Originally posted by JudgeG:
Bal: If I remember correctly, I was there for the origins of you o/u double.
Wasn't that the one you and I "discovered" when we ran into an AR guy at DSC?
Darn, you were faster than me getting out an "I'll take it!".
I'm glad you've enjoyed it.
As to o/u doubles vice s/s, I think of it this way: When s/s doubles recoil, since the barrels are "off center, the fired barrel rotates (twists?) or "rolls" around the center axis and also pitches up, requiring timing of three moments for the bullet to be regulated, those being twist, pitch-up and speed of bullet down the barrel (or where the barrel is pointing when the bullet exits). Both barrels must be in coordination with the other, or regulated. i.e., twist, pitch-up and bullet speed. On a o/u, the twist might exist if the barrels are not well aligned with the action, but it is usually minuscule and the significant regulation (or timing) is for the pitch-up and bullet's exit time during that muzzle rise.
I'm don't do math well, but since both guns have two barrels, then multiplying the variables by two equals four variables for o/u compared to six for a s/s gets the s/s involved in a heck of a bigger geometric progression?
So, the Ernest Gilbert Principle of Double Rifles is: O/U might be not so pretty.... but they are a darn sight easier to regulate. Function over form. Alas. Kind of like picking out a woman. You are blessed in finding a s/s woman, but a o/u sweetie can do wonders and might not be so hard to regulate.
Etta James explains it all here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shpLJJ_ku0M