Vent ribs

[rbernie]

I decided something this past weekend - vent ribs don't help me get a proper bead alignment in the least, and the absence of a vent rib helps make a barrel breathtakingly light relative to a similar barrel with a rib.

I always presumed they would be useful. I may have to rethink that.

 

[Dave McCracken]

There's few absolutes in shotgunning,R, and you just ran across another example of why not.

Dunno about Breathtaking, though.

Apples to apples, a plain barrel is going to be a couple ounces lighter. Some of that weight isn't where it counts the most, towards the muzzle.

 

[ATAShooter]

Then I guess with a rib like this, I'd lose 50 pounds if I remove it .... And yes, 34", ... it is like swinging a 8 foot sewer pipe.

 

[jpatterson]

Holy crap!

 

[pingpingping]

Holy crap!

That rib looks like a train tressle!

 

[Sunray]

"...vent ribs don't help me get a proper bead alignment..." That's what a properly fitting stock is for.

 

[rbernie]

That's what a properly fitting stock is for.

I'm sorta figuring that out. The vent rib seems to help eye alignment in the store under static conditions, but under field conditions I am never aware of its existence.

Apples to apples, a plain barrel is going to be a couple ounces lighter.

My 1100 'full size' 20ga plain barrel is less than half the weight of my 870 20ga vent rib barrel. I have to believe that the wall thickness is less in the 1100 barrel, but I guess I also attributed a lot of the weight loss to the absence of the rib.

 

[machinisttx]

I'm sorta figuring that out. The vent rib seems to help eye alignment in the store under static conditions, but under field conditions I am never aware of its existence.

I shoot equally well with my vent rib barrels and my plain barrels. I've never figured out how or why a vent rib is supposed to help.

 

[Virginian]

I used to prefer shooting skeet with a 26" non-ribbed barrel on my 12 gauge 1100. I was a teenager at the time, and I remember well it drove all the old hands nuts. The fact I had the high average and most straights in the league was salt in the wound. They needn't have worried. Eventually I got older and smarter like everybody else. I don't shoot near as good, but I know that's just from lack of practice. Right?

 

[mnw42]

That is a trap gun if I ever saw one

 

[chas08]

I've been told that ribs evolved as a means to elevate the sight plane above the heat mirage of a hot barrel. I've never experienced this personally. I love my plain barrel Model 12's. Everything else I own has a rib because it came that way. If the gun fits, you don't see the rib or the barrel. For me, it in no way, enhances the sight plane.

 

[berettashotgun]

I never noticed sights,heat mirage,sound,smell,thoughts of ex,sunshine,clouds,fishing,people.etc...
when I was "on"
I have ribs on my stuff, but remove the beads on my dove hunting shotguns; didn't toss them, just removed because the beads were hanging up on the fabric in the case.

 

[mswestfall]

Is a light gun good? Heavier guns are an advantage to those that shoot 200 rounds or more in a day. I like a gun over eight pounds.

SunRay makes a good point. The comb determines the view down the bbl; both cast (left and right) and elevation (height). Field guns have low stocks and therefore shoot "flat". You must cover the bird to shoot a flat gun. Skeet and Sporting Clays guns shoot slightly elevated where you just see the bird just above the bbl. A Trap gun is distinctly different because it is set up to shoot a rising bird.

A high comb forces the breech down and the muzzle up. This lets you see the bird above the bbl. The gun in ATAShoothers picture allows you to hold a high gun (higher over the Trap House). This helps you see a rising bird. This can minimize the movement of the gun. For me this is much more important in shooting Trap Doubles than it is in shooting Trap Singles. But that's just me.

A rib, vented or not helps (most people) align the gun especially if you shoot from the "low gun" position.

As Dave said, there are no absolutes in shotgunning but there are strong preferences. In my experience, Trap guns are the most unique, important, different than guns used in other sports.