help

[sgoetz]

My dad has an old 12g double barrel. It hasn't been used or maintained very much and is a very poor shot (maybe 1 blackbird out of 50 at 20yds) if you're lucky. What can be done to improve it?

[cowdawg]

have you tried looking down the barrel rather than the sights when shooting? we have an old Win double barrel that we can not hit with from the sights but can if we sight down the barrel.

[Rew]

Doubles are tricky. But once you learn to use one nothing else feels quite right. How long are the barrels and what are the chokes? I have an old Savage/Stevens M311 that is suppose to be Full/Mod, I think it is closer to Extra Full/Full. I can hit dove if I let them get out there aways. It is great for ducks however. ;)

[cowdawg]

sgoetz The Double Barrels are sighted in at a distance and so when the bird is at that distance both barrels will be accurate, but closer or further away and they are not as accurate, thats why I use the look down the barrel in that old Win Double Barrel. It works for me that way. Your results may differ.

[gmar3940]

Before you determine why you can't hit anything with it, determine FIRST if it is safe to shoot! A trip to a good gunsmith will answer both your questions. Without seeing the gun all answers are mere speculation.

[MachinistTX]

Doubles are somewhat difficult to get accustomed to. I had a tough time when I started shooting one and still do sometimes.

Depending on the age of the gun, it may not be safe to shoot with anything other than blackpowder if it's in good shape.

It may also have short chambers. Some of the old guns had 2.5 inch chambers, and others had 2.625 inch chambers. Neither is safe for use with 2.75 inch ammunition.

Sometimes a shotgun won't pattern for squat with a particular size of shot, or brand of ammuntion. About the only recommendation I can offer here is to gather up a good assortment of different sizes of shot, brands of shotshells, and a whole lot of 4 foot by 4 foot squares of cardboard and go shoot the gun(at forty yards) to see what works and what doesn't. You may also discover that the barrels aren't regulated(meaning that the barrels don't shoot to the same place) very well, or that they shoot somewhere other than where the bead says they should.

My shotguns are all choked a little tighter than average, and I like them that way. You may find that your gun is choked tighter or looser than what the barrels claim to be when(if) you do the pattern testing.