doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Question about two barrel set

Field guns should have a hard butt.

Unless, of course, you've had a gun slip and hit the floor or slide off your desired mounting position. A pad prevents both from happening and is, to me, a necessary addition to a field gun. Not necessary on a target gun.

Just a cost of doing business. I try to keep a spare butt plate for as many of my guns as I can find them for. I actually bought new wood for a Win 101 and a Beretta 425, just to get rid of the butt pads that were on them. They came to me with rubber butts and it just got to the point that I couldn't stand it any longer.

Hard buttplate or rubber pad, checkered or skeletonized butts can all work in the field. Guess our experiences are different, but guns hitting the floor are more of a problem at the gun club than in the field. Mismounts have more to do with fit or technique - allowing that we get what we deserve if we spray the butt with silicone.

Extra barrels hold up at resale about as well as Teague and Briley choke tube installations. Whatever floats your boat. But most extra barrel sets typically present at auction with almost all the wear on just one set of barrels. That says something. For that matter, I'd rarely change a choke tube in a dedicated field gun.

Sam

Fit certainly dictates how well any gun will act upon shooting it. I just purchased an AYA XXV. Beautiful little gun with a checkered butt. Unfortunately it is too short so a pad will be added. It slides all over when I shoot it, and it bruises my middle finger as well. I added a leather wrap on pad to get it to my approximate LOP. Now it fits fairly well and I am not smacking my finger anymore. Yes I could keep that wrap on pad, but for a field gun, all it does is add weight and get in the way IMO. I can add a pad and remove wood in the stock to bring the balance back. I can't with one of those leather wrap on pads. IMO if you truly hunt a lot, a good pad is a benefit and not a hindrance.

I also rarely change chokes, but they are good if you are going from farther shots on pheasants to something close up like quail or ruffed grouse. I hunt in excess of 60 days a season, and my field gun is set up with a good pad and tubes. My AYA will be replacing that gun due to I want a lighter field gun due to the amount of walking I do. It will be set up the same when I am done. I have guns I take out once or twice a season that I use leather wrap on pads. For that kind of use it is fine, but for an actual field gun I would get it to fit right. Too many accidents can happen in the field and the last thing I want is the toe of the stock splitting off from a fall.

I have a 216 RB two barrelled set - 16 and 20. I bought with the thought that the 16 would be upland bored .005 and .010 and the 20 would be for waterfowl .010 and .015 (steel 16 is hard to find). At the time I bought, I made the investment in a few cases of 16 tungsten matrix for duck shooting, so I haven't used the 20 barrel at all. I also made the decision that the oil finish was not particularly marsh or rain friendly, so I only take it out on opening weekend when the weather is good. The open bores are not an issue for teal shooting. I have been very happy with the set chokes and don't feel the need for anything else - I always use my Citori for wet days or late season ducks. If I were doing things over, I would forget about the second barrel and put the additional money into wood (I did order the seven pin action as an upgrade at the suggestion of Harry Marx) or a hardcase.

Take it from one who loves multiple-purpose things: Shopsmith, Swiss Army knife, Valmet multiple barrel guns, and several double guns with two sets of barrels. All three of my two barrels sets are older and have different length barrels with different chokes. I only used one barrel in each set. Don't waste your money. Get a fairly long barrel (I have come to prefer 28") because you'll hit better with it, and go the choke tube route. You won't use the second barrel enough to justify the cost. An extra set of barrels is only truly useful if it is a different configuration, such as double rifle or combo gun.

choke tubes - more versatile, easier to transport, costs less

--shinbone

Two barrel sets - I never use the second set. Choke tubes - more of a pain in the butt than they are worth. I already have two chokes immediately at hand in my double guns which is why I have two triggers as well for instant change over. Skeet and Modified work just fine for all my hunting. And with the right loads my 12ga skeet gun did very well on decoyed Geese. Those same skeet and skeet chokes do just fine on 16yd trap and for all but the most extreme long shots at sporting clays. Chokes just aren't as important as many have come to think and most are over choking their guns anyway.

If you are considering dropping that kind of dough on a second set of barrels, and it is an option to do so, you should consider two different gauges (20 and 16). This would give you much more versatility than two sets in 20, and I'd be willing to bet you would end up using that small-frame 16 more than the 20 (really a much better gauge for hunting, but that's a different debate).

Otherwise, go with one set choked IC/Mod ... choke is vastly overrated as a factor in hunting success. Save the $2400 and buy second gun -- a used double with tighter chokes and a lifetime's supply of top-quality upland hunting ammo. My two cents. Happy hunting. TT