How do I know how an Over/Under will shoot? 60:40 or 50:50...

D

dargrim

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Can anyone explain how to know where the shot pattern will be when looking at new guns. I have a Benelli Supersport and I like how it shoots. I think it's a 50:50 shot pattern. I want to get an over under that shoots the same as this but manufacturers don't say what their gun shot patterns are. Do I measure the rib on the barrel?

Thanks
 
You don't know and it's information the manufacturers can't really provide. The rear "sight" of the shotgun is your eye and where your eye is placed determines the windage and elevation of the pattern. Due to physical differences among us a gun that might shoot 50-50 for you could shoot 60-40 for me.

Measuring the rib won't help but when you test mount the gun look to see where your eyes are in relationship to the rib. If it is centered in your vision and it looks flat (e.g. you can't see too much of it) it's probably pretty close to 50-50. But the only way to find out for sure is to pattern the gun and have the stock altered accordingly.
 
Unless its a high end gun like a K-80 or Kolar its hard to tell, but I would guess 50-50 or 60-40, the only way to be sure is to pattern it.
 
My understanding is it's all in how you adjust the height of the comb. Raising or lowering your cheek on the gun works just like raising or lowering the rear sight on a rifle, then you just need to adjust/pattern untill you get it where you want it.
 
The angle of the rib in comparison to the barrels makes a differents. I see very little rib on my sporting gun but it has a "high post rib" and patterns very high but that's what it's made to do.
 
The pattern will be controlled by the shooter's hold of the gun. The same gun in one person's hold can shoot 50:50 and in another's can be 70:30 or more. My advice is to pick up the gun and shoulder it with your eyes closed and observe where the ramp and beads are. Do this a few times to get an idea of where you mount the gun and the sight picture you have. From there compare the sight picture to a gun you know and then you have to make a guess as to how it till shoot. If the gun has a ramped rib this will make it shoot higher still. The only way to really know is the pattern board. Buying a shotgun without holding it is a risky move IMHO...
 
When I shoot the front bead is on top of the mid bead. My worry is that if I buy a new gun the shot pattern might be higher than normal for me even if I do the same with the beads.
 
I think you will find most italian sporting guns tend to shoot a little high 60/40.

I owned a supersport and it definitely shot 60/40, I found it had way too much recoil for a target gun and promptly sold it.

But do you know the difference between 50/50 and 60/40 to your average shooter?

It's about 6 inches and you can find those 6 inches between your ears.

As long as you are focused on the target, 50/50 60/40 won't make a discernible difference.

If you are a top skeet, trap, SC shooter then you may notice the difference and take any advantage there may be.
 
The simplest answer to this is to pattern the gun. If you are shooting something with an adjustable comb & rib, then it can be set to pattern the percentage you want. For the rest of us shooting a fixed stock and rib, the pattern board will tell us where the pattern is for us then we have to decide whether we can live with it or not. I've been fortunate enough to have the last 3 I've bought shoot 60 over 40 at 20yrds.
 
It's fairly simple.

Make a patterning board out of a piece of paper applied to a cardboard or coreplast backer and set it about 20-25 from your shooting position.

Place a black mark in the centre of the paper.

Raise your gun to your regular pre-mounted position and look at the black mark in the middle of the paper.

Fire 5 shots at the paper using the bottom barrel.
Then repeat using the top barrel.

Look at the concentration of pellets relative to the mark on the paper.

Circle the densest concentration of each paper. Stack them one over the other and that's where your gun is shooting relative to you.

If you have an adjustable comb, move the comb in the direction you wish to move the pattern. Ed if you need to raise the pattern, raise the comb. If you need to move the pattern to the right, move the comb to the right.

If you don't have a comb, you can buy a Jones pad, or a Morgan pad. They have a sliding plate that allows you to move your whole stock relative to your recoil pad. You can also get just the sliding plate that fits between the recoil pad and the stock.

Midway USA and Brownell's both sell them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom