Went to a great gun show yesterday. And ran across a nice /like brand new Beretta 470 Silverhawk for $2250.00. I am always in the market for a SXS and was really looking it over. When I shouldered it, the rib was depressed so badly that I could hardly see down the rib. Meaning: it was sunken down below the level of the barrels. And it had no center bead. It made it appear that I would be looking down the barrels and not being about to line up a target, because I couldn't see the rib. Were they all made like that? Or did the gun just not fit me at all? I really wanted that gun. I have never had a problem with not being able to look down a rib, so...........I passed.

You lost a great chance. The 470 action is one of the best non sidelock actions ever built. The swamped rib is a non issue. The Boss OU has no rib or mid sight either, but that is no reason to reject it!

I knew it was a good gun. But, I figured I would pass this time and use the money to buy a Model 21 later on. I'm planning to build up my Winchester collection again and I didn't want a gun that I couldn't shoot. The Beretta was just a second choice. Thanks for the input. I appreciate it!!

It is not a new idea. This Watson lightweight “Phantom” 12 bore from about 1890 shows a sunken rib and I believe that that idea was old even then.

I understand that in addition to some saving of weight the idea was to concentrate the eye on the muzzles and the bird.

Plus, those sunken ribs are ugly. Beretta made thousands of sxs's with level ribs. Why they went to a sunken, near-swamped rib is difficult to understand.
https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...double-shotgun.cfm?gun_id=102320735#lg-4

JR

IMO anything that draws the attention to the muzzle(s), and away from the bird, is detrimental. Looking at the bead/muzzle during the swing process is a guaranteed miss ...... behind.

I would not buy a gun with a sunken rib, or worse, no rib at all.

The original Boss OU had short sections of rib at the breech and muzzle. When mounted the picture is the same as that of a full rib. An English importer has some special order Perazzis with the same setup.

I once had a Valmet waterfowler which is an O/U 12 ga. with 36" barrels. The handling of it was unreal, in that it belied the very long barrels and swung like a nice 30" barreled gun. It had the short "rib pieces", ramps actually, at the breech and muzzle. Obviously this was done to help reduce weight in the forward portion of the gun, and it worked. The barrels were also struck very thin. I tried it on sporting clays with mediocre results. I couldn't help feeling that there was a difference in what my lead looked like, as compared to shooting my 31 1/2" MX8.

Results ....... the short rib sections at front and rear worked to "fool the eyes" into not seeing the sunken space between them while shooting. However, when the gun was lowered and you viewed it from above, or from the side, it was obvious that it was lacking something. I don't care for the appearance at all. Point is, there's no reason to eliminate the top or side ribs to improve handling. Handling can be perfect with all the ribs in place. Many Italian makers have proved it.

but then, a sunken rib serves two purposes...

a. helps to make one natually keep ones head down on the comb of the stock...

b. causes one to focus on the target, no the rib, not the bead...just the target...

ah like hit...

Seeing the rust accumulating in the dead space between ribs is a good cure for ribophilia.

Modern guns, including traditional "best"types are built using ultra modern machinery. Yet makers still resort to Medieval tinsmithing to stick on ribs so as to create inaccessible rust traps and add weight forward.

One of the Brown brothers, a gunmaker of undeniable skill and experience, commented favorably on the Alex Martin ribless side by side stressing the improved handling that comes from not having 150 grams of rib burdening the pointing hand. That 150 grams is there with two ribs of a SXS, in an OU we must add the weight of the top rib to get to about 200 or so grams.

Well. When it comes right down to it I didn't really want the gun. I went to the gun show looking for a Model 21 and I just did not want to settle for second best. And I surely did not want a gun that in the end, I couldn't shoot. If it would have had a nice rib, I still don't know if I would have bought it or not. But I did enjoy the show and there were lots of great guns there. Some of you would have liked the perfect Model 21 in a 28 gauge. It was really sharp. But the price was $17,000. So I had to pass on that too. Haha!! Well thanks for your replies. I really appreciated them. Take care.

Those English Perazzi things are quite different. Reverse taper not swamped.

The feature I like best on my Beretta 626 Onyx is the high rib. It's a shame they couldn't keep making a fine gun that was reasonably priced.

sew, dats duh high an low uv hit...

I shoot a variety of ribs styles, concaved, raised, raised tapered, and sunken on a couple French shotguns and I never think about them and they all shoot.well. I did see a sxs with a short rib near the breach and just enough at the muzzle to mount a bead and connect the barrels, I would have liked to shoot it. I will say the tapered rib makes the barrels seem longer than their 25" length when looking down them.

When I shoot at a clay Target, I don't aim or look at the rib. I am focusing on the target. But I still see the rib in my peripheral vision. And I know shooting a gun with no rib would just not work for me at all. And as I said I went there to buy a specific Model 21, but after thinking about it I thought I would wait until later to get one. So I didn't want to end up purchasing something that I would end up not liking.

The Perazzis shown in the English shop ads seem to follow the Boss prototype pretty close. We are talking about the OU Boss, cannot see how an OU could have had a swamped rib. I am talking about the OU with the short rib section over the chamber and another short section at the muzzle, no rib in between.

guess not...

I guess I am different from most side by side shooters. I don't care that much for case coloring- I like a blued gun. And I like a gun with a rib. These guns with no ribs or swamped ribs are just not my thing. That's why I always like to Winchester Model 21. That's my type of side by side.

ah like erm awl...