Thinking about buying my first O/U

End of year hunt.. landowner wanted as many roosters killed as possible and with an o/u the person is constantly reloading. I have no problems with them, in fact I love adjacent hunters having them as I will out shoot them all day long which would be obvious as I would have more shells. This particular hunt was more of a shoot than a hunt....
 
Lol, a boom boom!:D Isn't that what you make in the toilet? If I ever make it out to SD I'll be bringing my boom boom, my dogs wouldn't be very happy if we drove all that way and only hunted a few hours each day.
 
Never heard of anyone or any place not allowing O/U's but I have heard of hunting operations that require hunters to carry a break open gun. It's a safety issue.
 
hmm I have shot Semi-Autos that jammed at the wrong moment and sliders that did not fire.
Never had a problem with a SxS or O/U of any kind.
I have had a shot at a triple once in my life.
The state I do most of my hunting has a limit of three roosters.
I like knowing when the fella I am standing next to gun is safe, and not taking his word on that.
For me I will stick to a sideways boom boom:D.
In fact I have a Belgian Browning 16 A5 I am thinking of relieving myself of. It is one of two semis I have left.
But my wife does like her Benelli 20 Ga.
If a SxS is good enough for General Shwartchof...it is good enough for me.
 
A poor shot is a poor shot whether his gun holds 2 rounds or 7! And, with that 3 bird limit, how long should it take??? Perhaps hunters would try and shoot better when when carrying either a SXS or stack-barrel, or even if just trying to prolong the hunt for a while.

I've hunted with a guy (not any more) that used a Benelli SBE with a magazine extension. When a rooster took flight, he would usually shoot the gun dry as fast as possible with 3" Mag #5's, and he rarely ever hit one. However, the folks that make Federal ammo must love him...............
 
hey Jaytee. New forum poster here, but a longtime shotgunner and would add my voice to those who favor two barrel guns. I've not shot the Rugers so can't comment, but will put in a plug for my Weatherby Orion III o/u. 20 gauge, 26" barrel; as sweet handling a field gun as I've ever had the pleasure to hunt with.

If you're out there in the midwest with all those wonderful wild birds, you might prefer a 12 - to reach out that extra 7 yards or so. For me if a bird comes up too far, it's me or the dog at fault, not the gauge of the gun.

As for two barrels versus semiautos, I've never had a 2-barrel gun jam. Can't say the same for semi-autos. And as someone else posted, I've never had 3 roosters up at once. Two barrels, be they aside one another or on top of one another, are enough shootin' for most pheasant situations - at least for this old fella.
 
I have a Weatherby Athena grade III 12ga that I have had for about 5 years. It's been flawless. Too bad Weatherby stopped having SKB make their O/U's. Since then SKB has went out of business.
 
Im probably the wierd one in the bunch, but when I hunt, if I have shot my 3 birds, Im done. Now, I may continue to hunt with someone thats along without a dog, but Im not shootin. If my dog puts up birds for you, and you cant hit them, I better not hear any grumbling that night about not getting your birds..

As far as multiple birds, I would have to say that it would be a rare, rare occasion that I would even attempt a double, let alone a triple.. I did score a double this year on prairie chickens, though.

My feeling are, these birds are tough as nails to anchor. I watch to see how hard I hit a bird on the first shot, and if I dont think its hit hard enough,(and time allows) I will give it the second barrel. I like easy retrieves...

Ive been around too many situations where a guy says.... Bring the dogs,, I got three down and cant find any of em.. Well, If you dont have a dog yourself, you should probably limit your birds to one at a time. Knock one down, you run to the spot to find it. I dont care how many birds get up between you and the fall site. But thats just me.


With that said.. On the last trip, Breez was pointing 20 yds in front of me.. A rooster jumped up 12 yards to my right, (they run, right?) I pulled up on the bird and missed the first shot, and also the second shot, at which time 7 roosters got up right in front of my dog, 20 yds away. Those are the thing that you remember about a hunt. I cant remember many of the kills this year, but I remember great dog work, and a great find, tracking job or retrieve.. and of course, the misses..

For the kind of hunting I do, a double barrel is a perfect weapon..
 
I am with you reddog. I do not party hunt. If I get my three birds I will still work the dog for others, but the gun is left in the truck.

On the subject of Weatherby's and SKB's. My first O/U was purchased at Guns Unlimiteds scratch and dent sale for SKB's. Many years ago Guns Unlimited was the sole importer of SKB's to the US (the barrels use to have that stamped on them). So one could buy a O/U that was used as a demo at a nice discount.

My understanding is that SKB is no longer in business or at least has been re organized. Still if one can get a hold of an old 1980ish SKB. I think you could get one at a good price and they shoot very nicely.
 
Im probably the wierd one in the bunch, but when I hunt, if I have shot my 3 birds, Im done. Now, I may continue to hunt with someone thats along without a dog, but Im not shootin. If my dog puts up birds for you, and you cant hit them, I better not hear any grumbling that night about not getting your birds..

As far as multiple birds, I would have to say that it would be a rare, rare occasion that I would even attempt a double, let alone a triple.. I did score a double this year on prairie chickens, though.

My feeling are, these birds are tough as nails to anchor. I watch to see how hard I hit a bird on the first shot, and if I dont think its hit hard enough,(and time allows) I will give it the second barrel. I like easy retrieves...

Ive been around too many situations where a guy says.... Bring the dogs,, I got three down and cant find any of em.. Well, If you dont have a dog yourself, you should probably limit your birds to one at a time. Knock one down, you run to the spot to find it. I dont care how many birds get up between you and the fall site. But thats just me.


With that said.. On the last trip, Breez was pointing 20 yds in front of me.. A rooster jumped up 12 yards to my right, (they run, right?) I pulled up on the bird and missed the first shot, and also the second shot, at which time 7 roosters got up right in front of my dog, 20 yds away. Those are the thing that you remember about a hunt. I cant remember many of the kills this year, but I remember great dog work, and a great find, tracking job or retrieve.. and of course, the misses..

For the kind of hunting I do, a double barrel is a perfect weapon..

I will second what you said Reddog. I did shot a double this year but without some good dog work I would have lost one. They are a tough bird period. I am amazed how often they look dead and yet the dog has to track them down. I used to hunt with an 870 pump, my shooting average has gone way up since I switch to an over and under (and yes I keep data on shells shots, birds killed, and birds lost).

Happy New Year to all. :cheers:
 
I will second what you said Reddog. I did shot a double this year but without some good dog work I would have lost one. They are a tough bird period. I am amazed how often they look dead and yet the dog has to track them down. I used to hunt with an 870 pump, my shooting average has gone way up since I switch to an over and under (and yes I keep data on shells shots, birds killed, and birds lost).

Happy New Year to all. :cheers:

did you get my PM on the O/U yesterday?
 
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