doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com High Ribs on a SxS

Anyone else enjoy shooting with a high rib on your SxS? Perhaps a sin to purists, but I find I shoot much better with the high ribs such as was imported in the past by SKB. Am I the only one to confess? I really enjoy shooting clays with my 28 and 410.

Congratulations on your win at the Southern

For targets, I can see how a higher rib on a SxS might be useful. It might be a function of aging vision, but I seem to hit better on targets with a clearly defined sighting plane.

I shoot better with a game rib.

I won't buy a gun without a rib. I suggested to someone on here several months ago that when they bought a specific gun they should try to get one with a rib. That was just my opinion. They told me they don't need a rib on a gun that you're supposed to look at the target and not the gun. I always felt that your peripheral vision was lining up SOMETHING with the target. Whether it is a bead, the barrel, a rib, etc. So I like having a rib. I know I will get a lot of slack for saying it again, but oh well. I like seeing a rib when I point my gun at a target. Good luck.

No swamped ribs for me either.
A 21 with a vent rib was always my dream gun.

Not a popular configuration, but it works for me.
UA 215, vent rib, single trigger, BT forearm.

👍

A game rib works just fine shooting rough (or Ruff?) for me, but on targets the sighting plane of a taller rib seems to offer some advantages. That smaller clay target moving fast (and at greater distances) seems to require something of a more "precise" nature. Blasphemy....I know.

High, flat, file cut ribs for me. The wider the better. I don't care for sunken, deeply concave ribs.

Much like a late season, high and windswept dove.

Shoot a 410 sxs. The small barrels are the rib.

I like a rib that allows me to better 'look through the gun' or to allow the gun to be ghost like so I can better see rising targets such as trap targets and teal targets. Maybe that's why you like a slightly raised rib better? Some of those super high ribs on trap guns, you know, the grotequely high ones, I don't care much for them. I used to have a high rib Perazzi TMX....I never could shoot it as well as the lower rib TM-1 guns. The sight picture on the very high rib guns is bizarre to me. The English believe 'closer between the hands' is best. I bet they are right??

I have a mid-rib on my Ljutic trap gun. I first had a Ljutic with the smaller rib, but the gun didn't fit me. So I sold it and got the mid-rib. I like it so much better. Gorgeous wood and a palm swell. I don't see how those guys shoot with those big tall ribs that are about 3 in high. I've never tried one so maybe they are okay.😊 I just bought a BT-99 last year. The rib on it is okay for me.

I believe that which rib one prefers is in most part subjective. Those who claim the value of a high rib are right for themselves and those like them, as our those who proclaim the game rib, swamped rib, Churchill rib etc.

Gunmakers have long tried to meet market demand and sell guns to deliver that certain something. Sometimes they got it right, sometimes right for some but not all, sometimes the gimmicks were just that.

As each of us experiment with what works for them and find it, if it works for them then I am good with it.

The same is true for so many aspects of shooting.

BTW I like game ribs and shoot two swamped rib guns quite well.

My worry is something will distract my focus on the target, bird, whatever. My gun fits. It puts the shot where my eyes are to focus on a target at a reasonable distance for the shell and choke I’m using. My losses are usually from moving too slow or dropping concentration. I can’t see where ribs can be anything more than a personal selection. For me the aesthetics of a rib is more important than its function. The eye of the beholder/buyer.

The closer my eye is to the axis of the bore the better. High ribs don’t work for me.

Do you like a gun to shoot flat for you, as in 50/50? I prefer 60/40 as I don’t like the front bead to cover the target.

Just curious.

I like to see the target right over my bead and watch it break. If there is a mid-bead I want it right behind the front bead, no figure eight stacking, but I see a little rib; I’m not looking perfectly flat down the rib. In terms of 50/50 or 60/40, it’s closer to 60/40. I don’t generally use a pattern board unless I feel the POI is off.

I hear you. I’m a deliberate pattern shooter on any new gun I acquire. I built my own 4 X 4 steel plate just for this. I want to see two things when I pattern a gun of mine ….. first, that the two barrels print atop each other. Then, that the pattern is about 60/40. I asked only out of curiosity. Thanks.

When I bought my Ljutic trap gun several years ago, the guy I bought it from was with me when I first shot it and he told me that I had to come right up to the target to break the bird. The gun wasn't set up for me and I noticed the beads weren't stacked like they should be. So, I adapted to the gun. That was perfect for me because like Al Ljutic said, you should wait for the target to reach it's apex when you shoot it. That is the way I do it- it makes the target appear to be stationary. And not rising. So I figured the gun shoots about 45/55 or even 40/60 POI which is okay for me, because, I have occasionally had the habit of over running the target. And sometimes when I do over run the target, for a split second I think oh-no. Then all of a sudden- powder!! Works for me. Also, the barrel on that gun is 33" which is kind of rare.

I’ve got two adjustable high rib sporting guns and two flat rib sporting guns. I shoot all of them equally good or bad depending on the day😀.They’re set up for me to look straight down the rib and they all shoot to the same 60-40. I don’t get the stacked bead concept.

When ever I pick up a shotgun for the first time I automatically look for the rib and the beads to get my alignment and see how it fits. After that I don't really care. I have a Manufrance Ideal with swamped ribs and shoot it just fine.

The way stacking the beads is supposed to work is that when the beads form a figure 8, or are stacked, it is supposed to shoot somewhere between flat and 60/40. All mine shoot 60/40 when stacked.

The stacked bead thing is more of a trapshooter concept. POI on a trap gun is supposed to be high because the target is rising. Lead is built in. The sight picture is generally the mid bead at the base of the front bead in a figure 8 pattern. When Jimmy W referred to his trap gun shooting 40/60, that’s a new one on me. I’m sure Al Ljutic forgot more about trapshooting than I’ll ever know but to shoot the bird at it’s apex is just, weird. When I shot trap I’d try to shoot the singles quickly to establish my timing for when I shot doubles. But I digress.

