Is the upper or lower barrel of an O/U shotgun the proper one for your primary or first shot?
I have my first O/U shotgun and was wondering if there is a reason most of the guys I observe at trap league seem to use the bottom barrel as their primary barrel. Is there a reason why? My first instinct is to choke the gun to use the top barrel first and the bottom second for skeet or clay doubles. What about side by sides with screw in chokes? Like I said, this is my first double gun after a lifetime of auto's. I guess I'm alittle ashamed to ask anyone I know. Thanks!
Here's the story.
Firing the bottom on an O/U reduces muzzle jump. The centerline of the barrel is lower in your shoulder, and it has the weight of the top barrel on top of it. This helps when shooting doubles (or any pair of targets, depending on the sport - I shoot trap mostly, but skeet and SC's sometimes). Because the muzzle isn't jumping, and you aren't recovering from the first shot, you can swing better and move faster towards your second target.
The other main advantage of an O/U are two choke tubes. For doubles (again, speaking about trap), I like a Modified in the bottom, and an Improved Modified in the top. Because you are shooting the first target so close to the house, and you know where its going to be going (no machine oscillation in doubles), you want a wide open choke for your first shot, so you can blast at that target and go onto the second one.
Another advantage is the point of impact. Most doubles barrels will "shoot high" for the first shot and "shoot flatter" for the second. I use quotes on those terms, because a gun shoots the same place every time, it doesn't shoot high or low, it has to do with how the fits YOU and how you see down the barrel in relation to the target breaking and the gun's point of impact. Having the bottom barrel shoot "high" (again, once the gun is fitted to you -- proper fit in a shotgun is important), you can get on that first target come up under it and break it. Then with the next shot being a "flatter" POI, you can swing right over to it, provided your quick, and get it before it starts to drop.
Addemdum: Hi Barry, Improved Modified is 1/2 way between Modified and Full.. I think IM about a .025 in constriction on a bore while a Full is .030 or .035 - extra full is even more constriction and is good for turkeys but tough for target clays unless you are right on. On trap I wouldn't use anything less than a Modified or anything more than a Full. Personally I shoot a IM for singles and caps...its a fixed choke and will break 16 yard singles and even Annies shot from the 27 yard line at birds about to hit the gound at the 49 yard stake.
Addendum II: I just found this website... Scroll down to see the different choke constrictions:
http://www.comp-n-choke.com/Chokes.html
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