o/u help

[Axis II]

okay so ive got a pretty stupid question. I have a stoeger 20ga o/u I purchased to rabbit and pheasant hunt and I don't know if its the chokes im using or me or the gun but I cant really hit squat with this thing. I rabbit hunted with it last year and kicked one up about 15ft away and was right on him and shot with #5/6 shot and a mod choke I think it was and only got a few pellets in him and then threw the 2nd barrel I think with a full choke and only got a few pellets in it and ended up having to shoot it again while it laid there crippled. I almost threw the gun across the field I was so pissed.

I tried shooting trap and skeet with it and cant hit squat but can break them all day long with any other gun other than an o/u.

what's the trick?

 

[2bfree]

Just pattern the dang thing, that will tell you what is hitting where a lot better than I can sitting at my computer. Come back with that info and maybe than we can have an answer that would mean something other than you are just a bad shot which is all you have given us thus far.

 

[kudu]

Make an impromptu pattern board with a brown paper grocery sack, cut it open and shoot it. It won't be as big as a standard 4 foot board, but it will get you there.

 

[PapaG]

Agree with prior posts. The more inexpensive over/unders are often not as well regulated as those with more attention paid during build. I'm amazed that there as any rabbit left shooting at 15 feet.

 

[Axis II]

Agree with prior posts. The more inexpensive over/unders are often not as well regulated as those with more attention paid during build. I'm amazed that there as any rabbit left shooting at 15 feet.

it was kind of spur of the moment thing. we can walk for miles and kick bushes on public land and not see 1 rabbit so my excitement got the best out of me. going to the range this week so ill pattern it and see what's going on. I figured the same being that close it would have been cut in half.

I can shoot I can break clay 23-24 out of 25. just wanted to ask about the chokes and what not.

 

[rbernie]

Shotguns (when used as scatterguns and not as slug guns) are meant to be pointed and not aimed - when you shoulder the gun, it needs to put pellets wherever you're looking and it needs to do that without you needing to drop/tilt/cant your head or adjust the stock or any other fiddliness.

To do that, the gun has to naturally and consistently align the barrel(s) with your eye as you shoulder it, and you have to build a consistent way of shouldering the gun. This is why gun fit (cast, drop, pull, and pitch) is important - when you shoulder the gun, you must have the barrel naturally aligned with your eye and that will only happen if the gun actually fits your body shape.

If the Stoeger doesn't fit you well enough to provide that immediate and consistent alignment, then it doesn't matter how it patterns or whether it's an O/U - you're just not gonna shoot it well under field conditions.

http://www.sidebysideshotgun.com/articles/gun_fitting_article.html

http://www.gundogmag.com/training/fine-tuning-a-shotgun-to-fit-you/

 

[PapaG]

For bunnies in the brush, imp cylinder is tight enough. I've had dozens expire with only one or two #5s.

 

[horsey300]

Look at it like you do a rifle....don't know where it hits? Put it on paper! Use multiple loads at various distances. Remember where each one hits. I can throw pellets out of my open cylinder 18.5" at rabbit heads all day and have very few pellets in the meat with the bulk of the shot dusting just in front of em. Your story reminds me of the time a friend borrowed my faithful sxs .410 and missed 4 rabbits up close till I saw the cedar branches rattle 12" above the critter! High velocity field loads at 20 ft, next one he decapitated! The shotgun is not a precision rifle but you should still put in the practice time to be just as proficient. Also, when papering out your shots, use a different target for each barrel. The right bbl on that sxs is canted slightly to to the left so it only shoots "straight" at a certain distance. This is most noticeable with slugs but DOES show up with shot at longer distances. The left barrel is straight as can be. When I'm hunting through areas with big cats, the slug goes on the left and shot on the right and I only use the trigger for that barrel until I NEED the slug and pick up plenty of tasties this way.