Shotgun Question

[timeout]

You're referring to POA (point of aim). Every gun, whether or not equipped with sights or even aimed, will shoot to point of impact. You missed the humor.

POI and POA should be the same, generally speaking. Exceptions? I can think of one at the moment: shooting a box test with a scope to test adjustments of W/E and repeatability thereof.

Now back to the topic. OP, why do you have a red dot sight on an O/U shotgun?

I don't own a Red Dot or an O/U. Truly asking for a friend. I can tell you that in this State and County we were shotgun only deer hunting for years. My friend had his shotgun equipped with a Red Dot for Whitetail slug hunting. He was Darn good with that setup. He likes Red Dots for that situation and was looking to do the same with the CZ Reaper for turkey hunting. The Reaper comes with a pic rail to mount a Red Dot. I can understand his desire to do so. His concern was learning of a Reaper that shot 14" lower on the bottom barrel @ 40 yards. Seems like a logical concern. That would be a concern for anyone. My friend does a considerable amount of waterfowl shotgunning and can afford good firearms. I also understand that one does not necessarily want to spend a fortune on a firearm to hunt turkeys a handful of days out of a year. As an aside, both his son and daughter shot on high school trap teams, so he does have some experience and knowledge of pricey shotguns. Myself on the other hand, do not. Like I said in an earlier post, things got off the rail a bit. I truly didn't mind that and appreciate each one of you that contributed to this thread. Thanks Again!

 

[KY_Windage]

Now back to the topic. OP, why do you have a red dot sight on an O/U shotgun?

The Red-Dot is fine. The question is, why take an O/U turkey hunting? If that is all your laws allow, okay, but o/wise I would get a semi-auto.

O/U's have wonderful balance and weight-distribution, but you need those things only for shooting flying. He w/b paying a lot for something he does not need if he is just shooting turkeys rifle-style.

 

[Tommie]

Not that this will address the barrel regulation issue,but...
Take that sight off. Biggest mistake in shotgun shooting is “aiming” the gun.

 

[KMart]

Not that this will address the barrel regulation issue,but...
Take that sight off. Biggest mistake in shotgun shooting is “aiming” the gun.

And there is a huge difference between looking at the target and focusing on the target.

 

[KY_Windage]

Not that this will address the barrel regulation issue,but...
Take that sight off. Biggest mistake in shotgun shooting is “aiming” the gun.

Only if OP's friend is going to try to shoot those turkeys on the wing. In ordinary "call 'em in and blast 'em" turkey hunting, you want sights on that tight-choked baby.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Only if OP's friend is going to try to shoot those turkeys on the wing. In ordinary "call 'em in and blast 'em" turkey hunting, you want sights on that tight-choked baby.

Rifle sights work best

 

[Tommie]

Only if OP's friend is going to try to shoot those turkeys on the wing. In ordinary "call 'em in and blast 'em" turkey hunting, you want sights on that tight-choked baby.

Guess I missed the part about it being used for turkey hunting.

 

[john 800]

The Red-Dot is fine. The question is, why take an O/U turkey hunting? If that is all your laws allow, okay, but o/wise I would get a semi-auto.

O/U's have wonderful balance and weight-distribution, but you need those things only for shooting flying. He w/b paying a lot for something he does not need if he is just shooting turkeys rifle-style.

I like a o/u for turkey hunting, as to why: different chokes and loads in each barrel. Dont need or want the super tight pattern at close range. Tungsten shot and turkey choke in one, copper plated 5s improved mod in the other.

 

[Daddymac]

Good point on the possibility of some parallax. Friend of mine looking to buy one for turkey hunting. He wanted to be able to run two different choke tubes for short or long range. He was interested in the CZ Reaper but was told of someone that had experienced the 14" low @ 40 problem. He's not looking to buy a real high end O/U just for turkey hunting.

Heard it from a friend that heard it from a friend is one problem I see, and they call them scatter guns for a reason. O/U patterns are supposed to converge at some distance I would think inside 40 yards in most cases as beyond that the pattern is becoming ineffective with most normal bird or target shells, I also would wager that like rifles you could take two made on the same line the same day and they will shoot or converge some different. I do think it is possible to get a O/U that shoots like you stated but I think that would be the exception not the rule and if I had one that shot like that it would be on the way back to the manufacturer for repair.

 

[wkdickinson]

Are O/U shotguns by Beretta, Browning and Ruger, let alone CZ really "regulated". Watch the H&H video that has been around recently, where they show how "regulating" is done. Could a manufacturer of $1K-$2K shotguns really afford to do that? My guess is that they try to manufacture their barrels as consistently as they can (much easier on a shotgun than a rifle), solder them together and end up with mostly acceptable results.

 

[FNSafari]

With an over/under shotgun that is equipped with a Red Dot sight, would you say that it an anomaly or commonplace, that the gun would pattern 14" lower @ 40 yards with the bottom barrel than the top one?

To answer this question, I would say it is an anomaly. Something to consider is that your face to stock contact is the rear sight and to get a shotgun to shoot in the same place every time, your cheek weld must be the same every time. If you raise your cheek up a little, the gun will start to shoot higher. If your cheek is not consistent, maybe the red dot induces some parallax.
Does the bottom barrel shoot 14" low without the red dot? Years ago when O/U were becoming popular. quite a few of them came from the factory with barrels that did not shoot to the same point of aim. And most are a little different.
I hope my rambling is understandable.

Regulating double barrel shotguns is not difficult or easy. It takes experience. My thought is, if this is a Turkish or other foreign low priced double, it may be off. Only way to tell is take the sight off and shoot the gun on a pattern board at your selected range.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Regulating double barrel shotguns is not difficult or easy. It takes experience. My thought is, if this is a Turkish or other foreign low priced double, it may be off. Only way to tell is take the sight off and shoot the gun on a pattern board at your selected range.

So at what price are shotguns actually regulated? If i buy a $3000 beretta is it regulated? Would a DT11 beretta at $12,000 be regulated?

 

[jk80]

I've seen some pretty expensive guns that didn't shoot where they should ans sometimes its a crapshoot to get something done. I won't name the brand, but I helped a shooter try and sort one out. The over under barrels on the combo set were shooting LOW!!! We were at the grand, went to the pattern board to confirm what I saw when watching her shoot. Even after showing them the patterns the maker still tried to say they were acceptable. They were shooting a full pattern low at 35 yards. This was on a 15,000 dollar gun. They finally gave her a new set of barrels but it took some talking. It can happen. I'm just glad it was at a large enough shoot the maker was there to deal with direct. I'm sure a clinker rifle slips through every once in a while even with the custom builders. It's how they stand behind it that impresses me.

 

[FNSafari]

So at what price are shotguns actually regulated? If i buy a $3000 beretta is it regulated? Would a DT11 beretta at $12,000 be regulated?

Pattern board it and find out.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Pattern board it and find out.

Ive been meaning to. They have a real nice one at my shotgun club. What distance should i do it?

 

[FNSafari]

Ive been meaning to. They have a real nice one at my shotgun club. What distance should i do it?

I think you know the answer.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I think you know the answer.

Actually i dont but if i was guessing id say 40yds?

 

[FNSafari]

Good choice. I do that and also about game bird range of about 30 yds. A double barrel, arguably, should print the barrels within about 4" of each other and hopefully with a rather even distribution of shot in 4 quadrants and near POA.