Doubles with a Single Shot Shotgun

[sm]

Preface​

This is not a new thing, this has been going on forever. Remember, many folks only had one long gun in the house, and for many it was a single shot shotgun.
This Single Shot, provided food for the table, as well being used to defend the property, from whatever the property needed defending from.

I am always going on about gun fit and correct basic fundamentals. These encompass a LOT of things.

In shooting, there are quite a number of things one must always do correctly, many at the same time - for sure every single time one shoots.

I/ we have shared numerous times one must "become one with the gun", the gun becomes an "extension of them".

Repetition becomes habit - habit become faith

Get all the physcial stuff down pat and continue to practice these physical things. I mean once the gun fits you, and everything else is figured out for you, don't mess with it, leave it alone - just practice a lot.

Mental part needs to be trained and practiced as well. In shotguns one focuses on the target, this allows them and their and human computer to figure threat, speed, angles, any and everything.

If one is "one with the gun" they never really need to look at the gun to do anything, all the Physical stuff is a natural part of them, a lot of the Mental stuff is done too, just each presentation has to be accessed at that time.

It is like just walking into a room of your house and flipping a light switch on - that room and that switch is an extension of you.

If you visit someone, and that house, its room and its switches are foreign to you - What do you find yourself doing?

1. You have watch where you are going, and you have to look for that switch.
2. You "instinctivley" reach for a switch in a room where it is in your house.

"Shoot one gun and know it" - understand why it is not always best to always change up guns, platforms and such?
Explains why we suggest duplicates of same guns, they feel and operate the same way as each other.

Doubles with Single Shot Shotgun Yes I am going to share this , just I really needed to preface , and the lowly single shot , brings to light how important all these things I/ we harp about so much.

 

[sm]

Dangerous Game Guns are two barrel guns.
The shooter keeps two extra cartridges in weak hand fingers.
He simply shoots twice, ejects spent cartridges, loads two and is able to shoot two again very fast.

Works the same way for a two barreled break open action shotgun, be it an Over and Under, or Side by Side.

This is all one is doing with a Single Shot Shotgun. Just think of it as a ‘Half Double Gun”.

External Hammers have to be considered, but one develops a rhythm, with firing, opening action, ejected hull, weak hand feeds chamber, gun closed, hammer back and firing again.

Things to note:

1. How the gun opens. H&R Topper and NEF have a Thumb-Lever” or “Opening-Lever one depresses located next to the hammer. This is what I use most and there are some advantages for me.

First off, fast means fewer motions, and less wasted motions. I keep my shooting hand thumb on same side of stock [not over the stock]; by doing so one does not bump face into thumb when shooting shorter Length of Pull [LOP] shotguns. I often shoot Youth Model Single Shot Shotguns, various reasons, one being I work with smaller sized folks and kids often.

Also take note where my thumb is while being on same side of Stock – near that “Thumb-Lever” or “Opening –Lever, which in addition is near the External Hammer, one has to pull back on H&R/ NEF single shot shotguns.

My thumb is not having to go far and my strong side shooting hand positioning is not altered a whole lot.

1a. Side-Levers, and here I am referring to the lever like found on an O/U or SxS in which one “levers to the side” to open action, are found on some Single Shot Shotguns as well. Savage Stevens made one for example.

Personally, I really like these, and am quite fast with these as well, I have a lot of experience with these on these types of guns. Just notice how fast and effortless an O/U or SxS shotgunner opens an action on a Browning, Beretta, Krieghoff, Perazzi, etc.

1b Trigger Guard Opening guns.
I am NOT comfortable with new shooters, especially kids, using this type of shotgun.
Rule 3 – “keep finger off trigger”.
These guns open by pulling back on trigger guard. I have a problem with fingers near the trigger(s) especially by less experienced persons.
I personally prefer to have the shooting finger/ index finger straight alongside receiver, that to have it up and in front pulling back a trigger guard.

Sometimes with a loaded break action open gun a gun has to be opened with a live round in the chamber.
Maybe you call for a clay target, and the trap machine is out of clays. You have to “Safe Gun” [Unload it] and once the range is “Safe and Clear” one can load the machine with clays.

2. Action has to be smooth.
Some of these break action guns are hard to open, and to close. Opening and closing the gun to “break in” helps. Having someone qualified to polish [not the same as removing metal] smoothes up the action.

Hinge pin areas need quality and correct lubing. Browning for instance on my Citori’s always said to use Browning Oil.

Some manufacturers suggest light grease. RIG +P [Rust Inhibiting Grease] for instance is a good one. This has been around forever such like the original RIG.

STOS [Slicker Than Owl Snot (or something else)] available from Ponsess-Warren is really that “slick” and works very well.

Browning Gun Oil in the tin can like used to be available is no more. These are now collectibles and have fetched upwards to $65 at gun shows.

Ballistol is something else I have used and it is very slick.

Dexron II Automatic Transmission Fluid works.

Not what you use, use something that works for you, in your climate and manufacturer recommends.


3. I shoot from low gun position, meaning the gun is not pre- mounted gun to face then buttstock on shoulder.

I AM tracking the target with my eyes and body. I am moving my body for positioning as I track the bird. I am doing the same thing a pre- mounted shooter is doing. At the slap of the trigger – we are doing the same thing, we went through similar movements if not the same ones. Shooting methods do have some difference between sustained lead and pass-through [swing through] methods.

I am a swing through shooter.
On doubles, I am going to “drop” the buttstock out of my shoulder pocket, re-acquire the target and again all this time my eyes and body are moving, mount gun to face and when buttstock hits shoulder pocket, slap trigger.

Slower some are perhaps thinking. No.

Even using longer barrels up to 34” I and others can mount a gun smoother and faster than someone with a short barrel gun, and break the target quicker than they can. One more thing too - others and shoot higher scores, we break more birds.

What happens with pre-mounted folks, especially newer and less experienced shooters – they think too much, ride the target too long.


4. Practice.
Quality practice and use the Dryfire Rules of Safety.

One has to become one with the gun, and let that gun become an extension of them. Shotgun shooters are not the only ones. While a shotgunner might be doing 25- 200 correct mounting of gun to face each night in the garage…

The Revolver shooter is dry-firing his revolver and practicing ejecting spent casings and getting speedloaders to fill the charge holes.

Semi- Auto handgun shooter is dropping magazines and inserting magazines.


Neatest training tool I had for a bit was a stupid yellow critter toy. I forget what it was called. I had it in the garage, and imagine a this railroad track about 2 inches wide and this critter would run back and forth, back and forth, just keep doing this until you made it stop.

About 8 to 10 foot “run” and I would watch that yellow critter, and practice feeding a single shot shotgun with a dummy round, mount gun to face and shoot at it.

I used it for pump guns, and even focused on it while I dropped 1911 mags and inserted new ones.

Buddy of mine used a oval car race track, just a kids car race thing and he too would focus on a car, and practice loading a gun, his low gun mounts and all. He started doing this to improve his shooting at Crazy Quail.

He was a seasoned shooter, just not much experience with shotguns. His mess ups at Crazy Quail were looking at his gun to load it. Every time he would take his eyes away from looking for targets getting tossed, the puller would pull a bird.

One cannot shoot what they cannot see. - Misseldine