No, I disagree. My Perazzi shoots barely 60/40 when the beads are stacked. I haven't screwed with it. I thought trapshooters liked them to shoot much higher than 60/40. ????

It depends on the individual, I believe. I know guys that like it 100% high or 90/10, stuff like that. It all seems very obscure to me but trapshooters can be a particular bunch. Maybe there’s a trapshooter who could discuss his preference or use of the beads?

I’m with Stan in this one. Most of the trap shooters I know would consider 60/40 a flat shooting gun. 90/10 or 100/0 is not unheard of.

I know what Al Ljutic says about shooting seems weird. If I can find the book that came with the gun I'll show it to you. I see a lot of guys who brake trap targets before they get 10 feet from the house. But if you wait until they reach their apex, they appear to be stationary targets. And that 1200 fps shot will catch them real quick.

Shooting a gun with a "built in lead", for rising targets, is like driving a truck that has a front end set up to pull to the right, to keep you out of oncoming traffic. It's useless for anything else.

I know accomplished sporting clays shooters who can do well on a skeet course, or a trap course. But, I've never met a dedicated trap shooter who can shoot anything else worth a darn, or who even tries. That's not an indictment of everyone who shoots trap, just a personal observation. Trap shooters, and skeet shooters, can be very close minded. I know a lady who was a GA Ladies skeet champion. Her and her husband were at the top fo the game in accomplishments. They tried to shoot a round of sporting clays on a local course that one of my best friends had just shot a 96/100 on. She shot something like 37/100. Her husband declared there were targets on that course that could not be broken with a shotgun.

When I first started shooting skeet- after shooting a few years of trap, I put my O/U barrels on my 686 Silver Pigeon (which is made for doubles trap) and took it to the skeet house to shoot some skeet. Everyone said, "You can't use that!! You'll shoot over the top of all the targets!" I just slid the gun up in my shoulder, aligned the beads and it wasn't long before I was shooting as good as everyone else. Some better. I had watched Tom Knapp do that with a field grade shotgun. He slid the gun down on his shoulder, stacked the beads and shot trap with it. Then he went out to the field and shot the same gun normally and knocked down dove after dove. Plus, those guys didn't realize that when I shot trap, my trap gun was set up with the beads aligned because I like picturing a stationary target. I eventually ended up buying a Citori that I now use for skeet...... Now sporting clays was a different story. I shoot with two or three other guys about 3-4 times a year. I was pretty pathetic. I think the third time I ever shot, I took my Citori and had a pretty good day. I forgot to change my chokes and had cyl/cyl in the gun from shooting skeet. One of the other guys and I both shot a 40 and had the two best rounds. I thought that was pretty good for me. I think it was one of those days where I was just lucky. We usually shoot more than one event during the day...... Most serious trap shooters don't like to change things around. It will mess up your timing. And one lost target could cost you hundreds of dollars if you shoot the calcuttas regularly. My 12 and 20 gauge reloading machines stay the same. If I shoot skeet with a 12 gauge, I might change to #9 shoot. But other than that, I don't like to change things around.

With regards to shooting at a target that appears stationary: if you use that method in Sporting, you’ll likely end up with a bunch of zeros. I learned that long ago on certain true pair targets or Teal targets that appear stalled at the apex. Shooting them rising or falling is a much better plan.

Problem solved

Stan your skeet shooting friends did poorly at SC because they probably shoot sustained lead for everything. As you know, skeet has proscribed leads for the various stations. Not so with the variety of targets a SC shooter will see. I know a skeet shooter who has been a national champion who gave up SC because he could not hit 100%. Couldn’t stand to miss a target. Skeet is a game of perfect and he couldn’t adjust

You have to shoot them rising (and falling) in Sporting Clays because they are all going in so many directions unless they are straight aways. They will only appear stationary in trap if they are straight aways, or near straight aways. Targets won't appear stationary if they are going out to the side (hard rights or hard lefts) or across in front of you. And you wouldn't use a trap gun when you shoot sporting clays. Best wishes.

Speaking of shooting at "stationary" sporting clays targets .............. my friend Bill McGuire taught me to never shoot a teal target at the top. If you have a choice, shoot it just after it starts down and has shown you its line. If there's a true pair of teal it's usually best to shoot the first one rising, "under power", then catch the second just after it starts down. Trying to catch it at the top, when it briefly appears motionless, is a recipe for disaster. The timing is too crucial.

At the top....
Used to do that with a 22rf on thrown quart oil cans............60 years ago.

We used to do that with a .22 down at the dump- only with beer bottles. I wish I had that Winchester Model 67 back. First gun I ever owned.

Jimmy,

For the record:
I shot my way up the NSCA ranks many moons ago using a bone stock 32” Beretta 687EELL Monte Carlo Trap gun.

I agree a Ljutic Space gun would likely be a poor choice for a sporting gun.🤪

I have always wanted to shoot a round of SC with a Ljutic Bi-Gun. Once would probably be enough!

Best regards,
Ken

I bought my first SKB sxs back in 1972. I don't think many people were aware of it, but SKB did offer sxs skeet guns back then. But they didn't have high ribs and they weren't very common. The high ribs didn't appear until the385/485 models, which were imported just before SKB ceased making sxs in Japan. I bought one to try as a target gun. I think I misunderstood something. I figured that the idea was to float the target over the rib. When I got to Station 7, I couldn't hit the low house unless I blotted the target out. While that might have worked for those with more pure target shooting experience than I had, it didn't work for me. Later on, SKB also offered Turkish made doubles with high ribs. I left those to others.

1971 200-E Skeet



Model 400 $1069 was big money back in 1980