KM,
No secret there. Look at the current clay game guns. Most are 8lbs or there abouts and very forward weighted well beyond what the London gamegun fun-adicts would call a "balanced" gun. Face it, they shoot better, millions of clays and dollars have proven it. Now, I wouldn't like to take a 32" 8lb gun up and down the razorbacks of my favorite quail patch, nor do I think it's ideal for that ever so quick flush of quail. But, I've killed many many quail with a 7 1/2lb BSS 26" 12g that is pretty well balanced between the hands but would not be called "lively" by any means. I think that's it! "lively" is not conducive to consistant shooting by the masses, no matter the claims. I see this very clearly when watching my brother-in-law (a hunter/shooter of only 5-6 yrs) go thru guns. He favors heavier, more forward weighted guns. I've given him a Win 24 20g that is a feather of 6lbs and very "lively". He couldn't hit well with it no matter how we fitted it. He didn't like the quickness of the gun and has moved on to slower swinging guns. He even bought a 32" 101 gun from me for SC. He does well with the slower swinging guns.
