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Hello I have a question for you double gun buffs. Are o/u doubles regulated so windage is not an issue? Thanks Mark | ||
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mine are | |||
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So is mine, which to my way of thinking gives it one advantage over the SxS . If there is an elevation difference between barrels you can use that to your advantage by knowing what yardage each is regulated and sighted in , yet at under 25 yards both are close enough to dead on Anyone who claims the 30-06 is ineffective has either not tried one, or is unwittingly commenting on their own marksmanship Phil Shoemaker Alaska Master guide FAA Master pilot NRA Benefactor www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com | |||
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That's what I was thinking. Phil your o/u what caliber is it and how well does it shoot? | |||
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I have two,375 H & H & 458 Lott,both shoot fine,windage has never been an issue. DRSS | |||
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Phil's is a 450-400 Zoli as I recall. | |||
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The disadvantage to OU doubles is the difficulty in loading the lower barrel. It may not be an issue with metallic ammo but for shotshells I find the action must be completely open in order for the shell to clear the action and get into the lower chamber. Those with OU rifles: is this a problem? | |||
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No sir it's not,my 458 has been afield with me many times,last hunt was a tuskless,never felt any disadvantages,I do shoot a fair amount before any hunt though. DRSS | |||
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If an over/under double rifle is regulated properly both barrels will shoo to the same elevation, and windedge at any range! That is not to say even one that is not properly regulated cant be used to your own use of the rifle. I believe 458win's O/U shoots to different elevations with each barrel at longer range, but shoots to the same for windage. It works for him as someone said at close range the barrels are close enough to work. That, however, is not the case with a side by side out at long range, and each barrel shooting to different impacts on a target at any range is not a good thing, and shows a lack of know-how on the part of the maker regardless of the barrel configuration! The fact that he learned to utilize his rifle for his purposes doesn't mean it was properly regulated. .....................................................................  ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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Good thinking, Mac. But maybe S/S rifles are meant to cope with windage: Hey! that wind is from the left, I'll fire the right barrel  As to the opening angles, true up to a point but I suspect it was a concept pushed by British makers who didn't have a decent O/U patent or couldn't be bothered changing. I've sat in the odd hide but must say if you can't open an O/U, someone's cocked up. | |||
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Thanks all! I been researching this forum site on double rifles. It seems that double rifles, after a lot of shooting, are prone for or could have barrel separation. And it not just one manufacturer. Can you double gun buffs expound on this? Thanks Mark | |||
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Ray B, I have shot both O/U and SxS shotguns and own an O/U rifle. Any difference in loading "speed" (IMO) is theoretical and not practical. For both rifle and shotguns, consider the mechanics. Yes, the breach end of the barrels has to be opened slightly further on a O/U; however, it is being opened by levering down on the barrels out past the forend. The actual increased movement by the weak hand is about 3 inches. In the total time it takes to reload, how long does that additional 3 inches of movement take? less than a second. Having been a law enforcement pistol instructor for 10 years, I can tell you that the 0/U vs. SxS configuration is not going to be the determining factor in reloading speed. Efficiently accessing, gripping, removing, and dropping the rounds in the chambers is where the time will be made up or lost. For example, an ammo carrier that actually allows you to grip and draw two cartridges simultaneously is much more important and the most important is practicing the reloading process. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I think this is because of the ammo changing! I find that most double rifle shooters shoot factory ammo. The fact that the powder used changes but the ammo loader doesn't realize it and the double owner automatically thinks his rifle has somehow changed. I find that one gets the best use from his double by hand-loading. When one finds a load that regulates in his rifle he should check the lot # of that powder, and buy enough of that lot as he can find. I generally find a load for a new double and then load 100 rounds with that same lot# and put it away for all hunting with that particular double. When that ammo gets low, I will buy more powder and work up a regulating load, and repeat the process for another batch to make my stash up to 100 again. I have found over the years that one gets the best results with a double rifle by proper hand-loading! ..................................................................... Mac....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith | |||
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Generally speaking from what I have learned so far,using improper bullets such as monolithic non banded,perhaps oversized,overheating your barrels,especially thin ones will cause damage to your gun,but a good quality gun can be shot a lot without any problems,I have never experienced barrel separation but have had a gun loose regulation. DRSS | |||
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Blaser BB97 is regulated with an allen key https://youtu.be/OmvUxhcereQ | |||
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+1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition” ― Rudyard Kipling | |||
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Never had an issue with this Browning Continental; .30-06 O/U.   Member NRA, SCI- Life #358 28+ years now! DRSS, double owner-shooter since 1983, O/U .30-06 Browning Continental set. | |||
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Under stress, I believe a O/U rifle is at a disadvantage as it may not open enough to clear for insertion of a round in the lower barrel or at least slow down the process..I have witnessed this on several occasions, fortunately not under stressful conditions. Ive had it happen to me with shotguns a couple of times, but never had to deal with but one charging quail and I had a pump on that occasion..true story. A side by side drops allowing plenty of room, that was the reason the Side by side has been popular and the O/U has not with DG hunters according to the English and Germans. and Ive heard the same from many Americans who have walked were the buffalo roam. Just the other side of the story, I wouldn't be too concerned about such things as about any firearm can go south at the most inopertune time. Then its time to tell the PH to handle the situation as your going to climb that big tree over there. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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Ray, my experience has shown me that the little difficulty you had with loading O&U shotguns is not a problem with bigger bore rifles like my Zoli 450/400 as riflemen are not trying to drop wide, flat cases into a chamber, but are using Ron or spritzer bullets. Plus the Zoli opens quite wide while some of my smallbore shotguns do not, just as you experienced. All that said, I have a chance to go to Zimbabwe this year with both my son and daughter and have decided to take Old Ugly and see if I can turn the 440/400 into airfare. I have posted it and other rifles in the classified section Anyone who claims the 30-06 is ineffective has either not tried one, or is unwittingly commenting on their own marksmanship Phil Shoemaker Alaska Master guide FAA Master pilot NRA Benefactor www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com | |||
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I'' add my several decades of teaching people to shoot under stressful situations. It is not the type of fire arm that is normally the problem. It is the lack of personal commitment to practice. I prefer SXS's but also shoot O/U's if you don't practice you well have trouble with both. Or any other type of action. For a decade or so I use a NO.1 for all my big game hunting. The only time that I lost animal because I couldn't reload load fast enough. The first shot hit a limb. Was weather related at -20 below I could not keep a pair of extra rounds between my left fingers. Because doing so was causing them to freeze. So I had to dig the next shot out of my pocket. A really slow loading technique. Again practice is far more important then action type. | |||
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I've shot a lot of O/U shotguns and have become proficient enough to shoot and reload quick enough many times to get more than two geese out of a decoying flock. I have done the same with sxs shotguns. There is NO practical difference for me in the speed or ease of reloading SxS vs O/U. My double rifle experience is much less, but I have both types, and so far my limited experience with them shows similar results. No difference, so my advice is just practise with what you have, and do not worry about theoretical differences. | |||
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