o&u's. and, those with semi auto do even better, because nothing crosses. its the same bore line regardless.
but those that dare to use a sbs...I pray for them.
why? at those distances.....shot is crossing the line of sight and its a hail mary at best to hit anything.
Wink

you need to pattern your gun at close up and work your way back till you see where your bbls cross.
come on out for the shoot and I can walk you thru it. no charge of course.

Joined: 18 Feb 2018 Posts: 621 Location: va, ct, mo

fyi...this is why very expensive o&u's have replaceable and different size bbl hangers that can be changed up front. poi can be tuned and tweeked. you can spot these guns because they are free of a bbl spacer between bbls. note the allen screw that holds the bottom hanger to the top in a dove tail. changing poi is as easy as changing the hanger.
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some even have means to bend the bbl slightly.
unfortunately, you cant do that with a sbs that is soldered the whole length, as below.
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and for the record, sbs bbls are bent to marry each other to be adjusted to that predetermined distance....then soldered into place forever.
old school is old school.
classic vintage guns pretty for sure....but it takes a certain level of intense knowledge of the gun to shoot them.
some luck out and get one that is perfect. some suffer. now you know why so many are always for sale. its a hermit crab game of finding the right one. some never do.

CottonStalk...

Got to agree...I have a very hard time with SxS guns too...I've had a few, a couple LC Smith's (1940's), a couple of Browning BSS guns, (two 12's, three 20s)...I've greatly enjoyed how well they came up and mounted, how nicely they swung, the whole "feel" of a SxS in the field...you name it. BUT....damn if I just couldnt CONSISTENTLY hit with them. In the field grouse hunting it was hard to judge (lots of things happening, tight quarters etc)..but on the trap range it became very apparent. I never patterned any of the guns, which maybe I should have, but targets and birds dont sit still like a paper target, and if I'm not hitting where I think (not quite the right word) I should be hitting, I've figured out it was probably the gun that was helping to make that difficult. (I'm no Annie Oakley, but you get what I'm saying)
I tend to shoot Browning Auto-5 shotgun reliably at clay targets, and in the field I have much better averages with them then SxS...or O/U for that matter. I think for myself personally it was the combination of a heavier gun and a little more weight out front more than the actual make and model. I've discovered I dont shoot Ithaca 37s too well either, again because I think they are too light for me, I love em for the weight savings, and the design, but damn..just cant reliably drop birds or clays... my Remington Model 31 is a different story...bang..dead...bang..powder... just works really well.
I just might shoot a heavier SxS (12ga Parker or Browning BSS) better than the others I've owned, they tend to be a little heavier up front...or even a Browning Superposed 12ga...but so far, after 20yrs of trying out quite a few lightweight type SxS and O/U guns, I've found they just dont seem to do it for me.

So...your not alone!

But, you may just find a little more weight might do the trick...